Employee Spotlight- Becky Clark

Posted on August 26, 2019August 26, 2019

What do you love most about being a Developmental Therapist?

I love how Developmental Therapy allows me to look at the big picture to see how all the various areas of development and environment affect the others. I also enjoy the focus on a child’s social and emotional development in that bigger picture.

What is your favorite children’s book?

When I was a young child, it was The Berenstains’ B Bookby Stan and Jan Berenstain, much to my parents’ chagrin. Now in my sessions, I love using Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?by Bill Martin Jr. I guess there is a bear-theme in my reading choices!

What do you enjoy most about living in Chicago?

I enjoy Chicago’s diversity the most. It’s one of its richest assest. I also love how Chicago incorporates nature and green spaces into the cityscape.

What is your favorite childhood memory?

I went to a summer camp for many years in North Carolina, and each summer was a blast, but I especially remember the summers I went backpacking on the Appalachian Trail. I picked wild blueberries, pet wild ponies, and enjoyed gorgeous views.

Mountain or beach vacation?

Mountains, hands down!

Share a proud “therapy moment” with one of your clients.

I had a client diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and he had been working for months on regulating his body enough to engage with others in the room. I walked in one session and knelt down to say hello and he calmly walked to me, let me take his hands, then he kissed my forehead. It was the sweetest “hello!”

What is your hometown?

Archdale, North Carolina

What do you like to do in your free time?

I work once or twice a month at the Chicago Children’s Museum and enjoy working with different populations and ages. When I’m not working, I’m going for walks to my neighborhood beach or hanging out with family and friends.

Fun fact about yourself?

I have been to three continents other than North America: Europe, Africa, and Oceania. I would love to see a couple more!

Favorite therapy toy?

Songs and books!

Becky Clark, MS, DT
Developmental Therapist

Let’s Play! The Stepping Stones to Verbal Communicators

Posted on August 19, 2019August 19, 2019

If you are a parent of a toddler receiving speech and language therapy, you may have noticed your child’s therapist playing games such as peak-a-boo, and wondered to yourself, “What do these games have to do with learning to talk?” While learning to talk is of course the ultimate goal in speech and language therapy, there are actually many skills a child needs to develop before they are ready to start talking. Some of these skills include joint attention, turn-taking, and responding to people and their environment, among others. One of the best ways to support acquisition of these pre-linguistic skills is to engage in social games with your child.

What are social games and why are the important?

Social games are people-based in that they are interactive games between you and your child rather than the use of toys. Examples include peek-a-boo, songs with corresponding actions, hide and seek, tickles, etc. Engaging in social games with your child will help to develop their interaction, communication, and social skills. Through social games, children learn to pay attention to others, anticipate what will happen next, and imitate actions. Additionally, through these games children learn important skills such as how to take turns and connect with others. These pre-linguistic skills are the foundation of verbal language. For example, a child who has difficulty using joint attention, which is shared attention with another person, will not have as many opportunities to learn about their environment from the people around them. Additionally, a child who is not using turn-taking will have difficulty understanding the back and forth nature of conversation. Through acquisition of these pre-linguistic skills a child becomes ready for communication and verbal language use.

How to play and what to look for?

You will want to engage in social games repeatedly so that your child learns the routine. For example, if you play peak-a-boo with your child play it over and over again and look for your child learning the game. You may notice that they have learned the game once they start to smile or laugh in anticipation of you saying, “boo!” Over time, you might see your child’s initiation skills emerging when they cover their eyes with their hands or cover themselves up with a blanket to request playing a peek-a-boo game with you. Eventually, you can try to pause after “peak-a…” and see if your child can fill in the word, “boo!” Once your child has learned the routine they will be able to anticipate what is going to happen next.

When thinking about your child’s language development it is important to remember that there are many steps that come before talking and children must master pre-linguistic skills before they can be successful with verbal language. So, when think you are just “playing” remember that you are actually teaching your child foundational skills to become an active learner and communicator!

Questions or concerns?

If you have questions or concerns about the importance of social games and your child’s language development, please contact us at info@playworkschicago.com or 773-332-9439.

Claire Hacker MS, CCC-SLP
Speech Language Pathologist

Photo Credit: from Pixabay