Carly Berkman-Stern Speech Therapy Videos

To piggy back off of my recent post about “play sounds,” another great way to elicit imitation skills with our little ones (especially those late talkers) is by starting with imitating actions! In our house, we’ve been practicing waving as our first true form of social communication. Juliette is sometimes even intentionally initiating waving now and will often respond to a wave from us! So…the best thing we can do to build off of that right now is keep it going with exaggerated positive reinforcement and pair the wave with a corresponding verbalization (A lot of high pitched “hi’s!,” “oh hello’s!,” and “bye bye’s” are happening throughout the day– @steves_turn has become quite the expert in greeting gestures 😄) Other actions that are great for establishing those foundational reciprocal interaction skills are: 👋Dancing 👋Clapping 👋Tapping/palming surfaces 👋Shaking hands, body, or objects 👋Bouncing 👋Nodding 👋Pointing What actions does your child find to be the most fun to imitate?! #slp #slpmom #speechtips #nonverbalcommunication #wave #speechtherapy #speechandlanguagetherapy #languagedevelopment #earlyintervention #speechpathologist #momlife #parenting #parentinghacks #learnthroughplay #communication #interaction #babytalk #babyactivities #greeting #actions #imitation #westchesterny

I can’t believe it’s been over a year since I shared this video to introduce myself and my Instagram page (so I’m actually going on my 1️⃣2️⃣th year as an SLP now)! So much has happened! Since moving to Westchester County, NY, I am grateful to have met and started working with the most wonderful clients who have embraced the therapy process and truly make me feel appreciated for what I do. Despite the limitations of the pandemic while establishing my practice, I have gotten to know the community by traveling to homes and have also opened my in-home office for services! Before moving here, I spent my career working in schools, clinics, homes, and in the private-office setting in NYC. I am loving this new chapter in the Westchester County area, as well as continuing virtual sessions with those who live farther away! I offer speech and language services from early childhood to high school age children, and beyond. I pride myself in making speech therapy a meaningful and fun process :) I am ASHA, TSSLD, New York State, and PROMPT Certified. Please reach out to me with any questions you may have! Here are some areas that my practice focuses on: 💜receptive/expressive language 💜early language development 💜articulation 💜stuttering/fluency disorders 💜oral motor/feeding skills 💜Autism Spectrum Disorder 💜auditory processing 💜higher level language skills and executive functioning 💜written expressive language skills 💜social language skills Most of all, thank you for your continued support! #slp #slplife #privatepractice #privatepracticeslp #clients #students #families #familybased #articulation #stuttering #earlyintervention #autism #ppd #socialskills #executivefunctioning #langaugedevelopment #comprehension #homeoffice #virtuallearning #learningthroughplay #learningisfun #chappaquamoms #armonkny #mtkisco #westchesterny #westchesternymoms

Mo Willems books, such as Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and the Elephant and Piggie series, are some of the most engaging books for speech therapy! Their simple, comic style can be used to target inferring, nonverbal language, perspective taking, figurative language, and social language skills 😭😔😕🥰😃🤯 💜My favorite aspect of these books is their use of speech and thought bubbles 🗯💭. Most of us think of these as graphic conventions in comic strips, but as an SLP, I see these illustrations as tools to depict the difference between what our thoughts are versus what we verbally express to others, as well as how our words affect the thoughts of others 💜I use these books up through middle school age with my clients because they are relevant and genuinely funny! 💜Also, if you’ve worked with me as a clinician, you know that I will find any way to incorporate working on understanding and expressing emotions (whether directly or incidentally), and incorporate humor into my sessions 😂🤣☺️😁😆🙃 💜Improving perspective taking skills is an area that we could all afford to work on to make the world a better place! This skill is particularly important for children with language delays, as this population tends to have more difficulty interpreting figurative language and thinking “outside the box” cognitively Which is your favorite book in the series⁉️ #slp #slplife #mowillems #perspectivetaking #perspective #socialskills #pragmaticplay #socialdevelopment #middleschool #elementaryschool #speechtherapy #languagedevelopment #learningisfun #speechtherapist #dontletthepigeondrivethebus #elephantandpiggie #books #westchestercountyny #westchesternymoms

Although I’m not one to encourage referring to “text book norms” when it comes to speech and language development, I can surely relate to the need to have some sort of baseline to help parents understand what presentations fall within normal limits for their child’s developmental patterns. I’m often asked about age expectations for mastery of various speech sounds (check my previous posts for info!). But, today I decided to provide you with a tangible baseline for how intelligible your kiddo is expected to be during the early stages of language development 💬Speech intelligibility refers to how clearly a person can be understood by their communication partner 💬This can be further broken down into “familiar listeners” and “unfamiliar listeners” (e.g., how well can you understand your child? How well can a stranger understand your child?”) 💬I like using overall speech intelligibility as a measure of progress because during the critical period of language development, specific speech sounds can manifest very differently depending on the individual child, yet there are certain expectations about how successful they are in terms of communicating 💬I steer away from ever using 100% as a norm, because, after all, nobody is perfect! DM me with questions or concerns, I’m here for ya! #slp #speechtherapy #speechtherapist #languagedevelopment #earlychildhooddevelopment #earlychildhoodeducation #specialeducation #earlylanguageskills #earlyintervention #speechintelligibility #fluency #stuttering #articulation #oralmotor #westchesterny #westchesternymoms #chappaquamoms #parenting #parentingtips

And if the chuck pad winds up under their head, use it as an opportunity to label the vocabulary word “head” while talking about how silly it is that it’s not under their “tushie”! ☺️👶🏻🍑 #slp #slplife #slpmom #speechtherapy #speechtherapist #momlife #parentinghacks #parentingtips #chatting #chitchat #babytalk #toddlermomlife #earlychildhooddevelopment #earlyintervention #learnthroughplay #westchesternymoms #westchestercounty #westchesterny

What are some of the benefits of interactive reading activities for language development: 🦇Gives experiences with language that require kids to make sense of ideas 🦇Enhances imagination, creativity, memory, and curiosity 🦇Grows background knowledge and understanding of universal concepts 🦇Helps kiddos make connections across themes to real life situations Increases listening skills and attention spans 🦇Promotes discussions about topics in critical and significant ways 🦇Encourages children to focus on pertinent story concepts and reflect on them 🦇Increases interest in independent reading 🦇And for our little ones, starts a strong foundation for them to partake in the joys of language and literacy through meaningful experiences! Thank you @stinglikeamee for gifting us to this adorable Halloween gem of a read-aloud, that can be enjoyed throughout the early stages of language development! Halloween season happens to be a particularly fun time to get interactive about reading because of the nature of this season’s themes. What are some of your Halloween book faves?! #slplife #speechtherapy #speechtherapist #slpmom #languagedevelopment #literacyislanguage #literacy #westchesterny #westchesternymoms #reading #halloweenbooks #halloweenactivities #fall2021

Had to post…how to play peek-a-boo with a 3 month old 😂😂 What does this old time fave game do for language development: 💜 Teaches preverbal skills 💜 Repeated exposure to intonation, gestures, and facial expression that allow baby to anticipate sounds and actions 💜 Introduction to turn-taking 💜 Facilitates engagement and eye contact 💜 Teaches play routines without any toys (after all, you are your child’s favorite toy!) 💜 It’s fun, silly, and makes everyone smile!! #slp #speechtherapy #speechlanguagepathologist #languagedevelopment #childhooddevelopment #kidgames #games #socialskills #communication #babylife #momlife #dadlife #parenting #westchestercounty #westchesterny #westchesternymoms

If you thought that getting your body moving was only helpful for physical fitness/development, check this out! 👇 💜As most of us can attest from personal experience, movement gets blood pumping throughout the entire body, which means...you guessed it- increased blood flow to the brain! 💜This increased flow of oxygen and energy enhances brain performance, which has a direct impact on improved mood, attention, and memory 💜Sensory and movement activities help the brain focus, self-regulate, reduce distractions, and build neural connections to learn and retain information 💜Significantly, movement-based speech therapy activities (or simply adding in time throughout your day for movement activities) encourage kiddos to fully engage with you and make positive, meaningful connections to the demands imposed from learning new skill sets! 💜Therefore, it makes sense that Incorporating movement and sensory activities in speech therapy tasks will enhance their learning experience and stimulate overall progress in this developmental domain. The impact of movement is particularly beneficial to those with autism or sensory processing disorder 💜In my own clinical experience, I have observed kiddos to be more communicative and vocal if they have been engaged in movement before or intermittently throughout their speech therapy session 💜For example: make an obstacle course to inevitably incorporate language targets and movement! Use a sensory tunnel, chairs to climb under, or colored spots for jumping over before doing more structured tasks/routines like table work as demonstrated by @jaymjacobson ‘s sweet son, Gavin! I can’t believe he’s already big enough to crawl through this @lovevery tunnel! #speechtherapy #slp #earlychildhoodeducation #earlyintervention #movement #occupationaltherapy #otlife #languagedevelopment #learningthroughplay #brainhealth #lovevery #chappaquamoms #armonkmoms #mtkiscony #pleasantvilleny #bedfordny #specialeducation #kid

I will say that as the years have progressed and our field has become more well-known and understood, the amount of times that I need to use various titles to clarify my profession depending on the audience has become much less necessary. Thanks to all the many people out there who have expressed so much support and interest in the field of Speech Language Pathology! Just to make sure we’re all on the same page: "speech pathologist" and “speech therapist” have been used interchangeably as titles for professionally trained persons who work with individuals who have communication impairments. Us SLPs professionals typically refer to ourselves as “speech pathologists” or “SLPs” when amongst fellow clinicians, while using the term “speech therapist” amidst a non-clinical audience 💜The title "speech-language pathologist" best captures the essence of our work (speech and language) and also signifies that we are qualified by our training and clinical experience to identify, assess, and provide remediation for pathological conditions of communication 💜The term "speech" is used to denote the components of vocal activity such as phonation (the production of a vocal tone via the larynx or "voice box"), articulation (the movement of the structures in the mouth to create speech sounds to produce words), resonance (the overall quality of the voice as well as the process that transforms the vocal tone into what we recognize as a person's "voice") and fluency (the timing and synchronization of these components of the complex speech act) 💜”Language" refers to the comprehension and production of language, including the mode in which it is comprehended or produced (oral, gesturing, writing, or reading) Hopefully this clears it up any confusion! 🤗🤷🏻‍♀️ #slp #speechtherapy #speechlanguagepathologist

It has been long understood that children develop language through play. As SLPs, we use this notion to drive our therapy with many of our children. This is why, we can often be found on the floor, pretending and imagining with our youngest clients; a highly effective strategy to elicit speech and language development along with so many other skills. Observing a child’s play skills provides insight to a child’s language development. With the idea that play represents and facilitates a child’s language development, it is essential to be mindful of our child’s play skills. To do so, it is important to know what milestones and stages of play we can expect as our children grow and develop Check out the milestones to look out for and DM me with concerns! Most importantly, as always, have fun with it!!! #slp #speechtherapy #speechpathology #speechlanguagepathologist #speechtherapist #specialeducation #languagedevelopment #learnthroughplay #playtherapy #playbasedlearning #playdevelopment #socialskills #socialdevelopment #autism #earlychildhoodeducation #earlychildhooddevelopment #westchesterny #chappaquany #chappaquamoms #chappaqua #armonkny #pleasantvilleny #bedfordny #katonahny #westchesternymoms

Trying to think of a way to make Father’s Day extra special this year? Amazing mommy @brittanywayne came up with this awesome receptive language activity that I insisted needed to be shared with the world 🤗 👨‍👧‍👦Before a child can say “Happy Father’s Day, Daddy!” expressively, let alone in a meaningful, knowing way, they first need to establish the understanding of who their family are and their role in their life 👨‍👧‍👦A perfect way to do this, is to start off with a structured identification task. By pairing pictures of Dad(s) with not-Dad pictures and ask your child to, “Point to Daddy!” 👨‍👧‍👦If pictures of Dad + another family member is too confusing at first, try pairing pictures of Dad with random photos (animals, objects, etc.) 👨‍👧‍👦To make this activity even one step easier, start with only pictures of Dad(s) and still your child to, “Point to Dad!” Gradually introduce pictures of other people to ensure this activity is successful and fun! Thank you Brittany, @adamgoodman24 , and Max for this beautiful example of how the process of language development works! Happy Father’s Day weekend!! #slp #speechtherapy #speechlanguagepathologist #childlanguagedevelopment #teachersfollowteachers #languagedevelopment #languagedelay #receptivelanguage #speechtherapyideas #fathersday #fathersdaygifts #dad #dadslife #dads #family #earlychildhooddevelopment #westchesterny #westchesterny #westchesternydads #westchesternymoms

If you have read any of my previous posts (or have ever asked me about what I do all day), you may already sense that I enjoy “talking people’s heads off” about my passion for the field. When I was introduced to speech language pathology during my freshman year at GWU, pursuing a career path in this field seemed to like it would fulfill so many of both my personal and professional goals long term. An SLP’s ultimate job (to foster an individual’s ability to communicate) is also aligned with what I find to be one of the most important parts of life, that does not come with ease for all-- connecting with others! If you’re a fellow SLP and having a rough day...check out this list to remind yourself why all the hard work is worth it! #slp #speechlanguagepathologist #speechlanguagepathology #specialeducationalneeds #languagedevelopment #communication #articulation #stuttering #voicetherapy #cognition #earlychildhoodeducation #earlyintervention #schoolage #gwu #communicationskills #speechtherapy #chappaquamoms #katonahny #scarsdalemoms #ryemoms #northsalemny #westchesterny #westchesternymoms #westchestercounty

Wondering what your child’s development “should” look like under the age of 3? As I always say...every child develops language differently! Check out 10 month old Sadie’s beautiful communication skills (facilitated by her also beautiful mama, @heatherfeuer ) for a sense of what to look out for! 🦋 Autism spectrum disorder is a developmental disability that generally appears before the age of 3. The earlier autism spectrum disorder is diagnosed and treated, the better! Also, in general: 💙Outcomes for children's lives are significantly improved with early diagnosis and treatment 💙Simple screening measures can be taken at an early age to detect even potential “red flags” for Autism 💙If any of these red flags are apparent, this does not mean your child will struggle!! It just means that it makes sense to monitor their development and behaviors more carefully with the help of a professional who may be able to provide interventions that can mitigate future challenges. 💙Any child can be screened for developmental milestones! In doing so, you may learn things that will help propel their development in the right direction, be more specific about their educational settings, find activities that will be best suited for them, or just get peace of mind know that your child is on track! DM me for your free consultation during the month of April! Let’s spread awareness and acceptance together! #speechtherapy #speechlanguagepathologist #slp #speechdevelopment #languagedevelopment #earlychildhoodeducation #autismacceptance #autism #autismawareness #teachersofinstagram #toddlerlife #babydevelopment #babymilestones #developmentalmilestones #scarsdaleny #ryeny #katonahny #chappaquamoms #westchesterkids #pleasantvilleny #armonkmoms #armonkny #westchesterny #westchesternymoms #westchestercounty #parentingtips #parenting

Transitions between activities of daily living can be a challenge for EVERYONE! I happen to have some strategies up my sleeve for my students who are on the autism spectrum that also work really well for neurotypical kids, as well as my own peers! Why not use a helpful strategy if it can decrease anxiety, stress, and improve the overall flow of your day?? Here are some ways that we can help each other during times of transition: 💙Set a timer 💙Use a visual schedule (simply using your phone, or the ChoiceWorks app is also great for this!) 💙Give advanced notice about upcoming transitions, or remind yourself what is coming up next as you start a new task 💙Use reduced language (transitioning is overwhelming for kiddos, we don’t need to add to their processing of information by using tons of words. Be concrete about it: “First, put on your shoes, then get in the car” #speechtherapy #slp #speechlanguagepathologist #specialeducationteacher #teachersofinstagram #behavior #autismacceptance #earlychildhoodeducation #transitions #parentinghacks #languagedevelopment #toddlermomlife #momlife #dadlife #chappaquamoms #ryeny #ryebrookmoms #greenwichct #katonahny #westchestercounty #we#westchesterny #westchesternymoms #westchesterkids

Engaging young ones, especially during their streaks of demanding “independence,” can be challenging no matter their diagnosis or lack there of! 💙During my sessions, I often employ a similar approach for self-directed kiddos who are neurotypical or Autistic. Mostly, because every single child is DIFFERENT and learns differently. 💙The most common aspect of my approach with any child of any age is to “get on their level.” With children with ASD, there is a heightened tendency to become fixated on a particular object, movement, or part of a toy (spinning the wheels on a toy car). 💙Neurotypical kids also get into phases in which they only want to do certain activities (only playing with their car race track). 💙Rather than succumbing to the urge to redirect a child to a more suitable behavior that will stimulate language, I always try to see how I can incorporate functional play and communication opportunities into what they are already interested in! In doing so, I get much more engagement and notice that the kids get more meaningful connections with language and communication with those around them! Give it a try and let me know how it goes! #speechtherapy #speechlanguagepathologist #speechtherapyideas #autism #autismacceptance #autismmonth #autismmom #autismdad #communication #earlychildhoodeducation #earlyintervention #specialneeds #teachersfollowteachers #learningthroughplay #westchestercounty #westchesterkids #westchesterny #westchesternymoms #chappaquamoms

To help your kiddo establish the concept of cause/effect (“if I want something, I can communicate to get it!”), try introducing use of these baby signs. Make sure to always pair them with verbalizations to encourage speech production as a means to communicate! ✌️More: tap pinched fingers together ✌️All done: swipe palms together in back-and-forth motion ✌️Hungry: rub belly in circular motion ✌️Eat/Food: Tapping the tips of fingers to mouth (like you’re eating) #speechtherapy #speechies #speechlanguagepathology #specialeducation #autsim #languagedevelopment #baby #babysignlanguage #earlychildhoodeducation #earlychildhooddevelopment #communication #talktome #parentingtips #chappaquamoms #chappaqua #mtkiscomoms #mtkiscony #pleasantvilleny #ryeny #scarsdaleny #katonahny #westchesterny #westchestermoms #westchesternymoms #westchestercounty