Valentino Speech Services

👍We are starting to finalize the summer schedule ☀️Contact us ASAP if interested or have any questions 😀

🎆New Year… New Goals! Contact us to get scheduled!! Spots are limited!!! 🎆

Wanted to share ❤️

So many parents are often worried about why their child is not able to write by the age of 4 and why instead of writing, the teacher is allowing them to play, or be creative with intricate or fine motor materials?

This picture explains why.

Up until 6 years of age, their tiny hands are still developing and are not fully formed. Children require progressive development in their hands to enable them to grasp and hold things and eventually develop their writing skills.

Like any muscles, we must train them, strengthen them and ‘work out’ to get them stronger - this is just the same for the muscles in children’s hands.

So what should be done to support this?

PLAY! Playdough, colouring, tearing, sensory play, beading, picking cotton balls with tweezer/cloth clips, cleaning, wiping, holding, grabbing, sweeping, cutting, planting, digging etc.

These types of activities may not seem like education to you, but they are the foundations of what is to come. Rush the process and the results will be catastrophic.

We must allow our children to develop their fine motor skills which in turn, develop the skills required for early, emergent writing and later full writing skills.

When children are ready to write, they will. No need to rush them, they will show you when they are ready 🙂

© Gavin McCormack — at National Child Development Center - Antipas.

‼️Now accepting new patients ‼️Contact us to get scheduled 👍

Did you know there are skills you can work on BEFORE kids start talking? These are some common pre-language tips!

Remember all kids develop differently and may respond to different tips or activities, so as always try to find the right fit for your child! ❤️

Today we celebrate our newest Speech Graduate 👩‍🎓 ❤️ I couldn’t be prouder of her and her accomplishments! Thank you for trusting me! ❤️

Congrats to our newest speech graduate! The amount of progress you have made this past year is remarkable! I am super proud of you!! ❤️

🔆Valentino Speech Services is scheduling for summer 🔆 contact us to get scheduled!!!

🗣 Wondering what you can do at home to help your child talk? Here’s my list of favorite DO’S and DON’TS for how to help! It’s important to note that we will allll end up doing some of the don’ts sometimes- and that’s ok- but we definitely need to be aware and try to decrease those while increasing the positive communication supports! 👍🏼

📌What is joint attention?

Joint attention is a behavior in which two people focus on an object or event, for the purpose of interacting with each other. ❤️ It is a form of early social and communicative behavior.
Below are some good suggestions!
Questions? Contact us anytime ❤️

Play is how we get kids to buy in and make progress- making it FUN, and not seem like work or therapy ❤️

With soo many new followers…. I want to re- introduce myself!!
My name is Stephanie Valentino and I’m the owner/chief clinician of Valentino Speech Services!
Some fun facts about me 🗣. 🔹I am a licensed SLP as well as SLS with dual certification for medical based as well as school- based service models.
🔷I also have an undergraduate degree is Teacher of the Handicapped.
🔷I am a wife as well as mom to two beautiful children I am lucky to call mine.
🔷I have been working in the field approximately 19 + years.
🔷I decided to open my own private practice in 2019 due to the needs within my local community and lack of service availability.
🔷 My practice has grown over 100 % over each year in business.
🔷 I private individualized specialized therapy to clients along with evidence based practices to ensure results.
🔷I believe in play- based therapy.
🔷I love the beach but recently fell back in love with skiing.
🔷I am always here to help ❤️

Did you know speech intelligibility improves the quickest between 2:6-3:5 years old?

Why is this important to know? This is great information to pass along to caregivers. We can also provide more intensive input during this time frame with children who present with speech sound disorders.

Note: Less intelligible children may experience this period later than more intelligible children.

Hustad, K.C., Mahr, T.J., Natzke, P., & Rathouz, P.J. (2021). Speech development between 30 and 119 months in typical children I: Intelligibility growth curves for single-word and multiword productions. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research.
Questions? Contact us !

Please note- Valentino Speech Services will be closed from 12.24-1.2 ❤️🎅🎁 Thank you!

Autism is often different than what most people think because of the way it is usually portrayed in media (stereotypical extremes, which while accurate for some, isn’t representative of most). ⁠
⁠
So today I teamed up with Speech Sisters to talk about the difference between children with a speech/language delay and autistic children.⁠
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✅ Autism IS: a difference in the brain where people think/process, act, learn, and often communicate in a different way. ⁠
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An Autistic person will have patterns of differences in:⁠
1️⃣ language use/development, ⁠
2️⃣ socialization, and ⁠
3️⃣ routines, interests, and/or sensory processing. ⁠
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❌ Autism IS NOT: bad or wrong, anti-social, unintelligent, the same for everyone, only one thing/sign (like language delay, toe walking, lining up toys, etc). ⁠
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👍🏼 And autistic people CAN be: happy, successful, employed, married/parents, and all of the things. ⁠
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If you (or anyone else) notice a pattern of differences in your child, we recommend an Autism evaluation (even if you or other professionals do not think one is needed) - a diagnosis will not change who your child is, but it can give the individual as well as adults who support them a better understanding of how their brain works and their individual support needs!

“Babies born during the pandemic are talking later and saying fewer words, according to a growing body of academic research. “

https://www.nj.com/education/2022/09/a-troubling-silence.html

‘COVID babies’ aren’t talking as much as they should. How much is the pandemic to blame? Speech delays became more common since COVID. High quality speech therapy? Harder to find.

AAC is amazing!!! Everyone deserves a voice ❤️

https://bgr.com/science/val-kilmers-top-gun-maverick-dialog-was-all-ai-since-he-can-no-longer-speak/

Val Kilmer’s Top Gun: Maverick dialog was all AI since he can no longer speak An interview with Val Kilmer's daughter revealed that he used a special voice AI to bring Iceman to life in Top Gun: Maverick.

Summer is here ☀️ Contact us to get on the schedule 😎 spots are limited! We are here to help ❤️

https://www.thebrickfan.com/the-lego-foundation-announces-20-million-to-support-neurodivergent-children/?fbclid=IwAR0ouq8hdRNQJC3NvLWemxCcAOXWl_7aEbwXXuoH3dDW9D8yNnTktTmFo3w

The LEGO Foundation Announces $20 Million to Support Neurodivergent Children The LEGO Foundation has announced that they will be investing $20 million to prompt innovation supporting neurodivergent children.

Summer Speech scheduling has begun!! If you are interested in scheduling an evaluation...please contact our office ASAP!
Thanks!
Be well!

This never gets old!! ❤️Definitely easy when you love what you do! Forever great full for all who trust me with their children! It’s a honor 🙏

This is great *updated* info about typical age of acquisition, but it’s just ☝️ thing to consider when determining if a child needs speech therapy. Here are some other things to think about, as well…

1️⃣ How much those errors are impacting overall intelligibility.

2️⃣ How frequently those errors occur in the language they speak.

3️⃣ How relevant the errors are to the child… does their name have that sound?

4️⃣ What type of error they exhibit, if it’s atypical (like backing or a lateral lisp), then we should prioritize intervention.

5️⃣ Are they stimulable for the sound in error? If they are, then that sound is more likely to emerge without intervention (Miccio, Elbert & Forrest, 1999).

Absolutely ❤️this! Embrace the difference!

Love this post! Thanks Tale of Two Speechies ❤️Songs 🎶🥁🎸stimulate language and neurological 🧠 development!
Contact us if you have any questions!

Came across this and wanted to share!!!! Questions? Definitely contact us! We are here to help ❤️

Wanted to share this list!! Questions? Contact us! We are here to help. ❤️

Absolutely love this article! Had to share!

This first critical period of brain development begins around age 2 and concludes around age 7. It provides a prime opportunity to lay the foundation for a holistic education for children. Four ways to maximize this critical period include encouraging a love of learning, focusing on breadth instead of depth, paying attention to emotional intelligence, and not treating young children’s education as merely a precursor to “real” learning.

https://www.edutopia.org/article/why-ages-2-7-matter-so-much-brain-development?fbclid=IwAR2VZJzdpXJNnRfmHhSuTPsq0Ahb1CB06SQIYZgJGWkyePDhqZUdOdiXWmw

I 💯 agree!!

Want to know some simple tips you can do RIGHT NOW to support communication in young toddlers? You got it!!! Interaction + Engagement + Repetition = the communication trifecta! You can do these with any activity: books, video clips, toys, bath time, any time!! ❤️

Is your child difficult to understand? There may be a reason why! Check out these consonants that are typically mastered in early childhood (Crowe & McLeod, 2020). If your child struggles to clearly produce a variety sounds or a few frequently occurring sounds… it could impact how they are understood by others!

Interested in a speech language evaluation for your child? Reach out to us to schedule an evaluation!!!