ASHA CEU COURSE #0023 Copy: The 7 C’s of Communication

In this episode of our 7 C’s of Communication series, join pediatric speech-language pathologists Laura Mize, M.S., CCC-SLP and Macy Mize Usher, M.S., CCC-SLP from teachmetotalk.com to discuss the 5th C… Copy.

What is the most important skill you can teach a child who isn’t talking yet? It may not be what you think. In this episode of our 7 C’s of Communication series, Macy and I discuss the 5th C… Copying. Before children learn to use words, they learn to imitate. In fact, toddlers learn to talk only after they become proficient imitators. That’s why imitation is one of the most powerful skills we can strengthen in late talkers, minimally verbal children, and autistic toddlers. In this course, we’ll walk through the Imitation Hierarchy, from actions with objects and body movements to gestures, sound effects, verbal routines, words, and phrases. We’ll also discuss why imitation doesn’t always develop in a predictable sequence for neurodivergent children, including autistic gestalt language learners who may imitate phrases before single words. Most importantly, we’ll help you figure out what may be getting in the way when a child isn’t imitating and how social, motor, cognitive, and sensory differences can affect learning.

You’ll leave with practical strategies you can use immediately to teach imitation during play and everyday routines. We’ll share how to use modeling, wait time, anticipatory body language, and my favorite cueing strategy: “Tell him, show him, help him.” If you’re working with a child who isn’t talking yet, this may be one of the most important episodes in our entire series.

These 7 key areas are the building blocks of a child’s early communication skills and consequently, these are the areas we should first assess and then address when a child is not talking yet.

Whether you’re a parent of a late talker or a professional working in early intervention, this episode will help you:

• understand what really drives language development
• identify which foundational skills may be missing so that you can develop a comprehensive treatment plan
• learn how to support communication development using these 7 areas

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why Comprehension is important for language development
• What does it look like when a child is beginning to comprehend?
• What could it mean diagnostically when a child struggles to comprehend language?
• Strategies to strengthen comprehension with a toddler or preschooler with language delays

Who This Is For:

Course appropriate for SLPs and other therapists (OT, PT, and EI Developmental Specialists/Therapists) who work with pediatrics in various settings including state or county-based early intervention providers, outpatient pediatric therapy clinics, infant/toddler and preschool programs, and other childcare settings and parents of autistic children

Ready to Go Deeper?

This is the 7th episode in our series: The 7 C’s of Communication: Developing Treatment Plans that WORK for Toddlers & Preschoolers with Language Delays.

Check out the other episodes in this series:

0016 The 7 C’s of Communication

0017 CoRegulation: The 7 C’s of Communication

0018 Identifying Strengths in Autistic Toddlers & Preschoolers with the Autistic Strengths Survey

0019 Connect: The 7 C’s of Communication

0020 Convey: The 7 C’s of Communication

0021 Comprehension: The 7 C’s of Communication