Kicking off the Summer of Speech
Today’s post is a little different… I want to share a VERY exciting announcement!!
This summer, we are hosting a Summer of Speech Series where we will go through Toddler Talk’s Speech Course together.
How it works:
Each Monday I will share a new lesson(s). You can follow along on YouTube, Instagram, or here at toddlertalk.com. Join in each week for a new lesson or move at your own pace, whatever works best for you!
What you’ll learn:
This series is all about helping you to understand toddler speech development from a speech therapist’s perspective! I’ll share short, digestible 2-3 minute video tutorials for each topic. There will also be activities to do at home as you investigate your child’s speech.
Before we get started, I want to say, “It’s okay to ask for help!”
Working on your child’s speech or pronunciation skills at home is not always easy. Depending on the degree of difficulty your child is facing, they may not want to practice at all which can feel totally defeating. But there is help out there! (And know you’re not the only family wanting or needing help!)
Speech therapists are trained to be experts at supporting speech developing. Their trained ears can identify what is causing a child to have challenges with their speech development and know how to best support them. Plus, speech therapists are pros at disguising the hard work of speech practice in play for young children. And speech therapists can help you see your child’s individual speech development in a new light so you can feel confident about your at hard work at home as well.
The resources and materials available here at Toddler Talk are a great place to get started. But if you have concerns about your toddler’s development, I highly encourage you to talk to their pediatrician who can connect you with local professionals.
You can continue reading here to see How to find a pediatric speech therapist near me
Hearing tests are another very important step in supporting toddlers with speech difficulties!
If you want to know how to prepare for your child’s first hearing test, check out Dr. Michelle Hu’s free guide here: https://www.mamahuhears.com/free-resources
Summer of Speech Schedule ☀️💬Tune In!
How toddler’s develop speech
June 6 — Introduction to the Summer of Speech Series
+ How to find a speech therapist to support your toddler’s speech
June 13 — How toddlers develop speech and language
June 20 — What makes toddlers hard to understand
June 27 — Practicing speech at home
Articulation - The sounds toddlers pronounce
July 4 — Learn about articulation and the sounds toddlers make
July 11 — Investigate your toddler’s sounds to see if they are on track
July 18 — Guide to teaching your toddler to pronounce new sounds at home
Phonology - How toddlers pronounce words
July 25 — Learn about how toddlers put sounds together to say words
August 1 — Investigate your toddler’s words to see how they are putting sounds together
August 8 — Practicing with new sound combinations at home to say more words
Motor Speech Skills - The complex process of making sounds
August 15 — Learn about motor speech development and childhood apraxia of speech
August 22 — Investigate your child’s motor speech skills
August 29 — At home practice with motor speech skills and the importance of getting professional support
Series Review and Other Resources
September 5 — Summer of Speech Review!
Each Monday lessons will be shared on:
A personal note about what makes this course special 🌈 🦄
When looking online there is tons of information about toddler language development! Ideas and strategies for teaching them to say new words, helping them understand more, and to get them talking. And for most kids language strategies will work to support their emerging language skills.
But some children, who have difficulties with speech development (which has to do with pronunciation skills, rather than language which includes a toddlers vocabulary and understanding), will likely become even more frustrated when you use language strategies simply because they aren’t helpful for them.
At first I steered clear of creating a course for parents about speech, simply because teaching speech is harder than teaching language. But after receiving TONS of messages from parents describing their young children’s struggles with speech, I really wanted to have an helpful and practical resource to share with them.
I teamed up with the best pediatric speech therapists I know to create a course that will help you think like a speech therapist and support your toddler’s emerging speech skills. We’ve boiled it down to digestible 1-3 minute videos to easily fit into your already busy schedule.
My hope is that you have an “Ah-ha” moment that offers you some peace of mind as you practice speech at home.
I hope you are as excited as I am about the Summer of Speech, I’ll include the schedule below and I hope you’ll join me!
Written By: Stephanie Keffer, MS CCC-SLP
© 2020-2023. Stephanie Keffer, MS CCC-SLP. All Rights Reserved.
The content offered on ToddlerTalk.com is for informational purposes only. Toddler Talk is not engaged in rendering professional advice, whether medical or otherwise, to individual users or their children or families. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor, speech language pathologist, or other health professional. By accessing the content on ToddlerTalk.com, you acknowledge and agree that you are accepting the responsibility for your child’s health and well-being. In return for providing you with information related to home speech and language practice, you waive any claims that you or your child may have as a result of utilizing the content on ToddlerTalk.com.