A speech therapist might only see a child for an hour every week. And while a lot can be accomplished in an hour-long speech therapy session, you, as a parent, have many opportunities to positively influence your child’s speech and language progression during the rest of the week. Here are three specific things you can do to help your child become a better communicator.

Ask Questions

Often, as parents, we try to anticipate what our child wants and give it to them. While it’s good to be in tune with your child, you should also give them the opportunity to express what they want or need by asking them specific questions.

For most young children, especially ones with speech and language issues, answering open-ended questions can be difficult. It is better to provide them with choices. If you sense they are hungry and want a snack, instead of asking, “What do you want to eat?” ask, “Would you like a banana or an apple?” That way, they can mimic your words to express what they want rather than having to come up with the vocabulary on their own.

Read to Them

Reading with your child is another great way to teach them new vocabulary and also to bond with your child. Put him or her on your lap and have fun with it! You don’t just have to read straight through a book—ask your child questions as you go along. Model new vocabulary and point out the corresponding picture (“Do you see the boy’s blue shirt?”).

If your child is a preschooler, talk to him or her about what the characters in the story might be feeling. Again, don’t ask open-ended questions that are hard for young children to answer. Give them choices. (“Do you think the boy was happy or sad when he fell down?”)

Get Down on Their Level

When you speak or interact with your children, get down on their level whenever possible. Physically bring your body down, so you are eye level with them. Get down on the floor to play with them. This shows that you are interested and engaged. When children sense that you are engaged, they will be more likely to willingly engage in conversation with you, at whatever level they are able.

Keep playtime fun, but also use it as an opportunity to introduce new vocabulary when you can.

Contact Lil’ Chit-Chat for Speech Therapy in Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, or Redondo Beach

If you think your child could use some extra help in the area of speech and communication, give us a call or contact us through our website to set up an evaluation with one of our licensed South Bay speech therapists. We look forward to hearing from you!

Why Do Schools Need Speech Therapists?

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) require that public schools offer services, at no cost, to students who have been determined to have a speech or language impairment (or any other eligible disability). If a child is eligible for speech therapy services at school, and has speech therapy as a part of their Individualized Education Plan (IEP), their school is legally required to provide this service.

Why Would Schools Use Online Speech Therapy, Rather Than Have a Therapist on Staff?

While most school districts staff licensed Speech Language Pathologists to provide therapy in their local schools, some are out of compliance with the law because they don’t have a qualified speech therapist on hand for children in need of therapy. This may be because they have had difficulty filling the position because of the school’s location (which is sometimes the case in rural or inner city areas), or simply because the position was suddenly vacated, and the school has not yet been able find a qualified replacement.

To ensure that a school district remains in compliance, Lil’ Chit-Chat is now offering online speech therapy with our licensed Speech Language Pathologists. The beauty of online therapy, is that we can work with any school, regardless of where they are located or where our speech therapist is located, as long as the therapist is licensed to work in the state in which the school is located, as well as the state in which he or she is located.

Even schools that are currently in compliance with the law can benefit from contracting with Lil’ Chit-Chat for online therapy because it allows them to provide another option to parents of children with speech and language delays—one that doesn’t involve their children missing class to attend therapy. Contracting with Lil’ Chit-Chat for online speech therapy can also benefit smaller districts that only have a few children in need of speech therapy services, since then they wouldn’t need to staff a full-time therapist.

In addition, online therapy is a great option for students not attending their local public school, such as those attending an online school, or those in charter schools or private schools who would have to leave their campuses during the day to attend therapy sessions somewhere else. For these types of students, teletherapy can be an extremely convenient option. Therapy sessions can be tailored to the students’ schedules and allow them to not miss out on large amounts of class time.

Find Out More About Online Speech Therapy for School Children

If you’re a parent who thinks online speech therapy would be a good fit for your child (maybe you find your student is falling behind because he or she is missing class, or perhaps group speech therapy doesn’t suit your child’s personality), don’t hesitate to contact your local school district and request that they contract with Lil’ Chit-Chat to provide online therapy for your child. If you’re a school or school district that could benefit from working with a quality online speech therapist, contact us at Lil’ Chit-Chat. We’d love to talk with you about the various options available and how we can help your school or school district be in compliance, while still providing quality, individualized speech therapy services.

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!

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.