We love these because they have been shown to be engaging and fun for individuals - and ourselves! They also require little to no prep, something else we love.We use expressive and receptive language skills to communicate with others effectively. retelling a story in present or past tense).

These activities can be used in SO many more ways than described to target expressive language! Almost any activity can be customized to target specific skills (e.g. You can also ask how characters in wordless videos may be feeling and why. Music and videos can be used to work on:Įxample: You listen to a song, pause it, and encourage them to produce the missing word. Wordless videos are especially great resources for encouraging language development as well. Music and videos are fun and can be customized for individuals of all ages and all interests. They encourage individuals to describe things using different vocabulary and can be used to work on specific sentence/question structures or produce a variety of WH- questions.Įxample: 'I think it is _' sentence stems or 'What is eating?' Guessing games encourage individuals to communicate in order to figure out the correct answer. Story Cubes is also a great resource for telling stories and working on expressive language.Įxample: You can guide retells by saying, “First, what happened?,” and “Then, what did you see?” Wordless picture books, like A Boy, A Dog, and A Frog, are great for this! When retelling stories, you can reinforce new vocabulary or sentence structures that appeared in them. You can use the pictures for support or see what they are able to do without any visuals. turn-taking).Įxample: Questions you can ask include, “How does _ feel?” “Is it smooth or rough?” “Are you using small or large pieces?”Īfter reading a story, have the individual(s) RETELL the story. Vocabulary words (especially adjectives) can be targeted as well as pragmatic language (e.g. Some examples include:Ī variety of vocabulary (semantics) words can be introduced or reinforced when playing, including nouns, verbs, and adjectives.Įxample: For a child who enjoys a pretend cash register and is working on expanding vocabulary- try using phrases like, “give me,” “here you go,” and “time to pay!”Īrts and crafts activities allow ample opportunities to request materials and comment/describe what has been made. Preferred items and activities may vary widely but finding something the individual enjoys and targeting language from there is a great starting point. One of the best ways to develop expressive language skills is while the individual is engaged in something they enjoy doing - this can drastically affect motivation and participation. These activities can be used for individuals to use language by speaking, writing, and/or using AAC systems. These are some of our favorite ways to target expressive language skills! You may also consider using these activities for carryover as well caregivers can help develop/increase these skills outside of therapy sessions. Recasts can be used for individuals who use mainly shorter utterances or have many grammatical errors. For example, if an individual sees a picture of two cats in a story, and says, “Look, cat!” you can say, “Yes, I see TWO catS!,” modeling correct grammar (morphology and syntax).

Using recasts is a great way to model language.

You could say, “Is that a snake or a paintbrush?” For example, when using play dough, you might say, “What are you making?” instead of, “Did you make a snake?” If an individual is unable to answer this open-ended question, providing options can be helpful. Individuals who are developing expressive language skills may also need extra time to process the questions they’re being asked allowing some silence can be incredibly beneficial - therapists use this strategy ALL the time (sometimes called the expectant pause)Īsking open-ended questions is a great way to encourage expressive language as well. When targeting expressive language skills, it can be really tempting to ask a lot of questions and fill any silence (we’ve been there ourselves). Think about how exciting it is for caregivers or therapists when little ones speak their first words! Developing expressive language skills is an important milestone for all individuals. This differs from receptive language, which is the language that we understand. Some individuals use multimodal communication, which includes the use of both AAC and verbal language. For example, individuals who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) may demonstrate expressive language through the use of gestures, communication boards, and/or speech-generating devices. Generally, this is thought of as speaking and writing but it may also include other forms of communication. Expressive language is the language that individuals use to communicate.

Xpressive language skills