One of the main questions parents send me at teachmetotalk.com is… I am not seeing progress in my child’s therapy. What should I do?   One of the main questions therapists send me is… I am not seeing progress in a client’s sessions. What should I do?   These are different perspectives of course, but…

Not moving forward?  Try taking a step back! “I attended your course in St. Louis… I used the strategies you taught the very next week and the sessions went very well. I just needed to drop back some levels! Thank you!” Ellen, SLP This is the kind of email I receive almost every day at…

In my podcast #417 Making Books Better for Late Talking Toddlers (18 to 36 months), I demonstrated strategies for the following goals with specific books I use in therapy sessions and recommend to parents. Here’s that list for you. For detailed instructions for using these books to meet the following 6 early literacy goals for…

  Are you working with a child – maybe your own – who keeps you up at night? Tossing and turning, staring at the ceiling, feeling like a failure because you know you should be making more progress, but there’s something missing? I felt that way too – especially at the beginning of my career,…

Have you seen this study? Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Early Child Cognitive Development: Initial Findings in a Longitudinal Observational Study of Child Health It’s still in preprint, but it’s making news. Babies born during the pandemic have suffered a significant drop in verbal, motor, and overall cognitive development. A scary drop. As in…

Questions about Late Talking   Here’s the most common question I receive at teachmetotalk.com about late talking from moms and dads. It’s no surprise this is the same question I also hear directly from families when I work with their children. Here’s my answer too – the same whether I am meeting you in person or replying…

After my last post 7 Signs of Autism, I’m getting lots of questions about treating autism in toddlers who have a few of the markers, but who don’t have the diagnosis. I thought I’d answer those here in case you have those questions too!   I’m also getting wonderful feedback about The Autism Workbook! Read a few parent…

In my podcast #415 Making Books Better for Toddlers with Language Delays, I demonstrated strategies for the following goals with specific books I use in therapy sessions and recommend to parents. Here’s that list for you. For detailed instructions for using these books to meet the following 4 early literacy goals for kids with language…

This week we started a series to outline the 11 skills that very accurately predict which children are ready to talk and which ones need more help before talking is a realistic goal.   Today we’re looking at skill #2…   RESPONDS TO PEOPLE   This milestone means that a child displays a consistent social…

WHAT ABOUT NEGATIVE BEHAVIORS? (from The Autism Workbook) So many therapists and parents reach out to me for solutions for a child’s negative behaviors during therapy sessions and they’re sometimes surprised by my response. When a little friend is having a tough (make that terrible!) day from a behavioral standpoint, I do everything I can to…

Over the next couple of weeks, I’m going to review each of the 11 skills all toddlers master before words emerge and provide examples of toys for targeting each of these skills.   This information is from Let’s Talk About Talking, my most comprehensive resource for addressing all the foundational skills for talking. If you’re…