In the therapy world, we know that communication is much more than words alone.
Long before a child says their first sentence, they are pointing, gesturing, screeching, and finding ways to be understood. At Safari, we have plenty of play based tools that can be used to assist with communication across the board. This guide, however, is for the caregivers, educators, and therapists who support individuals across the full communication spectrum, from late talkers to nonverbal children to adults in dementia care who are navigating a very different kind of language loss.
What is it?
Speech and communication play covers two interconnected areas. Speech and language development refers to the verbal skills we typically think of vocabulary, sentence structure, articulation, and conversation, but communication is broader than that. It includes every way a person expresses a need, shares an idea, or connects with another human being; think gestures, facial expressions, pictures, devices, and yes, play. When we talk about communication in a therapeutic and play-based context, we're talking about building all of it, not just the verbal piece.
Who is it for?
Speech and communication support is relevant for a wide range of individuals. Children with autism, apraxia, language delays, hearing loss, Down syndrome, or selective mutism often need direct, intentional support to develop functional communication. It's equally relevant for children who are verbal but struggle with pragmatic language, the social rules of conversation, like staying on topic, reading the room, or knowing when to stop talking. On the adult end, dementia frequently affects language long before other functions, making communication-focused engagement a meaningful and necessary part of care.
When does it need to be addressed?
Early intervention is one of the most well-supported concepts in speech-language pathology; the earlier communication support begins, the better the outcomes tend to be. Red flags like limited babbling by 12 months, no words by 16 months, or loss of previously acquired language are all reasons to pursue evaluation. That said, communication support isn't just an early childhood issue. School-age children may need help with conversational skills, narrative language, or reading comprehension. Teenagers may struggle with the pragmatic demands of peer interaction. And for adults with dementia, communication strategies often need to be actively adapted and reintroduced as the condition progresses.
Where is it practiced?
- Home: conversations during daily routines, shared reading, narrating activities, and modeling language
- School: speech-language services, classroom language supports, and social communication groups
- Therapy settings: speech-language therapy, AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) evaluations, and play-based language therapy
- Memory care & adult day programs: reminiscence activities, music-based communication, and simplified language strategies
Why does it matter?
Communication is basically the foundation of everything: learning, relationships, independence, and self-advocacy. When a child can't effectively communicate their needs, the frustration often shows up as behavior. For example, my child’s current non-verbal tool of choice is hitting…we’ve all been there! However, when an adult with dementia loses access to language, isolation and agitation frequently follow. Supporting communication, in whatever form it takes for that individual, directly impacts quality of life in a way that is hard to overstate, and critically, communication doesn't have to be verbal to be valid. A child who points to a picture to ask for a snack is communicating; a person with dementia who hums along to an old song is communicating; meeting people in their modality matters.
How is it taught and supported?
Speech-language pathologists are the primary drivers of formal communication intervention, but the work extends far beyond the therapy room. Caregivers who understand basic language facilitation strategies make a measurable difference in outcomes. For nonverbal or minimally verbal individuals, AAC systems (from simple picture boards to high-tech speech generating devices) open up communication in ways that can be genuinely life-changing.
Play is one of the most effective contexts for communication development because it's motivating, low-pressure, and naturally repetitive:
- Cause-and-effect toys create opportunities for requesting, labeling, and turn-taking language
- Pretend play sets (kitchens, toolkits, doctor kits) naturally elicit vocabulary, narrative language, and back-and-forth conversation
- Board games and card games build pragmatic skills like turn-taking, following directions, negotiating, and losing gracefully
- Books and storytelling support vocabulary, sequencing, and narrative development
- Music and rhythm toys tap into the strong connection between music and language processing, especially valuable for late talkers and dementia care
- Sorting and matching games create structured, repetitive language opportunities that are ideal for early intervention
Communication looks different for everyone and so does the path to building it. Whether you're helping a two-year-old find their first words, supporting a child who communicates through a device, or finding new ways to connect with someone whose language has changed, the tools and strategies exist. There is no single right way to communicate; find the tools that work for your person and go from there.
Quick Read Version:
- Communication is more than words — gestures, pictures, devices, and play all count
- Speech and language development covers verbal skills; communication covers everything else too
- Key populations: autism, apraxia, language delays, hearing loss, Down syndrome, selective mutism, and dementia care
- Early intervention matters — but communication support is relevant from infancy through adulthood
- AAC systems (picture boards, speech generating devices) can be genuinely life-changing for nonverbal individuals
The right play-based tool creates real, functional communication opportunities every single time it's used
Communication is so much bigger than words. A child pointing to a picture, a toddler screeching for your attention, an adult with dementia humming along to a familiar song — it's all communication. All of it can be supported through play with the right tools and a little know-how. We broke down everything caregivers need to know about speech and communication play, from early intervention red flags to AAC to play-based strategies that actually work.
