Category: blog

    Here are some signs of hearing loss in very young children: Does not alert to sounds (birth-3 months) Pulls or grabs at ears Does not respond when you call their name (7-9 months) Does not follow simple instructions (13-18 months)   What to observe in an older child: Presence of speech and language delays  Academic difficulties Frequent requests for repetition Has social difficulties in school Consider discussing your concerns with your child’s pediatrician.  A referral to an audiologist may be needed.

Communicating with your child is a great joy, but what if you are finding it difficult?  Could it be that they have a language disorder?  How can you tell?   Signs of a Language Disorder: Lack of a smile or direct interaction with others (birth & older) No presence of babbling (4-6 months) Limited sound productions or use of gestures (7-9 months) Limited vocabulary (19 months-2 years) Not putting words together to make sentences (19 months-3 years) Not easily understood by others (3-4 years) Difficulties with early reading skills or acknowledging the front of a book (4-5 years)   What can a caregiver do: Interact with your child by listening & responding to them Engage in talk, reading, and play

It can be concerning when your child starts to repeat themselves, but not all repetitions are considered a stuttering or disfluency disorder.  Below are some of the identifiable signs of stuttering and what you can do if you see them in your child.   Signs: Repetitions of the initial sounds in words “f-f-f-f-an” for “fan” Stretching or elongation of the a sound “bbbbbbb-barn” for “barn” Difficulty getting words out as if the word is stuck in them (usually accompanied by frustration) Stuttering that occurs for greater than six months   What caregivers can do: Be patient and give your child the time & space to talk Avoid interrupting, stopping, or telling your child to slow down while the are speaking

    What is an ENT?   An ENT in a physician who specializes in diagnosing & treating conditions associated with the ears, nose, and throat.  Sometimes these physicians are also referred to as otolaryngologists.  Common conditions these doctors treat include: ear infections, voice difficulties, swallowing trouble, allergies, and issues with tonsils and adenoids.   When would a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) refer you to an ENT?   If a structural difference may be the causal factor for a clients speech & language disorder then a referral to an ENT is essential before an SLP can provide effective treatment.   Possible referral reasons: Hypernasality: when there is too much nasal airflow (sounds like one is talking through their nose) Hyponasality:

    Signs that your child may need a speech evaluation: Poor speech intelligibility due to numerous sound errors (children should be 100% intelligible by age 4) Drooling after age 2 Difficulty managing solid foods    What a caregiver can do:   Understand that your child will make pronunciation mistakes, they’re still learning Try to not correct your child’s errors, its most important that they keep talking and are confident  Contact us to schedule an assessment

  There is so much to enjoy during the fall season which also includes activities that may contain vocabulary your child doesn’t currently know such as “pumpkin”, “acorn”, and “hay”. Books are a great way to teach these new or less familiar concepts. 1. Read books about fall activities you are planning such as going to a pumpkin patch, leaf hunt, apple picking, etc. When you do these activities, reinforce the same vocabulary used in the books. 2. Repeat new vocabulary words in a variety of contexts (e.g., These pumpkins are big.  Wow, look at that pumpkin. Let’s pick a pumpkin.) 3. Talk to your child about the connection between the book and the activity you are planning to do (e.g., We are reading

  As the school year starts, the amount of time that families have to interact with their children will become less and less. Moreover, as the weather turns colder, obvious family centered outdoor activities will become harder to plan for. The natural tendency for screen time will increase as a way to unwind.  Children and parents alike will reach for the devices with greater frequency. Additionally, as technology has changed, screen time has moved further away from a shared experience at a fixed time and place to isolating experiences available all of the time with endless content available.    Research has uncovered and continues to uncover a slew of negative byproducts “increased” screen time has on the developing brain. From

Imitation is when someone mimics or copies actions, sounds, facial expressions or words. Before they start to really speak, babies will copy what they see and hear. Imitation is a stepping stone that leads to first words. When used appropriately, imitation will help children associate specific actions or tasks with words. To help your child learn imitation skills, try the following: -get face to face with your baby so you can direct their attention to your mouth/face -you can put an interesting toy by your face to help keep their attention -when you have your baby’s attention, make gestures or sounds and wait to see if they copy -be playful and animated, so your baby really pays attention to you

The benefits of reading to toddlers (over 12 months of age) is well known, but the benefits of reading to infants (birth to 12 months old) is less established. A recent research study conducted at Marshall University’s Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine showed that infants in families that reported always reading at least seven books per week scored higher on language testing at 9 months of age than infants in families that reported reading less than seven books weekly. The researchers suggest that committing to reading one book each day is an achievable goal for new families to try. They stress the importance of finding ways to educate parents on the impact regular reading can have on their infant’s

  How do children know that they are an important part of a conversation? How can we encourage a child to initiate a conversation? We can Observe, Wait, and Listen (OWL). Observe, Wait, and Listen are important strategies that parents, caregivers, and other communication partners can use to increase engagement, feedback, and allow for a child-lead communication environment.  Observe: During the Observe phase, parents, caregivers, or other communication partners are observing what the child is interested in (e.g., trucks, dinosaurs, slime) and looking for opportunities where the child may communicate. The child might initiate communication independently either through gestures, words, sounds or actions. However, the child might start an activity without stating what they are doing. Through the use of