The Hanen Centre™
The Hanen Centre™ is a not–for–profit, charitable organization that is dedicated to supporting professional, parents, caregivers and educators so they have the skills to promote the best possible language, social and literacy skills in young children. This includes children who have language delays/disorders, autistic children, and children who are developing typically.
Who Hanen Guidebooks Help
- Parents
- Professionals
- Students and Faculty
Parents
If you’re concerned about the child’s communication or social skills, or if you’re just looking for ways to give them the best possible start, we have research–based programs and resources to help.
All Hanen Programs which are offered by speech–language pathologists (SLPs) and resources for parents based on research that shows that young children learn to communicate best when they’re having enjoyable, extended interactions with their parents and other important people in their lives.
Hanen Guidebooks
Hanen guidebooks are easy–to–follow, practical resources designed specifically for parents of young children. Filled with practical examples, guiding checklists and full illustrations, these guidebooks show you how to build your child’s communication, social, or literacy skills during fun interactions and play.
Parent programs led by a Hanen Certified Professional (Speech–language pathologists (SLPs))
- It Takes Two to Talk Guidebook
- More Than Words Guidebook
- TalkAbility Guidebook
It Takes Two to Talk 5th Edition
For parents of young children with learning disabilities
What You’ll Learn
At an It Takes Two to Talk Program, You’ll learn how to:
- Recognize your child’s stage and style of communication so that, together with the speech–language pathologist, you can identify next steps and goals.
- Identify what motivates your child to communicate
- Use the strategy “Follow your child’s lead” to build their confidence and encourage them to communicate with you
- Adjust everyday routines to help your child take turns back and forth in interactions.
- Talk to your child in ways that help them understand language and then use it when they’re ready.
- Use the strategies when you play and read books with your child to help them interact and learn language.
More Than Words Guidebooks
For parents of young autistic children
What You’ll Learn
At an More Than Words Program, Parents and Caregivers learn how to:
- Use their knowledge about their child’s strengths to set appropriate and realistic goals.
- Identify and include their child’s sensory preferences in fun engaging activities
- How child led play leads to fun back–and–forth interactions
- Turn everyday activities into opportunities to support their child’s communication
- Help their child understand what you say
- Join in on their child’s favorite things to do and help them develop their communication skills while having fun together.
TalkAbility Guidebook
For parents of autistic children (age 4 to 8)
What You’ll Learn
At the TalkAbility Program, you learn practical strategies you can easily build into early day routines and interactions to:
- Encourage longer, more meaning conversations.
- Help your child notice and understand the social messages people send non–verbally
- Understand your child’s perspective and help them understand the perspectives of others
- Foster your child’s friendship skills
- Expand your child’s play skills.
Professionals
If you work with young children, you know that effectively engaging and supporting their parents and caregivers is key to achieving the greatest impact. At the Hanen Centre, we specialize in supporting you to collaborate with and coach parents and educators so they can facilitate the best possible social, language and literacy skills in young children.
Professional programs
If you work with children in a early childhood setting, our Teacher Talk training (based on the Learning Language and Loving It Program) will equip you with key interaction and language–building strategies for nurturing the best possible language, social and literacy skills for all children.
If you train or consult to educators, the Learning Language and Loving It workshop gives you the option to lead Teacher Talk for educators.
Learning Language and Loving it Guidebook
Educator
What You’ll Learn
Learning Language and Loving It offers concreate strategies for helping educators:
- Promote every child’s language, social and literacy skills using natural everyday activities, interactions and play.
- Support the inclusion of children who are often left out of interactions
- Become attuned to children who are often left out of interactions
- Become attuned to children’s interests so they can follow their lead, which is known to foster language development
- Adjust the way they talked to help children develop more advanced language skills
- Promote peer interaction for all children
- Facilitate Language learning in pretend play.
The guidebook offers three equally important kinds of strategies for ensuring the best possible learning opportunities for all children:
- Child–oriented strategies – These strategies encourage children to initiate and engage in conversational interactions so that educators can respond in ways that encourage the child’s continued engagement in the interaction.
- Interaction–promoting strategies – These strategies encourage extended individual and group conversations between adults and children.
- Language–modelling strategies – These strategies expand the child’s oral language skills and facilitate the development of decontextualized (or abstract) language.
Highlights
- Checklists and guidance to identify children’s stages and styles of communication.
- Observation Guides to help educators use the information they learned from each chapter to become more aware of individual children’s needs and abilities.
- Concrete, easy–to–follow guidance for building children’s social, language and literacy skills during everyday interactions and play.
- Illustrated examples of educators using the strategies with variety of children.
- Print and e–Book formats available.
- Kevin Twomey
- Dec 1, 2025