Neither of us had the need to have our kids in speech or language therapy, but I know lots of parents who have. (My (Bonnie’s) little brother had a short stint working with a speech therapist back in the 70’s.)
A quick Google search told us that
Nearly 1 in 12 (7.7%) U.S. children ages 3-17 has had a disorder related to voice, speech, language, or swallowing in the past 12 months. That number is higher (more like 1 in 10) for Black children.
Boys are more likely than girls to have a voice, speech, language, or swallowing disorder (9.6% compared to 5.7%).
By the first grade, roughly 5% of children have noticeable speech disorders, including stuttering, speech sound disorders, and dysarthria (a motor speech condition that makes it hard to speak clearly).
Our guest on today’s episode is Jessie Kensey. She’s a pediatric speech-language pathologist and founder of Simply Speech Therapy in Orange County, CA, which is where she’s joining us from today.
Welcome & Intro: mom? Family?
How’d you get into speech therapy? What sort of training/school is involved?
What do you find rewarding about it?
So you coach parents to support their babies’ and toddlers’ early communication—especially those who are late to talk or need extra help.
Developmental language disorder (also called specific language impairment) has a prevalence of 1 in 14 children.
As with most things related to kids, early intervention is so important! The first 6 months of life are the most crucial to a child’s development of language skills. For a person to become fully competent in any language, exposure must begin as early as possible, preferably before school age.
Aside from a visit to the pediatrician, who might be looking for speech or communication milestones I’m not aware of, how would I notice in a very young child—a baby even—whether they’re picking up on language/speech properly?
We both taught our kids sign language—a handful of gestures (please, more, all done, thank you), and loved the way it gave our littles a way to get something across besides whining or screaming. (They understand language way before they use it verbally.) Are you an advocate of teaching sign? Does that help with language development?
What are some good ways to model language for a toddler? (instead of “say dog”)
What’s the difference between analytic language processing & gestalt language processing? Why does it matter? How can you tell which your child prefers/tends to?
Analytic Language Processor (ALP) are considered “word babies” and they learn language at the word level before moving on to using two to three word phrases. Each word holds meaning and serves as a single unit. This means that “cat” means “cat” and “milk” means “milk”… for the most part.
Gestalt Language Processors (GLPs) are known as “intonation babies”. They often learn language in chunks (gestalts) which means they may use multiple words that serve as a single unit. Their speech is typically full of rich intonation, but can be difficult to understand since they are often stringing together multiple words very quickly. These kiddos won’t begin using single words until later in their language development. This can look like a child singing the phrases “itsy bitsy spider” when they are excited or saying “time to go home” anytime they are saying goodbye. These phrases hold meaning but are often not literal. This means you may have to be a detective to determine what they are saying and what their intended meaning really is!
Determining which way your child is learning language allows you to support their language in the way that makes the most sense for them. For an Analytic Language Processor, you begin by modeling at the word level and move to longer phrases as they master those earlier language skills. For example, these kiddos might start by saying “juice” and move to “more juice”, “want juice” or “apple juice”.
For a Gestalt Language Processor, they will often learn language as a unit before being able to pull out individual words and understand that these individual words hold meaning. For example, your child may say “want some apple juice” every time they are thirsty and then transition to “want some” + “milk/water/grape juice.
What are some of your favorite toys to encourage language & why?
One of the most common questions I get asked as a speech language pathologist is “should my child be talking yet?”
- Should I be able to understand what my child is saying yet?
- Should my child be able to follow directions?
- When should my child be putting words together?
- Should my 6 month old be babbling yet?
You have some general guidelines on your website. Walk us thru what parents can look for at different ages:
Under 1 Year Old
Between 4-6 months old, a baby will typically move their eyes in the direction of sound, respond to changes in their parent’s tone of voice and notice toys that make sounds. They will also coo and begin babbling when playing with you or playing with toys. They begin making sounds like “ba”, “pa”, “mi” and will giggle and laugh.
From 7 months to a year, a baby begins to look when you point, can turn when their name is called and starts understanding words for common/preferred items and people (e.g., daddy, mommy, milk, car). Your baby will begin to string together sounds like “bababa” and “mamama”. They will use sounds and gestures to get your attention, point to items and use gestures like reaching for “up” and waving hello or goodbye. Babies will often begin saying one or two words around their first birthday but those words may not be very easy to understand.
One to Two Years Old
From one to two-years old, your toddler will begin to point to a few body parts and point to pictures in a book when asked. They begin to follow one-step directions and respond to simple questions (e.g., “Where is the ball?” or “Who is that?”). They will also listen to simple songs and stories. Toddlers at this age will begin to use lots of new words! You will hear the sounds p, b, m, h, and w in their words and they begin to name pictures in a book or label objects. They will start asking “who”, “what” and “where” questions and begin putting two words together (e.g., “more juice”, “no go”, “want car”).
Two to Three Years Old
Between the ages of two and three years old, your toddler will begin to understand new words quickly and follow 2-step directions (e.g., “get the cup and give it to mommy”). They will also understand opposites (e.g., big/little, up/down). Your toddler will be using lots of words and be able to talk about things that are not present in the room. You will hear the sounds k, g, f, t, d, and n in their words. They will also begin to ask “why” questions and put 2-3 words together.
If you notice they’re NOT meeting these milestones, then what do you recommend?
Can you address excessive drooling? (swallowing issues leading to language issues?)
Stuttering?
How long does speech therapy typically take “to work?” (obv depends on the child & their issues)
Is this something insurance covers?