"Being intentional about embedding literacy experiences in babies' everyday routines creates joyful, loving moments in the short-term and builds critical skills in the long-term." [Gillespie, 2019]

Just because a child doesn’t want to sit still and read through a book doesn’t mean you shouldn’t continue to try.

When it comes to encouraging language development, shared storybook reading is often presented as an important intervention method, and for good reason. It is a research-based method and allows plenty of opportunities to encourage development. But what about when children don’t want to participate in shared storybook reading or seem to have no interest in books? 

I’m happy to report that there are alternatives to reading books aloud that can be put in practice and will continue to place children in a language rich environment. 

In this episode, we talk about 3 things you can do when a child doesn’t seem interested in participating in sit-down reading activities. Audiobooks, reading anyway in daily routines, and playing.  

Children do not have to be actively engaged in the book reading for it to encourage their language development. Communication happens anywhere, at any time, and in any situation. So, follow the child’s lead; if they’re not interested in the book, try a different one. Play stories in the background, or watch stories together.  

We want to instill a love of learning and reading in the little ones on our caseload. And to do that, we have to meet them where they are and build from there.

Links mentioned in today's episode:  www.theslpnextdoor.com/read

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Did you know that literacy development begins in infancy?

Let’s talk about why early literacy matters so much. It's not just about ABCs and 123s; early literacy skills lay the groundwork for a lifetime of reading and writing success. As speech-language pathologists, we have a unique role in nurturing these skills right from the start.

In this podcast episode, we dive into early literacy development in infants and toddlers.

You might wonder how we support early literacy skills in infants... They can't speak or write! Believe it or not, literacy begins at birth. Newborns benefit from hearing language and engaging in interactive experiences with their caregivers. As they develop, babies pat, reach for or chew on books as they explore their environment. They may also babble while looking at pictures. 

As infants develop into toddlers, literacy skills and language development will become more refined. Babbling develops into word approximations and, later, individual words. They will begin to point at pictures and identify familiar objects consistently. Early literacy development in toddlers is a continued growth in skills developed in infancy.

Where do we begin when it comes to encouraging literacy skill development? It all starts with creating a language-rich environment. From the moment a child is born, they're soaking in language. Activities like talking, singing, reading, and playing are crucial in those early years.

Even if you can’t understand what they are saying- engage in verbal exchanges as babies and toddlers “read” books and speak to you. Engaging babies and toddlers not only encourages literacy development in toddlers but also creates opportunities for conversation.

Links mentioned in today's episode:  www.theslpnextdoor.com/toolbox

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Friends, literacy and language development should be supported as early as infancy! In today’s episode, we are going to dive deeper into the importance of literacy and language development in infancy to toddlerhood and chat about how these skills can impact later reading success.

So often, I think we think of reading as something that we don’t have to concern ourselves  about until a child starts school. While that is technically true, we don’t expect toddlers to be able to sit down and read the words on pages… it’s not that simple. Multiple skills that have to be in place before reading can be taught effectively.  

We have the opportunity right now to make a difference in the lives of the toddlers we are treating. By understanding the why and how behind the concept of reading- we can set our toddlers up for later success while also encouraging their language development and communication.

The science of reading uses evidence-based research to explain how children learn to read, write, and spell. This evidence-based research comes from diverse sources including education, linguistics, psychology, and neuroscience. 

We set toddlers up for reading by building their spoken language by talking to them, helping them learn about print and books, introducing them to different sounds in spoken language, and providing them opportunities to books being read aloud.

 Everything you should already be doing.

Links mentioned in today's episode:

Phonemic Awareness vs Phonological Awareness Episode

Toddler Toolbox

We’ve been talking about the importance of working together in speech therapy for toddlers. Collaboration is important. We want to collaborate with parents, caregivers, and the other therapists on a child's team. In this episode, we are talking about another important member of the team, daycare teachers. 

In addition to parents and other caregivers in the child’s life- we have to remember their daycare teachers. Teachers can be such a valuable asset to the success of toddler development. Befriending a toddler's teacher is, to me, a top priority. 

Like public school educators, daycare teachers are often overworked and overwhelmed. It can be hard to build those relationships- but if you can, it’s 100% worth it. 

How do we form relationships with teachers? We want to R.E.A.C.H. them. Respect, Encourage, Ask, Consider, and Honesty. 

How do we get conversations with teachers started?Make a connection, ask for their input, praise their attempts, and provide simple carry-over activities.

Links mentioned in this episode:  www.theslpnextdoor.com/toolbox

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Thanks for being here, friend!

Did you know the phrase "Teamwork makes the dream work" has only existed since 2002?

I want you to think about a big goal you’d like to accomplish. It can be anything- exercising more, eating healthier, renovating a room in your home, graduating with your master’s…

Can you accomplish the goal by yourself? I mean, truly. Can you do it alone?

No. You can’t. There must be people along the way to make that achievement possible.

In this episode, we're chatting about how working together is success when it comes to speech therapy for toddlers. 

As Speech speech-language pathologists (SLPs), SLP-Assistants, and SLP-CFs, our job is to serve others, to be helpful to parents, caregivers, and our colleagues while providing what is needed to encourage communication.

You'll leave this episode with 4 tips on interacting with fellow clinicians while encouraging the generalization of skills in toddler development.

Links mentioned in today's podcast: www.theslpnextdoor.com/toolbox

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Welcome back, friends! Today, we are putting our words into action. You’ll leave this episode with four ways to have conversations and (hopefully) a new perspective on parent involvement. This includes the importance of having a servant's heart when providing speech therapy for toddlers.

The 2nd most important relationship you should build when it comes to speech therapy for toddlers is building a working relationship with parents and caregivers. Carry-over and generalization of skills are important for this age group, and the parents and caregivers are responsible for that.

Make connections, ask for their input, praise their attempts, and provide simple carry-over activities. 

Our job is to serve others, be helpful to parents and caregivers, and provide what is needed to encourage communication in toddler development.

Do you love the podcast? Share it with a friend, and don't forget to leave a rating and review so others can find it! 

I spent several years as a school-based Speech Language Pathologist before working in home health. If you’ve worked in schools, then you know there’s not a lot of interaction with parents. So, when I started in the home health world, I was terrified. I felt less than confident with my skills for treating toddlers and equally terrified of having to talk to parents and explain what I was doing and why I was doing it.

I’d been seeing this one little friend for about 3 months when it happened. We weren’t seeing progress and I was beginning to second-guess my career path. I felt like I was sitting there and getting nothing accomplished. Even Mom was starting to question whether or not I knew what my goal was with this little guy and how to get there.

I was asking too much. As it turned out, I didn’t know what I was doing. But I knew I needed to change some things.

Here’s what I learned that day. To get parent involvement, we have to be honest. In that situation, I had to make the changes. Parents want to be able to look at us as the experts, and when they have questions, we need to know the answers, or we need to know where we can go to find the answers.

Friend, it’s better to know your areas of expertise [and limitations] and be honest about it.

Questions about toddler development? Send me an email! [email protected]  I would LOVE to chat with you about speech therapy for toddlers. 

Let’s chat about one of the most intimidating topics when it comes to the world of speech therapy for toddlers: communicating with and encouraging parent involvement. For the sake of this series “parent” refers to the primary caretaker of a patient.

Talking to and relating with parents can feel awkward and is something some people try to avoid- [whether you want to admit that aloud or not]. However, by the end of this episode, you will feel much more confident in your ability to converse with and encourage parent involvement in speech therapy for toddlers.

I’ll be the first to admit that I have not been the best at communicating with parents. It can be hard, y’all! Especially when you’re in a situation where you don’t see the parent much, such as treating a child at a daycare facility. I always spoke to teachers- but wasn’t as effective at communicating with the child’s parents as I should have been.

Additionally, there’s no such thing as a perfect parent or situation. Sometimes the communication with parents will be far from perfect. Language barriers make communication tricky. Other times you’re going to try and reach parents and they’re just going to ignore you, say they’re going to follow through but don’t, or be in a hard spot of denial [among other things]. Here’s the thing- do your best to encourage and communicate with parents during speech therapy activities. 

You can grab a free handout of this acronym here! 

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Thanks for being here today, friend! I’ll see you soon

Welcome back, friends! In today's episode, Megan introduces the topic of a new series for the SLP Next Door Podcast: How to talk to parents/caregivers about speech therapy for toddlers. Today's topic? Encouraging parents (and clinicians) to keep moving forward. 

One of my favorite things about life is that we don’t get to go back. Even in the good moments. We are always moving forward. It’s something I adapted long ago when I found myself amid life feeling impossible. Something I could count on was the sun going down and coming back up the next morning.

Here’s what I want you to do. If you’re having an especially difficult time this holiday season, I want you to bottle up that worry, sadness, and maybe even a little fear about the future, and I want you to save it. Save this feeling. I’m not telling you to live in it; I want you to put it to memory.

Why? The next time you meet a parent of a toddler experiencing difficulties communicating and you see they are worried or afraid or placing the blame on themselves… take a second and remember what it felt like when you had that feeling about an event in your life.

Join me as we dive deeper into the [sometimes] intimidating but very important aspect of speech therapy for toddlers: encouraging parent involvement!

Links mentioned: www.theslpnextdoor.com/toolbox

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Thanks for being here, friend! 

Welcome back to The SLP Next Door Podcast! Today's episode is a bit different from our usual talk about speech therapy for toddlers. Megan dives into something personal, so if you're not up for it today, that's totally fine. You can always catch up on our past episodes, and we'll be back with the regular content next week.

We are going to be talking about dealing with grief when you have depression.

When I started the SLP Next Door, it was with the intent to share all of the things I’ve learned regarding Speech Therapy for Toddlers. I would show up unapologetically as myself. Makeup, no make-up, t-shirt, and jeans, or my favorite comfy sweatshirt and sweat pants.

I haven’t talked about this much publicly, but I’ve fought depression and anxiety for pretty much my whole life. I don’t remember life without it. It’s something that is just a part of me- as I’ve gotten older, it’s helped me relate to others that are dealing with crappy life situations or just feeling in a funk.

I remind myself daily that this is temporary. I’ve walked through grief many times in my life. The number one way to get through it?

Don’t stop. Just. Keep. Moving.

No one fights alone. If you or someone you know is battling depression, anxiety, or other mental health issues, contact SAMHSA of America. You can find their website and contact information, here.

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