EASIER Family Meals!
Picky eating is a normal part of development in the pre-school years. Making meals EASIER can prevent this stage from snowballing into longer term issues.
Continue reading “EASIER Family Meals”EASIER Family Meals
Want to know if your child’s talking is on track?
Want to know if your child’s talking is on track?
@thecommunicationtrust have developed this evidence based small talk checker! http://www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/resources/resources/resources-for-parents/small-talk/
They have also developed this amazing handout with tips on how to help build your child’s language during the summer holidays!
https://www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/media/20506/summer_talk_-_2012_version.pdfIf you want to know more about how to help your little talker get in touch for a FREE 15 minute consult!
Like the page, Eat Speech Therapy on Facebook for more like this!
Small Steps for Huge Wins
ANY small step is a HUGE win! Over the years working with children with Selective Mutism, eating and drinking difficulties and communication needs I have come to realise first hand that any step is a step forward.
Continue reading “Small Steps for Huge Wins”20 Steps to Learning to Like – Beans!
Experience (and research) tells us that it can take a child at least 20 exposures to a new food to feel comfortable enough to explore and learnt with it – especially for our picky eaters!
So how do we create these exposures in the most fun (and easy) way with a few tantrums as possible!!???
Continue reading “20 Steps to Learning to Like – Beans!”Why fajitas can help your picky eater!
So, you’re thinking…. What’s this about fajitas? But my kid doesn’t eat chicken/onion/spice/peppers/insert your child’s yuk food here…..
What I’m going to tell you is going to take the pressure off YOU at mealtimes. It’s going to make mealtimes more enjoyable! It’s going to remove the need for you to nag your kids to eat at the dinner table and liklihood is, it’s going to turn some of those YUK foods into LEARNING foods and eventually into LIKE or even LOVE foods!
Is my child’s picky eating just a phase?
Picky/fussy eating can be a normal part of childhood development. Starting around 15-18 months of age when your little one is beginning to develop a greater sense of autonomy and lasting through the toddler years. During this period children may refuse foods, frequently change their preferences and/or eat limited amounts or varieties of foods at certain times (Wolstenholme et al, 2020).
There is a huge spectrum of “picky-eating” that ranges from children who are selective about their food choices e.g. they may refuse certain vegatables and/or they may love something you make one day and out-right refuse it the next; To children who may gag at the sight of certain foods and/or eat a highly restricted range of foods that seems to be increasingly decreasing!
Continue reading “Is my child’s picky eating just a phase?”A Therapy Approach for Unclear Speech
Children’s speech sounds develop with key milestones similar to other areas of development. Younger children will have less clear speech and make swaps with speech sounds that are completely normal e.g. the young child who says /wabbit/ for rabbit!
When to worry about unclear speech
Continue reading “A Therapy Approach for Unclear Speech”How to Spot Delayed Speech and Language Skills
Every child’s speech and language skills develop at different rates but there are key milestones that we expect children to reach at certain stages of their early life.
Continue reading “How to Spot Delayed Speech and Language Skills”Tackling Picky or Fussy Eating
Mealtimes can be the most stressful part of a parent’s day. This is especially true for the parent of a child with special needs.
Picky and fussy eating can be typical in the preschool years when children are developing a sense of autonomy. They may be particularly choosy around fruits and vegetables or bitter foods. Most children go through a stage of rejecting foods and it is important to recognise that fussiness is a normal stage of development.
Many picky eaters outgrow their aversions and develop into curious eaters. However, if meal times seem a constant battle, or if you’re worried about the amount or variety of foods that your child is eating, there may be other underlying reasons for their selective eating.
What are signs that you have a fussy or picky eater?
Continue reading “Tackling Picky or Fussy Eating”Using a visual communication board with children with Selective Mutism and ASD
In a previous session with a child with Selective Mutism (SM) and Autism a psychologist and I conducted a play session with a core language board.
Continue reading “Using a visual communication board with children with Selective Mutism and ASD”