Bookmark Speech, Language, & Literacy Services

08/22/2025

We 💚 this inclusive playground!

08/22/2025

New schedule. New teachers. New chances to show up as yourself.

For middle and high school students who stutter, our new accommodation request templates make it easy to start the school year with understanding and support. They help students share their stutter, explain what works best for them, and set the tone for a classroom where everyone’s voice belongs.

Because we firmly believe the best way to kick off a new school year is feeling confident in your own skin. Visit westutter.org/post/free-printables-brochures to get your template now!

08/21/2025

Thank you, Vancouver Family Magazine, for providing such wonderful information about speech/language therapy!

Can you spot a familiar face in the article? 👀

"Not all speech therapy looks the same. The approach depends on the child’s age, diagnosis and needs.

But for Luczek, it’s all about playing. “We play a lot of imaginative games. I have a play kitchen, play food and a play dollhouse. With some of my older clients, we discuss topics that interest them. We play card games. I’ll put together trivia lists of questions to work on fine-tuning those speech sounds while also discussing their own interests. I think that incorporating play is an excellent way to trick their brain into learning while they’re also just communicating naturally.”"

When a child struggles to express themselves or understand others, the entire family feels the impact. Speech therapy in Southwest Washington in transforming the lives of local families.

08/13/2025

At first glance, it looks like we're just having fun. Play-based therapy embeds functional language concepts in learning activities that kids understand. We model language concepts and expand their own language to help them learn and grow!

What are some language concepts you can spot in this photo? This duck house has been staged by one of our 3-year old clients!

07/16/2025

So excited about this book that just arrived today! All of the kids in the pictures are Deaf!

07/04/2025

No sessions today!

In the meantime, you can incorporate activities and practice words related to the holiday at home or on the go with your children. You can do this by asking “wh-” questions (who, what, where, why, when) about the Fourth of July (perhaps what colors they’re seeing, or sounds they’re hearing), which targets comprehension, and expressive and descriptive language. Specific Fourth of July speech activities include:

Vocabulary Building:
🎆Fireworks: Discuss colors (red, white, blue), sounds (boom, pop, fizz), and actions (explode, burst, sparkle).
🎇Parade: Talk about different types of vehicles, instruments, and people.
🎆BBQ: Name different foods (hot dogs, hamburgers, corn), drinks, and cooking utensils.
🎇Patriotic Symbols: Introduce words like flag, stars, stripes, eagle, and liberty.

Language Skills:
🎆Following Directions: Give multi-step directions related to Fourth of July activities (e.g., "First, put the hot dog on the grill, then put it in a bun.").
🎇Sequencing: Discuss the order of events for the holiday (e.g., "First, we eat, then we watch fireworks.").
🎆Storytelling: Encourage your child to retell a Fourth of July experience or create a fictional story about the holiday.
🎇Descriptive Language: Ask your child to describe the sights, sounds, and smells of the Fourth of July using adjectives.

Social Communication:
🎆Role-Playing: Pretend to be at a Fourth of July party or parade, practicing greetings, turn-taking, and asking questions.
🎇Sharing: Encourage your child to share their favorite Fourth of July memories or traditions.
🎆Social narrative: Descriptive sentences about the holiday, usually containing pictures and tailored for the specific individual, which explore what is happening and one’s feelings or thoughts.

06/27/2025

Sometimes you gotta use bugs to count out syllables!
We used put some bugs on each syllable and practiced some syllable timed speech with a client today. Then we put the word into a short phrase and tapped the table for each syllable, and put the bugs in a bed so they can jump around!
Syllable timed speech is a great strategy for younger clients who stutter, it helps break up longer words for speech intelligibility and fluency. It's one of the many stuttering tools we teach about here at Bookmark Speech! Fluency tools are an option that people who stutter can choose to use to facilitate more fluent speech in certain situations. Of course, they know that stuttering is okay too!

06/24/2025

Bring a picnic and engage with the stuttering community on July 23rd! Bookmark Speech* will be there, will you?

(*we will likely be there sometime after 7 pm due to client scheduling, but we'll be there!)

Pack a picnic and join us for a FREE, family-friendly becoming of live music, games, free popcorn, and an open mic spotlighting kids and teens who stutter. Everyone in the stuttering community is welcome (adults, kids, teens, families, friends, professionals, allies, advocates). Come celebrate creativity, confidence, and connection! Cook Park, Shelter 4, Tigard!

06/06/2025

05/13/2025

Our clients are ready to spread the word about stuttering acceptance! Who wants a t-shirt? 🖐️

05/13/2025

It's Stuttering Awareness / Acceptance Week, and kids who stutter have their message of acceptance they would like to share. 🌈Stuttering is okay!🌈

05/03/2025

Vancouver Family Magazine's May issue is out now, in print & online! Go here to find a print copy at 300+ locations all over Clark County: https://bit.ly/find-a-copy-of-vfm or go here to read & share online: https://bit.ly/VFM-May2025

In this issue:

🎨 Art for All: Kids unleash their imagination at these art spaces in Vancouver and beyond.

🐝 Backyard Beekeeping for Beginners: Check out the buzz on hosting bees in your very own backyard–and seeing the fruits of their labor in your garden.

🫱🏽‍🫲🏾 Leadership Clark County: Changing Lives Through Community Engagement: Learn how a nonprofit, nonpartisan, civic leadership program founded in 1993 has helped develop generations of community leaders.

🗞️ Couve Scoop: KXRWvancouver Gives Kids the Mic with KidCast Keepsakes | Class of 2025 Grad Walks: A Win for Grads, Kids and Educators Alike | Visit Vancouver WA Highlights History with Community Events Pass

👩🏽‍🤝‍👩🏼 Online Exclusive: Moms Groups in Vancouver: Discover how these moms groups in Vancouver and beyond are creating connection during the hard and joyful seasons of parenting.

📆 Find upcoming events in our community calendar.

📸 Adorable outdoor art cover photo by Fern and Fable Photography