Hooray for Exclamatory Words!

Yay! Whee! Oops! Oh no! These are all examples of exclamatory words (hint - think of things that can be exclaimed!). Exclamatory words and utterances are one of my absolute favorite things to use in therapy with children who are struggling with imitation, especially those who have yet to produce their first words. These types of sounds and words are extremely helpful in getting little ones talking and imitating.

Some parents hesitate to model and encourage these sorts of “words” because they are not necessarily functional, or being used to communicate something specific. They are too silly. But guess what? It doesn’t really matter! If your child was ready to imitate and produce real or functional words, he probably would already be doing it! Think about how babies develop their first words - they start with sounds (cries, blowing raspberries, squealing), then learn that those sounds can be used for a purpose (i.e., getting your attention, expressing hunger, etc.), then they start to play with more and more sound combinations until they eventually start producing sound combinations that sound almost like words. But it all starts with those first sounds. So building up these so called “silly” sounds and exclamations can actually be an important step forward on the road to the first words.

It could be that your child isn’t quite ready to try real words yet. And if you keep trying to get your child to imitate real words that are too complex at this current stage, what’s going to happen? Probably a lot of frustration! What you might need to do is to take a step back, and build up sound production skills with simpler sounds and words. This is where exclamatory utterances come in. Again, if your child was ready to say “real” words, they would! Maybe they’re just not quite ready yet - but don’t worry, they can get there, and you can help.

Need some more reasons to start using exclamatory utterances? I’ll give you several. What I like best of all is that they are FUN! They are a lot of fun to use in play and always get a child’s attention. They also encourage the use of many new sounds. Even though they aren’t necessarily true words, they still involve all sorts of sounds, which are great practice for young children. They are also great to combine with gestures and funny facial expressions. Throwing your hands in the air, stomping your feet, making a surprised face - these are all really good ways to get your child’s attention on you, help them to be engaged, and eventually imitate you!

Another great characteristic of exclamatory utterances - they are short and sweet. And simple! I love exclamatory utterances because they are easy to imitate. Meaning they are perfect for encouraging imitation. Think of it this way - if I’m learning how to speak French, would I want to start my pronunciation practice in simple, short words like “chat” (which means cat) or would I try to say something long and complex like “anticonstitutionnellement” (which means unconstitutionally, and, yes, it is the longest word in the French language)? I would definitely pick the shorter word! The simpler the better, right? Think of exclamatory words and sounds as the easiest place to start. You are building the foundation for more complex words and phrases.

Need some examples? Here you go!

• Beep!

• Uh oh!

• Whee!

• Oops!

• Wow!

• Yay!

• Yeah!

• Ouch!

• Whoa!

• Oh no!

• Yuck!

• Yum!

• Shhhh!

• Aw, man!

• Bang!

Animal sounds are another great way to get imitation going, in addition to making up sound effects for other toys like cars and tools, or even saying “mmmm” when eating (or pretending to eat toy food). The sky’s the limit!

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Here are five tips to help you start using exclamatory utterances TODAY!

1. Repeat, repeat, repeat!

If you read my post on imitation, you’ll remember that being repetitive is a great way to enhance imitation. This is also incredibly helpful when using exclamatory utterances. Repetition will make the words and sounds so much more familiar and even easier for your child to imitate. It can be helpful to come up with a verbal routine (stay tuned for a blog post entirely devoted to this topic) in which you use the same exclamatory utterance every time you use a given toy or complete an activity. For example, when you play with cars, every time the car goes down the ramp you say “whee!” and every time the car crashes into another car you say “beep beep!”. If you are stacking blocks, each time you put another block on the stack say “up, up up” and then when you crash it down say “boom!”. 

2. Get excited.

Since exclamatory utterances are exclamatory, be excited! Exclaim! Exaggerate your intonation - be over the top. Your excitement will make your child even more likely to want to imitate you. And not only will your child have more fun, but I bet YOU will have more fun too! If you find it hard to come out of your shell in that way, thats ok. Just practice. Practice being silly - make silly noises and say silly words.

3. Be eye to eye.

This means getting down on the floor and playing with your child, at their level. This helps them to be more engaged, it helps you to be more engaged, and it means they are much more likely to watch your face and learn from you. 

4. No pressure! I repeat: NO PRESSURE!

You may have noticed that this is a common theme in my posts and courses. If you try to force your child to imitate a sound or a word, it is going to be a lot less fun than if you just PLAYED! You will have more fun and your child will have more fun. If they don’t imitate right away, thats ok. Just keep modeling those fun exclamatory words. For example, think of how disruptive it is if you say to your child, “say whee!” and then hold the car at the top of the ramp, waiting until your child imitates you. This can really interrupt the natural flow of play. Wouldn’t it be more fun to just say “whee!” and let the car go? 

5. Get creative.

You certainly don’t have to stick to the list of exclamatory utterances above, or any other list you may find online. Make up your own - pick up a toy animal and say “do do do” as it walks. Do what works for you! You know your child best. You know what he is most interested in and what he would be most likely to imitate. Plus, it’s ok to jump ship and try something totally different. Sometimes kids just aren’t that interested. If you try something and your child walks away or stays silent, go back to the drawing board and try something else. And something that worked 10 minutes ago might not work right now. That’s not a problem, you’re still providing a great language model. There’s no wrong way to model language for your child - the more the better!

Remember, these tips can be used throughout the day in any activity or routine. You don’t even need to make special time to try them out! 

For more examples and tips (including videos!) on how to use exclamatory words to increase imitation in play check out my Let’s Get Talking! course here.