Speech Zone

Speech Zone is closed Thursday, December 17 for in person sessions. Virtual sessions are available today. Call the office to reschedule your in person session. Stay warm

One of the most asked questions I get- how do I know if my child is a late talker? A late talker is a child who is acquiring speech & expressive language milestones in a delayed manner but in the correct developmental sequence in the absence of delays in receptive language skills, play skills, motor skills, social skills & cognitive skills. Is this information helpful? Leave any questions in the comments below!

Working hard on that S sound during teletherapy Lateral lisps are a type of speech sound error in which air escapes the sides of the mouth instead of out the front, resulting in slushy speech. Lateral lisps are never considered developmentally appropriate & are sometimes indicative of a myofunctional disorder, so reach out to an SLP if concerned. Fixing a lateral lisp requires... high number of target word practice to habituate muscle motor movement of the tongue specific feedback to help retrain auditory & motor pathways lots of quick, fun games See more

Many parents with young children come in with concerns that their child is not talking. A thorough evaluation will help determine WHY their child is not yet using speech, but speech (spoken language) is only ONE way to access language (a system of words, symbols & gestures). Sometimes in order to increase speech, we have to target other modes of communication first including: - gestures / baby sign - facial expressions... - picture exchange - tone of voice / intonation Early language intervention should always incorporate all aspects of communication, not just speech. Access to more than one modality of communication has been proven to increase speech attempts so parents ... please know that learning to talk is a process & initially increasing language or other nonspeech communication attempts is working towards increasing speech.

Happy Thanksgiving! Thankful for Speech Zone families, for all of you that follow along, and to be able to do what I love. Wishing everyone a happy & safe day.

Books at this age should be engaging & interactive. Look for books that: - can be manipulated, like pop up books, touch & feel books etc. This will help orient a child to attend to that book by giving them something to do. - are simple. Label objects to promote vocabulary development. - have repetitive, predictable language. ... While reading: - label objects in books to help promote vocabulary development. - pair gestures (pointing, clapping, waving etc.) with sounds to facilitate vocalizations. Read often! Routines like book sharing have incredible benefits for pre literacy, language & socialization development. Toys should be exploratory & have some element of cause & effect, which is an important step in language development. A child’s desire to communicate comes from the knowledge that their actions or words cause a change. There are plenty of everyday objects that can be used for cause & effect, like salad spinners, musical instruments (or pots/pans & spoons) knocking things down etc. Talk about what your child is doing during play (wow, you picked up the circle. you're putting it in! what shape will you choose next?)

When children present with multiple speech sound errors and are highly unintelligible, it's vital to figure out the cause of the speech sound errors in order to successfully improve their speech. When assessingchildren with highly unintelligible speech, we're looking to see if patterns of errors occur across sentences OR sound errors occur in all contexts. - If patterns of errors are present, the cause is most likely a phonological delay and needs to be treated at the l...inguistic level. - In the absence of these predictable patterns of errors, we look at the structure of the mouth to see if there are any myofunctional or motor weaknesses contributing to these sound errors. If so, we treat at the muscular level. - It is possible that both phonological and articulatory errors can be present. Evaluation is key to successfully diagnosing & treating speech sound disorders.

Jargoning refers to strings of sounds or babbling that children use that sound like real sentences but are not understood by others. It differs from babbling because it involves adult like stress & intonation. It’s an important pre-linguistic transitional step from babbling to using meaningful, consistent & intelligible single words. When does jargon go away? Usually by 24 months, we start to see the transition from jargoning to intelligible 1-2 word utterances to commu...nicate. A 2 year old should be understood ~50% of the time so if your child is unintelligible more than half of the time, seek out an SLP. What can I do at home to help reduce jargoning? Try picking out any words you can from the strings of jargon said & model the words back to your toddler & expand on the thought. Chances are you understand the gist of what your child is saying & can show them you hear them & their message is important. If your child if getting increasingly frustrated at not being understood, seek out an SLP.

Books should be engaging & interactive. Look for books that: - feature well-known children's songs or rhymes (twinkle twinkle, itsy bitsy spider). This helps encourage vocalization & word approximations. When reading with your little one:... - use sentence completion (the wheels on the...). This facilitates listening to & using predictable language. - talk about objects in the books beyond just labeling. - avoid only asking questions like "what is that?" Introduce other concepts & functions (oooh an apple! apples are crunchy. I like to eat apples. they're yummy!) Read often! Routines like book sharing have incredible benefits for pre literacy, language & socialization development. Toys & objects should be exploratory & encourage functional play, which focuses on the physical characteristics of objects. Think rolling a ball, stacking blocks, putting an object through something. The simple repetitive activities that are common during functional play builds pre-literacy, motor, and thinking skills. Look for toys or objects that start to introduce an element of problem solving or figuring out new ways to use objects.

Allllllll the visualcues Using our favorite @bjoremspeech cards with a mirror while working on our SM sound to really see how we use our mouth to make these sounds. Don’t underestimate the powerof using a mirror and/or simply directing your child’s attention to your when working on speech sounds. Free tools that can be done at home

#fall favorites

Midday spot check...You’re welcome Proper tongue posture rest is not only important to promote correct speech productions, it’s also the foundation for breathing, palate formation, dentition development, nasal hygiene, sleep, feeding, & swallowing. Quick, is your tongue in the spot??

Some AAC myth bustersin honor of #aacawarenessmonth: 1. Using an augmentative&alternative communication device won’t facilitate verbal communication...WRONG! using AAC supplements other modes of communication (verbalizations, gestures, facial expressions & more) and all modes should be encouraged, received and praised. Not only is her verbal attempts encouraged, approximations were improved using gestural PROMPTs 2. Only use words on AAC that the child can use independ...ently...WRONG! Modeling language is SO powerful. Modeling without expectation shows all the possibilities of language for the child and elicits real, spontaneous results. 3. AAC should only be used for academic purposes...WRONG. AAC should be relevant & accessible always! Using AAC devices should be communicative in nature so practice using it out & about naturally in conversation & play. See more

yes yes yes Happy Friday!

A little late but our here’s our favorite #backtoschool books for speech & language development. And to sharing books from our actual bookshelf, in person

As parents, you are constantly making sure your child hits developmental milestones, especially regarding speech, language, motor, attention & social development. But what happens if you feel like your child isn’t hitting those milestones? Most pediatricians and SLPs used to recommend a wait and see approach. The problem with that is that if there is a delay, the longer you wait to evaluate or intervene, the larger the gap becomes between what your child is doing and what at ...your child should be doing. Research shows the earlier you intervene, the better the results. There really is no harm in seeking out professional opinions, even if just for peace of mind. Two things can happen: 1 your child doesn’t need services 2 your child could benefit from services & you’ll be helping your child reach their full potential with the appropriate services in place

Happy to be back

Concerned about your child’s speech development? We’re here to help! Call the office today to learn more about how your little one can benefit from speech therapy