Saying Symbolic Sounds
Aims
This activity will help your child to:
- practise more sound combinations
- use sounds patterns in a meaningful way to represent their world
All children go through a stage of development where they use symbolic sounds. These are sounds for representing objects, actions or feelings - for example a cow is a /moo/, a sheep is a /baaa/and we say /weee/ when sliding or swinging.
Many of these sounds come early in development and are easier than saying the word, so children tend to use these symbolic sounds as a stepping stone to the words. They are also fun and motivating.
When to start
This activity is suitable for children who:
- can make a variety of single sounds and are able to combine some consonant and vowel sounds
- have worked through Combining Consonants and Vowels and can say at least 5 of the combination sounds in that activity
Getting ready
Cards
Select the set of symbolic sounds cards:
- [aahh], [brmm], [bye], [choo], [meow], [mmm], [uh-oh], [up], [waa], [woof]
Apps
Select Activities > Saying Symbolic Sounds. By default, the cards are presented in a fixed order. There is an option to choose random order in settings.
Instructions
| 1 | Show your child the first symbolic sound card | |
Cards: Hold the card close to your face, avoiding covering your mouth. ::: |
Apps: Start the activity and place the tablet in front of your child. ::: |
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| 2 | Attract your child's attention Give your child time to look at the card that you are showing them. |
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| 3 | Clearly say the sound represented on the card | |
Cards: Make the target sound. |
Apps: Make the target sound. You can tap the card to hear the sound and then repeat it if you have the sound on. (By default the sound is off). |
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| 4 | Encourage your child to imitate the sound Leave some time for your child to vocalise and attempt to say the sound. If they try it, repeat the sound and encourage them to repeat it 4 more times. If they do not say the sound, still repeat the sound 4 times and praise your child for their attention. |
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| 5 | Show your child the next card | |
Cards: Hold the card close to your face, avoiding covering your mouth. ::: |
Apps: Tap the right arrow to move to the next step. Place the tablet in front of your child. ::: |
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| 6 | Repeats steps 2-5 Repeat the steps 2-5 with the next symbolic sound card. |
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| 7 | Drop the prompts When your child has said the sound combination correctly in imitation at least 10 times and you have recorded this on the progress record (see below) then show the card but remain silent and wait for your child to make the sound The ability to imitate a sound is a very important step forward as it shows the child can actually make the sound. However, until they can make it on their own, we do not know that they have stored an adequate memory for the sound to support making the sound themselves in speech. |
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:::Recording progress
You can record your child's progress using the Saying Symbolic Sounds record sheet.
Note the dates that your child can first:
- Imitate the combined sound - if your child can say the combination after you say it, then note the date in the Imitated column
- Say the combined sound independently - if your child can say the combination as soon as they see the card and without a prompt from you then note the date in the Independently column
You can note any responses or reactions in the Observations column.
When to move on
When your child can say 8 or more of the consonant vowel combinations or symbolic sounds in imitation or independently then you can move on to the next step in See and Learn Speech - See and Learn Saying Words 1. You can continue to work on activities in See and Learn Combining Sounds at the same time as introducing See and Learn Saying Words 1 if your child is still learning new consonant and vowel sounds. You can also continue to practise saying symbolic sounds.
Additional activities
- Use the symbolic sounds with your child during every day play and activities
- Add more symbolic sounds as they occur to you - for example, up-up-up, quack, hee-haw
- Encourage your child to use their voice in play
- Make a sound book with pictures to prompt everyday sounds - for example, telephone (ring-ring), doorbell (ding-dong), sleeping (sshh). Flushing toilet (woosh), knocking on the door (knock-knock), walking up the stairs (up-up-up). Share the book with your child, making the sounds as you look at it together
- When looking at story books together, use as many symbolic sounds as you can - for example, in stories about animals or vehicles
Figure 2 | Example Saying Symbolic Sounds record sheet
