Preparing Your Child for School: Communication Skills That Matter
Your little one’s first day of school is just around the corner, isn’t it? When you're organizing uniforms and lunch boxes, there's something a whole lot more important you need to be thinking about – your child's speaking skills.
These aren’t simply nice-to-haves; they’re the literal building blocks that will ultimately determine whether your child is flourishing or merely surviving in his classroom.
Why School Readiness Communication Skills Are Different
Most parents don’t know, however, that the communication skills that will give their child success in school and in life are actually so much more than “just talking”!
Sure, your four-year-old may never stop talking at home but can they follow multi-step instructions in a line with twenty other kids and teachers there too? Can they just open their mouth and clearly ask for what they need?
School readiness communication skills are skills that many parents never think about. Your child has to understand language in entirely new contexts, listen when they’re not interested, express themselves when they’re shy and process information while being emotionally engaged.
“Go get your shoes” is easy at home. At school, ‘Please collect your reading folder from the blue tub.’ entails recalling multiple pieces of information, knowing colours and understanding a spatial concept as well as being able to complete a task independently. And then there are the social communication skills — how to greet teachers properly, ask for help and navigate friendships on the playground.
The Critical Foundation: Early Language Development
CommuniKids Early language development is everywhere felt at CommuniKids LinguaLearn, it’s a “go” for school success. If they do, then children that have difficulty with fundamental language will get off on a bad foot from the beginning. Not that they’re not as smart,” she said, “but they’re missing a whole foundation in communication.
Studies have shown that the developing brain learns more in the first five years of life than at any other time, and that early language development (or lack thereof) has a direct impact on later reading skills. Consider it this way: reading, writing, mathematics, science – every single subject depends on language.
If a child cannot understand complex sentences or lacks a broad vocabulary, they’ll falter across the academic board. This is because our detailed speech pathology assessments consider a whole lot more than just your child's ability to say their sounds clearly.
Vocabulary: The Building Blocks
Here’s something that may come as a mild surprise: Before children even learn how to read, they must first develop a sizeable vocabulary of about 5,000 words. Not just simple words like “cat” and “ball,” but complex ideas, such as different, between, before and because.
“In reality, these are words that teachers use every day — and if your child doesn’t know them already, they’re behind.”
Our approach to vocabulary instruction is an indirect one, with the goal of teaching children not only what words mean but also how to use them successfully in multiple contexts. We deal with kids figuring out that “big” is the same as “large,” and that you can have “running” changed into “ran,” and words can be used in different ways.
Speech Sound Development: More Than Just Clear Talking
When people think about preparing child for kindergarten speech, they often focus solely on pronunciation. While it's true that your child needs to be understood by their teacher and classmates, speech sound development involves so much more than just clear articulation.
Children need to understand the sound system of English to become successful readers and writers. They need several key phonological skills:
Understanding that words are made up of different sounds
Knowing that sounds can be manipulated and changed
Recognising that letters represent sounds
Hearing differences between similar sounds ("cat" vs "bat")
Breaking words down into component sounds
Here's where many parents get confused: they think speech and reading are separate skills. They're not. A child who struggles to hear sound differences will have enormous difficulty learning to read these words.
Our Soundswrite Phonics Program addresses exactly these connections. We help children develop the phonological awareness they need for literacy success whilst also working on clear speech production.
Language Structure and Understanding: The Grammar Game
This is where things get really interesting. Your child might be able to tell you all about their favourite TV show, but can they understand when their teacher says, "After you finish your morning work, but before you line up for lunch, please put your pencil in the red basket"? That sentence contains multiple clauses, temporal concepts, and conditional instructions. It's surprisingly complex.
Children entering school need to master several key grammar concepts:
Understanding word order changes meaning ("The cat chased the dog" vs "The dog chased the cat")
Processing temporal concepts like "before," "after," and "while"
Managing multiple clauses in single instructions
Recognising conditional language ("if," "when," "unless")
This is where our individual therapy plans really make a difference. We work with children to gradually build their understanding of complex language structures, starting with simple two-step instructions and working up to the multi-step, conditional instructions they'll hear in the classroom.
We also focus on helping children express themselves clearly and completely. It's not enough for a child to say "I need help." They need to be able to say "I need help with my writing because I don't know how to spell this word."
Social Communication: The Invisible Curriculum
Here's what no one tells you about school: there's a whole social curriculum that your child needs to master alongside academics. They need to understand how to interact appropriately with teachers versus peers, ask for help without being demanding, and navigate group activities successfully.
Social communication skills are incredibly nuanced. Your child needs to master several key areas:
Understanding non-verbal cues like facial expressions and body language
Taking turns in conversation and staying on topic
Adjusting communication style depending on the situation
Reading social context (formal classroom vs playground interactions)
Managing group dynamics and peer relationships
These skills are particularly challenging for children with autism or those who process social information differently. Building joint attention is a fundamental skill that supports both communication and social development something that's essential for classroom participation.
Our social skills development programs recognise that every child learns differently. We work individually and in small groups to practice real-life scenarios through role-playing, group discussions, and understanding social nuances like when someone is joking versus being serious.
Alternative and Augmentative Communication: Supporting All Learners
For some children, spoken words just won’t be their thing and that’s ok. Some children derive tremendous value from augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems. These could be photos, symbols, signing or communication aids.
Through our Key Word Sign and Picture Exchange Communication System programs we support children to have other methods of communicating if they can’t use their mouth to talk – whether it’s to express what they need, want or are thinking.
We also collaborate closely with schools so that teachers will understand and be able to support your child’s use of the communication system.
Too many children are left to flounder when it is unnecessary, too many fall apart because they cannot adequately communicate what they know or need. AAC systems remove these barriers, and provide the means for children to be active participants in all classroom activities.
Building Literacy Skills: The Academic Foundation
But reading and writing aren’t subjects, they’re forms of communication that continue to be built on the foundation skills we’ve been talking about. Some children begin school with well-developed phonological awareness, vocabulary, and language comprehension skills; such children are well on their way to becoming successful readers.
Our literacy programs are not all about letter recognition and phonics. We focus on comprehension skills, building a narrative and the ability to talk about books and stories. We teach kids that reading is about meaning — not just drilling the sounds of letters.
One of the strongest predictors for how children will fare in school is whether they can understand story structure. Can your child retell a story by telling you what happened at the beginning, in the middle and at the end?
Can they forecast the next few moves? These same narrative abilities directly apply to reading comprehension, writing skills and even subjects like history or science.
When to Seek Support: Recognising the Signs
How do you know if your child needs extra support with communication skills before school? Here are some indicators that suggest a comprehensive assessment might be helpful:
Limited vocabulary compared to peers
Difficulty following multi-step instructions
Struggles with social interactions
Poor listening skills in group situations
Difficulty expressing needs clearly
Limited interest in books or stories
Challenges with rhyming or sound awareness
For more information on the normal stages of development, the Australian Government Department of Health has great fact sheets for parents.
The good news? Intervention early on counts for so much. Kids who are supported in the area of communication before setting foot into a school can usually catch up and go on to be super successful students.
Learning the importance of early intervention can be beneficial for doras parents in making decisions about their child’s communication development.
At CommuniKids, we conduct a full evaluation of all components of any child’s communication development—speech sounds, language understanding and use, social communication and emergent literacy.
We see how those skills come together, and what your child’s going to need in order to be successful in school, involving you as the parent in that process because your input is crucial.
Home and School Communication Skills: Bridging the Gap
Learning to communicate appropriately at home and in school is one of the toughest tasks children can struggle with. CIS is likely to be distinct from home language and children may need instruction in the process of code-switching between home language and CIS.
Here is where our teamwork can truly excel. We collaborate with children, parents/carers, teaching and school staff to develop common communication expectations and approaches. We support the bridge between home and school so that children are confident in expressing themselves in both places.
We consult with classroom teachers to support children who have communication needs whilst also working closely with families to develop language-enriched home environments. One powerful stand we teach parents is to follow a child’s lead in order to have fun, positive language experiences at home.
The Technology Factor: Telehealth and Modern Communication
Sometimes, accessing speech therapy services can be challenging due to location, scheduling, or other factors. That's why we offer telehealth services that bring expert support directly to your home. This can be particularly helpful for working on home-school communication skills because we can observe and support communication in your child's natural environment.
Our mobile services also mean we can work directly with daycare centres and schools to support children in their actual learning environments.
Taking the Next Step: Getting Started
If you're concerned about your child's communication development, the best time to act is now. Communication skills take time to develop, and the earlier we start, the better the outcomes. Even if your child seems to be developing typically, an assessment can provide valuable insights and suggestions for supporting their continued growth.
Getting started is simple. Contact our team at CommuniKids to discuss your concerns and learn more about how we can support your child's communication development. Our passionate team of speech pathologists is ready to help your child become the confident communicator they're meant to be.
Remember, investing in your child's communication skills isn't just about school readiness – it's about giving them the tools they need for lifelong success. Strong communication skills will serve them well in friendships, future relationships, and their eventual career. It's one of the best gifts you can give your child.
Your child's school journey is just beginning, and with the right communication foundation, it can be an incredibly successful and rewarding experience for your entire family. Let's work together to give them the best possible start.