Toddler Speech Services (1-4 years old)

Augmentative and Alternative Communication is utilized with individuals that are late-talking or have a diagnosis that interferes with expressive language. Signs that this might be the service for someone in your family: limited expressive language and lack of conversational turn-taking. This form of communication might be used all of the time for an individual to communicate wants/needs, other times it may be a support tool to help verbal language emerge. Types of AAC include:

• Gestures
• Sign Language
• iPad
• Pictures
• Devices

Frenectomy is a procedure completed when a tongue tie is diagnosed by a trained professional. This procedure is a non-invasive procedure that does require additional stretch, massage, and therapy to be successful long term. Therapy is completed before and after procedure to increase the strength of the tongue, lip, and cheek muscles. Signs a child might benefit from a frenectomy and therapy include:

• difficulty breast feeding
• pain for mother while nursing
• open mouth breathing during the day and/or night
• "picky eater"
• tongue thrust
• eating only certain textures of foods
• choking
• gagging
• grinds teeth
• difficulty sleeping, frequent wake-ups
• difficulty transitioning to open cups and straws
• difficulty sleeping
• speech sound disorders
• language delay
• frequent drooling
• protruding and/or recessed jaw

Language Disorders can come in two different forms: receptive or expressive difficulties. Some individuals might combine these two as well. Those that speak multiple languages may exhibit these signs, however that doesn't mean they have a disorder. Signs an individual might have a language disorder include:

Expressive: difficulty expressing language

• difficulty asking/answering WH questions
• word-finding difficulties
• inclusion of many filler words (i.e. "like" and "um")
• trouble with categories and items that might be included in those categories
• grammar errors
• difficulty with labeling objects
• little to no comments during conversation

Receptive: difficulty understanding language

• difficulty paraphrasing information provided to them
• difficulty following directions
• difficulty answering WH questions
• lack of comprehension of information given to them verbally or visually
• identifying pictures/objects

Pediatric Feeding relates to a child's oral intake of nutrition and enjoyment of mealtime itself. When a child has difficulty with swallowing and/or eating a variety of foods, mealtime can be stressful for everyone involved. Signs your child may have a feeding disorder:

• difficult for an infant to suck on a breast/nipple
• lack of nutrition and/or oral intake
• lack of focus during mealtime causing feedings/mealtimes to be longer than 30 minutes
• vomiting in infants or children
• loss of food/liquid coming from the mouth or nose
• refusing certain food types or textures
• only eating certain brands
• coughing or gagging while swallowing
• crying during meal times
• difficulty with the oral stages (insertion of food, chewing, swallowing)
• frequent congestion, especially after meals
• pocketing food and/ or only taking small amount of food at a time
• back arching

Oral Motor Development is the function of the lips, jaw, teeth, tongue, and palates (i.e. hard & soft). All of these require exercises and frequent practice to increase strength and improve performance in daily activities. 

Typical Development

1 Year: coordinates breathing, sucking, swallowing for longer periods of time; eating tables foods; moves the food in the mouth from side to side as he/she chews; starting to eat harder foods when molars come in; starts using a spoon

2 Years: consumes a variety of of liquids and solids through straws and open mouth cups; using a spoon effectively; fine tuning all feeding skills

3 - 5 Years: begins to use a fork; drinks from open cup without assistance; has the strength and coordination to chew and swallow all textures

Signs your toddler may benefit from feeding services:

• difficulty breastfeeding
• limited intake of solid foods, "picky eater"
• difficulty drinking from straws and cup
• spits out pacifiers
• open mouth breathing (during the day & while sleeping)
• difficulty sleeping (i.e. tossing/turning, frequently waking up, baby doesn't appear rested after waking up)
• pocketing foods in cheeks

Gestalt Language Processing (GLP) is a newly-researched way to acquire language. This way of language acquisition is where the child learns utilizing songs and phrases rather than increasing language one word at a time. These children will learn language in the following stages:

1. Phrases/Echolalia

2. Mix and Match Current Phrases

3. 1-2 Word Combinations

4. Non-Grammatical Phrases/Sentences

5. Teaching Beginner Grammar

6. Teaching Advanced/Complex Grammar

 Signs your child may be a Gestalt Language Processor:

• repeating phrases/songs that are not in context to task
• verbalizing with intonation/humming/singing
• mimics phrases said by others not in context
• prefers music during activities
• speaks in third person
• autistic
• rewinding videos (or parts of videos) over and over
• long, unintelligible speech