Teach Me To Talk

Join pediatric speech-language pathologist Laura Mize, M.S., CCC-SLP of teachmetotalk.com as she continues the podcast series Prelinguistic Skills for Toddlers. These are the skills all toddlers master before they begin to use words to communicate. In this show, we're discussing skill #3 takes turns with others. Get 1 hour CE credit for listening to this show for only $5 at teachmetotalk.com.

Communicating always involves at least 2 people. When a child doesn't routinely respond and interact when you try to talk to him, play with him, or teach him something, it's highly unlikely he's learning anything! In my experience, parents first begin to suspect there's a problem with a child's development when he or she seems to ignore other people or avoid contact. Sometimes parents mis-characterize a child as being stubborn or lazy when the real problem is, he doesn't know how to respond. The good news is... YOU CAN MAKE IT BETTER! Using the simple, straightforward tips in this podcast, you'll help a child learn to notice you and eventually, begin to interact with you.

Join pediatric speech-language pathologist Laura Mize, M.S., CCC-SLP as she explains the 11 prelinlinguitic skjills all toddlers master before words emerge. In this show, we're discussing Skill #1 RESPONDS AND INTERACTS WITH THINGS IN THE ENVIRONMENT. Remember that this skill refers to a child's ability to react to sensory information - or things he can see, hear, touch, hold, and manipulate. The kinds of skills we want to facilitate at this phase are alerting, looking, calming, attending, reaching, grasping, holding, mouthing, waving objects, banging, and then... REPEAT!  Here's where we should begin to work with toddlers with severe developmental disabilities and not on teaching them to talk. Why? Because a child who can't do these kinds of things consistently, chiefly alert, react, and interact with things in his or her environment, is not developmentally ready to learn to understand and use words. In this show, I discussed specific activities, ideas, and toys to help improve this area. Remember that this information is best suited for speech therapy for toddlers with severe delays and any young child with a significant developmental disability. As a general guide, this would include children who functioning in the birth to 6 month developmental range. Learning that occurs in this phase happens through exploration with repeated exposure during sensory-enriched experiences. That's a mouthful to say and hard for many parents to understand, so here's how I break it down for the families I see. Our main goal for children who need help to master this first skill is to provide activities to help a child learn to use his senses to explore things in his or her little world. Ideas I recommend for this skill are listed in the post for show #386 at teachmetotalk.com. Therapists... get 1 hour CE credit for this course for only $5! See details here at teachmetotalk.com

Before any toddler begins to talk, he’s mastering a set of 11 distinct skills that develop before we begin to hear words. Let me explain how important these skills are… When any one of these skills is disrupted, there’s possibly a language delay. When several are missing, a stall in language development is inevitable. When a child struggles to attain many of these skills, a long-term communication disorder is likely. In this one hour audio-video podcast, we’ll review the 11 skills so that you can understand the key role each skill plays in language development. By the end of the show, you’ll have a pretty good idea for what you should work on to help any toddler begin to communicate. Join pediatric speech-language pathologist Laura Mize, M.S., CCC-SLP of teachmetotalk.com for this one hour audio and video podcast. Therapists - get 1 hour of CE credit for only $5. See details at https://teachmetotalk.com/asha-ceu-courses/. This information is from my therapy manual Let's Talk About Talking. Read info here: https://teachmetotalk.com/courses/lets-talk-about-talking-a-new-therapy-manual/  

Join pediatric speech- language pathologist Laura Mize, M.S., CCC-SLP of teachmetotalk.com as she shares tips for teaching toddlers with language delays how to begin to point. Listen to the podcast or watch on youtube! Therapists - get one hour ce credit for only $5 for this course! See details here. 

Join pediatric speech-language pathologist Laura Mize, M.S., CCC-SLP of teachmetotalk.com as she discusses the benefits of signing with late talking toddlers, the prerequisite skills to make signing successful, and the first 20+ signs to teach. Therapists - get 1 hour CE credit for this show for only $5! See details - show #383 at teachmetotalk.com.

Becoming symbolic is linked to language development in toddlers and preschoolers. The best way children demonstrate this emerging ability is through pretend play. Many late talking toddlers, particularly those with red flags for autism, have difficulty learning to play. In this one hour audio/video podcast, join Laura Mize, M.S., CCC-SLP of teachmetotalk.com as she explains the 7 steps for teaching pretend play skills to toddlers. See demonstrations with specific toys to walk you through the process. Therapists - get CE credit for listening to or watching this course. Details at teachmetotalk.com podcast #382. 

Join Laura Mize, M.S., CCC-SLP of teachmetotalk.com as she discusses effective strategies for helping late talking toddlers begin to talk. When there are no other developmental  red flags ( meaning a child is socially connected to other people, has an adequate attention span when you try to interact with or play with him, plays with a variety of toys, and understands language well enough to consistently follow directions), here's the method I use... TEACH IMITATION! But don't start with words! Begin with actions...Introduce gestures... Analyze nonverbal actions a child might imitate... Get noisy with play sounds...Try automatic speech...Teach FUNCTIONAL single words...Move on to phrases... AND discover how to introduce the following traditional speech therapy techniques (modeling, offering choices, withholding, and sabotage) in the correct sequence to maximize success with late talking toddlers. Listen to the show for this hierarchy... it works!! Therapists - get CE credit for this course at teachmetotalk.com - podcast #381 - coming soon! Resources mentioned in this show are Building Verbal Imitation in Toddlers (a therapy manual for SLPs and other therapists who work in early intervention) Steps to Building Verbal Imitation in Toddlers (6 hour course on DVD with ASHA CEUs available) and Early Speech-Language Development: Taking Theory to the Floor (12 hours on DVD with ASHA CEUs available). See teachmetotalk.com for details.

Join pediatric speech-language pathologist Laura Mize, M.S., CCC-SLP as she discusses how to improve speech intelligibility in toddlers by teaching them to include final consonant sounds in words. We'll also briefly review speech diagnoses that result in unintelligible speech. Therapists - get CE credit for this course for only $5! See details at teachmetotalk.com - show #380. 

Join pediatric speech-language pathologist Laura Mize, M.S., CCC-SLP as she discusses how to improve speech intelligibility in toddlers by teaching them to produce a variety of syllable shapes and switch vowels from syllable to syllable. Therapists - get CE credit for this course for only $5! See details at teachmetotalk.com - show #379.

Join pediatric speech-language pathologist Laura Mize, M.S., CCC-SLP of teachmetotalk.com as she shares 6 priority patterns for targeting speech intelligibility issues in toddlers. These are patterns 2 and 3. Listen to show 377 for pattern 1. This is part 6 in our summer intelligibility series for toddlers. Listen to shows 373 - 378 for the entire series thus far. Therapists - get CE credit for only $5 for this course! See teachmetotalk.com for details.

Join pediatric speech-language pathologist Laura Mize, M.S, of teachmetotalk.com as we discuss how to help toddlers improve speech intelligibility. In this show, learn the 6 priority patterns for targeting speech intelligibility in toddlers & discussion of the first pattern.

In this audio/video podcast and ASHA CEU course, join speech-language pathologist Laura Mize, M.S., CCC-SLP of teachmetotalk.com as she teaches you how to help a toddler learn to produce new speech sounds using the easy-to-remember tagline “Tell him – Show him – Help him.” This parent-friendly method explains how to use verbal, visual, and tactile cues to improve articulation and speech intelligibility in very young children. You'll also learn practical ways to teach new classes of sounds to toddlers - particularly important for parents of late talkers who want specific "how to" instructions. More detailed information is included in Laura's therapy manual FUNctional Phonology: A Language-Based Approach for Improving Speech Intelligibility in Toddlers and can be found exclusively at teachmetotalk.com. This is part 4 in this series on speech intelligibility in toddlers. Watch show #373, #374, and #375 for background information. Therapists - get CE credit for this course for only $5! Search for show #376 on the ASHA CEU page at teachmetotalk.com.

Join pediatric speech-language pathologist Laura Mize, M.S., CCC-SLP of teachmetotalk.com as she shares 7 principles for designing therapy sessions for toddlers - especially those working on articulation and speech intelligibility issues.

How do you know when a toddler, especially a late talking toddler, is ready to work on articulation skills in speech therapy? Join pediatric speech-language pathologist Laura Mize, M.S., CCC-SLP of teachmetotalk.com as she discusses 7 guidelines for determining developmental readiness for articulation therapy for toddlers. Therapists - get CE credit for this one hour course for only $5! See details at this link: