Making Communication Connections
What is speech and language?
Speech is defined as spoken language. It refers to "how" we produce sounds and words. It involves articulation, voice, and fluency.
Language is the communication of thoughts or feelings through a system of arbitrary signals, such as voice sounds, gestures, or written symbols. It is the way in which we express or receive information.
How can I tell if my child's speech-language development is on track?
Speech and language development follows a somewhat predictable sequence of milestones. Click here to view general speech-language developmental milestones. If you have any concerns about your child's speech or language development, please do not hesitate to contact Chatterbox Speech Therapy. We are here and ready to answer any questions.
© Speech Buddies, Inc. 2024
Chatterbox Speech Therapy offers the use of revolutionary tools to remediate articulation errors in less time!
Articulation remediation can be quite challenging for some children. Demonstrating correct placement of the tongue, lips, and jaw for production cues varies greatly depending on the target sound. The phoneme /r/ or /vocalic-r/ can be especially challenging, due to the fact that the placement and shape of the tongue is hidden from view. The child is required to rely heavily on their auditory system (hearing) and oral tactile feedback, to identify and manipulate their articulators until an audible match is made between the model (SLP's production) and the child's production attempt.
New computer-based animation can prove helpful in many cases by demonstrating the proper placement and movement of the articulators during the production of a target sound. However, a number of children can still experience a great deal of frustration during their repeated attempts to correct their errors.
Now we have tools to assist in the placement of the articulators...Speech Buddies®.
"Speech Buddies® are a simple, yet revolutionary set of tools that teach correct tongue positioning for the five most difficult sounds." -Speech Buddies®
Hearing
Right from birth: Intact hearing is a critical component of normal speech and language development. Allergies and frequent ear infections can impact the health and function of our auditory system.Â
This graph, often called the Speech Banana, depicts where typical speech and environmental sounds fall on an audiogram. Jet planes, for instance, are loud high frequency, high decibel sounds, while wind rustling leaves is a much quieter, lower frequency sound. Within the 'banana' you can see where English phonemes (speech sounds) fall according to their frequency(Hz) and decibel(dB) characteristics. If your child has difficulty hearing at any frequency or decibel level, they may be at risk for articulation, spelling, or reading challenges. They may experience difficulty understanding a spoken message during conversation or in the academic setting. Â
Links
www.asha.org
American Speech and Language Association (ASHA) is the professional, scientific, and credentialing association for speech-language pathologists and audiologists. ASHA provides a wealth of information on a variety of speech and language topics.
Autism NOW is a dynamic and interactive, highly visible and effective central point of quality resources and information for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and other developmental disabilities.
Zero-to-three provides information and outreach in support of families with infants to three years. A robust website which spotlights infant development, learning, child welfare, nutrition, policy, events...just to name a few.
www.apraxia-kids.org
Apraxia-Kids is the largest and most comprehensive website for information on childhood apraxia of speech. It is a valuable resource for parents, teachers, and speech-language pathologists.
www.ndss.org
The National Down Syndrome Society is a national advocate site with a wealth of information about this genetic disorder. It contains additional links to resources and support for families touched by Down Syndrome.
​www.stutteringhelp.org
The Stuttering Foundation provides free online resources, services, and support to those who stutter, and their families, as well as support for research into the causes of stuttering.
