Hanen “It Takes Two to Talk” Parent Training for Children with Language Delays

Cooee Speech Pathology is so excited to be launching the Hanen ‘It Takes Two to Talk’ program in 2018. Designed for children that are late to talk, this international program is designed to maximise language learning in the home.

Together with their speech pathologist, parents are taught how to teach language to their toddler in everyday routines, during play and when reading stories. This approach is great for busy parents who are on the go and trying to juggle family and work commitments!

The Hanen ‘It Takes Two to Talk’ program is ideally designed for children who are between 12 months to 3 years of age and are late to talk. At Cooee Speech we have two speech pathologists, Emma and Lauren,  at our Geebung clinic who are trained in the Hanen It Takes Two to Talk program!

While we always suggest that parents touch base with a speech pathologist if they feel that their little one is falling behind in their talking, some general language expectations include:

1. First words emerging around the first birthday (12 months)
2. 2-word combinations and short phrases by 2 years of age (mummy go!; push car!; I want teddy!)
3. Talking in phrases and sentences by three years of age – in fact a 3 year old should be able to tell you about their day!

This Hanen Parent Training program is especially unique in that it focuses upon parent coaching and video feedback modelling. This ensures that parents feel informed and capable to continue providing language stimulation within the home environment. Hanen therapy also includes parental group sessions, which are known to be a great opportunity for parents with similar experiences to connect and share stories.

Some red flags that you may be seeing if your little one is having difficulty using words:

• Frustration or avoidance of talking
• Reliance upon gesture or actions to communicate
• Recurrent ear infections with blockages (‘glue ear’)
• Behavioural escalation (tantruming)