Blog Archive

In a world where the gift of speech isn’t available, life can be challenging, to be sure, but speech isn't the only way to communicate. For the nonverbal 2.2-2.9 million North American kids, there are many ways we can encourage communication, primarily through what we call augmentative and alternative communication,...

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental condition that affects many children and students. It can impact various aspects of life, including academic performance, social interactions, and emotional regulation.  Fortunately, therapies such as speech therapy and occupational therapy can play a crucial role in helping children with ADHD thrive, improving...

In 2022, more than 70 million adults in the United States reported a disability for a wide spectrum of reasons that ranged from COVID-19 fallout to arthritis.  If you’re facing a health challenge that’s impacting your quality of life and your ability to function, our goal through our occupational therapy...

If you thought the development of your child during pregnancy was impressive, they go full steam ahead the moment they enter the world. As they grow into little humans right before your eyes, you’re intent on ensuring their development is on track, including their ability to communicate. If you suspect...

There’s a good reason why we now refer to autism as a spectrum disorder — the diagnostic criteria can be hard to pin down, and no two kids have the exact same symptoms. Not to mention, for the 1 in 36 kids in the United States who are on the...

You see the frustration on your child’s face as they try to get a word or idea out, but stuttering is getting in the way. And you certainly want to do everything in your power not to add to their frustration. It might surprise you to learn that you’re in...

You’ve been looking forward to a time when you and your bundle of joy can have more detailed communications, but that time has come, and you’re worried that there’s an issue. For example, your child seems to be looking and listening when you speak, but you’re not sure whether what...

You take your role as a parent or guardian seriously and you want to do what you can to give your child the very best start in life. But then your child receives an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis and you’re wondering how to best navigate this new challenge. ASD...

From expressing your needs through better communication to making breakfast in the morning, speech and occupational therapies are designed to help you or your loved one better navigate the world around you. Whether we’re helping with the aftermath of a stroke in an elderly person or an early developmental or...

You want to make yourself heard, but your voice just isn’t cutting it — perhaps your volume is too low, or you’re experiencing hoarseness when you speak. These are classic signs of a voice disorder, which affects about 3%-9% of the population in the United States at any given time....

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered dramatic changes throughout everyday life — and in the medical community as well. Not only are providers across the country postponing elective procedures, but many are also encouraging people to avoid in-office appointments to reduce their risk of exposure to this highly contagious coronavirus.But what...

From the moment they entered the world, you’ve been second-guessing what your child’s needs and desires are and you’re looking forward to having some more meaningful communications with them. But their words don’t seem to be coming and you’re worried that your child might have a speech or language delay....

Traumatic brain injuries, cancer, stroke, arthritis — these are all events or illnesses that can have a life-changing impact on your life. More to the point, these life changes often present serious challenges that affect your ability to function as you once did, and you just want to figure out...

Traumatic brain injuries can affect a number of different areas of your health, including your ability to communicate. From speech issues to difficulty with writing and reading, a traumatic brain injury (TBI) can cast a wide net. In this month’s blog post, the team of speech therapists and speech pathologists...

A response, idea, or question forms in your mind, and your brain sends signals to your mouth to give these thoughts a voice. With apraxia of speech, the communication between your brain and your mouth doesn’t function as it should, and your words can come out garbled or not at...

You’ve been told that your child might benefit from occupational therapy, but you’re confused by this recommendation — your child is a little young for an occupation, after all. The name of this therapy is slightly confusing in this regard as occupational therapy (OT) has nothing to do with occupation but, rather,...

You’ve graduated from pointing, miming, and simply guessing what your child needs to growing verbal communication. And you’re thrilled. However, your excitement is turning into worry as your child speaks with a stutter, and you’re wondering whether you should be concerned.  Well, there’s good news, bad news, and everything in...

There are more than 6,000 languages worldwide, to say nothing of different regional accents within the same language. And many of these languages and accents can be found right here in the Los Angeles area. If you’ve moved to LA from another country or another region of the United States, and you’re...

The term occupational therapy is often misunderstood, thanks to our use of the term “Occupation” to describe a job. In reality, occupational therapy is an effective approach to helping people better integrate (or re-integrate) into the world around them by focusing on accomplishing everyday activities. For 1 in 6 kids...

The role that language plays in negotiating the world around us is important — whether expressing ourselves or receiving information. If your child is having difficulty understanding or being understood where language is concerned, it may be a sign of spoken language disorder. As speech therapists and pathologists specializing in...

The fact that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) contains the word “Spectrum” is the first clue about the challenges in recognizing and diagnosing the condition. The second clue is the definition of ASD, which, according to the American Autism Association, is a “Developmental disorder that causes issues with communication, social, verbal,...

Drooling in infants is perfectly natural as they learn to feed while their teeth are coming in and their saliva production comes online. After the age of two, this early drooling should start to subside as your child learns the art of swallowing efficiently. If you notice your child is...

Every sound you make is created when air is pushed through your larynx, or voicebox, vibrating the vocal cords housed within. When there’s an issue that affects the vibration of your vocal cords, it can lead to a voice disorder. To help you recognize if you or your child might...

Your child is facing some communication challenges due to a speech disorder, and you want to understand your role in navigating these waters. While there’s much that the team here at Celebrations Speech Group can do to help your child, the work you do at home is equally as important. While we...

You’ve been looking forward to having real conversations with your child, but you’re finding that their ability to communicate verbally is slow. While a speech delay won’t present a significant hurdle as far as you’re concerned, you understand that your child needs to communicate and socialize with the world, and...

It’s not unusual for children to have trouble with sleep, but 50%-80% of kids with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have trouble falling asleep and/or staying asleep. This lack of sleep can have serious repercussions, so it’s important to understand the connection and how you can promote better sleep. To that...

Your child is beginning to use words, phrases, and even sentences, but you notice that they sometimes get hung up. Stuttering is not uncommon among children who first start to speak — between 5% and 10% of kids stutter at some point during speech development. In most cases, the stutter...

Each year in the United States, one in 25 adults is diagnosed with a swallowing disorder, and slightly less than 1% of children between ages three and 17. Swallowing is a fairly complex process that involves different areas and actions that all need to work smoothly. A swallowing disorder typically originates in one of three areas,...

You listen in wonder as your child begins to form their first sounds and words, and you look forward to a new way of communicating. You realize, however, that they might struggling with verbal communication or seem farther behind other toddlers their age, and you’re worried. At Celebrations Speech Group, we...

You’re at a game that’s come down to the wire and yelling with excitement and encouragement. The next day, however, you find your voice is hoarse and barely audible. This is an example of a common voice disorder that remedies itself quickly. There are times, though, when a voice disorder...

Your child is beginning to communicate through speech and you’re over the moon about the idea of being able to converse. Yet, you notice that your child is having some difficulty expressing themselves with words and you wonder what it might be. The fact is that 8%-9% of children have a speech...

Your child wants to say something and you can see that they’re having difficulty getting the words out. Called apraxia of speech (AOS), there are many ways in which we (and you) can help your child find their voice. As speech therapists and pathologists who focus on children, the highly skilled...

Your child has a swallowing disorder and your primary concern is to ensure that they’re able to get the nutrition their growing bodies need. Unfortunately, there are a host of complications that can stem from a swallowing disorder, including poor dental health. If you want to ensure that your child’s...

When you think of someone who lacks empathy, you might automatically think of them as callous or unfeeling. This stigma, when applied to those who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is harmful and unjustified as the relationship between ASD and the seeming lack of empathy is complex. At Celebrations Speech Group, our...

You’re delighted as your child begins to use language to communicate and you look forward to this new chapter. You then realize that your child is struggling to get some words or sounds out and has developed a stutter. This type of language disfluency is quite common — around three...

Speech is the use of articulated sounds to express thoughts. A speech disorder, also known as a communication disorder, is any problem that prevents a person from communicating effectively using spoken words. A speech-language pathologist (SLP), sometimes just called a speech therapist, is a professional trained to evaluate and treat...

You want to give your child the best chances for success in life, but you’re worried that their accent may hold them back in terms of being understood. While everyone has an accent, which is a product of the region and the country one grows up in, those accents that...

Every parent wants their child to grow up happy and healthy, no matter the challenges they may face. If your child has autism spectrum disorder (ASD), these challenges can range from mild to significant as they struggle to navigate the world around them. We want you to know that you...

While traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are certainly nothing new to humans, we’re gaining more understanding about the long-lasting effects these events can have on a person. From ongoing mental health problems to speech issues, TBIs can extend far beyond an excruciating headache. The team of speech therapists here at Celebrations...

No matter where your child falls on the autism spectrum disorder, interacting with the world around them can be a challenge. To help your child feel more comfortable in social settings, creating safe groups in which to practice new skills is important. While individual counseling and speech therapy is important,...

While it’s perfectly normal for newborns to occasionally cough or choke while feeding or for toddlers to cry during mealtimes, ongoing issues with these symptoms may signal a swallowing disorder, which is medically known as dysphagia. As pediatric speech therapists, the experienced team here at Celebrations Speech Group counts swallowing...

Many people assume that an accent is a way of speaking that is different from their own. In reality, everyone has an accent, even you, and it’s formed by how and where you first learned to communicate verbally. If you find that the way you pronounce words is hampering your...

The early years of development can be chaotic as your child leaps from one milestone to the next — physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially. You watch eagerly to ensure everything is on track, but you’re concerned that there may be certain delays, which become more evident when your child attempts...

The first words come out of your child’s mouth and you’re thrilled to enter a new phase of communication. As they expand their vocabulary, however, you notice a problem with how the words are coming out. If the problem persists or grows worse, you may be dealing with a stutter,...

The brain knows what it wants to say, but by the time the words or sounds reach the lips, the message isn’t formed properly. Known as apraxia of speech, this condition isn’t necessarily one of speech, but, rather of the brain, where neural pathways malfunction and aren’t able to properly...

One of the primary reasons why autism was renamed to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is because of the wide range of symptoms and the degrees to which they present themselves. In fact, the symptoms of this developmental disorder are so widely varied that autism was often commonly misunderstood and misdiagnosed,...

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is just that — a spectrum of developmental symptoms that range from mild to severe, creating diagnostic challenges. On top of these challenges is the fact that girls and boys exhibit different symptoms. The real difficulty in identifying ASD in girls, however, is how often these...

You’re thrilled that your child is beginning to communicate verbally with words, but you notice that they sometimes struggle to get them out. Called a stutter, this form of speech disfluency is quite common and affects 5%-10% of children in the United States at some point during their early years....

Long before your child says their first true word, you’ve likely developed your own language. While you’ve become a master interpreter for their needs through sounds and gestures, you’re anxious to begin communicating through speech. Yet, speech doesn’t seem to be forthcoming and you begin to worry. Here at Celebrations...

Your child hits many milestones just within their first two years, including milestones related to speech, hearing, and communication. By one year, they should be waving “bye,” pointing, and saying their first words. By age two, they should have a vocabulary of about 50 words and start putting them together...