Category: blog

  Developing intelligible speech is not so easy. It means that your child has to correctly produce enough sounds to be understood. So what could be causing your child’s difficulty in producing intelligible speech? There can be several causes. It may be because he hasn’t learned the correct placement or manner of production for certain sounds. It could be because he is only able to inconsistently produce the sounds he has mastered. It is also possible that your child’s speech is difficult to understand because of structural problems or oral weakness. The role of a speech pathologist is to evaluate why your child’s speech is difficult to understand.  Finding the underlying cause/s for your child’s reduced speech intelligibility is essential to correctly treating the condition.

It is common for infants to drool.  Although less common in the very young child, mild drooling is still considered normal.  Drooling in infants and children to age 2 is generally due to an immature neurological system and or teething.  Over the age of 2, drooling is no longer considered typical and further assessment is warranted. After age 2, drooling is less socially accepted.  If there is no direct medical cause, drooling may be secondary to the poor development of oral motor skill and or strength of the muscles of the head and trunk.  This lack of development can lead to difficulty managing saliva.  Chronic droolers may show minimal or reduced awareness of saliva loss. When to seek help: Does

Asperger’s Are Us is a new documentary film that looks at the lives and comedy sketch troupe of 4 young men who have Asperger syndrome. Check it out on Netflix!

Ford Motor Company has just expanded their hiring initiative for people with autism. FordInclusiveWorks is a program that provides individuals with autism work experience and the possibility of competitive employment.  This program is in partnership with The Autism Alliance of Michigan.  

Winter vacations can be a great time to spend time together as a family.  They are also full of opportunities to grow vocabulary and language!  We all have phones that take pictures now.  When you are out and about during winter vacation, be sure to snap some shots of the places you go and things that you do.  These can be used to retell events using sequencing and event specific vocabulary.  Don’t forget to take pictures of relatives that you visit – these are great for WH question practice!  Who did we see? Where do they live? When were we there? Print your pictures and glue them into books so that you can use them over and over, retelling events and solidifying vocabulary retention.

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological condition caused by recurring seizures impacting three million people in the United States. It’s slightly under the population of Chicago. While you’re are exploring the streets of Chicago, a stranger, a family member, or friend may have been affected by seizures. A seizure is caused by neurological sparks in the brain. Imagine flashes of lightning on a stormy day or confetti bursting at a New Year’s Eve celebration to some this may be a way to describe Epilepsy. In order to diagnose and treat seizures, a neurologist may recommend an EEG or MRI to determine the best treatment method. This can often can be a long and daunting experience for a family to undergo. Explaining

As students enter middle school, high school, and beyond giving presentations is a crucial part of the learning process.  For some, this can provoke speech anxiety. They are told to practice multiple times in front of a family member to ease their public speaking jitters. An article by the New York Times offers other alternatives to practicing public speaking skills, such as speaking in front of a furry creature or using a virtual app. To learn more about this topic check out the link below. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/07/education/edlife/how-to-give-a-better-speech-talk-to-a-dog.html?_r=0  

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have recently conducted a study examining the affects of background noise such as TV, radio, and people talking on early language learning in toddlers. Three studies were performed overall, with the first two only differing in the age ranges among participants. The first two experiments examined the toddlers’ abilities to recognize unfamiliar objects that were labeled after they were presented sentences containing the novel words. They concluded that only the children who were given the sentence in a quiet environment were able to learn the novel words. In the third and final experiment, the toddlers were read aloud a sentence containing two new words without background noise. They were then exposed to the same

Wondering what to do for fun this fall?  Check out Chicago Kids.  From Apple picking to trail riding it’s all here!  Sign up for a free membership and use their convenient online planner so you won’t miss a thing!

Looking for some fun back to school events/activities?  Eventbrite has a great list of kid related fun!  Check it out!