Learning to Speak in Public A great enhancement to any child’s social skills is the confidence to speak in public. Speaking successfully in public is a skill that will serve your child their whole life...
In today’s complex workforce, the worker with a powerful and rich vocabulary will have a major advantage indeed. To me as a mother and speech-language pathologist, vocabulary is one of the very most important skills for our children to develop...
The Importance of Strong Social Skills in Our High Tech World We all know that in the 21st century, machines and technology have taken over many jobs that people used to do. The use of robots has expanded also. Given this scenario, socioemotional...
Phonological Awareness Skills Phonological awareness (PA) skills involve knowledge of sounds and syllables and the sound structure of words. PA skills are essential to good reading, and are the best predictor of spelling success in elementary...
As school is back in full swing, many of us are thinking about how to set up our young children for success. Even if our children are in preschool and haven’t started their elementary years yet, it’s never too soon to begin working on print...
When children are just learning to read—and especially if they are struggling—a great strategy is to use a picture walk before you actually start to read the book. In the picture walk strategy (taught to me by one of my son Mark’s tutors), you...
Through the haze of my fatigue when Mark was a baby, I learned how to watch him carefully and respond immediately when he initiated communication—verbally or nonverbally. For example, he’d wake up in his basket and start waving his arms. I’d go...
Every parent looks forward to our babies’ first words. We can’t wait for them to talk! Mark played his cards right, and his first word was “mama” when he was 12 months old. We know that most babies say their first word around one year (12 months)...
So when Mark was little, he loved kinetic sand–it was so good for his sensory skills! Today as a practicing speech-language pathologist, I find that kinetic sand is very highly motivating for the kids on my caseload. “Is Miss Cewest...
As a first time mother, I remember being absolutely overwhelmed with how truly hard and time-consuming it was to take care of a baby! Though I have never loved anyone more than my precious son Mark, being a new mom was a major challenge for me...
My 6-foot tall 21-year old Mark snuggled up next to me. He had generously allowed me to read aloud to him one of his favorite childhood books, I Love You, Stinky Face. Yesterday I took Mark to the airport to go back to Washington, D.C. for spring...
Tears filled my eyes this morning as I watched the beautiful children of Mission Avenue Elementary sing Christmas songs with motions. I well remembered how my son Mark, now a successful 21-year old student at George Washington University in D.C....
