Rosie McManus, Author at Resource Library - Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust

Communication is complex and involves lots of different skills. On this page, we are thinking about children who are starting to develop their communication skills. A child might not be talking, but they might be doing lots of other things to communicate. It is important for us to recognise, respond...

How can I use singing to support communication? Lots of children love singing and listening to singing. We can bring that into our every day play and routines. This can support their communication development. Singing and visual support By adding some kind of visual support, we can help children to...

What are fun words? We all use short fun words that are great for getting a child’s attention. They are easy to say while you are playing together. You can even create extra opportunities to use the words lots and lots. Fun words usually have a nice sing-song melody. This is particularly good for...

Some children use phrases that seem out of context, but they might be using it to show a link between something. If we can do ‘the detective work’, and find out where a phrase has come from, it can help us understand what a child means. Gestalt are connected to emotion or an experience...

Here are some strategies that we can use for all gestalt language processors (GLPs). You can use for them for GLP children at any stage. At Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, we use these strategies alongside other ways to help your child communicate. For example, visual support or Makaton...

What is gestalt language processing? There are 2 ways that children can learn language. These are analytic language processing (ALP) and gestalt language processing (GLP). Some children use a mix of both types of language learning. We still need more research about gestalt language processing....

There are 6 stages of gestalt language development. This webpage looks at stage 1 and 2. Stage 1 At stage 1, children use scripts that they have copied from other people or places. These are often linked to times when they were feeling big emotions like excitement or frustration. They might echo...

There are 6 stages of gestalt language development. This webpage looks at stage 3 and 4. Stage 3 Children at stage 3 are starting to pull out single words from longer gestalts. They also start to make new 2 word combinations. This can sound like they are going backwards, because at stage 1 they...

How can we help children to learn more gestalts? We can support children who are gestalt language processors (GLPs) by modelling phrases. We can do this during play and everyday activities together. To increase the number of scripts a child knows, adults should: Model phrases that are functional....

What are actions? Actions are movements with your hands, and can include gestures and signs. They give extra information to the words you say, like when you wave bye. Children often start to copy and use actions before they start to say words. Why use signs and gestures? Using signs and gestures...

What is playing together? Playing together is an early years pathway in the Sheffield speech and language therapy service. It is a block of up to 4 appointments. During playing together sessions, we talk to parents and carers about different strategies to try with your child. These are practical...

When we think about communication, we need to think about how a child communicates, why they communicate, and when they communicate. This page focuses on how to give your child more opportunities to communicate. What do we mean by ‘creating opportunities to communicate’? As parents and...

What are objects of reference? Objects of reference are objects that are used alongside spoken language to represent activities, people, places, or events. These objects can support transitions from one activity or place to another. You’re probably already using some objects of reference, for...