Kerena - Kay Gonzalez

05/20/2023

If you’d like your child to continue speech therapy services during the summer break, contact me to book a session!

*Documentation of the most recent ARD and Evaluation is needed on the day of the first session.

05/11/2023

Working from home definitely has its perks, but I really enjoying days that I go in to the office. It helps to have a fun and cozy office space!

Make an appointment for a consult or evaluation today by clicking the link below!

04/28/2023

Middle school speech therapy is my favorite! They are at an age where they understand the bigger picture and can take ownership of their growth. It’s also an age group that requires much less external motivation (stickers, rewards, prizes, etc). I love having conversations with them, bringing in their real life, applying strategies to daily scenarios and incorporating books into therapy tasks.

But, I would say building rapport is the way to middle schoolers hearts. This age group needs to feel validated and they thrive when they know you are interested in who they are.

These kiddos are also capable of tracking their progress and talking about how they feel about their speech, language and communication needs. This is where we model self advocacy and develop positive mindsets on their individual voices.

This age group is sometimes misunderstood but they have a special place in my heart!

04/25/2023

Summer is right around the corner! This means students who receive speech therapy at school have a 3 month gap between services. If you’re interested in bridging that gap and continuing growth, sign up for summer speech services!

To be eligible, a current IEP from the students school must be provided.

Go to www.balancedtherapywellness.com to sign up or request a free consultation for more information.

Virtual and in-person sessions are offered.

03/24/2023

Its hard to know when to seek out early intervention because language development looks so different from child to child.

But, here are some things to looks out for:

🗣️ limited babbling, reduced number of sounds
🗣️limited gestures, pointing, reaching out, nodding yes, shaking head for no
🗣️ irregular play, doesn’t play with toys in a conventional way,
🗣️ few or no words, ASL signs, or approximations (“ba” for ball)
🗣️ limited comprehension, doesn’t follow simple directions, respond to yes/no questions
🗣️ lack of prelinguistic skills - joint attention, imitating, turn taking, facial expressions, body language, attention, responds when spoken to

This is by no means a comprehensive list. But, it’s a starting point in determining a need for speech therapy services.

skills

03/11/2023

Oh wait, I have a toddler… never mind.

Breaks looks different these days. Not so much rest and relaxation. It’s more like continuous tug of war between preventing a melt down, keeping him fed so he doesn’t get hangry and avoiding things being broken/torn/thrown/eaten. Other than that, it’s smooth sailing!

Here’s to Spring Break 2023… mom edition!

It’s Spring Break!!!! Well, sort of… I also have 2 other positions that don’t really have spring break. But, I do get some of the perks of time off this week! And I’m so grateful!

I’ll be taking Luke to the park, spending lots of time in the backyard, going to the zoo, visiting the Doseum and probably going to target.

Happy Spring break y’all!!!!

03/06/2023

On a personal note, my family lost a treasure a couple days ago and every day has felt really heavy. Loss is never easy and always brings waves of emotions that can feel isolating. Sometimes there are just no words to make sense of the pain and confusion, anger and sorrow.

But one thing I’ve learned is that there is comfort in knowing you are supported and knowing you have people holding space for you in times of grief. To have people giving your room to feel all the things or to just be there with you is a gift.

There is comfort in knowing that you aren’t going through it alone.

03/01/2023

It can be confusing when your child receives private speech therapy but then does not qualify for services in school. Without getting into standard deviations and test scores, the bottom line is that children have to score lower on their evaluation to qualify for speech therapy in school.

Additionally, schools are focused on academics because their purpose is to ensure that their students have the resources they need to learn. So, the committee has to determine if there is an educational need in addition to a communicative impairment.

For example, a child’s score may reflect a deficit in pragmatic language. But, if they receive A’s and B’s, participate in class and show effective communication skills, it might be concluded that speech therapy is not necessary to be successful in the classroom setting.

In a private practice, academics does not determine the need for speech therapy. While it may be useful information, it does not hold as much weight as it does in schools. Another factor is that scores do not need to be as low to qualify. Therefore, kids can receive services in the private practice setting when they were not eligible in their school.

02/27/2023

Happy Monday everyone!!! Just sharing some thoughts as we start the work week. I’m definitely an over planner sometimes. But, I find that sometimes the best therapy happens when we go off script and let the session just flow.

The same goes in life! Especially life with a tiny toddler with a strong will who wants to control the world around him lol. Can anyone else relate?

02/23/2023

As an SLP mama of a 21-month old, I’ve been on the receiving end of frustration outbursts when my son is trying to tell me something and I have zero clue what he is trying to communicate. He is saying the same group of sounds over and over while getting angrier and angrier that I don’t know what a “lolowa” is. I can see his little eyes thinking of ways to help me understand while his eye brows are bunched together. Most often, he is able to point, gesture or motion to provide some context for me to understand what he is saying. Other times, we land in the magical world of meltdowns because of our communication breakdown. Then I remind myself to breathe and that this season is temporary. After that, we reset and do that same dance again and again.

All this to say, expressive language develops at a slower rate because it takes such precise motor function for the tongue, lips, teeth and jaw to work together for form words.

02/21/2023

Do I have all the answers? Absolutely not! It’s virtually impossible to have the capacity to absorb and retain that amount of information. And I say this as an SLP, a mom, a wife… in basically all aspects of life. It’s 100% okay to say “I don’t know, but let me find out and get back to you.”

The bottom line… In my profession and as a person, I’m learning and growing daily.

02/15/2023

It’s a very common misconception that SLP’s only treat speech and language. Our job title gives the impression that we are limited to those 2 areas when in fact there are 9 broad domains within our scope of practice.

The more you know…

02/13/2023

I’m getting a jumpstart to Valentines Day because it’s one of those Mondays. To be fair, Monday’s are definitely not my favorite! But, sometimes all we need to do is show up and do what needs to be done. And that’s ok.

02/09/2023

Question: What is the best age to start speech therapy?

Answer: Well, let's start here...

Speech therapy tips, caregiver resources and evidenced based techniques from an informed speech language pathologist. All you need to know about developmental language, rehabilitating speech, voice health, and so much more. Join the conversation, ask questions and be part of the community of learnin

11/14/2022

Similar to language, music incorporates articulation, sequencing, voice, pitch, intonation, rhythm, auditory processing and so much more!

When singing, the lungs coordinate with the anatomical structures used to produce speech (ie, vocal folds, diaphragm, articulators, etc).

The brain uses both language and music as a network that can be used to support one another.

There is so much shared space between these 2 therapeutic practices! It’s fascinating and informative to know that collaboration can be an effective plan of care.

11/07/2022

Just in time for the cool weather… we are embracing fall with some speech and language fun!

Elizette González, MT-BC, will be joining us to incorporate music while targeting expressive language, receptive language, social skills, emotions and so much more!

Swipe for all the details!
www.balancedspeechtherapy.org