July 29, 2014
Many parents whose children exhibit speech and language delays are immediately concerned that their child may have autism. In early intervention, we cannot diagnose a child […]
July 24, 2014
My son is 3 years and 3 months old. He is funny and very outgoing, but he has always been aggressive in his play, when expressing […]
July 24, 2014
As a therapist, I often hear parents make statements such as “He walked really late, at age 14 months,” or “Her sister was so much farther […]
July 15, 2014
With summer halfway over, perhaps you’re already thinking about Back to School shopping. In addition to the exciting preparations, you may also be thinking, “How will […]
July 8, 2014
Childhood apraxia of speech, or CAS, has many different names. You may hear verbal apraxia, developmental apraxia of speech, or dyspraxia, among many others. For purposes […]
July 1, 2014
My son just turned one. I’m concerned about his gross motor skills. He crawls and can sit up on his own but he doesn’t pull himself […]
June 24, 2014
The vestibular system is involved in balance, coordinating movements and the development of muscle tone. It is also important in maintaining a stable visual image, maintaining attention, and some parts of language development through its interaction with our senses of sight and sound.
June 16, 2014
One of the things we love to see newborn babies do is discover things. Around 6 months of age, a rattle will fit comfortably inside the […]
May 27, 2014
Infantile Spasms usually start between the ages of 4 to 8 months and occur in clusters, where often a baby is flexing his arms, legs, trunk or neck. Colic, on the other hand, does not typically occur in clusters and colic is often associated with feeding, where Infantile Spasms are not. Sometimes they are mistaken by parents as a “startle reflex.”
May 20, 2014
All parents must face the task of weaning their children from a bottle at some point, but when is the best time to do it? The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends doing it by the time healthy children are 15 months. If there are significant concerns regarding the child’s health and nutrition, it is always advised to check with a child’s pediatrician before weaning from the bottle.
May 16, 2014
The following account describes one family’s journey with their child, who was eventually diagnosed with dyslexia, received intervention, and is now successfully navigating college as a junior in Mechanical Engineering.
May 13, 2014
Tongue-tie, or what is commonly referred to in the medical community as ankyloglossia, is a partial or total fusion of the tongue to the floor of the mouth due to an abnormality of the lingual frenulum. It is present at birth.
April 30, 2014
Do you see your child or someone else’s child sitting with their bottom on the floor and their legs out beside them, forming a “W” shape? This is commonly called “W sitting.” You may think “wow, look how flexible they are.” Although flexibility in your muscles is a good thing, “W” sitting is not.
April 21, 2014
Shoes or no shoes? This is a question many parents of young children who are learning to walk will eventually ask. Do shoes make their child more stable? Or, will shoes hinder their ability to progress? Varying opinions of friends and family may add to the confusion.
April 14, 2014
The type of hearing loss involved with getting a cochlear implant is called sensorineural, which means that there are abnormalities in the hair cells in the cochlea. With this type of loss, sound cannot reach the auditory nerve. With a cochlear implant, sound bypasses the damaged parts of the ear and reaches the auditory nerve.
April 3, 2014
Communication comes in many forms. From a cry to express hunger to rhythmic kicks of their feet to show excitement, children begin communicating in the earliest years of their life. For most, communication continues to develop and becomes an everyday effortless activity; however, for individuals with disabilities, communication can be a constant obstacle.
March 27, 2014
Parents and their children are actually participating in oral motor activities and modeling oral motor skills during their daily routines without even being aware of it. Here are some fun ways to target oral motor skills during play and daily routines with your child that provide multiple opportunities to practice each skill and are fun for everyone!
March 18, 2014
During early childhood, there is an important progression of oral motor skills that a child gains in order to move on to each set of new foods. One of the most significant of these oral motor skills is tongue lateralization, or the movement of the tongue from side to side inside the mouth.
March 13, 2014
An airplane flies overhead. Your toddler looks up into the sky with large eyes, looks quickly to you, then looks back toward the sky. It takes no words, no description, but language is not driving this interaction. Your child just used a method of communication known as joint attention.
March 6, 2014
As therapists working with our families in their natural environments, we have the ability to choose from many different approaches to autism spectrum therapy as well as identify appropriate structures for interventions that can be implemented. One such approach is called “The PLAY Project” (Play and Language for the Autistic Youngster).
March 4, 2014
Many parents wonder when their child will begin to demonstrate an obvious hand preference, or hand dominance. There can be a lot of variability in the age of the child when this happens, and this should not cause parents to worry.
February 28, 2014
Many parents and therapists alike can be perplexed by whether or not a child’s behaviors are resulting from sensory processing dysfunction or behavior driven. When living or working with infants or toddlers, this can be especially difficult until they are able to express their wants or needs by actions or words.
February 26, 2014
What is stuttering? Stuttering is a speech disorder that affects the normal flow of speech. People who stutter often exhibit part-word repetitions (d-d-d-dog), whole-word repetitions (dog dog dog), breaks in speech, interjections (um, er), and/or prolongations of sounds (DDDog).
February 11, 2014
In typical development, we expect that by about 12 months of age, our babies will be able to pinch small objects using the tip of the index finger and the thumb.
January 30, 2014
There are many advantages to being bilingual. The American Speech-Language Hearing Association suggests that some advantages may include: learning new words more easily, playing rhyming games, putting words into categories, increasing problem solving skills, and improving listening skills.
January 23, 2014
I have a 6.5 month old (she was 5 weeks early). She didn’t start lifting during tummy time until 2.5-3 months and she struggles to push […]
January 21, 2014
My son turned 9 months today, and he is not babbling consonants yet. He tries really hard to talk but all he can come up with […]
January 16, 2014
Aside from cognitive delays, there are varying levels of speech and language delays associated with FXS (more so in males).
December 19, 2013
ADHD Has 3 Subtypes, and they are as follows: Predominately Hyperactive-Impulsive, Predominately Inattentive, and Combined Hyperactive-Impulsive and Inattentive.
December 19, 2013
One of the first and most challenging decisions now that you have a child who is deaf or hard of hearing, is selecting HOW you will communicate with your child. The purpose of this article is to introduce the basic communication approaches. Let’s begin with some definitions and important distinctions.