The Hanen Approach: A Parent's Guide
- Tamara Gonzalez-Scheulov
- Jun 12
- 6 min read
Updated: Aug 3
Helping Your Child Communicate
By Tamara Gonzalez-Scheulov, M.S., CCC-SLP
When parents ask me how they can help their child communicate or encourage their toddler to talk, my answer is often surprisingly simple.
Children learn language through warm, responsive interactions with the people they love most.
One of my favorite evidence-based approaches for supporting communication development is the Hanen approach, which focuses on building language during everyday routines, play, and shared experiences.
What Is the Hanen Approach?
The Hanen approach was developed by the The Hanen Centre and is based on decades of research showing that children learn language best through responsive interactions with caregivers.
The Hanen approach is widely used in early intervention, speech-language therapy, and parent coaching programs around the world.
One of the primary goals of the Hanen approach is to help parents recognize and create communication opportunities throughout everyday routines and interactions.
The approach focuses on:
Following your child's lead
Creating opportunities for communication
Responding to your child's interests
Building language naturally throughout the day
Why the Hanen Approach Works
Studies examining the Hanen approach have found:
Children demonstrate gains in speech-language development and social communication skills, including turn-taking, shared attention, and back-and-forth interactions.
Children have more opportunities to practice communication when language learning is embedded into play and everyday routines.
Parents and caregivers are uniquely positioned to support communication development because they share countless meaningful interactions with their child throughout the day.
Parents also report feeling more confident helping their child communicate at home.
One of the reasons I incorporate Hanen strategies into my own clinical practice is because they are practical, relationship-based, and easy to use during everyday activities. I use these strategies during therapy sessions and coach parents and caregivers on how to incorporate them into play, routines, and daily interactions at home.
The strategies below are designed to help you do exactly that during everyday interactions with your child.
Tip 1: Use OWL
One of the most well-known Hanen strategies is OWL:
O — Observe
Watch what your child is interested in. Instead of directing play, take a moment to see what captures their attention. Are they looking at a truck?Stacking blocks? Watching bubbles float away?
Their interests tell you what they're ready to learn about and create opportunities for joint attention.
W — Wait
This is often the hardest step. After you say something or create an opportunity to communicate, pause. peech-language pathologists often call this an expectant pause. Many adults jump in too quickly.
Children often need extra processing time to:
Think
Respond
Gesture
Vocalize
Use a word
Try silently counting to five before speaking again.
L — Listen
Listen for all forms of communication. Communication isn't just words.
Children communicate through:
Eye gaze
Gestures
Facial expressions
Sounds
Word approximations
Signs
AAC
When we recognize these attempts as meaningful communication, children learn that their messages matter.
Tip 2: Follow Your Child's Lead
Once you've identified what interests your child, join them in that activity. Rather than redirecting or taking over, respond to their ideas and participate in what they are already doing.
When children are engaged and motivated, they are more likely to communicate, interact, and learn new language.
Quick Tips:
Join what your child is already doing
Talk about what they are focused on
Avoid testing or quizzing
Let your child set the pace
Tip 3: Match Your Language to Your Child's Level
Children learn best when language is slightly above what they are already using.
If your child is not yet using words
If your child primarily communicates through gestures, eye gaze, pointing, sounds, or jargon, focus on modeling single words that match what they are interested in.
Examples:
"Ball"
"Up"
"More"
"Go"
"Open"
"Bubble"
There's no need to ask your child to repeat the word. Simply model it consistently during meaningful interactions.
If your child uses single words
If your child is only using single words, model short two-word phrases.
Examples:
"More bubbles"
"Big truck"
"Mommy help"
"Open door"
"Go fast"
If your child uses two-word phrases
Model three- to four-word combinations.
Examples:
"The truck crashed."
"Let's open it."
"Daddy is cooking."
"I see bubbles."
"The dog is running."
Think of yourself as providing the next step rather than jumping several steps ahead. By consistently providing language that is just slightly more advanced, you help your child learn new words and sentence structures naturally through everyday interactions.
Tip 4: Model, Don't Correct
When children are learning to talk, it can be tempting to correct mistakes right away. However, children learn language best when they hear the correct model naturally within a meaningful interaction.
When a child mislabels something:
If your child points to a truck and says:
"Car!"
You could respond:
"Big truck! The truck is driving."
When a child mispronounces a word:
If your child says:
"Tar" for "car"
Try:
"Yes! A car! The car is going fast!"
By responding positively and providing the correct model, you keep communication enjoyable while giving your child the opportunity to hear the word used correctly. Over time, these repeated models help children build their vocabulary and refine their speech sounds without the pressure of being corrected.
Tip 5: Create Communication Opportunities
Children are more likely to communicate when they have a reason to. These simple opportunities naturally encourage intentional communication.
You can create opportunities by:
Put favorite items slightly out of reach: This encourages your child to point, gesture, vocalize, and request help.
Offering choices: Instead of asking: "What do you want?" try offering a choice "Apply or Banana?".
Using playful pauses: Pause during a favorite activity. For example, stop pushing the swing, pause before blowing bubbles, pause during a favorite song. Then wait while looking expectantly at your child. This will signal to your child, it is your turn to talk.
Tip 6: Use Language-Rich Routines
Some of the best opportunities for language learning happen during everyday routines and activities.
During snack time, bath time, grocery shopping, story time, and play, children hear the same words and phrases repeated in meaningful contexts.
These natural interactions help children connect words with actions, objects, people, and experiences. The key is not to create more opportunities, but to make the most of the opportunities that already exist. By following your child's interests, talking about what they're seeing and doing, and responding to their communication attempts, you can support language development throughout the day.
What If My Child Isn't Talking Yet?
Language development starts long before first words.
Celebrate all communication attempts, such as looking toward you, reaching, pointing, gesturing, babbling, vocalizing. These early skills are important building blocks for spoken language.
Remember: Connection Comes First
One of the things I love most about the Hanen approach is that it reminds us that communication develops within relationships.
When we slow down, follow our child's lead, and tune in to what interests them, we create opportunities for connection. These moments of shared attention and back-and-forth interaction help children learn that their thoughts, actions, sounds, gestures, and words have an impact on others.
Concerned About Your Child's Communication?
If you have concerns about your child's speech, language, or communication development, early intervention can make a meaningful difference. A speech-language pathologist can help identify your child's strengths, answer your questions, and provide practical, evidence-based strategies that fit naturally into your family's everyday routines.
At Little Chatterbox, therapy is play-based, relationship-centered, and family-focused.
Using Hanen-informed parent coaching strategies, we empower caregivers to support speech and language development during everyday interactions, helping children build communication skills through the moments they enjoy most.
Further Reading
The strategies discussed in this article are based on principles developed by the The Hanen Centre and supported by research on responsive parent-child interactions, language facilitation, and early communication development.
If you would like to learn more about the Hanen approach and responsive interaction strategies, these parent-friendly resources are excellent places to start:
It Takes Two to Talk
A practical guide for parents of children with language delays
More Than Words
A Parent's Guide To Building Interaction and Language Skills For Chldren with Autism Spectrum Disorder or Social Communication Difficulties
About the Author
Tamara is the founder of Little Chatterbox, LLC and a speech-language pathologist with experience across Early Intervention, private practice, and school-based settings. Tamara's approach combines evidence-based practice with play, connection, and family-centered coaching.
References
Fong, N. W., Ho, S. K., So, B. J., & Lian, W. B. (2012).Evaluation of the Hanen It Takes Two to Talk intervention programme.Proceedings of Singapore Healthcare, 21(4), 251–256.https://doi.org/10.1177/201010581202100406
Konza, D., Maloney, C., & Grafton, P. (2010).It Takes Two to Talk: A focused intervention program for parents and children with language delays.The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 5(6), 225–236.
Roberts, M. Y., & Kaiser, A. P. (2011). The effectiveness of parent-implemented language interventions: A meta-analysis. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 20(3), 180–199. https://doi.org/10.1044/1058-0360(2011/10-0055)
Rose, T., Scarinci, N., Meyer, C., Harris, S., Forsingdal, S., Anger, N., & Webb, K. (2020). The It Takes Two to Talk® – The Hanen Program® for Parents: impacts on child behaviour and social-emotional functioning. Speech, Language and Hearing, 23(3), 180–188. https://doi.org/10.1080/2050571X.2019.1622832
Senent-Capuz, N., Baixauli-Fortea, I., & Moret-Tatay, C. (2021). Parent-Implemented Hanen Program It Takes Two to Talk®: An Exploratory Study in Spain. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(15), 8214. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18158214
Weitzman, E., Girolametto, L., & Drake, L. (2017).Hanen Programs® for Parents: Parent Implemented Early Language Intervention.In McCauley, Fey, & Gillam (Eds.), Treatment of Language Disorders in Children (2nd ed.).
