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Getting a Two-Year-Old to Talk
01.30.10I have a client who is 2;5 who only says "Mmmm" and "Ahhh." He won't do anything for me. How can I get him to talk?
I would like to refer you to my book called Becoming Verbal with Childhood Apraxia. It is all about these types of children and will help you understand how to help them become more vocal, verbal, interactive, communicative, and imitative.
Also, I would stimulate every type of communication system - vocal, verbal, gestural, facial, pictures, computers. Everything. Don't get locked in to one system, and don't tell the parents "We are doing this because he can't talk."
Typically developing young children use all these ways of communicating right from the beginning - they make sounds, facial expressions, gestures, words, and so forth to communicate. So give this client the same type of environment. Also you never know what will cause him to begin communicating more.