More than Child's Play Milestones & Miracles

Often times there are roadblocks that get in the way of natural child development.  These roadblocks are sometimes created by adults caring for children and are sometimes biological factors that go undetected.  In this podcast series we will identify eight of the most common roadblocks and share strategies to address them.  In this episode Nicole discusses how undetected vision loss impacts a child's development and Lacy discusses how undetected hearing loss impacts a child's development.  Be sure to listen to the other podcast episodes in this series highlighting other roadblocks to natural development: lack of tummy time, prolonged sucking, media and screen time exposure, missed diagnoses, nutrition and allergies and over-parenting/a faulty sense of what's typical.  To learn more about these Top Roadblocks to Natural Development visit the Milestones & Miracles website, use our discount code to save money and check out our continuing education courses offered through Medbridge Education:
https://milestonesandmiracles.com/for-professionals/online-ceus/ 
 
 

Holiday shopping may be more challenging this year with supply chain issues, and many small businesses are still working hard to survive in the midst of ongoing pandemic challenges. As small business owners, Nicole and Lacy wanted to include and highlight small businesses this year as part of their Holiday Gift Guide. Take a listen as Nicole and Lacy discuss the items they chose for the list this year and why.  They hope you'll enjoy these options and consider shopping local in your corner of the world this year.
Blog post with images and links to all of the products mentioned in this episode:
https://milestonesandmiracles.com/2021/10/15/2021-shop-local-small-business-centered-holiday-gift-guide/
 
 

Laura Brown, early intervention speech-language pathologist, joins Lacy in a conversation about early communication.  Laura lists skills that we see in children before they begin talking.  She discusses the importance of modeling and using gestures to help develop communication skills in little ones.  Laura and Lacy discuss why introducing sign language as a means of communication is always a good idea and how signs and gestures can be used for a lifetime to communicate.  Lastly, Laura identifies common mistakes parents make that may not encourage their child's communication development as much as they had hoped.  Laura and Lacy's conversation is filled with good information for parents and families of young children to better understand all that must be mastered before first words emerge as well as how best to support preverbal skill development.  For professionals, this conversation will deepen your knowledge and give you great talking points when discussing early communication development with the families you serve.  Be sure to follow Laura's business, Mommy & Me Milestones, on Facebook and Instagram and visit her website for more information about all that she has to offer including her First 50 Words Course:
https://www.mommyandmemilestones.com
 
 

Physical and occupational therapists often advocate for children to climb UP the slide, hang from the monkey bars, spin upside, and climb trees. But why? There are many benefits to taking age typical motor risks. Join us for a delightful, fun, and informative conversation with expert Dr. Stacy Menz, PT, DPT, PCS. Stacy is the owner of Starfish Therapies in the San Francisco Bay area and brings her experience as a clinician, professor, and mother of a climbing and bouncing toddler to the table as we tackle why physical risk matters, what constitutes a developing balance system, if seats/containers affect balance for infants, and practical ways to expose children to relatively safe risk taking in daily routines.  Therapists, teachers, students, and parents will all be inspired by this conversation!
 
Mentioned in this episode:
https://starfishtherapies.com/
Playground Ideas
 
 

This episode is for any parent or caregiver with children or teens participating in organized sports, considering venturing into the world of youth sports, or for any coach or therapists working with student athletes. Sports medicine experts Dr Brad Dinklocker, PT, DPT, MS, ATC and Larry Shipley, LPTA, Performance Coach from Pro Physical Therapy join us to provide expert opinions on common questions and concerns in an evidenced based and fascinating conversation. We cover whether young athletes should specialize in one sport or play more than one and why, injury prevention and in and off season training tips, how long single sports seasons should last and how many hours a week of training are safe, when weight training should begin, and we take questions from parents and coaches.  This conversation is one that everyone involved in youth sports needs to hear to ensure not only safety but optimal success and performance for children and teams. You won’t want to miss this one! We could have talked to them for hours. 

Lacy is joined by Jeanette Washington, M.Ed., speech-language pathologist and educator.  In this episode Jeanette defines what dyslexia is and how we can appreciate signs of dyslexia in children as young as one year of age.  Jeanette shares common diagnoses that coexist with dyslexia.  She thoroughly explains what executive functioning skills are and how they impact a young child's day to day activities.  Jeanette provides suggestions on how families and professionals can support the development of these skills in children.  In closing, Jeanette shares resources for those who wish to learn more about these topics and references some of her own valuable resources as well.  Please be sure to check out Jeanette's website and follow her on social media to continue to benefit from all of the knowledge she has to offer on dyslexia and executive functioning skills: https://www.bearlyarticulating.com/p/jeannette-washington-med-bearly.html.  You can also check out this resource Jeanette has to offer to help with executive functioning skills: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Daily-Student-Planner-ADHD-Executive-Functioning-Friendly-6564846.
Other websites and resources Jeanette mentioned in the episode include:
https://www.understood.org/
https://developingchild.harvard.eduhttps://dyslexia.yale.edu
http://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/