Shine - Speech Language Pathology

As parents, we all want to seize teachable moments. However, it’s important to remember that when a young child is dysregulated, or having a difficult time calming down, it is not the best moment to teach the behavior you want to see.

Follow these three steps.
1. Calm
2. Connect
3. Teach

One: Toddlers need our calm presence in order to find their calm. This is called co-regulation. If you are struggling to find your calm, it’s going to be really challenging to calm your child. The first step to teaching your child the behavior you want to see, is to first self reflect on your own body based feelings. What do you need to help you find your calm, so you can nurture your child’s brain development by helping them find their calm?

Two: We focus on connection. Connecting with your child nurtures their developing brain. Being with your child is powerful and helps them feel seen, heard and loved. Slow down, join in, get face to face and create space to just be fully present in the moment.

Three: Now we have our teachable opportunity. Model the behavior you want to see. Children will mirror what we say and do over time. Our intention matters. Give your child the words you want them to use. Follow through with loving action by showing your toddler what they need to do.

Parents are busy, so it’s really easy to feel guilty about all the time we don’t spend with our children.

We are not very gentle with ourselves as parents.

We are either feeling guilty because we are working full time and not present with our kids enough or we are feeling guilty because we are not working outside the home enough, helping to carry the financial load for our family.

Parenting often comes with a constant balancing act between responsibilities and the desire to be present for our children.

Building intention with our time is really about finding whatever moment you do have, rather than focusing on all the moments you don’t have.

The moment is enough. ❤️

When we are intentional with the moments we do have, they add up and become a repetitive routine. Children find comfort in routine and when those routines are filled with love, attention, and presence, our kids feel secure and connected.

Our routines are all the things we do day to day. It’s the diaper changes, your meal time routines, getting kiddos dressed, play time, book time, going grocery shopping, bath time and getting ready for bed.

These routines are the context for your child’s development and it’s the moments you do have, when you join in, that matter.

It's not always about the amount of time, but the quality of time, and when we're present in those small, consistent moments, they add up and create a meaningful relationship. ✨

There is power is simply “joining in” to share an experience. ✨

When we join in, it encourages littles to do what we do and say what we say. This ability to imitate what we say and do is foundational for building communication and interaction.

✔️Joining in supports eye contact, helping littles learn how to read facial cues.

✔️Joining in encourages children to learn how to take turns in interactions by initiating or responding as we share an experience.

✔️Joining in helps kiddos problem solve around what they are seeing, touching and experiencing.

✔️Joining in helps our littles learn about their own world and process their own lived experiences.

✔️Joining in supports connection and relationship, helping our littles feel seen and heard.

What moment do you have within your day to join in?

Early intervention makes a significant difference in supporting early communication development. ✨

You can support your child’s ability to use their first words by:

1. Narrating your daily routines. Children need to hear language in order to learn language. This can be incredibly challenging if you are a parent who is content being quiet. Find moments in your day when you can tune in to what your child is seeing, touching and experiencing, and talk about it!

2. Simplifying your language. Young children are more likely to imitate you if it’s simple. Stress single words that you are trying to teach.

3. Avoiding pressure. Telling kids to talk actually makes it less likely for them to want to talk. I know it’s hard, but avoid asking your child, “Can you say…”. Instead, wait to cue them to try and if they don’t, model the word you would want them to say if they could.

4. Repeat repeat. First words are often ones that children hear repetitively in their lived experiences. They are also words that they choose around their interests.

5. Focusing on “in person interactions”. Children learn more language through their experiences, than from any device or app. In fact, research shows that greater screen time for children at one year of age contributes to developmental delays in communication and problem solving at 2 and 4 years of age.

Behavior, especially in young children, is a form of communication, often reflecting their unmet needs or feelings they can't yet verbalize. When a child acts out or displays certain behaviors, it's essential to approach it with curiosity and empathy. Instead of seeing the behavior as a problem, it helps to think of it as a message that we need to decode.

By understanding the underlying causes—whether they are emotional, physical, social, or environmental—we can help guide children toward positive behavior. This approach requires patience and problem-solving to identify triggers, unmet needs, and the skills a child may need to navigate their world better.

Supporting positive behaviors involves creating an environment that nurtures emotional expression, providing language for feelings, and offering opportunities for success and autonomy. The more we stay attuned to the "why" behind the behavior, the more we can foster healthy development. ⭐️

When I’m evaluating a child’s speech and language development, one of the essential skills I look for is their ability to imitate.

If a child is not engaged or if they are not able to imitate what you do, they are not likely to be able to imitate what you say.

We must first understand the foundational skills a child already has in their ability to imitate and then we build that skill, one stage at a time.

Repetition build confidence, so you may need to model an action, gesture, sound and/or word 3-5 times within an interaction. And then also be consistent across repetitive routines to increase success.

1. **Engagement First**: If a child isn't engaged or cannot imitate actions, they're unlikely to imitate speech. Engagement is foundational.

2. **Assess and Build Skills**: Understanding where the child is in their ability to imitate is crucial. Once that's clear, work on building those skills progressively.

3. **Repetition**: Repetition is key for confidence. Modeling actions, gestures, sounds, and words multiple times (3-5 times) within an interaction helps reinforce learning.

4. **Consistency**: Using repetitive routines and consistent modeling improves the child's likelihood of success over time.

These strategies are essential in both speech therapy and early childhood education, helping kids to gradually master imitation, which is critical for language acquisition.

A diagnosis does not predict who a child is becoming. It happens all the time, children blow my mind. 💕

Signs and symptoms may lead us to a diagnosis . But that diagnosis doesn’t define a child. It just helps us understand the additional supports and services that may help a child thrive and it helps guide us to identify what will be supportive for that child and family.

In early intervention, we show up in a moment in time and nurture their development.

We meet children where they are at and take it one step at a time.

Early intervention is incredibly impactful in the first three years of life, and it does make a difference, one moment at a time, with our intention. ☀️

The foundation of all communication begins with attachment and social interaction.

So when I’m first introducing language strategies with a family, we start with connection and sharing a moment.

What moments in your day do you have for sharing an experience with your child?

How do you feel about your child’s ability to engage with others?

What do you notice in your child’s behavior when you follow them with their interests?

I want you to hear this: your love matters. It truly makes a difference in your child’s life. ❤️ Love is the foundation where resilience grows. So keep showing up, even when it’s messy, even when it’s hard. Every little moment, no matter how imperfect, adds up to a lifetime of memories and strength.

You’re making an impact, one day at a time. ✨

All growth starts with connection. The bond you have with your child is their safe place, the foundation for everything they’ll become. It’s not always easy, and sometimes it’s overwhelming, but your presence is what helps them thrive. 🌱

When parents are part of early intervention, weaving therapy into everyday life, real progress happens. You are their constant, their biggest influence. Never underestimate the impact of those small, everyday moments. ❤️

How do you stay connected, even on the hard days? Let’s talk about it below. 👇

Charlene Christianson is a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist with more than two decades of experience, specializing in pediatrics and early intervention. She holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Speech-Language Pathology from Loma Linda University and earned her Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).

As a mother of three, Charlene understands the unique challenges that families face and brings that same empathy and passion into her work. With certifications in Hanen programs like ‘It Takes Two to Talk’ and ‘More Than Words,’ Charlene has a special focus on children with autism, equipping parents with the tools they need to support their child’s speech and language development at home. Her warm, approachable style and deep expertise make her a trusted partner for families seeking healing and growth.

Let’s talk about pacifiers!

Let’s talk about pacifiers! If your child uses a pacifier, you may have a love/hate relationship with it. You love that it helps soothe your child but hate the idea that one day you will have to take it away. ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ Pacifiers have many benefits for babies. They encourage a baby to self-soothe, satisfy a baby’s sucking reflex & lower the risk of SIDS. On the other hand, pacifiers can affect speech development for children if a pacifier is used too frequently and/or for too long.⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ DO PACIFIERS AFFECT SPEECH DEVELOPMENT?⁠⁠⁠ When toddlers have the pacifier in their mouths for long periods of time it can negatively impact the way they begin to produce sounds, which may lead to articulation problems down the road.⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ AT WHAT AGE SHOULD MY CHILD WEAN OFF THE PACIFIER?⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ Newborn- 12 months: Allow the baby to use a pacifier as often as they need or request it, but during any “talk time” such as cooing & babbling, take it out so they can vocalize!⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ 12-18 months: Begin to minimize the frequency of how often the pacifier is used. Limit pacifier use to “rest time” (e.g. story time & bedtime). Reduce pacifier use during “talk-time”. You can always eliminate pacifier use all together if you & your child are ready.⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ 18-36 months: We recommend weaning a child off of a pacifier & completely eliminate the pacifier prior to your child’s 3rd birthday. Research shows that extended pacifier use may cause issues with oral structures, swallowing patterns, speech development & chronic ear infections.⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ THE TAKEAWAY⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ If your baby recently started taking a pacifier, don’t let it scare you. There are many positives that come with pacifier use in the first 6 months of life! If you have a toddler who has been using the pacifier for a while, that’s okay. Just be mindful of the frequency & duration of the pacifier use & try to come up with an elimination plan around 2 years old, & at the latest 3 years old. If your child is over age 3 years old & you notice articulation difficulties when producing certain speech sounds, we urge you to reach out to a speech pathologist. ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ Have you weaned your little one off the pacifier yet?⁠⁠⁠