• Many times parents are concerned because young children are not interested in books or will not sit for a book. Here are a few tips that will help!
  • Choose books that are interactive – flap books, sensory books (touchy feely books), pop books, shine-a-light books…make easy activities that go along with your books (e.g., matching animals to pictures or acting out animals)
  • Use words such as “two more pages then done” or “when we do two more pages then we will get a snack“.
  • Don’t fuss over the child listening to the words written on the pages. Shorten the story or just name pictures. Many times you get more out of a book by NOT reading word for word what is written. Be flexible… our goal is to increase attention and extend the amount of time the child will engage with a book.
  • Use voices (loud, soft, high, low), animal and environmental sounds…be excited! You will get more engagement and attention when you yourself are acting like a kid!
  • Try singing the words in the books or make-up songs to the pictures….hate how you sound? Me too! Kids don’t care….sing People, sing!
  • YES read the saaaaaaaame book over and over and over and over. Repetition is great for early literacy and children will be able to “read” the books themselves before you know it!

 
1. Dear Zoo –This repetitive, interactive flap book brings the zoo home.  With fun simple art and great descriptive words, Dear Zoo will help keep children engaged. 
2.  Open the Barn Door – This darling repetitive flap book is great to work on animal sounds, answering simple WHO questions, naming animals, and talking about what animals are doing or where they live. 
3.  If You See a Kitten – To work on vocalizing, imitating, and using simple sounds and vowels … you need this book! Pair an action with each exclamation for added effect and reinforcement.
4. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?  The repetition and predictability of this book is perfect for encouraging early language and vocabulary.  It’s a great way to pair 2-3 words together too with descriptive phrases and a consistent line throughout the book.
5. The Very Hungry Caterpillar One of my favorite activities with this book is to pair play food with the pictures and act it out!  I then expand it to talking about what foods we like to eat! 
6. From Head to Toe There is a reason that this is the third book on my list by Eric Carle … and that his books are bestsellers and award-winners.  He blends his illustrations and artwork in a delightfully effective way with his prose to make learning fascinating and fun!  This book engages children with imitation of playful actions as they do what the animals pictured do, a great way to teach imitation and use of action phrases!
7. Piggies Ten marvelous little piggies romp from fingers to toes … incredibly fun illustrations and descriptive phrases (“COLD piggies,” “DIRTY piggies!”) paired with your playful gestures and expressions will make this a child’s favorite, for sure!    (Like Eric Carle, the authors Don and Audrey Wood also demonstrate a unique talent for using expressive illustrations and engaging and repetitive language to make their stories come alive for little ones . . . you’ll also find me frequently using their books The Big Hungry Bear and The Napping House in therapy!)
8. My Truck is Stuck A must have for the truck, car, or bus lover.  This book has great rhyming and repetition and wonderful SOUNDS. Get your vocal cords ready for BEEPS, HONKS, and HEEEELPS! We love acting this book out with small vehicles during therapy.
9. While You Were Sleeping While young Daisy sleeps, animals play and swim and fly. When she wakes up, her mother tells her about each animal in turn. John Butler's lyrical text and rich, vivid pictures make this a special book and an excellent one for teaching verbs and use of action phrases.
10. Monster Books:    There’s a Monster in Your Book, Go Away Big Green Monster, and There’s a Monster in My House – KIDS LOVE MONSTERS… These are fun, interactive books with predictable lines and fun phrases to help ease kids fears and make monsters friendly and fun!
11. Blue Hat Green Hat Nothing gets little ones laughing like this staple from Sandra Boynton.  It is my absolute favorite book to target 2-word combinations and is always a success (remember that YOU bring the funny – react and make it silly and ridiculous and your child will follow your lead!)
12. Touchy Feely Books: – That’s not my tractor.   That’s not my goat.  That’s not my unicorn.  Usborne has a ton of these fun “That’s not my…..” books. They are simple and cute and the sensory components help keep young children engaged.

 

What does it mean to incorporate sensory integration into speech therapy? Children learn to develop their motor abilities, attention, cognitive thinking, language skills, and interpersonal relationships by taking in and processing information from each of the seven senses, including not only the well-known hearing, vision, touch, smell, and taste, but also their vestibular system (or sense of balance and movement) and proprioception (or sense of body awareness).  Thoughtful and guided exposure to positive sensory experiences can help to ensure that children learn to process and respond to sensory stimuli.  It's a holistic approach that makes learning language fun!   

​If your child is receiving speech therapy, take note of the toys and activities used by the therapist. Peruse the storage units of a speech therapist and you likely will find very few, if any, electronic toys with batteries. The reason why is clearly outlined in the article linked below. “The best toys are those that support parents and children playing, pretending, and interacting together,” stated Alan Mendelsohn, MD, FAAP, in the AAP’s press release. Although the department stores will line their shelves this holiday season with flashy, digital, and electronic games, I challenge you to look instead for the simple toys that the speech therapist is using . . . My favorites are play-doh, Potato Heads, toy food and dishes, toy animals, blocks, musical instruments, puzzles, puppets, and balls! Realize that the less a toy does, the more the child can do with it, sparking endless imagination and creativity and more importantly, interaction and communication! While electronic gadgets and apps promise to teach your child ABCs, numbers, shapes, ask yourself how these concepts help your child to express what he wants, what he needs, or what he thinks. I would argue that many of these electronic toys that appear to have the benefit of "teaching" language, may in fact be preventing the child's engagement with others and teaching him to be passive and quiet. When you offer toys that do "nothing," your child learns many more "somethings" about play, communication, and social interaction. 😃

https://www.healthy-holistic-living.com/pediatricians-say-kids-need-simple-toys-not-ipads-and-electronics/

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Speech therapy may look a lot like we are just playing . . . but here is an insider’s guide about what is really happening during all that “play!”
 
Every speech therapist who works with a child on developing and expanding his speech and language skills and communication has been challenged with questions about why it looks like “you’re just playing with my child.”  What looks like the therapist sitting on the floor and simply talking to and playing with your child is actually based upon a lot of knowledge and expertise and includes many subtle prompts or cues which the therapist is skillfully using to facilitate the child’s language and communication.  Keep reading for some inside tips and insight . . . 
 

• There are different stages and types of play and each present with different ways to facilitate language and development.  For instance, a young child may put a toy in his mouth to learn about that object . . . he discovers that it is not food and will start to explore what else he might do with it.  This exploratory play creates an opportunity for a child to learn through the sensations he is experiencing and respond with various motor skills and reactions. A speech therapist will guide the development of play for your child by offering specific toys to facilitate different stages of play and model new and creative ways to use, to respond to, and to talk about the toy.

 

• There are specific skills which are needed to develop and progress with speech and language. As a speech therapist plays with your child, she is working to establish joint attention in order to promote skills such as listening, imitating actions and sounds, and using gestures.  This is established by selecting and utilizing toys and activities which are motivating to the child and progressively establishing increased demands with them.   

 

• Establishing and maintaining a child’s attention is not child’s play . . . it can be very difficult!  Communication depends upon motivation . . . play and interaction needs to be fun and engaging in order to motivate your child to communicate!  It is okay to be silly and playful with your child . . . he will love it and will be learning from you at the same time!

 

•  Although it sounds counterintuitive, there are times when a speech therapist is not trying to elicit a word from your child.  That is because observation is a key element of communication.  The therapist will be consistently observing your child to understand exactly how he is communicating and how your child is using his nonverbal language so that she can help to interpret his intent and model the words to convey his message.  And your child learns to develop this nonverbal communication by watching you!  Reacting to your child with body language and facial expressions is just as important as for him to develop his communication skills as speaking to him.

 

• Building upon the observation that the therapist does with your child, she uses specific cues to engage the child and encourage him to take a turn in the interaction. Waiting for that response or even for the child to initiate the interaction creates the opportunity for your child to be an active participant and reduces his dependency upon prompts to communicate.

 

• When it comes to facilitating language development and communication, less is often so much more!  Asking a lot of questions of your child can make him feel uncomfortable and can encourage more resistance.  As a therapist plays with your child, she is setting up the environment to promote more independent communication from your child and understands that modeling can be a lot more effective than asking questions.  Instead of asking “What is this?” use your observation and react to what your child does with the object and wait for his response instead.      

​Happy New Year!
     I have several resolutions that I want to implement in 2019 . . . I want to be more organized, more health-conscious, more productive!  And I want to help you implement some simple strategies that can help your child build his or her speech and language skills!  Let's talk about those challenges that I am asked about most frequently . . . 
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1) Is too much screen time hurting my child's speech and language development?
     Research has proven that screen time does not promote your child’s language development. The American Academy of Pediatrics points out that most apps that are considered to be "educational" are targeting rote skills such as the alphabet or shapes.  However, the skills young children need to learn to be successful in school include more social pragmatic skills such as impulse control, managing emotions, and creative problem solving.  The best way to promote these skills is through unstructured and social play.  Have fun and be silly during everyday interactions, such as bath time, meal time or take a walk to the park! That’s where the best language learning takes place.  Strike a balance and facilitate screen time to embed yourself into the interaction . . . if your child has a favorite song they enjoy listening to, sing that song as you get your child dressed or are driving in the car.  Exposing your child to screen time is not so bad if you also expose him or her to legos, and farm animals, and making cookies, and splashing in a mud puddle . . . . you get the idea!
2) Should I correct my child if he pronounces a word incorrectly?
     Errors are an essential part of the learning process as children develop their speech and language skills.  It is common for children to make speech errors, but as they grow older, their articulation continues to develop and their pronunciation generally becomes much more clear. A good guideline to follow is that by 2 years old, a child should be understood 50% of the time by an unfamiliar listener. By 3 years old, they should be understood 75% of the time, and by 4-5 years old, they should be close to 100% intelligible even if a few articulation errors are still present in their speech.
     You want to offer a positive and supportive model for your child. It is the message that your child is attempting to relate that is most important and you want to praise and reinforce that message.  *Repeat what your child has said, but use the correct pronunciation. *You may want to give the sound a little extra emphasis.
*Use reading as a way to surround your child with the targeted sound.​
*Slowly tapping and clapping out each syllable can be a fun way to help with clarity.
*If you don't understand what your child has said, ask more questions, encourage your child to show you a reference if they can and obtain more information. 
3) Is my child stuttering?
     I am often asked by parents about whether or not they should be concerned about stuttering.  Just as articulation errors are a typical part of speech and language learning, so is disfluency.  As children learn to speak, they may demonstrate repetition of a sound, syllable or word.  Use of fillers such as "uhh," or "umm," is also common.  It is common to see these repetitions during a stage of growth when language is rapidly increasing, and these repetitions may come and go throughout different stages or be observed at different times. Disfluencies are likely to increase when children are tired, excited, upset, or being rushed to speak or when they are asking or responding to questions.  
*Try talking to your child in a way that is relaxed, fun, and enjoyable.
*Engage your child in conversation without distractions or interruptions. 
*Listen attentively to what your child is saying, maintaining normal eye contact without displaying signs of impatience or frustration.
*Avoid reacting negatively when your child stutters, correcting his speech, or completing his sentences. 
*Model a slow, relaxed way of speaking to help your child slow down his own speech.
4) How can I help my child learn to read?
     Phonological awareness is the area of oral language that relates to the ability to think about the sounds in a word rather than just the meaning of the word. It is an understanding that spoken language is made up of words, and words consist of syllables, rhymes, and sounds. As preschoolers, children start to develop an awareness of individual phonemes and can attend to and manipulate them in a word.  By the end of kindergarten, students typically demonstrate the ability to: recognize how many words are in a sentence, segment and blend words of at least three syllables, understand the concept of rhyming, recognize and generate rhyming words, isolate the beginning or ending sounds in words, segment and blend sounds in a word with three sounds, and change a sound in a word to make a new word in familiar games and songs.  
*Read aloud to your child frequently. Choose books that rhyme or repeat the same sound. Draw your child’s attention to rhymes.
*Teach your child nursery rhymes and practice saying them together. 
*Teach your child about syllables by clapping or jumping to each syllable he hears in a word, pause between each syllable for emphasis.
*Play “I Spy.”  You say “I spy with my little eye something that rhymes with … or something that starts with . . . .
*Develop sound/letter correspondence by filling boxes with pictures or objects that start with a given letter.  
* Use Lego bricks to break words apart or to blend sounds together. Give your child two attached Lego bricks to represent parts of the word. Then have him physically take the Lego pieces apart as he removes part of the word.
​5) Will using sign language or pictures further delay or prevent my child's speech and language skills from developing?
     Research has shown that using sign language does not negatively impact a child’s language development, and actually increases a child's verbal skills.  Children can be taught to use signs or gestures before they are able to use words to communicate and this can significantly reduce frustration for both you and your child.  
*Select a few signs to use when you talk to your child: 
Some suggested common first words to sign with your child include:
Nouns: dog, cat, bird, shoe, cookie, cracker, apple, potty, car, truck, cup, spoon, bowl, boy, girl, baby, ball, bubble, block, slide
Social Words: no, stop, all done, all gone, away, more, again, mine
Action Words: go, up, down, eat, open, help
Descriptors: big, little, dirty, clean, wet, dry, on, in
*Ask your child what he wants and pause for a minute to see if he will say or sign it first.  If not, show him the sign and say the word out loud.  Pause again and see if he imitates you.  If not, take his hands and help him make the sign.  Then, immediately reward him by giving him the object or action just as if he had said it.  

     If you have any concerns about these or other aspects of your child's speech and language skills or would like further information or input, please contact Connections Speech Therapy for a free consult.