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You can help your child in Pre-K or Kindergarten get ready to read by building their phonological awareness. Phonological Awareness is the ability to recognize and work with speech sounds, syllables and rhymes. You can help your child notice and play with sounds, words and rhymes they hear in everyday speech. 1. Read, Read, Read: Good phonological awareness starts with your child noticing sounds, syllables and rhymes in words. Help your child listen for these by reading to them often. Choose books that rhyme or repeat the same sounds and point those words out to your child. Use this link for books that can help teach phonological awareness: Use Picture Books to Teach Phonological Awareness 2. Listen for Initial Sounds.

Improving your toddler’s attention span will help prepare them for future learning. Children need to develop their attention spans, ability to concentrate, self-regulation and other executive functioning skills so that they can develop emotionally, socially and academically. Parents may wonder what an appropriate attention span is for young children? The amount of time your youngster is able to focus will be fairly short right now, but will grow as they practice and gain stamina. In general, an average period of time young children can maintain focus on a task is about 2-3 minutes per year of their age. When working on your child’s attention, try to minimize sensory inputs and distractions by turning off screens, reducing background noise, or moving

  Interactive book reading is a highly effective strategy used by educators, caregivers, and speech therapists to engage children in the reading process and promote language development, comprehension, and literacy skills. Here’s how to conduct an interactive book reading session: Choose the Right Book: Select a book that is age-appropriate and aligns with the child’s interests and developmental level. Consider books with engaging illustrations, predictable patterns, and repetitive phrases that encourage participation. Before Reading: Set the stage by introducing the book’s title, author, and illustrator. Encourage the child to make predictions about the story based on the cover or title. Preview any new vocabulary words or concepts that may be encountered in the book. During Reading: Read the story aloud,

  A social story is a tool used primarily in special education and therapeutic settings to help individuals, particularly those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), understand social situations, expectations, routines, and appropriate behaviors. Developed by Carol Gray in the early 1990s, social stories are structured narratives that provide individuals with clear and concrete information about social interactions or events they may encounter. These stories typically include descriptive sentences, pictures, and sometimes simple language to convey the message effectively. Key features of a social story include: Objective: Social stories describe a specific social situation or behavior objectively, highlighting relevant details such as who, what, when, and where. Perspective Taking: Social stories often aim to encourage perspective-taking by helping individuals understand others’

Are you or someone you know interested in a career as a Speech Language Pathologist? Becoming an SLP typically requires a combination of education, clinical experience, and licensure. Here are the general requirements to become a speech therapist: Earn a Bachelor’s Degree: Begin by completing a bachelor’s degree program in communication sciences and disorders, speech-language pathology, linguistics, psychology, or a related field. Some undergraduate programs may offer specific coursework tailored to prerequisites for graduate-level speech-language pathology programs. Complete a Master’s Degree in Speech-Language Pathology: Graduates with a bachelor’s degree in a related field usually pursue a Master’s degree in speech-language pathology from an accredited program. These programs typically take two years to complete and include coursework in areas such as speech and

Reading is composed of two different concepts which include word recognition and comprehension. A breakdown in either one will lead to reading difficulties. Presently, there is no specific data connecting sound production to literacy skills; however, speech sound disorders can be an early warning sign for dyslexia. Dyslexia is a phonological processing disorder that is not curable, but it is treatable. Red flags for dyslexia in late preschool and early kindergarten include poor phonological awareness and poor speech sound production. Early screening is recommended so your child can have all the necessary services to be successful.

Speech therapy is a commitment that goes beyond an evaluation. It is not a one time fix and requires attendance, hard work, and consistency. Speech therapy requires a commitment of time, energy, and effort from both the family and child. With dedication to the process, speech therapy can provide growth in communication skills and promote a successful future. Parents and caregivers can support gains in speech therapy by first educating themselves on their child’s disorder and treatment options. Additionally, they can bring their child to treatment, celebrate and praise successes in speech, and support completion of homework/carryover assignments. Speech therapy is not an overnight fix, but if you stick with it, you will see results. It is important to be

Top 3 Ways to Encourage Language Development in Babies and Young Children May is National Speech-Language-Hearing Month and here are the top 3 things you can do to support and develop your young child’s speech and language skills: TALK Narrate what you are doing and what your child is doing. Use short sentences and keep language simple, but don’t use “baby talk”. You can engage your child with infant directed speech (parentese): try different pitches and tones of voice and be animated. Call objects by their correct names and do not mispronounce words. For examples of parentese, see the video below: How to Talk to With Your Baby When your child starts to talk, expand what they say by adding

  As the weather is getting nicer, you can use nature and outdoor activities to help build your child’s language skills. Take a walk around your neighborhood and talk about what you and your child see, hear, smell and touch. This can help develop their vocabulary and ability to describe things. You can use NOUNS like grass, flower, sky, cloud, tree, branch, and trunk and ADJECTIVES like soft, sticky, rough, smooth, noisy, sweet and stinky. If you have a yard, include your child in some simple gardening activities. Get some shovels, a bucket or a watering can and talk about ACTIONS as you dig, dump, pull, plant, bury, pour, etc. You can reinforce BASIC CONCEPTS like full, empty, more and

  Materials Needed: -Plastic eggs -Small pieces of paper -Basket to hold the eggs -Speech and language prompts or targets Setup: -Prepare speech and language prompts or targets based on the goals of your therapy session. These prompts could include vocabulary terms, articulation targets, sentence formulation prompts, WH- questions, describing objects, etc. -Write each prompt or target on a small piece of paper and fold it up. -Place one prompt or target inside each plastic egg and close it securely. -Hide the eggs around the therapy room or designated play area. How to Play: -Explain the rules of the game to the child or children participating in the therapy session. -Encourage them to search for the hidden eggs around the