Speak Life Speech Therapy

08/08/2024

We are hiring a Speech Language Pathologist looking to work with families and provide quality speech services to their children!

Speak Life Speech Therapy is a small company with a big heart for the children we serve!

If you are interested in joining our practice, please submit a resume and any inquiries to emilyreagan@speaklife-speechtherapy.com.

12/05/2023

Speak Life Speech Therapy is now accepting clients with Medicaid! We are looking forward to serving more families in our community and throughout the state of Alabama. Just ask your pediatrician for a referral to get started!

As a reminder, our owner, Emily Reagan, is still enjoying maternity leave. She plans to open for virtual services for the next upcoming weeks, then progressing back to in-person services mid-January. 🙂

06/15/2023

It's summertime!! I hope everyone is enjoying some beautiful weather and pool time!

Just because school is out for the summer doesn't mean speech therapy has to be! If your child had speech therapy needs that were met in the school with an IEP, Speak Life is here to serve you! Give us a call today to continue services! ☀️

04/27/2023

We love it when our clients birthdays fall on speech days!!! Today we decorated our own birthday crowns and played “princess doctor” with our favorite furry friends! Happy birthday sweet Ada!!
🎊🎉👑🩺

01/08/2023

This is a great visual and example of how having sensitivity to new foods can be problematic and lead to feeding difficulties. Not every presentation of a fruit, vegetable, or meat is the same! Kids with sensitivity may eat strawberry flavored things, but never try a real strawberry.

Using a specific feeding approach, such as SOS, can help introduce new foods to kids in a fun, less sensitive way!

01/05/2023

Happy New Year!! 🎉🎉
At the beginning of every year, we get excited for what's to come. We dream big and create goals that we look forward to accomplishing.

Maybe you've created some goals for your family, or for your children. Maybe you are lost or stuck in the routine of daily life, that your only goal is just trying to make it through each day.

Regardless of the goal(s) you have set for yourself or for others, remember to start small. Start with something that you know you can accomplish!! This will give you motivation to continue to work toward the next goal, and the next one, and the next. 🥰

At Speak Life, I strive to encourage families and help them reach some of their goals--especially for their children!! Whether your goal is to be more present with your child or for them to finally say their first word, we are here for you!!

What are some of your goals for 2023?? Let's make them happen!

12/20/2022

Speak Life wishes you a very, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!! We hope you can make some memories this year with your loved ones.

Speak Life will be closed December 26 and December 29-30 to celebrate the holidays. See you all in the New Year!

12/15/2022

Interested in speech therapy services for your child? You can give us a call, or for convenience, head to our website at www.speaklife-speechtherapy.com to request an appointment! Now, you can request a free phone consultation, or a $35 speech and language screening!! Happy Thursday!

Supporting all forms of communication through connection, acceptance, and love. Currently offering virtual based speech therapy sessions for families of AL, targeting a variety of communication disorders such as: speech sound production, fluency, expressive/receptive language, autism, and pragmatics...

12/09/2022

I love this!!! This little girl gets it!! Take a look 👇

11/22/2022

Thanksgiving is right around the corner! 🦃 I know a lot of us love this holiday for the food...its a great excuse to eat all the carbs we want! But, for picky and problem eaters, this holiday may be stressful!!

If your child refuses to eat different foods or is difficult to keep at the table, I'm here to help!

I want to share some general tips that may help your Thanksgiving meal go smoother.

🦃 If your child has difficulty sitting down--Start introducing a timer system for a few minutes at each meal or snack, NOW. Give a positive reinforcement as a reward!

🦃 Introduce a plain placemat/plate--we don't want to distract them from the main event--food!

🦃 Children WILL starve themselves (this is a common misconception)--have foods that you know they will eat on the table.

🦃 At mealtime, have the foods they eat on their plate. On a separate plate next to them, have some new foods! They may not eat it, but they are tolerating the new foods in their area without becoming upset or refusing the meal. Toleration is the first step in eating new foods!

🦃 Reduce screen time at meals--any meal, regardless if it is a holiday, is great social interaction! Children are always watching you, so by seeing you eat new foods, they are more likely to try them as well!

🦃 Encourage PLAY!--Children learn sensory properties of new foods outside of their bodies before putting it in their bodies. Have you ever seen a clean baby at mealtime?!

Hopefully by using one of these tips, your mealtime will be more enjoyable for everyone. 🥰 If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

Happy Thanksgiving!

11/19/2022

GAME DAY for Speech and Language: Candy Land!

Board games are so much fun and I love using them in therapy. The kids totally think they are just playing a game without realizing they are working on their goals! Works every time:) Here are my favorite things to target with a board game, like candy land, to encourage practice and generalization of skills:

🍩 Articulation/Speech Sound production--with each turn, have them say their target sound or a word with their target sound 5x

🍬 Expressive Language--naming colors/describing candy, making a sentence with what card they got “I got a red card”; with each turn grab a vocabulary word for them to describe. You can also work on counting!

🍫 Gestalt Language models--while playing, model phrases like "it’s a ____", "let’s play", "we did it", "that’s so fun”, etc.

🍭 Receptive Language--have your child answer “wh” questions with two choices, or ask them questions about how the game works so they understand game rules.

🍩 Fluency--have your child make short sentences to practice fluency enhancing strategies, like “I got a purple card”, or another sentence per turn.

🍪Social language—if playing with a group, encourage good sportsmanship, and good turn taking. No cheating!

Now for the fun part....go play!

11/06/2022

GAME DAY for Speech and Language: baby dolls and figurines!!

I missed yesterday's post because, well, I was busy watching football🙈 It was a sad day for the state of Alabama!! 😭

Today I wanted to share the magic behind dolls and figurines! In therapy sessions, I love having a baby doll collection, complete with bottles, diapers, wipes, food items, utensils, and clothes to play with. Not only do children learn vital self-care skills, they also learn object functions and grow their imaginations!

Figurines such as little people or characters from tv shows are great for the imagination too! Kids get to relive their favorite moments on tv, create new scenes, and itch their creative minds. Here are some fun ways to use dolls and figurines to target speech and language:

💚 Articulation/Speech Sound production--target s-blends such as "spill, spoon, smelly, snack, sleep, swaddle, speak"
💚 Expressive Language--target naming categories like clothing, food, colors, utensils; have them engage in a dialogue scene with their favorite figurines with you based on a prompt you give
💚 Gestalt Language models--while playing, model phrases like "let's feed the baby", "It's hungry", "that's stinky", "I'm sleeping", etc.
💚 Receptive Language--target identifying items for vocabulary practice, following 1-2 step directions of how to take care of the baby; during dialogue or imaginative play, ask "wh" questions to encourage setting the scene.
💚 Fluency--work on modeling slow, speech rate, like a turtle or a sloth! If the child is at the conversation level, ask them to use their fluency strategies during dialogue!
💚 Social language—for the young ones, work with them on taking turns. You could also incorporate feelings the baby may have and how to help.
Now for the fun part....go play!