For the purpose of Water the Sponge, I have organized information in a simple and easily accessible manner. You will find that I have broken speech and language development down by age-range and further by category. Many of you might be wondering what information might be contained in each category – what exactly is the difference between speech and language, anyway? That is exactly what this post is for – to aid you in navigating your way around the website!
A majority of posts will contain some background information, content about milestones to be on the lookout for, what questions you can ask yourself at home and what you can look for in your little one, and finally some “Water the Sponge” tips – general recommendations of things that might be helpful.
Read on for more information about each category!
Overview
Consider this a catch-all category. This is one where I will post any general speech and language information. I will post to this category if I have anything to say on a topic in a broad-manner or to talk about anything in the news about speech/language. This is essentially a landing page for you to get a big picture idea of what everything on this site is about.
Expressive Language
What do I mean when I refer to expressive language for babies and toddlers? How is that different than speech? Expressive language can be further sub-divided into spoken language versus written language.
Posts that focus on spoken language will be addressing what is said by infants and toddlers at certain ages. Have you ever wondered when your child should stop referring to herself by her first name? Have you ever wondered if your child is saying enough words? When can you expect your child to start putting together phrases? Sentences? What about general vocabulary queries? And more! Those types of topics will be covered under the expressive language category.
But wait a minute…written language for 0-3 year olds? Should your toddler be writing at such a young age? Let me stop you there – don’t freak out! What I mean is that your child is learning foundational skills that are critical for the development of written language. Letter awareness/identification, phonemic awareness, and phonological awareness are all building blocks for written language. As such, these subcategories will be addressed under expressive language as well.
Receptive Language
Similar to expressive language, receptive language can be sub-divided into a couple of different categories: auditory comprehension and reading comprehension.
Auditory comprehension is what your little one understands when you speak to him or her. Assuming your child can hear, does he or she understand what you say? Does he recognize his name? Understand directions? (We all know that getting toddlers to follow directions can be an entirely different beast, haha!) If you ask your child to point to something, can she? When do some of these milestones occur and what can you do at home to support your little one if he or she hasn’t quite met them yet? These are great questions that will be answered under the receptive language category.
Once again, the expectation for you 0-3 year old is not that he or she will be reading, per se. However, is your child starting to recognize pictures? Can she understand what you are talking about when you read to her? What types of activities can be done at home when it comes to reading? The receptive language category is a great resource for you if you’re looking to answer these types of questions!
Speech Development
This category differs from language because in speech, we think about how certain sounds are produced and when children should be saying them. This is the part of speech therapy that most people are familiar with. When I tell someone that I am a speech therapist, I get many responses, including the most typical, “Oh, so you help kids say their ‘l’ and ‘s’ sounds?” Yes, yes I do. And that is what this section is for, but in-depth. How and when should your child say the “b” sound? Should you be concerned if your 3-year-old is not yet saying their “r” sound? What if your child is consistently deleteing consonants from consonant blends (e.g., “tee” for tree, “sar” for star, “tick” for stick.) Is that type of pattern normal? That is a kind of phonological process, which will fall into the speech development umbrella. If your child struggles to say certain sounds, or if you have concerns about how your child says things then this is the category for you!
Pragmatics Skills
Pragmatic skills are the rules that govern and dictate social interactions. In order to function on a daily basis, people need to have a fundamental understanding of what verbal and nonverbal rules are being used during a conversation. Not only do these rules occur during conversation they happen during nonverbal interactions as well. For instance, think about when you’re at a coffee shop and you’re standing in front of the sugar and cream. Somebody wants to get at it and while she might say, “Excuse me,” she could just throw you a look and start reaching for the creamer. You need to know to interpret those signals as ones that mean you need to move out of the way. How can you help introduce your 0-3 year old to the concept of social skills? What types of activities can you do at home? What kinds of behaviors are of concern at this age and what is considered to be typical? This is the category that will answer all of those kinds of questions!
Materials
Finally, I will be reviewing products that you can use with your child at home. I will give you an honest list of pros and cons (in my opinion) as well as a list of activities that might come in handy for each product. These toys and games will be available through Amazon and articles will contain Affiliate links, meaning that if you buy the product, I will receive some of the proceeds – the perfect way for you to continue to have free information and for me to provide it!
That should have given you a general idea of how Water the Sponge is categorized. If you have any questions or are unsure where to find information, feel free to comment below!
