We encouraged eye contact by singing her favorite songs when she looked at us. We expanded vocabulary through songs and television ads. Pamela aced geography tests in a homeschooling cooperative by singing songs about states and state capitals. Aiming for goals by channeling interests creates success through success and prevents frustration by lacing challenges with fun. Written scripts, picture cue cards, sign language and communication devices increase their understanding.
Some children plug phrases from television, computers and audio tapes into their vocabulary.
Objects and pictures provide concrete bridges to words. Language generalizes best from daily activities in natural environments when parents shape existing phrases into more complex expressions. Families find more opportunities to teach language in the home and community than therapists at schools. Noisy schools distract these children so, ideally, speech language pathologists should provide ideas and resources for home teaching. Some nonverbal and low verbal children read and comprehend beyond their expressive language.