This week, we are are so lucky to have Shelagh Orlikowski, the DLST Graduate Intern, here to talk with us about stuttering. When SLPs determine that a child has a fluency disorder (our term for stuttering), one of the first questions parents ask us is, “Will this go away?” As Shelagh explains, it is complicated....
Well, well, well, it has been a minute since I’ve done a blog post! I’m very excited, though, that my triumphant return to blogging is a post about tongue ties (or if you’re fancy, ankyloglossia). If you are a parent of a small child, there is a good chance that this term has been thrown...
If you are a parent of a child with an articulation disorder, it can be really tricky to find time to incorporate practice into your day. Your SLP likely sends you homework, but sometimes it’s hard to sit down and do “speech homework.” Luckily, you can really practice speech sounds in almost any activity in...
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...
A conversation that often comes up when I tell people I’m a speech-language pathologist often revolves around the topic of school-based speech and language services vs. private speech-language services. If you ask around, you’ll find that there are a lot of people out there who received speech services in school. In fact, according to the...
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...
This time of year, SLPs are 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 help your child’s language development on its own. However, with the use of parent strategies, any toy...
Those of you who have been following Duncan Lake Speech Therapy know that we are all about inclusion and accessibility over here. Kids Together, Inc. defines inclusion as, “being a part of what everyone else is, being welcomed and embraced as a member who belongs.” Inclusive activities include all people regardless of ability/disability, religion, culture,...
Friends, this week we are lucky to have Caitlin Giammona, fellow SJSU alum, and speech-language pathologist and owner of The Signing SLP. Caitlin provides speech and language support to signing deaf and hard of hearing folks, and like us here at Duncan Lake Speech Therapy, is a firm believer in all practices that promote representation,...
Today, we continue our Fall Language Series. Last week, we talked about language development at the apple orchard. This week, we’re taking it to the pumpkin patch, AAC style. For those of you who don’t know, AAC stands for alternative and augmentative communication. AAC is, essentially, any form of expressive language that isn’t spoken words....