Communication Fun for Halloween!

Happy October,  Happy Fall, & Happy Halloween!! Please continue to check my Pinterest page (Spik My Language board) for fun Halloween & Fall activities & festive projects to stimulate speech and language skills. I have listed a couple of ideas below to get you started. Enjoy :)

1. Puppet Show: Make puppets out of old, clean socks, or brown paper bags, and use them as imaginary friends and for modeling sounds, words, and phrases. Have fun decorating the puppets, talk about all of the facial features needed, colors of the decorations, textures, sizes, etc.

2. Pumpkin Patch: Visit the local pumpkin patch to pick pumpkins. Discuss weight, size, colors, shapes, etc. Look out for other harvest items as well. Consider making fun foods such as pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pie, butternut squash, etc. Have fun collecting and counting pumpkin seeds if you carve them, etc. This activity can also take a multi-sensory approach to learning as you practice gross motor skills while exploring the pumpkin patch and experience textures, smells, fine motor skills, etc.

3. "I Spy Fall": Go on a walk each day. Discuss the weather, look for different colored leaves and count how many you can collect. Identify and label about all of the Halloween decorations in your neighborhood, colors of the lights, count how many people have pumpkins, etc. This activity can also incorporate a multi-sensory approach to learning.

Brush Your Teeth

Thoughts for Thursday:

I recently had a family that was concerned about difficulty during the teeth brushing routine using a vibrating toothbrush. I recommended a vibrating toothbrush, for good oral health & hygiene, as well as "awakening the oral cavity" for speech, language, and oral feeding. I suggested the following methods   and steps that have worked for some of my other families:

1. Singing songs & reading books about brushing teeth

2. Having playtime with the toothbrush to prepare for brushing teeth, rewarding with (stickers, TV/iPad time, etc.) 

3. Allowing the child to touch his preferred toothbrush and allowing them to choose when they would like to touch the less desired one, etc.

4. Modeling several people use the toothbrush to prove there is nothing to be afraid of

5. Not forcing the vibrating toothbrush right away, but instead introducing it in phases: tolerating it in the area, next to them, on their body or in their hand, turning it on etc.

Keep Pushing!

Motivational Monday:

Happy Monday! I have recently been visiting several countries, islands, places, etc. throughout the year and have thoroughly enjoyed my trips. I love to learn about different cultures, the different way people live their lives, and learning new languages. I recently vacationed in a country where the primary language is Spanish, and although I speak Spanish, my friend who accompanied me is in the early process of learning the language. My advice to her was that when forced or required to "survive" by trying to put her knowledge of this language to use, she would do what she had to do to get her needs/wants met. I often also share that small piece of advice with my families as well. I advise them to require their children to "work" for their wants and needs whether the child uses sign language, gestures, makes a sound, etc. because allowing the child to cry/tantrum and get what they want, helps no one, especially the child. In addition, it teaches the child that if they cry and scream, mommy/daddy will give in and I get what I want, ultimately making crying an effective way of communicating and leaving parents frustrated and dissatisfied. I also understand and am very empathetic to the fact that it's very hard to hear your child cry and be upset, however, I also remind them that there will be a time where the child will go out into the world (school, daycare, etc.) and need to be somewhat independent regardless of the school and/or program they are enrolled in. So…I challenge all therapists to share this advice with their families, and challenge families to "keep pushing", using models, prompts, cues, etc., requiring the child to use a preferred mode of communication, and to "work" to get their needs/wants met :)

Little Butterflies

Thoughts for Thursday:

I often compare my children, their families, and the wonderful experience of early intervention to the process of a butterfly. When the family first begins the transition into the early intervention program, most of the time they are concerned and looking for every strategy, technique, and professional ideas that will help their child develop in one of five areas (communication, gross motor skills, fine motor skills, cognitive, social emotional).
When my children and their families exit the early intervention process, whether it's to receive services in the public school system, being discharged due to significant progress, and/or they are no longer eligible due to both age and progress, they are ready to fly with all of the foundational skills of development. This one of many reasons I love and encourage early intervention to everyone that will listen. If we can plant a seed and nurture that seed day by day, of course always coaching the families and encouraging carryover, the child is much better off than they were in the cocoon regardless of the type of delay, syndrome, disorder, etc.

#mylittlebutterflies

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream!

Tips on Tuesday:

If you didn't know…July is National Ice Cream Month!! I've listed a few ways to incorporate language into one of my favorite summer pastimes. Feel free to add your own!

                                                                                                                                                              1. Offer two choices using colors or the actual label for the type of ice cream you are offering, in addition to "cup" or "cone", requiring the child to imitate you
2. Discuss all of the various types of ice cream, colors, toppings, etc.
3. Make your own ice cream, discussing all of the ingredients, materials and utensils needed
4. Make comments on the texture, color, and temperature of the ice cream
5. Provide ice cream as a reward for using "please" or another target word/s or multi word utterances throughout the day
6. Practice targeted sounds that may be in error or involve tongue movement such as /l/; make a game and see who can stick their tongue out the most and produce the sounds

Why I LOVE EI & SLP

Thoughts for Thursday:

In honor of Better Hearing & Speech Month, I wanted to give a few reasons why I LOVE being a speech-language pathologist and early intervention. Enjoy and feel free to share yours as well :)

1. Communication is key, and without it you have no power or voice!
2. Early intervention sets the foundation for language learning in the child's natural environment and prepares them for a successful future, academically and otherwise.
3. Community based therapy allows you a bigger picture of the child and their daily lives, surroundings, and routines, therefore providing you with your baseline for therapy, in addition to fun and creative ideas.
4. I absolutely love working so closely with the family/caregivers, as they are the biggest part of their children's lives, and have a significant amount of insight on behaviors, communication patterns, etc.
5. Early intervention requires us to think outside of the box and go "back to the basics". It forces you to use what the child knows and has whether it be a box, tupperware, toys galore, books, photo albums, bubbles, etc.

May is Better Hearing & Speech Month

May is Better Hearing & Speech Month!! :) As a speech-language pathologist, this month is always super exciting for me, as it allows me to expand my platform and campaign to bring awareness to the significance and impact of communication skills, especially in the early intervention (birth to three) population. I will be posting all month long about speech and language evaluations, warning signs of speech and language delays, seasonal crafts that promote and stimulate language, etc. Let's celebrate!!