Word Finding

When a child or adult has word finding problems they will tell you that they know the word but just can't think of it at that moment. They feel like it is just "at the tip of the tongue". Here are strategies that can help a person think of a word they are struggling with.

Word Finding Strategies

1. Encourage the child to provide information on an object if the have trouble retrieving its name
"Tell me something about the thing you are thinking about"
The child might say "It's something that flies - it's a plane"
The child might say "It's black and whiter and like a horse - it's a zebra

2. Encourage the child to gesture how to use the object.
"You play it like this - it's a guitar."

3. Encourage the child to visualize/think of what the object looks like.

4. If you have an idea of word to be retrieved, provide choices.
"Are you thinking of lemonade, fruit punch or root beer.?"

5. Encourage vocabulary building which involves words and all their connections with other words.
If you are starting a story about a lion, you could talk about where a lion might live-zoo, jungle, desert - or what noises a lion makes- roar, snort, snore.
Encourage the child to help retell a familiar book by looking through the pictures - perhaps by taking turns.