What are the opening hours?

Tuesday 12am - 11:59pm Wednesday 12am - 11:59pm

Speech Works Utah

Home
United States
Layton, UT
Speech Works Utah

Customized, pediatric speech therapy services for ages birth to 21. We offer on location and in home

We offer on location and in home services to meet your needs!

07/21/2022

Did you know you can work on communication skills right after birth? First little bit is survival mode- so I focus on face to face time, responding to crying and movement, and getting some good eye contact in.

Around three months, you may start hearing some vocalizations that we can shape into cooing, babbling, and eventually words!

I’m getting my hopes up for a “Mama” in my future. Let’s do it!

05/03/2022

Communication temptation, Jr. High student style!

If you couldn’t tell, communication temptations involve setting up scenarios where it would be almost irresistible to engage with you.

For younger kids you could put a favorite toy out of reach, a favorite snack in a clear container they can’t open, or a toy they would need help to play with (eg a wind up toy).

For older kids who have limited verbal abilities, we want to make sure the situations aren’t infantilized. Seeing someone familiar with a big injury is a real life scenario. Some other ideas may include setting out a game without explaining the directions.

The goal is natural conversation in a controlled environment. Wish me luck!

03/24/2022

Hot-off-the-press research found these six questions are pretty darn good at identifying Autism in at risk kids.

This screener is for 17 month- 3 year olds and will help you know if you need to evaluate further. If you don’t answer yes to any of these questions, make sure you screen again when your child is a little older. Not all kids show signs of Autism at this age!

This is a quick and easy way for parents and professionals to make good, researched based decisions on whether to go for that full fledged evaluation. When parents and caregivers have access to these tools, kids who need help get it sooner and parents can have confidence in their decisions for their child.

And that’s what it’s all about!

Share this post to spread the word 📣

05/12/2021

Another graduate! Miles wanted to be out of speech before Junior High. He came in, told me he didn’t want to play any games, and got to work.

Miles had struggled with his /r/ sound for nearly a year. It was tough. It took us several weeks to establish the sound- something that usually takes a session or two. We celebrated hard when he got it!

He earned that 9x9 Rubik’s cube for mastering the /r/ sound this week!

If your child isn’t making progress with school therapy alone, I’d love to help! I have freedom to really incentivize, the right tools to teach, and the support of parents to help!

05/10/2021

Trying to interact with a child who doesn’t *seem* to respond can be..... hard.

You have to teach your child how and when to respond. They aren’t used to taking a turn, and may not be used to you LETTING them take and turn and responding to them.

1. Modeling what they are trying to communicate is one of the best strategies you can use. First, it helps them realize that their non verbal communication is valuable and means something! Second, it helps them learn that they can take a turn in interaction verbally as well. Third, they get to hear a target word that’s meaningful TO THEM. A word that follows their interest.

2. Wait time is ESSENTIAL. It’s the first thing I work on with the parents that I train. If you think your waiting long enough, you need to wait at least a couple more seconds. My first sessions with language delayed kids are veeeery quiet. I wait for them to look at me, show me something, pay attention to me in ANY way before I say a word.

3. Using sound effects while they are playing automatically makes you a fun part of an activity. Fun or funny noises turns the child’s attention to you and makes them want more. And since they want more, they repeat the action that preceded the sound. And then they learn that they can INTERACT with you, and that play is more fun with two. Sometimes, these sounds become their first words or vocalizations!

Comment below and tell me about when your child is the chattiest (meal time? Play time? Bath time?), and how you could incorporate one of these techniques during that time!

04/27/2021

School speech therapists are feeling hopeful this time of year!! Whether you send home a summer packet or let the kids have a break, you are a FANTASTIC therapist ❤️😁

04/24/2021

Two graduations in one week has me 😭😭

Rose was part of my very first, in person course for late talkers (the online version is launching again soon!). She made amazing progress thanks to her parents dedication and trust in the process. She came back to see me recently to work on her speech sounds, too!

Working on sounds with really young kids can be tricky. It’s generally a very drill based process, which isn’t usually conducive to 2 and 3 year olds. We went for play based, semi structured therapy where we followed Rose’s lead and modeled speech sounds while drawing attention to our mouth. Then worked on those sounds in short phrases.

We also worked on functional phrases, like “I don’t want it” or “I do it” to reduce frustration in interactions where she needed a strong voice and to be clearly understood.

It’s never too early to make sure your child’s speech development is on track! Click the link in my bio and let’s set a date to get the ball rolling ⚽️

04/21/2021

🎉 GRADUATION DAY!! 🎉

Ada and her parents worked so hard for this! In 16 sessions, she corrected 23 sounds. PHENOMENAL.

What was the secret? Involved parents who watched, learned, and practiced at home. A specific plan tailored to Ada, cycling through her sounds starting with the most difficult sounds to produce. And activities that brought Ada out of her shell and motivated her to WORK!

Through the process, she gained sounds that we hadn’t even worked on. TALK ABOUT MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK!

I’m gonna miss her sweet smile, subtle sass, and five star style. I’m so proud of her!

If your child is struggling with their speech, contact me for a free consultation! Head to my website for more info, link is in the bio ❤️

04/19/2021

👀 peek in on this /s/ session! 👀

This was her first session working on /s/ and she got it right away in isolation and words. I knew we needed to practice in phrases for a little while because she was making errors on her own but could do it with just a little bit of help. (See my ZPD post a little ways back!)

I try to be mindful of how I praise and correct in my sessions. If I say “good job” over and over, it loses its value. When I show excitement and give specific, varied praise kids stay motivated.

It’s the same with corrections. If they hear “no” or “wrong” over and over, they will get discouraged and not want to try. If I vary the words I use to correct, and give specific ways they can change the sound they will be more willing to give it a try. If they don’t get it after three tries, I’ll say “let’s try another one” to prevent frustration.

Does your child get frustrated when practicing? Let me know in the comments!

04/13/2021

This applies to people with ADD, ASD, intellectual disabilities, mood disorders, and mental illness. It’s so easy to say “just comply!” With police orders. But what if your neurology doesn’t let you? What if you can’t, through no fault of your own?

These people can’t change the way their brain works. Therapy can help, early intervention especially. That is, if there is access to competent professionals instead of school resource officers and funding for programs for kids and teens.

What would be better- trying to change neurology or trying to change a system of justice? What would benefit all of society? (Hint: it’s justice reform.)

Let’s let the death of Daunte Wright ignite our activism and passion for helping a person who could be one of my own clients. Sign those petitions, donate to organizations that resonate with you (I like and ), and have courage to call your lawmakers!

04/01/2021

My April Fools prank! Got this idea from 😁

This is actually one of the ways I teach parents to encourage speech in their kids! Changing the routine. Doing something so outside of the normal that they can’t help but comment on it!

When I worked in a preschool, the most talkative day of the year was when the teachers set up a leprechaun trap and footprints/pranks all around the classroom. I came in that day and EVERY CHILD was telling me alllll about it.

What’s a routine you could shake up today? Buckle a stuffed animal in their car seat? Put a toy car in their shoes? Freeze their juice in a cup for lunch so they can’t drink it? Doorbell ditch them?

Tell me about your best prank in the comments!

03/30/2021

Struggling with speech sounds? I got you 😘

Show kids your mouth as you speak. You can use your hand to point to your mouth, a hand gesture near your mouth, or hold an item near your mouth as you label it. Some kids need that motor info to imitate.

We’re building muscle memory when we work on speech sounds. I try to get kids to day a sound correctly as many times as possible in a session. For young kids, I try to plan several activities where I can use that sound. If the target word is “pop,” I can pop bubbles, say “pop” as we push a ball through a hole (like in the picture), and pop some popcorn. They will hear me say that word/sound so. Many. Times. Then I wait and give them a chance to try it.

We naturally want to break words up into simpler parts for kids to manage their sound. “Say ‘pop-sic-le’...popsicle”. The child has no problem saying the segments, but can’t put them together for the whole word. Try saying “let’s say it slow together. Mmmmmmoooooooommmmmmmyyyyyyy.” Hold those sounds till the child is imitating them with you!

Ps, popsicle is one of my favorite words that kids get wrong 😁 do you have a favorite word your child mispronounces? Tell me in the comments!

Address

Layton, UT
84041

Opening Hours

Tuesday	12am - 11:59pm
Wednesday	12am - 11:59pm

Website

http://www.speechworksutah.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Speech Works Utah posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Speech Works Utah:

Shortcuts

Want your practice to be the top-listed Clinic in Layton?