Small Talk Pediatric Therapy

03/18/2022

I find this hard to coach parents in, because it IS such a natural part of our communication with our children. Making this change can have a huge impact on our child's ability to take a risk on imitating what we say or even saying something new on their own. Replacing a question with what you would like or think your child would say can give them more natural opportunities for imitation.

Instead of "What's that?", try saying what you wish or think they may say, such as "Oo a lion, rawr"! 🦁

Some kids are totally fine with being asked question after question- and in fact, many kids thrive with the attention and/or getting to talk about their areas of interest. More often the kids that either enjoy or tolerate questions are the kids who find talking to be easy.

But when talking is hard for a kid- being asked questions over and over can be so difficult that they may shut down- and here are some reasons why you might see this.

I also think that sometimes parent anxiety over their child not talking increases these types of questions because they feel it gives their child more opportunities to speak. And sometimes we are just so proud of their progress we ask questions in order to show others what they’ve learned.

I’m not saying to NEVER ask questions because asking and answering questions is a huge part of communication. I AM saying to try to be aware of how often you are asking questions. I try to say 3-4 statements per question I ask!

02/23/2022

A great talk about the CDC changes in terms of developmentsl milestones. There's a lot to unpack there!

We know you've been wanting to talk about the updated CDC milestones! ⁠
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So we dug in to see what we could find, and are sharing it with you for FREE:
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https://www.theinformedslp.com/review/no-sl-ps-were-in-the-room-where-it-happened

Read to see what makes sense, where things get dicey, how these compare to measures like the MCDI and the ASQ (spoiler alert: they don't), and what the implications of these changes are.⁠
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(Members: The rest of this month's reviews will be published later this week!)⁠

02/22/2022

I have had a lot of families ask me about those CDC changes and what they could mean for the future of our children. Here is ASHAs statement on moving forward.

Dear ASHA Members:

ASHA is in the process of analyzing the recent revisions to the developmental milestones used in the CDC’s Learn the Signs. Act Early. initiative. This process includes a comprehensive comparison of the previous vs. new guidelines, as well as a comparison to ASHA-specified milestones. ASHA is also conducting an extensive review of published scientific literature.

ASHA has reached out to CDC, expressing its concern about inconsistencies and urging the agency to utilize the expertise of SLPs when making changes to developmental milestones in speech, language, feeding, and social communication. In general, ASHA is supportive of efforts to help identify children earlier, but the milestones presented to parents must be evidence-based in order for families to make well-informed decisions about their children's care.

ASHA will provide members with an update once its review process is completed and correlating action steps are determined.

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
https://on.asha.org/342WAaL

02/15/2022

I feel this deep in my soul. What are we doing?!

01/17/2022

This hits the nail on the head. One thing I always drill home to families because it can make such a big change in verbal imitation! Use that crazy fun parent voice even if you feel uncomfortable. It will pay off! 🤪

12/29/2021

Great ways to help encourage clean up in young children 🙌 I use many of these myself with my own children and with the families I see and they are golden!

07/21/2021

I don't have enough words to describe this ladies amazingness! She explains things so well so anyone can understand and use her information to help their clients. Love love love this Cari Ebert Seminars! You always hit the nail on the head.

07/14/2021

I'm on a mission. It may take some time, but I'm going to get there. My goal is to make more parents to children under three aware of early intervention. I can't tell you how many calls I get from parents who have no idea it exists!

If you have concerns for your child age birth-3 years, seek out early intervention. Catch them while they are young and don't "wait and see". Early Intervention is key!

Help me spread the word to empower our community by asking, "have you heard of early intervention? "

04/12/2021

I find myself explaining this often to parents who seem reluctant to continue with therapy when it just looks like were "playing" together. Great reminder by Cari Ebert Seminars how play IS the work of a child and how it is paramount in therapy for so many reasons!

01/15/2021

😍 wonderful visual of suggested ways to help your little find communication temptation and take a risk! This is one of my top...tippie top...strategy suggestions for parents. The power of waiting and giving them a "silent 3"(seconds that is) gives them so much power!

Yesterday Anna.Dee.SLP and I gave you the definition for communication temptations and today we give you some of our favorite (and simple to do!) ones!
🌟 The key with these is to WAIT- and look at your child expectantly. If the child does not respond, it’s ok- you can model what you would think they would say, and then try again!

What would you add? 👇🏼

11/25/2020

Less is more! Today's spotlight is a fave of mine and is NOT a toy! Check out the short video for a non toy activity that has ALL the language opportunities!

11/21/2020

Toy/activity spotlight today is the all amazing sensory table! Mine is from IKEA, but its just as easy to make one from a plastic bin or likewise something that will hold things! Possibilities are endless here!