Recently, we discussed receptive language and the impact it has on overall communication in daily life. The other category of language is expressive language. Expressive language describes the language that is produced, while receptive language is the language that is understood. Often, children can understand more than they can verbally say, so their receptive language may be higher than their expressive language.
Expressive language includes words, gestures, signs, AAC output, and any form of communicating needs, wants, thoughts, and feelings. An expressive language delay may include a limited vocabulary, an inability to functionally communicate wants and needs, difficulty retelling events/describing stories, or difficulty with correct grammar.
If your child is having difficulty with expressive language, here are a few simple strategies to implement at home:
- Try asking fewer questions and instead narrate what you are doing and label the items around you. For example, instead of asking “What is that?” try labeling “Look, it’s a dog!”
- Repeat words frequently. Children with language delays often need to hear more repetitions before learning new words, compared to children who do not have language delays.
- If your child is using incorrect grammar, instead of asking them to correct it, simply model it back to them with the correct grammar. For example, if your child says “her driving a car,” you can repeat back “Yes, SHE is driving a car.”
- Try using the “Match Plus One” strategy, which involves repeating back what the child says but adding one more word to expand utterance length. For example, if a child says “apple,” you can use this strategy by saying “eat apple,” “red apple,” “big apple,” or “yummy apple,” etc.
Talk to your speech therapist about these or other specific strategies your child may benefit from in order to increase their expressive communication abilities!