Category Archives: Reading

Smart But Distracted

Does your child have Learning Challenges?

Do you notice that your child:

  • Has trouble concentrating or focusing at school?
  • Is easily distracted?
  • Has difficulty following instructions and completing work?
  • Tires easily with school work?
  • Has poor impulse control?
  • Is either hyperactive or has low energy?
  • Is not keeping up with the workload at school?
  • Has difficulty learning new material?
  • Makes letter or number reversals after age 7?

If you are interested in Occupational Therapy at Chatterboxes we are enrolling for the Fall and would welcome to answer your OT related questions!

All About Preschool: Enrolling, Adjusting, and Choosing

Is your kiddo entering preschool this school year? Are you on the fence about enrolling your child? Don’t know which preschool to choose? We’ve found some great websites and articles to prep you and answer your preschool questions! 

To preschool or not preschool?

Not sure if you should enroll in preschool? Think about potty training, promoting independence, and getting your kiddos ready for school in the future! Parents.com has a great article by Anne Zachry about why preschool is a great choice for kids! She expresses that it teaches new skills and prepares them for the coming school years. We love that Zachry also talks about how preschool is beneficial for communication and developing social skills!

Growth, growth, growth!  GreatSchools.org is another awesome article that will give you some important reasons why you should enroll your kiddo in preschool! They make some great points regarding the focus of bettering skills and promoting social and emotional development. They also discuss that preschool is an excellent way to give your child more independence by giving them the opportunity to make their own choices!     

How do we adjust to preschool?

Nervous about the transition? KidsHealth.org offers a great perspective on adjusting to preschool. They understand that preschool is a big change, and can be scary or confusing for some kiddos. Get your child used to the idea of going to preschool! Ease them into it so they know what to expect, and turn the unfamiliar into familiar! Your kiddo’s teacher is a big resource that you shouldn’t overlook – they’re used to it, and will be happy to help! This article offers up some tips on how to ease the transition and make their first day count!   

ZerotoThree.org is also all about preparing for preschool, and has awesome tips and tricks to get your little one ready! We love that they suggest using books and play to get toddlers ready for the transition. Using play and other resources to get your little one familiar with the idea of preschool will be a powerful tool in making the transition into preschool fun and natural. This article even offers a super helpful timeline for you to try out!    

How do I choose the right one?

 GreatSchools.org wants to make sure you pick the right fit for you and your child! Want to know what’s important when looking for a great preschool? Look no further than this smart list that provides questions to consider and why they’re important. They talk teachers, making smart choices for your family, meeting the needs of your child, parental involvement, and more! 

Chatterboxes Private Speech Therapy Services

 

Better Speech Therapy

No, We don’t Accept Insurance Directly for Speech Therapy:

See Why Parents & Kids Love It

Prior to her work at Chatterboxes, our founder, Megan Rozantes., M.S., CCC-SLP used to provide insurance-based speech therapy services.

She knows first hand the differences between Insurance-Based and Out-of-Network Speech Therapy. Based on her previous insurance-based experience as a speech therapist, Megan learned everything she didn’t want in a private speech therapy practice, and everything she did want!

Our practice’s mission is to shine the therapy spotlight directly on each child, every time. We’ve alleviated administrative duties, external challenges, red tape and time constraints for our therapists, so our therapists have the ability to focus intensely on each child’s needs and abilities. This is truly the cornerstone of Chatterboxes. Our support staff ensures that each speech-language-pathologist has the administrative support, time and resources she needs in order to maximize her clinical impact, allowing therapists to work smarter, not harder.

Now, more families are choosing the Out-of-Network and Private Pay model for Speech Therapy. Here’s Why:

Speech Therapy Low Caseloads

Low Caseloads

Speech therapy services are in demand! The average Speech Therapist is helping so many more kids than is reasonable for her schedule. At Chatterboxes, our caseloads are 50% lower than industry average so that we are able to devote more time to each child’s therapy session each and every time.

What do lower caseloads mean? Plan, Prepare, Plan: We can provide twice the planning time and premium resources for rapid progress. It’s not uncommon for a Speech Therapist at Chatterboxes to plan for a 1-2 hours for a single 45 minute therapy session.

The more time our team puts in behind the scenes to prepare for each child’s visit, the better the therapy results. Why? because kids are engaged and it matches their needs. Know a lover of Paw Patrol or Red Matchbox Cars? We guarantee that our kids are super-motivated to participate, as we’ve thoughtfully crafted up a personalized session based on their interests every time.

Speech Therapy Fresh Top Talent

Fresh, Top Talent

We provide speech therapy with a personal connection and friendship, creating trust from which progress is built. We are not a factory. We do not churn out visits. That means, our talented private speech therapists are bright-eyed and are honored to be providing services to each child! Our Speech-Therapists are eager to share their clinical knowledge via in-person conferences, phone talks, countless emails and text messages,  highly customized home programs and family training to make a difference in each child’s abilities! 

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The Child’s Ecosystem & Skill Progression

In order for Speech Therapy to be effective, each child must be able to demonstrate skills outside of the therapy environment. Each child is surrounded by their own ecosystem. If the important adults in each child’s life are not trained in targeting speech therapy goals, progress will be affected. We train parents, teachers, grandparents, nannies, babysitters, etc in our vivid and clear home programs. Each adult has access to specific instructions and understands how to offer support to the child toward speech therapy goals. To keep everyone updated, we offer free speech therapy progress reports and phone conferences.

The Bottom Line

In Conclusion, at Chatterboxes, our team feels that Highly-Individualized speech therapy is not possible in an Insurance-accepted paradigm due to limitations on time and resources driven by financial constraints

Our mission at Chatterboxes is to increase each child’s ability to succeed with better speech therapy services and transform the process of speech therapy to be a highly-customized, delightful and effective experience for kids and parents.

Eager to learn more? Contact Heather for your Complimentary Initial Consultation at 617-969-8255, or visit us at www.TeamChatterboxes.com

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Proudly Serving Massachusetts via our two easy access locations:

35 Bedford Street Lexington MA 02420

 10 Langley Road, Newton Centre 02459

 

 

 

Cozy Up with Your Kids & Read these 10 Festive Christmas Books!

 

Christmas Reading

1. How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss: 

Grinch

This holiday classic follows the Grinch, a grouchy, solitary creature who attempts to put an end to Christmas by stealing Christmas-themed items from the homes of the nearby town Whoville on Christmas Eve.

Written in rhymed verse, the language is lively and engaging. With bright and colorful illustrations, there is plenty for you and your child to look at and talk about

 

 

Rudolph
2Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Rick Bunsen: Children ages 3-6 will love to read this book retelling of the classic 1964 holiday TV special, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

All of the other reindeer make fun of Rudolph and won’t let him play in their reindeer games because he’s different. But when Christmas is almost cancelled because of a huge snowstorm, Rudolph comes to the rescue with his wonderful shiny red nose.

Joy of Giving

 

3.  The Bernstein Bears and the Joy of Giving by Jan and Mike Bernstein: Brother and Sister Bear can’t wait for Christmas and all the presents they will open. But during the Christmas Eve pageant, something special happens! The Bear cubs learn a very valuable lesson about the joy of giving to others. This book is great to read to your child as a reminder of what is important this holiday season

A wish
4. A Wish to Be a Christmas Tree by Colleen Monroe and Illustrated by Michael Glen Monroe: 

This charming tale of an overgrown pine always being passed by for Christmas, and what his woodland friends do to help him, is sure to become a Christmas classic.

With delightful illustrations by wildlife artist Michael Monroe and enchanting text from Colleen Monroe, the birds, deer and squirrel of this story help make their special friend’s wish come true.

 

Olive
5. Olive, the Other Reindeer by Vivian Walsh and Illustrated by J. Otto Seibold: Olive is merrily preparing for Christmas when suddenly she realizes “Olive… the other Reindeer… I thought I was a dog. Hmmm, I must be a Reindeer!” So she quickly hops aboard the polar express and heads to the North Pole. And while Santa and the other reindeer are a bit surprised that a dog wants to join their team, in the end Olive and her unusual reindeer skills are just what Santa and his veteran reindeer team need. Colorful graphic illustrations accompany this zany dog story from the well-known author and artist team, Vivian and J. Otto Seibold.

Dream Snow
6. Dream Snow by Eric Carle (Board Book): It’s December 24th, and the old farmer settles down for a winter’s nap, wondering how Christmas can come when there is no snow! In his dream he imagines a snowstorm covering him and his animals in a snowy blanket.

But when the farmer awakens, he finds that it has really snowed outside, and now he remembers something! Putting on his red suit, he goes outside & places gifts under the tree for his animals, bringing holiday cheer to all.

 

Olivia Xmas
7. Olivia Helps With Christmas by Ian Falconer: Christmas is coming, and Olivia is incredibly busy.

She has to wait for Santa, make sure Dad sets up the tree, watch Mom make the Christmas dinner, oversee the care with which the stockings are hung, and, of course, open her presents! Whew, being helpful during the holidays is exhausting!

 

 

Wild Reindeer
8. The Wild Christmas Reindeer by Jan Brett: This year, Santa asks Teeka to get his reindeer ready to fly on Christmas Eve. She’s happy but a little worried, too. She’s never worked with the reindeer before and she’s not sure they’ll want to come in from the tundra, where they run wild and free. Once she finds them, Teeka’s strong hand does more harm than good, and soon the reindeer are wilder than they were before she began training them. How will she ever get them ready to pull Santa’s sleigh on time?

 

Santa Mouse
9. Santa Mouse by Michael Brown and Illustrated by Elfrieda De Witt: We love this charming story about a tiny mouse with no name who lived a very lonely life in a very big house. He loved Christmas dearly and had a special present for Santa, but how could he possibly give it to him?

After all, he’s only a mouse. And how did a little ordinary mouse become Santa Mouse, the helper Santa could never do without? Find out by reading this adorable book with your child.

 

 

Charlie Brown Xmas
10. A Charlie Brown Christmas Adapted by Tina Gallo and Illustrated by Scott Jeralds      The beloved Peanuts holiday special about Charlie Brown, his friend Linus, a sad Christmas tree that’s rescued, and the meaning of Christmas first aired on television in 1965. As 2015 marks the 50th anniversary of A Charlie Brown Christmas TV Special, this charming, full-color abridgment of the animated classic is the perfect book to read with your child this Christmas.

 

The Orton-Gillingham Approach

reading

The Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators developed the Orton-Gillingham Approach which is an instructional approach intended primarily for use with persons who have difficulty with reading, spelling, and writing of the sort associated with dyslexia.

The Orton-Gillingham Approach is focused upon the learning needs of the individual child. Children with dyslexia need to master the same basic knowledge about language and its relationship to our writing system as any who seek to become competent readers and writers. However, because of their dyslexia, they need more help than most people in sorting, recognizing, and organizing the raw materials of language for thinking and use. Language elements that non-dyslexic learners acquire easily must be taught directly and systematically.

The Orton-Gillingham Approach has been rightfully described as language-based, multisensory, structured, sequential, cumulative, cognitive, and flexible. The attributes of this approach include the following:

  • Linguistic competence by stressing language patterns that determine word order and sentence structure as well as the meaning of words and phrases.
  • Multisensory teaching by using all the leaning pathways: seeing, hearing, feeling, and awareness of motion.
  • Information is presented in an ordered and structured way that indicates the relationship between the material taught and past material taught.
  • Step by step leaners move from the simple, well-learned material to that which is more and more complex using a sequential, incremental, and cumulative approach.
  • From a cognitive approach, students gain confidence as they improve in their ability to apply newly gained knowledge about and knowledge how to develop their skills with reading, spelling, and writing.
  • The teacher presentations employ lesson formats which ensure that the student approaches the learning experience understanding what is to be learned, why it is to be learned, and how it is to be learned.

The basic purpose of everything that is done in the Orton-Gillingham Approach is assisting the student to become a competent reader, writer and independent learner.

Contact Us if you have concerns about your child’s reading abilities;

Private OG Sessions available in Lexington