Month in Review
June 2022
Patient Spotlight
We have so many patients at Speech Pathway who have long journeys that require incredibly hard work from their entire family and we want to start recognizing them for the effort they put in daily! Each month we’ll be highlighting up to 5 patients who have shown so much improvement throughout their marathon in speech therapy. See our amazing June patients below!
Jose C.
Jose is 11 years old and has been in therapy for 8 years with excellent improvement. He can communicate with others and everyone can understand him so much better! His caregiver states he works so hard and his self-esteem has improved so much since starting therapy. Jose sees Miss Abby for therapy and she had this to say about this hard-working guy: “Jose is eager to learn new things and is always asking great, thoughtful questions. He works hard every session and always strives to do his best! He is funny, caring, and has a heart for others. Jose loves to talk about sports and school and is a wizard at geography/maps!” We love having Jose in our clinic to share all of his knowledge and passions with the world and we’re so thankful to be able to help him connect with others! Way to go, Jose!
Michael W.
Michael is a sweet, 7 year old boy who has been in therapy for 3 years. After these years of therapy, his caregiver was proud to say he can recount his day, tell others personal information (name, age, birthday), how he is feeling, and so much more! He loves to learn and adores all of his friends and teachers. Michael has seen two therapists while at Speech Pathway and both have loved getting to know his amazing personality. Miss Ali loves that Michael is so funny, kind, and loves to learn. She admires the work his family has done over the years to impact his ability to interact and make friends. Miss Kelsey and Miss Ali agree that Michael is the sweetest and goofiest kid. He has the best jokes and always has a smile on his face. Michael brings joy to everyone he meets and is such a delight to have conversations with each week! We always look forward to seeing his sweet smile in the clinic and we’re so lucky to be a part of your week, Michael! Congratulations on your hard work!
Paxton M.
Paxton is 5 years old and started speech 2 years ago with Miss Chesley. At the time, Paxton was only 3.5 years old and almost completely unintelligible to anyone outside of his family. His caregiver mentioned it’s been a slow process due to his diagnosis of apraxia, but within the past year his grandparents, aunts, and uncles have all mentioned how much better they can understand him! Paxton’s family also notices that complete strangers can understand what he is trying to communicate too! Miss Chesley has loved getting to know Paxton through the past two years. “Paxton has stolen not just mine but ALL of our hearts at Speech Pathway! When he came in for a screener a couple of years ago, I never could have imagined the journey we were about to go on together! Once this sweet boy was diagnosed as having Apraxia I knew our journey was just starting and I was so thankful I could be a part of this journey with him and his sweet family. Paxton is the sweetest boy who wants to tell the world ALL he knows about ALL the things-especially dinosaurs! After being diagnosed with Apraxia, I knew his journey would be long and hard at times but that hasn’t stopped him from continuing to put in the hard work week after week! I have loved watching him grow up in so many ways but he now understands that some days will be harder than others and doesn’t give up. I have LOVED being a part of his journey of finding his voice to share his LOVE and EXCITEMENT of the world around him.” We are so grateful for the time we’ve gotten to spend with Paxton and his incredible personality! Way to go, buddy!
Hannah G.
Hannah is a firecracker of an 8 year old who has been in therapy for 4 years. She has significantly improved on her articulation since starting speech, which has helped boost her friendships and her relationships with teachers at school. Speech has absolutely helped her confidence shine. Hannah is energetic, outgoing, witty, and so kind. Miss Stephanie has loved working with her the past 4 years because she is unafraid to let her light shine for everyone to see. “She has an incredible personality that is so unique and loving and everyone deserves to know Miss Hannah!” Miss Amy also recently started seeing Hannah and confirms she has a kind heart, strong spirit, and the best sense of humor. She is always so confident and happy, and puts her best effort into all she does! It is such a privilege to spend time with this sweet girl every week! You are amazing, Hannah!
Upcoming Events
The Piece Walk was a huge success and we can’t believe the event gets better each year! Thank you to everyone who advocated for awareness and acceptance, bought a shirt, visited the walk, or walked with us!
Mark your calendars for all of our upcoming events for 2022-2023!
- September 27: Chester’s Pumpkin Patch
- October 1: Walk for Apraxia at Bluff Creek Park
- October 30: Trunk or Treat
- December 3: Pictures with Santa
- February: Charity Drive
- March 4: Zoo Day
- May 6: Movie Day
- June: Piece Walk
- August 6: Open House
Therapy Tip
It’s June and it is HOT. Check out some of our therapy tips below to get some work in with water!
- Gather up our favorite toys and wash them! Stay inside to wash them in the bath where the air is cold and the water can be colder, or step outside in the sunshine with the hose!
- Target verbs: wash, dry, dip, clean, rub, throw, swim, kick.
- Work on target sounds in between washing each toy.
- Work on language expansion through washing toys: if your little one says, “Wash,” we can expand the phrase by saying, “Wash toys!” or “Wash truck!”
- Work on receptively identifying vocabulary/adjectives (Where is your big car?) and expressively identifying vocabulary (Is that the BIG car or the LITTLE car?)
- In your wash bucket, add sensory toys like pom pom balls or coins. It’s always fun to discover and play in water!
- Going to the beach? Perfect for burying items and uncovering them!
- Make some DIY sidewalk chalk paint! Perfect for painting the sidewalk!
- Target nouns, such as colors, shapes, drawing animals, etc.
- Work on target sounds while painting or paint the words on the sidewalk you’re working on!
- Make the sidewalk paint together! Talk through what ingredients go in, how much of each ingredient, and talk through the verbs you’re using! Remember: the best way to build receptive language is through radio commentary throughout the day!
- Heading to a splash pad? What a fantastic time to work on verbs! What can you do through the water? Jump, crawl, run, walk, clap, stomp, etc.
- Everyone needs a dip in the pool every once in a while, why not use the diving board or slide to target your speech and language goals?
- Imitating animal noises and movements off the diving board
- Say a word with a target sound 5 times before taking a leap or sliding down
- Make some homemade popsicles!
- Target as much language input as you can by talking about the steps to making popsicles, stirring and mixing, hot/cold, and having fun together!
- Ask your clinician about more ways to target your goals on your vacation, throughout your summer days, or through your activities! They would love to help!
