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Happy Speech, Westport (2026)

31/01/2026

✨ Free Parent Consultation Event – Registration Now Open ✨
We’re so excited to announce that registration is now open for our free online parent consultation event taking place on 28th February.
Occupational Therapists and Speech & Language Therapists have generously volunteered their time to support families in Mayo currently on CDNT waiting lists.
🕒 45-minute online parent consultations
📍 First come, first served
💛 Completely free
To register your interest, please fill out the registration form (link in bio).

14/01/2026

✨ Talk in the first person, not the third ✨
If your child is a late talker, how you talk matters just as much as how much you talk.
👉 Instead of saying: “Do you want the car?” “Tell Mammy what you’re doing.”
Try modelling it in the first person: 🗣️ “I want the car.” 🗣️ “I’m driving the car fast!”
💛 Why this helps: • It models exactly what your child could say • It gives them a ready-made sentence to copy when they’re ready • It takes the pressure off — no questions they might not yet have the language to answer • It supports language learning through connection, not demand
Your child doesn’t need to perform. They need to hear language that fits comfortably in their mouth.

This is a tried and tested method with parents saying it was a shift that worked well for them 🌱

If this is content you resonate with please like, save and share it so you get more and it helps to spread the word to those who might need it. Thank you 💙💛

06/01/2026

A different kind of post today…I often hear “we went to you as a therapist because we heard how compassionate you are”. The reality is it’s easy to be compassionate when you “get it”. Becoming a Mum 8 years ago completely transformed me as a therapist.

I went from being highly functioning to struggling to keep all balls in the air. Work might be going well but family got the worst of me etc.

And as life came so did a variety of curve balls as a Mum (pregnancy losses, serious pregnancy worries, developmental concerns).

Now we have 3 epic boisterous children the “to do” list is never ending. I’m supposed to be implementing therapy plans in my home and I can barely find time to do it. I’ve been lucky to have access to information and therapists when I need to ask a question and know I urgent that felt for me. But I’m also aware that depending on the season of my life I can sometimes afford to pay others and sometimes I can’t. It’s why my “compassion” comes from knowing in some way what it feels like to need help but have very little bandwidth! It’s why I want to share information that I have with others who might find it helpful.

Thanks for being here and muddlingly through this parenting thing together.

19/12/2025

Day 4/365 ✨ Exclamations count as words! ✨

Words like “uh-oh,” “wow,” “oops,” and “yay!” may seem small but they’re quick wins for early words and can help build longer words.

🧠 Here’s why exclamatory words are so powerful:
• Easy to understand – They’re short, simple, and paired with actions or emotions, making them easier for children to process.
 • High engagement – Exclamations grab attention and keep children interested in the interaction.
 • Often a child’s first words – Many children say exclamatory words before longer or more complex speech. They are also great opportunities to practice a variety of speech sounds and combinations.

• Easy to take a conversational turn - exclamations are short, making it easier for a child to be successful at taking a turn with speech in an interaction.

🎉 How to use them: Narrate play and daily routines using exclamations. “Uh-oh, it fell!” “Wow, big tower!” “Yay, you did it!”

📌 Please Save this for later or share with someone who would find it helpful!

When can you use exclamations in your day?

18/12/2025

Day 3/365 🎵 It’s so obvious but yet so under utilised!

So many of us feel awkward singing which is such a shame because it’s the kale of language development in my opinion.

Singing helps children:
✨ Pay attention (and where our attention goes our energy flows)
✨ Auditory processing: hear words more clearly with rhythm and melody.
✨ Vocabulary development: they’re repeatable, they allow for the use of gestures, they introduce new words.
✨ Social interaction: take a turn in a song, join in with others.

This tip applies to any child learning language! I’ve been listening to and I get her songs in my head and all of a sudden I’ve learnt new Irish words. She also uses visuals and gestures which is a story for another day!

What do you notice if you sing to your child?? Try it and let me know…ah go on!

17/12/2025

Day 2/365 🌿 I didn’t teach these words, nature did!

Real life, hands-on, multi sensory experiences are ideal learning environments. Outside we touch, see, hear, smell. We’re relaxed and in a state of learning. Our attention is captured. Our memories linked with an experience.

The outdoors offers a language learning opportunity on speed and it’s free and fun.

Building language learning opportunities can include:
1. Label what your child is looking at or touching.
2. Find items in the same category (different leaves).
3. Use describing words (crunchy, wet, dry, hollow, squelchy)
4. Use verbs in movement (walk, hop, sit, climb, hit)

The best language lessons don’t happen at a desk.
Where does your child talk the most—outside 🌿 or inside 🏠?

16/12/2025

Day 1/365 👶💛 The face carries so much!

Did you know that getting down face to face with your child plays a huge role in their speech, language, and interaction skills?
When your child can see your eyes, mouth, and facial expressions, they: 🗣️ Learn how sounds and words are made 👀 Pick up on social cues and non-verbal communication  🤝 Feel more connected and engaged 🧠 Build stronger communication and interaction skills

So next time you talk, try getting down to their level. For example, lie on the floor in front of them when playing; sit them looking at you when sharing a book; sing together; play horsie horsie 🌟

Instead of prompting them to look at you leave a moment of silence to see do they look at your face when you speak…because connection comes before communication 💕

13/11/2025

Excited to have met together this morning to set the wheels in motion for the first event in February in what we hope to be a series of events to support families in the west of Ireland who are facing long waiting lists and in need of guidance and support.

Any therapist who would like to get involved please get in touch 💫

01/04/2025

Interdisciplinary working is where it is at! Celebrating my first joint session with for a shared client. It was such a meaningful experience and definitely more valuable for the client. The benefit of joint sessions include:

👍 Both therapists knowing how to incorporate client specific sensory strategies to support regulation which facilitates the opportunity for interaction & communication development.
👍 Both therapists supporting communication development in a way that is identified specifically for that client in activities that are regulating.
👍 Parents having an opportunity to see how to incorporate goals into one activity that is at the correct level for the child.
👍 Potentially reducing the burden of multiple therapy sessions.
👍 Therapists learning from eachother, teasing out any challenges together from different lenses and different knowledge bases.

Have you had joint sessions and what was your experience?

30/03/2025

How do I know if my child is “late to talk” and should I do something to help? I’ll cover this topic in a series of posts over the next few days.

A child is described as “late to talk” if they are:
- A toddler (18-35 months)
- Developing language (expressive and in some studies receptive) slower than their peers which can’t be explained by other cognitive, sensory or neurological factors.
- Using less than 50 words and no word combinations at 24 months (The Language Development Survey: Rescorla 1989)

Follow along as I explore and learn about research on “late talkers”, what does it indicate, and when we should offer intervention.

28/03/2025

Why We Shouldn’t Prompt Gestalt Language Processors to Say “Hello” or “Goodbye”

When we prompt a child who uses echolalia to say “hello” or “goodbye,” we can unintentionally create barriers rather than support their communication. Here’s why:

1️⃣ They may echo the whole phrase rather than isolating the greeting (e.g., repeating “say hello” instead of just “hello”).
2️⃣ It removes their autonomy—they might not feel comfortable to say hello / goodbye.
3️⃣ It can create stress and expectation for the child, especially if they’re not at that language stage yet.
4️⃣ It teaches a response, rather than modelling greetings in different contexts or in a way that the child connects with.
5️⃣ It limits real-world learning—children learn how we greet people differently based on relationships (e.g., we might hug family but not a Garda… though they might appreciate it!).

✨ What to Do Instead? ✨

Model, don’t prompt. Show your child how greetings work naturally, with no expectation for them to imitate you. Our desire for social conformity can sometimes lead us to push greetings when, in reality, children will use them when they’re ready and in a way that feels right for them. It’s okay if they don’t greet people right away—trust the process. 💛

01/02/2025

Verbal routines are a fantastic way to help a child with their understanding and expression as they hear the same language repeated frequently in the same context.

This gives them an opportunity to:
👉 Map the language onto what they’re experiencing (supporting understanding).
👉 Hear it lots of times to help them process it.
👉 Create an opportunity for them to take a conversational turn by filling a gap.
👉 Practise their communication multiple times in a predictable way.

Do you have any verbal routines that you’ve found really helpful?

Happy Speech