Speech & Language
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4 Tips for Using Books to Teach your Toddler Fall Vocabulary
Happy fall, friends! There truly are so many wonderful things about this season. Sweater weather, football, coffee, pumpkin patches…you name it. Every year in my speech room, we do a lot of fall themed activities, books, and games (think: apples, leaves, pumpkins, Halloween, harvest, Thanksgiving, etc.) What’s not to love? This fall, I’ve been really looking forward to doing all the fun fall things with our 17-month-old, who is so much more cognizant of the world around him than he was last fall. We are planning a trip (or multiple trips) to the pumpkin patch, decking our front porch with mums, going on leaf hunts, planning themed Halloween costumes…you get…
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5 Tips for Practicing Speech and Language Therapy at Home
Let’s be real, finding time for practicing can be hard. Do you have a child in speech or language therapy? If you suspected/were told by your pediatrician that they needed it, there’s probably some relief in knowing that they are now in a place that will allow them to get the extra support they need. We want our kids to be confident communicators! This will look different depending on your child’s needs. Maybe they’re not talking, maybe they are talking but are really hard to understand, or maybe they have difficulty understanding what is being said to them. One thing that parents who are new to the world of therapy…
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Hudson’s First Amazon Christmas List
How is it already that time of the year again? And how on earth is my tiny little newborn baby now 7 months and getting ready to celebrate his first Christmas? Over the past year, I’ve been making a mental list of my favorite toys that I’ve used in therapy with littles that I wanted put on my own little guy’s first Christmas list. I have a lot of patients on my caseload who are 3 and under. What do I go for when they come into my room? And more importantly, what do they go for when they come into my room? With kids this little, I think it’s…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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.…
