Beyond Words Pediatric Speech Therapy

11/05/2025

📚✨ Words with Tori: Let’s Talk LITERACY! ✨📚
What is literacy?
Literacy is more than just reading and writing — it’s the ability to understand, use, and express language through print. This includes skills like recognizing sounds in words (phonological awareness), understanding vocabulary, and using language to comprehend stories or directions.
What is phonological awareness?
Phonological awareness is the ability to hear and play with the sounds in words — like rhyming, counting syllables, or identifying beginning sounds.
🧠 It’s a critical early skill that helps children connect spoken words to written language, making it easier to learn to read and spell later on!
How do speech and language delays affect literacy?
Children with speech or language delays may have difficulty:
🗣️ Recognizing and manipulating sounds in words (like hearing that cat and cap sound similar)
📖 Understanding new vocabulary or story details
✏️ Expressing their ideas clearly in writing or conversation
These challenges can make reading and writing harder, which can impact classroom learning and confidence.
Which part of the Big 9 does this fit under?
✅ Language — both receptive (understanding) and expressive (using language)
✅ Speech Sound Production — how children produce and differentiate sounds
✅ Cognition — skills that support memory, sequencing, and comprehension
How can speech therapy help?
In therapy, we:
🔤 Build phonological awareness through rhyming, blending, and segmenting sounds
🧠 Strengthen vocabulary and comprehension skills through stories and play
💬 Practice narrative skills — telling stories with clear beginnings, middles, and ends
✍️ Use multi-sensory activities (letters, visuals, movement) to connect sounds to print
Activities parents can try at home:
🏠 Sound games — Play “I spy something that starts with /s/!”
🎵 Rhyme time — Read rhyming books like Dr. Seuss and have your child fill in missing rhymes.
📚 Story talk — After reading, ask questions like, “What happened first?” or “How did the story end?”
✏️ Letter hunt — Find letters in signs, cereal boxes, or around the house and say their sounds together.
🎨 Name play — Use playdough or magnets to build your child’s name and talk about each letter’s sound.
💡 Remember: Building strong language + strong sound awareness = building strong readers! 💡

10/31/2025

Happy Halloween! I want to wish all of my little patients a safe and fun Halloween today!
I also wanted to share that I have openings for taking new patients! Please don't hesitate to reach out to me or your physician if you have any questions about my services or how I can best help you and your child.

10/29/2025

🎃👻 Words with Tori: Spooky Social Communication even with AAC Devices! 👻🎃

👋 What is Social Communication?
Social communication is how we use language to connect with others — it’s knowing what to say, how to say it, and when to say it! This includes skills such as taking turns in conversation, understanding body language, staying on topic, and using words to share thoughts, feelings, and ideas effectively.

🎃 How We Address Social Communication in Speech Therapy:
During speech therapy, we work on social communication in fun and meaningful ways! We might:
- Role-play real-life social situations (like trick-or-treating or playing with friends)
- Use social stories to teach perspective-taking and problem-solving
- Practice turn-taking games or cooperative play
- Support communication using AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) for children who benefit from visual supports, communication devices, or picture symbols
- Integrate language comprehension and expression (two of the Big 9 areas!) to build strong vocabulary, sentence structure, and understanding of emotions

✨ Try These Spooky-Fun Activities at Home:
1. Halloween Social Stories: Read a short story about trick-or-treating or attending a fall festival. Pause to talk about how the characters feel, what they might say, or what’s expected next. My favorite short stories to use are the Berenstain Bear books!
2. Pumpkin Emotion Match: Draw pumpkins with different faces (happy, scared, surprised) and talk about what might make someone feel that way.
3. AAC Halloween Hunt: If your child uses AAC, go on a “word hunt” to find and use Halloween words like pumpkin, candy, or ghost on their device! Below is a quick tutorial on how a child might say "Happy Halloween" by using their device!

🧡 Social communication skills are key for friendships, play, and participation — and what better time to practice them than during a holiday full of imagination, teamwork, and fun?

✨ Follow Words with Tori for more parent-friendly tips, play ideas, and communication fun for this holiday season!

10/22/2025

Welcome back to Words with Tori, where LANGUAGE is the theme of today!

🎃 Pumpkin season is the perfect time to build language skills while creating something fun!

Listed below are a few ways to sneak in receptive (understanding) and expressive (using) language during a simple Jack-O-Lantern craft:

🍁 Receptive Language (Understanding words, directions, etc.)
When we work on receptive language, we are helping our kiddos listen, understand, and follow directions. During your craft, try:

Following Directions:
- "First, glue the hat on the pumpkin."

- "Now, glue the triangle eyes on!"

Concepts and Vocabulary:
- Talk about shapes, sizes, and locations ("Put the small triangle under the eyes for the nose!"

Answering Questions:
- "Where might you see a Jack-O-Lantern?"

In speech therapy, SLPs might use similar step-by-step tasks to build listening and comprehension skills - turning fun activities into natural language lessons!

🍁 Expressive Language (Using Words/Gestures to Communicate)
Expressive language focuses on helping our kiddos talk, describe, and share their ideas. During your craft, encourage your child to:

Label and Describe:

- "My pumpkin is happy!"

- "My pumpkin is eating candy because it's hungry!"

Make Choices:

- "Do you want a witch hat or a bat?"

Tell a Story:
After decorating, ask: "What's your pumpkin's name?" or "Tell me what your pumpkin likes to do." With the information, you can create a short story together!

Expand Sentences:
If your child says, "Eyes!" you can model, "Yes! Big triangle eyes!"

🎃 Craft Setup:
Materials - printed out picture of a pumpkin (or orange paper plate), black paper for shapes, glue, scissors, and, if wanted, printed out pictures of accessories such as candy or a witch's hat.

Steps:

- Cut out shapes for eyes, nose, and mouth.

- Glue the pieces to make your Jack-O-Lantern's face.

- Add details - candy, hat, bat, etc.

- Give your pumpkin a name and tell its story!

Also attached, the “Talking Through Fall” image can be used as a visual cue during therapy or at home to spark language exploration — parents and children can “explore” each leaf together by completing the receptive or expressive task it lists. As they move through the leaves, kids practice following directions, describing, storytelling, and vocabulary in a fun, seasonal way that encourages active engagement and conversation.

✨Why it matters:
Simple crafts like this build vocabulary, comprehension, turn-taking, and imagination — all while keeping kids engaged. Language grows best through hands-on play and conversation! ✨ Tip: Everyday activities can be language-building opportunities! Slow down, talk about what you’re doing, and let your child’s words lead the way.

10/01/2025

📣 Welcome to “Words with Tori"!

Hi everyone! My name is Tori Brewer, and I’m a graduate student in my final semester at Ball State University studying speech-language pathology. 💬 I am excited to say that I am attending my off-campus placement at Beyond Words with Emily Sovine! ❤️

Each Wednesday, I’ll be sharing helpful speech-language intervention tips, resources tailored to areas of the “Big 9,” and fun, practical activities you can try at home with your kiddos. Whether you’re a parent, caregiver, or educator, my goal is to make communication growth exciting and accessible for everyone!

Make sure to come back every Wednesday to learn more, so stay tuned!

09/17/2025

Are you concerned about your child's communication skills? Is your child a picky eater? Are they having difficulties in school with reading/spelling/writing? I have available times to work with you and your child! Please reach out via email: emilysovine@bwspeech.com or give me a call at 260-638-8200. I offer free 10 min screenings if you are unsure what to do but need guidance before scheduling an evaluation.

Here are some general signs that may indicate that your child has a speech and language delay:

Lack of babbling (around 6-9 months).
Limited vocabulary (by 18 months).
Difficulty combining words (around age 2).
Lack of response to verbal cues.
Limited social interaction.
Pronunciation difficulties.
Trouble understanding stories or instructions.

Send a message to learn more

08/14/2025

I am taking new clients if your child needs a speech therapist! I have a few morning and early afternoon appointments available. Unfortunately, I do not have any availability after 3pm any day of the week for now. Please give me a call or send me an email if interested!

Send a message to learn more

08/09/2025

Come celebrate with us!

You don't want to miss our biggest sale and celebration of the year tomorrow August 9th! 🌼

Come celebrate our 20th birthday with us and enjoy FREE birthday cake 🍰.

Local food and drink vendors until 3pm.

Live radio broadcast from 1pm-3pm with WZBD 92.7 FM, Adams County Radio

Swag bags are being given away randomly every half hour from 10:30-3pm.

Stop in and find your new book with our 40% off store wide sale, enter our giveaway baskets, and support your local Decatur vendors!

05/20/2025

Does your child need to continue with speech therapy over the summer?? Give me a call! I have openings! 260-638-8200