DPCDSB Speech Language

🌷✨ Check out our NEW March calendar ✨🌷 Jump in and discover fun, easy ways to boost your child's oral language skills at home. Just a few minutes of talking each day can make a BIG difference! 💬🌟 Let's grow 💪 strong talkers and watch communication bloom all month long 🌸📚

Back by popular demand! SELS is excited to once again support the virtual Parent Reaching Out grant on March 25, 2026, at 7:00 pm! 🌟Join this informative session on community supports & services for students with differing abilities. Register here: dpcdsb.org/download/550074

✈️😄 Traveling with hearing aids? Pack like a pro—bring an extra battery/charger, a protective case, a dehumidifier, and cleaning tools, and you're ready to conquer any climate! 🔊🌦️ Get all the smart tips here 👉 speechhearingaid.com/traveling-with… #SLPTips #TravelTips

💕 Roses are red 🌹 💕 Chocolates are sweet 🍫 💕 Our speech and language calendar is here 🗓️ 💕 with playful ideas that make talking feel neat 👍 💕 No prep, no stress, just everyday play 🧸 💕 building language skills in a simple way 🗣️#SLPTips #FebruaryFun

Have you heard of phonemic awareness skills? 🧠🔤 These skills—like rhyming, blending, isolating, adding & deleting sounds—are strong predictors of future reading success 📚✨ If your kid struggles in these areas, extra support can help! Credit: RISE Pediatric Therapies #SLPTips

🥳🎉 New Year, New Calendar 👏! 🗓️ Our monthly oral language calendar is back with simple, play-based ideas to build language every day. This year we've added even more activities that fit naturally into everyday routines at home. Small moments = Big language wins 💯 #SLPTips

🎄✨ Amid the holiday rush, it’s easy to forget gatherings can be tough for some—50% of families will host at least one person with hearing loss. For these loved ones, the holidays can be isolating/frustrating. Here are some tips to help 👂💬 (Credit: Keystone Audiology) #SLPTips

🎁 Day 12 of Unwrapping Oral Language: Reading together daily 📖 expose children to new words, sentence patterns, and ideas they don’t always hear in conversation. Talking about pictures, asking questions, and repeating favourites 📚 all help speech and language grow 💛 #SLPTips

🎁 Praise is a language booster! 🎉 Positive feedback matters ✨ Instead of a “Good job,” tell kids what they did well “You asked for the car” or “I love how you used 2 words—red ball”. Specific praise helps kids feel proud, confident, and motivated to keep talking 💬🌱 @SLPTips

🎁 Bring words to life! Pair language with pictures, gestures, or symbols to help kids understand what's being said. Visuals also reduce confusion, make language easier to remember, and turn learning into a fun, interactive experience. 👀 + 👂 = 💪 communication! ✨ #SLPTips

🎁 Choice is powerful! 🎯 Offering options like "🟥or 🟩 socks?" motivates children to communicate. Choices create natural opportunities to use words, gestures, or AAC while building independence, a sense of control, and confidence. Small choices = big language gains ✨ #SLPTips

🎁 Turn-taking is the best gift 🎁 Whether you're rolling a ball back and forth, stacking blocks, or taking turns singing, these shared moments help children learn to ⌛️ wait, respond, and follow the natural flow of conversation 💬 Turns make talk happen! 🔄😉 #SLPTips

🎁 Talk aloud for your child! 🗣️💬 Self-talk (example): “I am pouring juice 🧃" and Parallel-talk (example): “You are stacking blocks 🧱". Hearing words with actions helps make them meaningful in the moment 🌟 and supports language growth during everyday routines 🌄 #SLPTips

🎁 Boost your child's communication with gentle sabotage! 😀 Make everyday moments meaningful; pause a favourite song, give a tiny piece of cookie 🍪, hand the "wrong" cup, or put a preferred toy/snack out of reach. Encourage requests, comments and questions naturally! 🌟#SLPTips

🎁 Repetition 🔁 is key! Saying the same words often helps children understand and remember language. Try "I see a ball. The ball is red." ⚽️ Each time they hear it, their vocabulary grows and talking becomes easier! 🗣️💡 #SLPTips

🎁 Open-Ended Questions ❓ Skip yes/no questions and ask ones that invite more! Instead of "Is the sky blue?", try asking "What do you see in the sky?". This encourages children to think, share ideas, and use more words 🧠💬✨ #SLPTips

🎁 Expectant Waiting ⏳ Pause after you speak and wait. That silence gives children time to think, process, and attempt communication, which helps build their confidence and supports language growth 🌱🗣️ Little pauses can make a big difference! ✨ #SLPTips

🎁 Joint attention 👀--when you and your child focus on the same thing--builds early communication. Following your child's gaze or pointing things out together helps them share moments 🤝, take turns 🔄, and connect words to the world around them 🌏. #SLPTips

🎁 Expansion repeats a child's phrase with correct grammar, while Extension adds extra information 💬. These techniques model richer language and support longer utterances - great for children using words/short phrases as they build vocabulary and sentence structure ✨🗣️ #SLPTips

📢 Ready to unwrap some language magic? 🎁 Our 12 Days of Unwrapping Oral Language returns Friday! Each day, we will reveal a simple tip or strategy you can use to support speech and language at home 🗣️✨ Don't miss out - come unwrap the fun with us! 🎄🌟