Welcome to Building Blocks for Communication. We are excited to get started and support you to build the connection and communication between you and your child.

Remember, you can spend as long as you need on one session before moving to the next. We know that children all develop at different rates and it is important to focus on what your child needs now. You will learn lots along the way too and you’ll be helping your child build skills that they will use for the rest of their lives.

Each session has a session guide (handout) that you will find on the information icon below. Please use this to find out more information and ideas to try. Use the video icon below to access the session video which will explain the session content to you. Some sessions also contain links to other videos that we hope you will find helpful.

Introduction

The Building Blocks for Communication Programme is designed to help parents develop their connection and communication with their child.

For some children the communication channel between themselves and those around them develops very effortlessly and it’s easy for the child to send messages along that channel.
For other children, it is more difficult to develop that communication channel and to send messages along it. This programme is designed to help strengthen the communication channel and get the messages flowing along it.

Please remember, children are all different and will progress at different rates. This programme is designed to be used at the speed required for you and your child so don’t worry if you seem to spend a long time on one session. It may take weeks before your child is ready for the next step and that is fine.

You are helping your child build skills that they will use for the rest of their lives so time spent on this now is time well spent.

Session A Video: Sure Start Building Blocks for Communication – 1 (pagetiger.com)

Video Script 

Introduction to Building Blocks for Communication
Hello. My name is Anne and I am a Sure Start SLT. Welcome to the Sure Start Building Blocks for Communication Programme. Don’t forget to click on the link to access the session handouts, as these will give you lots more information.

The Programme is designed to go through a series of steps that will help you as you make the exciting journey in developing communication with your child. And please remember, it doesn’t matter how long it takes you to get to the next step – whether it’s 6 months or 6 days – the important thing is that we really get to understand how your child is communicating so that you can be as tuned in and responsive as possible.

As children develop, for some it is very automatic to connect with and communicate with those around them. It’s like they already have an inbuilt channel between themselves and others that communication and talking can flow along. It is really easy for their parents to see how they are communicating – how they are sending their messages along that channel.

For other children, that channel is there but it is not as obvious so it is much harder for parents to notice that their child feels connected to them and it is difficult to spot the communication the child is sending. This Building Blocks for Communication Programme is all about strengthening that channel so that communication can start to flow more easily between you and your child. What you will be doing is helping lay down pathways in your child’s brain that are the building blocks for connection and communication.

In the next session, we are going to discuss doing some detective work to help notice how and why your child communicates. See you then.