“Our world is a talking world. Effective speaking may be the most important skill your child will learn. The problem is that many of us have become so accustomed to speaking and listening that we take them both for granted. Consequently, many parents assume that their children will somehow learn to talk without any help. We say to ourselves, ”I learned to talk by myself, and they will too.”
The truth of the matter is that learning to talk doesn’t always just happen. It is no sudden miracle of good luck. Most children will not need any special attention to learn to talk, while others might require more help to guarantee that their language skills will develop to their maximum. The quality of children’s speech and language skills is directly related to the things that happen to them during their preschool years. Someone must provide meaningful situations that will help children use and understand their language.
Parents are the logical people to accept this responsibility to assure the quality of their child’s speech and language skills. Language abilities will be needed once your child enters school since three fourths of classroom time is spent in speaking or listening. The activities in this book will do much to help any child prepare for those school activities. These recommendations will be of greatest value to your child if both parents take time to use them.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Foreword iii
How to Use This Book 1
Birth to Six Months
Normal Speech and Language Development 5
Questions on Development 8
Suggested Activities 12
Six to Twelve Months
Normal Speech and Language Development 17
Questions on Development 20
Suggested Activities 23
Twelve to Eighteen Months
Normal Speech and Language Development 29
Questions on Development 31
Suggested Activities 34
Eighteen to Twenty-Four Months
Normal Speech and Language Development 45
Questions on Development 47
Suggested Activities 49
Two to Three Years
Normal Speech and Language Development 57
Questions on Development 61
Suggested Activities 64
Three to Four Years
Normal Speech and Language Development 73
Normal Nonfluency 77
Questions on Development 81
Suggested Activities 82
Four to Five Years
Normal Speech and Language Development 93
Questions on Development 95
Suggested Activities 97
Recognizing Speech and Language Problems Early 105
Glossary 107
Appendix
Speech Sounds Ill
Parts of the Body Used in Speaking 117
Finger Plays 119
Book and Record Lists
Books for Children 127
Records for Children 135
Books for Parents 139
Index 147
