Olive Tree Speech Therapy California

12/27/2022

Habari Gani (What’s the news?) Umoja (Unity) Wishing you a celebratory Kwanzaa season

12/25/2022

We hope your days are filled with holiday cheer ❄️ ☕️

12/21/2022

The simplist and most effective way to impact your child’s language development at home is through play and narration of daily activities.

Play skills lead to language skills. During play children learn to turn taking skills, to understand facial expressions, read body language, express themselves and interact with others. Ideas: pretend play, what your child already loves to do, singing songs, reading together, or repetitive play activity (e.g. blowing bubbles).

Throughout the day, narrate what you or your little one is doing. This creates opportunities for good modeled language and for your little one to connect words with actions. Try to keep your sentences short, simple, and repetitive. For example - “open door,” “Mommy is pouring the milk,” “You went fast!” “We are walking.”

Be sure to show related facial expression and exaggeration in your voice. This is teaching them to understand intonation and supports learning facial expressions.

12/20/2022

Why now? Early intervention of speech and language leads to better outcomes long term, and greater chances of improvement. The brain is quickly wiring itself during the early years of a child’s development, and this is the time we want to maximize their communication development. Children with delays in language may struggle with frustration (not understanding or being understood) or difficulty learning (impacts literacy and writing). Early intervention in language works to give children the tools they need to be long term successful communicators and support families.

12/20/2022

A child with difficulty with language may demonstrate difficulty following multi step directions. They may also show difficulty stringing words together to make sentences or phrases. Children with language delay may understand language, but not be using language as expected for their age. Language disorders do not all present the same. Speech therapy is an intervention that assists children in developing their language abilities.

12/20/2022

Sometimes a child may need extra support producing sounds we may expect them to have by a certain age (developmental norms). Sometimes a child may mix up sounds, drop sounds, or need extra support combining sounds in their speech. These are all areas that working with a speech therapist can confirm if intervention is needed, and support the development of.

11/28/2022

Early signs of speech sound development delays can be seen within a child’s first year. Call/email us today for a free consultation to discuss your little one’s speech sound development. 🌿

11/25/2022

Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving from Olive Tree Speech Therapy 💛

11/23/2022

11/23/2022

Alicia Baatrup has worked with children in a variety of settings, as a special purpose aide in a special day preschool, a preschool teacher, coach, day camp counselor, and as a school-based Speech-Language Pathologist. While in graduate school, she was a California State University, East Bay ASPIRE recipient; where she received specialized instruction and participated in community learning in order to specialize in Autism. Alicia believes in meeting children and families where they are, creating therapy sessions that are based on the interests of the child, and combining evidence based therapy approaches with what is culturally relevant and important to families.

11/23/2022

In therapy we believe in allowing the child to lead in play. We take the child’s natural interests and create therapy within that context. Not only is this a natural motivator for the child, but it also going to maximize opportunities for the child to use language functionally and even socially.