If you've been searching for information on expectant waiting in speech therapy, here's the short version: it usually comes down to giving your child enough space to respond before jumping in with words for them. This is one of the simplest, most effective habits a parent can build, and it fits naturally into the Play-Based Speech Therapy approach: watch first, support next, and bring in a professional if the pattern sticks around.
Instead of asking how to make your child talk right now, ask what your child is already communicating and what kind of modeling would make the next step a little easier. That reframing keeps things calm between you and your child, and it also gives you sharper observations to bring to an SLP, pediatrician, early intervention team, or school team if you need one.
Watch your child across several different moments rather than judging things by one hard afternoon. Pay attention to how they gesture or point, whether they imitate you, how they engage in pretend play, whether they respond to their name, how they handle frustration, and whether they seem to understand more than they can say out loud. A pattern that shows up again and again across routines tells you far more than any single moment does.
For this week, pick one routine that already happens daily, something like snack time or getting dressed, and model one word, phrase, gesture, or AAC button during it. Then pause and give your child real time to respond, in whatever form that takes: an approximation, a sign, a point, a script, or a tap on a device. All of that counts as communication. And if the moment starts turning into a power struggle, back off before it gets there.
Will's experience is a good example here: he realized he'd been over-talking for his child, filling every gap before she had a chance to respond. Retraining himself to wait, even just a few extra seconds, changed what she was able to show him.
If this concern is part of a bigger pattern for your child, it's worth asking for help sooner rather than later. That might mean a hearing check, an early intervention evaluation, a private SLP evaluation, a school-based evaluation, or a developmental assessment. Getting this checked out early doesn't mean you're overreacting. It means giving your child a real shot at communication support when they need it.
For more on this topic, the Free Speech Resources hub is a good starting point, and you'll find related reading in the Parent Guides collection. Specific pieces worth a look include what actually happens during an ADOS evaluation, eight setups that encourage talking, what it really looks like to follow your child's lead, getting a second opinion on an autism diagnosis, how to get a speech evaluation for your child, what an M-CHAT screening actually means, parallel talk and self-talk as two easy techniques, and why play-based speech therapy works so well for neurodivergent kids.
Little Words is meant as educational support for practice at home. It isn't a medical device, an AAC replacement, or a substitute for a licensed speech-language pathologist, pediatrician, early intervention program, school team, or developmental evaluation.
