"every child deserves a voice". source unknown
Hello and welcome to Play to Talk
Learning to become a skilful communicator is so very important and this process begins the day we are born. Effective communication is vitally important for expressing needs, feelings, thoughts and knowledge. It's also essential for problem solving, forming relationships with others and is critically important for future learning. Humans start communicating at birth and for some young children the development of speech happens relatively smoothly, however, for many others the road to successful communication can be rather bumpy. When I speak about communication, I am referring to all forms of communicating being, verbal, non verbal, written and sign.
Supporting young children in becoming successful communicators is something I am very passionate about as I believe this has a huge impact on all areas of their development throughout their life which is why I have created Play to Talk.
Before I continue, let me share with you a little about myself.
My name is Katey and I am a mother to three beautiful young children. On this blog they will be known as Miss M 4, Hman 2 and Bubba 13months and I am so fortunate to spend my days with them at home watching them grow and develop, guiding them, supporting them, learning with them, playing with them and loving them.
At 18months my Hman entered the world of speech pathology. At 26months he was diagnosed with Childhood Apraxia of Speech, also known as Verbal Dyspraxia. There is also a possibility Bubba may have this condition. You can read more of our story on how we came to get a diagnoses and what Apraxia is on this link.
Along with his Apraxia he also has PTU (paroxysmal tonic Upgaze), global Dyspraxia, Hyptonia, Hyper mobility, Ataxia and Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). Miss M also has PTU, mild dyspraxia and some sensory processing issues.
Along with his Apraxia he also has PTU (paroxysmal tonic Upgaze), global Dyspraxia, Hyptonia, Hyper mobility, Ataxia and Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). Miss M also has PTU, mild dyspraxia and some sensory processing issues.
Prior to starting my family I completed a Bachelor of Early Childhood Education and had many wonderful experiences teaching children in numerous schools across Western Australia from the ages of 4-8 years. During my 8years in the classroom I became highly interested in Oral Language and how vitally important it was for progression in all other learning areas. I often came across young children struggling in varying areas of speech and language development although I had never come across Apraxia.
In my journey as a Mummy I started blogging at Playing and Learning Begins at Home to share some of the fun and adventures my children and I would have. You will see many of my posts there have a strong 'language' focus. Although PLAY TO TALK will continue on fairly similarly, I felt compelled to start this as a new blog specifically designed around supporting speech and language in young children through play. By sharing our experiences and the things we are learning, trialling, succeeding at, failing at, attempting and PLAYING I hope to bring awareness to speech disorders and perhaps I may just help another family, or carer struggling with ways to support a child in their care.
Who is Play to Talk for?
Play to Talk is for anyone caring for young children from birth through to 8yrolds with an interest learning some fun ways to play and be creative with kids. Although the posts predominantly focus on the language learning opportunities and benefits the ideas and activities are play based and of benefit to all children not just those experiencing a delay or disorder. If a post has a specific focus age this will be stated within the post.
Why Play?
Play is the natural way children learn new things. I have always been a huge play advocate and believe it is so fundamentally important for young children. Please take a moment to click on the link and read why I feel #playmatters
Play is self motivating for the child and through play they get such a vast amount of opportunities to create and use language within a huge variety of purposeful situations. When playing children are relaxed and comfortable which is the perfect state for trialling new skills.
Can you Contact me?
Yes please do!
You can email me on
katey_l@hotmail.com
I'm also on,
https://www.facebook.com/playtotalk
-Google +
https://plus.google.com/u/0/113695758592925326996/posts
http://www.pinterest.com/playtotalk/
search username @playtotalk
Copyright
Please note that post ideas are for personal use only. Please don't use my photos or content for commercial reasons without prior permission.
I would love for you to share any of my posts on your own blog but please always link back to www.playtotalk.blogspot.com (or the specific blog post). Please do not edit any photos or remove the watermark. It would be fabulous if you could send me the link to your post so that I can be sure to check out your fantastic work!
Disclaimer & Disclosure
Please note, I am not a Speech Pathologist, Occupational Therapist, Physio Therapist, I am not an expert in language disorders, I am positive I will learn many new things in this field as this blog progresses. I am also not a doctor, pharmacist, financial planner, lawyer or an expert in any field whatsoever. I am however trying to be an expert in raising my family and doing what is best for me and my children. Please remember this. I love learning new things so I will be thrilled for anyone to share any knowledge or ideas with me.
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