Well Spoken Speech and Language Services

Sign language is a dance with words, to be enjoyed from babyhood through childhood to adulthood - Marilyn Daniels. This little one has a fantastic literacy foundation, from vocabulary to story elements and expressive language. Read to your children - all children - all with their unique personalities, skills, and gifts! Literacy starts in the womb!

This is beautiful!

Her tears were a river flowing down her cheeks, draw bridge ahead, cold feet - idioms, similes, metaphors may be easy for some kids but difficult for others. If your child is struggling with higher level language give us a call. We are here to help. 226-506-5417.

Amazing!!!! Congratulations on the hard work, dedication and perseverance. Truly an inspiration!

Overcoming language barriers - when there is a will there’s is a way!

Selective Mutism - Early Signs. A persistent failure to speak in consistent social situations despite speaking fluently in other familiar situations. We know that early intervention is critical in all areas for developmental success but what about selective mutism? For selective mutism early intervention is often missed, especially if there has been no preschool placement. It’s important to remember that the gap between onset and referral has a significant impact on prog...nosis. Some of the early signs to watch for are: severe anxiety, separation anxiety, frequent tantrums and crying, moodiness, inflexibility, sleep problems, and extreme shyness from infancy on. If you wonder if your child could be showing some of these early signs feel free to give us a call, we’re here to answer any questions you may have - 226-506-5417.

Have you ever experienced or witnessed this cycle in action? When it comes to selective mutism this is routine. But it doesn’t have to be. We work with families to reward speaking behavior and remove opportunities for children to rely on their parents or other caregivers to speak for them. Throughout this process, we work with the family to reduce "rescuing" behaviors so the child can practice speaking in various social situations, at the same time gradually building confidence for the child to speak in progressively more difficult and anxiety-provoking situations, including at school and in the community. If you are currently caught in a cycle of rescuing your child, or are struggling to find safe and creative ways to encourage your child to take a risk toward communication, give us a call today. We are here to help: 226-506-5417.

Check out Chloe performing as Jill in A Pail of Water - she rocks it!

As Windsor and Essex county move to the Orange Restrict zone and enter into another round of uncertainty, I want to ensure everyone that we at Well Spoken Speech and Language Services are keeping up with all and any changes / guidelines the health unit and government has put in place. Your safety is important to us, therefore the following continues: 1.) Active screening will be conducted prior to your receiving therapy. 2.) Your SLP is actively screening each day before wo...rk. 3.) Thorough cleaning is being conducted in between each client. 4.) Child-safe high grade cleaning agents are being used throughout the clinic space. 5.) We are keeping a confidential contact tracing log to ensure your safety. 6.) Your SLP will continue to stay behind the plexiglass barrier and will continue with their PPE throughout your therapy session. 7.) Please remember to remain in your car and text upon arrival. Your SLP will call you into the clinic when they are ready for you. 8.) Should further restrictions occur we are ready to move all our face to face clients to virtual care as needed and will do the best we can to meet the needs of our families. Please CANCEL your appointment with your therapist if you answer YES to any of the following: - travelled outside of Canada for recreational purposes 14 days prior to your treatment date -tested positive or have had direct contact with a covid-19 positive person 14 days prior to your treatment -have experienced any new symptoms such as shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, cough, sore throat, fever, diarrhea or vomiting, conjunctivitis or pink eye, or anything that is unusual for you. Please remember your SLP will ask you to reschedule your appointment should they feel uncomfortable with any symptoms reported or observed prior to, or during your session. Thank you for your continued cooperation - you all are amazing! Wendy, Amy, Natalie & Mandy.

A great post as you consider your Christmas purchases for the little ones in your lives. Check it out!!!

A great post by Valli Gideon for our deaf and hard of hearing loved ones. In a season where masks have hidden communication for some, let’s be mindful of the outcome and fatigue it brings. Check out the post below. *************************************************** LISTENING FATIGUE is real for those who are deaf and hard of hearing.... Because of the current social-distancing guides and virtual interactions being more frequent, it can be even more exhausting. Add people wearing masks, which doesn’t allow for lip reading and muffled sound, it is mentally and emotionally challenging. Those with hearing loss often have to work much harder to listen than their hearing peers. It is not surprising this causes fatigue and even exhaustion. Additionally, it can lead to a person becoming irritated and out of sorts. Those who have hearing loss may also experience a difficult time concentrating and completing a task. Often this fatigue leads to isolating oneself and becoming withdrawn. There are several ways to support someone with hearing loss, in order to decrease the amount of fatigue experienced. In school and workspaces: Create an optimal learning environment, free of background noise. Rooms with carpet are more acoustically pleasing, and outside noise is minimized or eliminated by keeping doors and windows closed. Avoid playing radios and turn the television off. Provide listening breaks. Schedule intentional times throughout the day when relying on hearing technology is limited. Ensure the person speaking is facing the person who has hearing loss. Repeat questions asked by others before answering. Being within 6-feet of the person (less when social distancing isn’t necessary) when speaking is optimal. Try to facilitate communication that focuses on one person at a time. Avoid cross-talking. Utilize FM systems, wireless microphones, closed captioning, and sound-fields when possible. Avoid covering your mouth when speaking. Speak loudly, clearly, and naturally. Allow the person who has hearing loss to express their frustration. Being understood is one of the keys to helping a person feel accepted and included. For kids, encourage them to advocate for themselves while also ensuring adults continue to offer support. *Included in my eBook! on mybattlecall.com #deafawarenessmonth

Shout out to this incredibly cute little guy who knows just what to do with that book in his hand!!! We cannot stresss enough the importance of reading to your infants! So many long term benefits and developmental gains are made with a book in hand as the roots of language are developing in your baby’s brain even before they can talk! The more words your baby hears over time, the more words they learn. Pull out those books and snuggle in. For more info and for the reading ages and stages check out this link: https://www.zerotothree.org/resou/1833-read-early-and-often

Exciting Announcement! Well Spoken Speech and Language Services is growing again!!! We are more than thrilled to introduce you to Natalie Oliveira. Natalie graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 2011 with her Master of Clinical Science. She has 9 years working as a Speech Language Pathologist in the preschool and school setting as well as in private practice. Welcome Natalie!

Wishing all our students and their families a great start to their new school year - whether online, from home, or in the school building. With so many shades of grey associated with the Covid 19 season, one thing is certain - children bring vibrant colour to the world! So go colour outside the lines kids and enjoy the start of your new school experience! We are here to support you every step of the way!

We are absolutely in love with this book by Sonia Sotomayor entitled Just Ask. From diabetes to ADHD, Autism to Asthma, Deafness to Tourette’s and the like - if you’re curious - just ask, why is it you do something different from other kids? There is comfort and empowerment in understanding we are all different and each one of us beautiful! What will you do with your powers? Be different. Be brave. Be you!

Encouraging each and every teacher, parent, and child. We are in this together and we will rise to the amount of encouragement we both give and receive. Let’s make this upcoming school year one to remember, not because of Covid but because we changed the culture of our actions, words, and perceptions toward education in this season.

Here’s PPM 164 - the governments online learning plan for those interested. http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/extra/eng/ppm/164.html

Livestream at 12:30 On the Premier's official YouTube channel.

We at Well Spoken are excited to be a part of the SLP Summit!!!! Always learning, always growing, always shaping our voices to be well spoken and provide the best service possible to our families at Well Spoken.

Vince Lombardi said, Individual commitment to a group effort that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work. As weekly meetings shut down during this COVID-19 season our commitment to collaboration has been unwavering. We may have moved to virtual meetings but our desire for evidence based practice and accountability remains a core value for the SLPs at Well Spoken. Stayed tuned - a new announcement coming up in the near future - could we be growing again?!?

Hello families! As the school year is coming to a close and online learning expectations are winding down we wanted to let you know we are here to support your children as we await what is to come for the new school year. That being said: Teletherapy and Online Supports now fully open for scheduling for the July and August months. ... If you are in need of speech-language and literacy supports for your family, give us a call - we have creative and engaging ways to support your children that keep them wanting to connect. 226-506-5417

As the sun is shining and the flowers have bloomed you may find yourselves outside a little more often. Here’s a great little read on the benefits of water play for speech and language development. A large bin, a few toys, play with purpose and you’re all set to go. Take a look...... https://www.tandemspeechtherapy.com//playing-with-purpose/

This just in! We are expanding our services. Do you have a computer? Do you have a child who is in need of speech, language, or literacy supports? As COVID-19 has put a pause on face to face speech and language services, we have heard your voice parents and have moved to offering TELETHERAPY services. For more information send us a message or give us a call #226-506-5417. Looking forward to supporting our community the best we can.

Hey Parents - Sesame Street is at it again! Kids have all sorts of big feelings. They may feel sad, nervous, or frustrated, just to name a few feelings. And they may have trouble calming down. Sesame Street to the rescue, as they show the kids some mindfulness activities. A great addition to our Fitness language in routines suggestions! Check it out.