peds | Team 4 Kids

What is Echolalia? (Part 1)

November 4, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

What is Echolalia? (Part 1)

Echolalia is a condition associated with autism. Children with echolalia repeat noises and phrases that they hear. They may not be able to communicate effectively because they struggle to express their own thoughts. For example, if asked a question, they might be able only to repeat the question rather than answer it. I found a great blog that discusses the two types of echolalia and what it may look and sound like in a child with this condition: What You Need To Know About Echolalia.

Important factors to consider if you think your child may have echolalia: When it comes to determining whether or not echolalia is normal, there are many factors to consider. Imitating and repeating language is a very important part of language development. As children are developing speech and language skills, we want them to imitate what we do and say, including our gestures, facial expressions, sounds, and words. However, as children become more independent using language, echolalia is expected to decrease. After a certain point in development, echolalia is considered atypical and may indicate weakness in language skills. When determining whether or not echolalia is typical, there are many important factors to consider:

Think about your child’s age. Between 8-12 months, your child should be responding or repeating to your gestures and sounds. Between 1-3 years of age, your child should be repeating words they hear you say, intonation patterns, songs, gestures, and even phrases.
Between 1-4 years of age, your child should also be expanding the language they can use independently. Between 1-2 years of age, your child’s use of different vocabulary words should be expanding, and between 2-3 years of age, your child should begin putting strings of 2-3 words together in phrases or sentences (e.g. mommy go, more juice, etc).
Think about the frequency of echolalia. How often does your child repeat language? Do they ever use words or phrases independently? Can they answer some questions appropriately?
Consider when echolalia is occurring. Does it primarily occur when you are giving your child directions? Or when you’re asking questions? Does your child repeat cartoons they hear?

If you suspect that your child may have echolalia, see a Certified Speech Language Pathologist for an evaluation; ongoing speech therapy may be recommended to help with your concern. Stay tuned for the next blog post in our series detailing how we treat echolalia and strategies you can use at home to help.

– Katie, Speech Therapy Team

Preparing a Child for Toothbrushing: Ideas from an Occupational Therapist

October 15, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

Pediatric Occupational Therapists work with children to make participating in their daily occupations more independent through adaptation or skill building. An important occupation for children is brushing their teeth or at least allowing an adult to brush their teeth. For children with special needs, this can be challenging because toothbrushing requires one to be able to grasp and sustain a hold on the toothbrush, accurately bring the toothbrush to one’s mouth, cross midline to brush teeth on the opposite side of the mouth, wrist rotation to brush all surfaces of the teeth, sequencing of steps for toothbrushing, oral motor coordination to spit toothpaste out versus swallowing it, and tolerance of oral sensory input. Who knew there was so much involved in a simple, but important 2 minute task of brushing your teeth?

Below are some ideas to help introduce, adapt, or prepare a child for toothbrushing:

Play with a toothbrush so that this tool is no longer intimidating – Use a toothbrush as a paintbrush, brush a favorite stuffed animal’s teeth, or brush “wind up chatting teeth”. There are many ideas on Pinterest if you are feeling creative.
Read about brushing teeth – Read to your child daily a social story for brushing teeth that has been created by your child’s Occupational or Speech Therapist. Also, there are MANY good books available that are kid friendly and talk about brushing teeth.
Provide visual support for sequencing this task – Discuss with your child’s Occupational Therapist the benefits of having a visual/picture schedule to organize multiple steps necessary to brushing teeth.
Positioning – Look at the best positioning for your child to complete the task of brushing teeth since standing on a step stool at a sink requires balance and core strength. A supported sitting position may allow your child greater independence with this occupation.
Use a timer – There are a variety of timers to choose from including a sand timer, toothbrushing app timer, and singing the song “This is how we brush our teeth…” for a specified number of times. For example, start with singing the song 3 times, but each week gradually increase the number of times the song is sung until you reach the 2 minutes necessary for brushing teeth. Just verbally prepare your child with how many times you are going to sing the song so your child knows your expectations. The same concept can be applied to using a timer in that you want to start your child at a small increment of time, say 30 seconds, and slowly build up to the 2 minutes.
Routine – Children thrive on routine and the task of brushing teeth is important to not only include within a morning/evening routine, but to also develop a routine for the specific task.
Adjust water temperature – Some kids respond more positively to luke warm water versus cold water.
Try different toothbrushes – For some kids, toothbrushing independence is all about having the right tool. There are many options to try including a finger toothbrush, vibrating toothbrush, light up brushes, cartoon character brushes, firm or soft bristles, and a toothbrush with a short vs. long handle.
Toothpaste – Some kids do not like the task of brushing teeth simply because of the taste/texture of the toothpaste. There are a variety of flavors of toothpaste to try. If toothpaste is the trigger to unsuccessful toothbrushing time, then start with water only and slowly introduce toothpaste with a dot the size of a grain of rice.

– Lisa, Occupational Therapy Team

Creating Verbal Routines for the Late Talker

August 5, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

Most parents can’t wait to hear their child’s first words. It is so exciting to finally get a peek into what they are thinking isn’t it? For parents of late talkers anxiety can start to build when the words don’t seem to be coming when they should. Creating verbal routines is one tool that Speech Language Pathologists use to encourage speech in the late talker. Verbal routines are made up of words that are repeated at a predictable time during an activity. A verbal routine occurs any time a person says the same words, in the same way, for the same things, every time a specific activity occurs.

One common verbal routine is saying “ready, set, go.” For example, when pushing your child on a swing or when they go down a slide. We can also find verbal routines in books that have a repetitive nature such as “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See,” or in your child’s favorite songs, such as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star or The Wheels on the Bus. You can even create your own verbal routines with your child that fit into your everyday routine. The key is to invest the time to create these routines with your child and make them fun! As your child learns the routines, pause at key points to see if they will fill in the blanks. I have included a link to a great website with some fun songs and printables to help you establish verbal routines in your home. These printables are great because they help to link the vocabulary in the song with the picture. If you are concerned about your child’s language development call Team 4 Kids to schedule a speech therapy evaluation with one of our wonderful Speech Language Pathologists.

Link for songs and printables to help you establish verbal routines in your home:

http://www.aromaofhim.com/2013/10/encouraging-speech-with-songs-rhymes.html

Katie, Speech Therapy Team

Making Articulation Therapy Practice Fun!

March 22, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

Making Articulation Therapy Practice Fun!

Need some ideas on how to spice up articulation practice at home? Articulation practice at home is very important, but many parents tell us they struggle with getting their child to practice the words that they are working on in speech therapy.

One of the things we know about children is that they learn best when they are having fun! There are many opportunities throughout the day to turn simple activities into practice for your child. Here is a link with some excellent ideas to make articulation homework fun.

http://mommyspeechtherapy.com/?p=2676

Enjoy!

Katie, Speech Therapy Team

When should I worry about my child’s stuttering?

March 3, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

When should I worry about my child’s stuttering?

Many children repeat words or phrases as they learn to talk or when they are excited or tired. Stuttering is also more likely to occur in children who are under a lot of stress, for example, after starting a new day care, moving, birth of a new sibling, etc. Stuttering can happen for short periods of time and then disappear. However, if you notice that this is happening frequently and for more than 4-5 months, you should have your child evaluated by a speech language pathologist.

Check out the link below to find out 7 tips for talking with your child. It’s even printable so you can share this resource with others!

http://www.stutteringhelp.org/sites/default/files/Migrate/seven_tips_for_parents4_08.pdf

Jennifer, SLP

Recent Blog