Trisha Thapar

Back-to-school Tips for Families of Kids Who Stutter

It’s officially back-to-school season! How is it already mid-August?! As kids return to school, we parents and caregivers find ourselves juggling endless challenges including health and safety concerns, scheduling, traffic, preparing our kids mentally and physically to adjust to a new schedule, new teachers, new friends and may be even a whole new school! AsContinue reading “Back-to-school Tips for Families of Kids Who Stutter”

My first National Stuttering Association conference

Whew! I just attended my first NSA conference and what an empowering, beautiful experience it was! It’s difficult to put into words the impact it left, but I wanted to summarize some of the key learning points I’m walking away with – First and foremost – “Fluency has no value and stuttering has no shame”Continue reading “My first National Stuttering Association conference”

July Client Spotlight – RC

This is our first monthly client spotlight. Each month in these posts, we will feature clients who are shining in speech therapy (and elsewhere) and have something valuable to share with the world. This month, we’re featuring an amazing client who is wise and intuitive beyond his years. RC, age 9, has been receiving speechContinue reading “July Client Spotlight – RC”

How to teach prepositions using common toys at home

Prepositions are location words that tell us where an object is in relation to another object. They are an important concept that can be super easy and fun to teach, be it in the classroom, in therapy sessions, or at home! Here’s what you need: Box of some sort (empty tupperware container, a cardboard boxContinue reading “How to teach prepositions using common toys at home”

How to talk openly with your child about stuttering

One of the first questions parents of young children who stutter often ask me is, “Should we talk at home about stuttering?” I often get uncertain , “We weren’t sure how to start the discussion”, or “we don’t want him to become self-conscious so we haven’t pointed it out”. And most of the time whenContinue reading “How to talk openly with your child about stuttering”

You Don’t Need Fancy Toys to Teach Turn-Taking!

Did you know that learning to take turns is about more than just sharing? It lays the foundation for learning how to have a back-and-forth conversation. Taking turns teaches a child how to be an active part of a social interaction even when they’re not doing anything. It teaches them to wait, watch, and respondContinue reading “You Don’t Need Fancy Toys to Teach Turn-Taking!”

3 Things to Keep In Mind When Teaching Your Child a New Word

When adding new words to your child’s vocabulary, it’s important to understand the 5 components of language: Semantics(understanding the meaning of the word) Phonology(being able to say the sounds that make up the word) Pragmatics(Knowing when and how to use the word to communicate) Syntax & morphology (using the word in grammatical correct ways) ForContinue reading “3 Things to Keep In Mind When Teaching Your Child a New Word”

Language-Building Play for Kids Who Like to Move

Keeping young children engaged in highly-structured language-building tasks can be challenging, especially when the task requires them to be seated in one place. However, staying seated in one place is by no means a requirement to work on language. In fact, you’re much more likely to have success working on language if you incorporate theContinue reading “Language-Building Play for Kids Who Like to Move”

For the Multi-Tasking-Parent: How to Build Language While Doing the Dishes

As a parent stuck at home during this strange, unprecedented time, many of us are finding it harder than ever to juggle work, parenthood, and running a household! When we’re already spread so thin, thinking of new ways to work on language with our children can be a daunting task! Instead of finding new gamesContinue reading “For the Multi-Tasking-Parent: How to Build Language While Doing the Dishes”

Use Stacking Blocks to Teach Your Child New Words!

Fill-in sets is a term I use to describe phrases like “ready, set,… go” that you can leaving unfinished for a child to fill in. For example, parent says, “ready, set….” and child fills in, “go!” Fill-in sets are a great way to stimulate language and they’re engaging for children because they are: – predictable – exciting (thinkContinue reading “Use Stacking Blocks to Teach Your Child New Words!”