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Resources
What are Developmental Milestones?
Developmental milestones are markers of a child’s development from infancy to childhood. They are used to help determine if a child is undergoing typical development versus if a child has delays in a given area or multiple areas in the process of aging and development. These milestones are categorized into five domains: gross motor, fine motor, language, cognitive, and social-emotional/behavioral. Understanding and identifying the developmental milestones can help medical and educational providers more adeptly recognize delayed development and facilitate early intervention therapy to improve outcomes (Misirliyan, Boehning, & Shah, 2023).
Developmental Milestones related to Speech and Feeding?
Speech-Language Pathologists are most concerned with developmental milestones related to hearing, speech-language, feeding, and swallowing. Below are links to newly published milestones released by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) in 2023, as well as resources produced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Many of the resources listed below are also available in Spanish, just follow the links and look for "en Español".
Meet our EI GURU
Laura Mize!!!
Laura Mize, M.S., CCC-SLP, is a certified Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist who specializes in providing speech therapy services to very young children, ages birth to three, with communication delays and disorders. She is the founder of the wonderful website teachmetotalk.com and is also a prolific educator of speech-languages pathologists, early intervention specialists, and parents alike. She has produced many videos, written several therapy manuals, and has an ongoing weekly podcast series, Teach Me To Talk! Laura is the largest online provider of continuing education courses for therapists.
Our therapists have spent many hours studying and implementing techniques learned from Laura. Our play-based approach has been significantly influenced by her work. We highly recommend Laura's books, DVDs, CE courses, podcast, and Youtube channel, for both therapists interested in pursuing early intervention, and parents seeking information and strategies to help their children.
Below are two videos from a 14 part podcast series where Laura discusses all the language milestones from under 12 months to 48 months! We've shared the videos discussing the milestones at 24 months, because in our experience this is the age when many parents begin to suspect their child may have a communication delay or disorder. For parents that are new to therapy and are looking for some strategies to implement at home, we highly recommend watching "Teach Me To Talk the DVD". For parents seeking more information about autism spectrum disorder (ASD) please see Laura's Autism Podcast Series. For more information and resources from Laura please visit her website Teach Me To Talk!
We'd like to thank Laura for personally giving us permission to share her photo, links, and videos!
American Sign language
In early intervention, "baby sign" or American Sign Language is a manual form of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). Baby sign is used as a treatment modality to facilitate functional communication (i.e. communicating wants and needs) that helps in the development of language skills. Contrary to what many people believe, it is a MYTH that signing "will delay or replace talking". In fact, research suggests that teaching toddlers how to sign can assist in the development of verbal expression (i.e. talking) rather than hindering it (Goodwyn, Acredolo,& Brown, 2000). In addition, research has also shown that children can learn signs as early as 6 months of age and that it can provide them with an effective way to communicate several months earlier than those who rely solely on verbal expression (i.e. talking). Furthermore, sign training has been shown to contribute to the prevention of behavior problems for young children who present with or who are at risk for developmental delays, language delays, and or sensory impairments (Thompson, Cotnoir-Bichelman, McKerchar, Tate, & Dancho, 2007).
At Not Too Little Speech Therapy, we tend to use "baby sign" with all incoming toddlers until they begin to communicate verbally or using other forms of AAC. For years we have seen success in teaching both parents and toddlers signs using the Baby Signing Time! program. Baby Signing Time! is an award winning program that started in 2005 and is geared towards teaching manual language skills to children aged two and younger where signs are introduced one at a time. It consists of music videos that teach basic ASL signs for a baby's environmental wants and needs (Preemies Today, 2005). See the link to a Baby Sign Language Dictionary and videos introducing the Baby Signing Time! program below. We encourage our client families to subscribe to the Baby Signing Time! Youtube channel.
Meet Our Feeding Mentor
Diane Bahr!
"Diane Bahr, a certified Speech-Language Pathologist and Infant Massage Instructor, is a visionary with a mission. For over 40 years she has treated children and adults with feeding, motor speech, and mouth function problems. While she is a Speech-Language Pathologist by training, she also honed her skills as a feeding therapist, published author, international speaker, university instructor, and business owner. Additionally, she has written articles appearing in a variety of publications and has been interviewed on radio, podcasts, and for magazines. Diane is the author of the textbook Oral Motor Assessment and Treatment: Ages and Stages and two parent-professional books Feed Your Baby and Toddler Right: Early Eating and Drinking Skills Encourage the Best Development
and Nobody Ever Told Me(or My Mother) That! Everything from Bottles and Breathing to Healthy Speech Development (Ages and Stages®, LLC, 2023)."
Diane is globally recognized as one of the worlds top feeding, motor speech, and mouth function therapists. She has played a crucial role in the development of our feeding program and approach. She has acted as a personal mentor to our therapists, providing evidenced based techniques and strategies for the assessment and treatment of motor speech, oral motor, feeding, and myofunctional disorders. Below are links to the website, developmental check lists, and free e-courses developed by Diane.
We'd like to thank Diane for all of her support and for personally giving us permission to share her photo and access to her checklists and e-courses!
Note regarding courses: After following the link below, please scroll down to the section of the page titled "Free Courses for Family Members and Professionals". When requesting access, please include that you were referred by Not Too Little Speech Therapy.
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