Chicago Speech Steps

One of my all time favorites quotes….

Happy National Speech Pathologist Day!

Unfortunately, many school districts will not treat a child with an R distortion until age 8-9. Research has shown that it is appropriate to start working on R by age 5. Often, the earlier the treatment, the quicker the progress! At Chicago Speech Steps, we have many clients working on R in kindergarten. Often when kids wait until 8 years old, it is harder to undo the wrong pronunciation because they have been doing it for so long. If you have any speech or language concerns about your child, don’t hesitate to reach out to Chicago Speech Steps for a free phone consultation at 248-819-2748. More often than not, the “wait and see” approach is not beneficial.

Child-led therapy is changing the way that many speech therapists approach their sessions. While coming in with a specific therapy plan can often be helpful, at times it can also stifle the child’s ideas and put too much communicative pressure on the them. Allowing the child to make choices and follow their lead provides a motivating environment where the child is more likely to want to engage. Children are more likely to make connections and interact if you meet them at their level. Child-led therapy often results in a happier child during sessions leading to greater progress.

If you are going to purchase one item to stock in your speech therapy room, this is a MUST! The Critter Clinic is such a versatile toy and can be used to target various speech and language skills. The list is really endless, but I love using this toy for describing, basic vocabulary, articulation, play skills, WH questions, sequencing, verb usage, following directions. Kids are super motivated anytime I bring this out!

Chicago Speech Steps is a pediatric speech therapy company serving the Chicagoland area. We pride ourselves on individualized treatment. We want to make therapy convenient for parents so our therapists are able to provide therapy at your child’s school/daycare, in your home, or even virtually. Therapy sessions are motivating, engaging, and play based. If you are worried about your child’s communication, please reach out with any questions. You can call 248-819-2748 or send an email to [email protected].

Chicago Speech Steps Chicago Speech Steps is a pediatric speech therapy company providing excellence in speech diagnoses and treatments to children of all ages in the Chicagoland area.

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"Every child can learn, just not on the same day, or in the same way."
—George Evans

A great way to help children develop language is by giving choices. Caregivers often know what their child wants without even asking. But if we constantly hand these items to our kids without having them request, it doesn’t encourage them to need to ask and use language. So, it is always better to offer choices throughout the day. Snacktime is an excellent moment to give choices. Ask you child “do you want strawberries or a banana?” Make sure to offer two choices instead of an open question such as “what do you want to eat?” This becomes too overwhelming for the child. Be sure to praise any type of communicative attempt when the child responds, whether it be just a sound or even pointing.

When caregivers are trying to help their language delayed toddlers increase their expressive language, it is important not to constantly drill them by saying “say cat…..say mama….can you say car…….say more…..”. It is more helpful to comment on your child’s actions and expand on any of their language. For example, if your child is pushing a toy car, try saying, “The car goes vroom!” Or if you child says “car”, expand on his/her language by saying, “Look how fast the car goes.” This way, children learn that conversations go back-and-forth, and that language has cause/effect. They don’t feel the need to constantly be quizzed and repeat words. Instead, it will keep the language learning going.

A commonly asked question by parents is “at what age should my child be producing this sound?” Although speech sound development is not exact for each child, this is a wonderful chart demonstrating when each sound is usually developed. By age 6, a child’s speech should be approximately 97% intelligible. If you are concerned that your child’s speech may delayed, reach out to a speech therapist for an evaluation.

Children develop language in stages, and these stages are acquired along a continuum depending on the specific child. This chart demonstrates typical language developmental milestones. If your child is not meeting his/her language milestone, it is best to reach out to a speech therapist for an evaluation.

www.chicagospeechsteps.com

The “wait and see” approach to speech therapy is very outdated. When a child is not hitting speech and language goals, it merits an evaluation. Putting off therapy is very risky, and there is no benefit to the child. When red flags are present, it is best to have the child seen by a speech therapist to determine if a speech or language delay is present. Early detection and treatment helps the child catch up and helps to prevent further delays down the road. This is a very helpful article in explaining why the “wait and see” method should no longer be used.

"Wait and see" and other advice parents hear from well-meaning loved ones. - Duncan Lake Speech Therapy Well-meaning loved ones dole out advice, often as a means of squashing panic. So, today, we're going to talk about some of these myths and why they're myths.

Reading books to children early on helps with language development. The more you read to them, the more this exposure to language will help your baby hear words and begin to make connections to their meanings. Rhyming books are especially great for young children. Here are some wonderful books for babies and toddlers:

Our Top 10 Favorite Books for Language Development – Speech Sisters Storytime has always been one of our favorite routines with our kids! At Speech Sisters, we believe reading stories is a great way to expose children to new words, new sounds, and the rhythm of language. Using a “parentese” voice (higher-pitched and sing-songy) with the consistent repetition of ...

Playtime is a great time for children to learn new vocabulary by attaching words to their meanings.
Check out these toys that help promote speech and language development in babies and toddlers.

6 Toys that Encourage Talking (Hint: You probably already have them!) – Speech Sisters Toys are a great way to elicit speech opportunities with your child. We've put together a list of our favorite types of toys to get your child talking!

Chicago Speech Steps is a pediatric speech therapy company providing excellence in speech diagnoses and treatments to children of all ages in the Chicagoland area. Please check out our updated webpage at www.chicagospeechsteps.com
If you are worried about your child’s speech and language development, please contact us for a consultation.

Chicago Speech Steps Chicago Speech Steps is a pediatric speech therapy company providing excellence in speech diagnoses and treatments to children of all ages in the Chicagoland area.