AssistiveWare is offering 50% off 6 of their most popular apps in celebration of AAC Awareness Month!
Mark your calendars - the sale starts October 5!
Meet the Therapists Series - Introducing Christina!
Christina joined our team in September of 2020. Read on to get to know her better!
Where are you from? - I grew up in a small town in NH called East Kingston. I moved to MA after beginning graduate school at Emerson College in 2018. For the past few years, I’ve lived between Brighton and Somerville.
What do you like most about Boston? - I love the restaurant scene and walking paths Boston has to offer. One of my favorite weekend activities is to try out a new restaurant and walk off every delicious calorie along the Charles.
How did you decide to become an SLP? - I had actually never heard of the profession until I was a freshman in college. I was originally pursuing education until I started taking a family studies class. We watched a video about a boy who lost all his expressive language after undergoing brain surgery. I learned that he was able to regain his ability to talk through the help of a speech pathologist. I’ve been hooked ever since.
What are your professional areas of interest? - I’m so grateful to work at a practice that caters to such a wide variety of client populations. I love treating in many different areas but some of my favorite populations to work with are early intervention, articulation, social language, augmentative and alternative communication and cognitive-communication.
What do you like to do in your free time? - In my free time, I like to garden, cook (especially with veggies from my garden), listen to podcasts and venture back to NH for some outdoor fun (kayaking, hiking, climbing, etc.).
What is your favorite food? - This question is so hard to answer but I’ll go with my longstanding favorite since elementary school: pomegranates. My AIM screenname used to be pomagranitluver. Yes, with both words spelt wrong. Who would have ever guessed I’d become an SLP.
What is an interesting or quirky fact about yourself? - After I graduated from undergraduate school, I taught English in Thailand for half a year!
SLP Center will be CLOSED for Labor Day
Friendly reminder to all our families, the SLP Center will be closed on Monday, September 6th, 2021 in observation of Labor Day. We hope you all enjoy the final long weekend of summer! Please call the office with any questions or schedule changes!
Fun With Bubble Paint!
Bubble paint offers so many opportunities to target your child’s speech and language goals! You can buy bubble paint or make it on your own. This activity can be done in the house; however, it is suggested that you cover the work area or do the activity outside.
Recipe and Instructions
Ingredients: non-toxic tempera paint, bubble solution, bubble wands or plastic straws, cups or small bowls, construction paper or card stock, tablespoon
1. Add three tablespoons of bubble solution and 2 tablespoons of paint to a cup
2. Mix the paint and bubble solution together
3. Place a piece of paper on the grass or table
4. Dip the bubble wand or straw into the bubble paint and then blow out bubbles so they land on the paper
5. Allow to dry before hanging up
Speech and Language Connections
Articulation- while making and playing with the bubble paint, keep an ear out for any words containing the speech sound your child is currently working on in therapy. Some examples for targeting “b” include “blow”, “bubble”, and “big”. It would also be easy to target speech pacing and multi-syllable words (e.g.: tablespoon, mixing bowl, bubble wand, big bubble, big blow). Play activities are a great opportunity to target difficult speech sounds in a stress-free, natural environment.
Sequencing- review the steps of making the bubble paint with your child and see if they can help figure out the next step while you are making it! Try to have the child use full sentences and incorporate transition words like "first" and "next".
Expressive language- talk about the bubbles location when you blow them (e.g., “high”, “low”, “up”, “down”). Try to make a picture and have the other person guess what it is!
Following directions- have your child follow 1, 2, or 3 step directions while making their bubble paint picture (e.g., “find the yellow paint and blow it on the top of the paper”).
Boston Parents Paper Family Favorite WINNER
Boston Parents Paper’s 2021 Family Favorite votes are in! Thanks to you and your support, the Speech Language Pathology Center of Norwell WON the category of speech therapy!
We are so excited and honored to celebrate our continued commitment to our families and to spread joy through communication!
Thanks again!
SLP Center Will Be Closed July 2nd & 5th!
In observation of July 4th, the SLP Center will be closed on Friday, July 2nd and Monday, July 5th. Please contact the office regarding any necessary schedule changes. We hope you and your family enjoy a safe and happy holiday weekend!
Best of Norwell 2021!
Norwell Award Program has named the SLP Center as Best Speech Pathologists in the Business Hall of Fame! This is our 3rd consecutive year being named Norwell’s best. Thank you for this recognition of our continued dedication to exemplary speech therapy services!
May is Better Hearing & Speech Month!
Each year, the American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA) uses the month of May to educate and raise awareness for individuals with communication disorders. Our team at the SLP Center work tirelessly to stayed informed and provide our families with the most current and relevant information possible! Click the link below for communication milestones with tips for ages 0-5! And stay tuned for more resources to come this BHSM!
VOTE NOW! SLP Center is a Finalist for Family Favorites of 2021!
Thanks to your support, the Speech Language Pathology Center of Norwell is a top nominee! Please go to the following link to cast your final vote at “Boston Parent Paper’s Best”. Final voting is open until May 17th!
Click "Health" then "Speech Language Therapy". You'll see SLP Center listed alphabetically! Simply click to vote. We appreciate you taking a minute out of your day to help spread the word about our commitment to families in need of speech and feeding therapy! This was a challenging year and we are honored!
Activities to get outside this spring!
“It’s been a long winter, made even longer by the coronavirus pandemic closures that canceled many indoor events. But spring is finally here, and the warmer weather is opening up plenty of possibilities for outdoor activities across Massachusetts.”
April Vacation - We're OPEN!
Note to families! April vacation is coming up, but our office will be open and operating normal business hours. If you need any changes to your schedule, please let us know!
Happy Spring!
AAC Discounts for Autism Acceptance Month 2021!
“Access to communication is a right that has been eroded in the stress of the pandemic. That’s why to mark Autism Acceptance Month this year; we will offer our traditional discount of 50% off to more products for an extended period.”
This discount is included for their AAC applications including Proloquo2Go, the Gateway vocabulary, Proloquo4Text, Keeble, and Pictello.
Speech and Language Enrichment Activities - Play Dough!
Welcome to the SLP Center’s Home Enrichment series! These daily activities are designed to promote home carryover of your child’s speech and language therapy goals. Each post includes a description of the activity and the tie-in to general speech and language therapy goals (including articulation, receptive/expressive language, etc.). We’ll be posting a new activity every evening. We hope you have fun!
Homemade Play-Dough
Homemade play-dough offers so many opportunities to target your child’s speech and language goals! Your child will benefit from both making the play-dough and playing with it later!
Ingredients: 1 cup of flour (whatever kind you have on hand), ¼ cup of salt, 1 Tbsp cream of tartar (optional), ½ cup of warm water, 5 drops of food coloring
Instructions:
1. Mix together the flour, salt, and cream of tartar.
2. Mix together ½ cup of warm water with a few drops of food coloring.
3. Slowly pour the water into the flour mixture, stirring as you pour. Stir until combined, then knead with your hands until the flour is completely absorbed. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour until it doesn’t stick at all.
4. Repeat process for whichever colors you want to make.
Speech and Language Connections:
Articulation – while making and playing with the play-dough, keep an ear open for any words containing the speech sound your child is currently working on in therapy. Some examples include: roll, red, ready for targeting "r" or spoon, spill, stir for targeting consonant blends. It would be easy to target speech pacing and multi-syllable words (e.g.: measuring cup, mixing bowl, food coloring). Play activities are a great opportunity to target difficult speech sounds in a stress-free, natural environment.
Sequencing – review the steps of making the play-dough with your child, and see if they can help figure out the next step while you are making it! Try to have the child use full sentences and incorporate transition words like "first" and "next".
Expressive language – describe the play-dough (e.g. how it looks, feels, smells, etc.). Once the play-dough is made, try molding it into different shapes/objects and have your child name them!
Following directions – have your child follow 1, 2, or 3 step directions while making or molding the play-dough (e.g. "roll it" or "roll it into a ball and then throw it to me").
What EXACTLY does a Speech Pathologist do?
“Speech-Language Pathologist. Speech Pathologist. Speech Teacher. Known by many names, people refer to these specialists most often as speech therapists. They work with children with a variety of delays and disorders spanning from mild articulation delays to more complex disorders such as autism, Down syndrome, hearing impairment, motor speech disorders, and other developmental delays.
SLP’s, as they are called for short, are the specialists that help your child with speech, talking and communication. However, you may be surprised at how broad this field of speech-language pathology really is and just how many skill areas SLPs are trained to build and expand in young children.”
If you or someone you know could benefit from any of these services, a therapist would be happy to speak with you further! Call our office at 781-792-2700.
5 Senses Winter Scavenger Hunt
Bundle up and bring your five senses for this winter scavenger hunt! Use your eyes, ears, nose, and hands for an outside adventure in your own backyard.
Click on the link below to get the free printables. Or, get creative and make your own!
What is Aphasia?
“It’s a language disorder that affects your ability to communicate. It’s most often caused by strokes in the left side of the brain that control speech and language.
People with aphasia may struggle with communicating in daily activities at home, socially or at work. They may also feel isolated.
Aphasia doesn’t affect intelligence. Stroke survivors remain mentally alert, even though their speech may be jumbled, fragmented or hard to understand.”
Valentine Heart Activity
Busy Toddler created a fun and festive activity for Valentine’s Day! Crafts are great for hands on learning and language development. Have your child use their executive function skills (e.g organizing materials, planning out activity) following directions skills (e.g. paint the heart red), or incorporate speech sounds (e.g. try your /s/ sounds 3 times and then paint a heart) for this activity. Check out Busy Toddler’s site for materials and directions on how to complete the activity. She also has a great Instagram for tons of other fun ideas, too!
February Vacation - We're OPEN!
Friendly reminder to all families — we will be OPEN for the entire week of February vacation, including Monday, the 15th! Should you need any adjustments to your schedule, please give the office a call!
Wonderful Winter Activities
Beat the winter blues with these fun winter activities for children! Craft activities have a duel purpose of keeping small hands busy and targeting speech/language goals. Use crafting as an opportunity to increase vocabulary exposure, promote following directions, encourage verbal requests, and more! Follow the link below and have a (snow) ball!
Making Speech “Homework” Fun!
“Life is busy! That’s why it’s so important to find functional – and fun! – ways to elicit speech and language in your home. Board games target speech, language, and social skills while also offering a fun time for family bonding.”
Click here for ideas on how you can target your child’s speech and language goals while playing games you have at home: