Susan Ramsay | Jun 08, 2011


"It’s time for speech therapy, Keil,” his mom calls out.

“Yay!” Keil’s excitement is high. It’s always high when he realizes it’s a speech therapy day.

Speech therapy to Keil means playing and spending time with his speech therapist Skye Hale-Sanders. Keil isn’t aware that Skye is using play to help him say more words and to make his speech easier for others to understand.

Keil’s mom, Shannon Fraser, began wondering if Keil’s language skills were developing normally when he was about two years of age. At first she brushed off the fact that he wasn’t saying very much as something to be expected with three other siblings in the family. Even the few words he spoke, though, were hard for others to understand.

Sharon already knew about preschool speech and language services because of a previous illness and resulting hearing loss experienced by Keil’s older sister. Hearing is crucial to speaking and listening, and preschool speech and language services helped ensure that Keil’s sister stayed on track in her speech and language development.

Sharon contacted her local preschool speech and language program about Keil eighteen months ago. An appointment for an assessment was arranged for Sharon and Keil to see Skye together. Keil’s shyness made it challenging for Skye to know if her assessment of Keil’s speech and language needs was accurate. Skye suggested Keil’s therapy begin through a parent training group. This gave Keil and Sharon an opportunity to experience how books, games and purposeful play can nurture children’s speech and language development.

“The group program was a great start for Keil, especially because he was so shy,” explains his mom. “He was still quiet at circle times but he really enjoyed it.” The group also gave Keil a chance to warm up to Skye too.

When group sessions finished, Sharon and Keil practised the strategies they had learned on their own at home. After several weeks of “home work”, Keil came back to Skye for a reassessment that resulted in a treatment plan individualized to his needs that included the creation of a home program.

Skye’s philosophy is that parents can and should be their child’s most important language teacher. Since parents are the ones that children interact with the most and feel most comfortable, the time parents and children spend together has the greatest potential to help children learn new skills. Skye explains that parents and speech-language pathologists need to collaborate so that speech therapy occurs throughout the child’s day, increasing the child’s opportunities to learn and use newly acquired communications skills in different situations.

It’s important to treat children’s speech-language needs early. In her work with children over the past ten years, Skye has been struck by the impact early intervention makes on children’s brain development. “Early intervention can reduce the effect of delays on a child’s problem-solving, thinking and literacy skills. If children don’t have strong language skills, how are they supposed to be able to read and write?”

How can parents know whether or not their child needs help from preschool speech and language services? Start by asking yourself if your child meets these typical speech-language milestones:

  • Is your 6-month-old babbling?

  • Is your 12-month-old using three or more words meaningfully?

  • Is your 18-month-old using at least 20 words?

  • Is your 2-year-old putting two words into phrases (e.g. “daddy hat” “car go”)?

  • Is your 3-year-old speaking in sentences of five or more words?

  • Is your 4-year-old understood by strangers almost all the time, and able to make simple rhymes like cat and bat?

(A more complete listing of speech and language milestones is available at www.kflapublichealth.ca. Click on “Parents”, then select “Speech and Language.”)

Both Skye and Sharon recommend parents listen to their instinct. As Sharon explains, “If you think there’s a problem, it doesn’t hurt to check it out. The resources are there for a reason. We’re so fortunate to have them!”

Do preschool speech and language services make a difference?

When describing Keil’s progress, Sharon explains, “It’s like night and day. Keil is now speaking in full sentences. Six months ago I couldn’t imagine him being ready to start school this fall. Now I’m a lot more comfortable that he’ll be ready.”

Early Expressions Preschool Speech and Language Services offer support to families throughout Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Counties in Kingston, Sharbot Lake and Napanee locations. To inquire about your child or to find out more about the services available in your community, please call Early Expressions at 613-546-3854 or 1-800-267-7875 (ext 1184). 


Susan Ramsay is the Early Literacy Specialist for Hastings, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington. You can contact her at 613-354-6318 (ext 32)

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