About Avivit Ben-Aharon
Founder & Clinical Director at Great Speech Inc. | Providing Innovative Alternatives to Speech Pathology Services
Entries by Avivit Ben-Aharon
Why Do We Slur Our Words As We Get Older?
/ by Avivit Ben-Aharon
What Causes the Slurring of Words in the Elderly? Slurring words is a hallmark symptom of a disorder called dysarthria, which commonly affects elderly people. Slurred speech caused by dysarthria is the result of weakened muscles in the mouth, face, and throat, making them unable to function properly and produce clear and fluent speech. As [...]
Understanding EILO, PVFD, and VCD in Speech Therapy
/ by Avivit Ben-Aharon
We all know that exercise has a multitude of benefits for our health and well-being, but in some cases, it can lead to problems with breathing, especially in younger individuals. If you or someone you love struggles with breathing issues or vocal performance, understanding the various conditions that can cause these challenges and how speech [...]
The Role of Diet and Nutrition in Speech Development
/ by Avivit Ben-Aharon
Encouraging healthy eating habits and establishing strong nutrition in young children is often challenging, but the benefits of proper nutrition on developing minds cannot be overstated. Children are highly influenced by their parents, caregivers, and other adults in their lives. By modeling healthy and nutritious habits and choices, adults can effectively guide and educate their [...]
How to Help People with Speech Difficulties?
/ by Avivit Ben-Aharon
Communication is an essential part of the human experience and a crucial element of development and learning. However, communication skills are often taken for granted by those who communicate successfully and easily. If you or someone close to you is struggling with a speech difficulty of some kind, you know how hard it can be [...]
Is Late Talking an Early Sign of Autism?
/ by Avivit Ben-Aharon
While delayed speech development is common among children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, late talking can also occur in children without ASD. While notable delays in the development of speech and language skills are a cause for concern, they are not specifically a sign of Autism and can be the result of other underlying causes and [...]
What is the LIPS Program and How is it Used During Speech Therapy?
/ by Avivit Ben-Aharon
The LiPS program, also known as the Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing Program, is an intervention approach designed to promote phonemic awareness and support the development of literacy skills. While the term phonological awareness refers to the ability to recognize and manipulate the spoken elements of words, phonemic awareness refers to the ability to identify and manipulate [...]
How Can Speech Therapy Help Improve Executive Function Skills?
/ by Avivit Ben-Aharon
What is Executive Function in Speech therapy? The term “executive function” refers to a set of essential cognitive skills. These skills include the ability and capacity for advanced planning, meeting goals, using self-control, and following multi-step directions while remaining focused if interrupted. Executive functions are abilities and processes that are used every day to learn, [...]
Does Speech Therapy Actually Work?
/ by Avivit Ben-Aharon
Speech therapy is a form of treatment that was created to help individuals improve their speech, language, and communication skills and participate more wholly in everyday life. It empowers people of all ages to express their thoughts, feelings, wants, and needs, and to understand communication from others. Speech therapy has also been shown to improve [...]
Does Speech Therapy Help with Cognitive Issues?
/ by Avivit Ben-Aharon
Cognition is the mental process or action of acquiring knowledge, information, and understanding through experience, thought, and the senses. Cognitive communication skills are the abilities that are used alongside speech and language skills to effectively communicate. This group of skills includes: * Orientation * Attention * Memory * Problem-Solving * Impulsivity * Perception * Reasoning & Organization * Sequencing & Planning * Social Behaviors [...]
How to Talk to Toddlers So They Listen?
/ by Avivit Ben-Aharon
Poor listening skills and a lack of obedience are among the most frequently noted concerns expressed by parents of toddlers and young children. The truth is that children love to experience freedom and fun, and anything that feels outside of that is often met with resistance or defiance. Parents of young children and toddlers often [...]
Is it OK to Take a Break from Speech Therapy?
/ by Avivit Ben-Aharon
Speech therapy can be an exhausting and taxing process for many individuals, especially for those who are working to overcome more severe or complex communication challenges such as dysarthria, language disorders, and apraxia of speech. If you or your child has been working with a speech therapist for an extended period, you may wonder if [...]
What is Alalia Speech Disorder?
/ by Avivit Ben-Aharon
Alalia is a technical term used by speech and language pathologists to refer to a severe speech disorder involving the inability to form words or produce speech sounds effectively. Alalia should not be confused with aphasia, which relates to challenges with understanding or expressing language as a result of brain damage or traumatic brain injury. [...]