Including loved ones with dementia in holiday activities

Research tells us that, when given meaningful activities in which they can participate, individuals with dementia are more cognitively stimulated. Meaningful activities also help to alleviate anxiety and depression, and promote positive social interactions. All of these factors lead to an improved quality of life for the individual with dementia and, as a result, their caregivers.

Concussions are actually a big deal.

Who remembers this scene from what may arguably be one of the best teen movies of the late 90s? Julia Stiles (Kat) slams her head on a light fixture at a party and sustains what Heath Ledger (Patrick) determines is a concussion. Humor ensues.

This is a pretty common portrayal of concussions. While some of it might be true (funny things people say, etc.), what is not discussed nearly enough is the fact that concussions are actually BRAIN INJURIES. REAL BRAIN INJURIES.

In defense of play therapy for late talkers (and for everyone, really)

When it comes to our younger kiddos (and often older ones, too), sitting at a table and skill-drilling them isn’t perhaps the best or most realistic idea. For our late talkers, speech-language therapy is almost always play-based. From the outside, play-based therapy literally looks like the speech-language pathologist just playing with the child. This often times shocks parents- how can you be making any therapeutic gains with a late talker if you’re not “doing” therapy!? 

Rest easy, friends. Play lends itself extremely well to therapy for our littlest clients, and is the much-preferred model of therapy for this age for a number of reasons. 

SLP favorite books round-up

There are a lot of things on Earth that make me happy, but books are in the top 10! As a speech-language pathologist, I’m always looking for ways to incorporate books into practice as well as pointing parents to good books that they can read with their kiddos. I have my own personal favorites, but I thought I’d get the opinion of some other speech experts to see what they have to say. So, friends, I present to you our first SLP Favorite Books Round-Up!

Childhood stuttering and the “waiting” game

Children can go through periods of disfluency, or stuttering, when they’re developing new vocabulary or language skills. This is called developmental stuttering. Thus, many medical professionals, some SLPs included, opt for a “wait and see” approach. It is often recommended that parents monitor their child’s speech for 6 months after they notice suspected stuttering and then seek an evaluation and interventions. I guess I can understand this. I’m a panic-er by nature. Sometimes I need to take a step back and evaluate situations before I act because if I acted on everything I panicked about, I basically would be at my doctor’s office everyday!

But, hm.

So, how do you know if it’s time to seek services for a “true” stutter? For me, there are a few signs of stuttering of which parents should be aware.

So, how do you know if it’s time to seek services? For me, there are a few signs of stuttering of which parents should be aware.

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