Play Teach Talk

Taking turns with your eye contact, smile, voice, and body movements are all precursors to learning to interact with a communication partner. Taking turns in play is also essential as a part of participatory play. I share a strategy from a recent therapy session that might help your child to learn how to move a ball back and forth between you.  Visit my website at PlayTeachTalk for journal en...

It's wonderful to be here! Creating a resource for families to learn about speech and language development and all of the developmental skills that evolve in conjunction with them has been a pleasure. I'm looking forward to feedback and ways to add more value to this podcast as it grows more in 2023.  Visit my website at PlayTeachTalk for journal entries, YouTube videos, and short courses off...

I offer a few suggestions to help reduce visual distractions as your child is learning about play and language through their toys. Visit my website at PlayTeachTalk for journal entries, YouTube videos, and short courses offered twice monthly to enhance language skills in young children-or visit my YouTube Channel Tiffany Thompson - YouTube

I update parents on a recent article that discusses use of AI to help teach language to children who are bilingual or multilingual in a language that is not mastered by their available SLPs.  Visit my website at PlayTeachTalk for journal entries, YouTube videos, and short courses offered twice monthly to enhance language skills in young children-or visit my YouTube Channel Tiffany Thompson -...

During my time in the homes, I have seen a few concepts go out of style for teaching kids under 3. Educational toys are not being geared towards these concepts, and that can make teaching them a little tricky. Listen for the ones that need extra supervision from an adult. Visit my website at PlayTeachTalk for journal entries, YouTube videos, and short courses offered twice monthly to enhance langu...

It can sometimes throw us off as parents and caregivers when our child plays with a toy in a different way it was intended- what are we supposed to do? Follow their lead? Correct them? Show them how to play with the toys in the way they are intended? And how do we use language related to the toys to help build their language? Visit my website at PlayTeachTalk for journal entries, YouTube videos, a...

In speaking with one of my families, I thought it might help to distinguish the difference between an infant playing with sounds and an older child imitating sounds and words. I hope this sheds some light for why some children seem to make lots of sounds as babies, but when it's time to build their own sound or word vocabulary, there seems to be a lag in skills (which we sometimes think is regress...

If your child has a hoarse voice, even if they are 3 or 4 years old, they can be successful in therapy to treat their voice. I go over ways to help your child use their voice in a healthy way and some of the options for therapy and treatment for voice disorders in young children.  Visit my website at PlayTeachTalk for journal entries, YouTube videos, and short courses offered twice monthly to...

It is common to see kiddos who previously did not communicate or follow directions, but were laid-back, to start to make refusals and protest when they have been through a few months of speech therapy. I explain why and ways to help your child work through their frustration.  Visit my website at PlayTeachTalk for journal entries, YouTube videos, and short courses offered twice monthly to enha...

Do you have a child who doesn't let you know until the verylastminute that they have to use the bathroom? Does your child not ask for food and then seem to get really hangry? Does your child not seem to have awareness of when they have gotten too hot or too cold, and you're putting a blanket on a child with a blue nose? They may have an issue with interoception. I go over what this means and the t...

ARFID as a diagnosis has only been around for about 10 years. It is one of the more severe issues with "picky eating" where a child eats very few foods, which can cause significant gaps in nutrition. Leaving out critical vitamins, minerals, and macronutrients can affect how a young child's brain and body develop. I cover a few signs of the disorder and how it impacts the child and their family.&nb...

In this episode, I describe how you can enhance your child's ability to build phrases, sentences, and recall stories better using the novel decorations, events, and routines that happen around the holidays. Any event that is interesting to your child is a great opportunity for learning. Model the language around the objects and activity that is interesting to them.  This is the final episode...

Having the bottom half of our faces covered throughout the past few years has had an effect on children's language development. I discuss how to help children attend better to language modeled by others. Visit my website at PlayTeachTalk for journal entries, YouTube videos, and short courses offered twice monthly to enhance language skills in young children-.or visit my YouTube Channel Tiffany Tho...

The holidays are approaching! I provide a suggestion to help your child focus on play with you and on individual toys for longer periods of time.  Visit my website at PlayTeachTalk for journal entries, YouTube videos, and short courses offered twice monthly to enhance language skills in young children-or visit my YouTube Channel Tiffany Thompson - YouTube .

Co-Regulation is a term that emerged from the concept of self-regulation, or learning how to tune into one's emotions and feelings and engage in ways to calm and soothe the nervous system. Though it is used in different contexts, I discuss what co-regulation means as it applies to parents and caregivers and how they interact with children. How we approach and respond to children can greatly affect...

I recently attended a training that went further into depth about how motor planning skills can affect how children play with toys. Does your child move very quickly from one toy to another without really stopping to play with them? Do they seem to play with a preferred toy in the same way all of the time? While we sometimes look at these types of play as being characteristic of children on the Au...

Lying underneath many of the other developmental skills that a child learns is their executive function skills. I cover what that term means, and touch on how deficits in these skills can affect other areas of development.  Visit my website at PlayTeachTalk for journal entries, YouTube videos, and short courses offered twice monthly to enhance language skills in young children-or visit my You...

There are lots of options available to have child care in the US. I go over the most common options, the star rating system for daycares, and additional things to look for when you are doing a walk-through of a center.  Visit my website at PlayTeachTalk for journal entries, YouTube videos, and short courses offered twice monthly to enhance language skills in young children-or visit my YouTube...

In a recent article I read, a child psychologist referenced a 2005 study that showed that self-discipline and perseverance was a better predictor of how a child would succeed in school than their IQ.  I give some tips to help enhance both self-discipline and perseverance. Visit my website at PlayTeachTalk for journal entries, YouTube videos, and short courses offered twice monthly to enhance...

I mentioned Coaching in a prior episode; Megan Hardisty and I go a little further into the meaning of parent coaching and touch on NLEP's.  Visit my website at PlayTeachTalk for journal entries, YouTube videos, and short courses offered twice monthly to enhance language skills in young children.

Megan Hardisty joins me for another episode to talk about the AT lending library and the "magic" that can be created by using assistive technology to support a variety of developmental skills, while allowing children to explore their world and have new experiences as they develop.  Visit my website at PlayTeachTalk for journal entries, YouTube videos, and short courses offered twice monthly t...

I interview Megan Hardisty, PT, DPT, who gives us insight into what physical therapy is and how it is used for young children.  Pathways.org | Tools to maximize child development Visit my website at PlayTeachTalk for journal entries, YouTube videos, and short courses offered twice monthly to enhance language skills in young children.

I interview Lisa Costa, MA, OTR/L, who is certified in Hippotherapy, to give us a peek into the therapy, who does it, what ages of children can be involved in the therapy, and the benefits it has. We also go into Therapeutic Riding and touch on other therapeutic benefits that riding and interacting with horses can have.  Visit my website at PlayTeachTalk for journal entries, YouTube videos, a...

Does it hurt or benefit a child to be exposed to two (or more) languages? I talk about the different types of language acquisition, the concept of a dominant language when children are exposed to more than one language, the "silent period", and how best to present languages to children to help them build strong skills in both languages. Visit my website at PlayTeachTalk for journal entries, YouTub...

Responsive Feeding is another buzzword going around the parenting and childhood development communities. I discuss what it entails.  Visit my website at PlayTeachTalk for journal entries, YouTube videos, and short courses offered twice monthly to enhance language skills in young children. What is Responsive Feeding? | The Nourished Child Responsive Feeding Infosheet - Baby Friendly Initiative...