Speech-Language Development Blog

Autism Symptoms

Fri, 28 Dec 2012 15:06:42 -0500

Autism symptoms are not always obvious in infancy and early childhood. Knowing the early signs of autism in infants and toddlers can help you know when to be concerned

Causes of Autism

Fri, 28 Dec 2012 13:01:15 -0500

A lot of people "know" the causes of autism, but their explanations often don't stand up to scientific scrutiny.

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Fri, 28 Dec 2012 12:35:41 -0500

Autism spectrum disorder is a general term for a number of developmental disorders that vary widely by type and severity.

Different Types of Hearing Loss in Children

Sun, 20 May 2012 20:25:44 -0400

A summary of some of the different types of hearing loss in children, their causes, and how they effect speech and language development.

Degrees of Hearing Loss In Children

Sun, 20 May 2012 19:37:16 -0400

A summary of the degrees of hearing loss and how they effect speech and language comprehension.

The hearing test: Part of this complete speech-language evaluation

Sun, 18 Dec 2011 10:44:15 -0500

I always recommend including a hearing test as part of a speech-language evaluation, because a hearing loss may cause, or contribute to, a speech-language disorder.

My SiteBuildIt! Success Story

Tue, 28 Dec 2010 10:39:14 -0500

I used SiteBuildIt! to create a profitable web site. You can, too! Here's how I did it.

The decibel scale: how loud is loud?

Sat, 18 Sep 2010 21:00:58 -0400

The decibel scale is what we use to measure how loud a sound is. It's a logarithmic scale, so it's a little tricky to understand sometimes. Here's what you need to know.

Super Star Speech

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 15:10:03 -0400

SUPER STAR SPEECH is an articulation therapy workbook series for parents and professionals by speech-language pathologist Deborah Lott.

Causes of Hearing Loss

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:51:38 -0400

Causes of hearing loss in children and adults are divided into two broad categories: congenital and acquired.

Unilateral hearing loss in children

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 12:45:45 -0400

Children with unilateral hearing loss are at risk for speech and language delays and difficulty in school, even though they "can hear just fine" with the unaffected ear.

Cerumen: the wonderful world of ear wax

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 10:41:18 -0400

Cerumen, or ear wax, may just about be nature's most under-rated and misunderstood gift to humanity.

Hearing Loss in Children: a risk factor for speech and language

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:30:37 -0400

Hearing loss in children is a frequent contributing factor to speech and language impairment. Find out how to tell if your child has a hearing loss and what to do about it.

Phonetic Spelling

Tue, 18 May 2010 11:28:44 -0400

Phonetic spelling refers to the ability to identify sounds associated with individual letters or letter combinations. Learn how to foster this crucial stage of your child's development of literacy.

Phonetic Reading and Development of Literacy

Mon, 17 May 2010 10:38:08 -0400

Phonetic reading refers to a child's ability to "sound out" and pronounce unfamiliar words and nonsense words based on spelling.

Letter-Sound Correspondence and Phonemic Awareness

Mon, 17 May 2010 10:14:23 -0400

Letter-sound correspondence refers to the identification of sounds associated with individual letters and letter combinations.

Phoneme Blending

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 16:28:07 -0500

Phoneme blending refers to the ability to identify a word when hearing parts of the word in isolation. This is important for the development of literacy, as well as general language development.

Phoneme Substitution

Fri, 8 Jan 2010 15:54:51 -0500

Phoneme substitution refers to the ability to replace a phoneme in a word with another phoneme to form a new word. This is a very important step in the development of literacy, as well as general lan

Phoneme Deletion

Fri, 8 Jan 2010 13:38:23 -0500

Phoneme Deletion is the ability to identify how a word would sound if one sound were omitted. This is a very important step in the development of literacy, as well as general language development.

Phoneme Isolation

Thu, 7 Jan 2010 22:09:18 -0500

Phoneme isolation is the ability to identify where a sound appears in a word, or what sound appears in a given position. It is important for literacy, as well as for general language development.

Syllable and phoneme segmentation

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:22:36 -0400

Syllable and phoneme segmentation refers to the ability to identify the components of a word, phrase, or sentence.

Speech Evaluation and Screening

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:50:44 -0400

Before a school may conduct a speech evaluation, a parent or guardian must provide written permission. However, many schools provide a speech screening for new students, including kindergarteners.

Alliteration and rhyme

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:21:39 -0400

Awareness of rhyme and alliteration is a basic skill for phoneme sequencing.

Pre-phonemic listening skills

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:59:43 -0400

Before they begin to speak, children demonstrate pre-phonemic listening skills, including the ability to identify a variety of non-speech environmental sounds.

Phonemic Awareness

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:40:05 -0400

Phonemic awareness is the ability to identify and mentally manipulate the sounds (phonemes), sound sequences, and sound structures in a syllable or word.

SpeechWays home speech therapy program by Leah Moryosef

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 09:58:15 -0400

SpeechWays is a home-based program for the development of speech and language in young children. A speech-language pathologist developed it as a way of helping parents work effectively with th

Speech Class Rules, by Ronda Wojcicki

Thu, 3 Sep 2009 11:40:38 -0400

Speech Class Rules, an illustrated children's book by Ronda M. Wojcicki with illustrations by Loel Barr, aims to demystify the speech therapy experience for children of elementary school age.

TV and ADHD

Fri, 22 May 2009 14:17:21 -0400

Is there a connection between TV and ADHD? It probably depends on how you define 'connection'.

Aphasia Tutor

Sat, 16 May 2009 09:49:46 -0400

Aphasia Tutor software was designed for use with older adults who have lost language function as a result of a stroke or dementia, but I have used it with children as young as third grade.

HELP for Word Finding

Tue, 12 May 2009 22:09:32 -0400

HELP for Word-Finding is a 179-page workhorse packed with simple and well-designed exercises, recommended by the publisher for ages 6 through adult. I use my copy extensively.

Product Reviews

Mon, 11 May 2009 21:36:46 -0400

Look here for product reviews of books, software, and toys you can use to help develop communication skills.

big book of exclamations

Mon, 11 May 2009 21:10:27 -0400

The Big Book of Exclamations is a different sort of book that was written by a speech-language pathologist to help train parents to read to their children in a language-facilitating way.

Speech Therapy Materials

Fri, 6 Mar 2009 22:14:50 -0500

A lot of companies create and supply high-quality speech therapy materials, including card decks for articulation and language games. Here's an easy way to make your own for a lot less money.

Whac-a-Mole

Fri, 6 Mar 2009 10:51:59 -0500

Whac-a-Mole can be a fun way to practice early developing auditory processing and attention.

Go Fish

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 15:38:11 -0500

Go Fish is a simple, popular card game that requires players to talk and listen to each other. As such, it can be readily adapted for use in speech therapy and home practice.

Articulation difficulties, waiting for therapy to start

Mon, 2 Feb 2009 20:58:21 -0500

A child experiencing articulation difficulties or other communication issues may have to wait before beginning speech therapy, due to the shortage of speech therapists.

Cognitive advantages of being bilingual

Wed, 7 Jan 2009 16:39:00 -0500

Research has found several advantages of being bilingual beyond the obvious one of being able to communicate in more than one language.

A talking toy ... with an articulation disorder?

Sun, 4 Jan 2009 07:46:55 -0500

A reader sent me this question about her son's talking toy.

Receptive Expressive Language Disorder

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 07:08:34 -0500

The mother of a kindergartener with receptive-expressive language disorder sent me this question about her son's response to therapy.

Memory game

Mon, 8 Dec 2008 22:54:27 -0500

You can play the Memory game with a regular deck of playing cards, but since Original Memory has pictures of common objects, it makes a good tool for teaching early vocabulary.

Using focused stimulation to help speech and language development in young child

Sun, 7 Dec 2008 12:09:31 -0500

Focused stimulation (FS) is a technique used by speech therapists to help stimulate child language acquisition. Like so much of what we SLPs do, FS is easy, cheap, and wonderfully effective.

Articulation therapy activities for older students

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 10:59:49 -0500

There are a lot of articulation activities out there, but sometimes it's hard to find articulation therapy activities older students will enjoy and benefit from.

Trouble board game and other practice-and-play games

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 21:29:02 -0500

I generally use the Trouble board game as reinforcement during speech therapy, interspersed with more drill-like activities.

Speech therapy ideas: Things to do with coupons

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:19:19 -0500

Here are some speech therapy ideas for things to do with coupons that I sometimes use for elementary, preschool and toddler language development.

Using the Guess Who? board game to encourage speech-language development

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 22:29:41 -0500

The Guess Who? board game lends itself well to developing deductive reasoning and a wide range of receptive & expressive language skills.

Speech therapy games to use at home

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 22:15:44 -0500

You can spend a lot on speech therapy games, or you can use familiar games you probably already own as part of your home program.

Preschool temper tantrums and meltdowns: the 'hidden handicap'

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:52:18 -0500

Preschool temper tantrums and meltdowns are a common concern for parents of children with communication disorders. Fatigue and over-stimulation may be to blame.

Phonological processes affect entire classes of sounds.

Sat, 1 Nov 2008 16:23:19 -0400

Phonological processes are a normal part of language development and are to be expected in children just starting to speak. However, if they persist beyond age five or six, therapy may be necessary.

Articulation therapy ideas to use with any sound

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:04:12 -0400

Here is a list of articulation therapy ideas that you can use to help your child practice. These articulation activities can be used to improve any speech sound.

Reader question on a toddler with just a few words

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 08:16:41 -0400

A 16-month-old is saying just a few words, doing a lot of babbling, and doesn't seem to enjoy games like peek-a-boo. What's going on?

Ankyloglossia, or tongue-tie

Thu, 2 Oct 2008 07:40:16 -0400

A small percentage of children are born with a condition called ankyloglossia, or tongue-tie, in which the lingual frenum is unusually short, restricting the movement of the tongue.

Articulation skills and disorders

Wed, 1 Oct 2008 22:49:50 -0400

Children with impaired articulation skills are easy enough to identify; but what do you do about it?

Evaluation and speech therapy: getting help for your child.

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 22:19:35 -0400

Getting speech therapy services for your child usually involves a number of steps. Exactly how you go about it depends on a number of factors.