Waiting is often a strategy many of us have a hard time to do.  In our busy lives, it is natural to feel that we have to keep the page of conversations and interactions going.  However, waiting gives your child a chance to either initiate an interaction or respond to something you have said or done.  Waiting also gives your child extra time to process information.  This is particularly helpful for children with a language delay that often require extra time to process auditory information.  The most important thing about waiting is to give your child enough time to understand that you are expecting him to send you a message.

We recommend that you wait 5-10 seconds to give your child lots of time to communicate before you fill in the silence with more comments or questions.  If you wait a little longer, your child may say or do something new!  When waiting expectantly for your child’s reaction, stop talking, lean forward and look expectantly to signal to your child that you are waiting for a response.

Your child’s turn may be a giggle, a wiggle, a smile, or a word.  Match the length of your child’s turn and pace, stay focused on what your child is interested in, take turns back and forth and the number of turns will eventually increase.