Core Speech

02/17/2026

Starting the morning with this silly girl is my favorite!

Connection and trust are so important for successful therapy. Your child should feel comfortable, safe and confident that their therapist is here to help them learn and grow. Thankful for the connections that I get to build with my patients and their families every day 💓

02/10/2026

01/24/2026

❄️ INDOOR FUN ⛄️

Looking for something to keep your little ones busy on this snowy weekend?

Here is a recipe for “hot chocolate” play dough!

Ingredients:
2 cups of flour
1/2 cup of salt
1 cup of warm water
1 Tbsp of oil
1 packet of hot chocolate mix (or some cocoa powder)

Speech and language building ideas:

☕️ Model words and phrases to describe what you’re doing:
➡️ Put it in, mix it, roll fast/slow, make big/little ball

☕️ Sequencing and using time concepts:
➡️ Talk through the recipe steps and think about words like before, after, first, next, last.

☕️ Following directions and using positional concepts:
➡️ hold the cup ABOVE the bowl, pour it IN, take the lid OFF, take the play dough OUT!

☕️Target speech sounds that are difficult for your child by repeating words and asking them to say them with you:
➡️ think of words that go with the activity. For example, S blend words: snow, smell, smash, slow, snowman, stir, etc!

My daughter LOVED mixing up and playing with this! Stay safe and warm everyone ❄️

01/23/2026

Movement ✅
Regulation 🧠
Learning 👍🏻

If a child is best engaged and motivated when their movement and sensory needs are met, then speech therapy in the tunnel (or wherever)…it is!

01/20/2026

Speech therapy should ALWAYS be (fun)ctional and meaningful to a child and their family! Think about it- even as an adult, don’t you learn best when you are interested and something has purpose to your life?! Thank you to my little friend here for all of the fun during our sessions 🙂

01/20/2026

👋 Hi there! My name is Dana and I am the owner and speech-language pathologist of Core Speech LLC. I love working with children and their families to build confident communicators and eaters! 🫶🏻

01/20/2026

If your child experiences any of these difficulties, Core Speech is here to help! Call 856-209-2772 for a free consuation or to schedule an evaluation 👍🏻

12/08/2025

Happy holidays! 🎄 🕎 ❄️

11/27/2025

So very thankful 🧡🦃

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

11/24/2025

So wonderfully said 🫶🏻

One thing I wish my speech therapist had understood when I was growing up with childhood apraxia of speech is that I needed to move. Being restricted to a chair and pushed to maintain eye contact didn’t support my speech, it actually made it harder. I’m not autistic, but as someone with apraxia, eye contact can be challenging because my body naturally relies on movement and visual shifts to coordinate certain sounds. Motor supports motor. That’s true for so many of us with apraxia of speech.

When I wasn’t allowed to move, everything tightened. My speech got harder. My frustration climbed. Anxiety hit. And eventually I’d shut down altogether. As a kid, I didn’t have the language to explain any of this. I just knew that when I tried to move, my SLP redirected me toward what she saw as “socially appropriate” motions, tapping my hands or feet, which didn’t help me at all. To her, that was enough. To my nervous system, it wasn’t.

This is why I always come back to the importance of supporting the whole child. Apraxia of speech doesn’t exist in isolation, motor planning challenges often show up across the body. And practices that have been normalized for generations can still be harmful, even when rooted in good intentions.

When we know better, we do better. And kids deserve better.

-

11/11/2025

🍴 🍎 ❤️