From 10 Words to 200 in Just 10 Weeks! Tessa gets Toddlers to Talk!

Ten Weeks! That's how long it takes Tessa to get most toddlers to talk. Not 4 months, which is the time we need to get school-aged kids back on track. Just ten weeks! Because, at the toddler age, the gaps are smaller.  So we can quickly close toddler's gaps and, simultaneously, teach them the precursors to reading and written language and actually prevent learning problems and social difficulties down the road.

Case in point.....a 2 ½ year old toddler named Megan. Here is her story:

Megan was 28 months old and  smart as a whip. She could follow 3-step directions better than many 3 year olds and play cooperatively with her family and friends. The only problem was....she barely spoke. "Less than 10 words" her mother answered, as she responded to our first question, "How many words does your child have?"

Children start to communicate on their very first day of life. Mothers learn to differentiate their baby's different cries for their various needs. Babies smile at their parents, coo at them and gaze into their eyes. This is  their  communication during  these  first  3 months.

Between 4 and 6 months, babies begin combining vowels and consonants; they begin to babble. You may hear "mama", "dada", "baba", or "tada". These "words" are your babies experimenting with vocalization; moving their lips, palates, tongues and vocal cords to make all kinds of noises.

Between 7 and 12 months, babies begin to pair their vocalizations to patterns they hear in your speech, and by 13 to 18 months, if all is well, those first true words appear......one-year olds use 5 - 10 words to consistently label important people and objects.

A huge language spurt occurs between 12 and 24 months of age.  Toddlers gradually speak 50-200 words, though they understand hundreds more. They learn new words every single day.

By 2 years of age, children  begin combining words. This is when we hear "Mommy come," or "Car go!" By 2 ½ or 3, we expect three- and four- word combinations like "Daddy up please" and "No want go home."  And it's not long after that when preschoolers begin speaking in grammatically correct sentences that sound almost adult-like: "Mommy, I don't want to go home yet."

At age 2 ½ , Megan had less than 10 words, and they were all used for labeling. She had a moderate communication delay, and she was at risk for social challenges and school failure.

Her parents weren't going to let that happen. They enrolled her for therapy one time a week and worked with her at home every single day.

As therapy began, goals were developed to increase Megan's vocabulary and expand her various uses for language including 2- and 3-word combinations.

Progress quickly took place. After just one session, Megan had two new words, "key" and "doggy."

 In just 10 weeks, Megan had about 200 words in her vocabulary, and after 4 months, she had met her 6-month goals!

This is what can happen when teams work together to help toddlers with speech/language delays. Their pediatrician supported their decision to seek early intervention.  Then Megan's family did their research and found the best therapist for their daughter.  They chose Tessa, who did the therapy, and then they did the homework. And voila....!!!

We dismissed Megan in 4 short months. She was ready to socialize with her family and friends, participate in preschool and start learning the precursors to reading and writing.

We are not exaggerating when we say Give us 4 months and we'll give you a different child. Those of you who have been enrolled with us for 4 months can attest to that. We do not always close the gaps in 4 months, especially if your child is school-aged and already significantly behind. But we do make enough progress to bump your child up to the next reading group or to break his writer's block. And, as our goals specify, our kids DO progress twice as fast as their peers are progressing during those 4- month periods, so eventually, with perseverance on your part, along with our research-based, aggressive, intensive therapy, the gaps will be closed.

The bottom line is this; prevention is more effective and less expensive than remediation. So, give us a toddler, and we'll close the gaps in 4 months. Give us a preschooler or kindergartener, and it may take 4 - 8 months. Give us a child in elementary school, and you may be looking at a year. And once a child hits middle or high school, accommodations may be necessary along with our intensive one-one treatment to address their gaps and get them on the road to success.

We have the expertise to address communication, social and academic difficulties at any age.  But the younger, the better.  So, if you know a child who is struggling developmentally, socially or academically, call us or visit our website TODAY! 

Call 858.509.1131. Visit www.speak4success.com