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May is Better Speech and Hearing Month. This month is a time to shine the light on speech language pathology!

What exactly is a speech language pathologist? A speech language pathologist, a.k.a. speech therapist or SLP for short, is a trained professional who aids in helping others communicate. They work across the ages from birth until death. Areas of expertise include: receptive and expressive language, social skills, and feeding. It is a truly exciting field filled with many opportunities and avenues for growth. This blog is going to focus on children and when to know: Does my child need a speech therapist?

A huge sector of speech therapists work with children to help them communicate more effectively.



1. Your child is not saying words or following simple directions.



By 6 months, babbling should be in full swing. Your baby is playing with sounds and starts to create simple combinations such as ‘mama’ ‘dada’ or ‘baba’. (It should be noted, these sounds are made without meaning, your baby is just playing with sounds, not labeling people) By 8 or 9 months, your child is beginning to understand language and can even participate in simple directions. For example: parent says “let’s put your shoes on” prompting your child to lift their foot. If your child is not babbling by 8 months, speak to your pediatrician to determine if a speech and language evaluation is needed.

2. Your toddler gets frustrated when not being understood.

Now, don’t get me wrong, toddlers (ages 2-4) get frustrated. A lot. When I say frustration, I am not talking about your typical toddler frustration like not being allowed to wear a snowsuit to swim or brush the dog with your toothbrush. The frustration I am talking about is frustration over not being understood. Your child may bite you or others out of frustration. Biting is actually very typical behavior of a child with a speech delay. They are unable to communicate with words, so they use nonverbal communication.

If your toddler is old enough to pull you to the pantry and point to what they want, they are old enough to tell you what they want. Even if they are using pseudowords or word approximations; Pseudowords and approximations are first words that your toddler uses that are not ‘perfect’ but are used consistently. If you are relying on your toddler to point to get their wants/needs met, this is a clear sign that they may have delay.

There is strong evidence that early intervention works. If you are concerned, get an evaluation. The worst that could happen is that you will have a clear idea on your child’s speech and language skills. How awesome is that?

3. Your school- aged child is not intelligible at least 90% of the time.

By the time your child is in kindergarten, unfamiliar adults should be able to understand them 90% of the time and sentence structure should be at least 4-5 words in length. Speech sounds occur within developmental continuum and in ranges (see chart below). Speech sound development is important due to its affect on reading. If a child is not saying a particular sound, they will have increased difficulty with letter to sound association.

Again, when in doubt, talk to your local speech therapist. Agencies work with children from birth to school aged. If you have any specific questions, feel free to email us here at The Nurture Notebook.

Jaime Henry, Speech Language Pathologist

I would be able to afford a vacation home by the beach if I had a nickel for all the times I heard the following:

These are the many questions and comments I hear from my clients after we have completed their first visit for Women’s Health (or WH) physical therapy (PT).

I have been a physical therapist specializing in WH for over fifteen years. I have given many lectures at doctor’s lunch-and-learns and conferences on what I do and why WH PT would be beneficial for their clients or themselves. I have stopped pregnant women in line at the grocery store to ask how they are feeling and have discussed how I could help them during and after their pregnancy, even if their pregnancy was going smooth. I have been in a hotel room with ten women at a business conference-leading them all through a Kegel exercise program. I am even known to bring up bowel and bladder habits at any meal, with any company. And with each conversation I have, I am amazed at how little our culture knows about WH PT and its benefits.

So if you are reading this and thinking “What exactly is a WH physical therapist and should I go see one?” My answer to you is, if you have a pelvis and a pelvic floor (Which, hint: you do!), then yes, you should!” 

Why a Women’s Health Physical Therapist? 

A Women’s Health Physical Therapist has taken extensive pelvic-specific training and are experts on on the ins and outs of your pelvis. They administer internal exams that assess critical muscles on the inside of your body, such as the pelvic floor, to determine how your body is working or not working for you. There are so many amazing things that make being a woman special, but sometimes, those very amazing things are also the culprit to long-term problems, dysfunction, instability, or pain. 

Below are five (of the many) reasons why you should see a WH PT, and how we can help:

1. Incontinence

Listen the truth is many women wear panty liners because daily activities are not as comfortable as they used to be. Whether discomfort is caused by leaking urine when laughing with friends or urinary urgency while watching a movie, the struggle is real for many women. These issues often originate with the pelvic floor muscles and leaking can result when these muscles are under-active, weak, too tense, and too tight. Believe it or not, your feet, your hips, and how you breathe all can affect leaking and we’ve got you covered. Note: Incontinence doesn’t only involve leaking of urine, it also may be feces or gas.

2. Painful Internal Medical Exams

You may be surprised to hear this, but pain with internal medical exams, during intercourse, and difficulty putting a tampon in is extremely common. However, it is not normal; nor should you have to live like this. A WHPT will help you determine why your pelvic floor muscles are holding up a big no entry sign, and how to allow easier entry once again.

3. Pelvic Girdle Instability

The female pelvic girdle is different from men for specific and beautiful reasons. Many things can affect the balance of the pelvic girdle for females: puberty changes, hormones (Another bonus of our menstrual cycle!), pregnancy, and postpartum (even years well after childbearing). Learning about these differences is the key to understanding why our bodies respond to changes in ways that may result in imbalance, pain, and inflammation, resulting in symptoms such as hip pain, sciatica, bursitis, or tendinitis of the hips and/or knees. A WHPT will train your muscles to activate and function efficiently and effectively and address your aches and pains once and for all (even if you have not responded to traditional physical therapy and orthopedic treatments).

4. Pregnancy

There is an abundance of education for expecting moms about how a baby develops and how a mother’s body accommodates to their growing needs. What is often missing is how your needs change as your pregnancy progresses. Adjusting muscles and joints throughout your spine and pelvis can be challenging and even painful. A WHPT can help you understand and counteract stress placed on your body throughout your entire pregnancy. In addition, we can prepare your pelvic floor and perineum for labor and delivery. In other words, decrease your chances of tearing. Yes, please!

5. Postpartum

As mentioned above, your pelvis changes during pregnancy in numerous ways to accommodate for and prepare for the delivery of your baby. Contrary to popular belief, things don’t just go back to the way they were. Whether you had a baby three months ago, three years ago or 23 years ago, your pelvis is likely still unstable and unbalanced unless you are seeing a WHPT and doing the exercises used to retrain them. Clinical research supports that rehabilitation after pregnancy can prevent incontinence, prolapse, and/or sexual dysfunction. In fact, in countries, like France, postpartum PT is the norm… everyone has a WHPT postpartum!

To be honest, making a list of five “conditions” that a Women’s Health Physical Therapist can help you with has been almost impossible because there are so many reasons a woman should see a WHPT and these are just the tips of the proverbial iceberg. Many of the things women’s bodies struggle with that our society and culture consider normal is not. The fact of the matter is, learning how your body is and should be working for you is the most important way to recover from and/or prevent most of these issues. Call your local WHPT today and let them guide and support you so that you can comfortably live that life you love.

Love,

Your Nurture Notetakers

Dr. Julie Spencer, DPT, Co-owner of The Restoration Space

Kim Bandi, OTR/L, Founder of The Nurture Notebook

Ava (15) Teen Author

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