Category Archives: Early Intervention

Speech & Language Developmental Milestones

By Chatterboxes 

Children’s Speech and Language Development follows a typical pattern of development. The below milestones are speech and language skills that children acquire starting as young as 6 months.
If you have concerns about your child’s speech and/or language development, please feel free to Contact our Team to talk in more detail about your child’s development.

 

The Checkout Line

By Chatterboxes 

Caden Bubbled with Excitement to See Me and Tell me Everything.

He jumped into my arms after daycare announcing: “Duh Twains Twashed!  Dat one, you know, Pewcy da Dween one, Wost a Yeel!!  I was starting to notice that the more excited he became, the faster he spoke, and the faster he spoke, the less I could interpret.


The Checkout Line
We were in the Supermarket just after Caden’s 3rd Birthday and my heart broke as an elderly woman in the checkout line wanted to engage with Caden. The exchange went something like this:

Woman:  “You must be a good Big Brother. What’s your name?”
Caden:     “Das my bruder, Midal.”
Woman:  “Oh. Wow isn’t he cute! And what’s your name?”
Caden:     “Daden.”
Woman:  “Daden? How lovely.”
Caden:     “No, DA-Den.”
Woman:  “Daden. Ok! Daden! Have fun today!”


Getting from Daden to Ca-den
That afternoon, during Caden’s nap, I called to set up a Speech Evaluation.
The results of the Evaluation revealed Caden had a moderate speech delay and some of his errors, like substituting /d/ for /k/ were not developmentally appropriate for his age. That next week, we started Caden in weekly sessions.

Caden’s Grandma drove him to Speech Therapy for 6 months.

One of the 1st sounds Caden learned to say was “Kuh” and within a month, he was saying “Ca-den!” I was just thrilled with the fact that he could introduce himself. Caden continued working through a step-by-step process on his speech goals, and we were really vigilant with his home practice.

Caden appeared to have caught-up his peers, so we decided we could take a break from Speech Sessions for the Summer. Summer quickly turned into Fall and Caden started a new Preschool when he turned four. He loved school and was playing T-Ball for the Royals on weekends.


When You Feel Like Quitting: Remember Why You Started
Now at age 7, Caden is in second grade. At his parent-teacher conference this year, his teachers expressed concern with his letter-sound correlations, and his ability to sound-out words. His teacher recommended Speech Therapy, as the mispronunciation of sounds was interfering with his reading and his ability to decode words.


“We never formally finished Speech Therapy back when he was 3.” I announced to his teacher.

Now at age 7, we agree that Caden’s unresolved articulation errors are impacting his reading.  My husband and I feel responsible; as if Caden’s new trouble in reading could have been avoided.
Sticking to a program and committing to the program’s completion is so critical.  You may feel that your child is ‘doing well,’  but please don’t be tempted to make the call on your own to discontinue therapy. I can now look back and wish we would have completed what we had started and can’t help but think that Caden’s speech difficulties wouldn’t have escalated into the academic issues we have today.

-Submitted by: Melanie Bergeron

Interested in learning more about our practice? Visit www.TeamChatterboxes.com

Maddie, her Mom and a “My Little Pony” named ‘Sparkle’

By Chatterboxes 


Maddie, her Mom and a “My Little Pony” named ‘Sparkle’ came in last October. Sara was privy to Maddie’s love for horses and glitter prior to meeting her that day.


“I’m tearing Up Thinking about How Far Maddie Has Come. Financially, it was a stretch for my husband and I to invest in private speech; but the impact Sara Look., CCC-SLP has made on our daughter’s happiness is invaluable”  shared her Mom.


At 6 years old, Maddie was just starting first grade. She was a late-talker and didn’t start combining words until age 3. Her mom recalls, “Once she started speaking in longer sentences, her thoughts and language still sounded immature.”  Maddie’s Mom noticed she confused pronouns, like he/she, and mixed-up verb tenses.  She noted, “Her words just seem disorganized and jumbled.”
Maddie’s language issues were becoming more evident in her school work and seemingly impacting her self-confidence amongst her peers. Her Mom expressed, “Maddie’s academic journey was just beginning. As parents, we worried her educational identity was at stake.”


“I Found Myself Peering at Maddie through the Rearview Mirror on the way over. As I watched her, my heart began to race. How would I tell her that her Dad and I are worried about her language development? Should I explain that she needs to be tested?” “Should we even go through with this today?” relays her Mom.


Sara’s instant interactions with Maddie were so natural and comforting. “Within moments of our arrival, Sara squatted down to Maddie’s level and softly hinted, “Oooh. Your Glittery Pony is Magical! Have you ever made your very own Rainbow-Sparkle-Kingdom?”   


“At that moment, it’s like I knew:  As a Team, We Could Do This.” notes Maddie’s Mom.


Sara collaborated with Maddie’s parents to develop a therapy plan that targeted goals such as grammar, word retrieval and syntax.  Throughout therapy, Sara developed a close working relationship with Maddie and her Parents, as well as her Babysitter and Teachers. We could all see that Maddie really looked up to Sara, which meant she was motivated to follow through on her Home Programs.


Maddie will be starting 2nd Grade this Fall and has made amazing progress.  Maddie is now closer than ever to accomplishing age-appropriate language skills.  


Maddie, her Mom and ‘Sparkle’ continue to visit Chatterboxes on a bimonthly basis.

Visit us at www.TeamChatterboxes.com for more information on our services.

How to Solve Back to School Worries

By Chatterboxes 


What’s a social story?

A social story is a concise descriptive tool, used to illustrate a situation, event, concept or desired skill. Social stories model appropriate social cues and/or behavior, different perspectives of

What are Social Stories™? Carol Gray of the Gray Center for Social Learning and Understanding developed Social stories™ and provide information on what to expect.


How Can Social Stories™ Help My Child?


  • Assisting with and preparing for transitions or new experiences, e.g., the first day of school
  • Supporting development of self-care skills, e.g., getting dressed
  • Encouraging appropriate social skills, e.g., turn-taking in play and conversation
  • Modeling expected or appropriate behavior
  • Demonstrating what is unexpected or inappropriate behavior
  • Understanding others’ perspectives and responses to situations
  • Managing unexpected or stressful events or changes to routine, e.g., a new teacher
  • Developing positive self-image/encouraging self-esteem

Scroll down for three free printables you can use to prepare a child for their transition back to school!


Three Concepts Mr. Potato Head can Teach Your Child!

By Chatterboxes 



Children should demonstrate their understanding of body part and clothing vocabulary, by approximately two years of age. Between 2-2.5 yrs, children should master various spatial terms including ‘in,’ ‘off,’ ‘on’ and ‘under.’ Create a language learning opportunity with your child, by focusing on the below three concepts with them, the next time you play with your “Mr. Potato Head!”

1) Clothing Vocabulary
Have Mr. Potato Head try on various clothing items, e.g., ‘hat,’ ‘shoes,’ ‘shirt,’ etc. Point out those clothing items on yourself and on your baby, e.g., “Mommy’s shoes!”

2) Body Part Vocabulary
As you build your very own creative “Mr. Potato Head,” you will add various body parts, e.g., ‘feet,’ ‘eyes,’ ‘nose,’ ‘ears,’ ‘mouth,’ ‘arms,’ and ‘legs.’ Talk about these body parts as you add them to Mr. Potato head, and identify them on yourself and your baby, e.g., “Where’s your nose? There’s your nose!”

3) Spatial Terms
As you add to and change your “Mr. Potato Head,” emphasize the spatial terms that you naturally use, while commenting on your play, e.g., “Hat on!”

Next, ask your child to follow various directions involving these spatial terms, e.g., “Hide the hat, ‘under’ Mr. Potato Head,” or “Take his shoes ‘off’ of his feet.”

By Chatterboxes 

Strategies for Improving your Child’s Articulation Abilities:​

-Create a positive, supportive communication environment that prevents communication breakdown and fosters confidence with speaking.  Try only asking your child to repeat themselves when it is essential for you to have understood what they have said or when what they have said is a sound, word, or phrase that they are capable of correcting.

-Repeatedly model sounds and words and encourage your child to imitate.  You may think that you are sounding repetitive, but children benefit greatly from repeated models.

-Hold objects closer to your face so your child is able to see proper sound production (i.e., mouth, tongue and lip placement for sounds).

-Try practicing target sounds within the context of games.  For example, while working on /d/ at the sound level, say “d..” each time before you take a turn in a board game. 

-Use multimodal cues to facilitate accurate sound production, including specific instructions, facilitation techniques, and auditory-visual cues. 

 -Consistent home practice is important.  It is recommended to practice for 5-10 minutes for 3-5 days per week.  Try working practice into your weekday routine.  For example, try practicing each weekday night before or after dinner or before bedtime. 

Cast a Sparkle on “Time Out!”

By Chatterboxes 


Transform your child’s next “Time Out” into a time where they can calm themselves and reflect on a recent incident. You might work together to create a “Calming Jar” and talk about how each of the sparkles can represent our thoughts. When we are feeling upset, or overwhelmed, our thoughts can rapidly swirl around our mind much like a blizzard; The Calming Jar helps us to settle our thoughts, as the glitter slowly and quietly comes to rest on the base of the jar. 

Calming Jar Directions:
2 tablespoons of glitter glue
2 cups of warm water (to dissolve the glue),
food coloring
Mix all above together in a mason jar

Then, during your child’s next “Time Out” shake up your Calming Jar and ask your child to take a deep breath and sit watching the sparkles inside until the jar settles and all the sparkles fall to the bottom.  This may visually calm your child and allow them to be ready for conversation.

The Top 10 Characteristics of Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS)

By Chatterboxes 


Childhood Apraxia of Speech is a complex disorder that is often misdiagnosed. A definitive diagnosis of CAS is typically not made until a child has a repertoire of at least 100 words and/or following a diagnostic period of 3-6 months of therapy.

The American Speech Language and Hearing Association’s definition is as follows: “Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is a neurological childhood (pediatric) speech sound disorder in which the precision and consistency of movements for speech are impaired. CAS may occur as a result of known neurological impairment, in association with complex neurobehavioral disorders of known or unknown origin, or as an idiopathic neurogenic speech sound disorder.”

Although there are not any formal guidelines for diagnosing CAS, (as it is a variable disorder and features change over time). The following features are considered to be hallmark characteristics of Childhood Apraxia of Speech and aid in the identification of a disruption in a child’s motor planning. 

These hallmark characteristics include:

1)  Inconsistent speech sound errors on consonants and vowels, in repeated productions of syllables and words.

2)  Disrupted and/or lengthened co-articulatory transitions between sounds and syllables

3) Impaired prosody (or rhythm of speech)

4)  Inconsistent errors in repetition of the same target, e.g., “bop” and “ba” for ‘pop’

5) Omission of initial consonants, e.g., “at” for ‘hat’ (indicating difficulty initiating speech)

6) Vowel distortion, e.g., “dug” for ‘dog’

7) Groping, or struggle, while attempting to find the appropriate articulatory positioning (of lips, tongue and jaw)  for certain sounds or words

8) A child’s ability to understand language (receptive language)  is much greater than his/her ability to express
language (expressive language)

9) Inventing signs/gestures and using nonverbal means of communication to compensate for difficulty using words

10) Speech that is imitated (following a model) is much clearer (easier to understand) than spontaneous speech (speech produced independently), although imitating speech is difficult.

For more information on Childhood Apraxia, please visit: http://www.apraxia-kids.org/ 

12 Strategies to Make Your Home a Fluency-Faciliating Environment

By Chatterboxes 


The way you speak to your child can have an impact on his or her speech and stuttering behavior. Children who stutter tend to stutter more in stressful speaking situations or when high speaking demands are placed on them. You can decrease the communication demands placed on your child by modifying the way that you speak to them.   “Stuttering results when demands for fluency from the child’s social environment exceed the child’s cognitive, linguistic, motor, or emotional capacities for fluent speech.”- C.  Woodruff Starkweather


Demands can be placed on a child by themselves, or by other listeners. Some examples of demands include:

  • Competition for talking time (lack of turn taking)
  • Time pressure
  • Negative listener reactions
  • Excitement/extreme emotion

Capacities are inherited tendencies, strengths/weaknesses, and perceptions which may influence the child’s ability to speak fluently.


Implement the following twelve strategies to create a fluency facilitating environment for your child:

1)  Speak slowly

2) Use a soft voice

3) Pause frequently in conversation

4) Use simple vocabulary and grammar

5) Avoid asking lots of questions, instead, use comments

6) Try not to place too many requirements or expectations on your child, especially during challenging or stressful activities (e.g., potty training, or school work)

7) Be patient, don’t interrupt your child or finish your child’s sentences for him/her, instead establish good turn taking rules

8) Allow time to pass between speaking turns, don’t rush your child

9) Maintain natural eye contact, even during a moment of stuttering

10) Avoid criticizing your child’s speech or using language like “slow down!” or “You’re taking too fast!” Instead, try to focus on the message your child is attempting to deliver

11) Talk openly about stuttering with your child and acknowledge that it can be difficult. You can use language like “sometimes speech is bumpy” or “that was a hard one.”

12) Listening Time: Set aside 15 minutes of time each day that your child can speak to you without time pressure. Your role is to listen to your child.