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Repetition helps children learn language. In fact, did you know that the average child needs 12-15 exposures before learning a new word, and that children with the learning differences need between 40-100 exposures before learning and remembering a new word? Everyday routines create the perfect opportunity to expose your child to a variety of vocabulary words and language concepts. A routine itself is built on the foundation of predictability; in that you complete the task th

Many kids are interested in sports. Joining a sports team is a great way for kids to get exercise and make friends, but sports are often an expensive hobby. If you are looking for a way to support your special needs child's interest in sports without maxing out your wallet, use these five tips from McRory Pediatric Services, Inc . Help Your Kids Practice Getting out in the yard and helping your child train for his or her sports team is the best way to support a sports interes

Let’s face it, you spend a lot of money and time in getting your child the support services that they need to reach their utmost potential. But how do you know if they are getting the most out of their sessions? What can you do as a parent to ensure the best outcome? I have 5 things that you can do today to ensure that your child gets the most out of their therapy program! 1. Participate in therapy sessions. 2. Know your child’s therapy goals. 3. Ask questions. 4

When teaching children new skills, it is not unusual that they will initially require some support in the form of prompts and cues. Prompts can prove to be very effective to help reduce frustration, can ensure progress towards targeted goals, and provide support with difficult tasks to make the learning process easier. To learn more about the different types of prompts that are commonly used when teaching children, be sure to check out my previous blog, “ A Guide for Using Pr

As a clinician who works with children and adults diagnosed with ADHD and their families, the journey to management can often be a challenging one. As with any neurodiverse brain or mental health issue, it is important to begin looking at the areas we have control over to give our brains optimal opportunity to perform at its best. This includes examining quality of sleep, nutrients we put in our body and exercise. Once we see our brain’s optimal capacity, we can then utilize

Seeing your child reach their developmental milestones is a rewarding and exciting time for parents. But when they are slow to develop language, it can leave one feeling worried and wondering what to do. This often can lead to pressure, not just pressure we as parents put on ourselves, but also pressure that we place on our child by asking too many questions or telling them to say specific words. Unfortunately, these techniques do very little to kindle the language learning f

Do you remember hearing your child’s first word? What a wonderful milestone! And as your child says more and more you start to feel a deeper connection with them. After all it is exciting to get a glimpse into what they know, what they think, what they are interested in, and what they want. But what happens as they reach closer to 18-24 months, and you are not hearing any two-word combinations yet? Should you worry or be concerned? Typically, children will not start to combin

A study by WHO consultant Sophie Jullien on language and speech delays in children found that the average prevalence of isolated speech and language delays and disorders is around 6% among children between two and five years of age in the United States. Addressing speech delays among children is important to reduce their risk of developing learning and literacy disabilities, which include difficulties in reading and writing. This will also reduce their susceptibility to beh

A question that I have been asked a lot recently is whether it is normal for children to emit dysfluent speech and when as a parent should you worry? This is a great question and can be a bit tricky to answer. It is not unusual for children between the ages of 18 months to 5 years of age to exhibit what is referred to as a developmental dysfluency. This occurs typically during the window of time in which children are rapidly acquiring language. There is so much going on at th

I meet a lot of parents that are leery about starting ABA (applied behavior analysis) services with their children. Some share concerns about the high degree of structure that is often associated with DTT (discrete trial teaching), and others have questions about the repetitive drills, and the use of edible reinforcement. As an SLP and BCBA, I understand the desire for interventions that are developmental in nature and focus on relationships and play. And while ABA services,

Your child wants something, so they stand in the kitchen with you while you show them item after item, trying to figure out what it is that they want. Does this sound familiar? To communicate effectively, we need three things and often one of those things is missing. Essentially, we need a communicate partner to communicate with, we need a reason to communicate, and we need a way to do so. Sounds like an easy formula, right? But time and time again I see parents who know the

Is your child or client a late talker? Do you need to increase their vocabulary? There are a lot of effective and evidence-based strategies that you can use to help build vocabulary. Once a child learns verbal imitation, you can start offering verbal choices throughout an activity or even throughout the day to expand your child’s vocabulary. For example, during bubble play if you want to expand your child’s language to include attributes, you could ask, “Do you want big bub

Let’s face it, children can have big emotions and those big emotions can translate to tantrums and other challenging behaviors. These challenging behaviors however are a part of growing up and if responded to appropriately can help children to develop healthy social and emotional skills. Whether you are a parent, an educator or a therapist, there are some key principles that you can follow to help minimize challenging behaviors. Assume ALL Children Can Learn. Regardless of a

Young children who have deficits in communication and language skills are not only at risk for academic failure but are also at risk for experiencing “failure” socially, for developing dysfunctional relationships with peers and family members, and for developing behavioral problems. There is evidence that naturalistic teaching, such as milieu teaching, supports both the acquisition and generalization of communication and language skills in young children (Kaiser & Hester, 199

There are many early signs of autism in young children which include challenges with shifting attention, decreased joint attention, and limited imitation skills to name a few. However a recent study by UC Davis which was published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology , suggests that babies as young as 9 months old who look at objects in an unusual way may be at a higher risk for autism. In particular, this study found that infants who developed autism “exhibited more frequ

Did you know that you can use every day routines to help build your child’s understanding of language? Without receptive language, it is hard to communicate effectively. Children who have difficulty with receptive language may find it challenging to follow a set of instructions or may not respond appropriately to questions, whether at home or school. Luckily, there are a few things that you can do to help your child with their receptive language development. One of those thin

Whether you’re a parent or a therapist it can be challenging at times to know which interventions or strategies are best to use to increase joint attention, engagement, imitation, and communication skills in autistic children. One intervention that I have found extremely beneficial for my clients in my practice is Reciprocal Imitation Training (RIT). RIT is an evidence-based naturalistic developmental behavior intervention (NDBI) that teaches generalized, spontaneous imitatio

We all want to see our children thrive and meet their developmental milestones. But what happens when your child is a late talker or delayed in their language development? It is likely that we find ourselves in the trap of asking our children countless questions. And while this can be a good way to test our child’s knowledge to better understand what they know, too many questions can act as a conversation stopper versus fuel language learning. Change Questions into Comments I

Isn’t it frustrating when your little one can repeat the words you model to them but never seem to say them on their own, or when you hear your little one use a new word, only to never hear it again? Or embarrassing when they see a stranger and call him “daddy?” While all of these things are a natural part of the language acquisition process, they nonetheless can leave you wondering if your child will ever talk. When you break it down, language learning is not such an easy pr

When a toddler points at something in their environment, our first reaction is to look at what they are pointing at. This is a form of initiating joint attention. Joint attention is an early-developing social-communicative skill in which two people use gestures and gaze to share attention with respect to objects, events, or a topic of interest. It involves the ability to gain, to maintain, and to shift attention. Joint attention acts as a referencing tool that uses shared ey