The Speech & Stuttering Institute is thrilled to share this essay by David, an inspirational young man who is passionate about sharing his experience in the hopes of spreading awareness and reaching other people who stutter (PWS), especially youth who may be feeling alone and hopeless. For the past year David has been raising awareness about [...]
Fact or fiction?: “SLPs in Ontario can’t diagnose Childhood Apraxia of Speech.” Although this is a frequently encountered statement, it is actually misleading. Ontario SLPs (Speech-Language Pathologists) with the right training and clinical experience in children’s speech disorders can determine that a child’s speech meets criteria for CAS (Childhood Apraxia of Speech), just like SLPs [...]
What is a Speech Sound Disorder? The term Speech Sound Disorder (SSD) is used when children's speech is hard to understand compared to other children their age. They may be leaving out sounds (e.g. "boo" for boot), substituting one sound for another (e.g. "tup" for cup) or distorting sounds (e.g. "bud" for bed) . There [...]
Speech therapy can be hard work for kids – there’s no doubt about it! For kids with motor speech difficulties, it’s especially true. One of the key ingredients of motor speech therapy is repetition: each therapy session needs to pack in as many practice opportunities as possible. Practice and repetition can help speech tasks go [...]
Sometimes parents know when it’s time to call a speech therapist for their child. Maybe the doctor suggested a speech-language assessment for your toddler, and your supplemental benefits will pay for the appointment while you wait for a spot in the province’s Preschool Speech and Language Service. Maybe your child still [...]
“My child doesn’t want to do speech practice with me at home! Why does he work at speech therapy but not at home?” Many parents report this experience when they try to follow through with homework from speech therapy. Speech-Language Pathologists use a number of strategies to support children’s participation in therapy activities. You can [...]
Picture yourself in the following situation: You listen with pride as your child learns to use a new speech sound during his motor speech therapy session. Suddenly, instead of “1, 2, 3…doh!,” you hear “1, 2, 3…go!” Then, when the session is over, you can hardly believe your ears when he says “Let’s doh home [...]
Imagine yourself in this situation: you have something important to tell a family member or a friend. You go up to them and start talking but they look at you with a blank, confused expression. They have not understood anything you said. This is a daily experience for children with speech sound disorders. When we [...]
Many parents find it hard to fit home practice from speech therapy into the daily schedule. When the kids get home from school and mom and dad get home from work, there may be only a few hours to do schoolwork, eat dinner, relax together as a family, and fit in bath time before bed. [...]
Pssst…here’s a secret that SLPs know but parents don’t: giving your child a treat for coming to speech therapy can hurt more than it helps. That sugary treat on the way to therapy may seem to give your child a quick energy boost, but that’s not the kind of energy they’ll need. Therapy is hard [...]