Communication Essentials

Communication is connection.
We are constantly communicating with our world through our bodies, actions, gestures, sounds, and voices to build relationships.

We help children and their parents develop strong relationship-based communication skills that promote social awareness, self-advocacy, and interaction.

At The Airplane Spoon,

we provide:

  • Individual (1:1) in-person therapeutic sessions

  • Small group (3-5) in-person therapeutic sessions

    with a licensed and certified speech-language pathologist

Early Communication

  • We support parents to learn how to encourage and expand babbling in their children who aren’t yet saying words or have very few words by playfully responding to their sounds, adding new words or sounds to their attempts, and creating a supportive environment that fosters their communication skills.

  • Building early vocabulary in late talkers involves incorporating rich language experiences, such as reading books together, narrating daily activities, and using interactive play, to expose them to a variety of words and contexts.

    Some examples of core vocabulary words include:

    go, stop, more, all done, like, play, open, close

  • Supporting parents and children to build their confidence and abilities in social-relational communication.

    • routines

    • following instructions

    • requesting

    • protesting

    • commenting

    • answering/asking questions

Communication Support

AAC for Non-Speaking Children

  • AAC stands for Augmentative and Alternative Communication. This area refers to various methods and tools that support individuals with communication difficulties, particularly those who may have challenges with speech.

    AAC includes both augmentative, where it enhances existing communication/speech, and alternative, where it provides a substitute for speech.

    This can range from low-tech options like picture boards and sign language to high-tech devices such as speech-generating devices or communication apps, all tailored to help individuals express themselves and participate more fully in social interactions.

  • For children who are late talkers, nonverbal, or minimally speaking to provide alternative communication support to develop language and social integration/expression

    • Gestures

    • Signs

    • Icons/Pictures

    • Vocabulary boards

    • High-tech AAC systems

  • Our skilled team of AAC-specialized speech-language pathologists will perform a detailed assessment and engage in device trialing to recommend the most effective and appropriate communication system for your child.

    Some examples of different systems we recommend include:

    • Tactile systems

    • Auditory/switch systems

    • iPad systems

      • TouchChat

      • TD Snap Motor

      • LAMP

      • GoTalk

Oral-Motor Development

  • Some children have challenges in developing their verbal expression/speech due to delays/differences/disorders affecting their oral-motor development. These could be neurological or physical challenges including:

    • Apraxia of speech

    • Cerebral palsy

    • Down syndrome

    • Cleft lip/palate

    • Hearing loss/deafness

    • Traumatic brain injury

  • The therapeutic approach for oral motor speech development involves a multi-sensory approach, incorporating visual, tactile, and physical prompting techniques.

    Speech-language pathologists may use visual aids, hands-on activities, and tactile cues to help children learn and practice the motor movements necessary for producing sounds, fostering a comprehensive and engaging learning experience tailored to each child's needs.

  • Research indicates that high-frequency, high-intensity interventions are effective in supporting oral motor speech development for this population, emphasizing the importance of consistent and frequent practice to reinforce motor patterns.

    The increased repetition and intensity contribute to neuroplasticity, facilitating the establishment of more accurate and efficient oral motor control for improved speech outcomes.

Gestalt Language Processors (GLP)

  • Children who are autistic, have ADHD or other anxiety challenges, have dyslexia, or other processing-based differences are considered “neurodiverse.” This is because their brain processes information differently than the neurotypical brain.

    We support parents of neurodiverse children to understand and develop their neurodiverse child’s unique learning style, specifically regarding the following areas:

    • Communication development

    • Sensory and regulation

    • Routines and transitions

    • Integrating strengths

  • Gestalt language processing is the way many neurodiverse children (including those with ASD, ADHD, OCD, or other neurological processing differences) learn to understand and store language. It focuses more on the integration of individual elements into a unified and meaningful whole, emphasizing the holistic interpretation of linguistic information to capture the overall context and structure of communication.

    This can sound like echoing back whole phrases/songs/books/shows or repeating back word-for-word questions you ask them (“Do you want juice?” to mean “I want juice.”)

    For children who learn language this way, there is a specific language support approach through the GLP development lens.

  • Many autistic children or gestalt language processors memorize whole phrases or sentences.

    Our therapeutic approach is designed to help children and their parents learn how to build functional language for everyday use to communicate their wants, needs, interests, and protests.