Language development dramatically and positively impacts life outcomes–but too often it’s overlooked. Conversely, the failure to develop a capacity for effective communication jeopardizes emotional well-being and educational attainment.
This toolkit is designed for individuals, practitioners, and policymakers to institute a new, proactive approach that employs language as a well-being indicator similar to others—like vision, hearing, and oral health—and is foundational for educational, mental health, and well-being outcomes.
Learn why language development dramatically and positively impacts life outcomes.
Learn practical steps everyone can take to proactively employ language as a well-being indicator.
Learn how to implement the “why” and “what” in a manner that’s sustainable for individuals, practitioners, and policymakers.
Resources for the Language as a Missing Link Toolkit
Use this freely accessible tool to NOTICE the language indicators of well-being that enable a child to communicate for different reasons (i.e., why a child is communicating), communicate in different ways (i.e., how a child is communicating), regulate emotions with the help of others, and regulate emotions on one’s own. It is these aspects of language that determine well being and set the stage for literacy, academic and emotional resilience.
Social Engagement Ladder
Engagement through frequent, positive social interactions with caregivers, educators, and peers is both the “fuel” for and a “gauge” of language development. The Social Engagement Ladder monitors whether children are actively engaged in everyday activities that involve social interaction. This tool measures rates of investment, independence, and initiation when engaging in everyday activities. When children are engaged, their use of language is frequent, functional, socially oriented, and fluid across settings.
Individual
An individual version of the Social Engagement Ladder is used to provide additional information about children, illustrating levels of engagement of that individual in daily interactive routines.
Whole Group
The whole group Social Engagement Ladder helps when monitoring whether a group of children are actively engaged within large group settings such as classrooms, social and therapeutic environments, and court proceedings.
Learn how to use the Social Engagement Ladder as a tool to measure engagement.
Emily Rubin, director of Communication Crossroads, describes the three elements of engagement—investment, independence, and initiation—and describes how monitoring these levels on the social engagement ladder can empower us to fuel learning. Then she shares how to use the social engagement ladder as a tool to measure engagement with children who are entering the early childhood years, in the elementary school-aged years, or in the secondary school setting.
Three elements guide engagement: investment, independence, and initiation.
Quick Reference Tool
This freely accessible resource provides guidance on enhancing everyday routines with strategies to foster engagement for all children—from those who are not yet using words to those with emerging language, developing language competence, or fully conversational.
Six-Step Mentorship Tool
This freely accessible resource provides a framework to implement an appreciative inquiry-based approach to peer mentorship in which we observe what’s already working to enhance engagement and brainstorm opportunities for next steps.
