Mia Harper
Creative Activities Editor
Mia Harper designs playful activity content for Talk and Play, including games, movement ideas, storytelling prompts, and hands-on learning projects. Her work brings color, creativity, and structure to activities that support communication through fun.
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Your Child Talks at Home but Not at Preschool: What Helps?
A child who tells long stories at home but becomes silent at preschool may be experiencing more than ordinary shyness. Sometimes the difference reflects a normal period of adjustment. In other cases, persistent difficulty speaking in particular settings can signal selective mutism, an anxiety disorder that deserves professional attention. The most helpful response is not…
Bilingual Speech Milestones and Early Growth
Bilingual speech milestones can look different by language. Learn what research says about first words, vocabulary, and practical support.
AAP Communication Strategies for Tough Talks
AAP Communication Strategies at the 2026 conference highlighted trust, misinformation, and practical ways pediatricians connect with families.
Bilingual Child Gestures and Early Learning
Bilingual child gestures can reveal early communication strengths. Learn what recent research suggests and how parents can respond.
Language Acquisition Research: MacWhinney Legacy
Language Acquisition Research can help parents and educators connect speech milestones with evidence, context, and careful observation.
How to Support a Quiet Child’s Communication Confidence
A quiet child may have plenty to say while needing more time, familiarity, or safety before saying it. Building communication confidence in quiet children begins with recognizing this difference: confidence is not measured by how quickly, loudly, or publicly a child speaks. Adults can help by creating comfortable openings for participation instead of turning conversation…
A Child Should Not Need Perfect Words to Be Understood
A child should not have to produce a perfect word before receiving help, comfort, food, or a break. Helping children communicate needs begins by recognizing that a request can arrive through speech, gestures, signs, pictures, facial expressions, sounds, or a communication device. Adults can make those requests easier by noticing what the child is already…
Culturally Responsive Interventions for DLLs
Culturally responsive interventions can support bilingual children when home language, family routines, and culture guide language goals.
Bilingual Storytelling: Digital or Traditional?
Bilingual Storytelling can use screens or spoken retell. Learn what research supports, what remains uncertain, and how adults can help.
What to Do When a Child Is Misunderstood: Teaching Communication Repair
A child says something, the listener looks confused, and the conversation stalls. Communication repair in children is the skill of noticing that a message did not land and trying another way to make it understood—not simply saying the same thing louder or being corrected until every sound is perfect. Breakdowns can happen because a message…