Intraverbal means responding to the spoken (or signed) words of others without repeating exactly what the other person just said, as in a conversation.

For example, one might say to a friend, “What are you eating for lunch today?” And the friend replies “salad”; a teacher might say to a student, “Name an animal” and the student replies “cat”.

Intraverbals also can be as simple as filling in the blank of a nursery rhyme, such as when the teacher says “The eensy weensy…” (learner replies “spider”).

Intraverbals are an important part of early language development. You can practice intraverbals with your child by singing songs, reciting nursery rhymes, counting, telling stories, answering questions, and making a game of filling in the blanks of songs, rhymes, and counting.