While the start of a new school year is exciting and positive for many families, those who have children with feeding challenges are often faced with the struggle of how to handle lunchtime at school. Addressing these challenges at home is difficult enough but to carry strategies over to the lunchroom may seem near impossible.…
One of the most common comments that I hear from parents in regards to feeding is “my child is a picky eater.” Even though communicating preferences (and dislikes) for certain foods is a part of typical development, it can quickly transition to picky eating and difficult mealtimes.Frequently, the assumption is made that a child does…
With the Affordable Care Act, families and individuals can more easily purchase health insurance coverage without concern about non-coverage for pre-existing conditions or fear of being denied a policy. However, there are challenges associated with high deductibles and co-pays. We may grow more accustom to the increased cost of health care. What we want to…
What is the guide for language development in children? Is there a certain number of words my child should know by a particular age? What are the milestones? What if my child is behind the milestones? Does that mean he/she needs speech therapy? These important questions can be triggered by a parent’s curiosity. Often a…
Parents can take comfort in knowing there is a range for normal development. So at any given age, children will vary in development within their age group. And it is commonly understood that girls develop certain academic and social skills a little faster than boys. However, there are developmental milestones for children ages 54 to…
Summer is synonymous with warm weather fun and family trips. Any new adventure or highly motivating activity is a great reinforcement for speech, language and motor development. What are some ways families can promote development in toddlers during this sunny season? Here are a few developmental principles to keep in mind as families engage in…
We use to think that as long as a child broke the thumb sucking habit by the time permanent teeth where erupting, there wouldn’t be lingering negative effects. Now we are learning this may not be the case. A joint research project with US and Chile found ” children who sucked their fingers, or used…
Pediatric speech therapists and occupational therapists are masters at identifying great toys and games. When recently asked about the top ten toys to encourage learning that could be used at home, I went to my therapists, who are the experts on fun and learning! I quickly found we couldn’t be limited to ten! Keep in…
When my son, Sam, was diagnosed with autism, in 1987, at the age of three, I was pretty devastated. At that time, I wasn’t offered a very good prognosis for his future. Even so, I knew that I had to do everything in my power to help my precious son meet his potential. Speech therapy…
Speech-language pathologists address many kinds of delays and disorders which impact communication, feeding and swallowing. However, many families are most familiar with speech therapy as a treatment for children with articulation or intelligibility challenges. Historically, this has been a major area of practice for speech-language pathologists, particularly with the pediatric population. For families in Plano…