Children may have trouble saying a word for a number of reasons such as being shy or distracted, missing knowledge about the word, or they simply can't pronounce the word. If you are concerned with your child's word-finding abilities, taking your child to a speech-language pathologist is an important first step. If your child is found to have word-finding problems, the speech-language pathologist will make suggestions for intervention. While treatment happens it is important to practice word retrieval skills at home too!

Some strategies to use at home include:

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Decreasing the pressure to find words

This can be done by praising the child when the child correctly recalls a word and giving them extra time to respond. Don't let your child be stuck on a word for too long, if this happens fill in the word and have your child repeat it back.

 

Increasing word knowledge

This involves engaging in a number of activities including word games (e.g. rhyming, categorizing), reading with your child, and describing words (e.g. the colour, location, size, etc.).

 

Providing hints to help retrieve words

Hints can include giving your child the first sound (e.g. /p/ for pig), a rhyming word (e.g. bun for sun), a word that means the opposite (e.g. cold for hot), the group it belongs to (e.g. it's a pet, for dog) , a fill in the blank sentence (e.g. you don't want to get burnt, you better put on your sun_______ [screen]).

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Encouraging self-cueing behaviours

Ask your child to try to use other methods to recall the word (e.g. writing it down, actions, giving the first letter)

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