Communication Temptations: What is it?
Communication Temptations is a strategy for parents to use to help build their child’s speech and vocabulary. It operates based on helping your child initiate a conversation or communication instead of just responding. As the name implies, communication temptations are a way to tempt your child to be an initiator, rather than a passive participant when communicating. When parents are the ones asking questions or expecting a single-word response, this doesn’t help the child learn what words mean or how to express their feelings or needs. Communication temptations have a child understand what they are saying and how the words they speak play a role in communication.
Who benefits from using communication temptations? You can use this strategy for any child. Every child both late-talkers, those with developmental delays or with typical development can benefit from having their parents engage with them using communication temptations. This strategy is designed to help with developing vocabulary and grammar and helps teach children to combine words when speaking.
How Communication Temptations Works
As mentioned earlier, the basis of communication temptations relies on tempting a child to start communicating. A key part of this process is to help your child voice their needs, even if you already know what they want or prefer. As parents, it is easy to anticipate and do what you know your child wants. This can be hard for parents because patience is key with this strategy.
Remember, each child behaves and communicates differently. Be aware of how your child behaves and understand that they might communicate in their own way, and this does not necessarily have to be verbal. Pay attention to all the different ways your child is communicating, such as gestures, body language, eye contact, and sounds (like squeals).
To prepare for this strategy, make sure you have enough time in your schedule and do your best to avoid distractions like siblings, pets, T.V., phone calls, or anything along those lines. Be face-to-face with your child. Begin the act of tempting a conversation by involving your child in a way that requires them to react. This can be a routine activity, a new game that gets them excited, or something silly that you do.
Look for eye contact. Eye contact is a sign your child is paying attention and ready to process what you’re doing or saying.
Tempt the conversation through an action (look below for some ideas).
Wait for your child to initiate the conversation. After you perform an activity, pause and wait for them to respond to the action you just did. The goal of communication temptations is for them to be the initiators, so waiting for their response is a huge part of the process.
Respond to your child to acknowledge their initiation. Remember, your child’s response doesn’t have to be verbal at first, especially if your child isn’t talking yet. If you get any sort of response, reward it to encourage your child.
Communication Temptation Ideas
Any activity can be turned into a way of tempting your child to communicate. Have them ask for things rather than give it to them, or break up routine activities to have them tell you what to do next.
· Break up a routine. For example, when getting ready for bed, pause before getting out their pajamas or before grabbing a book to read. Have your child initiate the next steps.
· Hand your child a toy or object that they require help with, such as a wind-up toy or a jar of play-doh. Wait for your child to ask for help.
· Say, “it’s snack time,” but don’t grab the snacks and have your child tell you what they want. Or give them only a few items of the snack so they can request more.
· Put a toy your child likes just out of their reach knowing they want it and ask “what did you need” and wait.
· Do something silly like peek-a-boo or put on a funny hat, and wait for their response.
Almost anything can be turned into an opportunity for your child to initiate conversation. Also, you know your child best. If one of the examples above will make them upset or cross their boundaries, try something different to initiate the conversation. If these steps don’t get a response at first, try to model to your child what to say and repeat the activity.
An example of what this could look like between a parent and child is listed below:
Your child prefers to use gestures but has said the work cookie before and wants a cookie from the counter. Instead of handing your child the cookie, use communication temptations to try to get them to request it.
Child: Points to the cookie on the counter
Parent: Oh you want something on the counter?
Child: nods head and continues to point
Parent: ok, what would you like?
Child: continues to point and grunt because they want the cookie
Parent: Well you need to tell me what it is you want so I know what to get you.
-If the child gives any sort of sound, other than that original grunt, recognize that as an attempt at them telling you what they want and praise them verbally and by giving them the cookie.
-If child won’t say cookie, you can tell them “You want the cookie” before giving it to him, then try it again the next time he points to something they want.
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“Communication Temptation Ideas,” Child Development Programs, accessed on March 1, 2022, https://childdevelopmentprograms.ca/elearning-modules/the-power-of-play/story_content/external_files/Communication-Temptation-Ideas-v2022-02.pdf.
“Communication Temptations,” SLP Corner, November 19, 2019, https://www.slpcorner.com/therapy-ideas/communication-temptations.
“Communication Temptations: How to Use Your Environment to Get Your Child Talking,” accessed on March 1, 2022, http://web1.nbed.nb.ca/sites/ASD-W/ecs/Documents/Encouraging%20communication.pdf.
“Communicative Temptations,” NONA CDC, accessed on March 1, 2022, https://nona-cdc.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Communicative-Temptations.pdf.