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Autism and Eye Contact

In the US, 1 in 68 children have autism spectrum disorder. Autism is not just a US issue, worldwide, 60 million people have autism. Many of these people have a very difficult time making eye contact and picking up non-verbal clues. This often makes them seem distant to the people who love them so much. Why is autism and eye contact important? Communicating is more than speech and language. It is also about connecting and that connection often comes from kinesics, the interpretation of body language including eye contact, gestures, postures and facial expressions (Non-verbal communication). Kinesics has the following [...]

By |2016-11-07T14:44:54-05:00 |Blog|Comments Off on Autism and Eye Contact
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The ABLE Act Q&A

UPDATE: The ABLE Act is starting to get implemented. Virginia is the first state.   On Friday, the President signed into law the ABLE act of 2014. ABLE stands for Achieving a Better Life Experience. The bill amends the Internal Revenue code of 1986 to establish tax-free ABLE accounts for the longterm care of family members with disabilities. ABLE will now allow for tax-free savings accounts similar to the 529 college savings program. Most importantly, the ABLE act supplements other government assistance programs it does not replace them. Believe it or not, before this tax code change, individuals with disabilities were discouraged from [...]

By |2016-11-07T14:44:55-05:00 |Blog|Comments Off on The ABLE Act Q&A
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The Greatest Gift – Hearing Our Daughter’s Voice.

Our star of the month is Aubrey. I could go on and on about this beautiful little girl. I could tell you about how hard she works and how far she has come, but I'm not going to. I'm going to let her mom tell you. Aubrey is our beautiful blonde hair, hazel eyed 7 year old daughter. Still undiagnosed, Aubrey is non-verbal and cognitively impaired. She also has PDD-NOS as well as seizure disorder. Doctors spent many years telling us all of the things she'd never do. They told us that she would have a short life expectancy and [...]

By |2014-12-24T09:57:43-05:00 |Blog|Comments Off on The Greatest Gift – Hearing Our Daughter’s Voice.
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There are Holes in Obamacare for Special Needs Kids

New study shows holes in pediatric benefits under Obamacare for special needs kids. Here is what you need to know in the easy to read Kidmunicate friendly way. Pediatric services is one of 10 benefit classes required in the Affordable Care Act (ACA also know as Obamacare) that must be covered in all health insurance plans sold in the individual and small-group markets. Despite being over 2,000 pages long, like many things in this hastily prepared bill that was rushed through congress, regulations for pediatric essential health benefits (EHB) were not clearly defined beyond oral health and vision care. Like [...]

By |2014-12-24T09:56:15-05:00 |Blog|2 Comments
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Giving Thanks For Expressive Language Progress

Cooper is our star of the month. Cooper is great kid. He's the kind of kid who lights up the clinic with his personality and his inquisitive nature. When he comes to Kidmunicate for therapy, he makes his rounds and talks to everyone in the office. And he's a great conversationalist too because he's genuinely interested in learning more about the people he's talking to. I guess he innately knows that people love to talk about themselves. Perhaps that's why so many people love Cooper. This was not always the case. Before Cooper started therapy, he was not much of [...]

By |2016-11-07T14:44:55-05:00 |Blog|Comments Off on Giving Thanks For Expressive Language Progress
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Pope Francis: A Miracle for Autism Awareness?

Autism needs a miracle and perhaps that happened when Jorge Mario Bergoglio was named Pope Francis. This week at the Vatican, Pope Francis hosted the first ever global gathering on autism. More than 7,000 people flocked to the Vatican to attend a mass for families affected by autism. Included in the audience were 650 experts from 57 countries. These experts also attended a three day conference organized by the Vatican's body responsible for pastoral health care. The conference focused on the diagnosis, treatment, research and support of families. The pope urged institutions and governments to promote acceptance and to help break "the [...]

By |2016-11-07T14:44:55-05:00 |Blog|Comments Off on Pope Francis: A Miracle for Autism Awareness?
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Misleading Time.com Article Regarding Speech Screening

Time.com recently posted a story called "Why Screening Young Children for Language Delays Isn't Helpful". As a speech and language pathologist, I can tell you that language is a powerful device. Language is at it's most powerful when used to persuade or dissuade. The headline used by Alice Park of Time with the words "isn't helpful" is a conclusive, black and white statement, that would lead all parents to delay or forgo screening. Yet deep in her article it says research from the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) is inconclusive. "There’s not enough evidence to say that these instruments [...]

By |2016-11-07T14:44:55-05:00 |Blog|Comments Off on Misleading Time.com Article Regarding Speech Screening
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IPad Apps for Speech and Language Therapy

The reasons why a parent should use iPad Apps to help their children with speech and language. iPads and apps are easy to use. Children of all ages and abilities (including children with autism and Down's Syndrome) gravitate to iPads and intuitively know how to use them. Children think that they are just playing. You know that they are learning too. The vivid animated images and captivating sounds on the iPad apps grab the attention of children who are often easily distracted. Apps are cost efficient for speech language therapy. Many apps have free versions which allow parents to try an [...]

By |2016-11-07T14:45:42-05:00 |Blog|Comments Off on IPad Apps for Speech and Language Therapy
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Trick or Treatment

Making Therapy Relevant We had a Halloween speech therapy idea for sequencing that we used to trick a young girl into learning about sequencing. It was a treat for all involved. Here is a Halloween activity that can help a child with a language sequencing problem. We treat a spirited girl, we will call her Jackie for this post, once a week. Jackie is working on sequencing, putting information in the correct order. Several weeks ago with Halloween fast approaching our speech pathologist, Sandi Spuhler MS CCC-SLP, decided to use the occasion of Halloween to create an activity to teach Jackie sequencing. The activity worked wonderfully. Sandi outlined the [...]

By |2016-11-07T14:45:42-05:00 |Blog|Comments Off on Trick or Treatment
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Speech Disorders and Bullying

Speech Disorders and Bullying are often linked. We are treating a child for stuttering. Let’s call him Johnny for the purposes of this post. Johnny is making slow and steady improvements. His parents are very happy with the progress, but the progress cannot come fast enough for this 8-year-old boy who is being bullied at school. Johnny’s parents are understandably upset. They are getting involved against the wishes of their son, who's afraid that their involvement will just escalate the problem. This situation is not unique. Unfortunately, speech disorders and bullying are often linked. In fact, in a recent study [...]

By |2016-11-07T14:45:42-05:00 |Blog|1 Comment
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Address: 489 Devon Park Drive, Suite 301, Wayne PA 19087

Phone: 1-484-367-7131

Email: customercare@kidmunicate.com

Hours: Monday – Thursday 7a – 7p, Friday 7a – 5p, Saturday 8a – 12n

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