Hiding in Plain Sight: Language Development as a Missing Link
By Sarah Torian
There is a hidden architecture to how children grow and thrive. While we often focus on “individual” progress, the truth is far more interconnected: language development is a reflection of the environments and relationships we nurture. By prioritizing connection over correction, we create the conditions essential for development to flourish.
Language development is not only foundational; it is also a powerful indicator of well-being that has been hiding in plain sight. Leaders in Georgia are reframing language development as a core well-being indicator and converting that insight into practical concepts and tools caregivers and professionals can use to notice and proactively foster language development.
Language Is More Than Words
When we think about language, many often think about vocabulary. How many words does a child know? How many do they use? But language is much more than words. Language is how we connect with one another. It is the vehicle through which we:
- communicate our needs,
- formulate and express ideas,
- develop and maintain relationships,
- expand our curiosity for learning, and
- make sense of the world around us.
“What is less known is that engagement through developmentally attuned and responsive social interactions with caregivers, educators, and peers is both the ‘fuel’ for and a ‘gauge’ of language development,” says Emily Rubin, director of Communication Crossroads. “These interactions are what we call ‘language nutrition’,” adds Arianne Weldon, director of the Get Georgia Reading Campaign. In 2013, Weldon coined the concept of “language nutrition” to describe the vital role of language-rich social interactions in nurturing brain growth and language development.
Long before a child can speak, they are communicating. Infants, for example, already “communicate” through changes in their breathing, movements, sleep-wake cycles, and how they respond to the people and environments that surround them. These signals are not random; they are communication, and they inform caregivers when there is an opportunity to provide comfort and engagement. The critical question is not whether children are communicating, but whether we are noticing—and responding. Indeed, language develops within the context of relationships.
“Language development is often overlooked,” Weldon continued. “And yet it shows up everywhere, across every aspect of a child’s life, as a powerful indicator of well-being.”
The Missing Link
Language development dramatically and positively impacts life outcomes — from early learning and reading success to mental health, relationships, and long-term well-being. Conversely, when children struggle to develop the capacity for effective communication, the consequences can ripple across their lives — jeopardizing emotional well-being, educational attainment, and future opportunities. And yet, despite its importance, language development is often overlooked. That gap — between what we know about language and how consistently we act on that knowledge — is what many in Georgia and beyond now recognize as a “missing link.”
A New Approach: Language as a Well-Being Indicator
To address this gap, leaders in the field have developed the Language as a Missing Link toolkit, authored by Emily Rubin, Dr. Garry McGiboney, and Arianne Weldon, and hosted by the Sandra Dunagan Deal Center for Early Language and Literacy. The concepts and practices in this toolkit are grounded in a simple but transformative idea: language should be treated as a core indicator of a child’s well-being — on par with physical and mental health.
As Dutch author Alexander Den Heijer famously noted: “When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows—not the flower.”
Rather than waiting until children struggle, these concepts and practices enhance the capacity of caregivers, educators, healthcare providers, and others to employ a proactive, developmentally responsive approach that can be applied across settings — homes, early childhood and K-12 classrooms, healthcare environments, and other community systems. The goal is not to introduce a new program, but to embed a set of concepts and practices into everyday interactions, systems, and policies.
The concepts and practices challenge traditional reliance on age-based expectations. Instead of focusing on what children “should” be doing at a certain age, they emphasize developmentally attuned and responsive environments and practices — meeting children where they are and scaffolding their growth from that point. This requires noticing how children are currently communicating and using that insight to inform interactions, environments, and supports. The approach helps us shift from asking, “What’s missing?” to asking, “What’s present—and how can I build on it?”
Tools That Turn Insight into Action
The concepts and practices in the Language as a Missing Link toolkit translate these ideas into practical strategies that individuals, practitioners, and policymakers can use in everyday settings.
At its core, the toolkit is designed to:
- Enhance the knowledge, skills, and confidence of anyone working with children
- Embed language as a well-being indicator in practice and policy
- Bridge the gap between research and real-world application
The concepts, practices, and tools help adults learn to “notice” and attune to why and how children are communicating so that they can better respond. The tools also help caregivers understand and measure how engaged a child is in everyday activities that involve social interaction. Rather than relying solely on formal screenings, these tools use engagement as a real-time indicator of development, recognizing that when engagement increases, language development follows.
A Bridge Between Knowledge and Action
Perhaps the most important contribution of this work is that it bridges a long-standing gap. For years, we have known that language development matters. What has been missing is a clear, actionable way to integrate that knowledge into everyday practice—across systems and settings.
The Language as a Missing Link toolkit provides that bridge. It offers a shared framework that can be used by educators, healthcare providers, families, and policymakers alike—aligning efforts around a common understanding of how children develop within the contexts of the environments and relationships that provide the scaffolding essential for them to flourish.
Improving outcomes for children does not require a single new program or initiative. It requires a shift in how we see — and respond to — children every day. By recognizing language as a foundational indicator of well-being, by prioritizing engagement, and by implementing developmentally attuned and responsive environments and practices, we can create conditions where all children have the opportunity to connect, communicate, and succeed.
“A child’s language is one of the earliest signals of well-being. When we learn to notice it and respond to it, we don’t just support development, we change outcomes,” said Dr. Garry McGiboney, executive director of Government and Education Programs at Sharecare.
Because when we notice — and respond by meeting a child’s needs — we don’t just support language development; we change life trajectories.
To learn more about the Language as a Missing Link toolkit and approach, check out this brief introductory video.