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Children begin to develop skills through imitation in infancy. A research review, Leford & Windsor, 2020, outlines current intervention research for increasing imitation in children with disabilities. The research recommended the following:-Include support and rewards for planned, systematic, and frequent instruction and practice.-Start young and teach imitation to toddlers.-The instruction and practice should be based on functional learning and individualized goals.-Practice and teach imitation activities in different environments such as home, school, out in the community, etc. Here are some examples of imitation activities and games you can play with your child:-Encourage imitation in daily routines such as turning off the lights, filling the dog’s bowls with water and food, and cleaning the kitchen counter.-Play Simon Says or Follow the

What is a “Late Talker”?  This is a toddler who is late to start using words, but has typical development in other areas. These late talking children understand much of what is said to them, have good play skills and interact well socially.  Despite these typical skills, their expressive vocabulary is limited compared to other children their age. How do we decide if your late talking child needs some help?  Here’s what we know: —Certain factors make it more likely that a child will experience ongoing issues. If your Late Talker doesn’t use many sounds or gestures, or has difficulty understanding language,  they are at greater risk of having language delays that persist. —Family history can play a role.  Late

Drawing outside is a great way to get outside and enjoy the sunshine while also practicing speech and language skills. Go outside and draw with chalk on the driveway or sidewalk. Talk about the colors you’re using, the size of the chalk (big/small) or how the chalk feels on your hands (filmy/dusty). Draw a rainbow and describe all the colors you chose to use for the rainbow. Trace your child’s hand or outline their body and let them add colorful decorations.  Draw a hopscotch board.  Practice writing letters/numbers.   Play hangman.  The options with chalk are limitless.  Just remember to have fun and enjoy! You can encourage the following concepts with this activity:-Verbs: draw, color, make-Adjectives: colors, shapes, dirty/clean, small/big-Word Combinations:

Has your child’s Speech-language Pathologist used the term Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) before and you weren’t sure what they were talking about? CAS is a speech disorder that can appear like a variety of different speech sound disorders, which means differential diagnosis is a very important first step in the initiation of treatment. Some characteristics your speech-language pathologist may look for in order to accurately diagnose CAS are the following:  -A limited consonant and vowel repertoire. -Minimal variation between different vowel sounds. -Vowel errors and distortions. -Inconsistent errors and idiosyncratic error patterns. -Reduced rate or accuracy with diadochokinetic tasks. -Oral groping behaviors. -Prosodic differences (reduced rate, excess or equal stress, “choppy” words and syllables, monotone speech). -Increased errors with

Literacy is defined as the ability to read, write and understand language and text. Emergent literacy regards the precursor skills necessary for formal literacy training. Skills such as book orientation and handling, directionality of print (left to right,) comprehension that books contain stories which remain consistent every time they are read, print corresponds to pictures on the page and early sequencing (i.e., there is a beginning, middle and end to stories) all contribute to early literacy. A child’s exposure to literacy before entering formal schooling is imperative. Research has shown that the birth-to-three developmental period is crucial to developing oral language skills and a foundation for literacy. In fact, researchers have found that the age at which parents/caregivers begin reading

According to Fox 32 Chicago, researchers surveyed the concept of ‘parent burnout’ across the globe and found that American parents were among some of the most exhausted. The study also found that identifying with a “westernized culture” played a large role in a person’s perception of burn out. Researchers described the concept of ‘burnout’ as including perceptions of emotional exhaustion, lack of self care, loss of pleasure in parenting, as well as emotional distancing from children. Participants in the United States, Belgium, and Poland had the highest reports of parent burnout with parents in Thailand, Asia, and South America reporting the lowest levels. ‘Parent Burnout’ is reported to be more common within cohorts of younger parents, parents who live in

A recent article published in the New York Times eluded to the long running debate regarding the true benefits of preschool.  Systemic socioeconomic variations prove to be a large indicator of children’s readiness for learning given the quality of their preschool education. For instance, a study showed that children who attended federally supported Head Start programming presented with more solidified math and reading skills in early elementary years, but presented with fading academic gains beyond primary school compared to their peers who attended privatized preschools. President Biden has recently stated that in his administration, his intention is to make preschool universally accessible to narrow the divide between children of different socioeconomic backgrounds. Aside from test score measures, children who attend

Verbs are an important part of a child’s early language development. Learning verbs is beneficial for building syntax (the rules of word order and word combinations to form phrases and sentences.) For example, if a child has 10 words in their repertoire, all of which are nouns, there’s a limited amount of communication that can occur. However, if the repertoire is expanded to include verbs, a child can begin to combine words and begin utilizing simple sentences (e.g., ‘eat cookie, hit ball, go car.’) Books are just one way to promote verb learning. Listed below are a few examples of books that utilize a repetitive script with a lot of exposure to verbs. ‘The Hungry Caterpillar’ by Eric Carle: target

Parent involvement is a crucial component to speech and language intervention with toddlers. Your therapist may provide you with specific language strategies to utilize during daily routines or play activities at home. Parent coaching should include joint interactions with the clinician, the parent, and the child as well as opportunities to practice the techniques with clinician support. After the parent coaching session, it is often expected to try the strategies at home and discuss the outcomes at the following session.  Prior to returning for the following session, it is important to think about successes and challenges over the past week. Below are some questions to ask yourself in order to prepare for your next parent coaching session.  1. What moments

During the COVID pandemic in July of 2020, firework complaints in the city of Chicago increased by 700%. In the United States, total consumer sales of fireworks nearly doubled in 2020 in comparison to 2019. Firework injuries are most common in young children ages birth to four, with injuries most common to the face, ears, and head. Hearing protection is often overlooked during Fourth of July and other summer firework celebrations. Here are several ways to practice safe hearing methods while using or attending firework celebrations: Use hearing protection such as basic earplugs or protective headphones for very young children or those who are susceptible to sensory overload from loud, sudden noises Keep a safe distance from firework launch pads