Speech Therapy Home Activities

Many parents ask me to suggest things they can do at home to help their children with their speech and language skills.  There are tons of great things you can do at home! Here are just a few things you can do:

• Read, Read, and Read! Don't just read bedtime stories at night....Go to the library and pick out a favorite book together.  Be sure the book is age appropriate.  Label actions that are happening in the pictures, label the vocabulary, have your child repeat the words and sentences after you and have them answer yes/no questions and simple -wh questions (who, what, where,etc).  After you are finished reading the book, ask them to retell the story to you.
• Talk to your child.  Most young children learn best through imitation so be sure you are speaking to them with good pronunciations and sentence structure.  Talk about activities and what you are doing throughout the day.  There are many opportunities for this throughout each day.  Examples include bathtime, snack time, dinner time, playing outside etc.
• Use play time to engage with your young child for increasing speech and language skills.  This makes it fun for your child.  Use toys in a fun and engaging way.  Cause and effect toys are great for requesting and making choices. Bubbles are also something most young children enjoy.  See if they can round their lips to blow their own bubbles.  Practice their /p/,/b/ and /m/ sounds for "pop" "more" "bubble".

These are just a few examples of some quick activites that you can do at home.  Let us know what your child enjoys!! Have a wonderful week.

Vacations

As you are reading this, I will hopefully be experiencing a little magic....Disney magic that is!  As many of you know, SO much planning and detail go into a trip like this.  This year, we didn't tell the kids about the trip until 4 days before the actual departure.  Can I just say they were ECSTATIC when they found out.  The pictures from the surprise reveal are priceless!

Many times as parents we can forget how a vacation can disrupt our children's normal schedule.  They will be completely out of their normal routine.  Here are a few tips that you can use for a smooth vacation transisition:

 

• Talk about your vacation and where you will be going.  Talk about the things you may see and the different activities that you have planned.  Explain to them how you will get there....car, plane or train. etc.  If traveling by plane you can act out what may happen during the process.  For example, you can line up chairs and pretend to get onboard an airplane.  Practice going through a security check because this can be scary for a child (and some adults).  Try to find some age appropriate books that talk about travel and vacation.  Clifford the Big Red Dog has a cute book about Emily Elizabeth and her family going on vacation and Clifford finding them because he was so lonely without them. 
• Let your child pack a small bag of things they would like to take on the trip.  You can give your child a bag and ask them to pack a few items. They may choose a favorite stuffed animal or blanket.  Small toys and books are also a great idea.  I have always let my children choose some things they wanted to pack and it makes them feel more independent and they often choose things like lovies that will make them feel comfortable.
• On the big day keep explaining what's going to happen next so they know what to expect.  Traveling doesn't have to be stressful....it should be an adventure!
• HAVE FUN!!

I hope you all have memorable and magical vacations this summer~

I'm excited to announce a new place to find some VERY cute and great ideas for speech and language activites!  My good friend and colleague , Leslie Giambrone and I have started a Facebook page called Chatterbox Girls. We will be posting our favorite products and activities that we have found to be useful and successful in therapy. 

https://www.facebook.com/#!/ChatterboxGirls

Please find us on Facebook and like our page. We are looking forward to posting things each day that parents can use at home.  Let us know what you think and if you have any questions. We would love to hear from you. Have a great week!!

May is Better Speech and Heaing Month

 According to information obtained from the American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA), more than 5 million children in the United States have a speech, language, and hearing disorder.   Very often, parents are unsure about what to do when they suspect their child may have an issue.  Every May since 1927,  (ASHA) has used the "May is Better Hearing and Speech Month" celebration to provide parents with information about communication disorders.  Speech and language problems can occur at any time in a child's life. They can be caused by accidental injury, illness, or inherited by birth. Child speech and language problems include:

• Stuttering
• Articulation problems ("wabbit" instead of "rabbit")
• Receptive and Expressive Language disorders such as the slow development of vocabulary, concepts, and grammar.
• Voice disorders (nasal, breathy, or hoarse voice and speech that is too high or low)
• Feeding and Swallowing difficulties

Parents who suspect their child has a communication disorder should see an ASHA-certified speech-language pathologist. SLP's can identify, assess, and treat speech and language problems including swallowing disorders. Speech-language pathologists work in  many settings such as schools, private practice, hospitals, clinics, rehabilitation centers, health departments, and other health education settings.

The good news is most children with speech, language, and hearing problems can be helped.  Even if the problem cannot be eliminated, we can teach the child strategies to help them cope with their communication disorders, or provide them with the appropriate technology. By promoting Better Hearing and Speech Month, our goal is to help parents learn about communication disorders, what they can do to help their children, and how speech-language pathologists can help with their child's communication disorders."

Parents who think their children may have a speech, language, or hearing disorder or know of someone who has a communication disorder should visit http://www.asha.org/findpro/, ASHA's online directory of audiology and speech-language pathology programs, to find an ASHA-certified speech-language pathologist or audiologist in their area.

Earth Day Ideas

So..... I'm a little late on Earth Day as it was a couple of weeks ago.  However, I think we can celebrate Earth Day all year long.  I wanted to provide some great activities that can be done in our environment that will also help with speech and language skills:

• Plant some flowers or a tree.  This is a great activity for sequencing.  Talk about what you do first, second, last etc.  It targets following directions, sequencing, labeling, and vocabulary.  As you are planting with your child, talk to them about everything that you are doing.
• Take a walk through your neighborhood or park.  As you are walking point out objects to label and work on descriptive concepts.  For example, I spy something tall and green...what is it?  Have them describe something to you as well.  It's a fun game that most kids enjoy.  You can also pick up liter which is a great lesson to show our kids at a young age.
• Make a bird feeder by using a recycled milk jug that you may have around.  This will be a fun activity that your child will love.  They can follow  directions and decorate the bird feeder with things you may already have such as stickers or use markers to decorate.  Fill up the jug with bird seed and hang it up.  The birds will thank you.

These are just a few examples, but there are many that you could do.  Have fun and let's help keep our Earth happy!

Performance addressing Autism

My daughter and I have attended wonderful shows at the Children's Theatre of Charlotte.  A friend of mine  invited us to go see the latest production......Pinkalicious!  We just saw it last weekend and I must admit it was pinktastic :)

Last week, the Children's Theatre began its preparation for the 2013-2014 year.  In March 2014, they are going to present a play called "Spelling 2-5-5" that will address autism with a sensory-friendly environment. The play will address autism in both the story and in the presentation.  It will tell the story of Simon, who feels that all of his mother's attention is lavished on his younger brother who has autism.  Simon decides to enter a spelling bee hoping this will be his moment to shine.  However, he soon learns that his brother is also drawn to spelling.  He will need to decide if he can share the spotlight.

The show will be a friendly environment for families who deal with autism.  In mid-April, CT hosted a group from Imagination Stage in Bethesda, Md who specialize in sensory-friendly training.  The goal for the Children's Theatre is to serve diverse audiences in their upcoming productions.  I personally can't wait for the 2013-2014 season! 

Crafts and Hands on Activites for Speech Therapy

I love doing crafts and hands on activities with a lot of the kids I work with.  These activities are great for following directions, joint attention skills, labeling objects and colors, and many other goals.  The crafts can be simple and inexpensive.  I have found some great ideas on Pinterest and just walking through the Dollar Store.  The Dollar Store always has seasonal crafts that you can incorporate into your theme.  They have the foam shapes or objects that you can put foam stickers on.  Also, take a look in their school supplies and crafts aisle and you will find tons of great things to use.  Another favorite place of mine is Hobby Lobby.  I honestly could go there everyday.  They have SO many great things you can do.

Mother's Day is coming up and this would be a great time to try a craft with your child.  Find a craft or activity that is age appropriate and have fun with your child!!   Talk about what you are doing, describe what you are using and label everything.  You will be surprised the amount of speech and language skills you may see from your child. 

As I told you all a couple of weeks ago I have been busy planning my little girl's Fairy Birthday Party.  We have had the best time making things we are using for her party.  She is turning 6 and has been able to help me with painting, gluing, and following directions.  Check out the fairy cupcake toppers we made together.  We found the wooden peg dolls at Hobby Lobby and then painted and decorated them.  I must say we had the BEST time!

Have a great week and try some crafts!