Aquila Speech Therapy

31/10/2022

Married my best friend 3 weeks ago and was definitely the best decision of my life♥️

I have moved to Australia to live with my husband and will be starting my masters degree sometime next year♥️ Thank you Malaysia for the memories and the opportunities given.

16/06/2022

Y’all know I am a huge advocate for early evaluations and intervention. I say, pretty much on repeat, “DON’T WAIT AND SEE!”

And then parents call and get a months and sometimes even years long wait before they can even get an evaluation. And that’s soooo frustrating! I can’t make waitlists disappear (I wish!), but I can give you some tips to do while you wait!

What would you add? 👇🏼

06/05/2022

Been trying to work on her good job sign for soooo long and she FINALLY DID IT! I knew you could do it little one! We've been working on her tongue movements and as well in order to start vocalising more and we're there! I'm so proud of you kid and to your mum as well of how much she continues to believe in you❤

03/05/2022

14/04/2022

Today I teamed up Speech Sisters to talk about the differences between late talkers and Autism ❤️

♾ Autism can be an overwhelming and scary word for many parents. But, Autism is often different than what most people think because of the way it is usually portrayed in media (stereotypical extremes, which while accurate for some, isn’t representative of most).

✅ Autism IS: a difference in the brain where people think/process, act, learn, and often communicate in a different way. An Autistic person will have patterns of differences in: 1️⃣ language use/development, 2️⃣ socialization, and 3️⃣ routines, interests, and/or sensory processing.

❌ Autism IS NOT: bad or wrong, anti-social, unintelligent, the same for everyone, only one thing/sign (like language delay, toe walking, lining up toys, etc).

👍🏼 And autistic people CAN be: happy, successful, employed, married/parents, and all of the things.

If you (or anyone else) notice a pattern of differences in your child, we recommend an Autism evaluation (even if you or other professionals do not think one is needed) - a diagnosis will not change who your child is, but it can give the individual as well as adults who support them a better understanding of how their brain works and their individual support needs!

06/04/2022

This week, I’ve shared what stimming is and that it has a purpose- regulation. Stimming can look so many different ways that I could never make a full list of all of them, but here are some common stims.

Remember, we are NOT stopping kids from Stimming. Even if we think it looks unusual or think, “but what will other people think when they see this?” Instead, educate! “This is what he does to be able to focus”, “this is how they show they are excited”, “this helps her to regulate her emotions” - there’s NO shame in Stimming, but when we act like it’s bad, kids feel that -and then they feel bad for doing things that make them feel good. And we would NEVER want that for anyone!

29/03/2022

06/02/2022

Many people have an idea in their mind about what Autism is- and, truth be told, that’s usually an incomplete or incorrect representation based on stereotypes.

*Autism is not always a clear difference*

Don’t get me wrong, it can be a clear- but just as often (or maybe more often 🤷🏼‍♀️) it can be subtle, or lesser known differences, and only clear to trained specialists- which is why we refer kids for an assessment if anyone thinks one is needed.

Autism is not just 1-2 things. It’s several things combined. Autism is a constellation of characteristics or differences in 3 key areas, but those differences can present in so many different ways! Some examples can be:

1️⃣ Differences in Language: Can range from non speaking to highly verbose with an advanced vocabulary. It could be a child who speaks more similar to an adult than a child their age. It could be using words more repetitively than expected, or speaking in an unusual pitch or intonation patterns. It could also be difficulty understanding jokes, idioms, or sarcasm.

2️⃣ Differences in socialization: Can range from preferring to be alone to being “overly” social. It could be oversharing of personal information or a lack of awareness or recognition of stranger danger. It could be avoiding eye contact or using intense eye contact. It could be needing people to say exactly what they mean rather than giving vague (NT socially accepted) hints.

3️⃣ Repetitive Thoughts/Actions: Can range from melting down with changes in routines to asking “why?” when unexpected changes occur. It could be having one area of intense interest to several areas of interest that could be considered age appropriate. Can look like a person has a large fact based knowledge. It may be a focus on details. It can be sensory differences of any kind. It could be flapping arms, lining up toys, finger or body posturing. It could be Sensory seeking: crashing into items, pushing heavy items, loves to be squeezed, enjoys weighted items, listening to sounds over and over, looking closely at items. Or Sensory avoiding: dislikes loud sounds, certain textures/foods, hair washing, teeth brushing, nails trimming, and so much more.

I talk about this and waaaaay more in my Autism Handbook available at www.mrsspeechiep.com

04/02/2022