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Monday 10am - 2pm Tuesday 10am - 2pm Wednesday 10am - 7pm Thursday 10am - 7pm Friday 10am - 7pm

Beyond Words Pediatric Speech Therapy, 208 W Monroe Street, Decatur, IN (2026)

12/25/2025

Merry Christmas to all the families that allow me to help your child find their voice! It has been another AMAZING year and I am thankful and grateful for each and every one of you! I hope you all have an enjoyable day with your families!

12/03/2025

✨ Words with Tori – A Special Thank You ✨

As I wrap up my time here and begin my school externship, I want to say how incredibly grateful I am for this experience. Emily has given me such an amazing opportunity within her clinic—one that has helped my confidence grow in ways I never imagined. I am so thankful for her mentorship, encouragement, and guidance as I continue my journey toward becoming a speech-language pathologist. ❤️

To the wonderful families I’ve gotten to know: thank you for trusting me, learning with me, and allowing me to be a small part of your child’s story. It has been an honor.

As I move into this next chapter, I want to remind parents that it is always okay to reach out if you think your child may benefit from speech therapy. Early support makes a tremendous difference, and noticing early signs is an important step.

Below are early indicators—across the 9 big areas of communication—that may suggest a child could benefit from speech-language services:
🗣 1. Speech Sounds / Articulation
Hard to understand compared to peers
Frequent sound substitutions or omissions
Frustration when trying to be understood

📚 2. Language (Understanding + Using Words & Sentences)
Limited vocabulary for age
Difficulty following directions
Short or incomplete sentences

👄 3. Social Communication / Pragmatics
Limited eye contact
Difficulty taking turns in conversations
Challenges interpreting social cues

🧠 4. Early Literacy / Phonological Awareness
Trouble rhyming
Difficulty identifying beginning or ending sounds
Struggles with letter–sound connections

📥 5. Receptive Language (Understanding)
Appears not to listen
Needs directions repeated often
Difficulty answering WH-questions

📤 6. Expressive Language (Talking)
Not using words by expected milestones
Difficulty forming sentences
Trouble asking questions or expressing needs

💬 7. Fluency (Stuttering)
Repetitions of sounds or syllables
Blocking or long pauses
Tension or frustration when trying to speak

🍎 8. Feeding & Swallowing
Difficulty chewing different textures
Coughing/choking while eating or drinking
Minimal food repertoire

👂 9. Voice
Persistent hoarseness or “raspy” voice
Voice sounds too loud, too soft, or nasal
Frequent throat clearing or vocal strain

If any of these signs feel familiar, you’re not alone—support is available, and early intervention can make all the difference.
Thank you all again for such a meaningful experience. I can’t wait to take everything I’ve learned into this next step, as a grand adventure is about to begin. ❤️
— Tori - Future SLP ✨

11/19/2025

🧡 Words with Tori — Let’s Talk About Swallowing in Kids! 🧡

Did you know that swallowing is a skill—just like walking or talking?
✨ Swallowing is the process our bodies use to move food and liquids safely from our mouths to our stomachs. It takes over 30 muscles working together!

👶 How Swallowing Can Affect Children
Some kiddos have difficulty chewing, controlling food in their mouths, or coordinating the swallow. You might notice:
1. Coughing or choking during meals
2. Gagging
3. Taking very long to eat
4. Trouble moving to new textures
5. Frequent congestion or wet-sounding breathing
6. Difficulty gaining weight

These challenges may be part of pediatric dysphagia, and speech-language pathologists are trained to help!

🧡 What We Do in Therapy
In feeding & swallowing therapy, we may work on:
1. Safe positioning
2. Oral motor skills (chewing, lip closure, tongue movement)
3. Introducing new textures safely
4. Teaching pacing and small sips/bites
5. Strengthening swallow patterns
6. Parent coaching to support mealtime success

Our goal is safe, happy, and confident eating—never pressure, fear, or rushing.
A speech therapist might use a Honey Bear straw cup (pictured below) to help kids with swallowing difficulties to practice safe sucking and improve lip closure, control, and coordination while allowing the therapist to gently guide the amount of liquid the child receives.

🥣 Baby Food Texture Levels (Common Stages)
Many families see labels on baby food and wonder what they mean!

Here’s a quick parent-friendly breakdown:
Stage 1 – Smooth Purees: Very thin and smooth. Great for early eaters learning to move food with their tongue.
Stage 2 – Thicker Purees / Blends with More Variety: Slightly thicker and may include mild blends of ingredients.
Stage 3 – Textured Purees / Soft Mashable: Still soft but may have small, gentle lumps. Requires more tongue movement to manage safely.
Soft Solids / Table Foods: Soft fruits, cooked veggies, scrambled eggs—foods that can be mashed easily with gums or teeth.

Every child progresses at their own pace, and an SLP can help determine what is safe and developmentally appropriate.

🥤 Thickness Levels (for Drinks)
Sometimes kids need thicker liquids to help them swallow safely.

A simple overview:
Thin liquids – water, milk, juice
Nectar-thick – slightly thicker, like a smoothie melted for a minute
Honey-thick – pours slowly, like actual honey
Pudding-thick – spoon-able, not pourable

SLPs use research-based guidelines to help determine if a child needs thicker liquids and how to prepare them safely.

👪 Parent Education: What You Can Do at Home
1. Make mealtimes relaxed and pressure-free
2. Let your child explore foods with hands, lips, and tongue
3. Model chewing and sipping
4. Offer appropriate textures based on your child’s skill level
5. Never force-feed
6. Watch for signs of difficulty (coughing, gagging, long mealtimes)

Ask your SLP for guidance on textures, thickness, and pacing if you're unsure

🧡 You’re Not Alone!
Feeding and swallowing difficulties are more common than most families realize.
With the right support, your child can build safe and happy eating skills—and we’re here to help every step of the way 🧡

11/12/2025

🍂 Words with Tori: Thankful for Every Sound! 🍁
This month, we’re giving thanks for all the little sounds that make big connections — from laughter at the dinner table to the crunch of fall leaves! 🍃

🎧 What is Aural Rehabilitation?
Aural rehabilitation (or “listening therapy”) helps children with cochlear implants or hearing aids learn to listen, understand, and communicate effectively. We work on helping their brains recognize and attach meaning to the sounds they hear!

🗣️ In Speech Therapy, We May Target the Following during Thanksgiving-Themed Activities:
Speech sound production: Practicing clear articulation of new sounds
Language: Building vocabulary with fall and Thanksgiving words (🍁 turkey, thankful, pumpkin!)
Voice & Fluency: Using strong, steady voices while sharing what we’re thankful for
AAC (Augmentative & Alternative Communication): Using visuals or devices to express gratitude
Social Communication: Practicing turn-taking and sharing with friends and family during conversations

🧸 Therapy Tip:
Sometimes we use baby dolls with toy cochlear implants during sessions! This helps children see themselves represented, learn how to talk about their devices, and practice listening and speaking in play-based ways—because learning through play builds confidence and connection. 💕

🏡 Try These Thankful Listening Activities at Home:
🍂 Thankful Sound Hunt: Listen for and name fall sounds—crunching leaves, birds, or kitchen noises while cooking.
🦃 I’m Thankful For... Game: Take turns naming things you’re thankful for, using listening and speech skills.
📚 Story Time: Read fall-themed books and ask listening questions like “Who said that?” or “What will happen next?”

Every sound your child hears is something to be thankful for this season! 💛

11/05/2025

📚✨ Words with Tori: Let’s Talk LITERACY! ✨📚
What is literacy?
Literacy is more than just reading and writing — it’s the ability to understand, use, and express language through print. This includes skills like recognizing sounds in words (phonological awareness), understanding vocabulary, and using language to comprehend stories or directions.
What is phonological awareness?
Phonological awareness is the ability to hear and play with the sounds in words — like rhyming, counting syllables, or identifying beginning sounds.
🧠 It’s a critical early skill that helps children connect spoken words to written language, making it easier to learn to read and spell later on!
How do speech and language delays affect literacy?
Children with speech or language delays may have difficulty:
🗣️ Recognizing and manipulating sounds in words (like hearing that cat and cap sound similar)
📖 Understanding new vocabulary or story details
✏️ Expressing their ideas clearly in writing or conversation
These challenges can make reading and writing harder, which can impact classroom learning and confidence.
Which part of the Big 9 does this fit under?
✅ Language — both receptive (understanding) and expressive (using language)
✅ Speech Sound Production — how children produce and differentiate sounds
✅ Cognition — skills that support memory, sequencing, and comprehension
How can speech therapy help?
In therapy, we:
🔤 Build phonological awareness through rhyming, blending, and segmenting sounds
🧠 Strengthen vocabulary and comprehension skills through stories and play
💬 Practice narrative skills — telling stories with clear beginnings, middles, and ends
✍️ Use multi-sensory activities (letters, visuals, movement) to connect sounds to print
Activities parents can try at home:
🏠 Sound games — Play “I spy something that starts with /s/!”
🎵 Rhyme time — Read rhyming books like Dr. Seuss and have your child fill in missing rhymes.
📚 Story talk — After reading, ask questions like, “What happened first?” or “How did the story end?”
✏️ Letter hunt — Find letters in signs, cereal boxes, or around the house and say their sounds together.
🎨 Name play — Use playdough or magnets to build your child’s name and talk about each letter’s sound.
💡 Remember: Building strong language + strong sound awareness = building strong readers! 💡

10/31/2025

Happy Halloween! I want to wish all of my little patients a safe and fun Halloween today!
I also wanted to share that I have openings for taking new patients! Please don't hesitate to reach out to me or your physician if you have any questions about my services or how I can best help you and your child.

10/29/2025

🎃👻 Words with Tori: Spooky Social Communication even with AAC Devices! 👻🎃

👋 What is Social Communication?
Social communication is how we use language to connect with others — it’s knowing what to say, how to say it, and when to say it! This includes skills such as taking turns in conversation, understanding body language, staying on topic, and using words to share thoughts, feelings, and ideas effectively.

🎃 How We Address Social Communication in Speech Therapy:
During speech therapy, we work on social communication in fun and meaningful ways! We might:
- Role-play real-life social situations (like trick-or-treating or playing with friends)
- Use social stories to teach perspective-taking and problem-solving
- Practice turn-taking games or cooperative play
- Support communication using AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) for children who benefit from visual supports, communication devices, or picture symbols
- Integrate language comprehension and expression (two of the Big 9 areas!) to build strong vocabulary, sentence structure, and understanding of emotions

✨ Try These Spooky-Fun Activities at Home:
1. Halloween Social Stories: Read a short story about trick-or-treating or attending a fall festival. Pause to talk about how the characters feel, what they might say, or what’s expected next. My favorite short stories to use are the Berenstain Bear books!
2. Pumpkin Emotion Match: Draw pumpkins with different faces (happy, scared, surprised) and talk about what might make someone feel that way.
3. AAC Halloween Hunt: If your child uses AAC, go on a “word hunt” to find and use Halloween words like pumpkin, candy, or ghost on their device! Below is a quick tutorial on how a child might say "Happy Halloween" by using their device!

🧡 Social communication skills are key for friendships, play, and participation — and what better time to practice them than during a holiday full of imagination, teamwork, and fun?

✨ Follow Words with Tori for more parent-friendly tips, play ideas, and communication fun for this holiday season!

10/22/2025

Welcome back to Words with Tori, where LANGUAGE is the theme of today!

🎃 Pumpkin season is the perfect time to build language skills while creating something fun!

Listed below are a few ways to sneak in receptive (understanding) and expressive (using) language during a simple Jack-O-Lantern craft:

🍁 Receptive Language (Understanding words, directions, etc.)
When we work on receptive language, we are helping our kiddos listen, understand, and follow directions. During your craft, try:

Following Directions:
- "First, glue the hat on the pumpkin."

- "Now, glue the triangle eyes on!"

Concepts and Vocabulary:
- Talk about shapes, sizes, and locations ("Put the small triangle under the eyes for the nose!"

Answering Questions:
- "Where might you see a Jack-O-Lantern?"

In speech therapy, SLPs might use similar step-by-step tasks to build listening and comprehension skills - turning fun activities into natural language lessons!

🍁 Expressive Language (Using Words/Gestures to Communicate)
Expressive language focuses on helping our kiddos talk, describe, and share their ideas. During your craft, encourage your child to:

Label and Describe:

- "My pumpkin is happy!"

- "My pumpkin is eating candy because it's hungry!"

Make Choices:

- "Do you want a witch hat or a bat?"

Tell a Story:
After decorating, ask: "What's your pumpkin's name?" or "Tell me what your pumpkin likes to do." With the information, you can create a short story together!

Expand Sentences:
If your child says, "Eyes!" you can model, "Yes! Big triangle eyes!"

🎃 Craft Setup:
Materials - printed out picture of a pumpkin (or orange paper plate), black paper for shapes, glue, scissors, and, if wanted, printed out pictures of accessories such as candy or a witch's hat.

Steps:

- Cut out shapes for eyes, nose, and mouth.

- Glue the pieces to make your Jack-O-Lantern's face.

- Add details - candy, hat, bat, etc.

- Give your pumpkin a name and tell its story!

Also attached, the “Talking Through Fall” image can be used as a visual cue during therapy or at home to spark language exploration — parents and children can “explore” each leaf together by completing the receptive or expressive task it lists. As they move through the leaves, kids practice following directions, describing, storytelling, and vocabulary in a fun, seasonal way that encourages active engagement and conversation.

✨Why it matters:
Simple crafts like this build vocabulary, comprehension, turn-taking, and imagination — all while keeping kids engaged. Language grows best through hands-on play and conversation! ✨ Tip: Everyday activities can be language-building opportunities! Slow down, talk about what you’re doing, and let your child’s words lead the way.

Beyond Words Pediatric Speech Therapy

12/25/2025

12/03/2025

11/19/2025

11/12/2025

11/05/2025

10/31/2025

10/29/2025

10/22/2025

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Monday	10am - 2pm
Tuesday	10am - 2pm
Wednesday	10am - 7pm
Thursday	10am - 7pm
Friday	10am - 7pm