Elaine Brink Spraakterapie/ Speech Therapy

10/11/2025

💡 📚 DID YOU KNOW??? Reading books isn’t just fun —it can help your mental health by making you feel confident, calm, and capable. BUT Why Is Reading the Same Books Again and Again Is Good for Kids!? Reading the same books more than once gives even more benefits:

🧐 Rereading the same books gives even more benefits:

1. Strengthens the Brain: Repeating the story helps kids’ brains make strong connections, which helps them think and learn.

2. Builds Confidence: Knowing what’s coming next makes kids feel proud and excited to “read along.”

3. Grows Vocabulary: Hearing the same words and phrases again helps kids learn new words and how to use them.

4. Boosts Understanding: Each time they read, kids notice new details, patterns, and lessons in the story.

5. Provides Comfort: Reading the same book gives kids a sense of routine and helps them feel safe and secure.

6. Encourages Thinking: Recognizing patterns and predicting what happens next helps kids solve problems and think critically.

7. Sparks Imagination and Empathy: Even repeated stories let kids explore new worlds, meet characters, and understand feelings.

8. Reduces Stress and Builds Focus: Getting lost in a favorite story helps kids relax and pay attention better.

10/11/2025

Do you know what I see frequently when kids with CAS are getting sick or are sick? They experience “regression” in their speech and/or seem to struggle more with their speech. This can be worrisome for all involved but the good news is that’s it’s usually temperate and they bounce back to baseline when they are feeling better.

10/11/2025

Expressive language❓❓❓

Expressive language is the “output” of language.
It is the ability to use your body (facial expressions and gestures) and words/ sentences to communicate your thoughts, feelings and needs.

Tips to expand expressive language skills:
✅ Model and narrate
Talk about everything
Expand on their words
Gentle corrections
✅ Encourage participation
Ask open ended questions
Allow time for them to respond
Provide choices
Request actions
✅ Use other tools and activities
Sing songs
Rhymes
Book reading

💜💜💜

04/11/2025

Toy of the week!!!

This toy was so versitile and we used it in most of the early intervention sessions!!
It makes carrying bags of therapy material so much lighter… phew😅

Some goals we targeted:
✔️/f/ sound production- “green fish” / “red fish”
✔️/s/ sound production (initial position) - “I see a fish”
✔️/b/ sound production- “in boat”/ “big boat”
✔️Prepositions- “on”/ “in”/ “infront”/ “behind”
✔️Sentence expansion- “fish in”—> “fish in boat”—> “fish in big boat”—> “yellow fish in big boat”
✔️Requesting- “I want fish”/ “more fish”
✔️ Following basic instructions- “put the red fish in the boat”
✔️ Vocabulary expansion- verbs (“catch”, “swim”, “jump”, “sail”), adjectives (e.g especially with colors), prepositions

30/10/2025

How do you feel about sticks and stick play? Some common things we hear around sticks are...
"Put that stick down!'
"You'll poke someone's eye out!"
"They just use them as weapons."
What if, instead as a 'weapon' we think about sticks as loose parts... full of potential!

28/10/2025

Spraakterapie is nie altyd by ’n lessenaar nie, ons speel ook lekker! 💕
Of ons nou met klei speel of aan ’n liggaamslegkaart bou, ons werk steeds aan ons terapiedoelwitte op ’n lekker en natuurlike manier.

💖 Progress happens one playful moment at a time!

22/10/2025

This is something we believe here at Reading Connections, is that instead of children learning the way we teach, we should be tailoring our teaching to the way children learn. That’s why we use evidence-based structured literacy programs and tailor our sessions for the individual needs of every child. We firmly believe that this is why what we do works. Has our tutoring worked for your child? Please share your positive experiences in the comments below.

www.readingconnections.com.au

20/10/2025

Sound awareness = reading readiness! 📚✨
Activities that involve listening to, identifying, and playing with sounds (like CVC words) help prepare your child for early literacy and clear speech.

🎲 Try this at home:
Say a simple word like cat and pause before the last sound: “ca…” Can your child fill in the missing sound?
Play, laugh, and exaggerate the sounds!

💬 Building sound awareness through play lays the foundation for confident reading and writing later on.

15/10/2025

home based life

15/10/2025

Is your parental intuition telling you something might be different about your child's speech development?

As parents, we often notice subtle signs before anyone else does, and understanding these early indicators can make all the difference in your child's communication journey.

Early signs your child may need extra speech support:
- Limited babbling by 12 months, no "ba-ba" or "ma-ma" sounds
- No words by 18 months, not saying any recognisable words consistently
- Fewer than 50 words by age 2, vocabulary isn't growing as expected

Other signs to watch for in under 5's:
🔇 Not responding to their name by 12 months
🤐 Very quiet baby, minimal vocalisations or sound play
👂 Difficulty following simple instructions by age 2
🗣️ Hard to understand, even close family struggle by age 3
📞 No pretend play, not "talking" on toy phones or to dolls by age 2
👥 Limited social communication, not waving, pointing, or trying to get your attention
🔄 Lost skills, stopped using words they once said clearly

Trust your instincts as a parent. If you're concerned, early support can make all the difference.

Speech Club offers gentle, play-based support that feels like fun, not therapy.

Worried about your little one's speech development? 👉 We're here to help. 💙

Visit us 👉 www.speechclub.com
Or call 👉 01264 319257

14/10/2025