I See
When Mikey and I are together, we chat. His speaking abilities are not anywhere near what his age would indicate, so we speak in a simpler way. One thing we do often is name the things we see. Outside in the backyard, headed for the swing set, we spotted some flowers. “I see flowers.”
If your child is non-speaking, you can model the whole sentence. If your child can approximate words, you might say, “I see…” and wait for them to make a sound. Any sound you get, run with it. If you hear “fff,” keep the conversation going. “Yes! Flowers!” Maybe take a minute to practice sounding out the word flowers, creating the sounds slowly to model.
High fives, praise, clapping!!! All the celebrating for any small effort on your child’s part. Keep encouraging, like the sun and rain are encouraging those little flowers. Your child’s language abilities will grow and grow!
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About the Author
Erica Mauro is a mom to two teenage boys, Will who is neurotypical and Michael with Autism and cognitive delays. She holds a BA in Psychology from Colgate University and a Masters of Psychology in Education from Columbia Teacher’s College. Before staying home with her children, she worked as an elementary school teacher. For five years, she served on the Board of Directors of the Molly Ann Tango Memorial Foundation, a charity dedicated to enriching the lives of children with special needs. In partnership with her husband Dave, she aspires to parent by using daily life as an opportunity for therapeutic intervention, seizing on real experiences as opportunities to build skills and strategies for Michael in a joyful, loving home environment. On the tougher early days, she just tried to get everyone safely to bedtime and start fresh in the morning. *wink* 
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