AVT 005


AVT 005
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Turn-Taking

     

     

What It Is

Turn taking is the basis of all conversation and communication. As a technique, it involves explicitly giving the child a verbal turn to respond meaningfully to what you said to him.

In this technique, we very consciously have the child take a turn to listen, then take a turn to 'talk'. So in all listening activities, the child listens first, then you listen and the child 'talks' to you.

How To Use It

With infants, you would very consciously say something to your child when your child is quiet, and stop talking as soon as your baby begins to coo, gurgle or babble. You can go through several of these 'turns' as the baby gets older.

For an older child, an example would be where the child listens as you have him pick out a toy, then you listen and the child tells you which toy to pick out.

Around the dinner table, each of you takes a turn to say what you did that day, then your child gets a turn to say what he did that day.

A good rule of thumb for how long to wait for your child to say something, is to count to ten in your head slowly.

Watch the video clip.

When To Use It

Turn taking is a technique you should use as part of all your activities with your child. These include sit-down lessons, activities around the home, and conversations with other family members. Children with hearing loss need much practice with appropriate turn taking. Your child's conversational skills are dependent on his ability to learn when he should be responding verbally to you and when he should be listening to you.

So remember -- while it is important for you to talk to your child about everything you are doing, it is equally important to give him as many chances to talk as possible.

Video Clips

CLIP 1

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