You ask your child what happened at school, and the answer jumps from lunch to recess and then back to something that happened that morning. Or you finish reading a book together, but when you ask what happened in the story, your child has trouble explaining it. This can be frustrating for both children and…
Children do not learn every speech sound at once. Early speech often includes substitutions, missing sounds, and words adults may find hard to understand. Many of these mistakes are a normal part of development. As children get older, however, their speech should gradually become clearer. Certain sounds and speech patterns should also become easier to…
Every child deserves a way to communicate. For some children, spoken words do not develop as expected. Others can speak but may have trouble using speech to share their needs, thoughts, or feelings. In these cases, AAC for children may provide another way to communicate. AAC stands for augmentative and alternative communication. It includes many…
Children learn best when they can see, hear, touch, move, and interact with the world around them. While traditional learning often focuses on listening and speaking, many children benefit from using multiple senses at the same time. This approach, known as multisensory learning, can be especially effective for communication development. By engaging several senses during…
Parents are often surprised when their child repeats lines from a favorite movie, echoes questions instead of answering them, or uses the same phrases over and over throughout the day. While this behavior can seem unusual, it is often a natural part of communication development for some children. These repeated phrases are known as echolalia…
When parents think about learning to read, they often picture letters, sight words, and books. But long before a child can sound out a word, they need strong phonological skills for readers. These early listening and sound-awareness abilities are one of the most important foundations for literacy. In fact, research consistently shows that phonological awareness…
