• Expose them primarily to directive speech i.e. ‘sit down, ‘come here’, ‘show me’.
rather than
Talking to comment, inform and model language i.e. ‘that was good walking’, ‘the bee has a furry body’, ‘open, open the door’.

• Make choices and decisions for them i.e. ‘he’ll have a black tea with no sugar’.
rather than
Offering a choice (tea or coffee) or asking a yes/no question (your’s is a black tea with no sugar isn’t it?’).

• Talk for the person i.e. ‘he went swimming yesterday’.
rather than
Include them in the description i.e. ‘we both went swimming – I had a good time – you did too I think’.

• Pre-empt the conversation by answering all the chit-chat questions i.e. ‘hello, boy have we had a rough day and it’s so hot out there. He’s been grumpy all day!’
rather than
Keeping some ideas inside your ‘think bubble’ and relaxing – this gives the person without speech time to get their thoughts together.

• Fail to use or even bring along their means of communicating (communication device/board etc.)
rather than
Thinking about how you would feel if a family member or friend bound your mouth or hands before you went out for the day.

Communication is a gift and a basis human right.
Some people need more help with it than others!