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Dr Guddi Singh explains why turn-taking is important as a pre-cursor to conversation.

A film showing different simple turn-taking games between parents and toddlers.

A film showing a simple ball passing game between parent and child.

A film modelling how peek-a-boo can be used to build joint attention.

An activity to support babies' sense of object permanence.

An article explaining the benefits of imaginative play to parents.

This films shows parents how to encourage early pretend play using a teddy bear to model bedtime routines.

A film showing parents how to encourage their child through sequential symbolic play.

A film demonstrating the importance of shared attention to parents through an experiment. Can be used to help explain joint attention as a target for speech and language.

Joint attention can be easily built into routines like putting out laundry.

A film showing how parents can encourage simple clapping games to help children listen out for rhythm and increase participation in interactions.

A film showing parents how pots and pans and simple shakers can be used for gaining children's attention in play.

A film showing parents how to take their child on a sensory walk, encouraging them to listen out for sounds in their environment.

Talking to baby about sounds as you explore the world can encourage them to listen and connect the words you say with the sounds they hear.

An article explaining how first words develop and which are likely to be children's first words.

A film modelling naming body parts for children. Can support a single word understanding target for body parts.

A film showing how parents can follow children's attention to name things in their environment. Can be used to support a single name understanding target.

A tips film explaining how actions and gestures can help with understanding word sounds.

A film explaining the recasting technique to help correct mistakes and build longer sentences. Can be useful to support early sentence construction, making phrases with multiple words and building comprehension.

An activity to support embedding verbs into everyday situations - would support a verb use target.

A film explaining how getting children to think about the past and future can improve their communication skills. Includes activity suggestions to encourage discussion of the past and future.

A film modelling how parents can ask lots of questions to encourage children to talk about the past. Would support comprehension targets for past tense and early sentence construction at the 4 +word level

A film showing how parents can encourage talk about future events by asking lots of questions.

A film modelling parents talking to their children about opposites like big and small, open and shut and on and off. Good for helping consolidate early concept words.

A film showing parents how they can build language for textures into sorting laundry with their child, showing how conceptual language can be built into everyday situations.

A film demonstrating a 'what's in the bag?' game, along with explanations of how the game can be adapted for different abilities. Would support early first words targets.

A film modelling how bathtime routines can offer an opportunity for children to learn early words.

Books can be great props to support children's first words.

An explanation of how parents can expand on their children's single words to model short phrases, adding just one or two words when repeating back to them.

A film demonstrating how activities like pegging out washing can help children practise following simple instructions.

Offering choices can help get children to expand upon single words.

An explanation of how to recast and expand upon children's words to model longer phrases and sentences. Suitable for early sentence production targets.

Ideal for referring parents to where children have specific speech sound issues.

Film modelling blowing raspberries as an early sound to make with children – would support a non-speech sound making target.

Two films explaining phonological awareness to parents. Useful for speech targets.

A demonstration of the importance of rhyme to children's phonological awareness.

An activity to challenge children's understanding of the initial sounds in words.

Our Tools for Talking clips provide factual information on supporting early communication in an accessible way - great for sharing with parents and carers attending speech and language therapy appointments.

The Speech Lab films are great for illustrating the science and facts behind early communication development - great for explaining to families why you have set certain targets to work on.

The activities page can be used to signpost families to relevant games and activities that will help build their child’s communication skills. Activities are listed by age range for typical communication ability, but may be used by families with children of any age at your discretion.

Information and advice for families on a range of conditions that can affect children's speech and language abilities.