Ta-da! Music Is A Terrific Tool for Speech Therapy!

by Courtenay M. Articulation Disorders At Home Ideas Games and Activities Language Development Parents' Corner School Speech Disorders Speech Therapist Speech Therapy Techniques

 

Music as Speech Therapy Tool

Song, Music and Melodies are Excellent Speech Therapy Tools for Kids!

We finalize our in-depth look at tools for speech therapy with Music. Yes…music can truly be an effective tool for speech therapy! Think about it, rhymes, patterns, sounds and movement all help bring about speech language comprehension and articulation. According to “Use of Music in Speech-Language Therapy,” an article by Mary B. Zoller, “Using music is a multi-sensory experience that enhances a number of other skills that impact on speech and language development.” The use of music as a speech therapy tool serves to energize and engage a child, and encourages the child to actively participate. And the good news?  You do not need to be a musician or a great singer to reap the benefits of music as therapy! Even using a silly voice and acting out the lyrics is helpful in engaging your child and a way to get them to listen attentively and unknowingly engage them in speech therapy exercises. As we have mentioned throughout this series, this does not serve to replace a proper evaluation or treatment from an SLP, rather music as a tool for speech therapy that you can do at home or in conjunction with your current speech therapy regime. Continue reading →

Free Speech Therapy Tools: Worksheets and Printables

by Courtenay M. At Home Ideas Language Development Parents' Corner Speech Therapist
Free Downloadable Speech Therapy Worksheets

Worksheets and Printables Are Excellent Additions To Your Speech Therapy Regimen.

Our in-depth look at tools for speech therapy continues with a look at free speech therapy tools that you can use at home. Worksheets and Printable Handouts. We have searched the Internet for worksheets that you can use with your child to use as support material in your speech therapy efforts.  There are many different worksheets and handouts to choose from, so we have narrowed it down for you and organized these activities into two categories: activities to help build speech and language skills and activities to help build literacy. And, as we continue to emphasize, these are not a substitute for proper evaluation and treatment from an SLP. These handouts are purely to provide your child with hands-on resources for improving articulation, language building and increased literacy at home and to help build a foundation for correct speech patterns and comprehension.

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Books Are Excellent Speech Therapy Tools!

by Courtenay M. Articulation Disorders At Home Ideas Language Development Parents' Corner School Speech Disorders Speech Therapist Speech Therapy Techniques

 

Books are Excellent Speech Therapy Tools

Reading to your children helps build language skills and encourages correct sound production.

Yes, Books are excellent speech therapy tools and effective way to improve articulation disorder. As we continue our in-depth look at tools for speech therapy, we take a look at books. Reading to your child is one of the most important things you can do as a parent or caregiver whether or not you child has a speech disorder. As we have mentioned before, reading to your child helps make connections with what he or she is hearing and functions as a building block to language development. Reading comprehension is an essential tool for a child’s future academic achievement and social well-being. Not only does reading books serve as an effective form of speech therapy, it’s an excellent way to engage and entertain your child. The books listed below are not intended to replace speech therapy with an SLP. Rather, these are books that you can read at home with your child, to encourage sound production and set them up for correct articulation patterns.

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Are Tactile Tools for Speech Therapy An Effective Option?

by Courtenay M. Apps Articulation Disorders At Home Ideas Parents' Corner School Speech Disorders Speech Therapist Speech Therapy Techniques

Tactile Tools for Speech Therapy
Our in-depth look at tools for speech therapy turns toward non-traditional speech therapy methods today. We have touched on terrific apps for families and children with articulation disorder and sites and resources for SLP’s looking to incorporate technology into their practice. Another piece of speech therapy worth discussing are hand-held, tactile tools. Hand-held items are often effective tools for speech therapy. Tactile tools target a range of skill sets from fine and gross motor, articulation, voice and stuttering, listening and sensory skills. Tactile tools allow kids to practice speech sounds, provide appropriate sensory options and can be used in any setting, whether it be home, at a speech therapist’s office or even at school.

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Apps for SLPs

by Courtenay M. Apps Articulation Disorders Language Development Parents' Corner Speech Disorders Speech Therapist Speech Therapy Techniques

Apps for SLPsMore and more, speech and language therapists are turning to the Internet to provide high-quality speech therapy exercises for their therapy sessions. As children (and their parents) become more proficient in technology and in particular tablets and mobile devices, therapists are presenting innovative ways to keep their therapy services current with today’s technology standards.

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Tools for Speech Therapy: 5 Fabulous Apps for Kids

by Courtenay M. Apps Articulation Disorders At Home Ideas Language Development Parents' Corner Speech delay Speech Disorders Speech Therapist Speech Therapy Techniques

Speech Therapy Apps

Get your iPads ready! Games, puzzles, stories on the go?  Speech Therapy is no longer one size fits all. Recent innovations in technology provide many valuable tools for speech therapy. Apps, iPad games and gadgets offer opportunities for learning at every level of speech therapy and often help make the therapy fun. Of course, apps should not be viewed as a replacement for a comprehensive speech therapy plan, and you should always seek to contact your SLP if you are planning to use applications, games and gadgets in conjunction with your therapy sessions.

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Articulation Disorder Study: Helping Sound the Letter /R/

by Courtenay M. Articulation Disorders Parents' Corner Pronunciation & Lisps R Sound Speech Disorders Speech Therapist Speech Therapy Techniques
Articulation Disorder - Treating the /R/ Sound

Using a tactile tool can help increase success rate in children with articulation disorder.  Image Courtesy of eHearsay: Electronic Journal of the Ohio Speech-Language Hearing Association.

As we finish of our in-depth look at articulation disorders this week, we would like to share with you some details from a recent clinical study which demonstrated the importance of a tactile tool in speech therapy. The study, published in the journal eHearsay: Electronic Journal of the Ohio Speech-Language Hearing Association tested the effectiveness of a hand-held tactile tool, Speech Buddies, in treating the misarticulation of the letter /r/.

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Exploring the /R/ Sound in Articulation Disorders

by Courtenay M. Articulation Disorders Language Development Parents' Corner Pronunciation & Lisps Speech Disorders Speech Therapist Speech Therapy Techniques

 

Exploring the /R/ Sound

What Everyone Needs to Know About Articulation Disorders: Exploring the Sound /R/

This week, we are taking a fresh and in-depth look at articulation disorders in children, including trying to decipher what is fact, fiction and frankly what you need to know about articulation disorders in relation to normal speech development milestones.  As we drill down into the nitty gritty of articulation disorders, today we are choosing to focus on pronouncing the sound of /R/.

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What Everyone Needs to Know About Articulation Disorders

by Courtenay M. Articulation Disorders Language Development Parents' Corner Phonological Processing Disorder Pronunciation & Lisps Speech delay Speech Disorders Speech Therapist

 

What is an Articulation Disorder?

What is an Articulation Disorder?

This week, we are taking a fresh and in-depth look at articulation disorders in children, including trying to decipher what is fact, fiction and frankly what you need to know about articulation disorders in relation to normal speech development milestones.

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The ABC’s of Stuttering in Children

by Courtenay M. Articulation Disorders Language Development News Parents' Corner Speech Disorders Speech Therapist Speech Therapy Techniques

 

What is causing my child to stutter and how long will it last? Image Courtesy of Shutterstock

What Causes Stuttering and Can It Be Fixed?  Image Courtesy of Shutterstock

Stuttering is a speech disorder in which words, sounds or syllables are repeated or last longer than normal. Stuttering, also called stammering or disfluency, causes a break or a pause in the flow of speech. Young children may stutter when they are first developing their speech and language skills. The stuttering occurs when their speech skills cannot keep up with what they are trying to say. Stumbling over words or speech affects about five percent of children, and generally lasts for several weeks or several years.  Most children outgrow this stuttering phase within their first four years.

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