KinderSpeak

As a kid, I loved spending hours outside on my driveway using chalk to draw, play games and practice writing messages. Chalk is an affordable therapy material that incorporates so many learning styles and goals! Therapy doesn’t have to be sitting to a table doing trail after trial to learn how to do something new or right. We can turn almost any activity into a goal in therapy. This is because we know that a child who is tuned in to an activity and having fun, is a child who is learning! Let’s meet them where they’re at.

Children can be BOTH smart AND benefit from speech and language intervention.

Research shows that children learn language best when they are in charge in an interaction. What this means is whatever your child is interested in, is what you’re doing and taking about. In this video you’ll see an example of letting the child take charge in the interaction. I sat down to sing with Ossie. He showed interest in holding my hands to make me clap. Instead of continuing with the song, I let him take charge so we followed his interest of letting him clap my hands and his hands repeatedly. Language learning doesn’t have to be anything different or new from your everyday interactions, just watch and let your child tell you exactly what to talk about.

In parenthood, sharing and seeking advice from one another is tradition. Unfortunately, a lot of unhelpful advice is often shared about speech and language development, without people even realizing it. When a parent indicates concern about their child’s speech and language development, many people often offer personal anecdotes such as their cousin’s son didn’t speak until he was 3 and now speaks in full sentences. What they didn’t tell you is he may be struggling with re...ading and writing in school now. Suggesting a wait and see approach isn’t helpful when it comes to speech and language development. Research shows us again and again that It’s important children speak within expected milestones for later academic and social success. Speaking right now isn’t always what speech language pathologist are after, rather we are wanting to lessen delays so that later skills such as reading and writing have minimal to no impact. Since reading and writing are language based skills, seeing a delay in speaking could potentially mean a delay in those later skills. If you’re concerned about your child’s speech and language development, don’t wait, book an assessment today.

Water play is an activity that can be done almost anywhere, anytime. In the bathtub, sink, in a bowl, at a water table, in a pool etc. The location may change but one thing stays the same- it’s the perfect language learning opportunity! While playing with your child, you want to remember to: * Get down to their level and make sure you can see each other’s face * Talk about what their interested in and let your child play the way they want to ... * Match your language to what your child is doing. Some examples of words you might use during water play includes splash, pour, stir, wet, dry etc. * Have fun! See more

Have you ever had a cold and your ears felt congested? It’s nearly impossible to hear anything clearly when this happens. This ear congestion happens when we have middle ear fluid. As you can imagine, fluid in the ears could make it challenging for children to hear clearly, making it difficult for children to learn and use speech sounds. If you’re child is late to talk or is talking but is difficult to understand, ask your family physician for a hearing test. It’s especially important for children who have frequent ear infections or middle ear fluid with no infection.