Late Talker

27/11/2025

Happy Thanksgiving!! 🦃🥧🍽️ Thanksgiving is a wonderful opportunity to introduce new vocabulary to your toddler. A quick reminder: it’s not only spoken words that count! Signs and sound effects count as words too when used independently and consistently. Follow your child’s lead, provide lots of models (pair these with gestures and make them stand out!) and have fun with it!!

22/10/2025

This Halloween season, remember that language is ALL AROUND US and toddlers are constantly learning new things about their surroundings (we play a big role in that!) Take advantage of the language opportunities around you this Halloween by exposing your toddler to new vocabulary during activities that interest them. Emphasize new words, give LOTS of repetition and remember to keep it light and fun (Dial down the pressure)! What new words is your toddler learning? Comment below! 🎃

09/10/2025

Looking for some spooky reads this Halloween? 🎃📚 Check out some of my favourite Halloween books and strategies to support early language skills!
Read more here: https://wix.to/dK7P9dh

I don't know about you, but I love the time leading up to a holiday when I can bring out some of my seasonal kids' books. Halloween is a great time to do just this! I've done a round-up of my favourite reads this Halloween season with some strategies to support early language skills. 1. Ten Little J...

15/08/2025

As caregivers, we must be mindful of the 'Summer Slide.' Today's blog post covers what this is, what the research shows and what you can do about it. What strategies do you use to keep your little ones engaged and learning during the break? Share your tips! Read more about it here: https://wix.to/6w6D19h

As caregivers to little ones, you may have heard the term 'summer slide' at one point or another. Or perhaps you've been exposed to random statistics around how language and/or academic skills regress during the summertime as a result of school being out for two months. It can be worrisome (to say t...

12/03/2025

12/02/2025

Toddlers 🤪 They will cause absolute chaos and then melt your heart with a hug. Can you relate?! Tag a fellow toddler parent!

03/02/2025

✨ Helping your toddler follow directions can be fun with the right resources!
Check out our latest blog for 5 books and songs that support this important skill.
Read more here: https://wix.to/xSX820d

Learning to follow directions is a critical developmental milestone for toddlers that sets the foundation for their expressive language development. Between 12 and 24 months, children begin understanding and executing simple one-step instructions (e.g. "put your shoes on"), which gradually evolve in...

10/01/2025

📕 Book Spotlight 📖
I just love The Pout-Pout Fish by
Deborah Diesen. This book has so many elements that make for a wonderful shared book reading experience including lots of REPETITION, beautiful illustrations and silly sound effects. Here are some strategies to support your little one's early language skills: 1) Fill-in-the-Blank: Once your child is familiar with the book, pause before finishing one of the sentences and see if they will fill in the blank (this can be with a gesture, a vocalization or a word!). 2) 'Feeling' words: this book is a great opportunity to talk about facial expressions and what they mean e.g. "He is frowning.. he is feeling sad.
He's smiling. He is feeling Happy!" 3) Sound effects: the "blub blub bluuuub" and
"smooch.smooch...smooch" bring an element of silliness to the book. I like to use different voices to entertain my toddler during these parts. Pause and see if your toddler will make these sounds after you! Have you read the Pout-Pout fish with your little one?

31/12/2024

Hard to believe that another year has gone by! This one was a busy one for me juggling another year of PhD work and being a mom to three littles 😮‍💨. Thank you for your support and for following along! Here’s to 2025! 🥳

22/10/2024

🩵 Personal Post 🩵 I’ve been quiet on here over the last several weeks. Getting back into the swing of school with three littles has been challenging (to say the least). I ran my first full Marathon on Sunday 🎉 Having had a couple of days to digest the race, I see so many parallels between the marathon and the journeys we face as parents of kids with speech and language needs. Here are my takeaways: 1) it’s so important to celebrate milestones along the way. I wouldn’t have been able to make it to the finish line without celebrating the small achievements along the way. 5k.. 10k .. 15k.. halfway… The same goes for our little ones: let’s celebrate the little wins, even when it feels like the end goal is far away. 2) Embrace teamwork and collaboration. The support of family and friends meant the world to me. I also made new friends on the course. We are better together. If you feel alone on your journey supporting a little one with communication difficulties, know that there are others out there too. Seek help when you’re concerned and don’t be afraid to rely on others sometimes! 3) Setbacks are inevitable, but it’s all part of the journey. My training plan was far from perfect, but that didn’t stop me from getting to that finish line. As parents, we may experience setbacks when it comes to our children’s progress. Unforeseen hurdles..Circumstances we did not anticipate. So we can focus on the things on that we CAN control and be flexible when it comes to the things we cannot.

Thank you all for continuing to follow along (even when things
get quiet). Your support is so appreciated! ❤️