smallTALK: Preschool Speech Language Program

06/26/2025

Summer Activities for Early Language

The summer is such a fun time to get outside with your toddler and play! There are so many fun outdoor activities that parents can model language during. This two part post is meant to give you some ideas for vocabulary you could model during various summer activities. The slide for each activity gives a handful of word suggestions, but these are not exhaustive. Use whatever words make sense with you and your toddler in these activities!

If you and your toddler are working to expand their vocabulary and use of single words, you can focus on modelling these words both on their own and in sentences with emphasis on that key word.

Example: Putting on sunscreen. “Now let’s rub it on your ARM. Arm. There it is on your ARM. Now let’s put some on your LEGS.”

If you and your toddler are working on combining two words, you can model these target words in two word phrases for your toddler as well as in sentences with emphasis on the key words.

Example: Jumping in the pool. “Okay I am ready. It’s time to JUMP IN. JUMP IN. Woah! You did it! You JUMPED IN.”

Additionally, when your toddler uses a single word, you can expand on that and add a word. It can be helpful to emphasize the new word.
Example: Playing in the water table

Child: “Dump”
Adult: “Dump OUT. You dumped it out! Do it again. Dump OUT.”

If you and your toddler are working on expanding from single words and two-word phrases to longer phrases, you can model longer phrases in response to their shorter phrase.

Example: Going for a walk.
Child: “Look truck!”
Adult: “Look, IT’S A truck! That truck was fast!”

This post contains a few common summer activities with a few examples of how to model language at different levels depending on what communication goals your child is working on. Speak with your child’s clinician if you have questions or are looking for more ideas on how to target early language skills in summer activities!

05/23/2025

Why to avoid the “wait and see” approach.
Many families are advised to wait and see if the child will catch up when not meeting developmental milestones. There are children with speech/language delays who may catch up with peers without intervention. However, research suggests most children with language delay at 30 months continue to show delayed language skills at age 6.
Young children have an easier time learning speech & language skills prior to school age. This may be because once they enter school, they are working on many skills at once and have less energy for communication skill growth.

Milestones are based on the age 90% of children have acquired a skill. If a child is not meeting milestones that means that they are in the bottom 10% of children their age in that skill area. A child who falls within the average range is where the majority of children (50%) fall. The longer a child waits for intervention, often the larger the gap between their communication skills and those of their peers grows. The graph shows an example comparing number of words at different ages for three children. The first child is not meeting milestones, the second child is meeting the milestones, & the third is in the average range. As the children age, the gap in number of words each are using grows significantly by 30 months. The earlier intervention is provided, the sooner family can work towards closing that gap.

Delays in speech & language skills are associated with literacy challenges. Initially, school focuses on learning to read, but by the third grade, children are reading to learn. This means that children rely on literacy skills for learning. Challenges with reading/writing can impact later academic performance. Early intervention for speech & language can strengthen communication skills prior to entry to school.

In Ontario, the preschool speech and language program is free to access and provides services from birth to entry to school. We strive to provide consistent service with a view to prepare children for academic success as they enter school and ensure supports are in place to thrive.

Contact smallTALK if you have concerns about your child’s communication.

05/13/2025

May is speech and hearing month! This is our third of weekly posts in the month of May to raise awareness about the importance of communication health.

This year, the theme is that Speech-Language Pathologists (S-LPs) and Audiologists do more than you think. The role of a Speech-Language Pathologist (S-LP) is vast. SLPs can work with people of any age, from birth to death, to support communication related challenges as well as swallowing concerns.

At smallTALK we specialize in assessment and treatment of children from birth until entry to school. Communication Disorders Assistants (CDAs) work alongside S-LPs treating speech and language needs and are an integral member of the team. At smallTALK, S-LPs and CDAs work with a wide range of communication concerns, from language delays to challenges with speech sounds to stuttering! We also work with children who have swallowing and feeding challenges. Depending on the severity and type of need, we often work with S-LPs in larger hospitals who have greater knowledge, experience, and tools to assess swallowing challenges as well as working with our occupational therapy colleagues, especially related to feeding challenges.

If your child resides within the smallTALK catchment area and has not yet started school and you have any concerns related to the above treatment areas, please reach out to smallTALK at 519-272-8216 or 1-866-333-7716 for more information. SmallTALK is a self referral program and does not require a doctors referral.

05/07/2025

We're hiring!

POSTING DATE: May 7, 2025                                                                POSTING #: 230-25 (OPSEU) EXPIRY DATE:     May 14, 2025

05/06/2025

Have you ever wondered if your child may benefit from an evaluation by a speech language pathologist? Above are some indications by age that your child may benefit from speech and language intervention. SmallTALK is a program that does not require a doctors’s referral. If you have concerns, parents can call to refer their child to the program. See the last slide/image for information on how to contact smallTALK.

05/01/2025

May is speech and hearing month!

During speech and hearing month, we focus on raising awareness about the importance of communication health. Over the course of this month, smallTALK will be sharing information about what speech-language pathology and the smallTALK Preschool Speech and Language Program.

This year, the theme is that Speech-Language Pathologists (S-LPs) and Audiologists do more than you think. The role of a Speech-Language Pathologist (S-LP) is vast. SLPs can work with people of any age, from birth to death, to support communication related challenges as well as swallowing concerns.
At smallTALK we specialize in assessment and treatment of children from birth until entry to school. Communication Disorders Assistants (CDAs) work along side S-LPs treating speech and language needs and are an integral member of the team. At smallTALK, S-LPs and CDAs work with a wide range of communication concerns, from language delays to challenges with speech sounds to stuttering. We also frequently work with children with diagnoses such as Autism Spectrum Disorder and Down Syndrome.

04/24/2025

04/01/2025

03/17/2025

This week is Neurodiversity Celebration Week!

As smallTALK is a provider of speech and language services in the birth to entry-to-school aged population, we often work with neurodiverse children and their families. We are all learning how to best honour, support, and celebrate neurodiverse children and to support their families.

During Neurodiversity Celebration Week we will focus on the mission of the founders:

💡 Increase acceptance and understanding

📖 Provide education

🎨 Celebrate neurodiversity

See the slides above for some information about neurodiversity and some ideas for how your family might be able to celebrate neurodiversity in your homes this week.

For more information check out www.neurodiversityweek.com or

03/10/2025

This week we are talking about action words (aka verbs)! Books that incorporate action words can be great way to focus on new words and adding variety to your child’s vocabulary. Often, early in the language learning process when children have a small number of words, the majority of those words are nouns (people, places, or things). It is important to introduce a variety of vocabulary and one way to do that is to focus on action words. Books focusing on action words are often also books that we can incorporate actions into, making it more fun and engaging, especially for toddlers who have difficulty sitting still.

Recommended book titles and authors:
Pet This Book - Jessica Young
From head to toe – Eric Carle
Bunny Slopes – Claudia Reuda
SHH We Have a Plan– Chris Haughton
Barnyard Dance – Sandra Boynton

This is far from an exhaustive list. There are many children’s books that use action words! These are just a few favourites! We have additional book titles below in case you are looking for more suggestions.

Play This Book - Jessica Young
All By Myself - Mercer Mayer
From Head to Toe Board Book - Eric Carle
The little blue truck – Alice Shertle
Dig, Dump, Roll by Sally Sutton
Are You Wiggly? – Tim Button
Stomp, Wiggle, Clap and Tap – Rachelle Burk
Barnyard Bath – Sandra Boynton

If you don’t have any of these books at home, a great place to look for them is your local library! A librarian might also be able to help you find more fun and engaging children’s books that have action words!

Let us know if you have any favourite fun and interactive children’s books that use action words!