At Preschool Readers, we know various factors affect a child’s learning process. To remain up to date and informed on best practices, we have an Expert Interviews series. In this series, we interview experts who provide tips/tricks and suggestions for parents of preschoolers. We hope you enjoy our interview with Alpin Rezvani, Owner of Princeton Playspace.

Name & Job Title: Alpin Rezvani, Speech Pathologist

Business Name:Princeton Playspace

What Services Do You Provide and Whom Do You Serve: I am the founder of an indoor playground called Princeton Playspace in Princeton, New Jersey. It is a space where children and their families can PLAY, explore, socialize, and have fun! We also provide private speech therapy sessions and evaluations for children with autism, articulation disorders, receptive and expressive language disorders, fluency disorders, and more! We also provide social skills groups.

What Is Speech and Language Therapy: It is all about giving your children a way of communicating… the tools, showing them the power of their voice, and encouraging them to use their language to help create meaningful relationships in their life. We do this by a lot of verbal modeling, repetition, through play, tactile cues, reading/writing, and various other techniques.

What Are Some Signs Parents Can Look For To Determine If Their Preschooler Is In Need of Speech and Language Therapy:  We want your toddler to use words for a pragmatic reason – to request, to direct, to comment, etc.  A red flag could be when a child exhibits echolalia (repeating words immediately or in a delayed fashion) and it is not pragmatically appropriate.  Your child should also be combining words and asking questions.  They should also be able to answer basic questions such as their name, age, etc.  Preschoolers who do not follow basic and multiple step commands may also benefit from speech therapy (eg – “Take the napkin and throw it in the garbage”).  Another reason for speech therapy could be articulation.  Your child could be a candidate for articulation therapy if they are difficult to understand.  Feeding therapy is also available for picky eaters.

What Are Some Everyday Activities Parents Can Do With Their Preschooler To Encourage Speech and Language Development: Reading, reading, reading is key!  The more you read to them the more language will take in.  Play is also crucial.  Children learn by doing, by problem solving, and pretending.  Play is also very social so even if your child is a late talker they can gain many skills by being around other children.  Set up structure playdates.  For instance, bring out an easy fishing game and create opportunities for learning such as “my turn, your turn”, requesting the fishing pole “I want the fishing pole”, etc.  Recasting is also a great technique.  If your child says “ball” add to it by saying “The ball is bouncing”.  

What Books Do You Recommend Parents Read To Their Preschooler To Promote Language Development and Vocabulary (promote your books here!):  We love love love books with a lot of repetition such as “Brown Bear“, “Going on a Bear Hunt”, etc.  Books with flaps are also wonderful because it leads to a lot of spontaneous comments.  Books that also have a temporal sequence such as “The Very Hungry Caterpillar“, “Caps for Sale“, “Elmer“, etc. are wonderful so that your child can help retell the story. 

And Just For Fun…What Is One Word You Would Use To Describe Yourself As A Preschooler:  Curious!

How Can Parents Connect Or Work With You:  Princeton Playspace 745 Alexander Road, Princeton, NJ 609-919-9600 www.princetonplayspace.com Feel free to follow us on social media @princetonplayspace