I cover feeding therapy with broad strokes: What it is and who does it. Further explanation about feeding therapy and what contributes to it in future episodes to come!

Visit my website at PlayTeachTalk for journal entries, YouTube videos, and short courses offered twice monthly to enhance language skills in young children.

I wanted to bring in people of other therapeutic disciplines to talk about their jobs and how what they do impacts the development, attention, and speech of the youngest children. Tempe Morgan, COTA/L was gracious enough to talk with me about her experience as an Occupational Therapy assistant, and how she uses therapeutic strategies to help children get in that "right spot" to engage in their occupation, play. What resulted was a very fun exchange about how speech therapy and occupational therapy overlap, and how we can present therapeutic strategies and interventions in ways that allow us to continue to "play" while challenging a child just enough to gain new skills. 

Visit my website at PlayTeachTalk for journal entries, YouTube videos, and short courses offered twice monthly to enhance language skills in young children.

A few videos to check out:

https://youtu.be/ggyuXVAG5lI (Vestibular Processing)

https://youtu.be/GwoEwW2tgbI (Proprioception)

https://youtu.be/vS9TT_bDZfE  (Parasympathetic and Sympathetic Nervous System)

Natural Language Acquisition can happen through two paths of development: Analytic language, where children develop language in the ways we learned in school, by sounds, single words, and then word combinations. But there is another type of language acquisition that we have known about but has not been the focus of therapy until only recently: Gestalts. I go into some detail about how children learn in this way. Check out the links below for more information about the stages of learning. There is also a link to a video that teaches about these stages. It's long (about 3 hours), but will be helpful for any parents who suspect that their child might be learning language in this way. 

What is Gestalt Language Learning? - Associates in Pediatric Therapy (kidtherapy.org)

https://youtu.be/JwzkwkyjSLY (This is the link to the Video)

Visit my website at PlayTeachTalk for journal entries, YouTube videos, and short courses offered twice monthly to enhance language skills in young children.

"Autistic Masking" is a term used to describe ways in which autistic people repress behaviors in order to appear more "typical". This episode describes why masking can be detrimental in the life of an autistic person.

Visit my website at PlayTeachTalk for journal entries, YouTube videos, and short courses offered twice monthly to enhance language skills in young children.

I realized I left out the places where you can pursue a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. I rectify that in this podcast. 

At the forefront of the Neurodiversity Movement are Autistic people who are advocating for their own rights. This is an exciting time, as there are more ways for even nonverbal communicators to find their voices through visual and augmented means like social media. I cover the definition of an ASD diagnosis, what this can look like in small children, why it is hard to diagnose in those under 3, and the differences between language development in girls and boys with ASD. I touch on "masking" and "gestalts", which will be future episodes.

For More Information: 

Home | Autism Speaks  (It should be noted that there is not an autistic person on the board of this organization).

Early Signs of Autism Video Tutorial from the Center for Autism and Related Disorders | Kennedy Krieger Institute

Autistic Self Advocacy Network (autisticadvocacy.org)   

Visit my website at PlayTeachTalk for journal entries, YouTube videos, and short courses offered twice monthly to enhance language skills in young children.

In the first episode of season 3, we explore the concept of Neurodiversity, cover definitions, and who is using the term "neurodivergent" to define themselves. 

If you would like more information, please visit the link below: 

Julie Roberts, M.S. CCC-SLP, Author at Therapist Neurodiversity Collective (therapistndc.org)

Visit my website at PlayTeachTalk for journal entries, YouTube videos, and short courses offered twice monthly to enhance language skills in young children.

In the final episode of Season 2, I discuss where we will go from here in season 3, and how to be aware of what is "common" (what you see your child's peers doing) versus what is "typical" (within the usual expectations for development with children your child's age). 

The podcast will return September 7, 2022! 

Visit my website at PlayTeachTalk for journal entries, YouTube videos, and short courses offered twice monthly to enhance language skills in young children.

Reducing sounds or syllables in words can be typical of children under 3 as they learn speech. How can we help a child learn how to place syllables on words? I give a few strategies to help your child become more aware of the parts of words. 

Visit my website at PlayTeachTalk for journal entries, YouTube videos, and short courses offered twice monthly to enhance language skills in young children.

There is a period of time in all children's expressive language development in which you may see dysfluencies of speech (stuttering). We all use some dysfluencies in our speech (pausing, saying "um" or "like"), but when should you consult with a speech pathologist to see if testing or therapy is needed? 

Visit my website at PlayTeachTalk for journal entries, YouTube videos, and short courses offered twice monthly to enhance language skills in young children.