How Your Child Hears Sounds Can Impact Reading & Speech

Did you know that how your child hears and interprets sounds can play a significant role in their ability to read and speak clearly? For many kids, challenges with reading go beyond letters and sounds—it’s about how they process what they hear. My name is Jessica Abawag, and I’m the owner and speech language pathologist at Fluens Children’s Therapy. We have locations in Tacoma, Washington, and Columbia, Tennessee. At our clinic, we provide speech therapy services for kids ages 18 months to 18 years. Today, we’re going to talk about how your child hears sounds and how that can impact their reading and speech. Many Children Struggle with Reading Due to Phonological Awareness Often, we’ll see kids who come in because parents or teachers are concerned about their reading skills. One thing that we always check for any patient that comes in with reading struggles is their hearing. If that checks out okay and there … Keep Reading…

Can a Speech Disorder Affect Your Child Socially?

If your child has trouble with speech, you may be worried about how it could affect their social life. My name is Jessica Abawag, and I’m a speech-language pathologist and owner of Fluens Children’s Therapy with locations in Tacoma, Washington, and Columbia, Tennessee. Our clinic provides speech therapy for kids aged 18 months to 18 years, and we specialize in the toddler preschool age range. Today we’re going to talk about how a speech disorder may or may not affect your child socially. Many Parents Worry Their Child Will Struggle Socially if They Have a Speech Sound Disorder Many parents that come to our clinic will ask us if having a speech sound disorder or a language delay or even stuttering will affect their child socially. That’s a totally understandable question, especially as kids get older and interact with peers, and especially if they’re coming in to see us and they’re a little older themselves. … Keep Reading…

Kids’ Reading Comprehension Starts with Receptive Language

Before a child can make sense of a story or answer questions about what they’ve read, they first need strong skills in understanding the language itself. This connection can sometimes explain why a child who seems to read fluently may still struggle to grasp the meaning behind the words. My name is Jessica Abawag, and I’m a speech-language pathologist and owner of Fluens Children’s Therapy. We have locations in Tacoma, Washington, and in Columbia, Tennessee. Today we’re going to talk about how reading comprehension starts with receptive language. The Connection Between Reading Comprehension and Receptive Language Skills Receptive language is the understanding of language, whereas expressive language is how you use or communicate with language. When it comes to reading, we get a lot of parents who are understandably concerned as their kids get older, how language skills can affect their reading if they’re already in speech therapy; or if kids are struggling with reading, … Keep Reading…