Sarah Cruz, SLP

02/06/2026

Why these books? 📚

I’m sharing two favorite reads today: Where Is Spot? and Night Night Farm — and this is not random.

Research consistently shows that shared book reading supports:
• expressive and receptive language
• vocabulary growth
• early literacy skills
• sentence structure and grammar
• memory and comprehension

Books with repetition, predictable phrases, and opportunities to anticipate what comes next (like “Where is…?” or “Night night ___”) are especially powerful for young learners and AAC users.

Why?
Because repetition helps children:
- learn new words faster
- practice combining words into phrases
- remember and reuse language later
- feel confident enough to participate

When kids can predict what’s coming, they’re more likely to join in, imitate, comment, and eventually generate their own language. That’s how we move from repeating > mixing > creating.

Bonus: rereading the same book is a good thing. Familiar stories support memory, comprehension, and flexible language use over time.

If your child loves one book right now — lean into it. Repetition isn’t boring. It’s brain-building!

ParentCoaching PredictableBooks ReadTogether EarlyIntervention

11/12/2025

A groundbreaking children's television show is set to introduce a new character who is largely non-speaking and communicates with the help of a special speech tablet.

11/11/2025

If you have a client that loves colors and labeling items like fruits and vegetables, grab a bag of pipe cleaners and you have a simple fun game. You can target receptive, and expressive language skills.

We made about 10 fruits and vegetables today while targeting language, and then turned it into various receptive language activities afterward.

11/06/2025

10/30/2025

AAC Evaluations! 🌟

I’m currently accepting new clients for in-home and sensory gym-based AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) evaluations and parent coaching sessions!

If you have a little one who is struggling to communicate or has been recommended for an AAC evaluation, I provide personalized, play-based sessions that support both children and families in learning how to build early communication skills using signs, gestures, pictures, switches, and speech-generating devices.

🧩 Services available for:
- Families of children 0–3 years old
- Private pay clients
- Regional Center referrals (including Alta Regional Center)

💬 My goal is to make communication possible for every child — at home, in play, and in daily routines.

If you’d like more information or are ready to schedule an AAC evaluation or coaching visit, please send me a message or email me directly. Let’s work together to help your child find their voice! 💛

10/29/2025

Controversial topic for some, but one I will never change my mind about: All kids deserve access to more vocabulary than a PECS book can provide. And all kids deserve to be taught multiple communication functions earlier than what the PECS protocol teaches.

10/24/2025

It was an inspiring day of learning, collaboration, and networking at the early intervention summit at CSU Sacramento. Hearing from different state stakeholders and representatives on various issues regarding early intervention services. Enjoyed a seminar on neurogenesis, synaptic pruning, and the foundations for language learning and literacy skills.

10/09/2025

💬 Meet the Talk Pad Wego 10 + Grid App by Smartbox!

This dynamic AAC setup is designed to grow with your communicator — from first button presses to full conversations! 🌟

✨ Key features:
🔹 Multiple symbol sets (including PCS, Widgit, SymbolStix, and more) to match your child’s learning style
🔹 Interactive activities for early learners — explore cause and effect, making choices, and engaging play-based communication
🔹 Customizable grid layouts that adapt as communication skills expand
🔹 Supports eye gaze, touch, or switch access for flexible use across abilities
🔹 Runs on the sturdy and portable Talk Pad Wego 10, built for everyday communication at home, school, and beyond

Whether your child is just beginning to explore AAC or ready for more complex language, the Grid app makes communication accessible and empowering. 💙

💡 SLPs — try it for yourself!
This Talk Pad Wego 10 is a trial/loaner device. If you’re a speech-language pathologist, you can request a free trial device from Smartbox to explore the Grid app and see how it supports your student or client’s communication today.

👉 Learn more or request a loaner at https://thinksmartbox.com

10/01/2025

It’s always been about the game, not the toy! ❤️

The cover for this week’s issue, “Free Play, ” by R. Kikuo Johnson. See what’s inside: https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/Dz4MrQ

10/01/2025

09/09/2025

FREE class for parents/caregivers/communication partners who are interested in learning about alternative communication supports for speech and language development.

Introducing “The Chat Lab”! 💬
- Come try various ipad applications, paper-based and light tech supports, and eye gaze!

Class Date:
Saturday October 4th @ 10 AM
* Addt’l class dates may be added

Location: Kids Collab
1215 Plumas St. Suite 1201
Yuba city, CA 95991

*Registration Required!

To register OR for more details:

https://www.sarahcruzslp.com/events

08/20/2025

This is incredibly helpful research that was published in July, which concluded there are four major sub types of autism. The research was drawn from a Spark cohort, which is a community of autistic people who have offered their genetics to research. The four subtypes are:

1️⃣ Social and Behavioral Challenges group
- showed core autism traits, including social challenges and repetitive behaviors, but generally reach developmental milestones at a pace similar to children without autism.
- Often experience co-occurring conditions like ADHD, anxiety, depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder alongside autism.
- 37% of participants

2️⃣ Mixed ASD with Developmental Delay group
- Tend to reach developmental milestones, such as walking and talking, later than children without autism, but usually does not show signs of anxiety, depression or disruptive behaviors.
- “Mixed” refers to differences within this group with respect to repetitive behaviors and social challenges.
- 19% of participants

3️⃣ Individuals with Moderate Challenges
- Show core autism-related behaviors, but less strongly than those in the other groups, and usually reach developmental milestones on a similar track to those without autism.
- They generally do not experience co-occurring psychiatric conditions.
- 34% of participants

4️⃣ Broadly Affected group
- faces more extreme and wide-ranging challenges, including developmental delays, social and communication difficulties, repetitive behaviors and co-occurring psychiatric conditions like anxiety, depression and mood dysregulation.
- This is the smallest group, accounting for around 10% of the participants.

Analyzing data from over 5,000 children in an autism cohort study, researchers at Princeton University and the Simons Foundation have identified four clinically and biologically distinct subtypes of autism: https://bit.ly/4nORcfI