Mindfully Speaking

Looking for inspiration? Check out Michael Jacques FB page. He is a young man who isnt letting his disabilities prevent him from reaching for the stars. Despite not being able to read or write, he has written two books using speech-to-text. Check them out!... https://www.facebook.com/heresmybook/

My clients will tell you that board games are my go-to. Not only are they fun and engaging, but they also target communication. Try it with your child on your next Family Game Night.

Here are a few more online resources that target speech and oral language skills. Check them out!

During this time of self-isolation, quarantine and social distancing, here are some speech and language activities that can be done with your child at home. https://www.thespeechexpress.com//activities-for-speech-an

Early intervention is key!

Talking is powerful

Yes, you can raise your child in a bilingual home. In fact, it is highly recommended in the world of speech-language pathology.

Hope everyone enjoyed their first day at school! Unfortunately, 10% of school-aged children have speech and language challenges which can impact their academic ...and social success. Teachers and/or parents should speak to a Speech-Language Pathologist, if they have questions concerning their students/childs ability to: Follow directions Understand classroom conversations Understand and retell stories Socialize with peers Organize ideas sequentially Use appropriate vocabulary, word order, grammar Speak on a topic Speak clearly Speak fluently Learn sound skills necessary to read and write To find out how S-LPs support students, parents AND teachers, please visit http://osla.on.ca!

Its important to remember that bilingual children follow the same developmental sequence as monolingual children. In addition, when counting your childs vocabulary words you must always account for both languages

Les enfants bilingues apprennent parler au mme rythme que les enfants monolingues. Il faut tout simplement considrer les 2 langues. Voir limage pour les dr...apeaux rouges surveiller. (Adapter de Bilingual Speechie). De plus, les pisodes 5 et 11 du Parl Podcast fournissent de linformation trs utile ce sujet.

Early intervention is so important.

For any West Rouge parent in Scarborough searching for a reading program for their child. This one comes highly recommended and its held at our local public library. https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp

With summer around the corner, here is a summer bucket list to target speech and language goals with your child.

Researchers have found that young children who are exposed to large amounts of adult speech tend to have better cognitive skills. #betterspeechandhearingmonth #cognitiveskills #children #speech #communication

#WednesdayWisdom For most children, seeing a speech language pathologist once per week isnt enough time to develop language skills. In fact, its hard to learn... any new skill if its only practiced for one hour per week. But if parents work together with their childs speech language pathologist, you can come up with goals and activities that you can do at home during your everyday life that will make a huge difference in your childs language learning. See more

I love using plastic Easter eggs as a fun activity to increase vocabulary. It exposes children to colours, numbers, sizes (small, medium, big), as well as descriptive vocabulary (striped, spotted). To make it even more fun and to increase vocabulary exposure, place objects inside the eggs for your child to find. This will open the door to labelling the objects, using action words (shake, open, close) and concepts (full, empty, in, out). You can then end the activity by categorizing all objects in specific categories (animals, vehicles, food, plants, etc.) Yes, learning vocabulary can be this fun!

Love this visual by The Speech Dynamic!

Speech-Language Pathologists do so much more than just working on speech. See below

The grocery store is a GREAT place to work on speech and language! Check out some tips here by ChatterNola, LLC!

Playing IS learning

Why do we teach kids functional words before preacademic words like letters, numbers, colors, and shapes?? THIS!!! For tips to work on functional langauge, check out www.mrsspeechiep.com/child-talk

See below for the best way to communicate with toddlers to support their speech and language development.

Check out this fun fact about speaking.

When you have a little one, you may hear the advice to "narrate your day" to help them learn to talk. This basically means talk out loud... a lot. The more wo...rds your child hears, the better. Makes sense. Heres the next step (or two)... problem solve out loud. Have conversations to invite your little one to participate. They may not yet have all the words but they can point, they can gesture, they can attempt to help you. At least they are actively participating and not just passively listening to your narration. You may need to start the sentence but leave out the key word for them to complete "Oh, yes, you need a...(spoon)!" You may need to offer choices so they remember which word to use. "Do you need a fork or a spoon?" You may need to do nothing more than stop talking so that they have a chance to help you! :-) Once they understand language, they may need more opportunities to practice it. Engage them, invite them. You may be surprised. www.letsplaythespeechandlanguageway.com

Never underestimate the power of puzzles.

This video explains the importance of early intervention for children who are late talkers.

An inside look as to how complex the act of speaking is.

A great reminder for this time of year that the very best toy you can give your child isyou! When you play together without toys, you connect, you have fun, and you help your child more than he ever could from any learning toy you could buy.

Speech-Language Pathologists have many tools and tricks that are used in speech therapy, some of which include mirrors and tongue depressors. Mr. Mouth has been a faithful companion of mine for some time now. Hes made of rubber, which allows for children to manipulate his tongue to show and explain different tongue movements and placements for the pronunciation of sounds. For the first time today, I used play-doh for this purpose and loved the results. In this photo, you see a childs model of the tongue in the active position for r.

"The early years of your childs life are the most important for building strong language skills."

View the following video for an explanation as to the importance of interactions between parents and children.

These books are not only great for teachers, but for parents too! The article also contains great tips on how to discuss the story with your child afterwards.

This fall, take opportunities to model language with your little one during walks.

Quest-ce-que le TDL (Trouble du dveloppement du langage)? Visionnez ce vido pour une brve explication. FAITS: Le TDL est plus commun que la dyslexie et lautisme. 7% des enfants ont un TDL, qui quivaut 2 enfants par classe. What is a DLD (Developmental Language Disorder?) Watch this short video in French for an explanation. FACT: DLD is more common than dyslexia and autism. 7% of children have a DLD, which is the equivalent of 2 children per classroom.

A great visual to explain the benefits of using visuals, in all environments (home, school, community).