If you’re like most of our pediatric speech therapy clients in Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, and Torrance, your child likely just began receiving speech therapy at the beginning of the school year. With only a couple of months of therapy behind them, they are just now starting to gain some serious momentum toward their speech and language goals. Taking a break from speech therapy now can put a halt to all of that momentum.

You may be thinking: “Our family gets so busy over the holidays. We won’t have much time to work with our child in between therapy sessions anyway, so why even bother with therapy right now?” However, there is plenty you can do with your child to further their speech and language development, even with a hectic schedule. The holidays in particular offer some great opportunities to work with your child in the areas of speech and language. There are new things to see and more people to interact with, giving you a chance to incorporate new words into your child’s vocabulary. In addition, your child may also receive some new toys that will open up new opportunities for play-based learning.

If you’ve been thinking of starting your child in speech therapy, but have decided to wait until the new year begins to have your child evaluated by a speech therapist, we’d like to ask you to reconsider. If your child is delayed in their speech or language development, there is no better time to start them in therapy than now! We say it all the time, but it bears repeating: early intervention is key when it comes to speech and language development! If you’re not sure if your child actually needs therapy, we’d love to talk with you, answer any initial questions you have, and schedule a consultation with one of our licensed speech therapists in the South Bay.

We know it’s a busy time, or if it’s not busy for you yet, it will be soon! But don’t put off something as important as speech therapy for your child. You’d be surprised at the progress your child may be able to make in just a few short months, and you won’t ever regret the time you invested in your child’s speech and language development.

If you’re ready to get started, contact Lil’ Chit-Chat today. We hope to hear from you soon!

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!

During this time off, you may see a loss of momentum when it comes to your child’s progress, but this doesn’t have to be the case. There are many things you can do as a parent to make sure your child continues to progress toward their speech and language goals.

Unstructured Play is Great for Development

The school months are filled with lots of structured activities—in speech therapy, in the classroom, and in any after-school activities in which your child may be involved. Summer is a good time to give your child the opportunity to engage in unstructured play—that is, play that is undirected by you or anyone else. Give your child some simple materials or craft supplies and see what they come up with. Take them to a safe area where they can just explore until their heart’s content. Invite a friend or two over to play so they can practice communicating and socializing with peers in a casual environment.

Whatever activity your child is engaged in, make sure you are working alongside them to improve their communication in a way that keeps things fun and lighthearted. Ask questions, introduce new words related to what he or she is doing, and encourage critical thinking as they work through situations.

Summer Activities that Can Enhance Speech and Language Development

Summer activities present great opportunities for teaching and practicing vocabulary in new environments. Taking your child to the beach, the pool, on a hike, or on a trip will allow you to introduce new words and concepts, and also will give your child many chances to ask and answer questions, practice following directions, engage in critical thinking, and socialize.

Just like in unstructured play, keep the communication practice fun during your family’s summer activities. Make it a natural addition to what you’re doing, rather than turning a fun activity into a “lesson.”

As a parent, you are your child’s number one teacher! Your child’s speech therapist can give him or her the tools needed to develop their speech and language skills, but you teach your child how to engage with the world. Look for opportunities every day to teach and practice communication skills, but don’t forget to have fun!

If you’d like to supplement you summer activities with some private speech therapy, contact Lil’ Chit-Chat. Our speech therapists come to your Manhattan Beach or Redondo Beach home and involve family members in your child’s speech therapy sessions. You can also contact us with any initial questions you may have or to schedule an evaluation of your child. We hope to hear from you soon!

The featured interview with Sabrina appeared in a special section of the publication titled “All About Kids.” Sabrina was the only pediatric speech therapist to be featured, along with several schools, play facilities, and pediatrician offices, all of which are dedicated to the wellbeing of children in the South Bay area. Sabrina was also prominently featured on the magazine’s Facebook page, Our South Bay, which is followed by more than 22,000 people.

In the interview, Sabrina was able to articulate what makes Lil’ Chit-Chat unique among speech therapy clinics in the South Bay area. She talks about how the speech therapists at Lil’ Chit-Chat customize a therapy plan for each and every child, and provide support to families throughout the entire therapy process.

She also made a point of saying that at Lil’ Chit-Chat, our speech therapists don’t just help children through their present challenges, but set them up to be successful for the rest of their lives. When talking about what you can expect when you work with Lil’ Chit-Chat for your child’s speech therapy needs, Sabrina said in the interview, “We provide a safe and supportive environment where a trusting therapist-child relationship is established from the start. When we arrive to your child’s session, the kids are eagerly waiting to engage with their clinician.”

Sabrina’s passion for helping children with speech and communication challenges is evident throughout the interview. She shares this passion with all of the speech therapists at Lil’ Chit-Chat, who truly love working with children and making a difference in the lives of South Bay families.

You can read the entire featured interview in Southbay Magazine here.

If you’d like to get in touch with Sabrina to find out more about Lil’ Chit-Chat’s approach to pediatric speech therapy or to schedule an evaluation of your child in your South Bay home, contact us through our website, or give us a call at (877) 450-6757.

It is so fulfilling to us as speech therapists when we see progress in our clients. Take “G,” for example. His mother called Lil’ Chit-Chat when he turned two because she was concerned with his limited verbal output and his speech sound development.

Upon evaluation, we noticed that G was using some sound productions, but was inconsistent in imitating environmental sounds and in consonant-vowel productions. He understood most of what was being asked of him, but had difficulty using words and sentences to get his thoughts and needs across. Obviously, in a situation like this, it is frustrating for both the child, who is unable to have his voice heard, and for the parent, who has trouble understanding what the child is trying to say or ask for.

A speech therapist from Lil’ Chit-Chat began providing speech and language therapy to G at his Manhattan Beach home at the start of the new year. There has been a heavy emphasis on parent involvement and parent enrichment from the beginning, allowing G to work on his speech and language development in between speech therapy sessions.

In just eight speech therapy sessions, G’s progress has been remarkable! He is communicating much more independently. Where he once used vocalizations (i.e. “ahh”) to try to get his message across, he is now using more words to refer to objects (i.e. “boat”). He is even beginning to use spontaneous 2-3 word utterances! He’ll say things like “I want [the] ball,” “More toys,” “My turn,” “Yes please,” and “Come watch.”

One of the keys to G’s success is the fact that his mother didn’t take a “wait and see” approach. She called for a consultation with speech therapist as soon as she suspected that G wasn’t progressing as he should when it came to his speech and language development. At Lil’ Chit-Chat, we strongly believe in early intervention, and we can’t stress enough to parents the importance of calling for a consultation as soon as they have concerns. A licensed speech therapist from Lil’ Chit-Chat can give you an honest evaluation of your child and make recommendations for speech therapy, if it is needed.

Another key to G’s rapid progress is the fact that his parents have been heavily involved in the entire process. They went through our parent enrichment program and really worked with G in between sessions to reinforce what he was learning from his speech therapist.

Contact Us for Speech Therapy in Manhattan Beach

Do you have concerns about your child’s speech and language development? We’d love to hear from you! Contact us with your questions or to set up a consultation in your Manhattan Beach home.

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.

We work with great families, many of whom are asking for additional information and resources to help their children achieve their speech therapy goals. Because of this, Lil’ Chit-Chat has decided to launch a Parent Enrichment Program. This customized educational program is designed to empower parents in the areas of speech and language development.

Parent Enrichment can apply to four different types of parents:

1. Parents who are not certain whether or not their child is in need of speech therapy services

Often, these parents have concerns about their child’s speech and language development, but their pediatrician has told them to “wait it out and see what happens.”

As speech therapists, we can’t stress strongly enough the importance of early intervention when it comes to a child’s speech and language development, so if a parent has concerns, they should schedule a Parent Enrichment session with one of our licensed Temecula Speech Language Pathologists. The therapist can provide strategies that the parent can implement into their child’s daily activities to facilitate speech and language development. They can also tell you if further professional intervention is necessary.

2. Parents with children enrolled in school speech therapy

Many children receive speech therapy services in public schools, which means that the parents aren’t present during (or even before and after) the therapy sessions. They may get regular reports from the school speech therapist, but some parents desire more “face time” and specific recommendations from a Temecula speech therapist. Through our Parent Enrichment Program, a Speech Language Pathologist from Lil’ Chit-Chat can meet with parents and give them insights and sound recommendations that can help their child’s progress.

3. Parents with children who recently exited speech therapy or who are about to exit

When a child exits speech therapy, it is important that the progress they have made is maintained. Our speech therapists can give parents specific recommendations to ensure that children don’t fall back into old habits and patterns.

4. Parents of children with typical speech and language development

Sometimes we get requests from parents looking for ways to enrich their child’s cognition, speech, or language development, even if their child doesn’t have a need for formal speech therapy sessions. Through our Parent Enrichment Program, our Speech Language Pathologists can work with parents throughout Temecula to develop programs that they can implement in their homes to further their children’s development in these areas.

Schedule a Parent Enrichment Session

Currently, our Parent Enrichment Program consists of private sessions in the homes of Temecula families. If you are a parent looking to work with one of our licensed Speech Language Pathologists in your home to help further your child’s speech and language development, please contact us to schedule a session.

We are also looking to expand this program and offer group sessions for parents of children with similar speech therapy needs. If you are part of a group that would like to have a Lil’ Chit-Chat speech therapist offer parent enrichment, please contact Sabrina Conway through our contact page. We would be happy to give a customized presentation to your group of parents in Temecula or any of the nearby surrounding cities. Contact us for more details.

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.

Businessing Magazine is an online publication dedicated to small business owners and entrepreneurs. The publication offers insight and tips that small business owners can use to make their businesses more successful and run more efficiently. They also regularly feature small businesses and business owners in their “Interviews & Spotlights” section to give examples of how other small business owners are doing things and achieving success in their respective industries.

Lil’ Chit-Chat owner Sabrina Conway was interviewed by a writer from Businessing Magazine about what it means to be a “boutique” pediatric speech therapy clinic that services Temecula and the surrounding areas. She also answered questions about her experience starting and running a speech therapy business, and what she has learned in the process.

The article talks at length about the type of therapy provided by Lil’ Chit-Chat, and how it differs from the pediatric speech therapy offered in Temecula public schools. In the article, Sabrina is quoted as saying, “While I see the benefits of school-based therapy, private, in-home speech therapy is just so much more efficient. As a therapist, I love that I have the flexibility to cater to my clients’ specific needs and create individualized therapy sessions. So often, public school-based therapy is in a group setting, and for only 30 minutes per week, and that just doesn’t work well for some kids. I’ve seen kids who have been in speech articulation therapy in the public setting for years that probably could have graduated in a few short months if they had been in private therapy with the right speech therapist.”

The Businessing Magazine article also highlights Lil’ Chit-Chat’s commitment to involving the families of the children receiving speech therapy in Temecula. This, according to Sabrina, is a vital part of the “boutique” experience that Lil’ Chit-Chat’s clients receive. Sabrina says in the article, “We want our clients and their families to feel like they are truly known, and not just another customer. We work closely with the families of our clients because we recognize that family ‘buy-in’ is such an important component to a child’s success when it comes to speech therapy.”

You can read the entire interview here. Doing so will give you a good understanding of who we are and why we do what we do here at Lil’ Chit-Chat.

If you think your child could be a good candidate for private speech therapy in Temecula, contact Lil’ Chit-Chat. We would be happy to answer any questions you have and schedule a time for an in-home evaluation of your child.

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.