All posts tagged: speech-language pathologist

Apraxia Monday: TALK YOGA creators Amy Roberts & Kim Hughes, both speech-language pathologists and certified yoga intructors talk about the value of kids, speech, & yoga

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By Leslie Lindsay  Yoga + Kids + Speech = some of my very favorite things.  ~APRAXIA MONDAY|ALWAYS WITH A BOOK~ Spotlight: TALK YOGA  I am so delighted to introduce you to two fabulous speech-language pathologists, Kim Hughes and Amy Roberts, both certified yoga instructors and pediatric SLPs. Their practice, TalkYoga is mentioned in the updated, 2nd edition of SPEAKING OF APRAXIA (Woodbine House, 2020) and with good reason—I love yoga! For years, I have practiced, but it wasn’t until the last five years or so that I really became a yogi. Before that, my daughter, Kate, now 15 with resolving CAS, participated in yoga-like poses during her combined ST/OT sessions. Kate is what we might call a ‘sensory seeker’ and so the movement—and the dedication—yoga provided important feedback and stimulation. Here, I ask Kim and Amy a few questions about how yoga practice can help kids with speech development. Please join us! Leslie Lindsay: Kim and Amy—welcome! I am so pumped about your yoga for kids, TalkYoga program. Can you tell us a bit about …

APRAXIA MONDAY 2/4: Karli PRESS, CF-SLP joins us for a primer on Childhood apraxia of speech, sequencing, her fabulous infographics, why teletherapy is so great, toys for enhancing communication, more

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By Leslie Lindsay  ~APRAXA MONDAY|ALWAYS WITH A BOOK~ Spotlight: Sunflower Speech Therapy 2/4 Welcome, Karli Press, CF-SLP to the Apraxia Monday series! I am delighted to chat with Karli because she is so cool and positive and digs kids speech. Here, she put together this super-informative infographic about childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), which I shared recently, and it’s been making big waves among the folks who follow my SPEAKING OF APRAXIA Facebook page. I am so grateful for this because it really breaks things down. CAS is a complex disorder—unless you’re a practicing speech-language pathologist with additional skills and training, it’s a relatively rare speech disorder (typically) only briefly touched on in graduate programs. Still, there are researchers who are studying it and others, too who continue to learn about this sometimes baffling and rare motor-speech disorder. That’s why I love this graphic so much. It really breaks it down. Karli lives and works as a teletherapist in south Florida and the name of her speech clinic, SUNFLOWER SPEECH—I just love. Her tagline: “Never …

APraxia Monday: Leslie LINDSAY & Daughter Kate in conversation about SPEAKING OF APRAXIA: A Parents’ guide to childhood apraxia of speech 1/2

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By Leslie Lindsay  Author’s 15-year old daughter interviews her mom on SPEAKING OF APRAXIA.  ~APRAXIA MONDAY|ALWAYS WITH A BOOK~ A Mother-Daughter Conversation about CAS Part 1 of 2 Now available in an updated, second edition, SPEAKING OF APRAXIA: A Parents’ Guide to Childhood Apraxia of Speech (Woodbine House, December 2020), is an award-winning resource on Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS). Eight years ago, when Leslie Lindsay, former Child & Adolescent Psychiatric R.N., and mother to a daughter with CAS—now resolved—couldn’t find any parent-friendly books to help her child and family with CAS, she wrote one. This updated, well-researched, and comprehensive work provides readers the benefit of her experience and perspective. It covers: introduction to speech, language & listening explanation of CAS what to do when you suspect your child has CAS getting a speech evaluation meeting with a speech-language pathologist getting the CAS diagnosis possible causes diagnoses related to CAS speech therapy best suited for CAS complementary & alternative approaches activities & materials to support therapy at home creating a language-rich environment for speech coping with …

Mom and Speech-language pathologist talks about how you can make the most of the morning routine with your kids, speech devlopment, more

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By Leslie Lindsay  Super-cute board book for use with toddlers in a home or clinic setting to help with early language development, plus kids will delight in the lift-the-flap feature. ~Books on Monday, Part 2|Always with a Book~ Last week, we chatted with Dr. T. about her hands-on, practical, and FUN board book for kids–and their caregivers to read and manipulate. Today, she presents some fab ways to use your morning routine to increase your child’s language skills. I love these ideas because they are accessible, plus children will delight in collaborating with you. The key here is to make it feel natural, as if it’s part of your normal day-to-day routine, not a ‘sit and learn’ or another ‘chore’ on your to-do list. Kids are smart, they pick up on this stuff. Best to ‘sneak it in’ in a way that makes it feel like fun and play.  5 ways to use your morning routine to increase your toddler’s language skills by Tinita Kearney, Ph.D., CCC-SLP As a wife, mother of two children under …

Apraxia Monday: Interview with Cari Ebert, CCC-SLP

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By Leslie Lindsay Today I have a special guest interview, Cari Ebert, CCC-SLP of Summit Speech Therapy and fellow speechie blogger.  Thanks a bunch for taking the time to chat with us, Cari.  We are excited to learn speech tips and tricks for the early childhood set from someone who is so well-versed (sorry, couldn’t resist), in the field.  Let’s start by getting to know you a bit. (image source: http://www.blogger.com/profile/06868042271330481283.  Reetrieved 1.21.13) L4K: When and how did you get interested in the field of pediatric speech pathology?  Is it something that has always been an interest of yours, or did it evolve along with your academic career?  CE, SLP: I actually started my career working with adults in long-term care.  I worked in skilled nursing facilities and had a special interest in patients who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. After having my first daughter, however, I was so amazed watching her grow and develop that I switched gears, and became a pediatric speech-language pathologist.   I now work primarily in early intervention (EI) with the …

Say That Again?!: How SLPs Can Help Parents Cope with CAS

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By Leslie Lindsay (image source: http://flhealthykids.wordpress.com/2010/07/) If you have been reading SPEAKING OF APRAXIA (Woodbine House, 2012) then you know each chapter concludes with a summary called, “Say That Again?!”  In spirit of the book, this series on Apraxia Monday will be the “Say That Again” series.   Ready?  Future SLPs:  Our Children with CAS Need your TLC By Leslie Lindsay, R.N. B.S.N. You won’t soon forget her.  The red hair and blue eyes the size of saucers will linger in your memory.  So, too will the fact that she is as fire-y and energetic as that copper hair that cascades down her back, framing her freckled face with possibility.  And when you hear her speak, you may have an inkling that she once suffered from moderate to severe childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), or you may be none the wiser. Although Kate is a bright, creative, and eager soon-to-be 2nd grader, she has overcome a road block most of us never have to deal with: a struggle to communicate expressively.  And why do I share …

Apraxia Monday: A Gossip Columnist Shares “Speaking of Apraxia”

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By Leslie Lindsay (image source: http://socialtimes.com/another-online-newspaper-ventures-into-socal-shopping_b43352) Talk of the Town: Gossip Queen & Child Development Expert Answers your Most Pressing Questions. Today’s Topic: Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) Saturday, September 24, 2012 Dear Miss Talks-a-Lot:  Argh!  I am so frustrated.  My 3 year old son has so much difficulty talking.  It’s like he knows what he wants to say, but he can’t quite get the words out. Everything else [developmentally] seems to be right on target, yet he just jibbers and gestures.  What could be going on?  –Frustrated in Colorado(image source: http://www.destination360.com/north-america/us/wyoming/rocky-mountains) The Rocky Mountains plus the rugged beauty of Wyoming add up to Dear Frustrated in Colorado: It sounds like your son may be suffering from Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS), this neurologically based motor speech disorder is characterized by the inability to connect thoughts with verbal output.  It’s as though the child knows what he wants to say, he just cannot coordinate the muscles of articulation with his brain. Often, kids with CAS will gesture or create their own words and phrases to …

Apraxia Monday: Chapter 5–Getting the CAS Diagnosis/Initial Reactions

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By Leslie Lindsay (An excerpt from Speaking of Apraxia: A Paren’ts Guide to Childhood Apraxia of Speech.  Chapter 5: “Getting the Diagnosis and Coping with Your Initial Reactions”).    You may have been searching for years for some term to identify why your child isn’t talking like every other child. Perhaps you weren’t that concerned in the first place, but took your child to a speech-language pathologist because your friends, your mother, or a concerned neighbor or teacher urged you to. In either case, you now have a word to describe the phenomenon: Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS). What’s next? Common Reactions If it took you awhile to arrive at a diagnosis, you may be feeling like your competence as a parent has been challenged.   “Gosh, I knew there was something wrong, why wouldn’t (or couldn’t) anyone tell me what it was?!”  You may feel some resentment toward any professionals you consulted who shooed you away, assuring you everything was “fine.” “I knew I was right! Those doctors were so incompetent. Their lack of competency …

Apraxia Monday: Chapter 3 Excerpt

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By Leslie Lindsay If you have been following along recently, you know that Speaking of Apraxia: A Parent’s Guide to Childhood Apraxia of Speech will be released later this month.  It’s been a long–but overall good–journey in which I have been reading, writing, and revising to get this book into the hands of parents of children with CAS.  As a “count-down-to-release-day,” I am offering some excerpts of the book.  This one is on chapter 3:  Finding Help When You Suspect CAS.  Here goes: “As first-time parents, we didn’t want to appear “delinquent,” so when Kate was 15 months old, exactly, we headed to the doctor (the same one who delivered her) for her scheduled well-child check-up. I say “we,” because both doting parents were off work for the occasion. We came armed with our wiggly daughter; along with thoughts, questions, and toddler antics to relate to our doctor. Kate was meeting all of her developmental milestones right on target. Except one: talking. She had only one word, “Hi.” I was excited that she had such a …

Apraxia Monday: Chapter 1

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By Leslie Lindsay Welcome to the first installment of a series of excerpts of forthcoming, “Speaking of Apraxia: A Parent’s Guide to Childhood Apraxia of Speech” (Woodbine House, March 2012).  Here we begin at the beginning: chapter one.  You may have some suspicions that your child isn’t talking like he or she should; maybe you’ve heard of apraxia (CAS), but you just aren’t sure if that is why your little punkin isn’t chatting like all of the other children. Consider these scenarios: “Sarah, age 2, was a puzzle to her parents. She was obviously quite bright and alert. She knew the names of all the birds in her Big Book of Birds and would point to the cardinal, chickadee, etc. when asked. But she struggled to say even the simplest words.” “Jake was an active three-year-old who loved cause and effect, an engineer in the making.  He appeared to be a typically-developing child, with one exception: he was not talking. His grandmother kept saying, “Boys are late to talk–don’t worry.” But his parents were concerned. …