We’re not looking for just any speech therapists, though. We want therapists and SLPAs who are passionate about what they do and who love working with children. Since we believe in early intervention when it comes to speech therapy, we accept clients as young as 18 months old for private therapy, so therapists should be comfortable working with toddlers and preschoolers, as well as with school-age children.

Any therapist we hire also needs to be willing to work with the families and caregivers of our clients (even including them in the therapy sessions) and working in their Temecula-area homes. We believe strongly in family involvement in the speech therapy process, knowing that when the family is on the same page as our therapists and supporting their efforts in between sessions, our clients are able to progress toward their goals much faster. We also believe that conducting speech therapy sessions in our clients’ homes helps them become comfortable with their therapists more quickly.

The current speech therapists on our staff have a variety of backgrounds—having worked in schools, hospitals, and other private speech therapy clinics. We always do our best to match the experience, skills, and training of our therapists with the individual needs of our clients to achieve the best outcomes for our clients. We also encourage our therapists to continue their education and learn new techniques and methods that will help them become better therapists.

We take our work seriously, but we also make sure to incorporate “fun” into our therapy sessions to help keep our young clients motivated and encouraged to reach their goals. We use a play-based therapy model that has worked well for us and for our clients.

If you are interested in applying for a position as a speech therapist with Lil’ Chit-Chat, we’d love to hear from you! Or if you know of someone who may be interested in applying, please share this page with them. Candidates can contact us through our Careers page to get the process started. We hope to hear from you soon!

Parent Enrichment Program in Menifee, Canyon Lake, Lake Elsinore, and Temecula

Recently, Lil’ Chit-Chat started a Parent Enrichment Program in the Menifee area. It is designed to help parents of children with special needs related to speech and language development. Our goal with our Parent Enrichment Program is to give parents the tools they need to help their children achieve their speech and language goals and meet their speech and language milestones. When speech therapy is supplemented by knowledgeable parents working with their children in between therapy sessions, progress can happen much more quickly. Our Parent Enrichment sessions are customized based on individual or group needs, and can be held anywhere in the Menifee, Canyon Lake, Lake Elsinore, or Temecula areas. Read more about our Parent Enrichment Program and the types of families that can benefit from it here.

Low-Cost Screenings for Preschoolers

Lil’ Chit-Chat is also partnering with a large local church and its preschool to offer low-cost screenings for the preschool’s children. Our licensed Speech Language Pathologists will conduct the screenings and offer recommendations to parents based on the results. At Lil’ Chit-Chat, we believe strongly in early intervention when it comes to speech therapy, and this is one way we can help children get the speech therapy help they need before they enter the elementary school years. Even if the parents don’t choose to come to Lil’ Chit-Chat for speech therapy services, we want to give parents insight into their children’s speech and language development during their critical preschool years.

Local Recognition for Lil’ Chit-Chat Speech & Language Therapy

Even though our speech and language therapy clinic has only been operating in the Menifee area for a short amount of time, we’ve already received local recognition, which is very encouraging to us.

Back in October, Lil’ Chit-Chat founder Sabrina Conway was featured on the front page of The Californian, an insert that is included in the San Diego Union-Tribune for readers in the cities of Temecula, Murrieta, Menifee, and Canyon Lake. The article focused on Lil’ Chit-Chat’s boutique approach to speech therapy that creates individualized therapy plans for every client. Read more here.

Just last month, in January, Lil’ Chit-Chat won the “Menifee Small Business Excellence Award” for Speech Therapists, presented by smallbusinessexcellence.org. These awards go to outstanding small businesses that serve their local communities, and that help make them more vibrant and vital places to live.

It really is our desire at Lil’ Chit-Chat to be a valuable resource in the community. As speech therapists, we have a passion to provide high-quality, personalized, in-home speech therapy services to families in the area. We’d love to talk with you and answer any questions about our approach to speech therapy, or to set up a time to evaluate your child in your Menifee, Lake Elsinore, Canyon Lake, or Temecula home to see if he or she could benefit from speech therapy.

The Californian covers events, local news, and other topics of interest to residents of the Temecula Valley. The article featuring Sabrina and Lil’ Chit-Chat is part of a series of articles by The Californian that is focusing on children with special needs, their families, and the healthcare providers that work with them.

The article was also published on the San Diego Union-Tribune’s website. You can read the article in its entirety here: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/health/sd-tm-chitchat1-story.html

In the article, Sabrina is able to articulate Lil’ Chit-Chat’s boutique approach to pediatric speech therapy in Temecula, explaining how Lil’ Chit-Chat’s speech therapists create individualized therapy plans for each and every client and include their families in the entire process.

The article also stresses Lil’ Chit-Chat’s view on the importance of early intervention for children with speech and language delays, and advises parents to get a speech therapy evaluation for their child as soon as they have concerns. Sabrina explains in the article that, “The domino effect is real…A child’s overall difficulty communicating can have long-term effects that can compromise their performance in school, can present social challenges, and can affect their self-esteem.”

As speech therapists, we are excited anytime this is addressed in the media. The more people know about the options that are out there to help children with speech and communication issues, the more children we, and other speech therapy clinics like us, are able to help.

If you are looking for pediatric speech therapy in Temecula, or if you would like to have your child evaluated by a licensed speech-language pathologist, contact Lil’ Chit-Chat today. We would be happy to answer any questions you may have about what we do and how we can help your child, and we can schedule a free, in-home consultation.

Not All Children Thrive in Group Speech Therapy

Speech therapy offered in public schools is group therapy, which can bring about challenges for certain types of children. If your child is particularly shy, self-conscious, or anxious, group therapy may cause them to shut down. In the best case scenario, it will take this type of child a longer amount of time for them to “warm up” to the group and experience the benefits of speech therapy than it would if they were one-on-one with a therapist in their home, with a parent nearby.

On the other end of the spectrum, are the extremely outgoing children who see speech therapy as a time to goof off and socialize with their friends. Individualized speech therapy in your Canyon Lake home allows your child to experience therapy free from the distraction of other children.

Finally, in public school speech therapy, your child may be in a group of children with needs that are much different than their own. It is difficult for even the best speech therapist to address the unique needs of every child in their group in the short amount of time they have with them.

Individualized Attention

When you hire a Canyon Lake speech therapist from Lil’ Chit-Chat, your child gets the one-on-one attention they need. In addition, we can set up a speech therapy schedule based on what is best for your child. This can include multiple visits per week, with sessions that are an hour long each. Contrast that with public school speech therapy sessions that are usually only a half hour long, and may only be offered once a week. Even if there are only five children in the group therapy session, that only averages out to six minutes of individualized attention for your child!

Parent Involvement in Speech Therapy

Since the speech therapists at Lil’ Chit-Chat come to your Canyon Lake home for speech therapy, there is ample opportunity for you, as a parent, to be involved in helping your child progress toward their speech therapy goals. After every session, our speech therapists take the time to discuss with parents or caregivers what was done during the session, and how they can work with the child between therapy sessions. With public school speech therapy, parents may only have occasional opportunities to speak with the speech therapist that is working with their child and may not even know what is being worked on in therapy sessions.

Other Things to Consider

Like it or not, there is a certain stigma associated with children who are pulled out of class for special services like speech therapy. For very sensitive children, this could be an issue. With private, in-home speech therapy, this issue disappears and these children are free to thrive! Also, being taken out of class for speech therapy means that the child is missing valuable class time.

Public school speech therapy also has its limits. It doesn’t service very young children. As advocates of early intervention when it comes to speech therapy, we recommend addressing speech issues as soon as they are diagnosed. When children are not meeting their speech and language milestones, it is not advisable to wait until they are old enough to take advantage of public school speech therapy. The sooner they begin therapy, the better!

Please know, we are in no way trying to disparage the speech therapists that work in the local public schools. There are many pediatric speech therapists doing great work with children in the public school system. In fact, several of the therapists at Lil’ Chit-Chat either currently work, or have worked, in public schools as therapists. Children can, and do, receive quality speech therapy services in public schools throughout Canyon Lake and the Temecula Valley every day. However, we believe strongly in the benefits of private, in-home speech therapy. We’ve seen the results of both types of therapy, and know how much more progress can be made with one-on-one speech therapy, and involved parents and caregivers.

If you are interested in having your child evaluated by one of our Canyon Lake speech therapists, contact us to schedule a time for one of our therapists to come to your home for a free consultation.

At Lil’ Chit-Chat, we see children of all ages for speech therapy in Canyon Lake. And while it is never too late to help a child with their speech and language development, as experienced pediatric speech therapists in Canyon Lake, we highly recommend early intervention. We can begin speech therapy for children as young as 18 months old. The first few years of a child’s life are critical for language development, so if your child needs help in this area, it is best to do so as soon as possible.

Studies have shown that early intervention helps prevent the need for special education in school-aged children. If your child begins school with speech and language delays, it will inevitably lead to difficulties in other areas (vocabulary, grammar, comprehension, social interactions). Not to mention, children needing speech therapy are often pulled out of class for therapy, which means they are missing out on vital classroom learning. By seeing a speech therapist before they begin their schooling, you are setting them up for success in school!

Some pediatricians advise parents to wait to inquire about speech therapy, but as experienced speech therapists, we have seen the benefits of early intervention and can’t recommend strongly enough the importance of seeing a Canyon Lake speech therapist in the early years, when your child’s speech is still developing.

How do you know if your young child needs speech therapy? Here are some signs to look for in their toddler years (1.5-3 years of age) that indicate a need for speech therapy:

1. Not Using Many Words

While we realize that every child is different, there are some speech and language milestones that a typical child will meet. For example, a typical 2-year-old will have a word for almost everything and will speak in 2-3 word sentences. (Click here to see some of the other milestones we look for as speech therapists) If your child has not met the milestones that correspond with their age, give us a call to schedule a speech evaluation.

2. Parents Serving As Their Child’s “Translator”

Part of the reason parents delay speech therapy for young children is because they are able to understand their toddlers. Parents learn what certain gestures mean, or how to interpret their speech to determine what they are saying. While no toddler is understood 100% of the time, if you find yourself regularly “translating” your child’s speech for those outside your home, it may indicate that there is an issue that should be addressed.

3. Inability to Follow Directions

Children as young as one should be able to follow simple, two-step instructions, like “Get your shoes, and bring them to me.” They should also understand basic directional words like “up-down” and “in-on”. If you child is unable to follow simple directions, or if you feel like he or she just doesn’t understand what you are saying, you should consult with a Canyon Lake speech therapist. Again, look at the “Hearing and Understanding” milestones to see if your child is where he or she should be for his or her age.

4. Frequently Expressing Frustration

Yes, every toddler expresses frustration from time to time, but for toddlers with speech challenges, they may express their frustration more frequently as a result of their inability to articulate their needs and have them met. Don’t discount constant frustration (crying, throwing fits) as just typical toddler behavior. If you have concerns in this area, contact a Canyon Lake speech therapist.

Contact Lil’ Chit-Chat for a Free Speech Consultation in Canyon Lake

If your child exhibits one or more of the above characteristics, they may benefit from speech therapy. Lil’ Chit-Chat offers free consultations in your Canyon Lake home, as well as in the surrounding cities of Menifee, Temecula, Wildomar and Murrieta. Our speech therapy for 1.5-3 year olds is play-based and takes place in your home. Contact us today to schedule an appointment or to ask any questions you may have about speech therapy.

Benefits of Speech Therapy In Your Canyon Lake Home

There are so many benefits to in-home speech therapy for children. First of all, like we’ve discussed in this blog before, we believe strongly in family involvement. The more parents, family members, and caregivers are involved with and understand what we are doing in our speech therapy sessions, the more equipped they are to help reinforce what the child is learning and working on. This provides much-needed consistency for children in speech therapy, and also speeds along the process.

Second, we believe children, especially very young ones, learn much more easily in their home environments. Many pre-school aged children suffer from some form of separation anxiety, and having a pediatric speech therapist come to your Canyon Lake home keeps you from having to drop them off at a strange place and hand them over to someone new.

When you use Lil’ Chit-Chat for speech therapy, your child is in his or her familiar surroundings, with you or a regular caregiver present. This situation greatly decreases the time it takes for your child to become comfortable with the speech therapy and the therapist. Your child will most likely progress more quickly and be more comfortable with the entire process.

Also, when you go to a speech therapy office or clinic, the speech therapist will use the materials and toys in their office to support the speech therapy being offered. Since you likely don’t have those same toys at home, it is difficult for you to reinforce some of learning that takes place in the speech therapy session. When a speech therapist from Lil’ Chit-Chat comes to your Canyon Lake home, we do bring some of our own learning materials and educational toys, but we can also utilize the toys you have in your home in the speech therapy session. That way, you and any caregivers can continue to work with your child and support their development using those same play materials in between speech therapy sessions.

Another benefit of in-home pediatric speech therapy is that it is convenient for you and/or your child’s caregiver. We work with a lot of work-from-home parents, who would find it difficult to leave their home office for several hours during the day, sometimes multiple times during the week, to take their child to a speech therapy appointment. When you have a speech therapist from Lil’ Chit-Chat come to your Canyon Lake home, it saves you a great deal of driving and waiting time, while still receiving quality speech therapy for your child.

Similarly, if you have a nanny or other childcare provider in your home watching your child while you are at work, they don’t have to be responsible for getting your child to and from his or her speech therapy appointments when you use an in-home speech therapist. Overall, it’s just a more convenient situation to have a pediatric speech therapist come to your home.

Even if you aren’t a working parent, we know that leaving the house with a young child is no small ordeal! And if you have multiple children, there is the issue of keeping the child that is not in speech therapy entertained in an office waiting room while you wait. In-home speech therapy just makes for a less stressful situation for everyone involved.

Contact Lil’ Chit-Chat for an In-Home Consultation

Maybe you’re not sure if your child is in need of speech therapy. One of our licensed speech-language pathologists would be happy to come to your Canyon Lake home for an evaluation of your child. After the evaluation, we can make therapy recommendations for your child based on his or her specific needs.

Contact us today to schedule an evaluation for your child. We also serve families in the cities of Menifee, Lake Elsinore, Murrieta, and Temecula.

The W family called us when their triplets were 26 months old. Two of the triplets, both boys, appeared to be behind their peers when it came to language development (see speech and language milestones), but their parents were hesitant to start speech therapy for them. However, they agreed to have a speech therapist from Lil’ Chit-Chat come to their home for an evaluation.

At the speech and language evaluation, we discovered that the boys’ receptive and expressive language abilities were more than a whole year delayed. It was recommended that the boys be seen twice per week for 60-minute sessions, and that the therapy sessions start immediately, since early intervention is extremely important when it comes to speech and language delays. The W family agreed, and Mrs. W observed every speech therapy session for the first month.

After only a short time working with a pediatric speech therapist from Lil’ Chit-Chat, Mrs. W wrote this testimonial:

“It has only been a little more than a month and the boys have increased their individual vocabulary and their ability to express themselves. They are imitating new words every day and they are even stringing two words together.”

We continued to work with the boys for several more months. At the end of each session, we would take time to meet with Mrs. W to answer her questions and provide recommendations and suggestions about things she and her husband could do between sessions to reinforce the things that were targeted in the speech therapy session. Mrs. W always followed through with implementing our suggestions, which really helped the boys progress quickly.

After eight months, the boys went from speaking only about 25 words to speaking in full sentences. They were also able to follow multi-step directions, ask questions, and tell short stories. Their parents were extremely pleased with their progress, as well as with the skills they had learned in speech therapy.

Recently, Mrs. W wrote an updated testimonial to me to let us know how the boys are doing today. She said:

“My boys, who are almost four now, are thriving in their ability to communicate and understand the world around them. They started preschool in the fall, and when we sat down with their teacher this Spring to discuss their progress, she told us, ‘they are able to express themselves and make their own needs known. They are easily understood by adults and peers, and have good sentence structure and vocabulary.’ Can you imagine our delight to hear such positive feedback about our sons who, before Sabrina, really struggled?”

She concluded her testimonial by saying, “Early intervention was a game changer for our family, and we continue to be grateful for all that Sabrina has done for our sons.”

The W boys are a true success story for us as pediatric speech therapists, but it all started with early intervention. We know there are so many children in Canyon Lake who could benefit from pediatric speech therapy, but their parents don’t pursue it, just hoping things might get better or that the problems will correct themselves over time. Please don’t delay! Early intervention is key!

If you have questions about whether or not your child could benefit from speech therapy, or if you would like to schedule a speech therapy evaluation in your Canyon Lake home, contact us today!