Speech Buddies Blog
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Language Expansion Techniques for Parents to Use At Home

Posted by on Friday, April 19th, 2013

 

Parent Playing With Child

Source: ywcaelgin.org

Parents are the best teachers of language. They have the most opportunities to impact a child’s language development. At-home speech therapy should include several important language expansion techniques that parents and other communication partners should use. While it might feel or sound silly, communication partners should talk aloud to young children, nearly narrating events and actions, even though the child might not respond.  Some tips and techniques include:

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3 Great Teaching Tools for Emotion Words and Feeling Concepts

Posted by on Thursday, April 18th, 2013

 

boy with many emotions

Source: flickr.com/photos/wiseacre/380593827/

Emotional concepts can be tricky for typically developing children to comprehend and even more so for children with some language learning disorders. Emotions, feelings and recognizing those in others using their body language is often addressed in speech therapy for children on the autism spectrum or with Aspergers syndrome but is crucial for most children. Feeling words can incorporate new vocabulary, pragmatics and literacy into communication lessons in groups or with individuals. They are crucial concepts for social-emotional development and building relationships.  Try these great resources and tools:

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Your Toddler Already Knows Grammar Better than a Chimp

Posted by on Wednesday, April 17th, 2013

 

boy and chimp

Source: staticflickr.com

A toddler has a lot of information to take in, making toddler language development complex. Information comes at them quickly and constantly like new vocabulary words, longer sentences and questions. Often times we think they are just imitating songs or phrases they’ve heard but as it turns out, toddlers at the age of two are understanding basic grammar rules, which is more than famed Chimpanzee, Nim Chimpanszy could do. This is according to a new study from researchers out of the University of Pennsylvania whose research continues to contribute to the field of language acquisition, ultimately helping to improve the evidence based practices and assessment of speech therapy clients.

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2013 North Carolina Speech Hearing and Language Association Conference

Posted by on Monday, April 15th, 2013

North Carolina state stats

Source: ncheadlines.com

Historical hotspots, good food and great temperatures typically draw crowds to Raleigh, N.C., but next week those attractions take a backseat for local speech language professionals who will come to town for the annual North Carolina Speech Hearing and Language Association conference. If you haven’t already registered, its not too late to join the event on April 24-26, 2013. Speech and Language Pathologists from across the state of North Carolina and speakers from across the country will gather to share and learn new clinical skills while networking with professionals across all areas of the field. While online registration is closed, attendees can still register onsite at the North Raleigh Hilton Midtown. On the fence about attending? Here are the reasons you should go:

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Amazing Online Games For Learning Language

Posted by on Friday, April 12th, 2013

technology in education stats

Source: pbslearning.org

 

Education has changed. Teachers no longer use chalkboards and students no longer use chalk. Instead, we are living in an age where education is infused with technology and those chalkboards have been replaced with Smartboards – the new learning medium of interactivity. While education changes, so does speech therapy. In speech therapy, the web can be a wonderful resource for interactive games and language learning activities, all accessed through the click of a mouse. While the iPad holds the media spotlight, the web still boasts the most users and has great content if reviewed through a language learning lens.

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3 Listening Games to Promote Comprehension

Posted by on Thursday, April 11th, 2013

 

kids playing a listening game

Source: gogosqueez.com

Children receiving speech and language therapy to improve their expression (how they use or say words) may also have deficits in comprehension (understanding language). The two skills are essential to good communication and are always addressed and evaluated by a speech pathologist. Areas to work on in language comprehension include: following directions, comprehending concepts, answering questions, and listening for details. Good listening skills allow students to follow the teacher, respond appropriately to directions/demands and follow the details of a story-book. In therapy, be sure to modify the task so that a child does not get frustrated by the difficulty. If the child had a hard time following directions, try not to bombard or give several in a row. Break up long language into smaller pieces and provide support and encouragement throughout the task. Try these listening games and activities in speech therapy or at home to target and improve comprehension.

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