The significance of language and communication skills in a child’s holistic development cannot be overstated. These skills enable active participation in social interactions and facilitate learning from both formal classroom education and the surrounding environment. Communication, comprising speech and language, plays a crucial role. Speech pertains to the spoken element, while language involves applying shared rules to articulate words and convey thoughts and emotions. Recognizing the pivotal role parents play as their child’s primary educators, comprehension of language development enhances their ability to interact with and guide their child, fostering their understanding and expression within their surroundings.
There are four main components of language:
1. Phonology involves the rules about the structure and sequence of speech sounds.
2. Semantics consists of vocabulary and how concepts are expressed through words.
3. Grammar involves two parts. The first, syntax, is the rules by which words are arranged into sentences. The second, morphology, is the use of grammatical markers (indicating tense, active or passive voice, etc.).
4. Pragmatics involves the rules for appropriate and effective communication.
Pragmatics involves three skills:
a. Using language for greeting, demanding, etc.
b. Changing the language for talking differently depending on who it is you’re talking to.
c. Following rules such as turn-taking and staying on topic
From the time of birth, children inherently possess a built-in program for the progression of speech and language. Although the initial five years are especially pivotal, language development continues through early childhood and extends into adolescence. These initial five years are critical for promoting language development because the brain actively generates new nerve cells and forms numerous connections among them, enhancing both expressive and receptive language capabilities. Inadequate stimulation during this period may hinder a child’s advancement, potentially resulting in slower development or insufficient communication skills.
Areas of language:
1. Receptive (understanding): the ability to understand words and language
2. Expressive (usage): use of language through verbal or non-verbal communication (words/sentences/gestures/writing) to communicate wants, needs, thoughts, and ideas.
Receptive Language
1. Gaining information and meaning from routine/sequence of events (e.g. we have finished our breakfast so next it is time to get dressed)
2. Visual information within the environment (e.g. mum holding her keys means that we are going to get the car, a green light means go)
3. Sounds and words (e.g. a siren means a fire engine is coming down the street, and the word ball means a round bouncy thing we play with)
4. Concepts such as size, shape, colors and time, grammar (e.g. regular plurals: cat/s, regular past tense: fetch/ed)
5. Written information (e.g. signs in the environment like “no littering”, written
stories)
Expressive Language
1. Label objects in the environment
2. Describe actions and events
3. Put words together in sentences
4. Use grammar correctly
5. Retell a story
6. Answer questions
7. Write a short story
Expressive language holds significant importance as it empowers children to effectively communicate their desires, requirements, thoughts, and ideas. It enables them to articulate their viewpoints, enhance their written language skills, and actively engage in successful interactions with others.
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DIRFloortime® Practitioner
Denise is a DIRFloortime® Practitioner (DIR-Basic) with a specialization in Sensory Integration and Developmental Play. Her approach combines the DIRFloortime methodology with developmental play strategies and sensory integration techniques. Denise holds a Bachelor’s degree with honors in Psychology from the University of Sussex.
With years of experience, Denise has worked extensively with individuals on the autism spectrum, those with sensory processing difficulties, and learning challenges. She is deeply committed to seeing beyond the surface and believes in the inherent potential of every child, embracing the philosophy, “If a child could, they would.”
Denise has furthered her expertise through various courses, including those from the Maude Le Roux Academy, Developmental Play by CreateCatt, and other programs focused on learning challenges, sensory, play, and emotional processes.
Advisory Partner
Maude Le Roux is an occupational therapist with an extensive following of professionals across the globe. She studies human development in different capacities of growth, spanning ages and stages, neuroanatomy, assessment tools as well as current trends of intervention. She completed her DIR/Floortime® certificate in 2005 and has been an Expert Training Leader for ICDL since 2011. She owns and directs a clinical practice in Glen Mills, PA, where she has become known for her effective assessment and intervention protocol. While she trains globally, Maude continues to operate this active practice to continue to inform her work and develop the case studies from which she expands her assessment and intervention protocol. She co-authored the book “Our Greatest Allies” in 2011 with Lauren O’Malley describing the journey of one child and also describing the DIR/Floortime® Method.
Training Director
James Ho is a certified DIR® Advanced Trainer and specializes in Sensory Integration. He combines the approach of DIR Floortime and play as well as the practice of Sensory Integration as a basis of his work as he strongly believes that learning happens best when the child is having fun. James is also a certified Tomatis Consultant. James graduated from Murdoch University with a Bachelor’s in Psychology and has over 10 years of experience working with children, teens, and adults on the Autism Spectrum as well as those with sensory processing challenges and learning challenges and difficulties. His passion and drive had allowed him to be chosen to manage and coordinate a branch in Jakarta, where he would supervise and train a team of staff. His responsibility also includes conducting reviews with parents and working with them through coaching and giving them advice on parents’ engagement in supporting the child’s ability to partake in his or her learning environment. James is trained and mentored under international trainer, Maude Le Roux, OTR/L, SIPT, RCTC, who is a DIR® Expert Trainer, Certified Tomatis Practitioner, and a consultant. He has also attended various courses with Maude Le Roux Academy. James has attended workshops in understanding the mental health developmental structures as they relate to playing and emotional processes.
