Brighten Therapy - Speech, Language & Feeding

02/10/2023

The ICFQ is used as a quick screening tool to determine if your little one’s picky eating is within the normal range or if it would be best to consult a feeding therapist.

This DOES NOT necessarily mean your child will need ongoing feeding therapy…

But it does make sure that all the kids who WILL need help get caught early!

It’s always better to send families in for an appointment and have them leave with confidence their child is okay rather than waiting until it’s obvious a problem won’t resolve on its own.

Tools like the ICFQ help with that!

02/07/2023

TWO things HAVE to be in place for your child to eat:

1. They have to be able to chew and swallow the food you're giving them. If your child can't use their tongue and jaw in a coordinated fashion to grind down the food really well, they're NOT going to enjoy eating it!

2. They have to have acclimatized to all the sensory information they get from being around that food... So what does that mean exactly?

New scents, tastes, and textures often give our bodies kind of a WHOA *pulls back* reaction. Think of the first time you drank alcohol or tried some weird new health fad (I'm looking at you, ACV shots).

For kids, they don't have the ability to override this reaction in the name of *health*. We need to EASE them into it but letting them see, smell, touch, take TINY tastes, and spit out foods before we ever expect that they'll actually eat anything.

Shoot for 10 exposures before you ever start to encourage your child to put something new in their mouth (and even then, just licking counts too!)

Want to know more about what can cause this range to narrow for some kids?

Check out the link in bio for our latest blog about the causes picky eating + how you can help!

02/01/2023

‼️ You know your little eater ‼️

There’s this funny misleading statistic that makes it look like parents cause picky eating.

It’s even been a CNN headline: “Picky eating linked to demanding parents”... but let’s dig into this! 🧐

There’s no debating that picky eaters are more likely to have parents who are super stressed around food and demand their child eat. And kids with great eating habits usually have parents who are relaxed at meals and never pressure the child.

But that doesn’t mean parents cause pickiness you guys! 😫

PICKINESS CAUSES STRESS FOR PARENTS.

When your kid is not eating, you start to exert some pressure on them to eat. You start to demand they eat and police foods because you’re worried!

And parents, research shows your worries are valid! A parent’s level of concern is the best predictor of how severe that child’s picky eating will become.

You know your little person, and if you’re worried that’s the best reason to get help RIGHT NOW.

01/30/2023

Parents don’t cause picky eating... But parent responses CAN minimize the likelihood of pickiness persisting!

When a parent can understand the cause of their child’s food refusal and set reasonable expectations, little ones can begin to have positive feeding experiences.

Check out our blog to learn more!

Parents don’t cause picky eating or create problem feeders, but parents can respond to these issues in a way that minimizes the likelihood of them persisting. When a parent can understand the cause of their child’s food refusal and set reasonable expectations, their child can begin to have posit...

12/07/2022

🛑 PARENTS! STOP. TESTING.

Do you want to talk to someone who watches over your work and asks you questions to see if you know what you're doing?

NO!

Do you like having a conversation with a friend and being peppered with questions about a topic you don't really even want to discuss?

NO!

So can we please stop doing this to our kids?

Kids hear us use MORE language when we are playing with them and sharing our thoughts and ideas... and they use MORE language in return!

Focus on being FUN and SILLY with your little one, that's where the best learning really happens!

11/21/2022

😤 UGH. Who thought of this?!

The noise-level of toys is deemed safe if it won't cause hearing loss at an ADULT arm's length.

But anyone who has seen kids play knows that they get way WAY closer than that!!

Yet another thing where parents are entirely responsible for keeping kids safe...

Test the sound level of your toys to know which batteries to remove ASAP

(or use my rule of thumb: if you think it's too loud, it's probably too loud)

Please share this info with other parents and anyone who might be buying some toys as gifts this year!

SILENT. IS. BEST.

11/20/2022

Getting ready for Black Friday and Christmas shopping season?!

You should know that anything with academic concepts like colours, letters, or numbers can be marketed as an "educational toy"... even when it's nothing more than flashy lights and sounds that actually LIMIT your child's play!

Talk about false advertising... 🙄

We want to help, so here's our latest blog article on how you can find toys that actually support your child's development.

Bonus: You might even end up saving money on toys this year too!

It can feel like everything is an educational toy these days, but letters, colours, and numbers don’t mean a child will learn from the toy. The truth is that the best educational toys are often the simplest.

11/20/2022

🚨 Those loud, flashy toys aren’t good for your child.

Yes, I said it.

Many toys that are labeled as educational aren’t going to teach anything to your child.

👉 “Educational” toys only have to have an educational component, but they don’t have to have to prove that their toy teaches your child anything.

These electronic toys often are teaching a concept far beyond your child's comprehension or are too simple to engage your child’s brain.

Your 2-year-old isn’t going to learn how to read through an electronic tablet, for example.

Or, learn their ABCs by passively hitting a button.

👉 Passive play is when your little one can derive entertainment without actively doing anything. It’s very similar to watching a movie and doesn’t help your child retain information to apply in the real world.

So, what toys should you buy?

Read our newest blog, “How To Find Actual Educational Toys For Your Child,” to find out! 🥰

11/18/2022

Another post *quickly* answering some of your questions!

Have a question you want us to answer next time?

Comment below!

11/17/2022

An hour in the life of an SLP.

11/15/2022

Controversial opinion, I know, but think about it...

Parents naturally think their kids are perfect.

But they clearly see all their own mistakes + shortcomings.

That makes it SOO easy to blame your mistakes for any negative outcome with your child, because parenting is FULL of mistakes!

But luck, chance, random chaos, genes, the environment all have a HUGE impact on your child's development... often even more so than parenting.

We therapists focus on parenting because it is the ONLY thing we can control and parents are the main influence in a child's life (at least until age three... then it's peers).

So if your little one struggles, it's probably not your fault. But you're still the very best person to help them!

Let’s start today, together 🔆

11/08/2022

Want to know why we love these words in this order?

Sounds + exclamations are attention grabbing and easiest for babies to imitate, so they can often say some of these even if their oral motor skills aren’t fully ready for words.

Babies love learning that they can name a person, item, song, or activity and GET THE THING.. these words are so motivating and useful to get language started.

In toddlerhood, focus on labels for things your little one sees daily (clothes, toys, body parts, furniture, etc.) and after that, move on to targeting verbs and adjectives. Toddlers need to know action and describing words to be able to build sentences!

In preschool, little ones need to know prepositions to follow directions and play cooperatively. They also need to understand how to logically answer who, what, and where questions in class and with their friends!

*ALSO SO IMPORTANT*

You preschooler needs to have some understanding of quantity concepts like none, many, less, and all before they’ll understand numeracy. Be sure to teach vocabulary beyond number names at this age!

Finally, when your child is getting ready for Kindergarten and has a strong language foundation… it’s time to focus on those abstract or academic concepts. Now they’ll need to know vocabulary around sequence (first, then, next, last), time (yesterday, tomorrow), letters, numbers, and manners.

Politeness markers like please and thank you can only have true meaning for little ones once they understand that others have their own unique thoughts (called theory of mind).. which only develops between age 4-5. So if your little one isn’t picking up on these words, that’s normal! They’re not rude, they’re just little. Let’s let them be little 🔆🥰✨