SLP
The Best Materials to Target Speech and Language Skills
After coming to speech therapy and learning that their child has a speech or language delay, many parents wonder what they can do at home to help. In addition to attending speech therapy appointments, it is very important for caregivers to work on speech and language skills at home and in other environments that the […]
Stuttering Support Groups
Stuttering is a neurophysiological condition which results in an individual exhibiting blocks, repetitions, or prolongations in their speech. Stuttering is often extremely misunderstood by society. Stuttering is a chronological experience, meaning it will likely occur across the span of an individual’s lifetime. Approximately 1% of the population stutters, equating to about 80 million people worldwide. […]
Making AAC Motivational and fun
Making AAC Motivational and Fun for Kids and Families: Realistic Expectations, Tips, and Tricks Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) systems play a vital role in enabling individuals with communication difficulties to express themselves effectively. While AAC can initially seem daunting, especially for children and their families, creating a motivating and enjoyable environment can make the […]
Narrative language skills: The power of storytelling
Narrative language refers to the ability to use all parts of language (vocabulary, grammar, pragmatics) together to tell a story. Narrative skills, or storytelling skills, are a complex and important part of communication. These skills begin to develop as early as 2 years of age! We use our narrative language skills several times a day […]
The Power of Play
For children who are learning language, play is one of the most impactful activities that you can use to target skills at home. Play is how our children first experience the world around them. They truly are sponges and absorb so much from our interactions with them. There are several strategies that you can use […]
Low Stress Strategies to Bring Feeding Therapy Home for the Picky Eater
Do you ever feel like you are struggling to get your child to eat even though they are getting feeding therapy from an occupational therapist or speech language pathologist? Here are some easy tips from your APT-Chattanooga feeding therapist: Make a plan for when you will address the child therapeutically during mealtime: Would your feeding […]
Defense Against Oral Defensiveness
Feeding is a complex activity that involves all 8 of our senses that we participate in multiple times a day. When a child exhibits sensory issues and pediatric feeding issues, mealtimes can sometimes problematic. Common reported tactics of pressuring, force feeding, and battles to “take one bite” can eventually take a toll on a problem […]
Home Exercise Programs (HEP)
What the HEP is it? HEP stands for Home Exercise Program. Essentially, this includes the strategies, activities, and/or exercises a therapist recommends you complete at home between therapy sessions. This could include everything from how to respond to a tantrum, specific handwriting tasks, speech sounds to practice, or stretches to complete. Why is it so […]
What is Childhood Apraxia of Speech?
Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is a neurological syndrome in which pathways from the brain to produce speech are affected. This may cause the child to be unable to move their lips, tongue, or other articulators in a way that makes the desired speech sound—this does not mean there is weakness in these muscles. This […]