Notice. Model. Pause. Respond. Build.

Join an interest or introduce an activity. Notice comfort, attention and what your child may be communicating.

1. Choose safe, age-respectful materials. Position yourself where your face, hands and communication tools are easy to see if useful; beside them may work better than directly opposite. Do not move their head, require eye contact or change prescribed positioning. Keep hearing, vision and communication supports available.
2. Watch before adding a teaching turn. You may offer a toy, book or clear activity with a beginning and an end; notice how they respond.
3. Describe what you saw, then check a possible meaning. Reaching toward a book could mean help, another page or wanting it moved. Let their response change your interpretation; silence does not confirm your guess.

For example: They hand you a closed book. You say ‘Maybe you want it open’ and offer to open it, watching what they do next. If the meaning remains unclear, keep it as your interpretation rather than recording a confirmed request.

Keep in mind: Eye contact, pointing, speech and sitting still are not entry requirements. If a message or need is already clear, respond now.

Name something your child notices with a word or short phrase. Use it again when it fits. You can speak, sign, gesture or use AAC, such as a picture board or communication app.

1. Try focused stimulation when your child is interested. Choose a word for a person, object, action or idea. Use it as you share that moment, then bring it back when the meaning comes up again. Words for help, refusal and enjoyment count too.
2. Use your family's languages and dialects. A short complete phrase, meaningful word or familiar sign may fit. How much a child says does not tell you everything they understand.
3. Try a comment before another quiz question. While the car rolls, ‘That car is fast’ supplies a model without asking for an answer. A genuine question about their choice or idea can still fit; there is no required comment-to-question ratio.
4. Children learning AAC need chances to see other people use it, including before they use a symbol themselves. Pick a familiar message that fits your own action, such as GO as your car moves or FUN when you enjoy it. Speak naturally and model a key symbol through the agreed access arrangement or a partner board; you need not select a symbol for every spoken word.
5. Leave their full AAC system available. Do not take their turn, change their composed message or guide their hand. Finish your model, then leave quiet room. If they communicate something else, follow that meaning; if nothing comes, keep the activity available and continue naturally. Model again in another welcome everyday moment, not in an uninterrupted stream.

For example: If your child notices a bus arriving, say ‘Here comes the bus!’ Leave room to watch it together. As it goes, you might wave and say ‘Bye, bus!’ If they turn to something else, follow their interest.

Keep in mind: Use your own actions. Do not move the child's hands or body to produce a message. Repeating a useful example is different from repeatedly asking them to perform.

Become quiet and allow time for a contribution. Watch for a turn without holding back help or an activity.

1. After your contribution, stop adding words and resist filling the quiet with another question. Stay available without staring. Watch for looking, reaching, selecting or composing, and let the child finish.
2. Notice the urge to ask again or fill the silence. If your child is comfortable, let that urge pass and leave a quiet turn. Finding a symbol, typing or preparing a movement may take longer than a spoken reply. Let an emerging message finish; respond sooner to a need or distress.
3. There is no required number of seconds. If nothing comes, that is still a complete moment. Continue gently, simplify, offer help or finish. A clear message, discomfort or urgent need takes priority over waiting.

For example: You comment on a picture, then become quiet while your child searches their AAC. Let them finish instead of adding another question.

Keep in mind: Keep needed items, play and communication tools available. A pause is an opening, not a condition the child must meet.

Show that you noticed the message, then respond to its purpose. Check unclear meaning and accept corrections.

1. Help with a difficulty, share a discovery, answer a question, follow an idea or stop an optional activity. A sound, gesture, sign or AAC message deserves a response too.
2. Treat your interpretation as a guess until the child's own response supports it. If yes/no is not reliable, two real, accessible options may help: show a ball and a book and offer ‘Ball or book?’ Use their familiar way to choose, with neither, stopping or another idea still possible. A look alone may not identify a choice. If there is no clear selection or correction, the meaning remains unconfirmed; silence is not agreement. Meet obvious needs rather than repeating the question or guiding a choice.
3. Name a clear request before explaining the limit: ‘You want bubbles. They are finished. We can draw or take a break.’ A warm acknowledgment shows you heard the message even when you cannot grant the request. It does not guarantee that your child will be content with the answer. Offer only real options, keep comfort and communication available, and allow disappointment. Do not make a clearer or longer message the condition for getting something that is actually available.

For example: They communicate ‘help’ while showing a stuck car. Begin helping and say ‘I'll help.’ Do not wait for ‘help me, please.’

Keep in mind: Respond first. A longer sentence, clearer sound, precise point or extra button press is never the price of help or a break.

Build on a meaningful sound, word, phrase or sentence with a brief fuller model. Signs, gestures and AAC can also give you an idea to build on.

1. Keep their meaning and topic. With a sound or unclear message, check the context first. If meaning is still uncertain, respond and clarify rather than inventing an expansion.
2. Start with one manageable addition that fits the idea: ‘car’ could become ‘red car’ for a red car or ‘car goes’ while it moves. This is a helpful starting point, not a word-count limit. Preserve natural grammar: ‘Dog run’ might become ‘The dog is running.’ A full sentence may need one useful detail, an answer or no expansion.
3. Use familiar signs or AAC when helpful without taking over their message. Leave space again and continue. Repeat, simplify or finish according to the moment; your child does not need to repeat your model.

For example: They say ‘car’ while it moves. You acknowledge it and say ‘Car goes.’ If they say ‘The car is stuck,’ help first; ‘It's stuck under the bridge’ can add a useful detail while helping.

Keep in mind: Longer is not always better. ‘One more word’ is a starting idea, not a rule. Keep natural grammar and your family's dialect; not every turn needs expanding.