One of the most effective ways to help your child understand a story is to make connections between what’s happening in the book and something your child has experienced. Here are some ways you can connect a story to your child’s life to build the comprehension skills that prepare them for reading and writing success. 

Welcome to our special page all about Following Your Child’s Lead – a key strategy in the Hanen early communication program, It Takes Two to Talk®. Here you’ll learn all about the importance of following your child’s lead to build their language skills, and you’ll find lots of tips and links to get you started.

Since routines usually happen in the same way every time, their predictable steps provide a great opportunity for autistic children to learn new things. Learn a key Hanen strategy you can use during your everyday routines to build your child’s understanding and social communication skills.   

Book reading can be a great time for autistic children to learn a variety of skills. In this month's Book Nook, we talk about how to engage your child during book reading to promote longer interactions and set the stage for language and literacy learning. 

Joint attention is a key skill that helps children develop interaction and language skills. For autistic children, research shows that better joint attention skills early on lead to better communication skills later in life. Learn more about joint attention and how you can encourage it during everyday interactions with your child.

How does one event in a book lead to another? What emotions or motivations lead characters to act in certain ways? Helping your child understand why things happen deepens their story comprehension and prepares them for reading and writing on their own. Here are some tips to get started.