Speech Therapy

How Parents Can Help a Child with a Speech Delay

It can be frustrating and worrying for parents if their child isn’t reaching their speech milestones. The good news is that there are simple, everyday strategies you can start using right away to support your child’s speech development at home. My name is Jessica Abawag, and I’m the owner and Speech-Language Pathologist of Fluens Children’s Therapy in Tacoma, Washington, and Columbia, Tennessee. Today, we’re going to talk about how parents can help a child with a speech delay. Many Parents Ask How Their Child Developed a Speech Delay One of the most commonly asked questions we get from parents, especially on the first meeting, is how their child developed a speech delay. I totally understand where they’re coming from and why they want these answers. Unfortunately, the research isn’t great right now in terms of pinpointing what causes a speech delay, unless there’s some known incident, such as an injury to the brain, or another … Keep Reading…

Why You Should Use a Pacing Board

Karaoke! Isn’t karaoke the best?  No matter what happens, it’s always fun.  Wincing inside but clapping wholeheartedly for the people who just don’t have it.  Watching in fascination when someone truly talented sings, someone who may even sound better than the original singer! And then it’s your turn.  You try to get out of it, but everyone eggs you on until you have no choice.  Nervously you choose your song and tell the deejay.  You grab the mike, stare at the screen, and now it’s the moment of truth: do you come in at the perfect time?  Do you start slow and continue to drag behind?  Are you singing so fast you sound like an auctioneer?   Can you sing the melody, but no one understands what you’re saying?  Or are you following the words as they change color, at just the right tempo, all while carrying a tune? The pitfalls of karaoke are not … Keep Reading…

Music as an Aid for Speech Therapy

Sing with me Do you love music?  If so, then you probably listen to music often, maybe even everyday.  You sing along to the music.  Maybe you try to imitate the singer, definitely memorizing the lyrics, and confidently singing the melody (even if you’re not pitch perfect).  Well, here’s a little secret: you just conducted some impromptu speech therapy on yourself! A little skeptical of what music has to do with speech therapy?  I don’t blame you.  Let’s take a closer look. Music and speech therapy First of all, combining speech therapy with music is nothing new.  Speech therapists and music therapists have been collaborating for years now, and the results are very encouraging.  Right off the bat, music is a great way to attract the interest and gain the cooperation of babies all the way to preschoolers (and beyond).  Almost everyone responds to music, whether it’s by singing, or moving to the beat, or … Keep Reading…