Speech Tips

Let’s explore how greater lifestyle choices, nutrition, sleep, and parenting practices can impact a child's speech development and how taking a holistic approach considers all aspects of a child's growth and development.

When it comes to language development in young children, it is essential to introduce them to a wide range of vocabulary. While nouns are often the first words they learn, introducing verbs, or action words, at an early age is equally important. Do you want your child to start combining words together and talking in short phrases and sentences? If so, you may want to focus on exposing your child to more VERBS (aka action words).

If you're a parent dealing with a whiny toddler, you're likely searching for answers. I've been through this phase three times, and let me tell you, it can be tough.

Understanding the distinction between speech and language is essential for parents navigating their child's communication development. At Speech Sisters, we receive common questions from concerned parents who are unsure of the differences between these two aspects of child development. In this blog post we will shed light on speech (articulation) and language, and guide you towards effective solutions. Let's dive in!

At Speech Sisters we believe parents have so much power when it comes to building a solid social language foundation. Social opportunities play a crucial role in helping children master necessary life skills like making friends, taking turns, sharing, cooperating, problem-solving, and perspective-taking. You can play a role in improving your child's social skills! Here are four ways that you can help to support social skills and build social resilience for your child:

We are often asked, "What is an effective strategy to help my child communicate?" The answer: Play! Yes, play is SO important for communication. According to much-loved Mr. Rogers, “Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.”

We all want our children to grow up to be intelligent, well-adjusted adults, and as parents, we’re eager to give them a good head start, right? We talk a lot about functional language for babies, what what does that look like?Let’s take a simple quiz. Answer the following question by selecting the correct answer:

Baby sign language—there’s so much to love about it! And the myths about baby sign language? Let’s just put them to rest. Some wonder if baby sign language delays speech, and to this question we give a resounding NO! In fact, teaching our babies and toddlers to sign helps them to communicate even before they start to speak! According to an ASL interpreter from Sign ’n Grow, parents who start teaching their baby sign language at approximately 6 months old usually see them signing back between 9-12 months old.

Are you ready to learn how to get your child to put two (or more) words together? If your child is saying a bunch of single words, NOW is the time to help him start putting those words together! YOU can help your child climb The Language Ladder, and we are here to help! INSTEAD OF . . . Copying the one word your child says: “Banana” TRY THIS . . .

Your two-year-old is finally talking! YAY!!! She is saying new words every day, and she’s even starting to string words together into short sentences. There’s only one problem: you can’t understand what she is saying most of the time. What do you do when you can't understand your child's speech? Does this sound familiar? If the answer is a resounding YES, we want to assure you that this is not uncommon. It happens all the time, and we have some suggestions for you.

Sometimes being a parent takes a little creativity. But don’t worry, you don’t have to be a trained artist, and you don’t have to spend a lot of money to engage in fun, intentional activities that will encourage new vocabulary. When it comes to helping your child with language development, all it takes is a common household object and some purposeful interaction with your precious little one! We love these 5 household objects to build language.

You spent so long picking out the perfect name for your sweet child . . . and now it is time to teach your baby how to say their name! Who is ready to do this? Because, seriously, it's the cutest thing ever! 😍Unfortunately, we can't make our little ones say their name overnight. It is a process, and you may have to work on this for months! Don’t say we didn’t warn you! But don’t worry, we’re here to give you a 3-step plan to help get your little one to say his or her name! ⠀

The answer is a resounding YES! Studies show that children who were exposed to more infant-directed speech, aka baby-talk or “parentese,” at age 1 tend to have a larger vocabulary at age 2 than children who were exposed to less. Some parents are comfortable with baby-talk while others feel awkward, unnatural, and even embarrassed to engage with their baby that way! Don’t worry, we’re here to help. Before you know it, you’ll be an expert at parentese!

Now that winter’s here, it’s time to stay inside where it’s warm and cozy, right? Wellll. . . . at Speech Sisters we challenge you not to hibernate but to live on the wild side—bundle up, brave the cold, and get out there and build lasting memories! There’s nothing as invigorating as crisp, fresh winter air! Winter is full of festivity and fun! Whether you’re walking down a slushy street or sliding down an icy hill, there’s so much to see and hear and feel that you run the risk of sensory overload.

What greater joy is there than to see your baby engage in a game of Peek-a-Boo! The expression of pure delight is unmatched! And how eagerly they wait for you to do it again! Or how about the little squeal when your fingers slowly crawl over them as you tease: “I’m gonna get you . . . I’m gonna get you!” Perhaps you know this one: “Gray mouse, gray mouse—lives in a little house!” and you give a little tickle under the arm or chin!

As we embark on a new school year still in the throes of a global pandemic, parents have hundreds of questions and concerns about the safety and growth of their children. As speech and language pathologists at Speech Sisters, one of the biggest concerns we hear is how will my child communicate while wearing a mask? And as a parent, should we be concerned? The truth is, we are concerned about the impact that masks may have on language learning for babies and toddlers, but we also believe that parents can compensate by making a language-rich home (mask-free) environment. As this continues to be a novel situation, the evidence and research are lacking to determine the specific impact that masks may or may not have on a child’s speech and/or language development. But here is what we do know based on several relatable research studies and sources…

Play is super important in the development of language because it encompasses skills like interaction, socialization, cognition and problem-solving. At Speech Sisters, we believe play is one of the ways that children learn new skills and it is so rich in language opportunities. Symbolic play is when a child uses one object to represent another object. For example, your child might pick up the TV remote and use it as a telephone, or maybe they hop in a cardboard box and pretend that it’s their car.

At Speech Sisters we want you to know that the best way to get your baby making various speech sounds is for you to get eye to eye and model it! This way, your little one can see your mouth and hear the sound/word at the same time! We even recommend a hands-on approach so that your baby can also feel the vibration of the sound or feel a puff of air depending on the sound that you are making. We call this the TRIFECTA… SEE the sound, HEAR the sound, and FEEL the sound. ⠀

Would it get your attention if you were in line at a coffee shop and someone clapped their hands and started shouting, “YAY!!” Kind of random, but yes, I think it might capture your attention. This will have the same effect on your little one! When you exaggerate and repeat fun, silly exclamatory words, you will capture your toddler’s attention. These words are also motivating because you can often use them during playtime. Here are 10 of our favorite EASY and FUN exclamatory words we use at Speech Sisters during playtime and how to incorporate them into your day

One of the most notable milestones developing in the toddler years is language. During this period in human development, parents often wonder when and what their child’s first words will be if they are developing language on track, and maybe even wonder if their child’s tantrums will subside when they start talking. A study completed by Roden, Cole, and Armstrong found that toddlers who had higher language skills were less likely to display tantrums in preschool.

One question we get asked all the time at Speech Sisters is...how can I get my baby to start babbling? Babbling often starts between 4-8 months of age. Babbling is important because it is a stepping stone that a baby must cross before they can start saying real words. If your baby is not babbling yet, here are 5 tips on how you can help your baby babble away!

What is the one word that you are dying to get your baby to say?!“Dada”? NO!! “MAMA!” Of course, it’s “Mama”. But what do they always say first? “Dada!” At Speech Sisters, we want to teach you 4 tricks that you can use to help your baby say “Mama.” Let’s start with a few pointers

Have you noticed your little one stuttering? First things first - don’t panic! At Speech Sisters we know it isn’t uncommon for young children to have developmental disfluencies like developmental stuttering in their speech.

How do I know if my 18-month-old child is on track when it comes to communicating? What is a reasonable expectation? Are there specific activities I can do encourage more talking?

On January 28th Speech Sisters were featured on Good Morning America! We still can’t believe it really happened. On the show, we highlighted two very important strategies that should be used to help boost your child’s language skills.