My child can say “cookie” when you show him a picture of one.
He can also say “cookie” when you point to the cookie jar and ask, “What’s that?”
But when he actually wants a cookie?
ACCESS DENIED!
Instead, he stands there screaming until someone figures out exactly what he wants and hands it to him. And that’s what makes it so puzzling. The word is clearly there. So why doesn’t he use it when he needs it?
It’s odd, considering how much we can do with words.
Words aren’t just for describing the world. We use them to request, reject, protest, comment, negotiate, and generally get things done.
When language is just emerging, knowing a word doesn’t always mean knowing what to do with it.
Naming something and requesting it are two different skills.
Why does this matter?
This distinction matters when we assess language, establish intervention goals, and interpret a child’s apparent abilities.
A simple word count may tell us which words a child knows, but not what they can do with them.
Will they use a word when they see the object in a book? When someone asks them to name it? Or when they want it at the store?
And that leaves us with some interesting questions.
Where do we start? What should we teach first? Naming? Answering questions? Requesting? Rejecting?
And how can we help a child use the words they already know more flexibly, for different communicative purposes?
The takeawayIt’s worth paying attention not only to which words your child says, but also to when and why they say them. Do they say a word when you ask them a question? When they see something interesting? When they want something? Or only after you’ve said the word first and they’re repeating it? |
For the Curious | Optional Reading
Austin (1962): On speech acts and viewing language as a form of action rather than mere description.
Skinner (1957): On how environmental conditions shape verbal behavior and define its functional categories.
Lamarre & Holland (1985): On the functional independence between requesting and describing in language acquisition.