The festive season is a wonderful time for many families, but for children with feeding challenges, sensory differences, or autism traits, December can feel overwhelming. Changes in routine, busier environments, travel, new foods, disrupted sleep, and well-meaning relatives giving ‘advice’ can all affect a child’s feeding, communication and overall regulation.
As a speech and language therapist specialising in Early Years, I see the same pattern each year: children often make progress during the term, only to struggle in late December when everything becomes unpredictable. The good news? With a bit of preparation, children can not only cope better, but they can actually make significant developmental gains during the holidays.
This blog will help you feel confident, supported and prepared for the transition from ‘festive mode’ to a smoother, regulated start in January.
1. Why routines matter so much. Especially now
Young children thrive on predictability. For neurodivergent children or those with sensory, feeding or communication needs, routine isn’t just helpful: it’s the backbone of emotional regulation.
In December, typical patterns change:
Mealtimes shift or become irregular
Bedtime slides
New foods appear
Loud social gatherings overwhelm
Travel disrupts naps and comfort routines
Therapies pause
Childcare closes
Any one of these can lead to feeding refusals, more meltdowns, increased stimming, reduced communication attempts or regression in speech sounds.
It’s simply the nervous system responding to too much change.
2. Protecting feeding progress during holiday mealtimes
My last blog and insta post have a nice social story on festive meals. They are often the trickiest part of the season for families I support. Children with sensory-based feeding challenges, or ARFID traits may find holiday foods completely unfamiliar and challenging.
What helps:
Offer one ‘safe food’ at every meal
Keep portion sizes tiny
Use the ‘buffet rule’
Rehearse tricky moments
3. Supporting communication when routines are disrupted
Holiday time actually offers more opportunities for communication, just in different ways.
Strategies:
Slow down and follow your child’s lead
Use everyday routines as language opportunities
Keep AAC going even if casually
4. Understanding holiday ‘regressions’ and know they’re temporary
This is almost always due to nervous system overload. Children don’t truly ‘lose’ skills; they temporarily prioritise regulation over learning.
5. A gentle January reset: How to start the New Year smoothly
Re-establish predictability early
Return to preferred foods
Book early support if needed
Focus on regulation first
Sonja McGeachie
Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist
Owner of The London Speech and Feeding Practice.
Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.
Mealtimes can be a battleground for parents of picky eaters, especially toddlers with Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID). I see a great number of toddlers with Autism traits and many of my clients are picky eaters from mild to severe. Take a look at my blog for an outline of what the issues are and how to try and help.
ARFID goes beyond typical ‘picky eating’ and can significantly impact a child’s growth, nutrition, and social-emotional well-being. If your toddler is resistant to trying new foods or has a very limited diet, here are some strategies to navigate the introduction of solids:
1. Understand ARFID:
ARFID is a diagnosable eating disorder characterised by:
Limited food variety: Eating only a small range of foods, often with specific textures or colours.
Fear of new foods: Intense anxiety or aversion to trying unfamiliar foods.
Sensory sensitivities: Heightened sensitivity to taste, smell, texture, or appearance of food.
Lack of interest in eating: May show little interest in food or mealtimes.
2. Seek professional guidance:
Paediatrician and/or gastroenterologist: Rule out any underlying medical conditions.
Registered dietitian: Assess nutritional needs and create a balanced meal plan.
Speech and language therapist (SLT): If oral-motor skills or sensory sensitivities are contributing to feeding difficulties.
Occupational therapist (OT): If sensory processing challenges are affecting mealtime behaviours.
Child psychologist: If anxiety or emotional factors are contributing to ARFID.
3. Strategies for introducing solids:
Start small: Introduce one new food at a time, in small amounts, alongside familiar favourites.
Patience is key: It can take multiple exposures (up to 10–15 times!) for a child to accept a new food. Don’t give up!
Positive reinforcement: Praise and encouragement for any interaction with the new food, even just touching or smelling it.
No pressure: Avoid forcing or pressuring the child to eat. This can create negative associations with food.
Make it fun: Present food in playful ways, use cookie cutters for fun shapes, or involve the child in food preparation.
Sensory exploration: Encourage exploration of food through touch, smell, and sight before tasting.
Role modelling: Show the child that you enjoy eating a variety of foods.
Use fun utensils: your child might like characters from ‘Frozen’ or ‘Dinosaurs’ or ‘Diggers’ there are a host of character-based cutlery and cups/plates to be had. Also, I really rate these two items very highly they are so good so I want to share these with you. Both are available online. But warning: the cup is outrageously expensive as it comes from the United States and is sold by a small scale company. But I feel this is cup very worth trying, I have had good results with this.
Gradual desensitisation: Start with foods that are similar in texture or taste to accepted foods, then gradually introduce more challenging options.
Food chaining: Introduce new foods that are similar in taste, texture, or appearance to accepted foods.
4. Mealtime Environment:
Positive and relaxed: Create a calm and enjoyable mealtime atmosphere.
No distractions: Minimise distractions like TV or toys.
Consistent schedule: Offer meals and snacks at regular times.
Child-sized portions: Offer small, manageable portions to avoid overwhelming the child.
Involve the child: Let the child choose their utensils, plate, or cup.
5. Remember:
Every child is different: What works for one child may not work for another.
Progress takes time: Be patient and celebrate small victories.
Focus on the positive: Praise any positive interaction with food.
Seek support: Connect with other parents or support groups.
Introducing solids to toddlers with ARFID can be challenging, but with patience, persistence, and professional guidance, you can help your child develop a healthier relationship with food.
Feeding and Dysphagia (Swallowing) Specialist The London Speech and Feeding Practice
The London Speech and Feeding Practice
Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.
A Day In The Life Of An Independent Speech And Language Therapist
I often get asked how many clients/children I see per working day or what my working day/life looks like. I always reply that every day is different, which is true, but there is a sort of average working day which looks a bit like this:
I usually start preparing for my first client of the day at around 9.30 am: I clean the room, wipe down all the toys and materials (that’s if they are coming to my clinic room) and then it takes me about 30 minutes to select and sometimes make suitable materials, games and activities for the child’s therapy programme. Client arrives at 10.30 am and the fun begins. They leave around 11.30am, and the cleaning and wiping down starts again – yes it’s the pandemic but to be fair I would do this anyway. I quickly write up my notes and send home work to the client via email. Now it’s 12 noon and I start preparing for the next client at 12.30 pm. This might be online parent-child interaction coaching and so I need different materials and activities that are suitable for teletherapy. We finish around 1.30 pm and I will write up my notes before having some lunch.
Lunch tends to not be around 30 minutes. Around 2.00 pm I start prepping again for the next client: selecting activities, going over their last session, making sure I have everything I need to start at 2.45pm – we finish at 3.45pm, I write up my notes and then have a cuppa. The next client might be more on-line coaching or a child coming to see me: room cleaned and tidy, materials and activities prepared: client arrives at 4.30 pm and we finish at 5.30 pm. I clean the toys again, write up my notes and it is 6.00 pm ready for dinner. So that was four clients between 9 am and 6pm allowing for preparation, aftercare, cleaning and coffee and lunch.
Other days I might see three clients and do more admin like ordering toys or books or teletherapy activities, or making materials (we therapist make tons of materials, we’d put Blue Peter to shame!) Sometimes I do two home visits, one in the morning and one in the afternoon – the travelling/parking in London is so time consuming that it really reduces the number of clients I can see which is why I don’t do many of those.
I hand pick my clients to make sure that we are a good fit, and my service is bespoke: no one client gets the same treatment as another; each client is unique, usually very well-known and always highly valued. That takes time and means that in reality each client gets about 2 hours of my time, that is the actual session plus all the preparation and aftercare.
I love this way of working and would not ever want to return to seeing tons of clients each day, not knowing any of them really well, due to high caseload numbers, staff shortages and an overload of administration.
My way of working affords all my lovely clients the help they need to be able to feel empowered and to then support their children to make progress; when working with children they make the best progress they can make, fulfilling their potential. My lovely reviews and testimonials tell me that my clients appreciate the extra attention.
Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.
It feels like the Christmas festivities start earlier and earlier every year. This makes it harder for your child with communication difficulties to process what is happening. Whilst you can’t do anything about the events that happen around your child, you can start to put into practice strategies which may support them and allow them to regulate their emotions.
Six ways to prepare your child for the Christmas festivities
Explore six ideas here:
1. Print off or buy a blank calendar to use at home
You can start to write in activities out of the usual routine and add a picture to allow your child to understand what it’s about. You can also use it as a countdown to Christmas Day to try to prevent ‘how long’ questions.
2. Make use of visual timetables
These are useful in everyday settings and activities but also when change occurs.
3. Be aware of any non-uniform days
Days like ‘Christmas Jumper Day’ can make your child feel uncomfortable and may affect their behaviour. By giving yourself time, you can have conversations with your child’s teacher to find a more suitable alternative. For example, they can wear a Christmas t-shirt that they find more comfortable.
4. Think about what will benefit your child
Do they like being surrounded by people or do they prefer a quiet space on a 1:1 basis? Christmas activities often involve lots of group work in school (e.g., rehearsing for carol concerts or plays). They might prefer to pre-record their part in the Christmas play or create pieces of art which can be used. At home, they may prefer one guest visiting at a time, rather than all at once.
5. Explore how your child is feeling
It’s important to find out how your young person is feeling and how these impact on the activities of that day. It might be that your child doesn’t like surprises and the intensity of opening gifts is too much for them. They may prefer gifts to be left unwrapped and given throughout the day, rather than all at once.
6. Consider sensory needs
Ensure your young person has everything they need to meet their sensory needs. This can be e.g. noise cancelling headphones, fidget toys, or comforting items. These will particularly be helpful with routines changing, often with little notice. If at home, you may wish to not put lights on the Christmas tree if visual stimuli become too much.
Remember clear communication between home, school and other family members is vital during this time. By having clear communication and expectations, your young person will feel more secure. And you can have a Christmas that is right for you and your family.
Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.
When most people think about speech or feeding difficulties, they picture the tongue, lips, or chewing skills, but how a child breathes at rest plays a surprisingly big role too.
Mouth breathing and open mouth resting posture can quietly influence everything from how a child’s face grows to how clearly they speak, to how confidently they chew and swallow. It’s something many parents never think about, until they start noticing the subtle signs.
Let’s explore why this happens, what to look for, and how to gently support better breathing and oral posture.
Recent research supports this link between mouth breathing and speech difficulties. For example, a 2022 study by Alhazmi et al., published in the Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences, found that 81.7% of children aged 9–17 who breathed primarily through their mouths presented with speech sound disorders. The study highlights how mouth breathing can significantly influence orofacial development and articulation patterns.
💨 Why we’re designed to breathe through our nose
Our bodies are made for nasal breathing. When we breathe through the nose, the air is filtered, warmed, and humidified before reaching the lungs. The tongue naturally rests against the roof of the mouth, the lips close gently, and the jaw stays relaxed, all of which encourage healthy oral development.
In contrast, mouth breathing often means the tongue rests low in the mouth and the lips stay apart. Over time, this posture can subtly reshape how the muscles and bones of the face grow.
Children who breathe through their mouths most of the time may develop:
A longer face and narrower palate
Forward head posture
Slightly open lips and low tongue position at rest
A tendency toward drooling or noisy breathing
A dry mouth and consequently bad breath
At times the tongue pushes constantly against the front teeth causing them to grow forward (buck teeth)
These changes are not anyone’s fault, as they often start because of blocked noses, allergies, enlarged adenoids, low facial muscle tone or habits formed when a child was younger. But understanding the pattern helps us know how to support change.
🗣 How mouth breathing affects speech
Speech depends on precise coordination between the lips, tongue, and jaw. The resting position of these structures affects how ready they are to move.
Reduced tongue strength and placement, i.e. the tongue rests low in the mouth (as it does in mouth breathing), it’s harder for children to lift it efficiently for sounds like /T/, /D/, /N/, /L/, and /S/. This can lead to speech that sounds slightly slushy or unclear, or a frontal lisp.
Open mouth posture and resonance: An open mouth at rest may affect how air vibrates in the oral and nasal cavities. Children might have speech that sounds a bit ‘muffled’ or lacks crispness because the lips and jaw aren’t fully supporting articulation.
Fatigue and breath control: Mouth breathing can lead to drier mouths and less efficient breath support. That can make longer sentences or conversations feel tiring, especially in noisy environments.
🥄 How mouth breathing affects feeding and chewing
Feeding involves the same structures that control speech, so posture and breathing patterns matter here, too.
Chewing efficiency: Children who habitually keep their mouths open often have low tongue tone and reduced jaw stability. They may prefer softer foods, chew slowly, or struggle with mixed textures.
Swallowing pattern: A tongue that rests low may push forward when swallowing. This ‘tongue-thrust swallow’ can interfere with efficient chewing and even affect dental alignment over time.
Breathing while eating: Since it’s hard to chew, swallow, and breathe through the mouth simultaneously, children who can’t comfortably nasal breathe may rush bites or pause to catch their breath. This can contribute to coughing, choking, or food refusal.
Common signs to watch for
Parents often notice subtle clues before realising mouth breathing is a pattern. Some red flags include:
Lips habitually open at rest
Drooling after the toddler years
Snoring or noisy breathing during sleep
Preference for soft foods or grazing eating habits
Dark circles under the eyes due to allergies
Frequent colds, congestion, or mouth odour
Speech that sounds slushy or unclear despite good effort
If several of these sound familiar, it’s worth mentioning them to your child’s GP, dentist, or speech and language therapist.
👩⚕️ What can help
Address the underlying cause: If nasal blockage, allergies, or enlarged adenoids are making nasal breathing difficult, a medical assessment is the first step. ENT specialists can rule out or treat physical causes.
Encourage closed mouth rest: Gentle reminders like ‘Lips together, tongue up, breathe through your nose’ can help older children become aware of their resting posture. For younger ones, visual cues (stickers or mirrors) can make it a game.
Build oral-motor strength and awareness: Speech therapists can design activities to strengthen the tongue and lips, improve jaw stability, and encourage balanced breathing. This might include blowing games, tongue-tip lifts, use of dental-palatal devices or oral-motor exercises disguised as play.
Support good posture: Sometimes mouth breathing goes hand-in-hand with forward-head posture. Encouraging upright sitting during meals and screen time helps keep the airway open and supports better breathing habits.
Make nasal breathing part of daily routines: Gentle nose-breathing practice during calm times (reading, bedtime, car rides) helps normalise it. Avoid making it a battle: calm, consistent reminders work best.
🌱 A gentle note on change
Patterns of mouth breathing develop over time, and change doesn’t happen overnight. It’s important to approach this with curiosity, not criticism. The aim isn’t ‘perfect breathing,’ but to give your child the tools and awareness to breathe comfortably and efficiently.
Small improvements in nasal breathing and resting posture can lead to big gains in speech clarity, eating confidence, and even sleep quality.
💡 The takeaway
Breathing seems automatic, and it is! but how we breathe matters. Mouth breathing and open-mouth posture can quietly shape how a child speaks, eats, and grows.
By noticing early signs, addressing underlying causes, and building supportive habits, you can help your child move toward stronger, clearer speech and more comfortable mealtimes.
Just like every area of development, progress starts with connection, patience, and gentle consistency, one calm breath at a time.
Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.
My baby isn’t babbling and developing speech – what can I do to support?
While every baby develops at their own pace, if your child isn’t babbling by nine months, it’s worth seeking help from an Early Intervention Health Professional, such as a doctor and a speech therapist. Don’t panic! There are many reasons for delayed babbling, and early intervention is key.
In the meantime, it is highly recommended that we talk, sing, and read to our baby often. Exaggerate sounds and expressions, and respond to their coos and smiles. This playful interaction helps stimulate their communication skills.
Below are some tips and tricks from my experience of working with babies and toddlers who need a little bit of help and support to develop.
The benefits of imitating your baby
Copying your baby’s sounds and gestures isn’t just silly fun, it’s a powerful learning tool! By mimicking their babbles and actions, you activate “mirror neurons” in their brain that help them connect sounds with meaning. This playful back-and-forth teaches turn-taking, a foundation for conversation. Plus, it encourages them to copy you, building their own language skills and social interaction abilities.
This is a nice clip on youtube showing how copying/imitating your baby looks like:
Here are some fun ways to imitate your baby:
Matchmaker: Grab two of the same, or two similar toys your child loves, like rainmakers or shakers. Give one to your baby and keep the other for yourself. When your child plays with his/her toy, mirror his/her actions with yours! This creates a fun, interactive game.
Face Time: Get down to your baby’s level, sitting opposite him/her on the floor or kneeling. This makes eye contact easy and encourages him/her to look at you during your playful imitation.
Be the Funniest You: Go all out with silly faces, exaggerated sounds, and big gestures. The goal is to capture your baby’s attention and make you irresistible to watch. This playful energy encourages him/her to interact and potentially imitate you back!
By incorporating these tips, you can turn imitation into a fun and engaging way to boost your baby’s communication skills. I have seen this happen numerous times over the past decades. It is very powerful, go ahead and try it! You cannot be silly and goofy enough!
Did you know that speech and language development starts with how we talk to our babies?
Adults naturally use a special way of speaking called motherese. It involves a higher pitch, slower pace, and exaggerated sounds compared to regular conversation. Sentences are simpler, with shorter words and repetition. This grabs babies’ attention, helps them distinguish sounds, and reinforces word meaning.
Imitation is a key part of motherese. We wait for our baby to make a sound or gesture, then playfully imitate it with exaggeration. Babies notice this right away and often respond with more vocalisations, creating a mini conversation. This back-and-forth teaches turn-taking, a foundation for future conversations.
By responding warmly and engaging in these playful interactions, we encourage our babies to keep exploring the world of communication. Talking, singing, reading and, of course, imitating, these simple actions can have a big impact on a baby’s language development.
Once your conversation is underway then try and keep it going for as long as possible. It’s a beautiful dance of turn-taking, even without words!
A last word on oxytocin
There’s evidence suggesting early non-verbal communication with your baby can increase a mother’s oxytocin levels, often called the ‘love hormone’. This hormone plays a key role in bonding and social connection. Positive interactions, touch, and stress reduction all contribute to oxytocin release, strengthening the mother–baby bond.
For parents of babies with extra needs
The stress of caring for a child with medical needs or developmental delays can be difficult. Stress can lower oxytocin levels, creating a cycle of sadness for both parent and child.
Breaking the cycle:
Knowledge is Power: Understanding the importance of communication can empower parents.
Seek Support: Speech therapists and other healthcare professionals can provide valuable guidance on communication strategies.
Start Small, Celebrate Big: Even small interactions can boost oxytocin. Focus on playful imitation and positive reinforcement. Remember, friends, family and healthcare professionals are there to encourage you.
This approach can help reverse the negative cycle and create a more positive and connected relationship between parent and child.
Feeding and Dysphagia (Swallowing) Specialist The London Speech and Feeding Practice
The London Speech and Feeding Practice
Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.
Watch how cued articulation can transform your child’s speech and language skills!
Cued Articulation involves using specific handshapes and placement cues to guide the speaker’s articulators, such as the tongue, lips, and teeth, to produce accurate sounds. It was originally conceptualised by Jane Passy, a speech-language pathologist. But it is important to know that we can, and often do, also use other speech cues which help our student visualise what they need to do. In other words, we can mix and match our cue pictures depending on what works best with each student.
In the beginning of my speech therapy practice I would stick religiously to Jane Passy’s method but over the years I have learned and used many different visual hand cues which all have worked with individual students.
It is important to remember that this is not an exact science, rather than an art! The art is to find the key to each individual student’s understanding and inspire motivation to try out a sound which they find hard to do.
As an example, the hand signs used by Caroline Bowen’s method, an Australian Speech-Language Pathologist, are quite different to Jane Passy’s signs but they can equally work very well. Caroline Bowen’s visual for the /r/ sound is the ‘rowdy rooster’ — a crazed rooster on a motorbike — and the hand signal is that of revving up the motor bike engine with both hands whilst trying out the /r/ sound! I have a good handful of students who really loved this rooster image and were able to eventually produce a good /r/ using this cue.
So, it is horses for courses with many things, and visual images and hand cues are no exception!
Sound picture cards:
Again, there are a host to choose from and I tend to collect a number of different images for each sound I want to practise with my student. As an example, below are a couple of different examples I use for the sound /p/:
The Nuffield Programme suggests to use this popper card, which works well with a student who knows these poppers and perhaps has one on their trousers.
As an alternative, and especially for younger students, I like using the Popper Pig Card – which I also have in my room so I can quickly show how it pops. Or we can have a popping game in between saying the /p/ sound at times. (The popper card is great as I can use the real toy to help with conveying the /p/ sound as it pops.)
Each card has its own merit and I choose the right card for the individual student.
How I use cued articulation and the visuals in Speech Therapy
Cueing and practice: I introduce the appropriate card and handshapes for the targeted sounds. We then practise producing the sounds.
Reinforcement and feedback: Positive reinforcement encourages progress and builds confidence.
Fading out the cues: Once my student is able to say the sound more easily, we can gradually fade out the speech cues.
Benefits and effectiveness
Using Cued Articulation and Speech Image Cards has been shown to be effective in improving speech production for individuals with various speech and language disorders, including:
Articulation disorders: Difficulty producing specific sounds accurately.
Apraxia of speech: A motor planning disorder that affects the ability to sequence and coordinate movements involved in speech.
Phonology disorders or delays: Confusion and delays in how sounds are organised in categories to convey meaning, errors in sound patterns, for example front sounds are produced at the back, or long sounds are produced as stops.
Stuttering: A fluency disorder characterised by interruptions in speech, such as repetitions and prolongations.
Tips for parents and student speech therapists
Parents can play a crucial role in supporting the implementation of cued articulation at home and in therapy sessions. Here are some tips:
Collaborate with your SLT: Good feedback and communication with the Speech and Language Therapist creates consistency and progress..
Practise Regularly: Encourage consistent practice of cued articulation at home to reinforce learning.
Use Visual Aids: Use the same visuals that your therapist uses in the speech clinic to help your child at home with recall and practice.
Feel free to contact me if you need help with your child.
Sonja McGeachie
Early Intervention Speech and Language Therapist
Feeding and Dysphagia (Swallowing) Specialist The London Speech and Feeding Practice
The London Speech and Feeding Practice
Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.
