Developing Language Skills in Children

Each child has an innate capacity to learn and develop language skills, but some children may benefit from additional support. Our speech and language services are available for children experiencing various conditions affecting speech development, expression, and communication. This includes children who are late to talk or do not talk, children experiencing difficulty pronouncing words or being understood, and children with ASD (autism spectrum disorder).

Our therapy sessions are entirely individualized to your family, working on the areas needed to impact your child’s development positively. If your child has difficulty with any aspect of their speech, we recommend booking an online appointment with Little Fish.

How Does Online Speech Language Therapy Work?

The online therapy experience with Little Fish is seamless and stress-free. Using the same digital link every session, your family can use a tablet or computer to join a live call with your speech pathologist. Sessions typically begin with a check-in and update, where parents can discuss how techniques recommended on previous calls have been progressing, and your speech language therapist can answer any questions you have.

Each therapy session is tailored to the individual child. Older children can participate in the session independently. The therapist will work directly with the child, running 2-5 activities designed to work towards specific language and speech goals. Parents are requested to be present or nearby to monitor their child’s progress and participate in activities as needed. Younger children will participate 4-8 activities per session with their parents who will have an active role in therapy. With children of all ages, your speech therapist will demonstrate and explain every technique used, giving you a chance to use these strategies in the session and receive feedback to improve effective use.

At the end of the session, your family will have a toolbox of strategies ready to implement and practice. We encourage parents and patients to utilize these techniques between sessions. Upon request, your speech therapist will create a list of recommended activities to be used as homework. If any other questions or problems arise, your speech language therapist will be contactable via phone or email during business hours, ready to support you and your child however they can.

Examples of our online speech therapy:

• Incorporating speech and language goals into online games (such as Connect Four, puzzles, and board games)

• Songs and music

• Games for everyday activities (such as brushing teeth)

• Using toys and household items for speech activities (such as naming body parts on toys)

• iPad applications

How is Online Speech Therapy Different from In-Person Speech Therapy?

Despite the distance, online therapy is just as effective as in-person therapy. There are significant perks to the online system as well – especially for children, the familiarity of having sessions in the comforting environment of their own home can make the therapy process easier to manage. The same evidence-based strategies used in face-to-face therapy are simply transferred to an online medium, all performed by a live speech pathologist through videoconferencing. The only real difference is the mode of delivery!

There are many benefits of choosing online therapy. From their home environment, children can skip the often-overwhelming experience of adapting to a new space, meaning they can get comfortable with the therapy process sooner. Having parents also present massively eases the transition period, making sure their child is relaxed at all times. Remote sessions are also entirely flexible to your at-home routine – plus, you get to skip the wasted hours spent traveling to and from clinics or sitting around in the waiting room.

Eliminating the divide between home and therapy creates a system of learning that can very quickly transfer into daily life. Using techniques and activities that use a child’s familiar environment allows your speech therapist to demonstrate natural opportunities to teach language. Using items around the house for therapy activities, for example, can increase carryover of the skills outside of sessions. Online therapy makes it incredibly easy to build speech development into your everyday routine around the house, even when a speech language therapist isn’t there to observe.

Who is Megan?

Megan is founder and speech language pathologist at Little Fish Speech Therapy, LLC. She was inspired to create this company after a few years of providing bilingual speech therapy in various settings including outpatient, patient treatment, in-home therapy, and teletherapy.

Megan is a nationally certified speech language pathologist with academic accreditation. She specializes in online speech therapy for children and has experience working with children with autism.

What do speech therapists do?

Speech pathologists study, diagnose and treat communication disorders, including difficulties with speaking, listening, understanding language, reading, writing, social skills, stuttering and using voice.

Speech language pathologists also provide therapy services for parents that are struggling at home with their children.