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By Lauren Lowry It’s so exciting when a child says his first word. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, a child should say his first word by 15 months of age [1]. Parents eagerly await this milestone and proudly record their child’s first word amongst his other achievements in his “baby book”. But another milestone which receives a lot less attention is also very important for a child’s language development – that is, a child’s ability to combine words. Children’s first word combinations express two ideas using any two words (such as “Daddy up” when the child wants to be picked up). But as children progress, their combinations start to include verbs, such as “want juice” or “car go!”. These combinations that include verbs are important as they set the stage for the child's grammar skills to develop. Children should be combining two words together by 24 months of age [1]. Children who were late to combine words were more at risk for future problems with language than children who were late with their first words. A recent study looked at children’s first words and first word combinations, and whether delays in either of these milestones predicted later language problems. Interestingly, children who were late to combine words were more at risk for future problems with language than children who were late with their first words [2]. As toddlers move from using single words to combining them, parents and caregivers often have questions about this stage of language development. Here are some common questions and answers about children’s early word combinations. Common Questions about Word CombinationsAre “thank you” and “night night” examples of two-word combinations?Some toddlers learn expressions like “thank you” and “night night” early on, and parents may think that these are evidence of two-word combinations. However, these expressions are memorized as a single “chunk” of language, as opposed to two separate words that the child has combined together. When children learn “thank you”, they are not able to combine either of these words with other words to form new combinations (such as “thank Mom” or “you go”). True two-word combinations express two separate ideas. My child uses several single words. Is he ready to combine words together?Before a child can combine two words together, he must be able to:
When parents and caregivers notice that a child’s vocabulary includes words other than just nouns and he starts to use supplementary gestures, he is likely ready to start combining two words together. My child isn’t combining words together. Should I be concerned?If your child is 24 months of age or older and not yet combining two words together, you can contact a speech-language pathologist (SLP) for advice. The SLP will assess your child’s speech and language skills and determine if your child has any other risk factors for ongoing difficulties with language. How can I help my child learn to combine words together?
These ideas about promoting word combinations come from Target Word™ - The Hanen Program® for Parents of Children Who Are Late Talkers [4]. References
The Hanen Centre is a Canadian not-for-profit charitable organization with a global reach. Its mission is to provide parents, caregivers, early childhood educators and speech-language pathologists with the knowledge and training they need to help young children develop the best possible language, social and literacy skills. This includes children who have or are at risk for language delays, those with developmental challenges such as autism, and those who are developing typically. Click on the links below to learn more about how Hanen can help you help children communicate: What are the rules for combining sentences?You have four options for combining two complete sentences: comma and a conjunction ("and," "but," "or," "for," or "yet") semicolon and a transitional adverb, like "therefore," "moreover," or "thus". Comma + Conjunction. ... . Semicolon + Transitional Adverb. ... . Semicolon. ... . Colon.. What are the 3 ways to combine sentences?Three methods of forming compound sentences
There are three ways of joining independent clauses into a compound sentence: with a coordinating conjunction (one of the fanboys); with a semicolon; or. with a semicolon and a transitional expression.
How do you write combine in a sentence?How to use Combine in a sentence. He did not like to combine frivolity with the serious business of hunting. It is essential for him to combine his movements with those of the commander-in-chief.
How do you join two words together?Contractions are easy to form. When we join two words together, we leave out one or more letters form the second word. We replace those letters with an apostrophe.
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