By The Bay Speech and Language Therapy IOW

21/02/2026

🗣️ EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE MILESTONES 🗣️

Save for reference 👇

✨ I’d suggest considering developmental milestones with caution - children develop at different rates and, as with all areas of development, there will always be children at the faster and slower ends of the bell curve. However, I’ve seen a lot of parents posting on community social media groups recently asking whether they should be concerned about their toddler’s communication skills, and it’s sometimes helpful for parents to know what is ‘typical’ so that they are aware of when it might be the right time to seek a professional opinion. ✨

Average = half (50%) of children of that age have at least that many words.

Milestone = the majority (90%) of children of that age have at least that many words.

❔What is a word? ❔ Any group of sounds used consistently by the child to convey a specific meaning, including vehicle and animal noises and exclamations (e.g. yay, wow).

Early intervention for delayed communication skills is important. If you’re concerned about your child’s expressive language skills, seek the opinion of a qualified speech and language therapist 💬

developmental norms • speech and language • speech therapy • speech and language therapist • language development • Isle of Wight • small business

15/02/2026

08/02/2026

If only I could draw animals that well! ✍️

speech therapy • speech and language therapist • caricature • Isle of Wight • small business • By The Bay

06/02/2026

🧩 One activity, multiple goals! 🧩

With this activity with an 11 year old this week, we worked on:

✨ Making predictions and formulating solutions (inferencing)
✨ The simple irregular past tense (‘The bird flew. The bird sat.’)
✨ The continuous past tense, choosing the correct auxiliary verb (‘The bird was flying vs. The birds were flying.’)
✨ Emotions vocabulary and emotional inferencing (The bird finished building the nest and felt… exhausted and proud.)

speech therapy • speech and language • speech therapist • activity ideas • inferencing • expressive language • emotions vocabulary • regulation • Isle of Wight • small business

28/01/2026

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27/01/2026

Building Sequencing and Narrative Skills 🧱

In this session we were working on sequencing and using time conjunctions to retell, using the First, Next, Last resource from , supported by visuals. Visuals help make abstract language more concrete, supporting children with language difficulties to understand and learn new concepts.

🔢 Understanding time conjunctions like ‘first’, ‘next’ and ‘last’ supports so many functional skills. It helps children follow instructions, retell what has happened, organise their ideas for talking and writing, and make sense of daily routines. These early sequencing skills are also an important foundation for narrative, comprehension and independent learning.

sequencing skills · time conjunctions · visual supports · receptive language · expressive language · following instructions · narrative · functional communication · speech therapy · speech and language · Isle of Wight

12/01/2026

07/01/2026

✨ Let’s talk about autistic scripting ✨

There was a time when scripting was seen as “meaningless” or something to be discouraged. But we now know better 💙

Scripting is communication. It shows strong memory, pattern recognition, language processing, and a deep understanding of how words are used in real contexts. For many autistic children, scripting is one of many meaningful ways they communicate, alongside spontaneous language.

The memory behind scripting is incredible, the ability to store, recall, and use large amounts of language is a powerful strength that can be applied to learning, problem-solving, creativity, and so many real-world skills.

Scripting often connects closely with special interests, allowing children to share joy, knowledge, and identity in ways that feel motivating and authentic. These scripts can open the door to rich interaction, shared attention, and deeper connection.

Through scripting, children can learn:
🧠 how conversations are structured
🗣️ new vocabulary and language patterns
🤝 ways to engage socially around interests they love
💬 how to flexibly use language across different situations

Instead of discouraging scripts, we can value them, engage with them, and build from them. When we respect scripting and special interests, we respect the communicator ✨

Communication doesn’t have to look typical to be meaningful 💙

31/12/2025

✨ 2025 in review ✨

Are you looking for support for your child in 2026? Send me a message or email me at by-the-bay-salt@outlook.com 📧