At-Home Speech Therapy for Expressive Language Skills

by Jacky G. Speech Therapy Techniques
Child Development Milestones - At-Home Speech Therapy

Image source: Docstoc.com

Speech therapists have countless tricks up their sleeves, along with at-home speech therapy techniques they can teach to parents. One of the many facets of language that a speech therapist can teach your child is expressive language skills. If your child has an expressive language disorder, it means that he has difficulty using language to communicate, or in other words, expressing himself. Your child might have limited speech or he might be entirely nonverbal. Communication difficulties can be extremely frustrating for your child. He might know what he wishes to say, but cannot verbalize it.

Sometimes, speech and language impairments can encourage the frequency of temper tantrums and similar behavioral problems because the child is so frustrated from being unable to make his wishes known. If your child has difficulty speaking, a speech-language pathologist (SLP) can help. To accelerate your child’s progress, talk to the SLP about at-home speech therapy techniques to use at home.

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TMJ Treatment and Coping Tips: How Speech Therapy Can Help

by Jacky G. Speech Therapy Techniques
TMJ Treatment and Symptoms

Image source: Drperrone.com

Speech therapists are like Jacks of all trades. They can help children with autism learn to make conversation, children with lisps learn to speak clearly, and yes, they even have speech therapy techniques for TMJ treatment (temporomandibular joint disorder is actually TMD, but it’s more commonly referred to as TMJ).

TMJ is a condition that involves the muscles, nerves, and joints of the jaw. For the uninitiated, TMJ goes beyond simple jaw pain. When I first developed TMJ, I went to the urgent care clinic, convinced that I had tetanus because I couldn’t open my jaw wide enough to speak or eat. I had to use an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device to communicate with the intake nurse (in this case, a piece of paper and pen). Aside from the inconvenience, it was pretty darn painful. If your child is diagnosed with TMJ, don’t take the “wait and see” approach, because it tends to get progressively worse. A doctor can prescribe pain medication and muscle relaxers for TMJ treatment, and she may also recommend that you take your child to a speech-language pathologist (SLP).

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Resources in California for Speech Disorders in Children

by Jacky G. State Resources
Speech Disorders in Children - California Resources

Image source: Geotripper.blogspot.com

One of the most critical components of successfully treating speech disorders in children is family involvement. Families are crucial; they model correct patterns of speech, use at-home speech therapy techniques, and encourage the child to practice his speech therapy lessons at home with the use of activities like the exercises in Speech Buddies University. But sometimes, being a parent is utterly exhausting. In fact, the working parent demographic was labeled as having one of the top five most stressful jobs in America. And that’s before you consider the demands of treating speech disorders in children.

That’s why you can – and should – take advantage of every federal, state, and nongovernmental resource available to your family. If you live in California, you have at your disposal programs such as: Early Start, California Community Parent Resource Centers (CPRCs), Parent Training and Information Centers (PTIs), and much, much more. And if you ever have trouble tracking down a local resource or organization, don’t hesitate to call your local school district or parent support group for assistance.

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Bilingual Kids Get a Boost: Benefits of In-Home Speech Therapy & Language Exposure for Multiple Languages

by Jacky G. News
Bilingual Kids Infographic

Image source: Voxy.com

Did yesterday’s post on raising bilingual kids make you reach for the Muzzy tapes? If not, this one might! Yesterday, we discussed some of the in-home speech therapy techniques that can be helpful for fostering language development in bilingual children. We also mentioned a New York Times article that referenced a study suggesting that bilingual children are more cognitively advanced than their peers. They tend to have heightened problem-solving skills, better memories, and an enhanced ability to focus. But three other scientific studies on bilingual kids might interest you. Read on to discover some more benefits of raising bilingual kids.

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Raising a Bilingual Child with At-Home Speech Therapy

by Jacky G. Speech Therapy Techniques
Bilingualism - At-Home Speech Therapy

Image source: Multilingualliving.com

If you’ve been following our blog recently, you’ve probably noticed that we’re emphasizing at-home speech therapy techniques. This is because having your child practice his speech and language at home as well as at his speech therapy sessions is so important for his success. Some of you might be thinking, “Well, that’s all well and good, but what if I’m raising my child to be bilingual? How do I even know if he has a speech or language issue?!?” Great questions! Hopefully this brief guide to raising a bilingual child can address some of your concerns.

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