Last fall a new research article came out.  This article reviewed all of the data its authors could find on when kids learn certain speech sounds.  The authors then were able to make some connections about what ages most kids can say sounds.  By its nature, this study applies to all kids generally and not really to any one child specifically.  When you look at the graphic I posted above it seems pretty clear, when my child is 3 I should be listening for him to start saying p, b, m, d, n, h, k....  BUT learning to speak clearly involves a lot more than just making a checklist of sounds!!!  

What are good ways to check and see if my child's speech and language is ok?

Intelligibility - can you understand what your child is saying?

• 18 months - Parents should understand 25% of what their child says
• 24 months - Parents should understand 50-75% of what their child says
• 36 months - Parents should understand 75-100% of what their child says
• After age 4 - most adults should understand what your child says

Bowen, C. (2011). Table1: Intelligibility. Retrieved from http://www.speech-language-therapy.com/ on [1/24/2019].

Language - can your child tell you what he is thinking about?

• around 1 year old - your child should start using some words
• around 2 years old - your child should start combining 2 words into a phrase that makes sense, "Daddy home"
• around 3 years old - your child should be talking in nice long phrases, and you should understand most of them
• around 4 years old - your child should be talking in complete sentences that combine ideas, he can tell you stories about his day!

Grammar - do your child's sentences make sense?

• at age 2 your child should be able to combine different word types, like an adjective + a noun (blue cup)
• at age 3 your child should be using pronouns like he, she, or they.  He may not always use them correctly and that is ok
• at age 4 your child should be using correct grammar in most of his sentences, he should be able to put a "ed" on past tense words (like played) and a plural "s" on words (like cats)

Social Interaction - does your child seem to notice others?

• infant - does your child watch your facial expressions?
• 12 months - does your child imitate your actions?
• 24 months - does your child notice others and play along side them?
• 3 years - does your child enjoy playing pretend?
  
• 4 years - does your child play games and pretend with other kids?

​
These are all just examples of ways your child grows and develops the skills needed to talk clearly to others.  If you want more information about what development might look like for a specific age please check out my Development Charts: 
Birth to 3 Development
​Preschool Development
Elementary Development

I was reading "Oh Say Can You Say" by Dr. Seuss to my 6 year old tonight and came across the poem above.  I thought, "Hey, that is a perfect example of how using visual cues can help with sound placement!".  So here I am blogging about Dr. Seuss's great idea.

One of the very best ways to get kids saying new sound or new sound combinations is to have them watch you as you say those sounds.  Pulling out a mirror so they can see their own oral motor movements is also an excellent idea, especially for these kinds of sounds:  b, m, p, th, f, v, l, and s.  This kind of activity works best when your child already knows how to make their new sound and needs a reminder to use it in their target words.  

Here is an example:  child can say the "s" sound but he often replaces it with a "th" if he is not paying attention.

Get in the bathroom in front of a mirror big enough to see you both.

Mom:  Sssam, see how my tongue stayed behind my teeth!  Now watch it will slip out this time:  "tham", oops, how do I fix it?

Child:  Pull it back behind your teeth!

Mom:  Okay, Sam.  How was that?  Awesome!  Your turn:

Child:  Sam

Mom:  I noticed that your tongue was behind your teeth!

If your child is having a hard time getting the right sound out at all, this activity might not be as successful.  That is when a knowledgeable expert (aka Speech-Language Pathologist) is super useful!

Have you ever wondered what private speech and language therapy looks like?  Here is a little glimpse of how I work with preschoolers and how I engage parents in the process.  There is nothing better than private speech and language therapy for parent training and carry-over into the home!

Time to set a goal for this week!  Here are some AMAZING tools to help get your toddler talking.  My suggestion:  rate yourself on how well you are already doing, and then pick one skill to work on at home this week.  For more information on helping your toddler talk check out this blog post: encouraging-my-child-to-talk.html

Wait for your child to try!
Don’t cater to your child’s every need or want before they have a chance to communicate with you.  Observe their actions, wait for them to interact with you, and then listen!!

How often are you waiting?   Never  -  Rarely  -  Sometimes  -  Often 
 
Mess things up:
Mess up routines so your child has to communicate his or her needs.
Example: During mealtime give everyone a spoon but “forget” to give your child a spoon. Wait and see if your child initiates they need something. If they don’t initiate what they need, help them by saying. “What do you need?” or “Are you missing something” or “Uh-oh!” Label the item before you give it to them.
 
Do you ever mess up the routine? Never  -  Rarely  -  Sometimes  -  Often 
 
Parent Speech:
Use clear simple speech with your child during play routines. The goal is to talk in phrases you want your child to copy.  Use one or two words more than your child is using.

How often do you use Parent Speech? Never  -  Rarely  -  Sometimes  -  Often  
 
Use add-ons:
Add 1 or 2 words to what your child says when you respond back to him or her.
Example: When your child says “up” say “up… you want up”.

How often do you use add-on? Never  -  Rarely  -  Sometimes  -  Often 
 
Narrate your life:
When your child is within hearing range, talk about what you are doing while you do it.
Example: When washing your hands at the sink say “I'm washing my hands”, when the phone is ringing say “I hear the phone”.

How often are you narrating your life? Never  -  Rarely  -  Sometimes  -  Often
 
Narrate your child’s life:
When playing with your child, describe what your child is doing while they are doing it.
Example: When your child picks up a car – say “pick up the car”. When your child drops a block – say “you dropped the block”.

How often are you narrating your child's life?  Never  -  Rarely  -  Sometimes  -  Often 
 
Hopefully this list gives you an idea of a skill to focus on this week.  You can do it!!!

Mom!  I'm hungry!!  Can I have a snack?

Who has heard that before?  Like 10 times, or 20 times... and it's 10:30 am.  Am I right?

Lucky for us, making meals and snacks can be a super excellent way to work on speech and language AND feed your starving child.  It's a win-win!

When I first started working in early child development, a mom told me the most valuable thing she had learned so far was how to talk and be with her kid while he was eating.  She told me that before her therapy services, meal and snack times were all about getting other stuff done while her son was busy eating.  BUT once she started using some of the following tips her son's language really started exploding.


Building Vocabulary 

• Use lots of describing words when you cook and while you are eating:
  • adjectives: hot oatmeal, sticky honey, wet, cold pudding, crunchy carrots
  • verbs: cutting, mixing, pouring, squishing, rolling
  • adverbs: carefully, quickly, before, after
  • prepositions: in the cup, on top of the muffins

 
Using My 5 Senses 

• Talk about how things taste, look, feel, sound, and smell.  These kinds of sentences help your child make connections.  I use my nose to smell.  Apples smell sweet AND peas smell sweet!  I wonder how they taste?

Beginning Literacy

• Use words like first, next, then, after, and last to help your child learn to sequence.  These words automatically take language to a more complex level.

 
Imagination and Guesses

• Ask your child to imagine what his meal or snack might look like, taste like, feel like one you are finished.  Being able to make an educated guess based on what you know is critical for good reading comprehension and social communication skills.

Repetition is key! 

• One of the best parts about cooking is that it is naturally repetitive.  You follow the same basic steps each time you pour a bowl of cereal or make your child’s favorite sandwich. Because of the repetition your child has lots of opportunities to learn and practice! 

*these tips are mainly geared toward the toddler/preschool age kids, if you have older children some good ideas would be having them navigate the recipe card, measure ingredients, and then create their own notebook with their favorite tried and true recipes.

Introducing my brand new page!  Several months ago Emily Hewlett contacted me asking if there was any way we could work together to help get parents more resources regarding growth and development.  She was working on her MS degree in Public Health and needed a Preceptor to oversee her Practicum.  I was delighted to help because getting development handouts for parents has been on my wish list for ages.  Her final product is AMAZING and you can read more about it in my previous blog post.  Today I sorted her handouts into developmental stages and created a new page for my website.  You can find it at the top right hand corner of this page or you can just CLICK HERE!

In my practice I see a lot of kids with low speech intelligibility.  What is my go to technique to help these kids form a sound?  A quick hand sign or tactile cue.  I have found in my practice that when kids are having a very difficult time producing a sound these kinds of cues really help...so I thought I would share!  

​A visual hand sign is a little reminder that you can give your child to help them remember what to do with their mouth.  Something like this:

Tactile cues are a little different from visual cues because they involve lightly touching your child's jaw/lips/nose etc. to remind them where and how to shape a sound. 

Some examples of tactile cues can be found in this awesome link created by Wendy Ryback, MA, CCC-SLP.

​Research has found that tactile cueing is particularly effective for kids with Childhood Apraxia of Speech (see ASHA's Apraxia of Speech Portal).

I don't strictly use these approaches.  My cues change based on things like the age of the child or the severity of their speech delay, or the types of errors a specific child is making.  BUT the above resources are a great way to try giving your kid some more specific help with sounds you are concerned with.  As always if you have additional questions or concerns talk with your pediatrician or local school district SLP!

We all know I LOVE using the holidays as a jumping off point for speech and language activities.  They are motivating, use language that is high frequency for that time of year, and they are just plain fun.  This activity is super awesome!!

This year I have been doing a TON of activities using prepositional phrases with kids.  I think I stumbled on THE BEST Halloween activity ever.  So I thought I would share.   
The book "175 Easy-to-Do Halloween Crafts" has this awesome craft idea:


Basically you take a 12x12 piece of scrapbook paper, fold it into 16 squares, cut the edges and then fold a house...it is SUPER easy once you have given it a try.  Then you get to let the kids decorate it however they like.  In my world that means I get little clip-art guys (I love the ones found HERE) and have the kids tell me where they belong on the house using prepositional phrases.

For example:
The skeleton goes inside the house, Frankenstein lives on top of the roof, the pumpkin sits beside the door, the witch is flying over the house, etc.  

You can work receptive and expressive skills (following directions, giving directions), you can work sequencing, you can work pronouns, you can work verbs...so many options!  Or you can throw the goals out the window and just decorate and have fun knowing you are providing a language rich experience.  No matter where your child's language skills are they will LOVE this activity.  Give it a try!

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and Read Aloud 15 MINUTES just put together some awesome handouts with good information for parents and clinicians working with children ages birth to 5.  The handouts give information detailing communication development in children and offer tips for daily reading.  

If you have young kids or work with young kids you definitely need to click below:
Identify the Signs of Communication Disorders AWESOME NEW HANDOUTS