Small Talk
What can you tell us about your new book Small Talk?
Small Talk is a fun, easy to read guide to help boost your child's speech, language and communication development from the womb to 4 years old. It is filled with practical ‘Small Talk Time’ games to make the best out of those rare 5 minute free time slots you have in your day. It gives guidance on what to expect from your child’s language development in 6 monthly periods and gives expert advice on issues such as tongue-tie, ditching the dummy and the impact of TV on talking. It also has developmental milestones, indicators for when to be worried and where to go for help.
Tell us about your background in speech therapy.
Well, my interest in speech therapy began when my brother was born with Down's syndrome when I was 11 years old. I remember the speech therapist visiting and giving us games to make up for him. I loved it, so I tailored all my subject choices at school towards this career. After a gap year in Sri Lanka working in a child development centre, I started my training at UCL in 1995 and finished in 1999 - 14 years ago.
Since 1999 I have worked mainly in the NHS in Pembrokeshire and Oxfordshire but I also managed to work abroad as a speech therapist in Australia, Vietnam and again in Sri Lanka. I now run a private therapy centre - The Owl Centre in Oxford - and have 7 fabulous speech and occupational therapists as part of the team. I feel incredibly lucky to have chosen such a fun, diverse and interesting career.
Why is it that when children read and talk more that they achieve better maths and literacy skills once they begin school?
In a recent large-scale study at Bristol University researchers examined the impact of a child’s early environment (before they were two) on their language. They found that children with a ‘positive communication environment’, including reading and talking, achieved higher scores in tests of language, reading and maths when they started school.
I’m sure this isn’t a surprise to most people. The more you read and talk, the better your understanding, imagination, thinking and concentration skills will be, enabling you to learn more when you get to school.
The book contains a lot of games to play to enhance children’s ‘small talk’, so can you give us an example of one of these?
Between the ages of birth to 4 months babies love to look at faces, in particular the eyes and mouth. This is really important for developing social skills and learning to babble. So, we must try to encourage this more: play mirror games such as sing a little song 'I look in the mirror and who do I see, whose is that face staring at me, I look in the mirror and who do I see, that face in the mirror is me'. Or 'put your finger on your nose, on your nose' etc.
Try putting on some funny glasses, colourful hats and scarves, or a wig, and allow your little one to have a really good inspection whilst you label your eyes, nose, mouth, etc.
For an older child, take some photos while on holiday or when going to Granny’s house and later make a PowerPoint presentation using the photos. Talk about what happened before the photo was taken (encouraging use of the past tense) and what happened after the photo was taken (encouraging the future tense) and see if your child can tell a story about what was happening in the photo (encouraging language expansion).
What is the most significant technique that makes an impact on your child's speech?
It's called 'Say What You See'. It's an absolute must and involves putting your child's thoughts to words as they play. It should be used for all ages, and children love it. It enables you to become entirely tuned in to your child's play and their language level, which gives them confidence and provides a wonderful model for what they could say whilst they play (how to be a tuned-in parent as opposed to a director, a teacher, or some other parent style, is another area we cover in Small Talk).
How can TV and technology affect your child's development? 

Well, let's face facts... If you've got a TV or an iPad there's every chance your child enjoys screen watching, and some days perhaps a tad too much. My daughter is hooked and it's very easy to allow her to become more and more ‘Google’ eyed (!) as I try and get to the bottom of the never-ending list of household chores.
So what do we do? Try watching for 5 minutes with your child. Talk and explain what's happening, trying to refer to experiences your child has encountered - e.g. there’s a coo-coo clock at granny's house. Then switch off the TV, find some toys to represent the characters, and act out what you saw. Remember, though, everyone needs some 'down-time' so everything in small doses seems acceptable to me.
The two rules I try to stick to are no screens at (1) mealtimes or (2) just before bed. These are sacred times for chatting or reading.
What is one cause for concern in terms of your child's speech?
It's very difficult for parents to know when they should be concerned, which is why we've included developmental checklists in Small Talk. Early Intervention is so important in order to reduce the impact of a communication difficulty long-term. Take the film ‘The King’s Speech’, for example. There is a poster on my clinic wall that points out that if he had received Early Intervention, he would not have suffered the problems he did in adulthood.
Keep an eye on your child's language development and follow your gut feeling. Seek help sooner rather than later if you are worried.
You specialise in the under-fives, so what is the appeal of working with a younger client?
Young children are fun and engaging, and you can’t help but have a big smile on your face as you play together. It is said that 'language develops through play', so my therapy involves a lot of play, finding motivators and rewards that will encourage a child to utter their very precious first words. My favourite toy at the moment is a frog in a pot that explodes when you lift the lid. We say, 'down down down' as we push him into the pot, ‘bye-bye’ as we put the lid down, ready steady … 'go' as we lift the lid, and 'more' to do it all again. As a therapist you need to develop a rapport with the parent and the child, modeling how to adapt your language, play and interaction to ensure that you're getting the best from the child.
What is the most unusual speech and communication problem that you have come across?
A child who could only speak like The Gruffalo (his favourite cartoon character) and consequently developed a husky voice because his vocal folds were bruised – we had to use a range of puppets to experiment with different sounding voices, and then honed in on a cowboy voice (normal voice) as the one we had to practise. I also had a child who used a click sound (the noise we might make to represent a horse trotting) instead of a 'k' sound. It didn’t take too long to sort out this problem once he was able to say a ‘k’ sound by putting his finger in his mouth to hold down the tip of his tongue.
What is next for you?
I've just written a set of 10 children's books, which are bright and colourful with text appropriate to the child's language level from the age of 4 to 18 months. They are repetitive and fun, and prompt a child to babble or talk at a particular point. This boosts communication skills, parent-child interaction, and instills a love of books from an early age.