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Speech and Language

What is speech?

Per ASHA.org, "Speech is how we say sounds and words.  Speech includes:  articulation, voice, and fluency". 

Articulation:  How we make speech sounds using the mouth, lips and tongue. 
Voice: How we use our vocal folds and breath to make sounds. 
Fluency:  The rhythm of our speech. 

What is language?

Per ASHA.org, "Language refers to the words we use and how we use them to share ideas and to get what we want."  Language includes:
- Word meanings
- Grammar and syntax
- Word choice

Little By Little addresses:
 

  • Developmental speech and language delays

  • Articulation and phonological processing disorders

  • Childhood Apraxia of Speech

  • Autism 

  • Echolalia/Gestalt Language Processing

Feeding Skills

Per ASHA.org, "Feeding disorders are problems with a range of eating activities that may or may not include problems with swallowing. Pediatric feeding disorder (PFD) is “impaired oral intake that is not age-appropriate and is associated with medical, nutritional, feeding skill, and/or psychosocial dysfunction” (Goday et al., 2019). PFD may be associated with oral sensory function (Goday et al., 2019) and can be characterized by one or more of the following behaviors (Arvedson, 2008):

  • refusing age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate foods or liquids

  • accepting a restricted variety or quantity of foods or liquids

  • displaying disruptive or inappropriate mealtime behaviors for developmental levels

  • failing to master self-feeding skills expected for developmental levels

  • failing to use developmentally appropriate feeding devices and utensils

  • experiencing less than optimal growth"

At Little By Little, we use gentle, play-based approaches to ease children's hesitation toward food and mealtime.  The ultimate goal is to make mealtime less stressful for the entire family by providing caretakers with skills and strategies and boosting their confidence.  We aim to make new foods no longer feel new or foreign to children by emersing them in play-based sensory experiences.  Oral motor competency will be assessed during the evaluation and treatment process to ensure adequate chewing and swallowing skills are utilized for safe food management at mealtime. 

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