Hi Daddy,
Yes Adam's language was much like you described at that age. It wasn't until he was three that he was ableto use the word "Mommy" functionally. He could repeat any word but his functional language was limited. He also used a lot of rote phrases to get things he wanted or needed. I encouraged it and would repeat things back to him in the correct format without hinting any negatives. For instance the next time you are in the car and your son says ,"Mommy turn on music" You could say back to him, " You want Daddy to turn on music? Ok...Daddy will turn on music" "Daddy turned it on." That's what I did along with speech therapy and he improved greatly. Adam no longer qualifies for any speech therapy and he is almost 6. Take care,
Karrie
Your son is progressing amazingly!
I agree with Karrie...you need to become natural at modeling the instant the opportunity arises on what you would like him to say. After doing this over and over it will become second nature for you and he will pick it up nicely..one day you will notice you are doing it less and less and then not at all:)
I still model now for her responses or mands to be longer in length..like when she states "want apple juice" I automatially reply;
"Mama I would like some apple juice please".....and then she repeats me and I reward her as if it was her original statement:) Your son will eventually make his rote scripts his own later on assure you:)
I found this handout that talks about modeling better speech. It's geared towards articulation errors, but the idea is the same. You would just model better grammar, longer sentences, etc.
http://www.speech-language-therapy.com/tx-/mod-recast-with-e xample.pdf
Yes, I have and still do a lot of the modeling in this way. My son is 4 and uses a lot of scripted phrases he hears on TV in everyday converstaions but these are not always contextually relevant. His langauge seems to progress in waves. He will memorize a lot of language and then begins to use this language creatively. He then seems to go through another period of memorizing language and will use scripted langauge repeatedly before using new spontanious forms of expression. He has also begun to mouth a lot of what he hears without vocalizing the sounds but overall his langauge is progressing. I very much agree with Karrie, focus on the positive and model the correct forms without making it obvious that you are correcting the child. The emphasis on the correct form seems to help the child pick this language up. My son sometimes repeats my modeling of the correct form a few times before using it on his own.
Sam
I agree with the other posters. We have had great success with modeling and asking him to say the expanded or new sentence. And then, really go crazy and reward his request. Have lots of energy and tell him what a great job he did asking for whatever it was.
We have had the same problem you mention when a phrase is new. It does seem to generalize more quickly now.
It really does sound like he has come a long way this year! Keep up the great work!
Comparing to last year this time that my son had only one word(apple)his language has progressed very well. Although still beyond his NT peers, but he labels hundreds of things and makes 2 word sentences almost correctly but when it comes to 3 words or more it is rote and scripting. For example, since normally his mom takes him to the daycare, he has learned to ask her "Mommy turn on music" when they get on the car. But when he is with me in the car again he says "Mommy turn on music"...
Have you had this problem? Was it solved? Anny comment?
Thanks