Art McCoy

2 booksParenting & FamilyInstructional GuideEducational & Academic

Art McCoy is a linguist, licensed Speech-Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA), and graduate student in speech-language pathology. He holds a bachelor's degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders, a master's degree in Applied Linguistics, and an MBA. Through his work with children and families, Art has seen how much progress can begin in ordinary moments—playing on the floor, sharing a snack, reading a book, or simply waiting long enough for a child to communicate. His approach focuses on helping parents recognize communication that is already happening and turn everyday interactions into natural opportunities for language growth. Art wrote Ready, Set, Talk! to make speech and language strategies easier for families to understand and use at home. His goal is simple: give parents practical tools that support connection, communication, and growing independence without turning family life into a therapy session. Ready, Set, Talk! reflects his commitment to helping children find their voice through connection, play, and joy.

Books

Ready, Set, Play!

100 Simple Play Plans to Build Toddler Speech, Language, and Social Skills Through Everyday Fun

Parenting & Family
Instructional Guide
Educational & Academic

Unlock your toddler's natural ability to communicate through the power of play. In Ready, Set, Play!, parent coach Art McCoy delivers a practical, evidence-informed roadmap designed to transform everyday moments into powerful learning opportunities. You don't need expensive toys or special training to help your child thrive—you just need to know how to connect. Featuring 100 step-by-step Play Plans, this essential guide shows you how to follow your child's lead, foster imagination, and build speech, language, and social skills without pressure. From simple games with bubbles and balls to turning routine bath times and grocery runs into interactive fun, you will learn how to boost your child's confidence and connection. Each Play Plan breaks down why the activity works, what to say, how to adjust difficulty, and key insights from speech-language pathology professionals. By the end, you won't just have a list of activities—you will possess the lifelong skills to support your child's development every single day.

Open Book

Ready, Set, Talk!

A Practical Parent Guide to Building Speech, Language, and Communication

Parenting & Family
Instructional Guide

Is your toddler struggling to communicate? Are you wondering what you can do at home to help? You don’t need a therapy room, expensive materials, or hours of drills to support your child’s communication. Some of the best opportunities for building language happen during the ordinary moments you already share—playing on the floor, eating a snack, getting dressed, reading a book, or getting ready for bed. In Ready, Set, Talk!, Art McCoy, a linguist, licensed Speech-Language Pathology Assistant, and graduate student in speech-language pathology, gives parents a practical, easy-to-follow approach for supporting young children who are late to talk or need extra help developing communication skills. You’ll learn how to recognize the ways your child is already communicating, discover what motivates them to interact, use fewer and more meaningful words, encourage pointing and gestures, build functional first words, accept early word approximations, expand single words into short phrases, and gradually help your child communicate more independently. At the heart of the book is the Ready, Set, Talk Communication Cycle: Motivate → Model → Wait → Accept → Respond → Repeat—a simple framework you can use naturally throughout everyday life. You’ll also learn how to respond to repeated language and echolalia, understand behavior as communication, reduce unnecessary prompting, and help new communication skills move beyond practice activities into real life. Most importantly, Ready, Set, Talk! is designed to help you stop wondering, “What am I supposed to do?” and start noticing the small communication opportunities already happening around you. You can start today—one interaction, one gesture, one sound, and one word at a time. For the cover, I would choose Generate with AI, but I would be careful not to make it look like a generic therapy textbook. The strongest concept would be a warm parent-and-toddler interaction with plenty of clean space for the title, rather than speech bubbles, alphabet blocks, or clinical imagery.

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