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Melissa - have you and the family tried responding only to those vocalizations that are voiced?  Do you suspect any muscle weakness, fatigue, or neurological reason for the whispering?

Erika - I personally love the Mercer Mayer "little critter" books.  There are full of repetition and everyday language, and inexpensive!

I have a 28 month year old male on my caseload who has just started using words.  We have worked on using sign language and this seems to have really given him a jumpstart on his vocabulary development.  He is now spontaneously using words in everyday activities.  Sometimes he says the word using his voice but most often he whispers the word or a two word phrase.  We have tried contrasting soft and loud sounds, touching our throats to feel the voicing...the whispering persists.   Any suggestions?  Thanks!

Do you have favorite children's books that you use to target speech sounds and language for your home visits?  I would love to gather some ideas from you and others.

I recieved my BA in Speech in the early 90's and worked for a reputable agency for seven years before going out on my own.  The restrictions ASHA has placed on treating infants and toddlers with communication disorders is causing numerous infants and toddlers to go untreated.  MAny of us who have BA in speech are certainly qualified to treat infants and toddlers with a language delay.  Currently,  I have families waiting 6-12 months for a speech-language pathologist to be assigned  to them. The longer these families go without help the gap in development gets bigger.  I only hope that ASHA will reconsider this policy and allow bachelor's level speech therapists with extensive experience be allowed to work with families until a Speech Pathologist can be found. Another alternative would be to allow a bachelor's level speech therapist consult with an SLP periodically about the strategies being used in the home.  I would love to hear some feedback on this topic from others who may have encountered this problem in their early intervention programs.