• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Banter Speech & Language

Banter Speech & Language

Sydney speech pathologists helping adults and children speak for themselves.

  • Home
  • Our Speech Pathologists
  • Shop
    • Speech
    • Language
    • Stuttering
    • Reading
    • Decodable Readers
    • Writing
    • Primary School
    • High School
    • Online resources
    • Business Templates
    • NDIS Templates
    • NDIS Training
  • Cart
  • Banter Supervision
  • Contact Us
  • Show Search
Hide Search

Blogs

Selective Mutism: key things to know

Vivien Wong · 6 December 2020 ·

  • Selective mutism is a persistent failure to speak in specific social situations (e.g. at school), despite speaking fluently in familiar situations.
  • Children with selective mutism can appear socially withdrawn, oppositional, perfectionistic, or have an increased degree of emotional or sensory sensitivity.
  • Early intervention leads to better outcomes and reduces negative effects on social development, educational progress, and emotional health.
  • Psychologists and speech pathologists both play important roles in treating children with selective mutism.
  • Treatment usually involves a combination of behavioural, speech, and family therapies, teaching the child that they can have more control over their environment by using their words.
  • Community desensitisation is a program that exposes a child to communication situations with controlled, gradual increases in verbal expectations.
  • The goal of therapy is to reduce anxiety and increase confidence in speaking.
  • Therapy involves creative and fun activities (e.g. drawing, colouring, turn-based games), with natural consequences.
  • The desensitisation hierarchy involves four stages: nonverbal, ghost/whisper, motor/voice, and generalisation.
  • It’s important there is a carryover in expectations at each stage in therapy to other contexts, such as at school and at home. Parents and teachers should be actively involved at all stages.
  • Speech pathologists often include oral language, speech or social goals into their activities to address secondary language or speech issues contributing to selective mutism.
  • For more on selective mutism treatments, read our article: When silence is not golden: evidence-based treatment for children with selective mutism.

Principal sources: Richard, G. J. Selective Mutism: Assessment and Intervention Strategies. Retrieved from here; Sharkey, L. & McNicholas, F. (2008). ‘More than 100 years of silence’, elective mutism. European child & adolescent psychiatry, 17(5), 255-263.

Related article:

  • When silence is not golden: evidence-based treatment for children with selective mutism

Hi there, I’m David Kinnane.

Principal Speech Pathologist, Banter Speech & Language

Our talented team of certified practising speech pathologists provide unhurried, personalised and evidence-based speech pathology care to children and adults in the Inner West of Sydney and beyond, both in our clinic and via telehealth.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • Email

Help your child to make inferences when reading

Emma Robinson · 29 November 2020 ·

Inferencing – the ability to join the dots or to read between the lines – is a key life skill.

In this week’s infographic, our speech pathologist, Emma Robinson, outlines what we can do to help students of all ages to learn how to do it.

1. Inferencing is the ability to combine: (a) what we already know (our world knowledge); and (b) what a text says, to generate meaning about the text.

2. Generating inferences is a key part of understanding what we read. Inferencing is needed to analyse and solve problems, and to think critically: key life skills.

3. As students progress at school, the ability to generate inferences becomes more important.

4. We can help students to make their own inferences by:

  • modelling how we do it out loud;
  • teaching them common text structures;
  • practicing answering and generating questions about what we read;
  • activating prior knowledge of information related to what we read; and
  • explicitly teaching evidence-based strategies e.g. the ‘ACT and Check Strategy’ and the ‘Why technique’.

5. The ACT and Check Strategy involves a few steps:

  • Asking a question about the sentence/text.
  • Considering the text.
  • Thinking about what you know and making educated guesses.
  • CHECKing the accuracy of your educated guesses as you read more of the text.

6. The ‘Why technique’ (also known as ‘elaborative interrogation’) involves asking yourself ‘why?’ questions several times as you read a text and forcing yourself to answer them.

7. For lots more detail on helping students to improve their inferencing skills, check out our article.

Sources:

(1) Murza, K. (Presenter), (n.d.). Supporting Students’ Inference Generation Reading [Webinar]. Medbridge: https://bit.ly/3qacsyr.

(2) Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K.A., Marsh, E.J., Nathan, M.J., & Willingham, D.T. (2013). Improving Students’ Learning with Effective Learning Techniques: Promising Directions from Cognitive and Educational Psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1) 4-58.

(3) Freed, J. & Cain, K. (2017). Assessing school-aged children’s inference-making: the effect of story test format in listening comprehension. International Journal of Communication Disorders, 52(1), 95-105. 

Related articles:

  • Help your child to fill in the gaps, join the dots, and read between the lines! (Improve inferencing skills for better reading language comprehension)
  • Are reading comprehension problems caused by oral language deficits?
  • “I don’t understand what I’m reading” – reading comprehension problems (and what to do about them)

Hi there, I’m David Kinnane.

Principal Speech Pathologist, Banter Speech & Language

Our talented team of certified practising speech pathologists provide unhurried, personalised and evidence-based speech pathology care to children and adults in the Inner West of Sydney and beyond, both in our clinic and via telehealth.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • Email

The Story Wizards’ Master Story Builder

David Kinnane · 22 November 2020 ·

Humans are wired to tell stories. But some children struggle to understand or narrate stories, including many children with developmental language and other learning disorders, and some children who are learning English as a second language.

This resource is designed to support children to learn the fundamentals of story-telling, with evidence-based scaffolds, scripted modelling, and idea prompts to make up an unlimited number of stories.

To help children understand and tell stories we start with an evidence-based recipe to teach students the “macrostructure” of good stories: Our Story Builder.

We explicitly model story telling before jumping into it. Many children with language and learning delays struggle with some of the jargon academics use when discussing stories – orientation, complication, etc. We’ve tried to translate the jargon into simple language to help children understand.

Fundamentally, this resource is all about learning by doing.  Many children (and adults) fear the blank page. So we have included lots of story building elements and suggestions to get (and keep) going. Suitable for one-to-one, small group and whole class work, this resource is a versatile tool for every teacher and therapist’s toolbox.

DOWNLOAD THE STORY WIZARDS’ MASTER STORY BUILDER

Hi there, I’m David Kinnane.

Principal Speech Pathologist, Banter Speech & Language

Our talented team of certified practising speech pathologists provide unhurried, personalised and evidence-based speech pathology care to children and adults in the Inner West of Sydney and beyond, both in our clinic and via telehealth.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • Email

Parents of teenagers aged 16-18 years: 11 ideas to increase participation and communication skills

Juliana Li · 15 November 2020 ·

This week, our speech pathologist, Juliana Li, gives us 11 ideas to increase the participation and communication skills of teenagers aged 16-18 years.

  1. More independence, choice, voice, and control. Health, relationships, recreation, economics, employment, volunteering, goal-setting.
  2. Future map. Discuss pathways to increased independence, e.g. education, jobs and career, adult relationships, moving out. 
  3. Maintain high expectations. Encourage leadership and increased accountability to others, e.g. within the family, in community services, creative collaborations, social groups.
  4. Promote healthy relationships. Continue educating about intimate relationships. Be there to help when needed, recognising teens will also look to peers and social networks for practical and emotional support.
  5. Up-skill. Encourage more education, training, work, and/or participation in activities (e.g. apprenticeships, internships, sports clubs).
  6. Connect. Investigate fields your teen is curious about and respects. Link up with potential employers and interest groups; encourage mentoring relationships.
  7. Support physical and mental health. Keep educating so teens can make informed decisions about their own health and wellbeing. Connect with community groups and health resources (including online).
  8. Learn through experience. e.g. how to drive, work part time, participate in coding challenges, join a band, camp with friends, cook for others, volunteer, shop, and complete chores.
  9. Seek professional support (if needed). Access services to support your teen’s participation in life and to help them overcome barriers.
  10. Self-advocacy. Continue to instil values, e.g. about justice, human dignity, autonomy, reciprocity, and kindness. Build your teen’s capacity to advocate for themselves and others.
  11. Look after yourself. Prepare for your teen’s adulthood and independence. Continue to invest in your own projects, skills, interests and health. Engage in your own community activities, too!

Key Source: National Disability Insurance Scheme (2014). Report of the Independent Advisory Council to the National Disability Insurance Scheme: Reasonable and Necessary Support across the Lifespan: An Ordinary Life for People with Disability. Examples our own.

Related infographics:

  • Focusing speech therapy on functional outcomes: a refresher
  • Not about ‘fixing’: using the ‘F-word Framework’ to support children with communication disorders and their families
  • Parents of children aged 0-5 years: 10 practical ideas to increase you child’s participation and communication skills
  • Parents of children aged 6-12 years: 10 practical ideas to increase you child’s participation and communication skills
  • Parents of children aged 13-15 years: 10 practical ideas to increase you child’s participation and communication skills

Hi there, I’m David Kinnane.

Principal Speech Pathologist, Banter Speech & Language

Our talented team of certified practising speech pathologists provide unhurried, personalised and evidence-based speech pathology care to children and adults in the Inner West of Sydney and beyond, both in our clinic and via telehealth.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • Email

Parents of teenagers aged 13 – 15 years: 10 ideas to increase participation and communication skills

David Kinnane · 14 November 2020 ·

  1. Independence: Support your teenager to participate in activities without direct parents/carers supervision (e.g. public transport, movies, bowling, Laser Tag, video arcade, park days).
  2. Decision-making: Encourage teenagers to make hard decisions and trade-offs (e.g. about school subjects, assignments topics, extra-curricular activities and social groups).
  3. High expectations, more responsibility: ‘Raise the bar’ in what you expect (using support where needed), e.g. with home chores, self-study, sports, classroom tasks, community services to others.
  4. Adjust family relationships: Respect your teenager’s natural desire for more independence, encourage friendships with siblings and extended family members, address concerns that may hinder positive family relationships
  5. Re-frame support: Recast ‘babysitter’ supports to age-appropriate, informal oversight, opinion sharing and mentoring.
  6. Encourage friendships: e.g. peers they enjoy spending unstructured time with, and interest-based groups (e.g. games, sports, movies, music).
  7. Social/recreational activities: Keep teenagers busy with local sports (soccer, football, netball), before- and after-school programs, and community groups (e.g. computer and technology clubs, gaming clubs, dance troupes).
  8. Professional support: If required, access services and programs to target specific goals that are functional and important to your teenager (e.g. with talking to new people, sending messages/texts to friends, posting on forums, social media, and independent shopping).
  9. Stay positive: Understand your teenager’s strengths, abilities and needs; encourage your teenager to use and extend their skills, and to persevere through challenges, and connect with networks/families who share similar needs.
  10. Self-care: The teenage years can be challenging! Don’t be shy in seeking practical, emotional, counselling, and care support when required. Make time to have your own life!

Key source: National Disability Insurance Scheme (2014). Report of the Independent Advisory Council to the National Disability Insurance Scheme: Reasonable and Necessary Support across the Lifespan: An Ordinary Life for People with Disability. Examples our own.

Related infographics:

  • Focusing speech therapy on functional outcomes: a refresher
  • Not about ‘fixing’: using the ‘F-word Framework’ to support children with communication disorders and their families
  • Parents of children aged 0-5 years: 10 practical ideas to increase you child’s participation and communication skills
  • Parents of children aged 6-12 years: 10 practical ideas to increase you child’s participation and communication skills
  • Parents of teenagers aged 16-18 years: 11 ideas to increase participation and communication skills

Hi there, I’m David Kinnane.

Principal Speech Pathologist, Banter Speech & Language

Our talented team of certified practising speech pathologists provide unhurried, personalised and evidence-based speech pathology care to children and adults in the Inner West of Sydney and beyond, both in our clinic and via telehealth.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • Email

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Go to page 4
  • Go to page 5
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 66
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Get in touch

115 Queen Street
North Strathfield NSW Australia
(02) 87573838
hello@banterspeech.com.au
Monday-Friday: 8.30am to 5.30pm
Saturday: 7.30am to 2.30pm
Closed Sundays and public holidays

Shop at our store

  • Listen then Speak 1: an oral language workout for students in Years 2-5 $5.99 including GST
  • Slushy /s/ Zapper: A Lateral Lisp Treatment Resource $10.00 including GST
  • High frequency irregular past tense verb work out 1 Verbs: Irregular past tense verb workout 1 (was, had, did, said, made, ate, came) $4.99 including GST
  • Think, Then Write (Volume 3, Part 2): From Single Paragraphs to Multi-Paragraph Reports $10.00 including GST
  • Despite, in spite of and in spite of the fact that advanced preposition work out for more sophisticated speaking and writing "Despite", "in spite of" and "in spite of the fact that": Advanced preposition workout for more sophisticated speaking and writing $4.99 including GST
  • Stuttering Superhero Cards $4.99 including GST
  • Code of Conduct for NDIS Providers and Health Providers Code of Conduct for NDIS Providers and Health Providers $60.00 including GST
  • Book: Room on the Broom - an oral language workout inspired by the terrific tale $10.00 including GST

Store categories

March Featured Resource

  • Blanks 4: Language comprehension booster: What could you do when..? $4.99 including GST

Recent articles

  • For students with spelling difficulties, where should we start?
  • Five ways to help 11-14 year-old students to improve their vocabularies for school and life
  • New Scatter-Slayer Adventure: The Awesome Australian Gore-Boar
  • Can technology-based interventions help children with reading difficulties?

Featured Articles

What do you think about when you think about speech pathology?

Ask Us Anything: 17 things our readers and followers really want to know about speech pathology (but were too shy to ask)!

Language therapy works. But can we make it better?

Stuttering: what do we mean by ‘recovery’?

Lifting the lid on speech therapy: How we assess and treat children with unclear speech – and why

Too many children can’t read. We know what to do. But how should we do it?

I want to help my late talker to speak, but I’m stuck at home. What can I do?

Free Resources

Big book of child speech pathology answers

Getting ready to read at big school

Is your kindy kid really reading

The Scatter-Slayer Adventures

Free decodable: Book 1 of The Scatter-Slayer Adventures. The first in our decodable digital ‘select-your-sequel’ series for reluctant readers, aged 7-12.

Get our free resource

Subscribe to receive our blog articles

Check out our therapy and provider resources Go to our shop

Banter Speech & Language

Copyright © 2021 · BANTER SPEECH & LANGUAGE PTY LIMITED ·

  • Articles
  • Shop
  • Cart
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

SAVE & ACCEPT