Play-dough has been around for ages and is a near-universal childhood toy. As an adult, even I love to knead and roll the stuff! But as much fun as play-dough is, it’s also a great choice for kids with delays and disabilities. Following are a few ways play-dough can help kids with special needs: Stress…
Does your child use an AAC or communication device? Halloween is a popular holiday for many children, and there’s no reason why kids with AAC devices can’t participate fully in the fun! First, you’ll want to program some key Halloween words and phrases into the AAC device. Some devices actually come programmed with a Halloween…
We all know how frustrating it feels to try to communicate with someone who is not paying attention. We have something important to say, but our conversation partner is checking her phone, looking everywhere but us, and when we ask a question, the response is “Huh?” None (or very little) of the information we were…
Kid’s Creek Therapy recently hosted the LAMP conference, an event where SLPs, OTs, teachers, paraprofessionals, ABA therapists, and parents gathered to learn more about the LAMP approach to augmentative alternative communication (AAC). All of our SLPs, in addition to one of our OTs, attended the conference and were trained on the LAMP principles. In today’s…
Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are known by many different titles. The most common are speech therapist, SLP, or speech teacher. Many specialties encompass the field (language, articulation, fluency, voice, swallowing, pediatrics, geriatrics, aphasia) and within each specialty there are more areas of focus related to work environments or diagnoses. Speech-language pathology is a career which offers…
Did you know that 11% of children ages 3–6 have a speech, language, voice, or swallowing disorder and almost 15% of school-age children experience some degree of hearing loss? Communication disorders are among the most common disabilities in children nationwide. May is Better Hearing & Speech Month – a perfect time to help families learn…
It may sometimes seem like a difficult task to think of language activities to play with your child, but it doesn’t have to be! You can use everyday moments and activities to encourage language and communication skills and also incorporate quick and easy language games into your everyday life. Setting aside time in your days…
The term “oral motor skills” refers to the function and use of the lips, tongue, cheeks, jaw, and hard and soft palates in swallowing and in speaking. Oral motor development actually begins in utero and continues for the first several years of a child’s life. Sometimes, children show weaknesses in oral motor skills which can…
Although it doesn’t feel that way for most of us, speaking with someone else is a complex activity. You have to be able to listen, interpret, and decide on a response, and then your brain coordinates what muscles need to move to say the sounds required to form the words. It is a lot of…
Disorders of the muscles of the face and mouth in children can cause issues with breastfeeding, facial skeletal growth and development, chewing, swallowing, speech, breathing, sleep, dental alignment, oral hygiene, and even social interactions (due to open mouth breathing, drooling, and/or holding the tongue out of the mouth). Myofunctional therapy (also known as orofacial myology)…