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...
We are living in unprecedented times. As a result, all of us, SLPs included, have had to revamp our way life and our way of working. Most non-hospital or SNF based SLPs (if not all) are using teletherapy to provide services. Some of you know that Duncan Lake Speech Therapy was in the process of...
It’s National Reading Month! Speech-language pathologists love books and reading as literacy is tied to language development (and vice-versa). We spend a lot of time on this page talking about picture books, but ages 0-18 have a wide span of book choices. So today, let’s celebrate a rather underrepresented sub-section of literature on this page:...
Following my quick Q&A video on the DLST Facebook and Instagram pages, I had even MORE questions about gender-affirming voice modification. You know I love audience participation, so I’m so happy people are asking great questions and learning more about this service. Since my video addressed the basics of voice modification, the rest of the...
Early interventions are services and supports put in place to help a child, ages birth-3, with developmental delays. These delays could be anything from cognitive to motor to speech, and can involve professionals such as occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech therapists, early interventionists, and other providers from various services depending on what is needed. You’ve probably heard this term once or twice, especially if you have or are close to young children. The theory is that the earlier interventions are put into place for a child with identified needs, the better the results. How do we know this works, though? And why is it so important?
Age-related hearing loss is a touchy subject for many. Many times, it forces the individual to come to terms with becoming “older,” which isn’t fun. It also plays into insecurities regarding “being different” or “standing out” because of a hearing aid. Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s time to set these worries aside and start the process of addressing hearing loss.
“Why should I?” you may ask. “Also, aren’t you a speech-language pathologist? Why are you talking about this?” Well, a few things.
Hold on to your hats! We’re doing a crash course in communication-related problems following a stroke!
Following a stroke, a person will experience any number of difficulties and deficits, some more severe than others. Strokes can cause physical, cognitive, behavioral, and communication and swallowing issues. For the sake of time (and for the sake of my readers’ time), I’m going to stick with talking about symptoms related to communication.
Aphasia is a common language disorder that arises following a stroke. Aphasia, in the most basic sense, is an impairment in any and all areas of language - speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Depending on where the injury is in the brain, the amount of damage incurred by the stroke, and a whole host of other factors, symptoms and severity can vary.
Technology is here to stay, people. While it’s important to maintain some boundaries with technology (see American Academy of Pediatrics technology guidelines for young children and school-aged kids and adolescents), I’d wager that it’s next to impossible to avoid it completely. So, today, let’s lean into it.
There are a handful of apps that I use regularly in therapy, and ones that I frequently recommend to families. Today, I thought I’d share some of them with all of you. Just to be clear - there is NO APP ON THIS PLANET THAT WILL PROMOTE LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT BY ITSELF. Just like with toys, the learning comes from the interaction with language models (AKA adults). Also, some apps are better than others. Good apps include ones that are age-appropriate, foster some sort of learning, and can include multiple people in the use of the app (no solitary play).
These apps pass the test (at least in my opinion)!