Early Intervention

In this blog I am going to highlight 4 key ways you can find out how your child is developing in relation to their age. You want your child to be the best they can be but how do you know if they are on track to develop their understanding and speaking skills at a rate that is age appropriate?

If you, your partner or your child’s early years’ educator have ANY concerns about your child’s development, DO NOT wait for school to see if they ‘catch up’…

Below are some practical steps you can take to investigate and determine with clarity how your child is tracking in relation to their understanding of spoken language and producing speech;

1. Talk with your child’s early years’ educator – your child’s teacher, even in the junior kindy room, knows your child well and he/she knows how children develop communication skills at this age. It is their job. Ask for their opinion about your child’s speaking and listening skills and ask if they have any concerns.

2. Trust your gut - This is important. If you have identified an area of concern or are even beginning to feel like something isn’t right, you are probably onto something. If you have older children or friends/family with children of similar age you can be pretty sure that you have half an idea about what children at this age are understanding and saying.

3. Make an appointment and see your GP or Health Nurse about your concerns - If you have concerns, the best thing is to see a professional as early as possible. The best outcome is that they determine that your child is indeed developing at an age appropriate level OR they direct you to get the support or assistance your child may need now. This may involve a paediatrician, speech pathologist, occupational therapist or even just some strategies and activities you can do at home and at kindy to help them progress. Please don’t be daunted by the costs of such specialist support. You can speak to your GP to see if you are eligible to access some sessions for free of charge.

4. Increase your knowledge with Chalkie's Practical Guide To Child Development - If you would like to know more about how to support your 3-5 year old's development, I have prepared 5 short videos to boost your knowledge of development (without boring you to tears!) AND I have a handy downloadable Practical Guide to help you track your child's progress and give you the tools to help them - whether it is for their social and emotional development or their language and communication skills, it is all there for you! Click here to go directly to these Resources

That’s it! Now that you have a few key ways to seek clarification about how your child’s language development is tracking the most important thing here is to NOT wait until school. Or until they grow out of it. This is rarely successful and then you end up with school staff in a few years telling you what you had thought all along anyway! Trust your gut! Trust that you will get the information you need from the professionals that know. Increase your own knowledge with my Resources and you can be confident that your child’s first five years developing their language and communication skills is on-track for a successful future!