Question

Abby is a 3-year-old who does not correctly mark the personal pronouns "he/she" in her verbal speech. What is an ABCD goal that might address this language weakness?

Answer 1

Children with language delays often have difficulty with the he she pronouns. Some children call everyone “he” or everyone “she” despite their gender, some children say “him” and “her” instead, and some children just omit them entirely. Here are 5 steps we can use to teach child how to correctly use the he she pronouns to describe other people.

Step 1: Make Sure She Knows The Difference Between a Boy and a Girl

This is the first step to using “he” and “she” correctly because if you don’t understand the difference between a boy and a girl, you’re not going to be able to use those pronouns correctly. Start by just asking child “is that a boy or a girl?”

Step 2: Using He and She in Short Phrases

Now we want your child to be able to say “he” and “she” in very short phrases. One way to do this, is to get a picture of a boy and a picture of a girl and then cut out pictures of objects (out of magazines or from online printouts). Place the boy and girl in front of your child. Hold up one object and say “who wants the ____?”.

Step 3: Using “He” and “She” in Sentences

Once your child can use “he” and “she” in simple phrases, have your child create sentences using “he” and “she”. Show child pictures of people doing this and have him describe what that person is doing using “he” or “she” (such as “she is riding her bike”).

Step 4: Using “He” and “She” When Describing Story Books or Making up Stories

Once child can correctly use “he” and “she” in single sentences, you will need to make the activities more difficult. Get out a story book that has girl and boy characters and have your child describe what’s happening in the pictures.

Step 5: Correct Your Child In Conversational Speech

Now that your child can use “he” and “she” in sentences and structured story-telling tasks, it’s time for your child to start using “he” and “she” correctly all the time.