Michigan residents cling to summer weather like velcro. We only get about 4 months of sunshine, so we spend all the time we can outside during the summer. The outdoors can be a great place to work on building your child’s language skills (as we already know). They’re doing activities they love, so you already...
Tag: language development
“Wait and see” and other advice parents hear from well-meaning folks.
by Tamiko Teshima, M.A., CCC-SLP Duncan Lake Speech Therapy, LLC Updated for July 2024 We live in a society that values politeness in uncomfortable situations. Have you heard the term “Midwest nice?” It’s very real. While this can be very pleasant (“Hey, thanks for not bringing up the terrible COVID-cut I gave my bangs!”), when...
18 month communication red flags – Don’t worry, but don’t wait!
The people have spoken, and you want to know more about milestones. I wrote a blog post earlier this year about communication milestones and red flags at 24 months, so this week, we’re taking it back to 18 months. Our Facebook page featured some of the milestones on Monday (see below), but what are some...
Preventing the summer (speech) slide
Friends, we have made it to the end of the school year School is OUT (or almost out)! Let’s take a moment to celebrate this fact! (Time yourself – one minute, please.) You should certainly celebrate this accomplishment, but for our friends with speech difficulties, the work does not stop here. Have you heard of...
Communication partners, video chats, and children – let’s make it successful
In the last 2 months, I think we’ve all been there – we’re on a video chat with a child and it goes TERRIBLY. There are a lot of blank stares, long moments of silence, and sometimes (read: almost always) the phone shakes as if you’re in a 6.0 magnitude earthquake. Talking with children over...
DLST At-Home Speech: Five ways to target language during a walk
I am living for my walks these days. We’re currently on a two-a-day schedule, or however many our dog demands. It’s good to get outside and enjoy the weather, especially here in Michigan! I’m not alone. I see families on walks even where I live (in the middle of nowhere). Facebook and Instagram are plastered...
Make any toy into a language-development toy!
This time of year, SLPs are often asked about which toys are the best for language development. The magic secret (or the ultimate disappointment?) is that no such toy actually exists. In fact, the language development doesn’t even come from the toy. It comes from the interaction the child has with their playmates! As a result, any toy can become one that can be used to enrich speaking skills when certain strategies are used. While this list is not comprehensive by any means, here are a few ideas you can use during play to give your kiddos a language boost.
Ear infections and language development: Research Rumination
Raise your hand if you had ear infections when you were little! How many of you had tubes in your ears when you were a kid (or, in the case of one of my recent co-workers, AN ADULT)? Ear infections, or otitis media (OM), are super common. 5 out of 6 kids get one by the time they’re 3. Sometimes, kiddos get them a lot. Like…a lot, a lot.
What is the impact of recurrent ear infections on language development? Well, we’ve got a Research Rumination coming in hot from Australia this week that’s going to tell us all about this. Winskel (2006) wanted to investigate specific language skills and how early, recurrent OM impacted these skills later in childhood in this study. Let’s go!
Sensory skills – an occupational therapist’s perspective
I mentioned briefly on the Facebook page this week that sensory skills are extremely important, especially when it comes to language development. Our occupational therapist friends are the true experts in this area, so for this week’s blog entry, I brought in a PRO! Friends, we’re so lucky to have Brooke Camp, occupational therapist (OT)...
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!