How Motor Skills and Language Grow Together
Why movement and words are such close friends
From the first roll to the first sentence, bodies and brains learn in tandem. When a child gains better balance and core stability, breathing becomes steadier and the mouth can coordinate sounds more easily. Posture and breath set the stage for speech. Hands tell a story too. Gestures are early words: pointing, clapping, waving, and showing objects invite adults to label and expand ideas. As kids crawl, cruise, and walk, they explore more, meet more people, and practice more back and forth communication.
Movement is a language of its own, inviting shared attention, imitation, and turn taking.
Researchers have found that vocabulary often increases around the time infants begin to walk (Psychological Science).
Daily routines that grow both skills
- Floor play and crawling paths: Tunnels, pillows, and gentle obstacle courses build shoulder strength and core control, which support breath and sound production. Narrate actions as you go.
- Finger plays and clap games: Songs like Itsy Bitsy Spider pair fine motor sequencing with rhythm, timing, and early syllables.
- Point, show, label: Place interesting objects slightly out of reach, wait for a look or gesture, then model a simple word. Celebrate any attempt.
- Ball rolls and car ramps: Practice turn taking, cause and effect, and action words like go, stop, more, fast.
- Snack and bath talk: Everyday actions offer verbs and concepts: scoop, pour, wet, big, little, on, off. Keep sentences short and repeat key words.
How professionals blend support
Occupational therapy strengthens the building blocks for speech like posture, sensory processing, and hand use, while speech therapy targets sounds, understanding, and expressive language. Together they can align goals so a child practices words during movement and practices movement during words. For example, a child might work on core stability in a seated play task while requesting more with a gesture and a word.
Consider extra support if you notice limited gestures by 12 months, few consonant sounds after 9 to 10 months, frequent falls that limit play, or frustration during communication. With coordinated strategies, families can weave movement and language into play, routines, and community life. The result is more curiosity, more shared joy, and more chances for words to stick because the whole body is learning.