-
5 Daily Routines to Support your 1-year-old’s Language Skills
I’ll just say it: speech therapy can be overwhelming. If it was a surprise when your child was referred for an evaluation or a surprise when therapy was actually recommended during that evaluation, it can be even more overwhelming. All of a sudden, you have not only committed to another weekly (or multiple times/week) obligation, but you are also most likely expected to participate, and responsible for implementing strategies/helping your little one practice at home. No pressure! Like many SLPs, I believe that part of being a speech therapist is not just working with the child, but also working with the parent (e.g., the patient’s parent). This can mean helping…
-
How do you know if your 1 Year Old Needs Speech or Language Therapy?
What should my 1-year-old be doing? Have questions about your child’s speech and language development? I’ve had several parents come in recently and tell me something along the lines of “I just didn’t know my child should be doing X by now until I saw what other kids their age were doing.” I have heard this from both first time parents and parents with multiple kiddos at home. Trust your gut, mama. We can say this about a lot of different areas, but it’s true. Usually if you have questions or an instinct, you have it for a reason! If you have questions about your child’s speech and language abilities…
-
How to Promote Babbling with your 6 Month Old
Should my baby be babbling at 6 months? 6 months may sound early, but between 6-7 months is actually when we typically do see babbling begin to emerge. There will still be a lot of silly sounds and vocal play, but don’t be surprised if those vowel sounds your baby is making start to have consonants in front of them! Babies typically produce reduplicated babbling first, which means that they begin to repeat syllables of one vowel + one consonant sound (Lanza & Flahive, 2008). Reduplicated babbling: /ma ma ma/ , /ba ba ba/ This is the type of babbling we would expect to see emerging around 6-7 months. Variegated…
-
4 Ways to Encourage Babbling
How exciting is it when your baby transitions from those sweet coos and goos to early babbling? This is where my almost 6-month-old is at, and I’m loving every second of it. Did you know that as a mama, there are several things you are probably already doing without even knowing it to help set those speech and language skills up for success? As an SLP, I’ve started paying attention to all of the things that I’ve been subconsciously using with my little guy at home to encourage his skills, specifically his babbling. Wondering when your child should start babbling or wondering if they’re late? Babies typically begin canonical (reduplicated)…
-
The Easiest Therapy Tool to Work on Speech and Language at Home
One of the easiest, no-prep, most versatile therapy tool I guarantee you have multiples of in your house right this second? BOOKS! I’m a big fan of using books in therapy and reading with my own little ones. They make regular appearances in most of my therapy sessions, no matter the diagnosis. The great thing is, you really don’t need a ton of books to target a variety of language goals (although if you have kids, let’s be real you probably have a ton of books). Shared reading, or engaging in an interactive experience while reading a book with your child, is a great way to encourage language growth and…
-
3 Ways Reading to Your Baby will Encourage their Language Skills
As a pediatric speech language pathologist, I have seen a lot of littles with speech and language delays. One of my favorite and most consistent suggestions for home practice I give to parents is reading with your child! Shared reading, (i.e., reading/looking at a book with your child) has many positive impacts on those little developing language skills. It is seriously never too early! Wondering what’s normal for your child’s age? Check out these literacy developmental milestones to get a better idea: 3-12 Months: -Chewing and patting books -Focusing on large and bright pictures -Sharing books with pictures 12 Months – 24 Months: -Recognizes books by their covers -Listens to…
-
5 Ways to Help You
Welcome to Just Another Speech Mom! I’m glad you’re here. This is designed to be a safe place that exists to help empower parents to improve their child’s speech and language skills. As a pediatric speech language pathologist, I have worked with so many kids a variety of ages who have been diagnosed with a speech or language delay. As a mom of littles, I naturally look for ways to encourage my kids’ speech and language skills at home and want to share what I’m doing with you! My passion is to help kids improve their communication abilities and to work with families to get everybody on the same page.…
