Communication is so much more than talking. So as a speech-language pathologist I think a lot about gestures. The words "speech language" in my job title may have given you the impression that I solely focus on how children express themselves. However, a hugely important piece of communication development happens before your child says their first word. We define a gesture as an action, or movement of part of the body, especially the hands or head, used with the intention to

The first year of your baby's life is a flurry of excitement and many firsts, often culminating with their first word. In this first year of life, your baby will reach many milestones that are the building blocks for future communication skills. These skills serve as a general guideline of what you can look and listen for before your child's first words. First your baby will coo and smile at you. Then comes babbling or pre-verbal language. This takes many forms and evolves as

Reading is essential for all children. That is why books are the only item I ever buy as a gift for a young child or when a friend or family member has a baby. Children can build early literacy skills that directly correlate with later academic success when reading books. Books that have simple sentences, a simple storyline, and include rhyme, rhythm, and repetition are the best, particularly for our little ones. And finally, book reading is a beautiful, shared activity to bu

In my 10 years as a pediatric speech-language pathologist, I have read a lot of books about child development, and I am constantly on a quest to find credible resources for the families that I work with. I was very excited when my colleague Ayelet Marinovich, M.A., CCC-SLP shared that she was writing a book on development during your baby’s first year. Ayelet is a pediatric speech-language pathologist like myself. She is also a parent educator, singer and mother based in the

Our babies need interaction with people to learn language. So you are the most valuable gift regarding your baby's speech and language development. During that first year, we want to expose babies to multi-sensory experiences to encourage cognitive and pre-verbal skills as well as form strong bonds during play. Here are my four favorite toys to support your baby's speech and language development. (Amazon affiliate links included): 1. Mirror Babies love to look at themselves,