Category: blog

Our team member Holly and her son love to read together! Here are some of their favorites along with some language enrichment ideas! My son has been so into a book entitled Mail Duck.  This adorable story is about a postal service duck who delivers mail to his friends.  The story has great rhymes and shapes and colors you can highlight with your child as you read.  Also a bonus it has lift flaps!  What kid doesn’t love that!  Mail Duck is written and illustrated by Erica Sirotich Another great book – Moon (a peek a through book) by Britta Teckentrup is a book that highlights the phases of the moon and its influence of various animals.  The book contains

  Often, when we think about play-based therapy activities, we associate them with young children. However, Claudia Doan writes an insightful article on how play-based approaches can be highly beneficial for older students, providing valuable opportunities for learning. While many older students are typically interested in video games and sports, Doan discusses how engaging in playful activities can enhance motivation, participation, and the generalization of skills.  In my own experience, I’ve observed how these activities foster friendly competition between the therapist and the student. The article highlights some excellent examples of dramatic, constructive, and exploratory play. Below are a few session ideas that I have brainstormed and worked with in the past: Session Ideas: Dramatic Play: Game Show (e.g., Jeopardy) Targets:

Winter is finally here, which means beautiful snowy days, building snowmen, and — of course — warm cups of hot chocolate! This few-second self-regulation activity brings up the image of a warm cup of hot chocolate and is a quick way to send oxygen to the frontal lobe, helping us parents and our children create a sense of calm and focus. 1. Cup your hands together, as though you are holding a mug of delicious hot chocolate. 2. Bring the “cup” to your nose and breathe in deeply, as though you are smelling the “hot chocolate.” 3. Blow out through pursed lips, as though to cool off your hot chocolate to make it ready for sipping. Repeat this for 3-5

The New Year is a great time to teach kids the value of goal setting. It’s a chance to practice and build skills such as planning, persistence, and self-reflection while boosting their confidence. Tips for Goal-Setting with Kids: Explain Goals Simply Discuss what goals are and why they’re important. Keep Goals Age-Appropriate Tailor goals to your child’s age. Younger kids can aim for simple goals, like reading a new book, while older kids can tackle longer-term objectives. Write It Down Have kids write their goals, draw their goals, or create a vision board. Celebrate Progress Acknowledge milestones to keep them motivated, whether through words of encouragement or small rewards. Stay Flexible Help kids adapt their goals if needed. Flexibility is a valuable skill for overcoming challenges.

Parenting is one of the most challenging, even if rewarding, endeavors a person can undertake. Parenting a child with special needs brings its own unique demands. This is why practicing self-care is crucial to prevent burnout. And when I say “practicing,” that is exactly what it is — an intentional daily practice. Here is a few examples of ways parents can “care” for themselves so they can be the best and healthiest person (and parent): – Connect: connect with family, friends, or other support networks on a regular basis (even if it’s just a short phone call, text, or a quick coffee date or walk) – Take care of your body: eat healthy food, exercise, get as much rest/sleep as

Valentine’s Day is an excellent opportunity to engage children in interactive language activities. These activities encourage kids to express themselves, expand their vocabulary, and strengthen their communication skills.  1. Valentine’s Vocabulary Hunt Create a word scavenger hunt with a Valentine’s Day twist! Write Valentine-themed words like “love,” “heart,” “friendship,” and “kindness” on small cards, and hide them around the room. Provide kids with a checklist and challenge them to find and talk about what each word means. 2. Love Letter Writing Encourage kids to write letters to someone they care about. It could be a family member, friend, teacher, or even a pet! Provide paper, stickers, and markers to make their letters extra special. For younger children, provide sentence starters

Dinner time is a special moment for children, adults, and especially families. It provides an opportunity to connect, share stories about the day, and enjoy each other’s company. While mealtime may look different for every family, there are universal ways to promote communication in the kitchen. This month, The ASHA Leader published an article showcasing how an SLP uses culinary instruction to help children build vocabulary, problem-solving abilities, and language skills. This post aims to provide families with practical strategies to promote expressive, receptive, and pragmatic language skills at home. Strategies to Enhance Communication in the Kitchen: Descriptive Language: Encourage children to engage all their senses when describing ingredients. Ask them to talk about the appearance, texture, smell, and taste

Do you yearn for your child to be more independent with everyday tasks of living? Teaching your child strategies to further develop their self-management skills will foster independence and help him/her build confidence and responsibility. Here are strategies that will teach your child the importance of managing their tasks, emotions, and time: Modeling Self-Management: Parents can model self-regulation by managing their own tasks, emotions, and time in a consistent manner Following Routines: Establishing routines and expectations helps children understand what is required of them and it creates structure for the child Teaching Problem-Solving: Encouraging children to make decisions and solve problems on their own helps them develop critical thinking skills and independence Practicing: Giving your kids age-appropriate tasks (making a

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being used in new and exciting ways that are reaching the average person in a more personal way, now more than ever before. As such, it is not surprising that AI has begun to be used within the practice of speech and language pathology as well. Below are listed just some of the few ways that we will begin to see its use within our field. As practitioners it is our goal to use this technology for efficiency and to assist in accuracy. However, each therapist will have to be mindful that it is not a replacement for sound clinical judgement. Caregivers, clients, and therapists will have to partner together to make use of these new

  The Holiday Season offers our children a lot of wonderful opportunities to experience rich and meaningful language stimulation and even the possibilities of more time as a family to concentrate on spending quality time and engagement. However, for many families who have a child or children with communication challenges, there frequently can be unforeseen challenges as their routines can alter quite dramatically.  This is especially true for a large number of children who often struggle with coexisting executive functioning challenges.    Many children with communication disorders also have overlapping Autism Spectrum Disorder or ADHD, or may struggle with sensory overload. For these individuals, large crowds, loud sounds, and unfamiliar environments are difficult to manage and are overwhelming. These are