by Tamiko Teshima, M.A., CCC-SLP Practice Owner & Speech-Language Pathologist Duncan Lake Speech Therapy, LLC The holiday season is full of opportunities to connect, create memories, and—without much extra effort—boost your child’s language skills! Everyday holiday traditions and activities can become fun and engaging ways to support language development. So, just in case your...
Category: Language Development
The updated CDC “milestones” for speech (insert long sigh)
by Tamiko Teshima, M.A, CCC-SLP Practice Owner & Speech-Language Pathologist Duncan Lake Speech Therapy, LLC If you’re a parent, you may have noticed that the CDC updated their developmental milestones, including speech and language benchmarks, in 2022. Their apparently “goal” was to make the milestones easier to understand. The updates shifted many milestones to later...
Thanksgiving Language Fun
Thanksgiving brings with it a lot of time for family togetherness, food, and of course, opportunities of learning language! Looking for ways to incorporate some language-enriching activities into your holiday? Look no further!
Mi niño no habla… ¿Qué hago?
¿Su hijo/a tiene retraso del habla? ¿Se frustra o llora en vez de pedirte lo que quiere? Algunos niños nacen con dificultades del habla, los sonidos que salen de la boca para formar palabras, o el lenguaje, las ideas/el contenido que compartimos a través de las palabras. Si usted nota un retraso que no corresponde...
Play-based therapy for the win!
by Hannah Blackwell, M.A., CCC-SLP Speech-Language Pathologist Speech therapy sessions can look very different depending on the client and the clinician. A commonly used approach with children is to work therapy goals into play-based contexts. Sometimes parents may see a session conducted in this way and wonder what work is being done and what the...
What it takes to talk
by Anna Dubiak, M.S., CCC-SLP Duncan Lake Speech Therapy, LLC We have received many a calls from concerned parents reporting to us that their child is not talking and they are not sure what to do. Some say doctors, mom friends, or the internet has told them not to worry but they can’t shake the...
The benefits of teaching core words
I talk a lot about core words on our Facebook and Instagram pages, but what in the world are they and why would anyone teach them? AssistiveWare defines core words as the “50-400 words that make up the majority of everything we say.” There are a bunch of really interesting studies out there that used...
The play + language development connection – DLST Research Rumination
It’s the time of the year toys and play get a lot of attention. Hey, I’m all about it! Play is such a powerful language learning tool, and, above all, is enjoyable for the children. I thought I’d take some time this week do discuss the connection between language development and play in more detail...
Make any toy a language enriching toy!
by Tamiko Teshima, M.A., CCC-SLP Practice Owner & Speech-Language Pathologist Duncan Lake Speech Therapy, LLC This time of year, our team is often asked for input on gift giving. Most questions are typically about what toys are best for language development. The truth is that there is absolutely no toy on the planet that will...
Fall Language Series – Language Enrichment at the Apple Orchard
Like any red-blooded Midwesterner, I am a sucker for the fall. Call me basic, but there is something about this time of year that just makes me so happy. Maybe it’s the colors? Maybe it’s the sweaters? Whatever it is, I love it! Fall brings with it its own set of activities. Apple orchards, pumpkin...