English Speaking Moms and Babies
PRESENTIAL GROUP ACTIVITY
ENGLISH SPEAKING MOMS AND BABIES
A nurturing and interactive workshop designed to stimulate communication and language development in babies and toddlers. English-speaking moms will bond with their little ones, foster early communication skills in a fun and engaging way, and connect with other English-speaking families.
About the psychologist:
Sara Hermida is a bilingual speech and language therapist, psychologist and mom who provides expert guidance on how to support your baby’s early development and language acquisition in a bilingual environment.
Duration:
1 hour and a half
Schedule:
Every Thursday at 10 am
Language:
Language will be adapted to the group’s needs. The professional is bilingual (Spanish and English).
Goals
- Stimulate early communication skills.
- Develop rhythm and sound recognition.
- Promote listening and attention skills and vocabulary.
- Encourage exploration through sensory stimulation.
- Strengthen the mother-baby bond through play.
- Offer guidance about language development milestones.
- Provide strategies to support raising bilingual children.
- Share practical tools and insights to enhance language development at home.
- Create a supportive space for moms navigating motherhood in a bilingual environment and sharing experiences.
Workshop structure:
- Welcome routine
- Music and movement
- Sensory stimulation
- Storytime
- Parent-baby games
- Discussion time (conversations on bilingualism, milestones and shared experiences)
- Closing and goodbye
There will be an entrance accessible for strollers available for the activity by calle Serrano Anguita 18 with an access to a changing table as well.
Where?
PRESENTIALAt Sinews MTI, calle Sagasta 16, bajo derecha
Nº of participants: 4-6 children with their caregivers.
Price
50 euros per individual session (one parent). Prepaid by phone or credit card, booked at least 24 hours in advance. 150 euros per 4-sessions pack (to be used before expiration date, 8 weeks after purchase).
CONNECTING PEOPLE, emotional intelligence and support group
PRESENTIAL GROUP THERAPY
CONNECTING PEOPLE, emotional intelligence and support group
Many of us have been struggling with the social deprivation the global pandemic is imposing.
For those suffering from stress, depression or other emotional difficulties, isolation makes it even harder to combat these symptoms. People with social anxiety or difficulties in creating healthy bonds are not able to practice or improve their abilities, or receive support from other people who are also going through challenging situations. That is why we have called this therapeutic group “Connecting people”, support and emotional intelligence in a group setting.
Why group therapy?
- We are social beings, and therefore, connecting with others has a deep positive influence on us.
- When we share our difficulties with others, we understand them more deeply, and we feel less lonely.
- An environment of respect, confidentiality and support can help us feel empowered and understood.
- We can only learn about creating bonds by doing it. In the group we will learn to respect others and be respected, to support and be supported, and to build and maintain healthy and valuable relationships.
Method:
The group is organized in 8 sessions and 4 modules:
In the first session, we will introduce ourselves, know more about what each one of the participants seeks from the group, and talk about the rules and our objectives.
In every session, the material used will be applied to real situations the participants face. The therapist will help the group feel safe creating a judgement-free, secure environment, where everyone can communicate, feel heard and connect better, exploring different ways of interacting.
Communication module (2 sessions): The different communication styles will be introduced, verbal and non-verbal communication, assertiveness and managing conflicts.
Self-confidence module (2 sessions): Being confident in oneself is key to effective communication. Negative emotions that arise during interactions as a result of insecurities or social anxiety, and how to conquer them in order to maintain healthy relationships will be addressed in this module.
Connection module (2 sessions): What is your weak point when you try to connect with others? Do you overthink what you said constantly? Do you avoid conflict and find it hard to say no? Do you find it hard to trust others? In this module, we will practice healthy ways of connecting with others.
Integration Module (2 sessions): This module will be useful to internalize the learned strategies, and for the participants to get to know each other better. We will talk about what it means to give and receive support, and how to find effective ways to communicate on a deeper level.
At the end of the 8 sessions, it will be decided if participants want to benefit from one or two extra sessions to strengthen any aspect of the material or have a closing/goodbye session.
Who is it for?
This group is dedicated to adolescents or young adults that feel they could improve their ability to connect with others, to Sinews clients that feel alone and isolated, to people who want to feel more at ease in a group… There are plenty of reasons why you might benefit from this group.
Adolescents group: 14 to 17 years old. Therapist: Inés Zulueta
Young adults group: 18 to 23 years old. Therapist: Marta Gray
Where?
PRESENTIALAt Sinews MTI, calle Sagasta 16, bajo derecha
It is an in person group, with every Covid prevention guaranty: hand washing, security distance, use of face masks and ventilated area. It will be for 5 people maximum and the therapist.
When?
Adolescents
Pending dates
Young adults
Pending dates
Price
25 euros per session and 175 euros for the 8 sessions if they are paid in advance (we offer one for free in that case).
Psicología, Psiquiatría y Logopedia para Niños y Adolescentes
Psychology, Psychiatry y Speech Therapy for kids and adolescents
SINEWS offers a variety of mental health services for children and adolescents.
Psychology, Psychiatry y Speech Therapy for kids and adolescents
SINEWS offers a variety of mental health services for children and adolescents.
In SINEWS We have a multidisciplinary team of professionals from Psychiatry, Psychology and Speech Therapy dedicated to diagnosing difficulties and designing solutions for the most common problems in childhood and adolescence.
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Childhood bilingualism
Childhood bilingualism
The brain of a bilingual child organizes and processes language differently than the brain of a monolingual child.
So when working with these children it is especially important to have specific knowledge about their reality: Childhood Bilingualism.
In SINEWS we have spent years working with MULTILINGUAL families from the international community, in which each parent has a different origin with a different language and culture. They have taught us what we know and have encouraged us to develop services tailored to their needs:
INDIVIDUAL ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT for Spanish-English bilinguals
We have assessment tools that allow us to determine which language is dominant for a child in different areas and skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing … we know how bilingualism evolves and which language needs reinforcement in each area. These tools also help us to decide in which language to administer a psychoedcational evaluation if a child, for example, requires intelligence or aptitude testing.
Bilingual individuals are not immune to having problems with language: stuttering, difficulty with certain sounds … We offer an evaluation and speech therapy treatment plan that include both languages and prevent, whenever possible, eliminating one of the languages.
CONSULTATION SESSION FOR FAMILIES
Families often just want to clear up some doubts: When should a third language be introduced?, What should we do when one of our children suddenly stops responding to us in our native language despite being able to fully understand us?, In which language should our child start learning to read and write first?…
Initially, we will carry out a detailed analysis of the circumstances of each family through a comprehensive questionnaire sent by e-mail. This information would be taken to the appointment in our offices (how many languages, hours of exposure, people who speak to the child in each language, activities in each language, etc.)
The consultation, one hour, would resolve any doubts and a plan of action will be developed in order to achieve balanced multilingual development.
This service is available ON LINE (in Spanish). Click HERE for more information
FREE ONLINE CONSULTATIONS
If you have any specific question regarding your child’s bilingual or multilingual education, you have the chance to benefit from our experts. This is what the SINEWS BLOG is for. Send us your questions through the contact form and you will be able to read the response in our blog.
Speech therapy for children and adolescents
Speech therapy for children and adolescents
Speech therapy covers the areas of prevention, assessment, diagnosis and treatment of communication disorders.
Speech therapy covers the areas of prevention, assessment, diagnosis and treatment of communication disorders, which could be language disorders (expressive and receptive), speech production disorders, or communication disorders associated with problems with hearing or learning (reading and/or writing) in all age groups.
When should a speech therapist (speech language pathologist) be consulted?
In the case of young children or adolescents, whenever parents, doctors or teachers detect any problem in the areas mentioned above including reading problems, frequent written or spoken grammatical errors, stuttering, difficulties producing speech sounds accurately, the child doesn’t follow directions or appears lost when relating events to him/her, has difficulty describing events and encounters, unusual breathing patterns, hoarse/strained or an otherwise unusual voice.
What type of problems does a speech therapist treat?
- delayed acquisition of speech or language skills (children that begin speaking late)
- aphasias (difficulties speaking and/or comprehension)
- difficulties in producing speech sounds accurately in the first language
- stuttering (stammering) - Fluency disorders
- swallowing problems
- auditory processing disorder
- reading or writing problems
- voice disorders
- communication disorders associated with hearing loss
- Autism
- Cerebral palsy
- Neurological diseases (multiple sclerosis)
The professionals at Sinews understand the importance of creating assessment reports that provide instructions to family, and the other health care or education professionals in contact with our client.
Particularly, in the case of children, these reports are useful for teachers and enable them to take into account specific target areas of concern and offer appropriate Solutions for the classroom setting.
In SINEWS a clinical assessment can be provided regarding the difficulties that your child may have in a bilingual environment.
Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist Madrid
Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist Madrid
The services of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry are aimed at the detection, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental health problems in minors.
Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist Madrid
The services of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry are aimed at the detection, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental health problems in minors.
The mental health of children and adolescents depends on many factors: the environment, family, genetics, education, and social inclusion among others. In SINEWS we are concerned not only with the physical and mental development of kids, but also with their emotional well-being and their capacity to develop to their full potential without obstacles and complexes.
When something is wrong or you are concerned about your child, there is never a good reason not to consult a specialist (they will help to provide reassurance and a solution.)
A Pediatric and Adolescent Psychiatrist is a physician who is familiar with the normal development of children and who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of problems that may arise throughout the process of maturation and growth.
A psychiatrist’s participation in the diagnosis helps to clarify what is normal and what is not, and can help to rule out anything physical that could be causing the problem (enuresis with a physical cause or problems of inattention caused by absence seizures, etc.) During this process, the specialist can determine whether it is necessary to carry out additional, complementary tests (brain imaging, blood or urine analysis, an electroencephalogram or genetic studies.)
The psychiatrist’s input in designing a treatment plan allows the parent to choose the best therapeutic option tailored to the needs of the child or adolescent: perhaps the assistance of an occupational therapist is required to improve motor skills, or individual psychotherapy to help resolve a harmful habit, or maybe a play group would be beneficial for social skills training.
In cases where medication is essential, the specialist will provide all the information the family needs to aid in making the decision to medicate or not, and will closely monitor its effectiveness. The specialist will determine a minimum, therapeutic dose and when medication should be terminated.
In SINEWS we are aware that children should, whenever possible, utilize their resources and strategies in order to solve their problems, and medication will never replace psychotherapy and the specific skills training necessary.
The childhood disorders that are most frequently diagnosed and treated in SINEWS are: ADHD, Depression and Anxiety, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Tic disorders, Compulsions and other obsessive-compulsive symptoms.
Psycho-educational testing
Kids
Psycho-educational testing
It's a diagnosis process where cognitive skills such as work memory, information processing speed and visuospatial skills are evaluated by the psychologist and language skills such as reading comprehension, auditory memory and written expression are evaluated by the speech therapist in order to reach a conclusion about the strengths and weaknesses of the child in his/her learning capacity.
The importance of a Psychoeducational Evaluation
What is a psychoeducational evaluation?
What is the process like?
1.
The first step involves an interview with the parents to gather information regarding the consulting reason and the difficulties perceived at school and at home. During this interview, the professional needs all the information the family can provide such as previous reports from other clinics or schools, medical reports in case of presenting some sort of condition that affects learning and even items such as teacher’s letters or notebooks. Why is it necessary? Evaluation makes sense in different cases. Some of the most common are school failure, evaluation of high capacities or the need for a regulated diagnosis to obtain curricular adaptations in exams. What type of tests does my child need? Only a professional such as a psychologist, a speech therapist or an educational psychologist can help us with this question. According to our child’s difficulties at school, one set of tests or another might be needed. Hence the importance of the initial interview and all the available information provided to the professional by the clients.
2.
The professional will study the information and locate the supposed problematic areas in order to decide which evaluation tools will be needed during the first stage. The professional will also decide which language is most appropriate to evaluate the different capacities.
3.
The family will receive a detailed budget which will include a list of the tests to be used in the evaluation.
4.
The administration of tests would be the next step. It would be advisable that the child comes in a morning timetable and rested. Two different sessions might be needed with short breaks. The total duration of this stage can be between 2 and 5 hours.
5.
The professional will proceed to correct the tests and the interpretation of results stage will begin. Correction and interpretation are the most technically demanding processes. The professional devotes, approximately, the same number of hours to this than to the administration of the tests. A very specific training is required to be able to do this together with a minimum period of 2 year experience with the tests and a proficient command of the language to be used in the evaluation.
6.
During this process, the need of complementing the evaluation with the participation of another professional may arise, in the case, for example, where there has been a possible language problem detected in the cognitive evaluation done by the psychologist. In this case the professional will inform the family of the need of the evaluation of the speech therapist. Both professionals would have a coordination meeting and a complementary evaluation process would begin with an interview between the speech therapist and the parents, after which another budget would be elaborated, to continue with the corresponding test administration.
7.
The report and the feedback session with the parents imply the end of the process. A report of this sort will include a detailed description of all the skills evaluated, a comparison of the scores obtained with the population of the same age, a description of disharmonies between abilities, diagnostic hypothesis and recommendations for the family and school. This process frequently implies between 2 and 5 hours of work depending on the number of tests and the complexity of the evaluation. In the case of having two professionals intervening, there will be a combined report in which the information is coordinated to reach a combined interpretation.
Advantages of having an evaluation
The evaluation will provide a lot of useful information:- At school, teachers can identify the difficulties and will have very specific guidelines to help our child
- When it comes to studying at home, we will get to know better which strengths can our child lean on to study more efficiently
- When facing official exams such as PAU, IB or academic tests in centres that include curricular adaptations, if their difficulties imply a disadvantage, they will benefit from the adaptations which will improve their opportunities
Psychotherapy
Kids
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy with children/adolescents is used to treat a variety of problems.
Psychotherapy with children/adolescents is used to treat a variety of problems, such as anxiety disorders, depression, disruptive behavior disorders, as well as other common problems, including difficulties coping with divorce, problems in the parent-child relationship, sibling rivalry, adjustment or acculturation problems, and trauma-related issues.
At Sinews, we practice Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with children and adolescents, a problem-focused, interactive treatment method that has been empirically validated (through scientific research studies) and shown to be very effective when used to treat childhood mental health problems. While the number of sessions required depends upon the individual child and his/her problem, the average number of sessions usually falls between 6 and 12.
In some cases, a play therapy component may be added to the treatment sessions. Play therapy can be very helpful for children coping with loss, grief, and/or trauma, or for young children who have difficulty participating in the standard CBT sessions due to their age/developmental level.
In addition, psychotherapy for problems such as ADHD or defiant behavior often involves the parents more than the children. This is referred to as psychoeducation, and is used to help parents learn how to manage their child’s behavior outside of the therapy setting, or may simply be used to support and enhance parenting skills.
Workshop for parents: Bilingual children, how? and when?
KIDS
Workshop for parents: Bilingual children, how? and when?
Language: Spanish
This course offers the opportunity to obtain reliable information as well as a chance to meet other families in similar situations, share experiences and exchange contact information...
At SINEWS we are aware of the benefits that a bilingual education can offer, but also the complexity of it.
Many of the members of our team have been brought up in two languages and we know, first hand, of its advantages.
This workshop offers answers to some of the most frequently asked questions by parents who find themselves faced with such a project:
- Can it have a negative effect my child’s intellectual development?
- Will speaking to a child in two languages from the start delay language acquisition?
- Is the best model “one parent, one language” or “one home, one language”?
- Is it bad for a child to mix the two languages or insert words from one language when speaking another?
- What to do if the child refuses to speak to the mother or father in his or her language (which the child previously used without any problem)?
- How to reinforce the use of one language when the other is consistently becoming more dominant?
- Can our children be bilingual if both parents speak Spanish?
Table of contents:
- What is bilingualism
- Types of bilingualism
- Advantages and disadvantages of starting a family with two languages
- Preliminary considerations before starting the project
- Project Planning
- Models of bilingualism
- Third language, when and how?
- 15 minute BREAK
- Priority, to communicate
- Strengthening languages
- Bilingualism and school
- Bilingualism and relationships
- Normal development, what to expect
- When to consult a specialist
Division of Speech Therapy
Speech Therapist
Children and adolescents
Languages: English and Spanish
SINEWS. Sagasta 16, 28004 Madrid
If you have any questions please call 91 700 1979.
Mode: Hybrid (On-site at Sinews + Zoom broadcast)
Schedule: From 10:30 to 12:00.
Price: 50 EUROS mom or dad, 75 EUROS for both.
Language: Spanish.
Books about bilingualism
KIDS
Books about bilingualism
Sinews recommends…
THE BILINGUAL FAMILY: A HANDBOOK FOR PARENTS
Edith Harding-Esch and Philip Riley. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2003.
Written for: Parents who are considering the option of raising their children in two or more languages or that have already undergone the process, and for professionals that work with bilingual children.
Why read it: It offers concrete examples of different ways to approach a bilingual upbringing, especially focusing on language, when and who speaks with the child. It helps to prepare for what to expect when it comes to language development in children exposed to two languages. It offers a detailed and practical plan for this project.
This book can be purchased at: Amazon in English.
GROWING UP WITH TWO LANGUAGES: A PRACTICAL GUIDE 2nd EDITION
Una Cunninham-Anderson and Staffan Anderson. Published by Routledge, 2004.
Written for: Parents who have or would like to create a bilingual home environment, and for professionals who work with children who are being brought up with two languages.
Why read it: It offers comprehensive and accurate insight into the everyday life of a bilingual home: the most common expectations, difficulties, organizational aspects, results and problems that can arise for the child and family.
This book can be purchased at: Amazon in English.
RAISING A BILINGUAL CHILD
Barbara Zurer Pearson.
Written for: Bicultural or multilingual parents who plan on creating a bilingual family, parents who do not speak more than one language and want to know if they can also, parents who have children who speak more than one language and need advice on specific problems. Relatives or friends who do not understand why one would take on such a project. Health and education professionals interested in acquiring basic knowledge about bilingualism.
Why we recommend the book: Table of Contents: 1. The Benefits of Childhood Bilingualism – 2. Learning a First Language – 3. Learning Two (or More) Languages – 4. Establishing a Bilingual Environment – 5. How-To Testimonials – 6. Are There Any Children Who Cannot Learn Two Languages? – 7. Research Comparing Monolinguals and Bilinguals – 8. About Bilingual Identity – Nº pages: 256.
This book is like a cake. Barbara Zurer has achieved the ideal mix of ingredients to spark interest and to help understand why the strategies to achieve bilingual children work. Between the raw materials: large doses of teaching skill (she explains concepts as complex as learning a native language in a way that make them seem simple); a sort of phobia to give the same recipes to all keeping in mind that there are many methods that work, and an optimistic tone based on her experience as a linguist with successful multilingual families worldwide. It’s fun because it is fresh, direct, includes interesting facts about scientific studies, useful experiences taken from real families, tests to find out what the pros and cons are of your sitution, or what method will work best to create your bilingual family. The icing on the cake is the Resource Section. Disadvantages that the book has: It places emphasis on basic concepts and can be repetitive, but at the same time it facilitates reading of individual chapters as a reference book.
SINEWS score: 9’5, User-friendly: 9, Useful, practical: 10, Up to date information: 9, Serious/ fun: 9 – There were no conflicts of interest detected (Religious or pertaining to an ideology)