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STATEN ISLAND BABY TODDLER PRESCHOOLER SPEECH-LANGUAGE DELAY

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Our Speech Therapists Travel to Your Staten Island Home! | Top In-Person Private Pay Speech Therapy for Baby Toddler Preschooler Speech-Language Delay in Staten Island | Free Consultation and Meet & Greets With Our Staff

WE TRAVEL TO THE FOLLOWING STATEN ISLAND NEIGHBORHOODS:

Annadale Arden Heights Arlington Arrochar Bay Terrace Bloomfield Brighton Heights Bulls Head Castleton Corners Charleston Chelsea Clifton Concord Dongan Hills Egbertville Elm Park Eltingville Emerson Hill Fort Wadsworth Graniteville Grant City Grasmere Great Kills Greenridge Grymes Hill Hamilton Park Heartland Village Huguenot Lighthouse Hill Livingston Manor Heights Jefferson Mariners Harbor Meiers Corners Midland Beach New Brighton New Dorp New Springville Oakwood Old Place Old Town Pleasant Plains Port Ivory Port Richmond Prince's Bay Randall Manor Richmond Valley Richmondtown Rosebank Rossville Saint George Sandy Ground Shore Acres Silver Lake South Beach Stapleton Stapleton Heights Sunnyside Todt Hill Tompkinsville Tottenville Tottenville Beach Travis Ward Hill West New Brighton Westerleigh Willowbrook Woodrow

Our Speech-Language Pathologists and Therapists

We travel to you and we also offer remote services. Some of our speech-language pathologists are trained in the Orton Gillingham approach. Many of our speech-language pathologists are trained in literacy and offer support with decoding, spelling and reading fluency services. Our speech-language pathologists and therapists work with babies, toddlers, school-age students, and adults with expertise in:

Our Speech-Language Pathologists and Therapists

Training/Certifications

TESTIMONIALS

“
Julia was amazing with daughter. My daughter had a very difficult end of preschool year and Julia was awesome with working with her during a difficult time. She was always super patient and kind and knew when to push and when to pull back. My daughter's speech has improved tremendously since working with Julia. Her confidence in speaking has also improved a lot. Also, she has become a lot less frustrated when speaking.
- Joeann, mom of a Brooklyn 4 year old.

“
We are very happy with Paige and recommend her with enthusiasm!
We hired Paige to work with our six-year-old daughter and our three-year-old son on their speech impediments. Our son had a speech delay because he couldn’t make certain sounds; Paige helped him catch up to age level, and now he talks up a storm! Our daughter has a lisp, and Paige has helped her learn how to pronounce S properly and consciously correct herself.
Our kids love Paige and are always excited about her visits. Paige has a wonderful manner with the kids; she’s playful and funny and incorporates a lot of games and toys into her therapy. She provides detailed reports to us on our kids’ progress after each visit and concrete instructions on how to continue therapy between her visits.
- Sameer and Mandi

“
Soooo Happy We Found You!
After two awkward sessions with different speech therapists, who favored two different approaches, a quick search online led me to Brooklyn Letters and Craig, who promptly remedied my confusion about how to best treat my son's speech delay. On Craig’s recommendation, he's been seeing Lisa, Brooklyn Letters speech therapist, for two months now, and I wanted to share how we are dazzled by his progress. Lisa is so wonderful. At every session (in our home) I'm impressed by her patience, thoughtfulness, preparedness, and creativity. In fact, I often find myself drawn to the rug where she works with my son, so I can learn to better model phrases for him when Lisa's not around, not to mention her stellar assortment of toys and books: every session has its own unique theme. So, thanks Craig for sending her our way!
- Tanya (mom of JF, 2)

“
rogress can only be made when therapy is put into context. My son was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at 18 months, with a significant delay in expressive language. Craig has been an invaluable part of my son’s therapeutic team since my son's diagnosis 5 months ago. Craig is very knowledgeable in his discipline, taking care to stay current with the latest research and evidence versus fads. He is very patient in his sessions and is skilled at engaging children so that they are challenged but not overwhelmed. Craig approaches speech therapy with the family in mind. Craig consistently engaged me in my son’s speech sessions,
explaining how to specifically target underlying issues associated with Autism that impede communication (such as joint attention, eye contact, social reciprocity). He also showed me creative strategies to engage my son to encourage communication, such as following my son’s lead and interests, playful obstruction, modeling sounds with actions, and adding tactile aspects to communication. This allowed me to carry over his recommendations at home. The most important lesson that I learned from Craig is that therapeutic approaches for children on the spectrum do not exist separate from the lives of the children themselves progress can only be made when therapy is put into context. I learned how to embed opportunities for communication in ways that didn’t feel forced or unnatural, which allowed me to always be a mom to my son first. What a joy it is to hear our son's beautiful voice!
- Mother of Dev

“
My then 2 year old son used to be very shy and scared of being alone with somebody that he didn’t know, and so we have decided to get someone that could help him with his speech delay and do the therapy sessions in the place where he would feel secure and comfortable – our home. I have reached out to Craig, and he’s been very helpful and kind to answer all our questions and requests. Through Brooklyn Letters, we have been referred to Penny, which I believe is the best fit speech therapist for my son. She’s been very patient with him from day 1. She’s cheerful and lively, and she surely knows how to interact and get the attention of a toddler. She’s also thoughtful and treats my son like a family. My son is just so comfortable being around her. We have been with Penny for 1.5years now and my son’s speech has developed from zero to now being able to say three to four word sentences. We are very happy and satisfied and would continue do sessions with her until my son is ready.
- Gel Molino

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Craig Selinger

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BABIES, TODDLERS, PRESCHOOLERS

When we setup an initial consultation and/or evaluation, we will assess your child’s speech and language skills and determine if there are speech language delays. Our analysis will target where your child is having difficulty with their speech and language development. Pinpointing the underlying difficulties is critical for effective treatment. In addition to language therapy, we provide speech therapy for all ages.

Read about Early Childhood Concepts.

EARLY STAGES OF COMMUNICATION

Before a child speaks, he/she child relies on non-verbal communication, e.g. pointing, reaching, and handing an object to a parent. Babies and toddlers with communication delays- who are not ready to speak- first need help learning how to communicate non-verbally and some babies and toddlers need help with their social focus, called joint attention. Therapy focuses on increasing the frequency and improving the quality of the child’s communicative gestures and improving their focus during social games/activities.

EARLY EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

Early expressive language development is characterized by the quantity and quality of the child’s vocabulary, and the manner in which a child combines words before speaking full sentences. Once the child is speaking in full sentences, his or her development is characterized in terms of how well the words are used to convey more complex ideas or thoughts.

Delays in early language development involve slower acquisition of sounds, words, combining words, less frequent social communicative attempts, and difficulty understanding cognitive or linguistic concepts (such as big vs. small, under vs next to, some vs all, or first vs. last). If a child is having significant expressive language issues compared to peers, he or she may have an expressive language disorder (also known as spoken language disorder) or an expressive language delay (for children 4 years and younger).

LATE TALKERS

While delayed speech or language in some children may not point to an expressive language disorder, some toddlers with a limited vocabulary for their age and exhibit other symptoms may be at risk of a speech or language disorder.

In particular, studies suggest that mild comprehension for their age, a family history of learning issues and speech and language problems, and using few gestures when communicating are indicators that a child could have continuing delayed speech or language. This may mean that a child is showing signs of a language condition (expressive or expressive/receptive language) also known as a Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) or language impairment, as research calls it.

Stages of babbling:

0-2 Months: Crying and cooing
3-4 Months: Simple speech sounds (goo).
5 Months: Single-syllable speech sounds (ba, da, ma).
6-7 Months : Reduplicated babbling – repeating the same syllable (ba-ba, na-na).
8-9 Months: Variegated babbling – mixing different sounds (ba de da).
10-11 Months: Jargon – complex babbling with simple words (baba da ma ball da).
12 Months: Real words gradually take over.

By 1 year of age, most babies will:

Look for and be able to locate the source of a sound.
When you call their name, they usually respond.
Wave goodbye.
Look where you point when you say,
Babble with intonation (voice rises and falls as if they speak).
Take turns “talking” to you, paying attention and listening when you speak, and then babbling when you stop. Say “da-da” to their father and “ma-ma” to their mother.
Say at least 1 word.
Make sounds while pointing to items they want that are out of reach.

By the age of two, most toddlers will:

Point to various body parts and common objects.
Point to common images in books.
Follow 1-step commands without a gesture, such as, “Put your cup on the table.”
Be able to say about 250 but cut off is 50 spontaneous words, and they are combing words Dadda Up
Say a few two-word phrases, such as “Daddy go,” “Doll mine,” and “All gone.”
Perhaps say 3-word sentences like “I want juice” or “You go bye-bye.”

Know more about late-talking in this interview with Dr. Michelle Macroy-Higgins, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, speech-language pathologist, associate professor in the Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Program at Hunter College, New York, and author of Time to Talk: What You Need to Know About Your Child’s Speech and Language Development. She speaks with speech-language pathologist, learning specialist, and Brooklyn Letters CEO Craig Selinger about the signs and symptoms of late-talking and how to diagnose it in young children.

Everything You Need to Know If You Have a Toddler Who Is a Late Talker and FREE pamphlet on Late Talking!

What is the relationship between language and learning disabilities

CDC Speech Language Milestones Changes

During this early stage of expressive language and speech and language development, toddlers also begin to acquire and develop their narrative skills. This is crucial as young children expand their use of language and communication by retelling or describing stories, experiences, or past events. Narrative development is directly correlated with a child’s success in school and academic achievement.

Typically developing children commonly acquire all grammatical morphemes by age four (see chart below). But for children struggling with the narrative language or coping with a language delay, parents may notice some missing aspects in their child’s language skills. At Staten Island Letters, we work with students who struggle with narrative development.

Another condition is Social Communication Pragmatic Disorder (SCPD). Learn more about social communication pragmatic disorder, its symptoms, causes, and strategies parents can employ to support their child with this disorder.

Read about Early Childhood Developmental Milestones.

NARRATIVE DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDREN

According to research, narrative development can play a significant role in determining a child’s later success in school and literacy. This is because narration and relaying a previous experience allows the child to communicate and use language beyond the present context or the “here and now.” This determines the child’s grasp of linguistic structure and words chosen. But what exactly is narrative development? And how do you know your child’s progress is appropriate for his or her age?

A child’s narrative skills refer to his or her ability to use language in telling or communicating a story. As children develop their narrative skills, they learn to follow the rules of story-telling. This involves sequencing of events, organization, introducing characters, establishing the plot or main idea, and taking perspectives.

Narrative skills are first developed and introduced in very young children through storytelling or bedtime story sessions with their parents.

By listening to stories and being exposed to story-telling, children begin to understand and develop narrative structure. In most cases, children with language impairments or conditions struggle with comprehending and executing narratives. At Brooklyn Letters, we work with children who have narrative language difficulties.

Find out more about the Stages of Narrative Development.

What is Expressive Language Disorder?

Unlike speech sound disorders, which involve difficulties in producing spoken sounds, language disorders refer to problems using spoken language compared to peers. These expressive problems manifest in at least one of these areas: spoken vocabulary, complexity of what the child is saying (grammar), and social use of words (pragmatics). These issues become more apparent when children, older than 4 years of age, have difficulties telling stories and making friends.

Language Disorders are classified as two types:

Mixed Receptive-Expressive Language Disorder – Difficulty with comprehension or understanding the words or complexity of what the individual understands compared to peers and has an expressive language disorder.

Expressive Language Disorder – Receptively, the individual is age appropriate but there are significant issues expressing oneself compared to peers.

There is no such thing as just a receptive language disorder. If a child is misdiagnosed with this label, either the child has significant attentional difficulties, or the child’s expressive language skills were not thoroughly assessed. Speech-language pathologists are the best professionals to thoroughly assess expressive language skills.

Spoken or expressive language disorder is a lifelong condition and appears in early childhood. It is often developmental in nature but may also be caused by traumatic brain injury. An individual with expressive language disorder exhibits normal comprehension skills but has difficulty with written and/or verbal expression. This can impair academic achievement and make it more difficult to socialize in groups with peers.

What Are the Signs of Expressive Language Disorder?

In many cases, signs of an expressive language disorder may be invisible to parents and teachers. Some signs and behaviors may not directly imply a language problem. According to research, one of the early signs of a language disorder in children is late talking. The Hanen Centre defines a late talker as a child between 18 and 30 months with a good understanding of language and typical development in other areas (hearing, vision, motor, and cognitive skills) but has a limited spoken vocabulary compared to peers for their age. However, late talking becomes a more serious concern for children who also exhibit other risk factors, such as:

Quiet or little babbling as an infant
Has a history of ear infections
Limited consonant sounds
Does not link pretend ideas and actions together during play
Does not imitate words or sounds
Uses mostly nouns and few verbs
Difficulty interacting or playing with peers
A family history of communication, learning, and academic difficulties
Mild comprehension delay for their age
Uses few gestures to communicate

Other signs of Expressive Language Disorder also include:

less developed vocabulary than their peers
often uses fillers like “um,” “uh,” and “huh”
having no problems with understanding, but struggle with speaking, asking questions, or answering
using short phrases or sentences or say the same words or phrases over and over;
struggling with telling stories
for toddlers, relying on using gestures
lacking intonation and modulation when talking
shying away from the conversation and avoid social situations or group interactions
may say a lot but not make much sense

Signs of a child who needs expressive language therapy:

Difficulty naming items and objects.
Does not link words together or may use sentences that are shorter than those used by children of the same age.
Uses sentences that are not grammatically correct and, therefore, can sound immature.
May use jargon (made-up words) when talking.
Speaks in sentences that are ‘jumbled’ (i.e., words are in the wrong order, lots of stopping and starting, creating a lack of flow).
Can be misunderstood by unfamiliar people.
May have difficulty finding the correct words to use when describing something or having a conversation. The child may use techniques such as ‘circumlocution’ (talking around the word) or a word with a similar meaning to help them express themselves.

PBS.ORG, Average Number of Words Produced

At 15 months= 14 words
18 months= 68 words
23 months= 200 words
24 months- 200 to 300 words Dr. Rhea Paul, Ph. D.
30 months= 570 words

Diagnosing Expressive Language Disorder

As with all speech or language disorders, it is always important to first ensure that there are no hearing issues affecting language development. A hearing assessment by an audiologist is necessary to rule out any issues with hearing (ears). Even undetected ear infections can interfere with acquiring language in younger children.

To get your child diagnosed with an expressive language disorder, a speech-language pathologist (SLP) must do a thorough evaluation. A comprehensive assessment must be conducted with the help of the child’s family and teachers. This evaluation process includes both informal and formal assessments. Formal evaluation comes in the form of standardized tests, while informal evaluation involves interviews, observations, checklists, and language samples.

While both types are essential in providing accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment goals, it is the language sample that provides a clearer picture of the child’s language abilities and conversational skills. Through language sampling, an SLP is able to gain a better understanding of the child’s strengths and weaknesses with regards to key language areas. These areas include syntax or grammar, semantics or word meanings, morphology (suffixes and prefixes), and pragmatics or social skills. Our SLPs at Staten Island Letters conduct language sampling in order to accurately diagnose and assess the needs of your child using the Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts or SALT program. The typical expressive language development in young children, aged 12 months to 47 months onwards, is outlined in the Acquisition of Sentence Forms Within Brown’s Stages of Development. This framework is an invaluable tool used by SLPs in conducting a structural analysis of a language sample.

(Related: Find out more about language sampling in this article on the Structural Analysis of a Language Sample.)

During this phase, speech language pathologists will need to know the child’s:

full case history (including birth and medical records; history of language, speech, reading, or academic difficulties in the family; languages or dialects were spoken at home; and, the family’s and teacher’s own observations and concerns)
spoken language skills (phonology and phonological awareness, semantics, morphology, syntax, and pragmatics)
level of reading and writing (if the child is school-age)

AVERAGE NUMBER OF WORDS A CHILD PRODUCES/SAYS

Age 3 1/2: 4,200 words
Age 4: 5,600 words
Age 5: 9,600 words

How to Treat Expressive Language Disorders in Young Children

Once a diagnosis is made, the SLP will conduct further analysis and observations before creating an individualized program. However, it is important to remember that therapy will not offer a permanent “cure” for the disorder. Instead, SLPs can equip children with strategies and techniques to help them manage their condition.

Therapy methods can vary, depending on the therapist and the child’s needs. Modelling target behaviour is one technique where the therapist models and reinforces aspects of speech that need to be targeted, such as sounds, vocabulary, and grammatical structure.

Some areas that SLPs address are:

For preschoolers (ages 3 to 5):

enhancing phonological awareness through rhyming, blending, and segmenting spoken words
improving vocabulary and understanding of semantic relationships
increasing sentence types, length, and complexity
improving conversational skills
developing narrative skills
increasing language flexibility in different contexts
building and encouraging literacy skills