• Let’s Talk: Autism & Speech Therapy

    What is Autism?

    Autism, or Autism Spectrum Disorder, is a neurodevelopmental disorder that can cause restricted or repetitive patterns of behaviour and difficulties with social communication.

    It is also known as ‘Autism Spectrum Disorder’ because Autism is a spectrum! The characteristics are varied in each individual, meaning each person on the autism spectrum has…

    • Different strengths & weaknesses

    • Different levels of severity

    • Different developmental paths

    Did you know…communication challenges are a central feature of autism!

    One of the key hallmarks of Autism is difficulties with communication and social interaction. Children and adults on the spectrum can have… 

    – Limited verbal expression

    – Difficulty learning language

    – Difficulty understanding spoken language (i.e. trouble following instructions, difficulty answering questions appropriately, trouble following conversation) 

    – Poor social communication skills (i.e. poor topic maintenance, difficulty taking turns, trouble understanding social norms) 

    – Difficulty interpreting figurative language (e.g. jokes and idioms)

    – Trouble initiating or maintaining a conversation 

    – Difficulty making or maintaining friendships

    These difficulties necessitate that speech therapy plays a central role in the management of Autism.

    How does speech therapy help?

    A speech therapist can help with… 

    – Enhancing non-verbal communication skills

    An estimated 25-35% of children with autism are minimally verbal or remain nonverbal (Rose et. al., 2016). For individuals who remain minimally verbal or have no verbal expression, a speech therapist can help by facilitating the use of Alternative Augmentative Communication (AAC) such as gestured language orthe use of various communication devices.

    – Building verbal expression, social skills, and language proficiency 

    Speech therapy can address the specific areas of language that are difficult for an individual. A speech therapist can also help to build verbal expression for individuals who are experiencing difficulty expressing themselves verbally.

    – Reducing behavioural challenges associated with communication difficulties

    Individuals on the autism spectrum may present with behavioural difficulties due to a myriad of reasons – one of them being related to communication. For instance, a child who has difficulty expressing himself or herself can develop behavioural challenges as a result of communication frustration. On the other hand, challenging behaviour may arise from difficulties with certain pragmatic skills such as poor turn-taking, difficulty making requests, or a limited understanding of social norms. Speech therapy can address the communication difficulties that sometimes cause difficult behaviour.

    How early can my child start speech therapy?

    As soon as you identify a concern! 

    Early intervention is crucial in supporting children with Autism — even before a formal diagnosis. Early intervention (typically before the age of 3) will provide targeted support during critical years of brain development to maximise a child’s potential and overall well-being in later years of life.

    To enquire about our Speech Therapy Services contact us:

    Phone/WhatsApp: 0739418053

    Email: megan.auby@hotmail.co.za 

    Pearl Donzwa

    Speech-Language Therapist

    References:

    American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Autism spectrum disorder. In Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Ed., 50-59.

    Council, K., Dixon, A., Ransom, T., Romanoski, G., Spann, E., Louw, B., & Sears, J. A. (2022). Autism toolkit: Caregivers guide to autism. Vanderbilt Consortium LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities).

    Rose, V., Trembath, D., Keen, D., & Paynter, J. (2016). The proportion of minimally verbal children with autism spectrum disorder in a community-based early intervention programme. Journal of intellectual disability research: JIDR, 60(5), 464–477. https://doi.org/10.1111/jir.12284

  • Let’s Talk: Neurodiversity!

    Each person’s brain is unique and works in different ways. Neurodiversity is the term we can use to describe these differences. Because of the unique makeup of each person’s brain, everybody learns, communicates, and even processes the environment in different ways.

    When a person’s brain functions in a way that society or culture deems to be ‘typical’ for their age and level of development, they are considered to have ‘neurotypical’brain function. 

    On the other hand, when a person’s brain operates differently from what is considered average or ‘neurotypical’, they are considered to have ‘neurodivergent’ brain function.

    What can cause neurodivergence?

    Neurodivergence can take many forms, and each individual’s experience is unique. For instance, developmental disorders can affect early brain development and cause neurological differences in learning, attention, communication, and sensory processing. While mental health conditions can cause neurological differences that affect mood, thought processes, and behaviour. Still, not all forms of neurodivergence are diagnosable! Meaning that many people who may present as ‘neurotypical’ do in fact experience some sort of neurodivergence.

    So, how does all of this relate to speech therapy?

    Neurodivergence can sometimes affect a child’s communication skills and cause difficulties with speech, language, and social communication. 

    Perhaps your child’s development is not following a ‘typical’ developmental path and he or she seems to have difficulty with speech, language, and communication. You may be wondering where to start.

    Firstly, remember that no one type of brain function is ‘correct’ or ‘incorrect’! Many challenges experienced by children who are neurodivergent can be overcome by providing the necessary support, accommodations, and letting go of ‘neurotypical’ standards. By providing a supportive environment and collaborating with the right professionals, you can help your child thrive and reach their full potential.

    Here’s how you can begin empowering your child to communicate with confidence and success …

    1. Collaborate with a Speech Therapist:

    If your child is struggling with communication, the best place to begin is getting in touch with a speech therapist. A speech therapist will be able to provide a customised intervention plan to address the specific challenges your child experiences with speech, language, and social communication. 

    1. Create a safe and supportive environment:

    A safe and supportive environment can work wonders! Create an environment where your child feels comfortable expressing themselves, even if they struggle to get a message across or their communication style is different from the “norm”. Listen intently, be actively engaged in the conversation, and focus on what your child is trying to say – not just how they say it.

    3. Celebrate strengths:

    Instead of focusing solely on what your child struggles with, identify and celebrate your child’s unique strengths. By shifting the focus to what your child excels at, you can build their confidence and sense of self-worth.

    To enquire about our Speech Therapy Services contact us:

    Phone/whatsapp: 0739418053

    Email: megan.auby@hotmail.co.za 

    Pearl Donzwa

    Speech-Language Therapist

    References:

    Brown, H. M., Stahmer, A. C., Dwyer, P., & Rivera, S. (2021). Changing the story: How diagnosticians can support a neurodiversity perspective from the start. Autism, 25(5), 1171-1174.

    Den Houting, J. (2019). Neurodiversity: An insider’s perspective. Autism, 23(2), 271-273.

    Rentenbach, B., Prislovsky, L., & Gabriel, R. (2017). Valuing differences: Neurodiversity in the classroom. Phi Delta Kappan, 98(8), 59-63.

  • Facts and Myths about Bilingualism in young children

    Facts and Myths about Bilingualism in young children

    MYTH 1: TEACHING YOUR CHILD TWO LANGUAGES CAN CAUSE THEM TO HAVE A LANGUAGE DELAY. FACT… Research has found that learning two languages does not negatively affect language development. Bilingualism may enhance language development! If a bilingual child is displaying delays in reaching language milestones across both languages, he/she may have a language disorder and should be assessed by a speech-language therapist.

    MYTH 2: A CHILD WHO MIXES TWO LANGUAGES IS CONFUSED AND HAVING TROUBLE BECOMING BILINGUAL.

    Fact…When a person uses words from two different languages in the same sentence it is called “code-switching”. This is a natural part of bilingualism and a common phenomenon in second language acquisition.

    Code-switching may be used to express emotion, emphasize something, or avoid communication breakdown when a word is known in one language but not in the other language.

    MYTH 3: IF YOU WANT YOUR CHILD TO LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE, YOU SHOULD STOP SPEAKING YOUR HOME LANGUAGE.

    FACT… The key to helping your child learn another language is exposure. There are many ways for a child to learn more than one language. Some children are exposed to two languages from birth and learn to speak and understand more than one language simultaneously. Other children learn one language first, and then the second language at a later stage – this is referred to as sequential bilingualism. For children who are learning a second language, having a strong foundation in their first language will make it easier to acquire a second language. So talk to your child in the language you feel most comfortable in so that you can provide rich vocabulary and accurate grammar.

  • Read to your child now and they will want to read to you later!


    One of my fondest memories as a child was reading books with my mother; without even realising it, our reading adventures had a positive impact on my language and literacy development. It is not an unknown fact that reading to your children from an early age can influence their literacy and language development, but what exact skills do children develop during this time? And what can parents do to further encourage the development of these skills?

    Reading with your young child can lead to print motivation, vocabulary development, phonological awareness, print awareness, and narrative skills.

    Print motivation

    Print motivation refers to a child’s interest in books, their ability to attend to books and the child themselves taking the initiative to try to read. Research has shown that the more you as parents are interested in reading to your child, the more your child with request to be read to.

    Vocabulary development

    Parent-child book reading interaction provides opportunities to develop your child’s vocabulary by using their current word knowledge to learn the meanings of new words. While reading with your child you as a parent use strategies to develop their vocabulary without even realising it! Strategies used include repetition and elaboration of words ,defining words or providing synonym, initiating role-play, pointing to a picture related to the new word or using the word in another sentence.

    Phonological awareness

    Phonological awareness involves understanding that language is made up of different sound units, syllables, and rhymes, and the ability to manipulate these units; for example, you need phonological awareness skills to sound out and blend words together. Having adequate phonological awareness skills can lead to the effective development of reading and spelling skills. You can promote phonological skills by engaging in listening games, nursery rhymes and reading of books containing nursery rhyme, alliteration, clapping or tapping out word syllables.

    Print awareness

    Print awareness is the awareness of print and the knowledge of its function. It refers to skills such as alphabet knowledge, the understanding that print carries meaning, the awareness of print in books and the environment, and the ability to use books accurately and understand its format.

    You can encourage print awareness by asking questions about print, commenting on the print as well as using your finger or your child’s finger to tracking along print lines. Print awareness is not only encouraged through books, it can also be taught via the child’s environment. You should point out print that can be seen in traffic and store signs.

    Narrative skills

    Narrative skills involve understanding the nature of stories and the way in which they are constructed. Knowledge of the structure of stories is important, because most of the materials used to teach reading to young children are structured in narrative form. Reading and re-reading storybooks aloud to your child is one of the best ways to build a sense of story and to develop an understanding of story structure. By taking on the role of active listener, asking questions, adding information and prompting your child to elaborate more on the description of the material in the book, you are encouraging the development if their narrative skills.

    I hope this article has made you excited about reading with your child! Always remember the more excited you are, the more likely your child will love books and who doesn’t want their child to love reading!

  • Ways to help young children develop spoken language by encouraging their vocalizations


    My previous article briefly describes a few prelinguistic skills that children acquire at a young age. These skills are necessary in-order for children to develop spoken language; one very important skill is vocalization. Most of the time children learn to crawl before walking and it is no different for language development; children need to produce plenty of vocalizations before they will start using real words. I am going to give you a few tips on how you can encourage your child to be more vocal very early on in their life.  The best thing to do is just talk, keep on talking, and talk some more! Its sounds so simple and it is! Just because your child may not understand you and is not able to respond verbally doesn’t mean that they are not listening and absorbing everything you are saying! Singing is another way you can encourage your child to vocalize.  I particularly don’t like the sound of my own voice when singing in therapy sessions but children don’t care what you sound like they just love to listen and if you lucky they will join in! One of the best ways you can encourage your child to vocalize is by imitation; repeat whatever your child say, for example: your child says, “papapa” you then respond with “papapa”. Continue to imitate your child’s vocalization for several turns if you can,  essential you might just have your “first conversation” with them!. Exposing your child to easy words are also a good way to increase babbling patterns ; easy words include animal sounds like “moo-moo” or “baa-baa” and transport noises like “hum-hum” and “beep-beep”. I hope you enjoyed these tips and remember it is never too early to help develop your child’s language!

  • Is my child too young for speech therapy?


    “My child is too young to talk, they don’t need speech therapy”, I have heard this statement too many times to count!  I understand where parents who think this way are coming from. Why would you be worried about language development if your child is not expected to talk yet at their age?

    Well, In actual fact it might be the best time for your child to receive speech therapy; research has shown that early identification and treatment results in better outcomes for children who go on to develop language and speech difficulties. Children who are ‘late talkers’ often present with difficulties at school that could be lessened and sometimes completely avoided just by early intervention.

    So how as a parent are you supposed to know if your child needs therapy prior to language acquisition? Well you can take note of your child’s prelinguistic skills; these are the skills that are acquired prior to spoken language and can be a good indicator of possible future delays in language, cognition, and communication. There are several prelinguistic skills but I am going to discuss only a few of these skills very briefly:

    1.       Turn-taking

    This is your child’s ability to take turns when playing with you as well as share their toys; for examples: when you child builds a tower, do they allow you to take a turn or do they want to be the only one allowed to place the blocks on top of each other.  This skill should be almost fully developed at 12 months.

    2.       Communicative intent

    How does your child express their needs and wants to you?  Do they just ignore you and grab what they want or do they point or gesture or verbalize.  Between 10-12 months, children use gestures with verbalizations to request.

    3.       Eye contact

    Eye contact is one of the earliest forms of communication; children should be able to maintain eye contact around 4-6 months.

    4.       Vocalizations

    Vocalizations are the early sounds that children make before using real words.  Between 3-6 months, children start to coo, this is random vowel sounds; they also start to blow raspberries, these are quite fun to imitate the babies as they create motor humming sound.  Between 7 to 9 months, children start to babble by producing sounds like “papa’” and “baba”. Between 10-12 month children use many different strings of nonsenses syllables when babbling. Vocalizations are a very important part of language development.

    If you feel your child is delayed in terms of prelinguistic skills, it is important to seek advice from a qualified speech- language therapist. Early intervention can make all the difference for your child’s development.