speech therapy
Simple Slime Science Can Be Super Speech-Y!
Speech therapy sessions at FOCUS Therapy in Fort Myers are never formal affairs. Children learn best through play – board games, books, puzzles, blocks – and recently, slime-making. While slime itself – slippery, gooey, smooshy, somewhere between liquid and solid…
Talk to the Hand: Why Our Fort Myers Speech Therapists Use Sign-Supported Speech
You my notice in the FOCUS waiting room that our Fort Myers speech therapists sometimes form some basic signs with our hands while we’re speaking to some of our patients. But it’s not exactly sign language. What we’re doing in…
Speech Therapy Talking Points: Lullabies Boost Preemie Health
There are lullabies that promise pretty horses and twinkling stars and some over-the-rainbow places where dreams-come-true. But pediatric music and speech therapy researchers have learned that lullabies may hold another promise: Better health for premature babies. Recent analysis shows a…
Why We Still Need Autism Awareness: Perspective From Fort Myers Therapists for Children With Autism
Social media newsfeeds everywhere will be suddenly awash today with blue light bulbs and puzzle piece art, marking World Autism Awareness Day (every April 2nd) and the beginning of National Autism Awareness Month. At FOCUS, members of our team have…
Early Intervention Speech, Occupational, ABA Therapy Preparing Wave of People With Autism for Workforce
As rates of autism diagnoses climb steadily, roughly 500,000 teens with autism are poised to enter the workforce over the next decade, according to advocates at Advancing Futures for Adults with Autism. Yet the majority of those people with autism…
When a Child Doesn’t Respond to Their Name: Speech-Language Pathologist Insights
Most any Fort Myers speech-language pathologist will tell you one of the first questions families of young children ask when inquiring whether certain missed milestones are cause for concern: “What if my child doesn’t respond to his name?” It’s impossible…
Hardworking Speech Therapists Take Playtime Seriously
Pediatric speech and language therapy is hard work – best achieved through fun-and-games. Adults tend to disregard play as a silly childhood indulgence. However, consensus among speech therapists AND child development researchers is playtime is pivotal in speech-language progress – and…
Child Too Young For Speech Therapy? No Such Thing!
When it comes to speech therapy, there are two general schools of thought: Early Intervention and Watch and Wait. Increasingly, doctors, specialists and teachers are on board with what our FOCUS Fort Myers speech therapists have been saying for years:…
Speech Pathologists Advise: Ditch The Sippy Cup
Sippy cups are small, portable and help keep messes to a minimum – BUT, there’s a catch. They can wreak havoc on your child’s teeth and lead to oral motor delays that can snowball into speech and language impairments. As…
Smartphones & Speech Therapy: A GR8! Combo
Smartphones in the hands of little ones is generally frowned upon, and usually for good reason. Researchers have linked excess screen time to speech delays, stunted socialization and repetitive motion “tech ache.” BUT – it’s not all bad. In speech…