Previously,  Michigan has had pretty terrible coverage for kids with special needs which has forced parents to pay privately for imperative therapies like Applied Behavioral Analysis, Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy – which can costs hundreds of thousands of dollars PER YEAR. 

As of October of 2012, the state of Michigan will pay private insurance companies up to $50,000/year for Autism therapies for children 0-7…. (They are also promising $40,000/year for children 7-12 and $30,000 for children 12-18.) They’re doing this because, according to the theory of early intervention, providing good services to children when they are young  provides them with much more independence when they are older.. Independent individuals with special needs = less of a financial “burden” on the state of Michigan (I would never call adults with special needs a “burden” – this was just how it was described to me.)

This is a huge hope and prayer answered for many families and providers. Thank you, Michigan!

Happy Babbling!

There are so many thematic, language-rich activities you can do as the seasons begin to change. Here are some simple things I do with the kiddos I work with in the treatment room.

-Activity: planting seeds in a pot of dirt in hopes of a flower or herb emerging

For kids who are imitating words or only using single words:
Caregiver:  Dirt. Dirt in Pot. (Hold dirt and pot away from child’s reach)

Child: (reaching for pot)

Caregiver: Say, “pot”

Child: pa!

Caregiver: (immediately give child pot and dirt). Dirt in pot. (help child put dirt in pot)

Child: [babbling] dapagaidhgla

Caregiver: yes! dirt in pot! Seed.

Child: reaching for seeds

Caregiver: say “more!”

Child: mo!

Caregiver: (immediately give child seed.) seed in dirt.

Using themes in speech therapy helps provide and enable a child to participate and engage in educational activities They may encounter in play groups and school. I love to set them up for success in a variety of daily environments.

Happy spring! Happy babbling!

Thus far, a large majority of kids I see are exposed to at least two languages.  Living in New York City, and currently in Detroit, it is evident that the majority of young kids are exposed to at least two languages.

Does teaching your child more than one language confuse them when they are young?  Will expecting your language-delayed child to communicate in two languages make their language delay worse?

In short, NO.

Bilingualism, or speaking two (or more!) languages, does not confuse your child.  When a child is severely language delayed and exposed to multiple languages, I recommended that parents remain consistent with the words they use to label and request.  For example, if you are having your child imitate “mas” (Spanish for “more”), ALWAYS USE “mas” – don’t switch back and forth between “mas” and “more”.  If you label “milk”, don’t switch back and forth between “milk” and “leche.”

All languages are composed of different sound systems. When children are learning language, they are organizing the sound system and rules in their sweet little brains. If their parent(s) are speaking more than one language, their brains are now trying to organize more than one sound system.  If your child has a language delay, he/she may take longer to organize these systems – but that’s ok

If you are a home that speaks multiple languages, be sure to consistently use language enrichment strategies  (found here, here and here) when interacting with your child.

Leave a comment or email me if you have any further, specific questions!

Happy Babbling!

Maternal Vitamin D levels and language development

Happy Babbling!

Some  of the little tykes I work with are only 10-12 months and I don’t really expect them to use words (or word approximations) to communicate their wants and needs yet.  On the contrary, most of the kids I work with are between 18-36 months and have severe communication impairments and use very few, or no, words.  And, most of the time, these children are very frustrated because they can’t let their mommy or daddy know what they want (hey, I’d be frustrated, too!)

In therapy, if a child is not verbally using words or sounds to request, teaching them the “more” sign is the first thing I do.  Before I explain how to use sign language with your own child, I want to introduce you to someone very special to me:

This is Tristian (Tristian’s mommy gave me the approval to post this picture and some of his precious story.)  Tristian is now 3 and was diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified when he was about 17 months.  Tristian is very special to me because he was my first client out of graduate school.  His mommy and I quickly became friends and we still keep in touch although I’ve moved away.

When I first met little Tristian, he did not use many words or sounds to ask for food, his favorite toy or television show.  After getting to know Tristian, his parents and I decided to begin teaching him signs to request.

Here are the steps we took to teach Tristian the “more” sign:

1. Tristian loved his I-pad.  So, I held the I-pad in my lap.  [Use anything your child desires - maybe a cracker, puzzle piece, the television on, a car, bubbles...]
2. Once Tristian saw that I was holding the I-pad, he quickly approached me and attempted to grab it out of my hands.  Instead of giving it to him, I held his sweet little hands in my own and did the “more” sign with him (while I said more.) [Prior to giving your child what they want, put your hands over their hands and do the "more" sign for them...And be sure to say "more" while you're doing it!]
3. After I helped Tristian use the “more” sign, I immediately gave him the I-pad [Immediately give your child the desirable object after the completion of the "more" sign] 
4. To continue to teach this, I gave Tristian about 30 seconds to enjoy the I-pad, then gently pulled it away from him.  As he reached for it, I took his hands to do the “more” sign again

With consistency, you will be able to fade the full prompt (using your hands over your child’s hands to make the “more” sign) and just touch their wrist to help them get started on the sign…And eventually, you may only need to say “more?” to cue them to use the sign.. The goal is to have your child use the sign in a variety of situations (more milk, more toys, more TV, more I-pad) without any help from you.

Tristian caught on to “more”, and we quickly added some more signs to enable this sweet boy to request.  The first time he signed “more” on his own, his momma and I cried.  Tristian has a voice and wants to be heard – he just needed a little bit of help

I like to play “speech therapist” to all of my friend’s children, too (I love my job so much – I can’t help but share all of the information!)  Here’s sweet Ellie doing the “more” sign.. Her big sister, Eda, helped teach her:

Does anyone have any stories about using sign language with young children?  Please share them in the comments section!

Happy Babbling!

Here are some suggestions:

• Try to play with your child for at least 30 minutes throughout the day
  
• If you can spend about 30 minutes each day in concentrated play with your child each day, you are giving your baby a language rich environment
• Engage in pretend play
• pretend to make lunch for a baby doll
• pretend to talk on a phone
• play house
• Label everything you use and encounter during play
• Narrate what your child is doing in SIMPLE, SHORT utterances
• “Baby eat. Yum. Baby Eating.”
• “Mommy cook.”
• “Cup. Cup for Juice. Baby drink juice.”
• Provide opportunities for your child to request and label
• While doing a puzzle, hold the pieces in your hand
• Have your child request
• If your child can say “more”, make sure they use their words to request!
• If your child can use a sign (ie., the “more sign”) wait for them to use it!
• If your child is just learning to request, use YOUR hands on top of your child’s hand to make the “more” sign

You don’t need elaborate toys or activities, just use the simple language skills you’ve learned to enrich their playtime!

Happy Babbling!

photo credit

I know this is a touchy subject, but I feel like I have to address it  because so many parents ask about it…. What television shows are good for your child? Are any of them educational?

I have to agree with the American Academy of Pediatrics in response to this question…  NO SCREEN TIME for children under 2 is beneficial.. “Screen time” includes television, computers, i-pads, i-phones… I know it’s hard, but the truth is that television provides no opportunities for interactive play… Yes, your child may learn to recite “Hola!” because she watched lots of Dora, but TV time is stripping a child of opportunities for language development.  I know it’s fun to watch your child navigate and learn the television, computer and I-pad, but if they’re under 2, it’s not beneficial.. It would benefit them much more if you sit down and use that time for concentrated play time with them

Blah, blah, blah – this is how I feel and how the American Academy of Pediatric feels BUT I am also realistic… Although I don’t yet have children of my own (hoping my hubby gives me the “clear” to start trying soon), I work with 0-3 year olds all day and have been a full-time nanny… There are so many instances in which one child is screaming and the other one is puking and, for goodness sake, you need to go to the bathroom…. for your sanity, I understand if you need to TURN ON THE TV!  Just be sure to limit the time and don’t let it replace real, rich learning opportunities throughout the day….

Stay tuned for the next blog post on ways to provide a language-rich play environment for your sweet child.

Any tips from moms out there as to how they stay away from relying on the television, computer or i-pad throughout the day?

Happy Babbling!

PROMPT is an intensive tactile cueing therapy that focuses on restructuring (or reorganizing) oral motor movements to stimulate language development and sound production. (Tactile therapy = touch therapy. PROMPT involves the clinician using his/her hands on the child’s mouth to place their mouth muscles into the right spot to produce sounds and words.) It’s research based and shows results.. especially for children with Childhood Apraxia of Speech, children who are non-verbal or children with articulation/phonological disorders. For example, if your child has age-appropriate receptive language (or language comprehension) but only has a few sounds and struggles to imitate, this therapy technique would be perfect for your child!

There are very few PROMPT trained therapists in the metro-detroit area but almost all school districts in NYC are requiring their speech language pathologists to be PROMPT trained…. It’s about to blow up here in the midwest, too

If you’re interested in learning more about PROMPT therapy, please don’t hesitate to email me! I have already started to implement PROMPT therapy into my treatment room.

Happy babbling!

First of all, let me define “dysfluent speech” (stuttering is a type of dysfluency) Dysfluent simply means “non-fluent” or when there are unnatural pauses, repetitions or prolongations of sounds and words in a person’s speech.  A person may have a hard time “starting” a sound or word, repeat a sound at the beginning of a word (ie., th-th-th-THE), repeat an entire word (“the the the the”) or stretch out a sound (ie., llllllllllllove.)

Stuttering is a scary idea of many parents… Society has done a sufficient job bringing negative light to stuttering and other dysfluent speech. So frequently we see children and adults mocked in movies and television shows because they are an individual who stutters.

As Speech Pathologists, we generally are not concerned if there is no family history of stuttering and a child exhibits some mild dysfluencies between 15 months and 24 months.  Why? Because typically developing children have a vocabulary spurt at this time… often times their little mouth can’t keep up with all of the words their brain is trying to get out! If a child has some dysfluencies, this is what I recommend:

1. Model slow speech.. not uncomfortably slow speech, just slower than you may speak to another adult (I sometimes call it “turtle speech”..moving slow like a turtle)

2. Don’t speak for your child. Be patient with them. Make them comfortable. Let them get it out. Trust me, kids don’t need extra pressure

3. Don’t overtly correct your child. If she/he says, “Can can can I have apple?” Simply respond, “yes! you can have an apple!” to reinforce their good talking Children (and adults!) who stutter develop a lot of negative feelings towards stuttering which can make stuttering more severe – as a parent (or teacher) you want to combat these negative feelings with a safe environment.

It’s actually not common practice to “treat” stuttering in a child until preschool or kindegarten.. and even then, therapy is consultative (teaching parents strategies to provide safe and comfortable speaking environments at home and school..) Direct therapy for stuttering or other dysfluencies doesn’t usually happen until a child is in middle school or high school.

Happy Babbling!

stop using long phrases and questions with your 0-3 year old children. small, 2-3 word phrases are more manageable for them to digest, understand and (hopefully) imitate.  if you say to your child, “hey johnny, do you want to sit down and eat your delicious chicken dinner?” I’m 99% sure that sweet little johnny didn’t understand anything you just asked him… try something like this, “johnny eat? yum!”

short, simple and easy to digest.

(was this better, babe? )