When supporting pronunciation and sound imitation at home, where do I start?

Before speech begins, start by exchanging voices and songs from a position where your face is naturally visible, waiting for and imitating your child's expressions, gestures, and vocalizations. Once babbling and sound imitation appear, slowly show short syllables like "ma" and "pa" within play. At the stage when meaningful words emerge, briefly model the words your child uses often, receiving their close-enough pronunciations while giving back a correct model. For specific pronunciation practice, have a speech-language pathologist evaluate the error patterns first, then progress as needed through single sounds, syllables, words, sentences, and conversation. Songs, rhythm, and watching the mouth can help, but don't force eye gaze or precise repetition. At every stage, protect the experience of "getting your message across," and also use gestures, signs, pictures, letters, and AAC.