SmallTalk Speech & Language Therapy

12/11/2025

11/11/2025

05/11/2025

JimJam day camp is on again in January with a K Pop theme. Kylie and Carmel are wonderful and patient teachers, great for kids with additional support needs. Book here:

Jim Jam Music's annual JAM CAMP is going deep into the world of K-POP and in particular, the fabulous music from K-Pop Demon Hunters that has taken...

20/10/2025

12/10/2025

When I tell people my daughter uses an AAC so many respond asking “why not teach her sign language?”

So my question is…. How many of you are fluent in sign language? Besides the simple and basic signs, similar to basic Spanish you’ve learned throughout the years.

Why is teaching her a language that’s not accessible and understood by majority of people a better idea than a high tech AAC app where she pushes a button and it speaks for her?

October is AAC awareness month! Let’s continue to normalize our technological advancements that are so beneficial and important for our disabled children.

We started on Proloquo2go before my daughter’s second birthday. We modeled it as often as possible. Gave her a large grid with robust language. We normalized it around different environments & with as many different communication partners as possible.

It didn’t happen over night. But it happened. She started using the device every single day to communicate her wants and needs. Then she started forming sentences on it.

And then she started speaking more words vocally with her own voice. And I swear it’s because of the AAC device. The way her brain learns and connects, when the device speaks words the same way consistently with no change in tone or dialect, it’s helped her.

She can say all the words, but she still has a language disorder and is not conversational. She rarely replies to questions. She can’t tell you how her day was, what she did, or what she ate yet.

Autism is complex. It’s understandably misunderstood. So I share our journey to give perspective. Because it’s important.

My daughter is 5.5 years old. She is joy, and she is Autistic.

12/10/2025

Many adults want those top few levels from their neurodivergent kids.

To get to those higher levels, we need all the lower levels solidly built up.

If you have concerns about any of those higher skills, work on the blocks underneath.

Maturity and life experience also help with building this tower. Many of our kids will need accommodations in place to support some things, such as the purple level (executive function skills). Needing accommodations is not a personal failing- not for the kid and not for the parent. It's a sensible, practical, and necessary support.

If you are accommodating your ND kids, your ND students, your ND employees- you are amazing. Thanks for showing the world that it can be done.

Em 🌈

28/09/2025