The Blog

You might know someone who stutters, or maybe you have seen someone stutter in a movie or on television. Stuttering is the disruption of airflow caused by bodily tension anywhere within the speech mechanism (e.g., voice box, tongue, lips). It […]

Works on:  hand strengthening Hand eye coordination Bilateral coordination Fine motor skills These skills provide the foundation that will enable kids to write and use scissors Have your child place torn pieces of paper over their name or letter of […]

Children often learn language through play with others. Play provides great opportunities for expanding language and increasing vocabulary. Here are some easy tips for promoting language through play!  Get face to face – Get down to your child’s level and […]

One of the best ways to increase your child’s language and early literacy skills is by reading books! Research shows that book reading facilitates language development and plays an important role in preparing children for success in school. Children who […]

Gross Motor Skills are skills that develop through using the large muscles of the body in a coordinated and controlled way. Movements of the whole arms, the legs and the trunk are all gross motor movements. Gross motor skills help […]

Occupational therapists help people across a lifespan participate in the things they want and need to do through therapeutic use of everyday activities. When is it time to consider? Here are a few red flags that occupational therapists look for […]

A glitter jar can be used as a tool to help a child calm and self-regulate whenever a child feels stressed, overwhelmed or upset.  Supplies: Jar or plastic bottle (i.e. baby food jar, mason jar,  plastic water bottle) Glitter Glue  […]

Occupational Therapy:  Ideas for Sensory (Messy) Play   What is messy play?  Messy play is exactly that – messy! It is where you allow your child to make a controlled mess so they are able to use their senses in […]

  Looking for some fun ways to help your child work on verbs? Here are 3 fun things to try! These activities are great to help your child work on learning and using verbs in sentences, but also to work […]

As children make their way through early childhood, they begin to develop conversation skills. For children to effectively participate in social communications with family and their peers, turn-taking is an important skill to develop. When we use language to have […]

You may be familiar with the word sensory and sensory bins if your kiddo has received occupational therapy treatments. Sensory bins most often aim to provide appropriate tactile input for your child’s needs. These bins are also a super fun […]

Practicing speech and language at home is just as important as practicing speech and language in therapy sessions. Practicing at home provides an opportunity for more generalization of skills across settings. When we talk about skills generalizing, what we mean […]

Home is a wonderful place for your kiddo to increase language. It is a world they interact with every single day and in any child’s routine we can provide something called a language opportunity or an opportunity to communicate. These […]

Answering Who, What, When, Where, and Why questions are an important step in your child’s receptive and expressive language abilities. Answering these questions is also functionally important so they can communicate how their day was or what they want to […]

Home practice is an important way to help your child improve their speech sounds. Here are some activities to make practice fun! Silly singing – Make up a fun song that includes as many words that include your target sound […]

What is a Tongue Tie? A tongue-tie, also known as ankyloglossia, is a condition that restricts the tongue’s range of motion. This occurs when the lingual frenum (typically a tight, short band of tissue) tethers the bottom of the tongue […]

Dysgraphia is a neurological processing disorder of written expression that impairs fine motor and writing skills. Dysgraphia can impact skills related to handwriting, typing, and overall spelling. Occupational therapy (OT) is the main way to help kids who demonstrate difficulties […]

With Mother’s Day around the corner what better way to celebrate Mom than to give her flowers. Here is a fun activity to help celebrate Mom and work on speech and language too! What you will need: Colored construction paper, […]

What exactly are the 4 S’s? They stand for SAY less, STRESS, go SLOW, and SHOW and they are a helpful tool to support language development and increase communication opportunities for your kiddo. SAY LESS-When we think about saying less, […]

 Let’s face it, we spend a lot of our time in the car from school, practices, lessons, and other kids’ activities. Exploration from the car is a great time to focus on language development.  Here are a few activities for […]

During these unprecedented times parents and caregivers have had to get creative in the ways they can support and teach children from home. It’s important to carry over skills learned in the clinic to the home environment to enhance a […]

Splish – Splash! It is Time for a Bath! Bath time is a daily activity that allows for a lot of learning.  Get your kiddo clean all while working on the following skills:   Action Words: splashing, cleaning, washing, scrubbing, […]

How many times throughout your child’s daily routine do you ask them to complete a task? Telling your child ‘Sit down’ or telling them something more complex like, ‘Sit down, put your shoes on, and then put your jacket on’ […]

1. CONSISTENCY   We all know that life happens; schedules change at a moment’s notice, your car won’t start on your way to therapy, or you have another sick kiddo who needs your attention at home.  These are all challenges […]

It goes without saying that we have all been spending a lot of time indoors lately. However, it is important to keep in mind that outdoor play and activity is extremely instrumental in a child’s development for so many reasons! […]

Prepositions can be a confusing concept of language to learn.  Many prepositions have multiple meanings making it a complex concept for some littles to understand, such as the distinction between “up” and “above” or are you “in the coffee shop” […]

According to Hanen, It Takes Two to Talk, waiting to respond is a great strategy for our little ones language development.  The strategy OWL (Observe, Wait, and Listen) is a great way to encourage your child to initiate conversation during […]

As children develop language it is not uncommon to notice that they make errors in their use of pronouns. Pronouns typically start to develop around the age of 12 months and should be fully acquired around age four. The first […]

Let’s Talk About Books and Books are so wonderful! Not only are they a fantastic way to spend time bonding with your child, but they also are critical in helping your child(ren) build strong language skills. Let’s talk about some […]

“Myofunctional therapy is a specifically prescribed regimen of exercises designed to correct oral facial muscle imbalance and deviant swallow patterns.  It is an ancillary program used in conjunction with and to enhance necessary and appropriate dental, medical, and speech treatment. 

Speech and language services can be provided in a variety of settings.  For children, the two main speech therapy options taken for services are either school based or private speech therapy.  So, what is the difference?

Summer is filled with so many fun activities that we can do with our kids.  Swimming, hiking, going to the beach, play dates, the list goes on.  There is one more activity that I highly encourage you to engage in […]

When I am first contacted by a parent who is curious about starting their child in speech therapy, 9 out of 10 times they ask me “How long will my child be in speech therapy?”  It is such a good […]

“How young is too young?” “My child is a boy, so shouldn’t I expect him to talk late?” “I was a late-talker, so it is fine that my child is too.” “At what age should I consider speech therapy for […]

Many parents are not exactly sure when their child should begin to talk. As a Speech Language Pathologist, one of the most common questions I get asked is: When should my child start talking? While there is variability to how […]