Communication breakdowns are one of the top reasons for negative toddler behaviors.

Often times when a child is unable to send a clear message to request an item, action or event, they become overwhelmed with frustration; leading to frequent whining, crying and meltdowns.

Empowering your toddler with the expressive language they need to improve the effectiveness of their overall communication abilities will dramatically ease frustration, while fostering your child’s independence.

As your child learns their thoughts, wants and needs can be shared, they will learn that their communication has a direct effect on altering their environment. This new found independence is thrilling for toddlers! 

We’ll discuss to how to grow your child’s language from single words to phrases, as well as language based tips and strategies to foster improved communication your little one!

This Free Parent Workshop will be Facilitated by Megan Rozantes, M.S., CCC-SLP of Chatterboxes Pediatric Speech-Language & Feeding of Newton & Lexington.

Workshop Information: 

The Loved Child: www.thelovedchild.net

The Loved Child is located at 173 Belmont Street Belmont, MA

Event Date & Time: March 17th 7-9pm

Come enjoy Wine and Appetizers and mingle with the TLC Community.

1. Use one language at a time, for short periods of time. Daily routines can be an optimal time for using the second language. For example, speak the second language only during the bath time routine (without language-mixing.) Your child will become familiar with all of the vocabulary associated with bath (soap, water, towel, bubbles, etc). Once you feel your child is comfortable with these vocabulary words, you might add a second daily routine, such as breakfast.

2. Make a picture dictionary. To make a picture dictionary, staple sheets of construction paper together and cut pictures out of magazines. Use categories which complement your child’s experiences. Label pictures in both languages.

3. Use repetition. By singing songs or rhymes and repeating them each week, your child will be able to remember the ways words are used and apply them in their day-to-day lives. Make learning games that involve silly phrases or actions so they can enjoy the learning process.

The American Speech Language Association notes:

• Most bilingual children speak their first words by the time they are 1 year old (e.g., “mama” or “dada”).

• By age 2, most bilingual children can use two-word phrases (e.g., “my ball” or “no juice”). These are the same language developmental milestones seen in children who learn only one language.

• From time to time, children may mix grammar rules, or they might use words from both languages in the same sentence. This is a normal part of bilingual language development.

• When a second language is introduced, some children may not talk much for a while. This “silent period” can sometimes last several months. Again, this is normal and will go away.

Welcome, Alexandra!

Alexandra’s flexible, creative and passionate personality creates an engaging therapy environment for children and their families.

Her previous work with clients in their home environments via Early Intervention has helped her develop active listening, empathy and experience identifying shared goals.

This results in progress, ongoing involvement and eventual positive therapy outcomes.

Alexandra is an advocate of the co-treatment therapy model and working with other professionals and disciplines involved in each child’s ecosystem.

Alexandra holds a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from Worcester State University where she was elected President of the National Student Speech-Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA) chapter of WSU.

Alexandra’s professional experience includes a Speech-Language Pathologist position with Family Services of Rhode Island, where she led a community-based “Mother Goose” and center-based speech and occupational therapy group with Family Service of Rhode Island. Additional previous experience includes The Wolf School of Providence, RI, a private school dedicated to complex learners.

Alexandra has had the opportunity to work with children ranging in age from 3-20 years old diagnosed with pragmatic language disorder, expressive/receptive language delay, fluency disorder, autism spectrum disorders, articulation and feeding disorders. She is specialized in conducting assessments and evaluations, and provides parent education and coaching for families and caregivers

Alexandra is based out of our Lexington location at 35 Bedford Street, Unit 6, Lexington MA and is available to her current and prospective clients at alexandra@teamchatterboxes.com

Early Intervention (EI) is a service that is available for children between birth and 3 years, who present with developmental difficulties or who are at risk for developmental disabilities or delays due to birth or environmental conditions.

EI services are provided by a multidisciplinary team of professionals including; Developmental Specialists, Speech Language Pathologists, Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Psychologists, Social Workers, and more. EI services can be provided through government-based programs (see your state’s guidelines for more information) or privately.

The Chatterboxes Way

Chatterboxes is a private practice that offers EI services, targeting speech and language delays or disorders. Our family focused model allows our clinicians to spend ample amounts of time preparing for sessions and creating individualized materials for each child. Chatterboxes offers both individual and group EI sessions. Our approach is play-based, and directly involves parents, caregivers, and any other  Aesthetically, we have created our space to be very inviting to children, providing them with the feel of a vibrant play-space, as opposed to feeling like a doctor’s office.  We find that children are ready to play and are very much at ease even upon their first visit.

Please see the chart below, for an outline of the differences between EI services provided through the state funded EI companies and EI services provided through Chatterboxes Private Practice.

For more information on our Early Intervention Program, please contact Heather at 617-969-8255 or via email at Heather@teamchatterboxes.com

Signs are considered to be words that are produced with the hands instead of the speech mechanism. They are easier for children to use that orally produced words and have been evidenced to facilitate speech production and oral word use, especially when paired with spoken words. Signs can help children express themselves, reducing communicative frustration.

When introducing signs, start with just one or two signs for the purpose of requesting, e.g., sings for more and please. (Image below demonstrates ‘more’)

Use hand-over-hand modeling to teach the signs, e.g., taking your child’s hands and performing the sign for him or her. Over time, fade the level of support you provide your child to facilitate their use of the signs. After your child becomes proficient with a requesting sign, introduce early vocabulary items, e.g., ball, car, train, music, open, eat, drink, milk, cookie, cracker, all done, help and thank you.

When practicing signs, especially when introducing a new sign, it’s ideal to have two adults available to work with your child. This way, one person can hold the toy/object that your child is requesting and the other person does hand-over- hand modeling of the sign.

The person holding the toy/object sits across from your child, at eye level with him/her, and the other person sits behind him/her, taking his/her hands to help him/her physically produce the sign!

Meal times are an excellent time to work on signs, as your baby is seated eye level to you, and is most likely motivated to ask for favorite foods! Check Out This Video of a Baby in Action!

There are several strategies under the umbrella of orange speech that help the child stay on track and use their best speech habits. These targeted strategies under the umbrella of orange speech include:

• Full Breath
• Breath and Speech Together
• Pause Often
• Regulated Rate
• Continuous Vocal Phonation
• Talking in Short Sentences
• Minimizing Consonants and Maximizing Vowels

SLPs engage fluency shaping by introducing over-learning and exaggeration of correct speech patterns as they assist the child progress from red speech through orange speech to green speech.

Using the Color Me Fluent program, SLPs are utilizing learning theory, behavior modification, and family education to facilitate an increase in awareness, self-esteem, and fluency for the child.

PROMPT is a multidimensional approach to treat speech production disorders. PROMPT is an acronym for PROMPTS for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets and this approach incorporates the well-known physical-sensory aspects of motor performance with the cognitive-linguistic and the social-emotional aspects. PROMPT is a program to develop motor skill in the development of language for interaction through facilitating oral-motor skills and the production of individual sounds or phonemes.

Children struggling with a speech production disorder can benefit from the PROMPT approach. The delay or disorder may present with challenges in:

• Stuttering
• Language formation
• Syntax
• Motor control or planning
• Phonological learning
• Auditory processing
• Production
• General cognitive or global delays

Regardless of the manifestation of the speech production disorder, the PROMPT approach allows children to respond to tactile cues to produce, revise or change production, and integrate motor production of sounds with their cognitive-linguistic function. Prompts are designed to help a child get a feel for the movement, the muscles required, the manner of production, and the combining of movements to form words and phrases.

The PROMPT approach helps clients gain the voluntary control of motor-speech systems as well as understand the link between the necessary motor movements and the functional use of words and phrases in communication. The clinicians help to manually guide articulators to produce specific sounds and words through touch pressure, kinesthetic, and proprioceptive cues.

Check out this video of one of our Speech-Language Pathologists using PROMPT touch cues.

The Hanen Program’s recent publication, Make Play R.O.C.K. developed by Fern Sussman and Elaine Weitzman includes a parent-classifying system which helps parents learn more about their interaction style with their children.

The Hanen Program notes there are four common parenting play-styles.  The Hanen Program believes that knowing your play-style will empower parents to employ simple strategies that will enhance their child’s speech and language development through play. The Four Parenting Play Styles are described below.

Take The Quiz: What’s My Play Style and learn more about your Parenting Style!

1) The Helper or Teacher Style:

All parents need to be helpers or teachers from time to time; however, if you most often direct your child in play, chances are they are not able to have a chance to show you what they know and have the ability to explore the world according to their own interests.

If you responded to the quiz that you usually decide what your child will play and show them what do do or say, You have a Helper or Teacher Style of Play.

2) The Do Not Disturb Style:

You like to let your child play alone most of the time. While all kids need some time alone, kids also need to learn to play with others.

If you responded to the quiz that you rarely show or tell your child what to do and you prefer to watch your child from the sidelines, you have a Do Not Disturb Style of Play.

3) The Cheerleader Style:

Do you make play super-fun and exciting for your child? You love to use a loud excited voice and lots of gestures! Kids love being around you. Just remember that at times this very fun type of play can be overwhelming at times; especially for sensitive kids or kids who have a calm personality.

If responded to the quiz that you like to decide what and how to play with your child; and that you act like a kid during play, while greeting very animated, you have a Cheerleader Style of Play.

4) The Responsive Style:

Parents who know how to adapt their interactions based on their child’s feelings, actions and communication are called Responsive. They can judge when they need to be more like a Cheerleader, and when then need to be calm and present.

If you responded “sometimes” to the majority of the quiz answers, you most likely have a Responsive Play Style.

Cooper is a quiet two-year-old who loves the parking garage set he received from his Aunt Shelly for his birthday. At times, Cooper will sit softly humming for extended period of time as he moves the cars in particular parking spaces in the garage. Cooper becomes very upset when Mom or Dad parks a car in the ‘wrong’ spot or if his parents model driving the cars in a different way. Cooper’s mother is concerned because her friends’ two-year-olds have more advanced language skills than he does and she’s worried that preschool is right around the corner.

Cooper’s Parents enrolled him in therapy two times a week focusing on social communication skills. Cooper’s parents chose to receive home-visits so that he could be in his natural environment, as they felt he’d be most comfortable at home. The Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP)  modeled techniques to enhance Cooper’s social communication and expressive and receptive language.

The SLP worked closely with Cooper’s parents so they could take turns using the techniques during their usual morning and evening activities. After 6 months, Cooper’s vocalizations have increased in frequency and complexity. Cooper and his SLP continue to work on his use of gesture/signs paired with vocalizations to increase his expressive language skills. His parents are very proud of his progress. At his last session, he even waved and said “bye-bye!”