Before children say their first words, they begin to acquire a set of skills known as prelinguistics. These foundational abilities set the stage for effective communication and language learning. As a caregiver, recognizing and supporting these skills can make a significant difference in your child’s speech and language development!
Prelinguistic development
Prelinguistic skills are intentional, preverbal (i.e. before speaking) and single word communication skills that lay the foundation for more complex language development.
These stages of skills include:
- Responding to the Environment
- Responding to People
- Turn-taking
- Developing longer attention span
- Joint Attention
- Playing with a Variety of Toys
- Comprehension
- Purposefully vocalizing
- Imitating
- Using Gestures
- Initiating
Learn more about the prelinguistic stages and skills
Do you want to learn more about prelinguistic skills, their importance and activities to help support their development? Check out our handouts linked below on Social Prelinguistic Skills, Receptive Language Prelinguistic Skills, and Expressive Language Prelinguistic Skills!
Questions?
If you have concerns about your child’s prelinguistic skills, don’t hesitate to reach out to a speech therapist. Early support can make a significant difference in your child’s development.
