The earlier that services are delivered, the more likely children are to develop effective communication, language, and swallowing skills and achieve successful learning outcomes (Guralnick, 2011).

Over the past 20 years, parents have become increasingly interested in teaching their young children sign language. Other parents wonder about the downsides of sign language, with concerns that sign language will keep their child from speaking or isolate them socially. Luckily, the research here is clear: Sign language does NOT impair social or language development. In fact, early exposure to sign language actually improves child development in several ways.

We all know that encouraging our children to read is important. We want them to do well in school (where reading is a must). We know that reading helps with critical thinking. And we might even hope for them to enjoy discovering new ideas and adventures in stories. But how can parents support our children’s literacy at home? There are important and different reading strategies parents can incorporate at each level of development.

In the United States, Thanksgiving is widely considered a time of reflection. Setting aside the complex and controversial history of this holiday, Thanksgiving offers opportunities for fun, meaningful family conversations with children of all ages.

The “new” speech and language milestones being suggested don’t jive with the evidence-based norms we have been using to measure development for decades.

Children learn most of the speech-sounds in English from ages 1-6 years in a generally predictable order. When children have trouble with a sound or multiple sounds, we get lots of questions from parents about how we can help.

Children generally learn the speech-sounds of their language in a predictable order by certain ages. A recent cross-linguistic review updated this normative information by gathering previous results from the best studies and averaging the data (McLeod and Crowe, 2018).

All children need to hear that they are valued. Sometimes, children with communication disorders need a little *extra* reassurance.

Video Modeling is a low-cost, easy, and effective tool to teach children new play, language, self-help, and social skills.

The holiday season is here! It's full of fun but can also be overwhelming. If your child is struggling with the different colors, smells, tastes, events, and routines of the holidays, a social story may help.

Shyness? Or something more?

Our kiddos are back to school, and many parents are wondering what happens during their children's days in new classrooms with new teachers and new friends. But, it can be hard to get details from kids, and even more so from children with communication difficulties.

Parents wonder how to keep up communication practice during vacations. Here are some FUN suggestions to pass the time and build language tasks into road-trips. Enjoy!

Resource Alert: Animal Antics A to Z, which are amazing books for letter and sound practice!

Sometimes, children's communication difficulties can affect their self-confidence. In March, show the children in your lives how LUCKY you feel to have them in your school or family.

Parents often ask us what games are good for getting their kids to practice their communication goals while having fun as a family. Here are a few of our favorites, organized by general age group (though be flexible with ages, based on your child's interests and abilities).

Many parents and teachers want to know how to help preschool children prepare for the heavy academic requirement to read in kindergarten. Reading with preschool children is a fun and effective way to give them a solid foundation.

Learning to read is a process that depends, in part, on a solid foundation of phonological awareness.

Spring has finally arrived! Time to enjoy some fresh air with a scavenger hunt.