Speech delay in childs - tips and tricks

source - http://voices.yahoo.com/speech-delay-oral-exercises-help-childs-2320400.html?cat=25

When my two year old son was diagnosed with a speech delay, I did all I could to help his speech improve. However, I wasn't very educated on developmental delays in children and had no idea where to begin. All I knew was my son had a speech delay and he was getting increasingly frustrated when he tried to communicate and no one understood him.

I strongly believe the first step to dealing with a speech delay is t seek out professional assistance. There are wonderful, highly trained teachers and therapist able to help decode and work through a speech delay. It is recommended that you search and contact Early Intervention Services that are in your area if you suspect your child has a speech delay. My son has a wonderful team that has helped him along this journey and in one short year- the difference in his speech is incredibly different. Had it not been for the services he was offered through early intervention, he would not be where he is today in his speech. With that said, I have learned a lot from each one of his teachers. Who, by the way, come to the house and encourage me in finding new ways to help promote proper speech and sounds. I figured I would share some of these tips in case you have a child who has a speech delay.

One of the most prominent issues for a speech delay is simply because the muscles in the mouth are weak, and a child doesn't know how to form proper sounds of letters with his mouth. Because of this, it is often recommended to do oral excises with your child to encourage awareness of the mouth and positions of the lips, tongue and pallet in different scenarios.

Speech Delay Oral Exercise # 1

Blowing bubbles- Not only is blowing bubbles a great activity to keep children entertained, but it also increases the use of the facial and jaw muscles. Developing a strong "bubble blowing" oral position can help a child who has a speech delay make the "w" sound as is "what" or "ewww" and long "o" as in "book" or "food" as well as other sounds.

Speech Delay Oral Exercise # 2

Drink from a straw- this oral exercise is great with kids who have a speech delay because it uses the same muscles that blowing bubbles does, except also gets the tongue moving and raises awareness of the pallet. This oral exercise also offers a tighter grip than blowing bubbles, further developing the muscles in the moth, face and jaw. Try to encourage your child to drink from a straw as often as possible to help improve their speech delay.

Speech Delay Oral Exercise # 3

Chap stick and a mirror!- One of the best ways to get a child's attention to to have them look at themselves. This is a huge benefit to a child with a speech delay as the can actually watch and observe what their lips and tongue look like when the make sounds or speak. In addition to encouraging your child to look in the mirror more often comes a fun game! The kissing game. Have your child put in chap stick and encourage them to make the "mwah!" sound with their mouths. Show the how to pucker their lips, which helps again strengthen the oral muscles. Your child will have fun and be rewarded with getting to see the imprint of their lips on the mirror. You can also encourage other speech sounds the child may be having a hard time grasping and make different shaped "kiss marks" making them aware of how their lips can move.

Speech Delay Oral Exercise # 4

Use finger guides- Many children with a speech delay can not figure out what to do to make the words and sounds they need to make, come out. Helping your child with their speech is a continual effort of your part, but adding little "ques" and guides will help your child take notice to the position of YOUR lips when speaking to them. Simply point to your lips when you use letters like "p" as in "pop" "b" as in "ball "m" as in "mine" and so on. It also helps if your speech is semi-over exaggerated. say POP! instead of pop. make it exciting and repeat the sound "p" makes a few times before saying the word. For example say "Pa Pa Pa - POP!" while pointing to your lips while talking to your child. In time to can place your finger near their lips to encourage them to do the same.

Speech Delay Oral Exercise # 5

Make eye contact- This is not so much an exercise for speech delays, but is just as important in helping a child with a speech delay. The more your child sees you speaking, the more your child will learn about mouth movements. Take every opportunity you can to use words and make eye contact with your child. It can be as easy as stirring a cup of chocolate milk and saying "stir stir stir" while mixing the milk. By exaggerating some of the sounds heard in the beginning or end of the word. Such as "SSSSTIRRR"

Speech delays are very common in children and may or may not include other developmental delays. The most important thing to remember is a slow start does not mean speech won't come. Much like potty training, it is eventual and many kids work on a different time table. The most important thing is learning to work with your child and incorporating activities like the ones mentioned above to help the speech delay in your child subside. Don't be afraid to inquire for help from professionals. Many times these services are offered for free, since it ties in with education. The best thing to do is keep yourself well informed and be prepared to learn a lot!

10 Tips to Promote Speech and Language Skills in Your Child

Source - http://speechtherapyweb.com/10-tips-to-promote-speech-and-language-skills-in-your-child/

The communication skills of a newbon are astonishing. In fact, speech and language development visibly occurs immediately after birth. Moments after the birth of my daughter, I looked into her eyes and said "Welcome, Rebekah. We have all been waiting for you." Then, through body language, she communicated back to me. Searching with her little mouth she instantly and non-verbally expressed that she was hungry. As she began to nurse, I knew that we had begun to communicate.

Research in Speech and Hearing Sciences recognizes the communication skills of newborns and even the developing fetus during the last trimester of pregnancy. Nonetheless, parents tend to concentrate on the physical growth of their young child as he or she develops. While physical development is very important, communication skills are equally important. In fact, these two areas of development are interdependent for a healthy child.

The following are ten ways you can nurture the five different areas of speech and language development in typically developing infants and toddlers.

Social Language

1) Eye contact. When communicating with your child, look at his or her face and eyes as often as possible. This helps your child learn that it is appropriate to look at people during communication. Children learn a lot about you through facial expressions and acquire articulation skills by watching the movement of your mouth.

2) Taking turns. Talk to your child and then pause to give them a moment to verbalize. This teaches them the art of turn taking. This skill can also be accomplished during play, using objects and toys.

Expressive Language

3) Give your child space. When your child is trying to communicate with you and you know what they want, give them a few seconds before you instantly meet their needs. This will give them the opportunity to vocalize (coo and babble), point, or attempt a word.

4) Give your child choices and then let them express their choice by pointing, vocalizing, or attempting words. The feelings of confidence a child gains by expressing their own choice are building blocks for further exploration of expressive language.

Receptive Language

5) Get your child to follow instructions. Start with simple requests that only involve one element, such as "smile" or "kiss." Then increase to two elements when one element becomes easy for your child (i.e. "Hand up," or "Touch your nose," and so on).

6) Read simple books to your child with one or two pictures on each page. Ask them questions that can be answered verbally or by pointing to the correct picture. Try not to put too much pressure on them. If your child does not respond after about 10 or 15 seconds, model the answer for them with a positive tone of voice.

Vocabulary Development

7) Reinforce and demonstrate. If your child produces a verbal attempt that resembles a word, praise them with a pleasant tone of voice and then model the word that you think they attempted. For example, if the child says "ba" for ball, say "You said ball. Yes, it is a ball!"

 Explore. There are wonderful opportunities to model vocabulary out in the community. A simple trip to the market can be a great chance to name items for your child.

Articulation

9) Observe how often other people understand your child's speech. This will give you an idea of how clear his or her articulation really is (parents usually understand their children more than an outside listener). Don't worry if your toddler is not producing all the sounds in the English language. Many sounds may not develop until four years of age or later. However, you should consider consulting a speech pathologist if it is extremely hard to understand your child's speech at 3 years of age.

10) Articulate your words clearly when you communicate withh your child. Speak slowly and remember to look directly at your child's face.

While speech and language development varies with each child, there is no question that positive daily involvement from a parent and/or a loving caregiver makes the process much smoother. You, the parent, are the "super model" for your child's speech and language development. Taking time to put these tips into action can give you a thoughtful approach as you interact with your amazing little communicator.

Karin Howard is a practicing speech/language pathologist in Los Angeles. She has taught "Mommy and Me" classes that emphasize speech and language to aid parents of typically developing infants and toddlers. She is also the creator of "Exploring Language through Song and Play," a CD set with an accompanying lyric and activity book. You can learn more about this CD set here. There is also a Buy Now button on the upper right side bar of this website if you wish to purchase this CD set.

How to cut your own hair - Layer style

Now you don't need to spend bucks going to a hair dresser for your regular hair cuts. Follow these simple steps and voila you get layer style hair cut.

1. Shampoo your hair and dry
2. Tilt your head forward, bring all the hairs down
3. Brush your hair till they become smooth with no knots in between
2. With a sharp scissor, cut your hair till the length you want
3. Push your hair backwards, and brush
4. It's done

Note: Never cut your hair to near your scalp