Pretend Play

Research indicates there are several risk factors for delayed language skills, developmental delays, and cognitive delays. One of the risk factors is decreased pretend play skills. Pretend play begins to develop around 12-18 months, but isn’t mastered until 3-5 years. What is pretend play? Children develop pretend play skills later, after functional play and constructional play […]

Stages of Play Development

We know play is an important part of a child’s physical, emotional, intellectual, and social language development. Play is fun, but it’s also how they learn about their world! Play development promotes language skills, social skills, and cognitive skills. If you’re wondering why play is so important, read about it here! Stages of Play Development […]

Screen Time – What parents should know

Screen Time –Is it harmful, or can it be used to help children learn and develop? As a speech-language pathologist, my opinion is screen time can be both. Interactive media and technology can help children learn if used appropriately and intentionally, guided by an adult, and accompanied with language-rich interactions. On the other hand, using […]

Routines-Why are they so important?

Routines for Children Today, I watched my two-year-old walk in from playing outside, remove his shoes, and immediately take them to the basket where I keep his shoes by the front door. Without me saying one word! All those times I gently reminded him of my desired routine actually became his own little routine he […]

Bilingual Facts: What parents should know

As a bilingual speech-language pathologist, I am honored to serve culturally and linguistically diverse families daily. Through my education and experiences, I have learned so much about bilingualism and the importance of celebrating all languages around the world. Nearly 25% of public school students now speak a language other than English at home across the […]

Hearing Loss: What parents should know

The ability to hear is extremely important for children when developing speech and language skills. An audiologist may provide evaluation and treatment of hearing loss, whereas a speech-language pathologist can offer treatment to improve speech/language in the presence of a hearing loss. Here’s what parents and caregivers should know about children’s hearing. How common is […]

What is Feeding Therapy?

Mealtime meltdowns are not new to parents and caregivers, especially those with “picky” eaters. Feeding therapy may help increase a child’s variety of accepted foods, ability to participate in family meals, and decrease the family stress related to food. What is feeding therapy? There are two main goals to feeding therapy: Learn how to eat […]