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Happy Speech, Westport (2026)

19/12/2025

Day 4/365 ✨ Exclamations count as words! ✨

Words like “uh-oh,” “wow,” “oops,” and “yay!” may seem small but they’re quick wins for early words and can help build longer words.

🧠 Here’s why exclamatory words are so powerful:
• Easy to understand – They’re short, simple, and paired with actions or emotions, making them easier for children to process.
 • High engagement – Exclamations grab attention and keep children interested in the interaction.
 • Often a child’s first words – Many children say exclamatory words before longer or more complex speech. They are also great opportunities to practice a variety of speech sounds and combinations.

• Easy to take a conversational turn - exclamations are short, making it easier for a child to be successful at taking a turn with speech in an interaction.

🎉 How to use them: Narrate play and daily routines using exclamations. “Uh-oh, it fell!” “Wow, big tower!” “Yay, you did it!”

📌 Please Save this for later or share with someone who would find it helpful!

When can you use exclamations in your day?

18/12/2025

Day 3/365 🎵 It’s so obvious but yet so under utilised!

So many of us feel awkward singing which is such a shame because it’s the kale of language development in my opinion.

Singing helps children:
✨ Pay attention (and where our attention goes our energy flows)
✨ Auditory processing: hear words more clearly with rhythm and melody.
✨ Vocabulary development: they’re repeatable, they allow for the use of gestures, they introduce new words.
✨ Social interaction: take a turn in a song, join in with others.

This tip applies to any child learning language! I’ve been listening to and I get her songs in my head and all of a sudden I’ve learnt new Irish words. She also uses visuals and gestures which is a story for another day!

What do you notice if you sing to your child?? Try it and let me know…ah go on!

17/12/2025

Day 2/365 🌿 I didn’t teach these words, nature did!

Real life, hands-on, multi sensory experiences are ideal learning environments. Outside we touch, see, hear, smell. We’re relaxed and in a state of learning. Our attention is captured. Our memories linked with an experience.

The outdoors offers a language learning opportunity on speed and it’s free and fun.

Building language learning opportunities can include:
1. Label what your child is looking at or touching.
2. Find items in the same category (different leaves).
3. Use describing words (crunchy, wet, dry, hollow, squelchy)
4. Use verbs in movement (walk, hop, sit, climb, hit)

The best language lessons don’t happen at a desk.
Where does your child talk the most—outside 🌿 or inside 🏠?

16/12/2025

Day 1/365 👶💛 The face carries so much!

Did you know that getting down face to face with your child plays a huge role in their speech, language, and interaction skills?
When your child can see your eyes, mouth, and facial expressions, they: 🗣️ Learn how sounds and words are made 👀 Pick up on social cues and non-verbal communication  🤝 Feel more connected and engaged 🧠 Build stronger communication and interaction skills

So next time you talk, try getting down to their level. For example, lie on the floor in front of them when playing; sit them looking at you when sharing a book; sing together; play horsie horsie 🌟

Instead of prompting them to look at you leave a moment of silence to see do they look at your face when you speak…because connection comes before communication 💕

13/11/2025

Excited to have met together this morning to set the wheels in motion for the first event in February in what we hope to be a series of events to support families in the west of Ireland who are facing long waiting lists and in need of guidance and support.

Any therapist who would like to get involved please get in touch 💫

01/04/2025

Interdisciplinary working is where it is at! Celebrating my first joint session with for a shared client. It was such a meaningful experience and definitely more valuable for the client. The benefit of joint sessions include:

👍 Both therapists knowing how to incorporate client specific sensory strategies to support regulation which facilitates the opportunity for interaction & communication development.
👍 Both therapists supporting communication development in a way that is identified specifically for that client in activities that are regulating.
👍 Parents having an opportunity to see how to incorporate goals into one activity that is at the correct level for the child.
👍 Potentially reducing the burden of multiple therapy sessions.
👍 Therapists learning from eachother, teasing out any challenges together from different lenses and different knowledge bases.

Have you had joint sessions and what was your experience?

30/03/2025

How do I know if my child is “late to talk” and should I do something to help? I’ll cover this topic in a series of posts over the next few days.

A child is described as “late to talk” if they are:
- A toddler (18-35 months)
- Developing language (expressive and in some studies receptive) slower than their peers which can’t be explained by other cognitive, sensory or neurological factors.
- Using less than 50 words and no word combinations at 24 months (The Language Development Survey: Rescorla 1989)

Follow along as I explore and learn about research on “late talkers”, what does it indicate, and when we should offer intervention.

28/03/2025

Why We Shouldn’t Prompt Gestalt Language Processors to Say “Hello” or “Goodbye”

When we prompt a child who uses echolalia to say “hello” or “goodbye,” we can unintentionally create barriers rather than support their communication. Here’s why:

1️⃣ They may echo the whole phrase rather than isolating the greeting (e.g., repeating “say hello” instead of just “hello”).
2️⃣ It removes their autonomy—they might not feel comfortable to say hello / goodbye.
3️⃣ It can create stress and expectation for the child, especially if they’re not at that language stage yet.
4️⃣ It teaches a response, rather than modelling greetings in different contexts or in a way that the child connects with.
5️⃣ It limits real-world learning—children learn how we greet people differently based on relationships (e.g., we might hug family but not a Garda… though they might appreciate it!).

✨ What to Do Instead? ✨

Model, don’t prompt. Show your child how greetings work naturally, with no expectation for them to imitate you. Our desire for social conformity can sometimes lead us to push greetings when, in reality, children will use them when they’re ready and in a way that feels right for them. It’s okay if they don’t greet people right away—trust the process. 💛

01/02/2025

Verbal routines are a fantastic way to help a child with their understanding and expression as they hear the same language repeated frequently in the same context.

This gives them an opportunity to:
👉 Map the language onto what they’re experiencing (supporting understanding).
👉 Hear it lots of times to help them process it.
👉 Create an opportunity for them to take a conversational turn by filling a gap.
👉 Practise their communication multiple times in a predictable way.

Do you have any verbal routines that you’ve found really helpful?

07/06/2024

🎉🎉Appointments available for online speech sound therapy!

Being a parent myself, I understand the stress of being concerned about your child, and having to wait a year or more for an assessment or therapy to support them.

This may be a great option for you if you:
👉 Are worried about your child’s pronunciation.
👉People (including you) are having a difficult time understanding your child.
👉You know your child needs additional Speech therapy but are on a long waiting list.
👉Are concerned but don’t know if your child needs Speech and Language therapy at this time.
👉 Live in an area where it’s long travel to a clinic.

For the right child, online speech therapy has been proven to be as effective as in-person speech and language therapy. It was a no-brainer that I had to begin offering this as a solution to parents!

Emma is a Speech and Language therapist with experience in working online, bringing therapy alive for children and working with speech sound difficulties. Emma is currently providing therapy in collaboration with SM Speech Therapy.

Contact info@smspeechtherapy.is to enquire about online speech and language therapy with us!

26/05/2024

Want to help your child to develop language…help them to take more turns in an interaction. Taking more turns is a really important social skill that children need to learn language. Interactions last longer, children hear more language models from you and have an opportunity to practice communication when they take more turns. Children also get the opportunity to develop their skills in playing with someone else.

Often times, a child taking more turns and beginning more interactions will be a goal for speech therapists for children who have delayed language skills.

Track how many turns in a conversation or play your child can take and support them to take more over time.

If you find these tips helpful or want some more, it is so appreciated if you interact with it to help us share this information for people to benefit from it. 🥰🥰

07/04/2024

Being face-to-face is one of the most well-known parent strategies to support children’s speech and language development.
We hear of it so often that we almost forget about it! It’s one of those strategies that sounds simple but often requires a bit of thought (or rolling around on the floor while your child plays!)
When do you try to get face-to-face with your child? Tell me below.

Happy Speech