Mia Harper

AAP Communication Strategies at the 2026 conference highlighted trust, misinformation, and practical ways pediatricians connect with families.

Bilingual child gestures can reveal early communication strengths. Learn what recent research suggests and how parents can respond.

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 Continue Reading

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 Continue Reading

Culturally responsive interventions can support bilingual children when home language, family routines, and culture guide language goals.

Bilingual Storytelling can use screens or spoken retell. Learn what research supports, what remains uncertain, and how adults can help.

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 Continue Reading