Author: Wee Speech PC

Trying to implement a steady routine during quarantine can be extremely difficult, especially with transitions to working from home and e-learning. Consider making your child a visual schedule to help facilitate some structure in their everyday routines. Including your child in this process can give them some autonomy over their schedule as well! Try to outline their scheduled activities (e-learning, therapies, etc.) and fill in dedicated break times that they can choose from (consider varying screen time with physical activity and imaginative play!). You can also consider having your child increase their responsibilities around the house and including those responsibilities on the schedule. Helping your child to consistently follow their schedule can help them feel successful during this difficult time!

Research shows that verb knowledge is a necessary prerequisite for generating sentence structures of increasing length and complexity. It is suggested that children with language disorders traditionally show greater challenge in learning verb forms and understanding the concept of verb tense-referring to when an action has occurred. Research suggests that by 2 years of age, children should begin acquiring a number of early-learned verb forms in their functional vocabulary to guide in their overall development of language. Resources from The Hanen Center suggest there are high-frequency, concrete verb forms that are most commonly and most easily understood by children as they develop language. These verb forms include: bite, blow, break, bring, bump, clean, close, cry, dance, draw, drink, drive, eat,

Toy Selection Parents often go to great lengths to find perfect toys which will be engaging and educational for their children. Research shows that it is less about the specific type of toy and more about how play is achieved with the toy that is most important. With cause-effect toys, children learn how simple/repetitive motion creates sound, movement, and sensory responses they generate through initiation (reaching, pushing, pulling, opening/closing.) Early on, cause effect toys help children understand the power they have with toys. Cause-effect toys help encourage manipulation of objects, hand-eye coordination, operational use, and play exploration as children observe how the toy works given its parts. Cause/effect toys are shown to encourage memory of play and joint attention skills

Does your child exhibit frequent “temper tantrums”? A recent study conducted by Northwestern University found that toddlers with reduced expressive language skills may be prone to more severe, frequent temper tantrums. “Late talkers” (children with less than 50 words by age 2) were found to have 1.96 times greater risk for severe tantrums compared to typical peers. If your child exhibits behavioral challenges, consider participating in a speech-language evaluation to assess their overall ability to express themselves during instances of heightened emotion. Please visit bit.ly/j-dev-psych for more information.

L Children need to be able to attend, focus and control their impulses throughout the day in order to learn. Studies have shown that children with ADHD are at higher risk for deficits in expressive, receptive, and social language as a result of ADHD-related symptoms. For parents and professionals working with children with ADHD, it is important to understand how diet could affect those symptoms.   A study of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder has identified a deficiency in levels of protein within the brain. The study looked at 14 boys, ages 6-12, and found almost 50 percent lower levels of an amino acid called tryptophan, a protein which aids in the production of dopamine, noradrenaline, and serotonin. This protein

Does your child answer you with one word or symbol answers?   If this is the case, then this blog post is for you! Let’s talk about a different approach you can try that does not require asking a lot of questions.   Have you ever heard of non-directive communication? Non-directive language is a treatment approach that is naturalistic, pressure-free, and parent-friendly. Non-directive language consists of comments, descriptions, and observations made by us (parents, teachers, speech-language pathologists, nannies).   Examples of non-directive language:   I see a ….. Wow you made a …. I like your….. I’m going to….. Yummy ice cream….. I feel….. It is….. You are silly   Directive language is the opposite of non-directive language. Directives put

Autism Speaks, Best Buddies, Special Olympics, and the Entertainment Industry Foundation have joined forces to create the Delivering Jobs campaign aimed at creating job opportunities for individuals with disabilities. This program will emphasize job preparation, support for employers, and advocacy for inclusion and equality. Additionally, this program utilizes an individual’s strengths, such as timeliness, creativity, loyalty, and motivation to increase their opportunities. Please visit deliveringjobs.org for more information on this incredible organization hoping to find a million people with autism and intellectual differences jobs by 2025!

Research confirms there to be three general parenting styles most commonly used in raising children. The style in which parents raise and interact with children is said to highly affect their development and functioning into adulthood. In the authoritarian parenting style, parents stress order and respect for authority capitalizing on positive reinforcement for desired behavior and utilizing negative reinforcement (e.g. discipline/punishment) for non-preferred behavior. Research suggests that this parenting style can encourage desirable behavior and academic success but can restrict children socially and emotionally. Children raised in an authoritarian style are more likely to suffer from anxiety. They are more likely to have difficulty separating from their parent’s control and influence as they get older, having difficulty in establishing their

Writing is an important part of later speech and language development. For educators, parents, and SLPS, creative writing is a wonderful tool to impact widespread speech and language development. Jim Cartwright, MS, CCC-SLP, makes an excellent argument for why creative writing activities help students with a variety of goals, both related to speech and language and beyond. This more open-ended approach to written expression can also promote a positive attitude about writing and help to bridge the gap between oral and written language. Creative writing can be used in the following ways to address speech and language goals: Speech: Have the child write their own books or poems with their target sounds featured in the initial, medial, and final position