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...
I’d just like to preface this blog post by saying that masks are not up for debate on this platform. My job is to bring you information relevant to speech, language, and hearing, and that’s what I’m going to do. My husband works at a retail pharmacy here in the greater Grand Rapids area. He...
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...
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...
Alzheimer’s disease is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States. Over 5 million people are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and is the cause of death for 1 in 3 seniors. Despite these big numbers, Alzheimer’s can still be a confusing or even unknown topic in many of our households. As I always say,...
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...
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...
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...
I threw out some bike/helmet statistics earlier in the week on our Facebook page. Largely, these statistics showed that helmet wearing can prevent head injury. I wanted to dive a little further into this topic because, as the weather continues to improve (IN THEORY) here in the state of Michigan, and as the idea of...
The people have spoken, and they want to know what to do to help with their child’s speech at home! At-home activities are a great way to carry over the work done during speech therapy sessions and to speed up progress. The ultimate goal is for children to use what they learn in speech across...