Blog
Why a Speech Therapist for Child Swallowing Issues?
If your child has been diagnosed with swallowing issues, you may be wondering why they’ve been referred to a speech therapist. After all, they may have no issues with talking or communicating. Or maybe they do – but what’s that got to do with feeding & swallowing?
As our Fort Myers speech therapists at FOCUS Therapy can explain: A lot, actually.
In the speech therapy world, we refer to feeding and swallowing difficulties as “dysphasia.”
With kids, dysphasia is closely linked to speech development because both functions share anatomical structures and muscles. The same muscles and structures used in the mouth, through and tongue for eating and swallowing are also used for speaking. If the problem is in these areas, your child likely struggles with both eating and talking.
To effectively swallow, kids need the same coordination and strength of lips, tongue and jaw that they need to clearly articulate speech sounds. Because of this overlap, kids often develop eating and talking skills simultaneously.
Pediatric Speech Therapists Are Uniquely Qualified to Treat Child Swallowing Issues
A Fort Myers speech therapist who works with kids is already highly skilled in helping children work on development of these oral motor functions. So they can also help with swallowing. We undergo rigorous training to assess and treat the complex interaction between swallowing and speech functions. We prioritize a holistic and interdisciplinary approach. This is especially helpful when swallowing issues are less about oral motor function and more about sensory processing difficulties.
A child who is especially sensitive to certain textures, tastes, etc. may have a poor diet that impacts their growth and development. We see this a lot in kids with autism, but other conditions as well. Sometimes it’s a standalone diagnosis. It’s more than just “picky eating,” though. It’s “problem eating.” For these types of cases, many of our pediatric speech therapists (and occupational therapists, as well) are trained in an approach called S.O.S. Feeding Therapy.
S.O.S. stands for “Sequential Oral Sensory,” and the program focuses on an interdisciplinary team assessing and addressing all underlying causes of feeding difficulties. This “whole child” approach focuses on muscles, organ systems, sensory processing, learning/behavior/cognition, development, nutrition and environment. It’s largely play-based and focuses on gradual introduction and acceptance of new foods. FOCUS Therapy is uniquely positioned to provide these services because we already have an interdisciplinary team on site – SLPs, OTs, RBTs, PTs and BCBAs.
A pediatric speech therapist will conduct a comprehensive assessment to ascertain the underlying reason for the child’s feeding and swallowing difficulties before we create an individually-tailored plan of care.
Feeding & Swallowing Tips for Parents
Why Effective Fort Myers ABA Therapy is Always Culturally Considerate
As experts of behavior science and providers of Fort Myers ABA therapy for kids with autism, an important part of our practice involves being culturally aware and considerate of our patients and their families.
There are many ways in which all kids, no matter their background, are very much the same. These similarities are what allow us to effectively study and understand behavior as a science – and in turn, successfully utilize many of the same evidence-based strategies with lots of different kids.
That said, the most demonstrably effective approach to therapy is one that is holistic. That means we zoom out. Beyond looking at a single deficit or issue, we consider the child as a whole person. We assess their unique strengths, goals, history, supports and environment. Culture is an integral part of this because it plays a significant role in shaping one’s beliefs, values, communication style, routines – and behaviors.
At FOCUS Therapy, we embrace diversity at our multidisciplinary pediatric therapy clinic – both among our staff and therapists and the patients and families we’re privileged to serve.
Sometimes, patient-therapist cultures align. Other times, they differ. And that’s a beautiful thing! It creates opportunities for us all to connect and learn and grow – as individuals, professionals and members of a shared community.
Ethical standards for behavior analysts compel us to be culturally considerate of patients and families, both in creating behavior support plans (BSPs) and in providing therapy. (Details are spelled out in the Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, Section 1.07, published by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board.)
But beyond any requirement, care for cultural differences makes us more effective therapists. A few reasons:
- ABA is highly individualized. Behavior treatment goals and procedures are always designed unique for each child. As such, behavior support plans will always be tailored to the specific needs, resources and circumstances of each patient and their family. Understanding a child’s cultural background helps us to create better interventions that are going to be particularly relevant and meaningful.
- It builds trust. The trust and rapport we have with kids and their families is essential to what we do. We’re a team, and it’s important that we can communicate both freely and effectively.
- It improves communication. Cultural differences can impact not just language, but communication styles – verbal and non-verbal. Having an awareness of these differences can help our child behavior therapists bridge the gaps and make the most of our time when we’re talking with families.
Some of the ways in which ABA therapy behavior support plans can incorporate cultural responsiveness:
- Language access. We need to be sure that language isn’t a significant barrier to facilitating care. We have bilingual therapists and staffers. Ensuring parents and families fully understand our goals and approaches – and that they also feel heard and understood – is key.
- Setting culturally-relevant goals. Culture can play a role in how families prioritize certain goals for their child. For instance, being able to functionally participate in a religious ceremony or setting may be very important to some families. Ultimately, we want the skills we’re teaching in ABA to be carried over into all environments. But we may start with a few that are particularly important to that child and that family.
- Flexible approaches. Flexibility is part of what ABA therapy is all about. It’s something we teach basically ALL our patients. As therapists, it’s important that we demonstrate it too. In adapting therapeutic approaches to fit cultural contexts, we might use more culturally-relevant examples, toys or books. We might slightly alter our style, pace or the exact words we’re using. But really, these sort of adjustments are already a part of our routine with all patients and families – because every child is different and ABA therapy never looks exactly the same for each kid anyway.
If you have questions about our ABA therapy or behavior consulting services, our dedicated team of child behavior experts at FOCUS Therapy is happy to discuss!
FOCUS offers child behavior consulting and ABA therapy in Fort Myers and throughout Southwest Florida. We also offer speech therapy, occupational therapy, ADOS testing, feeding & swallowing therapy and IEP planning assistance. Call (239) 313.5049 or Contact Us online.
Additional Resources:
Increasing Cultural Understanding and Diversity in Applied Behavior Analysis, 2017, Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice
More Blog Entries:
ABA Therapy vs. Behavior Consulting, May 3, 2024, Fort Myers ABA Therapy Blog
Why Do We Need Occupational Therapy?
FOCUS offers pediatric speech, occupational, physical, and ABA therapy in Fort Myers and throughout Southwest Florida. Call (239) 313.5049 or Contact Us online.
Additional Resources:
What is Occupational Therapy? AOTA Brochure
More Blog Entries:
Fort Myers Occupational Therapy Tips for Maximum Attention & Listening, Sept. 19, 2023, Fort Myers Occupational Therapy for Kids Blog
“Social Communication Skills Are Vital” -Child Speech Therapist
Communication is at the heart of WHY we use language. As a Fort Myers child speech therapist, I recognize social communication skills as fundamental in language learning and development.
A significant portion of early intervention speech therapy sessions (especially for children with conditions like autism spectrum disorder) focus on social communication – which may or may not mean actual words. You’ll likely hear your child speech therapist refer to social communication as “pragmatic skills.” This refers to the use of language in social context. Functional social communication enables kids to interact appropriately and effectively with others.
Examples of social communication include:
- Use of language for different purposes in social interactions. Most commonly, these involve greeting, informing, demanding/requesting, and promising.
- Altering language according to the listener’s needs or situation. We don’t speak to small children the way we talk to adults. Kids don’t speak to each other the way they do to their teacher. We don’t use the same tone or volume in a classroom that we do a baseball game. The use of certain politeness markers (ex: please, thank you, excuse me) may be more important in some situations than others. Learning to recognize when our language needs to be adjusted to the listener or situation is a key social communication skill.
- Following rules for conversations or storytelling. This involves things like taking turns in conversations, introducing topics, staying on topic, rephrasing something if misunderstood, use of verbal/non-verbal signals and understanding/using humor, sarcasm and figurative language. Lots of kids struggle with this, but it can be especially difficult for kids with differing abilities.
When kids interact with parents, siblings, peers and teachers, they’re continually learning the nuances of communication. As they develop vocabulary and improve language comprehension, they’re cognitive skills advance and they become more confident in social interactions.
Ultimately, these pragmatic skills factor big time for development, both socially and academically. That’s why your Fort Myers child speech therapist is going to spend a lot of time on it. It’s also fairly simple for parents to incorporate practice opportunities for their kids in everyday interactions and routines.
Child Speech Therapist Strategies for Practicing Social Communication
1:1 Fort Myers Parent Effectiveness Training From Child Behavior Experts
Being a parent is tough. When it comes to challenges like tantrums, not listening, aggression, bedtime routine issues, toilet training, sibling fights and other behavior challenges – it’s totally normal to be at a loss about what to do. The good news is our ABA therapists offer Fort Myers parent effectiveness training, more commonly referred to as behavior consulting or parent coaching.
Parent effectiveness training is ideal for families of kids who struggle with certain behaviors, but don’t necessarily need the intensive, daily ABA therapy recommended for kids with autism. It can also be super helpful for parents whose kids are diagnosed with conditions qualifying for ABA, but for now are cooling their heels on Southwest Florida ABA therapy waitlists.
Our ABA therapists are pediatric behavior experts. We know how to get to the root of the behavior, determine why it is happening, and formulate effective, easy-to-implement strategies that will work best for your children and your parenting style.
It does not require a diagnosis or doctor’s referral, and parents can obtain as much or as little support as possible. We’ll even come to your home! After the initial in-person consultation, we can also offer follow-up support and guidance via email, phone calls, and video chats as needed.
Child Behavior Problems We Help Address
As experts in child behavior, our ABA therapists are equipped to help parents more effectively navigate difficulty with:
- Tantrums and meltdowns. Frequent emotional outbursts can be tough to manage. We teach parents how to identify triggers and implement strategies to mitigate these episodes.
- Aggressive behavior. Aggression towards others can include kicking, hitting, biting, pinching, etc. This can be disruptive and embarrassing, but also dangerous. ABA therapists in behavior consulting / parent effectiveness training to develop and implement behavior intervention plans to reduce and replace aggressive behaviors.
- Self-injurious behavior. Sometimes aggressive behavior is directed inward. Head-banging, self-biting, etc. – these can all be very alarming, and parents are right to seek help. Our ABA consulting team can help parents understand the function of these behaviors, and work to teach kids safer alternative ways for the child to effectively communicate their wants and needs.
- Non-compliance. It can be incredibly frustrating when your child is defiant. Our Fort Myers parent effectiveness training helps guide parents to address this with positive reinforcement tactics combined with structured routines and consistency.
- Communication deficits. Trouble communicating can lead to frustration and behavioral issues. ABA therapists (and speech therapists) can train parents in using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) methods and promote verbal communication skills.
- Social skills deficits. Challenges interacting with peers can impact a child’s social development – and can be either the source or result of behavioral issues. In behavior consulting, our ABA therapists provide parents with strategies to enhance social skills through play and structured activities.
What’s Involved in Fort Myers Parent Effectiveness Training / Parent Coaching / Behavior Consulting
All of the parent effectiveness training strategies we recommend are evidence-based interventions. Many we have actually implemented ourselves – either as ABA therapists or parents.
Our goal is to empower parents to reduce or eliminate behaviors that are unwanted, unexpected, unsafe, or unhealthy, while increasing the behaviors that are expected, desired, safe, and expected.
Part of what we teach parents and caregivers in ABA behavior consulting / parent effectiveness training is that often, in order to change a child’s behavior, parents/caregivers first need to understand the behavior – and then possibly change their own. So often as parents, we unintentionally reinforce problem behaviors. It’s not because we are bad parents. It’s because we aren’t first getting to the root of why the behavior is happening.
We’ll start with the initial assessment and then structured goal setting. We’re very intentional about the strategies we recommend. We’ll be sure to take into account your goals and resources in defining specific, measurable goals and workable strategies.
Then we’ll offer:
- Basic education on ABA principles. We’ll give you a rundown of the basic concepts, such as reinforcement, punishment, and extinction. Understanding these principles is essential for effective child behavior management.
- Modeling and demonstration. ABA therapists will demonstrate specific techniques and strategies that we want parents to implement. Parents will have the chance to directly observe and learn how to most effectively apply these methods.
- Hands-on practice. We’ll provide opportunities to practice these new skills with the guidance of our therapists – either in-person or virtually. We my ask to observe certain interactions via video conferencing (sometimes best when our presence may throw off the natural dynamic) or be there to witness it firsthand.
- Feedback and analysis. We’ll give parents constructive feedback on the ways in which they’re applying these techniques.. We might not hit a homerun the very first time because every kid is different. We look at what’s working, what isn’t, and then make adjustments if needed – or encourage parents to consistently stay the course. Consistency is key with behavior therapy. It’s especially effective when strategies are applied across environments and situations.
- Problem-solving pep talks. If there are new or escalating behavior issues that are arising, we’ll work to help you identify your child’s triggers, determine the function of those behaviors, and then implement appropriate, effective interventions to address them.
If you have questions about our behavior consulting / parent coaching / parent effectiveness training in Southwest Florida, let us know! Although our highly skilled child behavior experts are based in Lee County, Florida, through virtual platforms, can actually extend ABA Consulting services to parents across Florida.
FOCUS offers child behavior consulting and ABA therapy in Fort Myers and throughout Southwest Florida. Call (239) 313.5049 or Contact Us online.
Additional Resources:
Understanding Behavior: A Guide for Parents, The University of Pittsburgh
More Blog Entries:
ABA Therapy vs. Behavior Consulting, May 3, 2024, Fort Myers Parent Effectiveness Training / Behavior Consulting Blog
Think Your Child Has a Written Language Disorder? Pediatric Speech Therapists Spell Out The Top Signs
A written language disorder is a type of learning disability that impacts a child’s ability to read, write, and spell. As Estero pediatric speech therapists, we see it manifesting in a number of ways, including:
- Difficulty spelling (dysorthographia)
- Trouble writing legibly and coherently (dysgraphia)
- Problems understanding and producing written text
Written language disorders tend to get less attention that speech-language disorders, but our Estero pediatric speech therapists know they can have a substantial impact on a child’s learning, academic success, and self-esteem. This is especially true when written language disorders are wrongly characterized as the child “just not trying hard enough” or being “sloppy” with their handwriting.
Signs of Written Language Disorder
We mostly tend to notice written language disorder with preschool-age children (ages 3 to 5). But clues are sometimes evident even younger than that.
Some red flags of written language disorder our pediatric speech therapists notice have to do with difficulty in the area of phonological awareness. For those unfamiliar, phonological awareness is the ability to recognize and make sounds in spoken words. The ability to understand and work with sounds in the spoken language is what allows us to start decoding the meaning of words, blend different sounds, and then ultimately learn to read.
Issues related to phonological awareness that are key indicators of a written language disorder include:
- Trouble recognizing patterns in songs, nursery rhymes, and books — even after repeated exposure.
- Inability to demonstrate awareness of syllables and rhymes during verbal play. For example, they have trouble clapping out syllables, generating nonsense rhymes, or just rhyming words in general.
- Difficulty hearing, identifying, and making individual sounds in spoken words.
Then there are emergent reading deficits, which can also tip us off to a written language disorder. These can include:
- Not knowing the names and sounds of letters of the alphabet, even when most of their peers do.
- Not recognizing the letters of the alphabet.
- Not turning the pages of a book when looking through one or having it read to them.
- Limited or poor awareness of the printed word. They don’t seem to get that books have a front and back, they aren’t grasping the direction of words in a book, they aren’t picking up where words start and stop.
- Minimal interest in print materials. They aren’t pointing to pictures in the book, they aren’t excited to listen to a favorite book over and over, they aren’t looking at books with others, etc.
- Not fully getting that words represent ideas, actions, objects, etc.
- Difficulty understanding that different words can be used for the same thing. Ex: “Chair” can be referring to the same thing as “seat.”
- Never pretends to read a book by telling the story from memory.
- Has no recognition of their own name in print.
Finally, our pediatric speech therapists in Estero will analyze spelling/writing issues among young children. These include:
- Limited ability or interest in pretending to write by drawing or scribbling.
- Seeming to have no understanding that writing and drawing are different activities.
- Trouble copying simple shapes and lines.
- Reluctant to attempt writing numbers or letters.
These symptoms can evolve and look a bit different in older children. Pediatric speech therapists at the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) break down further the later-stage indicators of written language disorder.
How Can Pediatric Speech Therapists Help?
Our Estero pediatric speech therapists are equipped with the expertise needed to diagnose and treat written language disorders. We may also recommend teaming with occupational therapy as well.
Once we’ve conducted a comprehensive evaluation and identified underlying issues, we then formulate our intervention strategies. These include:
- Phonological awareness training. This involves enhancing the child’s ability to recognize and manipulate sounds in words – something that’s foundational for reading and spelling. Activities might include rhyming, segmenting and sound blending.
- Decoding and fluency. We’ll work to teach kids ways to improve their word recognition and reading fluency. This can involve explicit instructions in phonics, repeated practice with reading and use of multisensory techniques.
- Writing instruction. We’ll help the child develop better writing skills with targeted exercises, such as practicing “beginning, middle, and end” of stories, as well as using graphics and visuals to help plan storytelling and writing.
- Handwriting improvement. This is often thought of as more in the realm of occupational therapists, but pediatric speech therapists work on it too. We use tools for copying, tracing, and fine motor exercises to improve legibility and neatness.
On top of all this, we encourage parent and caregiver involvement and support, educating parents about the disorder and providing strategies they can work on at home, such as reading together, games to practice spelling words, and encouraging writing in a variety of contexts.
FOCUS Therapy offers pediatric speech therapy, ABA therapy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy to kids from Estero, Fort Myers, Cape Coral and throughout Southwest Florida. Call (239) 313.5049 or Contact Us online.
Additional Resources:
Written Language Disorders, ASHA
More Blog Entries:
Upcoming Sensory Friendly Activities in Fort Myers, Naples, and SWFL, April 30, 2024, Fort Myers Pediatric Speech Therapists Blog
Fort Myers Speech Therapist on Cochlear Implants and Speech-Language Development
If your child has or is expected to need cochlear implants, they may also need speech therapy. Consultation with a Fort Myers speech therapist can help parents ascertain whether their child will likely need speech-language therapy and if so, how to begin the process to minimize time spent on waitlists.
What are Cochlear Implants?
Cochlear implants are sophisticated medical devices designed to provide a sense of sound to individuals with severe-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss – especially those who do not benefit from conventional hearing aids. While hearing aids work by amplifying sound, cochlear implants bypass the damaged parts of the inner ear and directly stimulate the auditory nerve. As a Fort Myers speech therapist can explain, this in turn allows the brain to perceive sound.
The cochlear implant system has two main components:
- The external part is worn behind the ear. This has a microphone, sound processor, and transmitter.
- The internal part that is surgically placed under the skin and inside the inner ear. This contains a receiver/stimulator and an electrode array.
For children, cochlear implants are typically recommended when doctors diagnose profound hearing loss and both ears. Some conditions that can lead to a cochlear implant recommendation:
- Congenital hearing loss. This is when a child is born with severe-to-profound hearing loss.
- Progressive hearing loss. This is when a child develops significant hearing loss over time.
- Meningitis. This type of infection can result in the hardening of the cochlea in the inner ear. This condition is especially difficult because the implant must be done early, before the cochlea becomes too hard to insert the electrodes.
Kids usually must undergo extensive evaluations with a multidisciplinary team (typically audiologists, otolaryngologists, speech-language pathologists, etc.) to determine if they’re a good candidate for cochlear implants. If they are – and particularly if it’s before they have fully developed speech-language skills – they are likely going to need speech-language therapy to keep pace with their peers.
Cochlear Implants & Speech Development
Cochlear implants can be wonderful for a child with severe hearing loss or deficits. However, they’re still likely to need speech-language therapy. They may have varying degrees of difficulty or delays with articulation, phonological processing, and reduced vocabulary.