Understanding How Children Learn Their First Verbs Watching your child learn to talk is one of the most exciting parts of parenting. You may hear your child use their first words around 10-16 months. These first words are typically nouns, such as mama, dada, doggy, and ball. Starting as early as 8 months of age,…
Why Sensory Regulation is Important for Language Development in Pediatric Therapy The Role of Sensory Regulation in Pediatric Therapy Sensory regulation is commonly a goal in occupational therapy, but it is also an important concept in speech-language therapy. Occupational therapy assists in the participation and function of “occupations” and daily activities. A child’s job is…
Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders (OMD) Ever wonder why your child drools? How about why your child’s teeth are crooked? Why your child isn’t able to say the “s,z,ch,r,” or “sh” sounds correctly? If you answered yes to one or all of the questions above, your child might have an orofacial myofunctional disorder. What is an orofacial…
Understanding Gestalt Language Processing Have you ever wondered why a child randomly starts repeating lines from a favorite show, book, or song? The child is most likely using delayed echolalia or gestalts to communicate a need or express excitement. The term gestalt means “whole”; a gestalt unit can be a “whole” sentence, song or story.…
Boosting Early Language Skills This May, we celebrate National Speech-Language-Hearing Month, raising awareness about communication disorders and the role of pediatric speech language pathologists in providing life-altering treatment. Did you know by the age of two, the average child can say between 200-300 words? If your little one has not reached this milestone, try these…
Using Indirect Treatment to Overcome Preschool Stuttering Indirect treatment is an approach that focuses on teaching the family strategies to enhance fluency through environmental modifications. It involves making changes in the environment rather than making any changes in the child’s speech. The message is always that stuttering is okay. Here are some suggestions on how…
The Negative Impact of Mouth Breathing by Michelle Slabach M.A. CCC-SLP, COM™ Is your child’s mouth open at rest? Does your child breathe through his/her mouth? Does your child drool? Hopefully, you said “no” to all of the above questions. Humans are supposed to be nose breathers. Breathing through our noses helps provide humidity to…
Signs Your Child May Need Speech Therapy As a child develops, we often find differences in how they are progressing their speech and language development. It is extremely important to remember that every child develops differently and at their own pace. In the first 3 years of a child’s life, we see the largest growth…
What is Pediatric Speech Therapy? Pediatric speech therapy focuses on evaluating and treating children with communication challenges, including speech, language, social communication, and feeding/swallowing disorders. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) work with children from infancy through adolescence, addressing issues such as delayed speech, articulation disorders, stuttering, voice disorders, and difficulties with understanding or using language. Additionally, SLPs…
What is a Healthy Amount of Media Use for Your Child? Media, including TV, computers, smartphones, tablets and video games, can affect how your children learn, feel, think, and behave. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) encourages you to help your children develop healthy media use habits. “Nudges” to consider that help with healthy media…
