Where to Turn: 8 Tips for Finding a Speech Therapist in Your Area

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Find a Speech Therapist in Your Area

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If you’re searching to find a speech therapist in your area you might have several concerns and questions about this process. The choices you have and the decisions you have about your child’s or your own speech therapy process will be based on two key factors: the nature of the disorder and the availability of resources. If you or your child has been diagnosed with a specific speech disorder you can then search for an SLP who has experience treating this type of condition. If you’re just in the process of obtaining an assessment, many speech clinics will be able to provide a thorough evaluation.

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Speech Buddies Parents’ Corner – Is Your Child’s Classroom Flipped Out?

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A Flipped Classroom

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As your child goes back to school, what does that classroom look like? More and more teachers are turning to a flipped classroom, where the traditional elements of lectures and homework are reversed. The classroom lectures and homework assignments where you have to try to recall your algebra skills in order to help your child are being replaced with a new model: the flipped classroom. Continue reading

Speech Buddies Parents’ Corner – How to Save Money While Back to School Shopping

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Image Courtesy of www.speechbuddy.com “Back to school”

From classroom supply lists to gym shoes and the latest technology, back to school often means back to spending for many families. As you prepare for another year of school with your kids, you can save money back to school shopping and get the kids the supplies they need and the things they want.

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What Can We Expect from Speech Therapy in School?

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Special Education 101 and Speech Therapy in School

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Your child is starting speech therapy in school. But what exactly does this mean? The type of services your child will receive in school will depend on many factors. These include your child’s age, the type of speech disorder that has been diagnosed, other learning delays or disabilities, the structure of your child’s school, and more. The two basic forms of speech therapy in schools include in-class (sometimes referred to as push-in services) and separate services (sometimes also known as pull-out services). There are also other forms of assistance that speech-language pathologists can offer to your child. Continue reading

Failing Communication Skills By Middle School – It’s Not Too Late!

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It's not too late to improve communication skills.

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It’s not too late. That is perhaps the most important thing that parents and educators need to remember when working with older elementary and middle school children who have failing communication skills. Their speech, listening, reading, writing, or other abilities might be lagging, but there is still time to help them overcome or learn to navigate these challenges. The steps that might be taken and the resources that might be utilized might look different for a 5th grader compared to a 5 year-old receiving speech therapy, but the effects will hopefully be similar – effective communication skills. Continue reading

Help! My Child Isn’t Reaching Communication Milestones

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Image Courtesy of speechandot.com

Are you worried about your preschooler or kindergartener? Maybe there have been signs that something is just not quite right with her communication skills, or her preschool teacher has mentioned she isn’t reaching typical communication milestones just yet. You’ve maybe even heard that it is “just a phase” or that your child will “catch up” with the other kids her age. While every child is an individual and will make progress at his or her own unique pace, it is also important to listen to those gut feelings and inner voices you have that something might be causing this delay. Continue reading

Benefits of Early Childhood Education

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More and more research is showing that quality early education opportunities have lifelong benefits not only for those children, but for society in general. By the time a child is just 5 years of age, the brain has undergone 85% of its development. That is a relatively short window of opportunity to provide the best environment for as much learning and growth as possible. Continue reading

Is My Child Reaching Communication Milestones?

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Reaching Communication Milestones

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Questions Parents Must Ask Themselves

Since the day (or even before) your child was born you likely have had questions tumbling through your mind about everything from diaper choices to healthy growth and development. Your elementary age child has grown beyond those first steps, but still has many communication milestones to reach. If you are concerned that your child isn’t on track for these, there are several questions you must ask. Continue reading

Communication Milestones for the Later Elementary Years

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Image Courtesy of mentoringminds.com

As the time approaches when many children are headed back to another year of school, many parents are left wondering if their children are ready for what lies ahead. Communication milestones is one term used to describe an intricate weaving of skills and tools that are acquired. These skills include those involving reading, writing, speech, language, use of voice, and more. Communication milestones for children in the older elementary years can be more subtle in nature, but they are nonetheless extremely important.

Communication Milestones in 4th – 6th Grades

Most children have established a foundation of communication by the time they enter kindergarten, and the early elementary years are spent building on those, especially in areas such as reading and writing, as well as more complicated conversations. The older elementary years are no less important than these early years, but their progress might not seem as noticeable. It is during this time when the skills continue to increase at a steady pace, often all the way through high school (and hopefully beyond).

When it comes to communication milestones for older elementary students, look to see that your child is developing in these various areas, both in and out of school. Continue reading