Fun Toddler Language Learning Activities

Fun Toddler Language Learning Activities

by Gordy Rogers, M.S. CCC-SLP Language Building Skills Language Development

We often get the question posed to us, “how can I help my toddler to talk?” The short is answer is blunt and very obvious: talk to your child! That’s right, just make sure you are directly engaging your toddler in a wide variety of activities that are rich in language. At a high level, it really is that simple! This is a recommendation that is rooted in reams of research in the field of speech-language pathology and allied disciplines. However, just hearing from me, “talk to your child!” might leave you frustrated and wanting more: how do talk to my child? What are some fun toddler language learning activities that are best for this? This blog post is dedicated to providing some guidelines and tips for making this happen. It is one of the most important things you can do as parent of young child and it can have a positive impact on not only language development, but also on future academic potential and even on emotional development.

photo: Happy Kids and Orange Bird by Sam Howzit

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Summer Speech Therapy Practice: The End of the School Year is Nigh

Summer Speech Therapy Practice: The End of the School Year is Nigh

by Gordy Rogers, M.S. CCC-SLP Speech Therapy for Kids

I am in shock too, but believe or not, we are mere weeks away from the end of the school year. Undoubtedly, your child’s speech services are winding down as well. And although we (and especially our kids) have every right to be very much looking forward to summer, I always recommend at this time of year a series to tips to my families. Whatever the hiatus from therapy is (a week or two or even the whole summer)—now is the best time to plan some summer speech therapy practice to carry over what our kids have learned and, if therapy is slated to continue come the fall, then we can hit the ground running.

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Non-Speech Oral Motor Exercises to Treat Speech Disorders?

Non-Speech Oral Motor Exercises to Treat Speech Disorders?

by Gordy Rogers, M.S. CCC-SLP Speech Therapy Techniques

Perhaps no other methodology has engendered more passionate opinion, and even controversy, in the field of speech pathology than non-speech oral motor exercises (NSOMEs). What’s all the fuss about and what are NSOMEs?

photo: World in a Bubble by Alexandre Normand

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When to Start Tongue Thrust Treatment?

When to Start Tongue Thrust Treatment?

by Gordy Rogers, M.S. CCC-SLP Speech Impediment Speech Therapy Techniques

The phenomenon of tongue thrust is a rather murky one. As the name implies, tongue thrust is observed when the tongue protrudes through the child’s front teeth and is mostly caused by an imbalance in the oral muscles. However, there are other causes that I will address below. Our “What is Tongue Thrust?” Speech Buddies blog post is a great place to start for understanding the basics of tongue thrust. Among speech pathologists, there exists some controversy as to its impact on speech. Some therapists insist that any open-mouth posture, including tongue thrust, is an extremely significant clinical matter and that it will have a wide-ranging on a child’s speech development and even social development. Others will contend that a true tongue thrust that can impact speech clarity is quite rare and that, in fact, almost all children exhibit some form of tongue thrust which most will grow out of; the vast majority of these children will exhibit no speech challenge whatsoever. So what is the “truth” of the matter? Like many things, it can be somewhat nuanced. This blog post is dedicated to providing some actionable advice to parents as well as some tips for either intervening to correct a tongue thrust or “watchful waiting” so that in the event that tongue thrust treatment needs to be addressed, you will be maximally empowered, as a parent, to do so.

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Tips for Raising a Bilingual Child — by a Speech Pathologist

Tips for Raising a Bilingual Child — by a Speech Pathologist

by Gordy Rogers, M.S. CCC-SLP Language Development Speech Therapy for Kids

This post is dedicated to all you lucky families who come from linguistically diverse backgrounds, and who are in the process of raising bilingual (or even multi-lingual children though in this post I will just use the term “bilingual”). The truth is: I really envy you. Being bilingual is a special gift, one that I wish my two young children could benefit from. But, unfortunately, both my wife and I come from monolingual, English-speaking backgrounds and even though I speak formerly-fluent German—I am too out-of-practice to call it fluent—and my wife studied Italian in college, there is really no hope for us: our kids simply don’t have a rich enough home environment to acquire the special brain wiring to be truly bilingual. But, just because one or even both of the parents in a family come from strong background in say, Spanish, Chinese or Armenian, that does not mean the child(ren) will automatically be bilingual. Bilingualism takes dedication and consistency throughout childhood. I will go over several tips that can help support bilingualism in your family, both in the context of a developmental speech and language challenge and with typically developing speech and language. Armed with practical information, you can feel confident in pursuing bilingualism for your child and endow them with a lifelong gift.

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