by TherapyWorks Speech Department | Apr 20, 2026 | Feeding Therapy
Feeding challenges are more common than many parents realize. While some picky eating is a normal part of development, ongoing struggles at mealtimes can sometimes signal that a child may benefit from feeding therapy. If you’ve found yourself wondering, “Is this just a phase, or should I be concerned?” you’re not alone.
Typical picky eating often includes refusing certain vegetables, preferring familiar foods, or going through short phases of selectiveness. However, there are signs that may point to a deeper issue. Here are a few red flags that it may be time to talk to your doctor at any age:
- Restricted range or variety of foods – eats less than 20 foods
- Refuses entire categories of food textures or nutrition groups
- Cries, screams, or “falls apart” when new foods are presented; complete refusal
- History of eating and breathing coordination problems with ongoing respiratory issues
- Ongoing poor weight gain or weight loss
- Ongoing choking, gagging, or coughing during meals
- Ongoing problems with vomiting
- Signs and symptoms of reflux
- Family stress with feeding
Feeding therapy, provided by occupational or speech therapists, focuses on identifying the root cause of the difficulty. Therapy may include building oral motor strength, gradually introducing new textures, improving sensory tolerance, and coaching parents on supportive strategies at home. The goal is not to force a child to eat, but to build skills and confidence around food.
If feeding challenges are limiting your child’s nutrition or causing significant stress for your family, an evaluation can provide clarity. Early support can make mealtimes more peaceful and help your child develop a healthier, more positive relationship with food.
Written by:
TherapyWorks Speech Department
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by TherapyWorks Speech Department | May 19, 2014 | Speech Therapy
May is Better Speech and Hearing Month! The speech pathologists at TherapyWorks assist children with delays in the areas of speech and language, articulation, fluency, feeding, swallowing, oral-motor skills, autism spectrum disorders, sign language, augmentative communication, and sensory processing dysfunction. In addition to the numerous specialized techniques, TherapyWorks now offers PROMPT intervention techniques.
PROMPT stands for “Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets.” It is a hands-on way of teaching the mouth how to make correct sound and speech productions. It was originally developed by speech pathologist Deborah Hayden. She began her work in the 1970’s with children and adults with communication deficits. In addition to addressing articulation impairments, PROMPT emphasizes a holistic approach to intervention. It includes examining the speech, language, and interaction skills of the client and centering therapy around the individual’s strengths and weaknesses.
Children and adults who can benefit from the use of PROMPT techniques include those with phonological/articulation impairments, developmental delay, dysarthria, dyspraxia/apraxia, hearing impaired, autism spectrum, and fluency disorders.
More information about PROMPT is available at their website www.prompt.org
DeeAnna Cook, MS, CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist at TherapyWorks
by TherapyWorks Speech Department | Jan 7, 2014 | Speech Therapy
Excerpts taken from Childhood Apraxia of Speech: Practical Strategies for Successful Treatment presentation by Margaret A. Fish, MS CCC-SLP
Childhood Apraxia of Speech or CAS can be defined as a childhood disorder in which the ability to produce consistent and accurate mouth movements for speech is impaired, when other neurological/muscular deficits are not present. The primary impairment is the ability to plan and execute complex sequences of movement required for understandable speech.
Children with CAS require intensive, frequent speech therapy sessions to improve their ability to coordinate motor movements required for speaking. Some early red flags for CAS include:
No sensory deficits, muscle weakness, or other neuromuscular impairment- Child understands more words/sentences than what he/she uses
- Late in attaining first words- usually after age 2
- Limited number of consonants and vowels in spoken words
- Limited babbling or talking
- Tendency to produce single consonants and vowels, rather than longer words or phrases
- More frequent loss of previously produced words
- Use of signs/gestures for functional communication, rather than using words
- Child’s speech is largely unintelligible, especially to strangers
If you are concerned about your child’s ability to make understandable
speech, here are a few guidelines for speech sound development:
- By age 2, parents (or close family members) should understand 75-80% of what their child says. The child’s speech will not sound adult-like.
- By age 3, parents and strangers should understand about 75-80% of what the child says.
- By age 4, the child should be able to produce long sentences and tell short stories about their day. They should be understandable all the time, but will likely have trouble producing some speech sounds like ‘r, th, v, l.’
- By age 8, all speech sounds should be correctly produced in conversational speech.
DeeAnna Cook, MS CCC-SLP
Clinic Therapist TherapyWorks
by TherapyWorks Speech Department | Aug 6, 2013 | Speech Therapy
An article review
Original article written by Sue Buckley and Gillian Bird
The Down Syndrome Educational Trust, Down Syndrome Research and Practice, 1993, 1(1) 34-39
As a speech pathologist and a new mother of a beautiful baby girl who has Down syndrome, I am very interested in finding out ways to help children with Down syndrome acquire language milestones faster and more efficiently. This article was shared with me several months ago, and I would like to share the highlights with you.
- Many children with Down syndrome show the ability to learn to read single words at early ages, between 2-4 years old.
- Children in the study showed that they could understand what they were reading.
- Reading enhanced spoken language development and articulation development.
- Every child is different. Some children with Down syndrome may not show interest in reading until they are school aged or later.
- Start by teaching familiar words, such as family names or words the child already comprehends or uses. Match words with pictures of these objects using flashcards. Use ‘errorless learning’ by prompting the child to complete the activity without allowing them to make a mistake. (You may have to guide his hand to the correct flashcard, rather than letting them choose one for himself.) As he becomes more confident and familiar with the activity, slowly offer less and less help until the child can complete the activity correctly on his own.
- As the child learns more and more words, you can begin to combine words to make phrases and sentences. Always make sure the child understands what he is reading.
The article ends with a parent’s personal account of how teaching her daughter to read has improved her speech development, academic achievements, and language use and comprehension.
To my friends in therapy and my little one at home, all I can say is “Get ready for flashcards! Let’s read together!”
by TherapyWorks Speech Department | May 29, 2013 | Speech Therapy
Parents, are you afraid that your child will forget everything they’ve learned over the summer break? Including what they’ve learned in speech-language therapy? It’s pretty common for students to leave the school building at the end of May without taking with them some of the knowledge and skills we’ve worked hard all school year to teach them. If you want ideas to maintain their articulation skills, below are some suggestions provided by a school speech-language pathologist:
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- Ask for a current word list with your child’s target sounds from your child’s speech-language pathologist at school. It can be words or pictures of the words. You can also “Google” or search online (or in dictionaries if you’re old school) for word lists with their target sounds. Remember, their sounds can be found in different positions of the words (initial, medial, final). Make copies of the pictures of the words. If you are given written words, your child can draw what they think the word would “look” like and make copies of their drawings, or again, you can search for your own pictures online, in magazines, etc. After you make several copies, color your pictures and cut them out. With these cut outs, you can play “Go Fish”, matching/memory games, “Bingo”, etc. You can also incorporate these pictures into family game night (ex. If your child rolls a 5 on the dice, he has to say 5 words correctly before he can take his turn at Monopoly).
- Go for a scavenger hunt. Try to find as many items on your list as possible while discussing the target words.
- Make a craft. Flip through magazines, newspapers, comic books, etc. and find pictures or words that include your child’s speech sounds. Cut them out, highlight them, underline them, and make a collage. You can modge podge a flower pot, a folder for their speech words, etc. The sky’s the limit!!
- Leave copies in your car. As you’re driving your child can practice. Making this a habit all school year is a good idea too!
- Keep a word journal. Every day, give your child a new speech word that includes his sound. If your child is unfamiliar with the word’s meaning-look it up! Write the definition, a silly sentence, and draw a picture! If your child is too young to write, let him trace the word and then draw the picture after he tells you a sentence or something about the word.
- Finally, keep a sticker chart. This is a great visual tool that I use in my classroom to keep track of who completes their homework on a regular basis. For example, every day your child completes their speech homework, they get a sticker. In my classroom, once their chart is full, I let them pick a prize out of my treasure box! You will know what motivates your child, so you can decide/negotiate what his prize will be. Maybe it’s a special snack, a trip to the movies, or a new toy! Whatever works with you!
Remember to consult with your child’s SLP regarding what speech sounds to target and at what level your child is working at. They are a great resource for ideas over summer break. They can also supply materials, worksheets, etc. Hopefully, these ideas will make speech homework more enjoyable!
Sydney Page M.S.,
CCC-SLP
TherapyWorks
