Author: Elizabeth Novak-Czech MA CCC SLP

  Most children develop the skill of answering yes/no questions around 18-24 months of age. Some children may be delayed in developing this skill. Here are three tips to help your child: Begin with nodding head for yes and shaking head for no. Your child may not be ready to verbalize the words ‘yes’ or ‘no’, and may be more comfortable using the gesture. Make it a fun game. For example, grab an object such as an apple and say, “Is this a bird?” “No.” “Is this a grape?” “No”. “Is this an apple?” “Yes.” Use a visual. For example, a green check mark could represent ‘yes’ and a red letter ‘X’ could represent ‘no’.

  Typically, there are eight phases that must occur before your child will talk. These phases center around the importance of targeting the pre-linguistic skill of imitation. It is important to remember that imitation is a core skill that must begin before your child develops linguistic skills. Phase 1: Imitation of Actions with Objects (e.g., child imitates you stacking blocks) Phase 2: Imitation of Communication Gestures (e.g., child imitates finger movements while singing “Itsy Bitsy Spider”) Phase 3: Imitation of Non-verbal Actions with Face/Mouth (e.g., puckering lips to blow a kiss) Phase 4: Imitation of Vocal Movements (eg., pretending to growl like a dog) Phase 5: Imitation of Exclamatory Words (e.g., child imitates “wow” or “uh oh”) Phase 6: Imitation of

  Yes! Children who have language delays have the capacity to learn more than one language, especially when they are very young. Research has shown that bilingualism does NOT cause a language delay or disorder. Some children who are exposed to more than one language may experience a “silent period,” in which they demonstrate limited verbal communication as they spend time observing and listening to the sounds and structures of the second language. The “silent period” can occur from approximately one month to six months, depending on various factors such as the child’s exposure to each language or his/her age; However, it is important to note that the presence of a “silent period” does not indicate a language delay or

  With all of the holidays involving meals and food, now is the perfect time to invite your child into the kitchen and have them help with cooking. Cooking provides many opportunities for learning and skill development including: Following directions – model them, practice them, and enjoy the benefits of having their tasty food they made as a direct result of following the recipe. Reading skills – a chance to learn and practice reading about something new and exciting in a fun environment using the recipes and labels. Math and measuring – learning about various units of measurements and fractions, while using measuring cups and spoons to make a recipe. Descriptive language – use vocabulary to describe the different senses of smell,

Although there are many types of visual schedules, they all typically contain images, symbols, photos and/or words to help communicate a task or activity. Depending on your child’s age and specific needs, their visual schedule may contain activities by the minute, hour, day, or week. For example, if your child requires more structure, they may use a visual schedule that uses “first, next, then” language to communicate activities for the next few minutes. If your child requires less structure with their daily activities, their visual schedule may list tasks for the entire day. Visual schedules are a powerful tool that can help kids perform complex tasks, organize their day, or follow a routine. Benefits include providing structure and predictability and supporting independence. Here are

  Do you stutter? Or is your speech considered difficult to understand? If so and you are at least 18-years-old, Project Euphonia needs you! Please consider recording a set of phrases for Google to help it recognize different types of speech. Thanks to The Stuttering Foundation for calling attention to this project. To learn more, visit: https://sites.research.google/euphonia/about/ —

Broadway in Chicago is offering a sensory friendly performance of The Lion King on January 7th, 2023. Traditional rules of a theater will no longer apply allowing audience members to stand, move around as needed, and make noise during the performance. Additionally, the theater will be leaving some lights turned on within the theater and lowering the sound levels during the show. Specific quiet areas will be established and volunteers and professionals will be in attendance. For further information please see https://www.broadwayinchicago.com/sensoryfriendly/.

Open mouth breathing can effect your child’s health, clarity of speech, and oral-structural development. Oral-Structural Development For closed-mouth breathers, our tongue rests up against our hard palate, which helps to maintain its flat shape. Open-mouth breathers’ tongues rest in the lower jaw. When the tongue does not rest on the hard palate, the palate tends to grow high and narrow, which could impinge on the nasal cavity. Health When we breathe through our mouths,  we do not have as strong of natural air filters as we do in our nostrils. The main function of our tonsils is to trap bacteria and viruses; however, after a prolonged period of open-mouth breathing, our tonsils tend to get enlarged and swollen from being

Parents tend to say “no” much more often throughout the day than “yes”. And it can be exhausting. Telling your children “no” and “stop” all the time is not only hard on you, but it is discouraging for your children to constantly hear what they are doing is wrong. Furthermore, saying “stop” or “no” doesn’t give them enough information. It leaves them to wonder what they should stop doing. Some would argue that you can simply expand your wording to include what your children should not be doing, for instance, “Stop standing on the couch”. However, using negative language is much harder for a child to understand. When we say, “Stop standing on the couch,” the child first has to

When you say, “Time to do your speech homework,” do your kids hide under the kitchen table? Offer to do chores instead? Homework, or home practice, in speech therapy for articulation can be enjoyable. Home practice can be so much more than flashcard drills. These are ideas for practicing sounds: Before you get started: Know your child’s current therapy goals. Pick a sound (like /r/, /s/, /l/) or a group of sounds (velars, /k,g/). If you are not sure, contact your SLP for a therapy update. Use the picture cards and practice pages your therapist has sent home or make your own simple cards. Ways to play: Cut apart the picture cards. Hide them around a dark room. Turn off