But as much as Accurso searched, she could not find a show that would help with Thomas’ speech development. An educator herself, she decided to make one.
“As a parent you want to do anything you can to help them and it’s not our fault when our child has a speech delay. A lot of things I teach are things I wish I had known for my son,” she says.
Accurso teamed up with her Broadway composer husband, Aron Accurso, to create “Songs For Littles,” a YouTube Channel that now has more than two million subscribers and over one billion views.
The channel’s YouTube description explains that parents can expect “toddler learning videos and baby learning videos that help children learn to talk, learn letters, numbers, colors, animal sounds and more.”
The secret is in the simplicity of each of Ms. Rachel’s videos.
Accurso uses some of the same techniques speech therapists use to assist in language development including repetition, pauses, sign and body language, as well as something called “parentese.” which uses tone and tempo to keep an infant or child’s attention and promote speech.
Ms. Rachel also speaks slowly, enthusiastically, and she enunciates words with videos showing close-ups of her mouth.
She does all of this from her one-bedroom Brooklyn apartment.
Speech Therapists Approve of Ms. Rachel
Ms. Rachel’s tactics in “Songs For Littles,” have speech and language advocates championing her on social media.
Speech Therapist Reacts to Ms Rachel
SPEECH THERAPIST REACTS TO MS RACHEL! 😱😁😍🤓😭
Posted by Ms Rachel at Songs for Littles on Thursday, July 7, 2022
“She uses all the right techniques,” one said in a TikTok video giving Ms. Rachel her stamp of approval. “This is as good as screen time’s gonna get.”