About the service
Speech and language therapists work in partnership with children, their families and other professionals in a variety of friendly setting including;
- Family Hubs: Every Starting Well Partnership Family Hub has a named speech and language therapist.
- Child development centres: Speech and language therapists are part of the team
- Schools: Every mainstream school has a named speech and language therapist who visits.
Are you worried about your toddler's talking?
Are you worried your toddler isn't talking very much yet?
Different children learn to talk at different rates, however some children find learning to talk more challenging. Adults can help them by using some of the following strategies.
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Children learn language best against a background of silence. Although this may not always be possible try to limit noise when playing and talking with your child. Too many toys at any one time can be distracting. Choose a few different toys for the day and encourage your child to play with these. You can change the toys the following day |
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Let your child choose the toy or activity and lead the play. Your job is to follow their lead. You will find that they probably stay with it longer and your language will be more meaningful to them. Watch carefully to see what your child is actually doing and copy their action or sound. |
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Try not to ask unnecessary questions. Only ask questions you really don’t know the answer to rather than questions that ‘test’ such as ‘what’s this?’ This can make your child feel under pressure to answer. Remember to wait and look at what your child is doing with the toys. Then comment using very simple language to match what your child is looking at or playing with eg. ‘bricks…more... bricks…building a tower…up up…oh crash! |
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Even if you know your child understands it is important that they hear a simple model of language. Listen to what they are using and use this as your guide. If your child is only using a few single words only use single words and two word phrases when playing yourself. |
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Allow your child time. If you speak to them allow them time to respond before you speak again. Try silently counting to 10 before you speak. |
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Show them how to put words together. When your child attempts a word, repeat it but add another word to show them how words link together eg.’car’ becomes ‘car driving’ or ‘mummy’s car’. If they use two words together repeat and add another one to make a 3 word phrase. |
Remember...... Don’t feel pressurised, communication should be FUN!
Download our guide to helping your child with talking here and 54 ideas to Get Worcestershire Talking here
Should I be worried?
Check how your child is doing using the tools below:
Download our typical development 0 - 18 months poster here and 18 months - 3 years here
Typical speech sound development:
You can access ICAN's online progress checker here
The BBC's Tiny Happy People website has lots of useful ideas for parents. You can access it here
Watch these strategies in action in the videos below:
Speech & Language Virtual Drop-in
As a temporary measure to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, drop-in sessions that are held at Family Hubs and Child Development Centres across Worcestershire are postponed until further notice. You can still access helpful advice and information on our resources page.
If you are worried about your child's communication development, email us to request a call back from one of our Speech and Language Therapists, who will be able to discuss your concerns and give you appropriate advice and if necessary take a referral to the service. If your child has already been referred then we will call you as soon as possible to arrange an appointment.
WHCNHS.SLTBromsgrove@nhs.net – Wychavon, Redditch, and Bromsgrove
WHCNHS.SLTWyreforest@nhs.net – Worcester, Wyre Forest, and Malvern
Resources to help at home
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5 ways to help children listen
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Balancing comments and questions
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Word level resources
Key word levels
Positional Advice sheet peech sounds - when to worry? Download our guide here:
Typical ages for developing English sounds 2020.pdf [pdf] 415KB
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