Parents can get help to support their child’s speech and language development at home with a new video series from the Bristol Early Years Speech and Language Therapy team.
Our therapists have filmed 10 videos which are a mixture of information sessions and tips to give parents and carers ideas on how to support their child’s communication.
These videos, which are available on YouTube, show some simple ways to encourage language development through everyday routines and play. There is some advice to help preschool children who stammer or are having difficulty with speech sounds.
Helen Hollick, Head of Service for Early Years Speech and Language, said: “We wanted to give parents easy access to some early advice on how to help their children’s speech and language development at home.”
The team started making videos when the country first went into lockdown due to Covid, to ensure parents could still access the vital support they provide.
They have now added more videos to the Sirona YouTube channel to show families how they can encourage language development through play, singing, games and everyday tasks.
Helen added: “More children appear to presenting with language delay in the early years and our service is seeing an increase in referrals.
“It seems the impact of the pandemic has had a negative effect on communication development in many young children. As a service, we are keen to try to counter the effects of this and prevent longer term impacts on these children.
“We hope these videos will enable families to hear key messages about the importance of early interaction for language development, attachment and wellbeing of their children.”
Lorraine McMullen, Associate Director for Children’s Services, said: “Language and communication skills are crucial to a child’s development, and support and intervention at an early age can significantly improve outcomes for children at school and later on in life.
“We are very proud of our early years speech and language therapy team who have been working exceptionally hard to ensure families have access to resources to support their child’s development at home. We hope these videos will help parents and carers to find new and fun ways to interact with their child.”
To watch the videos, visit the CCHP Early Years Speech and Language Therapy playlist on Sirona’s YouTube channel.
