tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15966910850022463232024-03-06T13:03:33.076-07:00Alberta SpeechieAlberta Speechiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08152664166324712716noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1596691085002246323.post-61798096727228140032019-09-08T08:00:00.000-06:002019-09-08T08:02:20.775-06:00Book review: From Birth to First Words<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A little while ago, Lynn Carson contact me and asked if I would review her book, <i>From Birth to First Words: Activities to Support Your Baby's Language Learning in the First Year of Life.</i> I agreed, and she sent me a copy of the book. Lynn Carson is a Canadian SLP who is now in Australia, studying to get her Ph.D.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>From Birth to First Words</i> is an excellent no-frills book to help parents learn to foster language development during the first year of life. Each week has its own page with the same format. I appreciated the "Area Addressed" section. Specific skills are targeted each week, such as receptive language, expressive language, phonological development, early literacy, pragmatic/social language, amoung others. It contains easy to read parent-friendly language, and the tips section at the bottom of the page are beneficial. It has a very encouraging tone throughout the book.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The activities are well laid out. For many activities, the parents do not need anything other than themselves and the baby. If they do need materials, they are objects that most parents would have on hand (e.g., a mirror). These activities would not be intimidating to new parents and only take a few minutes to do. Lynn will sometimes include when to do specific activities (e.g., when the baby has awoken from a nap). Any handouts that families would need are provided at the end of each chapter. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One caveat, and I went back and forth about if I should add this or not, is that people of different cultures may not be familiar with some of the nursery rhymes/songs recommended in the book. The lyrics are included in the book, and they could be easily searched on the internet, or other more familiar songs/rhymes used instead. I do not think this should deter a person from accessing this book in any way. I feel the book is more valuable for including these songs/rhymes. With the world becoming more multicultural, I'm not sure how you would address all the different songs/rhymes that people could know.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I also like that the book addressed topics that parents tend to have strong and differing opinions (e.g., screen time, motherese). Lynn presents information in a non-judgemental tone and often encourages parents to do more research. And speaking of research, there is a reference section at the back of the book.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Overall, it is a well-written book that helps parents establish the foundations of language with their infants. I highly recommend it.</span></div>
Alberta Speechiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08152664166324712716noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1596691085002246323.post-6464393687525172622019-08-25T12:38:00.001-06:002019-08-25T12:38:51.961-06:00Thoughts on The Barriers Parents May Feel When Told to Play with their Child<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First off, this is not a post to blame parents or therapists or educators. These are my thoughts and opinions on why some parents are reluctant to use play as a form of "homework" or as a form of therapy. They are based on conversations I have had with parents, speech-language pathologists (SLPs), occupational therapists (OTs), physiotherapists (physical therapists, PTs), and teachers. Here are what I think of as barriers for some parents.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Play is not seen as necessary.</span></h4>
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<span style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This may seem like a bit of a no brainer. Many parents see play as something that children do to keep themselves occupied. It is not seen as an essential aspect of child development. Many parents see doing flashcards, worksheets, iPads, etc. as doing meaningful work. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://albertaspeechie.blogspot.com/2016/10/why-do-slps-play.html" target="_blank">Here is an earlier post on why SLPs play.</a></span></div>
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<span style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We, as therapists and educators, have not done an outstanding job talking about the benefits of play for children with delays or disorders and for children who are developing "normal." I'm guilty of this. I believe that there needs to have a more targeted campaign that talks about the importance of play for a child's overall development. By the way, I think that this would be a great research topic.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Cultural Differences</span></h4>
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<span style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As SLPs, we need to keep in mind that we serve families from many different backgrounds and many different cultures. We need to keep in mind that these cultures may have different opinions on play than mainstream white culture in the US and Canada. We need to educate ourselves and respectfully work within or along with those cultures to provide therapy in what those cultures view as play. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Many Parents Don't Know How to Play</span></h4>
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<span style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This may seem like a weird statement after all parents are at one point were child odds are they have played. Why wouldn't they know how to play?!? Well, it's not that simple. Again we need to keep in mind cultural differences, but even among the majority, culture parents struggle to play. </span></span></div>
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<span style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Play is a big concept, and it can be very intimidating. Where do they start? What toys should they use? How do they add language therapy into something that they may not feel comfortable doing? Thre are some excellent parent programs out there that use play in treatment, but even these programs can be overwhelming for parents.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Children with language delays can be challenging to engage in play</span></h4>
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<span style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also, if parents feel comfortable playing may find it intimidating and challenging to play with children who have language delays or have a disorder. Let's face it; it can be hard. I have worked with many children who were hard to engage with and to play. Again, if parents are not involved in a parent training program, therapists and educators need to think of ways to provide some more extensive training on play. We also need to cut some of our struggling parents a break and realize that they are doing the best they can.</span></span></div>
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<span style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Play is an important developmental skill that children need to learn. We need to look at the barriers that face some families face towards encouraging play and perhaps incorporating it into therapy.</span></span></div>
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<span style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What are your thoughts on the barriers parents face when being told to play?</span></span></div>
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Alberta Speechiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08152664166324712716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1596691085002246323.post-35198390645667838022019-08-11T11:44:00.001-06:002019-08-11T11:44:05.723-06:00Six Tips to Get Ready for the New School Year<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For me, the new school year is exciting but can also be very overwhelming. It's exciting because you get to see your students from the previous year. I like to see the types of progress the students have made over the summer. When I worked with preschool students, the development could be astonishing. I'm also excited to see the school staff again. But the new year can also be overwhelming because there is so much to be done. Here are a few things that I do to start the year off right.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Every year I think about the things I'm going to differently this year. I take a few days before school starts to make any changes. For example, one of the changes I'm making this year is how I file my files. I have used the traditional system of filing alphabetically by last name. This year, I want to change it to organizing by action needed (e.g., assessment required, students with IEPs, therapy (with SLP or with SLPA), possible discharges, consultation services, students who have moved, discharged students). I'm hoping that this will help keep my caseload under better control.</span></div>
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2. Go through the SLP files</div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I go through the case files again. I like to make notes on post-its at the end of the year and put them in the file to help me organize therapy groups, assessments, etc. For example, some students don't do well in groups or don't do well in groups with certain students. These help to update caseload lists. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3. Update my caseload lists</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I get the class lists for the school. I highlight them based on the type of service they are receiving. I also have a spreadsheet with the name of the student, their classroom, their teacher, kind of therapy, priority for treatment this year, clear out the therapy blocks, quick notes. This also gets updated. The spreadsheets are given to my supervisor, the principal, the SPED teacher who co-ordinates services at the school and the SLPA assigned to that school. If any child has moved or changed schools, I will either close the file or transfer the file to the other school's SLP. I have a school-specific organizational binder that contains the class lists, the caseload files, and general forms.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I like to print off my welcome back letters and get them ready. I print off three welcome back letters. One for the teachers describing what SLPs do, what kinds of services available, and how to access services. The second is a welcome back school for children who are already on my caseload. It talks about when I'm at that school, my contact information, and the types of services available. I will also send this letter out for kindergarten students, I know will be on my caseload. The third letter is for kindergarten students. It talks about the role of an SLP that I or the SLPA will be screening all the students, the process for accessing services, and my contact information. I write out the name of the teacher/students on it and organize the letters by classroom. I usually don't hand them out until the second week of school. I find that parents can be overwhelmed by all the paperwork that is sent home in the first week of school. I find that by delaying a week, parents tend to read the information that I send out.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">5. Go through and update my bank of visuals</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have a bank of visuals. I will have several copies of different visuals that we use in school. I like to have these ready so that if/when they are needed, people can get them as soon as possible. I go through the visuals and print off more that is required. Also, if I know that I have new students coming in that will require specific visuals, I will get those ready.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">6. Go through my bank of forms and letters and print off any copies</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While I love sending forms over the email, I find that if I can get the specific form to the parents or to a teacher ASAP (i.e., in thier communciation book), then I have more success getting the form returned promptly. I keep a bank of forms in my school organization binder.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Remember during times that you get overwhelmed (most SLPs do get overwhelmed at some point), that you got this and focus on chunks of your to-do list at a time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What are your favourite organizational tips?</span></div>
Alberta Speechiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08152664166324712716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1596691085002246323.post-15634422936740756142019-01-13T14:48:00.001-07:002019-01-13T14:50:00.344-07:00Children Need to be Taught More Beyond "More"<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Often in preschool or in early intervention, you will have a little one on your caseload who is not talking or communicating in any meaningful way. What do you do? The first inclination of many Speech-Language Pathologists and educators is to teach the sign or picture for the word "more." Why? Well, it starts to teach the child to request. It is an easy sign for children to do. Most educators and SLPs know the sign. There are many opportunities throughout the day to practice it in a more natural environment. So, what's the problem? </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Here are three reasons people need to work on other words beyond "more." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">1. It only teaches the child to request.</span> While requesting is important, we need to be focusing on the other pragmatic functions as well. You can't get far in life if you are only asking for things. What if they can't have more of what they want? How do they express their frustration, disappointment or anger? How do most children protest? They cry, scream and maybe resort to trying to harm themselves or others. This is no fun for anyone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">2. Children overgeneralize "more" to mean any request.</span> The children we teach "more" to typically learn that when you put your hands together, you get something not that you more of what you have already had. As a result, you will see children move towards an object and sign "more" to say "I want something." For example, I had a little guy that had been taught more at home and to a certain extent at school. He would walk up to the classroom door and sign "more." Now he did not want more doors. What he wanted was the door to open so that he could go and play in the gym. At that point, "more" was not any more functional than him taking my hand and pulling me to the door. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">3. We are not teaching children vocabulary.</span> When we teach "more" we are only teaching one word. As stated above, this is not always functional. What if they walked up to a toy box of toys and wants one specific toy and signs "more?" Odds are you would know that child well enough to guess what toy he wants but what if he changes his mind and wants a different toy that day? How is he going to tell us what toy he wants other than loudly protesting and getting upset? You may be teaching other words in addition to "more" but why not make those words a priority?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So what should we do instead of starting with "more"? </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Teach the words of objects/activities that they would be requesting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Find out what activities/toys/objects that the child loves to do and start working on requesting using their names.</span> For example, the little guy who signed "more" to the door we taught him the words "out" and "gym" so that when he needed a break, he was able to tell us what he wanted when he wanted it. When he wanted to a spin on the dizzy disk, we taught him the word "spin" instead of standing at the toybox signing "more." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Not only are you teaching words of objects/activities that he likes, which is highly motivating, they typically learn them fairly quickly. As well, <span style="color: #38761d;">you are showing him the building blocks for putting sentences together. </span> This also allows you to start to work on building their use in other pragmatic functions. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How would you teach children to use these words? <span style="color: #38761d;">I typically use a core board base system.</span> I will use some sign, but, as you can see <a href="http://bit.ly/AACSign" target="_blank">here</a>, I'm very selective of who I teach to sign. I'm also not a massive fan of PECS, so I tend to also be very particular who I use PECS with. The adults in the classroom, usually have the AAC system with them and I had them scattered throughout the school so that they were readily available. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So do I ever teach children "more?" Yes but not until much later. The children are usually already combining words into phrases before I actively work on it. By this time, they are most likely using it as it is a high-frequency word in English.</span></div>
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Alberta Speechiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08152664166324712716noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1596691085002246323.post-70140008482576534712018-10-07T10:38:00.000-06:002018-10-07T10:38:33.901-06:00Bringing Therapy Outside the Therapy: Part One Why?<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Speech and language therapy can happen just about anywhere, and in some cases unfortunately does. We have all either heard or experienced having to do therapy in closets, in the hall or some other challenging part of a school. Given all that, I'm a big fan of switching up therapy and taking it out of the therapy room or the classroom. Some people may be reading this and thinking, I can't do that. It can sometimes take more planning. It can make working on goals harder. What if what you are targeting you can't find while out of the class/therapy room? How do you take data? Are you allowed to leave the building? What about confidentiality? I will admit that these can be challenges but with some problem solving, it can be a fantastic experience for you and your students.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why do I like mixing up where I do therapy? There are a few answers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You probably have had a student that can perform a skill when they are with you, and in the therapy room, but the minute you change something up, it's like they have never done it before. It like taking a test, if you take an exam in the room that you learned the material, you are statistically likely to do better than if you took the test in another place. Changing up therapy will allow children to work on skills in other environments with supports and hopefully lessen the effects of the therapy room. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Makes the Activities More Difficult</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aside from generalization, it will make the activity harder. Odds are the places you may go for therapy may provide more visual or auditory stimulation. This makes the task even ones the children are very familiar with more challenging. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">3. Boredom</span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I will admit that I sometimes get bored working in the same room all the time and to be honest sometimes my students do too. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">4. Therapy can look different when you are outside the therapy room</span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You may be moving around or don't have access to your therapy materials. When I mix it up, I'm working on functional skills in more real-world situations. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. I</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">t can provide some form of exercise</span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Depending on what you are doing, it can provide some form of exercise. I am a big fan of being outside when you can. Taking nature walks or walks around the neighbourhood, also allow children to get some exercise and move around which helps some children concentrate not only during your session but when they go back to class.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next blog post will be about how to do therapy outside the therapy room, and the next one will be about where you do therapy.</span></div>
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Alberta Speechiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08152664166324712716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1596691085002246323.post-60795252243940633752018-09-26T21:03:00.001-06:002018-09-26T21:03:20.046-06:00Bring Children's Lit into Therapy with "The Apple Pie Tree"<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Zoe Hall's book, "The Apple Pie Tree" is a story that talks about what happens to and around an apple tree throughout the year and ends with the children baking an apple pie. It is also a great book to work on a variety of speech and language skills. Here are some ideas to use it in therapy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">1. <u>/p/ sound:</u></span> pie, petals, papa, peel, picked, pan, pile, apple(s), open, top</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">2. <u>/b/ sound:</u></span> bare, bee, but, building, buds, baby, birds, big, bend, basket, Robin(s),</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">3. <u>Blends:</u></span> grow, brown, spring, branch, tree, flower, break, blossoms, breeze, blow, ground, fly, strong, small, brim, sprinkle, smells, taste,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Language</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">1. <u>Plurals:</u></span> There are many opportunities to work on plurals. E.g., Robin/Robins Looking at the illustrations and talking about the pictures to work on plurals. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">2. <u>Verbs and verb tenses:</u></span> grow, watch, build, chirp, guard, open, break, cover, blow, fall, teach, fly, rain, visit, bend, cover, pick, help, cut, pile, sprinkle, cook, eat, smell, and taste. Ask what is happening in the story or have the children act it out in play to build understanding and use of verbs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">3. <u>Describing the illustrations:</u></span> Many of the pictures include items/ideas that are not talked about explicitly in the text. For example, they talk about summer and show children playing in a sprinkler. This would also be great to start to work on inferencing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">4. <u>Sequencing:</u></span> There are many great opportunities to describe sequences. The book talks about the change in seasons. It talks about the life cycle of Robins. It talks about the life cycle of an apple, and it also shares a recipe for how to make apple pie. Additionally, the back of the book has a section where they talk about how bees pollinate flowers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">1. <u>Sensory Bins:</u></span> Make a sensory bin out of oats, flour, apple pie spice, cinnamon sticks, and real/fake/counting apples. Add in measuring cups, measuring spoons, muffins tins, and spoons. Have children pretend to make apple pie. Use some of the vocabulary from the book. Note: if you have students that are gluten-free or are allergic to any ingredients from the sensory bin, please do not add them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">2. <u>Make Apple Pie:</u></span> There is an apple pie recipe at the back of the book that you can make with the students. You can also use tart shells so that everyone's dietary restrictions can be accommodated. Talk about the steps you need to do to make the pie. Focus on verbs, use many that are in the story. When the pies are done, talk about the pie's smell and the pie's taste. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">3. <u>Make a large apple tree out of paper:</u></span> Hang it up on a wall and add apples for the children to pick. Add different colour and size apples for children to work on following directions. Alternatively, go through the year with the tree starting with snow, then flowers, then leaves, then apples, then leaves falling. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">4. <u>Have children sort objects by seasons.</u></span> Sort a variety of objects by when you see them/use them during the different seasons. For a season sorting file folder and class activity visit <a href="http://bit.ly/SLPSeasonSort" target="_blank">here</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">5. <u>Watch videos with time-lapsed video of a life cycle of an apple tree.</u></span> Talk about what the children see. Have the children answer questions about the video.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">6. <u>Have children plant apple seeds in a clear cup.</u></span> Have the take of their plants. Have them make observations on regular intervals.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These are some of my ideas. How would you use this book?</span></div>
Alberta Speechiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08152664166324712716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1596691085002246323.post-84382288550858150562018-09-02T12:11:00.000-06:002018-09-02T12:11:55.974-06:00Five Favourite SLP Preschool Circle Activities<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">Coming up with whole group/circle time activities can be challenging. Here are five activities that children love, and you will be able to target a variety of language skills. If you would like some tips to thrive during whole group activities, <a href="http://bit.ly/SLPWholeGroupPlanning" target="_blank">go here</a>.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #38761d;">1. “Where Did my Shoes Go?” </span></span></h3>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>Targets:</u></b> Prepositions, Ask and Answer Where Questions<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>Materials Needed:</u></b> Shoes, chair, “Where did my Shoes go” from Talk it Rock it (optional), Visuals<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>How to Play:</u></b> Take off your shoes and place them under, beside, on, in front, or behind the chair (depending on the prepositions you are working on) and sit down. If you are using the song, “Where did my Shoes go?” play it first. It is quite long so I usually on play part of it. When the song is done, look down and pretend to be surprised/sad/confused and point out that your shoes are missing. Ask the children for help. The children will often point and say, “there.” Point the visuals as you look around for your shoes. When you find your shoes, reinforce where you found them. Have the children close their eyes and hide your shoes again. You can go through this a couple of rounds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #38761d;">2. Introducing He and She pronouns</span></span></h3>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>Targets:</u></b> he, she, categorization of boys and girls<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>Materials needed:</u></b> visuals of a boy and girl<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><i>Note:</i> I realize that teaching male and female pronouns can be controversial. I will honour a families wish not to work directly on this goal with their child. However, I also recognize that other children and adults can get offended if they are referred to by the wrong gender pronoun.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>How to play:</u></b> I also introduce he and she in a preschool class by working on identifying if a child is a boy or a girl. I will have each child come up and say their name along with the close-ended phrase where the other children will identify the child as a boy or a girl. Then I will say, “name is a s/he.” The whole interaction goes like this. “Johnny, your turn.” Johnny comes up. I say to the rest of circle, “Johnny is a …” the class responds, “boy.” I say, “Johnny is a he.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>Targets:</u></b> he and she, categorization<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>Materials needed:</u></b> a male and a female puppet, two categories of food.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>How to play:</u></b> Put a puppet on each hand. Have the food in a large basket or spread out over the floor. Talk about how the puppets are hungry and need help to eat. Tell the children what food to pick up and which puppet to feed. E.g., “She wants a fruit.” The child would then pick up an apple and feed the female puppet. Have the puppets pretend to eat the food if the child gives you the correct food. Pretend that the puppet loves it and thank the child. If the child picks food from the wrong category, have the puppet overreact that they don’t want to eat that food. E.g., “No, No, No! I don’t like …” I will also have the puppet close its mouth and turn away from the child. Encourage the child to pick food from the correct category.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #38761d;">4. Matman</span></span></h3>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>Targets:</u></b> identifying and naming body parts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>Materials needed:</u></b> whiteboard, dry erase markers, eraser, visuals “Matman” song (optional)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>How to play:</u></b> there are two basic games I will describe here. For more ideas on how to use Matman go here. Game 1: Draw a person on the whiteboard. Have the children come up and tell them what body part to erase. When they wipe the body part, redraw that body part. Game 2: Have the children close their eyes. Erase a part of the body. Have the children identify what body part you erased. For more ideas on how to use Matman in group therapy, <a href="http://bit.ly/MatmaninLanguageTherapy" target="_blank">go here</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Materials needed:</u></b> Cards with different actions on it, “All Turn it Spinner” and a switch (optional), materials to help do the actions (e.g., if you have an open card, have a box with a lid). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><b><u>How to play:</u></b><span style="font-size: small;"> If you are using a spinner and a switch, place the cards around the spinner. Have the children come up one at a time and push the switch. The child then names and/or acts out the action on the picture of the card. Depending on the actions chosen, I will have the children also act out the actions. </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Alternatively, if you don’t have a spinner then have them pull some cards from your hand and then complete the activity as above.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Here are just five effective activities that you can do at circle. </span><span style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://bit.ly/SLPCircleActivities" target="_blank">Click here</a> for lesson plans. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">What are your</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span>favourite</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> whole group activities? </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span>Alberta Speechiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08152664166324712716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1596691085002246323.post-73944765735277603402018-08-19T13:27:00.001-06:002018-08-19T13:27:15.131-06:00Six Tips to Thrive During Whole Group SLP Activities in SPED Preschool<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Whole group activities can be very intimating especially in a preschool setting. You have to keep the activities engaging, but not so appealing that you have difficulty maintaining order and the children learning. If the children are not interested, then chaos can ensue. </span></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That being said, whole activities are a great way to target many goals at once. To have an excellent whole group activity, you need to p</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">lan, plan, plan. <a href="http://bit.ly/SLPPlanningForm" target="_blank">Click here</a> for a form that I use to plan. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Here are six tips to help have fun and effective circle activities:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE8woXsDv8W3eq6AiT9tXo8LnwsgdUhv3JYzdeM0uxyLM7xBws14PTNFrNmEd0UeNJk8H4E8EXXY3yBw6Oo75YbJgywt2cg9345tTCP-Qvg4EB4qXMqgUIovKScipNDw3ri6Ny-V7iCvA/s1600/SLP+Whole+Group+Planning.001.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="401" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE8woXsDv8W3eq6AiT9tXo8LnwsgdUhv3JYzdeM0uxyLM7xBws14PTNFrNmEd0UeNJk8H4E8EXXY3yBw6Oo75YbJgywt2cg9345tTCP-Qvg4EB4qXMqgUIovKScipNDw3ri6Ny-V7iCvA/s320/SLP+Whole+Group+Planning.001.jpeg" width="241" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">1. Keep activities short. </span> Preschoolers have short attention spans. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Make sure that every activity or step has a purpose. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The longer an activity goes on, the odds are you are going to have to spend more time on behaviour management. That is no fun for anyone. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">2. Keep the activities simple.</span> In my experience, the fewer steps that preschoolers or staff have to do, the more success the activity will be. The activity will move quickly. The children will understand and be able to complete the activity more independently.</span><br />
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">3. Have a plan on how to manage the group.</span> </span></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Are they going to take turns? </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How are the children going to take their turns? This is where knowing your group will come in handy. Will the size of your group allow for children to take individual turns? How are you going to handle the child(ren) who just has to go first? How are you going to decide the order of children’s turns? I tend to choose the order of children. The children who are able to complete the activity more independently tend to be first. The children who benefit from lots of models went later in the order. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you are not giving turns, but they are going to do an activity all at once, what will that look like? In the past, I have had children shout out answers, do actions altogether or stand up if they agree with my statement (e.g., “My favourite pet is a dog.”) I have also used two choice cards that the children hold up to answer my questions or respond to my statements. These choice cards are an excellent way for non-verbal/low verbal children to also participate in activities.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">4. Use visuals!</span> If you have read any of my other posts, you will know how much I love visuals. What visuals will you need for the activity? These are usually tied to the concept/skills you are targeting in the activity or activities. For example, I will have a picture of a boy, a girl, and a group of children when working on <i>he, she,</i> and <i>they</i>. Make sure they are large enough that everyone in the group can easily see them. If you have a child with vision difficulties, then give that child his/her own visuals and ensure they are adapted to his/her needs. If you don’t have time to make “pretty” visuals, then quickly draw them out. Drawn visuals are waaaay more effective than no visuals at all. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">5. Adapt the activity so everyone can participate.</span> Odds are many children in your group will need the activity changed in some way in order to participate. If a child is using some form of AAC, is that word or words available for them to use? Is this activity above the language skill of a child/group of children? Do any of your children have physical concerns that may make so that it is difficult to do that activity as is? If you have a child with anxiety, what are you going to do if they are unable to participate independently? These are some questions that I try to answer when planning an activity.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">6. Have fun!</span> The more you are enthusiastic in an activity, the more the children will be interested and engaged. Modulate your voice. Be silly. Exaggerate your body movements. </span></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It allows children to attend to an activity longer and be more excited to learn.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> At the beginning of my career, this was way out of my </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">comfort zone,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> but the more I did it, the more comfortable I became. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Whole group activities are lots of fun to do, and they are most successful when they are well thought out. Also know this, that not every whole group activity will be successful. Don't be afraid to end an activity early and I usually have a plan B activity in my back pocket. Reflect on what went well and what you need to change. </span><br />
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Alberta Speechiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08152664166324712716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1596691085002246323.post-45215600871277150412018-07-26T12:27:00.001-06:002018-07-26T12:29:08.878-06:00More Tips for a New Pushed In Preschool SLP: Part Two<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">The last post, I posted tips for a new pushed in preschool SLP. While I was writing it, I realized that it was becoming too big and decided to split it into two posts. To get the first half, </span><a href="http://bit.ly/SPEDPreschoolSLP1" style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;" target="_blank">go here</a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">. This post have six more tips that can help you to start preschool on the right foot.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">1. Concepts of the Week.</span> This is a vocabulary word, grammatical form, sound, or language skill that will be emphasized during the week (or two weeks). As children often have weak verb, preposition, and pronoun use, these were my "go to" concepts. I tend work on the earlier developing "concepts" at the begining of the year and then depending on the student's work on later developing towards the end of the year. Do not be afraid to recycle concepts. Your students will need the review.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">2. Many students with language delays will have weak verb and preposition knowledge and use.</span> When assessing for goals, make sure that these are on the top of the list of skills to assess. As well, when planning activities in the classroom, ensure you are including activities that work on this vocabulary. Pronoun use, sequencing, categorization, social language skills, and labeling emotions are other areas that I often target. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">3. Use songs and books.</span> Preschoolers respond well to songs and books. If you are doing large group activities, make sure that you incorporate songs and books. Use books and songs even if you are working with a child one-on-one. There are many great songs and song publishers out there from <a href="https://supersimpleonline.com/super-simple-songs/" target="_blank">Super Simple Songs</a> and <a href="https://talkitrockit.com/" target="_blank">Talk It Rock It</a>, to name a few. As well, there are so many books around to help with a wide variety of skills and topics.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">4. Differentiation.</span> All SLPs do this but due to the wide range of skills you may be working on or time constraints, you may need to differentiate more than you have in previous positions. To make the most of your planning and therapy time make sure that you can work on a number of goals with the least amount of materials. While I prefer to work with children that have similar goals at the same time, that is not always possible. Being able to use an activity to work on artic skills and/or grammar skills and/or foundational language skills is very beneficial to you and your students. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">5. Many students you serve will have weak play and social language skills.</span> In my experience, children with speech and/or language skills usually need help building these skills. The role of each discipline regarding who is working on play and social language skills can become murky. This is another topic that should be discussed at the beginning of the school year and in my opinion, everyone should be working on building these skills. Play skills and social language skills are other important areas for you to observe, and if necessary treat throughout the year. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">6. Sometimes a child emotional needs will be more important than a child's speech and language needs.</span> Now, this may be controversial for some but if you have a student who is too anxious, or in too much pain, or so distraught that they can not pay attention, then what you do in therapy is going to be ineffectual. Your students are young and many of them will have gone through more in their little lives than you will. As a result, it is doubly important to establish a strong relationship with your students. If your student is having a really bad day, it may be time to ditch your therapy plans and maybe play, or read a book, or give them a hug. Please make sure that you know your classroom, school, district's policy on providing comfort to students and follow your policy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you are new to pushed in preschool therapy, know that you can do this. You have the skills and the knowledge to be successful. Many of the skills in your previous positions will still be valuable, you just may have to tweak them a little. Have fun and don't be afraid to laugh at the funny things your kids do or say. Laugh at the weird things that you never thought you would do or say. Embrace the mess, which may or may not be as easy as it sounds. Be flexible. You may come into to class with the best therapy plans ever and either the students are not there or a proverbial bomb has dropped in your class and you have to completely change what you are doing. You got this. </span><br />
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Alberta Speechiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08152664166324712716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1596691085002246323.post-41586089766068174282018-07-15T06:30:00.000-06:002018-07-26T17:05:35.067-06:00Tips for a New Pushed In Preschool SLP: Part One<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is the time of year where many Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) start to change jobs. As a result, SLPs are soliciting advice about how to be successful in their new positions. Here are my tips for an SLP who is new to pushed in Preschool Special Education preschool (SPED) classrooms.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">1. Establish a good working relationship with the classroom staff.</span> When classroom teams work well together, it goes really well, but when there are issues between team members, it can make for a very loooong and challenging year. This is especially true with pushed in therapy because you are going to be spending more time with the other classroom staff than if you are doing pull out therapy. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These can be long conversations, but they are essential to have before everyone is feeling frustrated and/or stressed. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At the beginning of the year, here are some critical questions to ask or topics to discuss:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What are the views on dealing with </span><span class="" style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">behaviours</span>?<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What is talking with parents in the classroom going to look like?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What is your general philosophy towards therapy and what is their experience in the past?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How do you like staff to share information with you and vice versa?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What are your duties going to be in the classroom? </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you are not in the classroom the whole time, when will you be there and what will that look like. </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">2. Establish a routine.</span> Whether you are working with the rest of the classroom staff to establish a routine for the whole class or not, when you are in the classroom, you need to develop a routine. If you are leading circle or part of circle, make sure that you have a routine. If you are doing adult-directed activities, make sure that you have a routine. This will allow the children to be able to follow the activity and to know when it is over. This will make your time with the students more productive and it will reduce any anxiety a preschooler may be feeling.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><br /></span></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><br /></span></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">3. Make visuals your new best friend.</span> You all know how important visuals are. While visuals are important in the older grades, they are imperative in a preschool classroom. For many students, this is their first time away from home which is scary. On top of a language delay, they may not speak English at home or speak it sparingly. This makes it even more imperative to have pictures ready to start treating the language delays and introduce students to English. Visuals will help with children's fears (they will learn faster what to expect), increase familiarity with routines, and help students to learn how to be in a group. The faster you can make them used to establish the routine and the classroom expectations, the faster and better the classroom will run. One of the first steps is to have your visuals ready.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Make sure you have a variety of visuals. It is important to have visuals prepared for all transitions that occur in the classroom. First/then boards, choice boards, schedules, self-help sequences are just a few types of visuals I make sure that I have ready for the beginning of the year. I typically have smaller ones to show individual students and larger visuals to show the whole group. It's a lot I know, but it is better to be over prepared than under prepared.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">4. Make sure that you have a general AAC strategy ready for the classroom.</span> Over the years, the number of children who start preschool not talking in my school has increased dramatically. These students may not have any AAC in place. If you are lucky, they may have been working on using PECS. My philosophy is that PECS is not enough to teach children to communicate. Having a general strategy for the whole class is very valuable to help introduce AAC to the children and their parents. It also starts the expectation of using aided language strategies on the first day which establishes good habits for the staff and the students. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">5. Become familiar with the toys/centres in the classroom.</span> I work at a play-based centre and so I tend to use the equipment in the classroom especially for the young ones who have short attention spans and still learning to sit for adult-directed activities. What figurines do they have? Do they have a water or sand table? Do they have cars? Think about what goals/vocabulary you can use in the different areas or with the different toys. Especially at the start of the year, you will have better engagement and longer direct therapy time with preschoolers who are having fun at a centre than trying to have the students run on your agenda.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These are just five times, to make your preschool experience a positive one. To see part two of this topic, <a href="http://bit.ly/SPEDPreschoolSLP1" target="_blank">go here.</a></span></div>
Alberta Speechiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08152664166324712716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1596691085002246323.post-65171477923003798062018-07-01T10:51:00.002-06:002018-07-02T07:51:51.919-06:00Reviewing the "Something to Say" Book Series<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I typically don't do reviews on this blog, but I am today. I am going to review the books in the series "Something to Say" written by Eden Molineux. Now I don't have any financial interest in these books. I purchased these books from Amazon. However, she is a Speech-Language Pathologist from Alberta, and we do have friends/former colleagues in common. The speech world can be a tiny community. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Overall these books are well written with simple language that children in preschool, kindergarten and through grade one would readily understand. They read like social stories in that they talk about their communication difficulties and some strategies that the listeners/children can use. They are also about children who typically are not represented in books, especially for that age group. As a result, they would also be good to read in classrooms even if there are no children who stutter, mispronounce their words, or use a talker to communicate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These books also point out interests that the children may have which shows that children are not just their "communication disorder" which I think is an important point to raise not only for the children hearing the story but also for the adults reading it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you looking to expand your collection of books for the preschool/kindergarten age range, I would recommend picking these books up. Here is a link to the Something to Say website if you are interested: <a href="http://somethingtosay.net/">http://somethingtosay.net</a> </span></div>
Alberta Speechiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08152664166324712716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1596691085002246323.post-48268985443379875882018-06-17T20:09:00.000-06:002018-06-17T20:09:20.092-06:00Using Woven Books in Speech and Language Therapy<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I wish that I could take credit inventing this little gem, but I can't. An Educational Assistant/Speech-Language Pathology Assistant showed me how to make these about ten years ago when I was just starting my journey as an SLP. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> I thought I would pass this along to you by showing how to make them and how I use them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This has been an invaluable tool not only for speech therapy but for language therapy as well. I have used these books in preschool; however, they are best for kindergarteners and older. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">1. As a craftivity:</span> I will have the children make them on their own. They have to follow directions on how to fold, cut and weave the books. Then in one or maybe two sessions, they will decorate the book with images related to their goals. For example, If they are working on the "ch" sound, then they would either draw pictures of "ch" words, write them out or glue pictures onto the book, all the while having them practicing their sounds.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">2. As a homework book:</span> If the children are working on pronunciation goals, after each session, have students add one word to the book at the end of the session. I typically allow them to pick from a few words that they have been using successfully. At home, they practice all the words in their book. Sometimes I don't send them home. I have students take them back to class and have their teacher or another staff member go through the book with them and practice their sounds/words/sentences throughout the week. I have done the same with vocabulary and grammar goals.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">3. Vocabulary Dictionary:</span> I have the children add the vocabulary words they have been working on to their book. If they have are able to, I have them add the definition of the word. This can be helpful if you are working on classroom vocabulary. The students can then refer back to the meaning of the word while in class. If they are working on language processing type goals, say similarities and differences, they put the words down and then write down they the are the same or different. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">4. Grammar book:</span> This is great for pronouns and verbing/tense type goals. If you are working on "he" and "she," have the children draw or write out the pronouns at the top of the woven pages. Then have objects, verbs, etc... on the remainder of the pages. When practicing they will pick a word/picture and make a sentence using the correct pronoun. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">5. Demonstration of progress:</span> I will date the words, sentences, etc... that they add to the book. This way if they were working on artic goals, you could show them, parents, or school staff how they have progressed during therapy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">6. Help the children understand their goals:</span> I have the children write out, or I will transcribe what they are working on the book. This allows us to talk about their goals. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: black;">1. Print off the template.</span> </span> <a href="http://bit.ly/WovenBooksTemplate">You can find it here</a>. You will need both pages to make a book. The second page will make enough strips for two books. I like to print them off in two different colours. It makes the book pop. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2. Fold the first page in half with the writing on the outside.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3. Fold along the dotted lines inwards towards the middle.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">4. Unfold the page and then fold it in half again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">5. Cut along the solid lines. The middle of your book should look like piano keys </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">6. Cut out the strips from the second page. You will need only two pieces to make a book.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">7. Weave the strips from the second page into the middle of the book. You will need to weave each side of the book in opposite directions (i.e., one side of the book is woven out then in, and the other side of the book is woven in then out). This will allow the book to bend and split. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">8. Refold all the book. Fold the middle seam both ways. This will allow the book to bend and split more easily. Do not glue the strips of paper together, you will not be able to fold the book correctly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">9. Have the children write out their goals and start adding to the book. For children who are older, have them write it out. For younger children, I will have them glue on pictures. I have used picture lists from <a href="http://bit.ly/2HXIRkx" target="_blank">Speech Therapy Plans</a>. If you have students who like stickers, you can print these off on sticker paper and cut them out. That way they have functional stickers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Would you make this and what goals would you target?</span></div>
Alberta Speechiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08152664166324712716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1596691085002246323.post-8307408787697012232018-06-04T16:06:00.003-06:002018-06-04T16:06:50.457-06:00Using Homemade Photo Books in Speech and Language Therapy<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Homemade photo books or memory books are a great way to work on speech and language skills at home and at school. So what is a handmade picture book? It is just like it sounds, it a book made up of photos that are important to that child or are objects, actions, etc... that work on a child's goals. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmyyKWUEttDUAm_Ot4QT8U2_sbBDjKCv5MMsBJksOFme6EqO3kq0xC_AMbHKU1ia32V3gXlVUhHicR1ONkP47maDuSVmzGaSPLxEIk6vg7d22JgBQOqYJKrOu5wNPSumYTopFCpmT_EB8/s1600/Homemade+Photo+books+SLP.001.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmyyKWUEttDUAm_Ot4QT8U2_sbBDjKCv5MMsBJksOFme6EqO3kq0xC_AMbHKU1ia32V3gXlVUhHicR1ONkP47maDuSVmzGaSPLxEIk6vg7d22JgBQOqYJKrOu5wNPSumYTopFCpmT_EB8/s320/Homemade+Photo+books+SLP.001.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Decide what your book is about or what goals you are going to target. Take pictures or better yet have your child/student take the photos. Kids love to look at pictures of themselves so take some with the child in it. Note: If you are in school, make sure you know the policy for taking photos of students. Therapists can also have the parents send pictures for you to make the book in school. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once the photos are taken, download them to a computer. Put the images on slides in Powerpoint or Keynote. You can use Word or Pages but it doesn't work as well. I make each slide into a single page. At this point, you have two options, have the student or yourself type out a sentence or print it off and have the student write out what they want to say. Once the book is done, print it off. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">If you want to make the book smaller, I will set the printer to print multipages pages on a single page of paper.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Cut out the pages if needed and staple the pages together. If you're going to make the book more durable, I have either laminated it or put it page protectors and used duo-tang folders to bind it. Alternatively, you could make the Powerpoint file into a PDF. You will need to have typed out the sentences for the book. If you make it into a pdf, then the child can look at it on a smartphone or tablet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once the book is made, read it with them. Talk about the pictures, read the sentences to them, or have them read the sentences. Have them show other students at school. For example, if you are working with mixed groups, have the students read their books to other children in the group. I have also had them show it to other staff at school, such as the Principle. If you are using the book at home, have them read it to other family members. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">1. Increase use of action words (verbs):</span> Take pictures of the child doing different actions. I worked with one very didicated parent who took pictures of their dog doing different actions and made a book. Go to the zoo and take pictures of the animals doing different actions. This is also a great way to <span style="color: #38761d;">work on verb tenses</span>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">2. Expand the length of sentences:</span> Take photos of events, activities and/or objects. Write out simple sentences that is one or two words longer than the child is currently using. Read the book to them to model the sentences, or have them repeat the sentences, or have them say the sentences once they have read the book a few times. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">3. Increase the use of the "I" pronoun:</span> Take photos of the child doing different things, holding their favorite toy. Write out the sentence using "I." I will sometimes add an "I" visual to help. The one from the photo is from <a href="https://smartysymbols.com/" target="_blank">Smarty Symbols.</a> I have found if you just add a picture of the child, they will continue to say their name or use "me." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">4. Correct use of other pronouns:</span> If you are working on personal pronouns (e.g., he, she, they). Then take photos of different children/people doing different actions. Then write out the story using the appropriate pronoun. For possessive pronouns or nouns, take pictures of different children holding objects. Write out sentences with the targeted pronouns.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">5. Correct use of prepositions:</span> Choose the prepositions you want to target. Take photos of the child in those different prepositions (e.g., in front of the tree, under the tree, behind the tree).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">6. Work on narratives:</span> Take photos of a child going someplace or doing an activity (e.g., zoo, camping, park, store). Take pictures throughout the activity. Make a book about their experience. This will help the child answer questions like, "What did you do this weekend?" Alternatively, use toys and create a story by taking pictures of while they are playing then have them make up a story based on the photos. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">7. Work on sequencing:</span> Take photos of a child completing a task. It can be as simple as a dressing routine or more complex such as baking a cake, or doing a craft, or putting together a Lego kit. Once finished, write out the steps to complete the activity. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">8. Work on describing: </span> First determine the vocabulary (e.g., spotted, striped, big, little) or the object that you are going to describe (e.g., a favourite animal). Take pictures that correspond to the target and then write out sentences for the photos.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">9. Work on pronunciation:</span> Take photos of objects, activities, or events that includes the child's sounds. If you are having a parent take the images, then provide them with a list of words. Alternatively, have the child find objects that contain their sound(s). This will also help with being able to identify sounds in different parts of a word. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These are the different ways I have used photo books in therapy. Can you think of other ways to use these books?</span></div>
Alberta Speechiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08152664166324712716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1596691085002246323.post-92043634331807192402018-05-20T08:22:00.001-06:002018-05-20T08:22:48.065-06:00Four Activities for Parents to do in the Summer to Help with Speech and Language Skills<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's that time of year when many students are either finished, or school is wrapping up. Parents start to ask, "What can we do over the summer?" While sending home a packet of worksheets is one option, I prefer to give parents some concrete suggestions that they can do with their child that are low cost or free and that don't require a significant amount of prep. Here are four ideas:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">1. Read books and check out your local library.</span> Reading books is a great way to work on speech and language skills. Local libraries often have great programs for preschoolers and older children and they are often free. Even if you don't go to the library programs, you are able to pick out a wide variety of books. Even better, have your child pick out books they might like. Look for books that contain your child's goals. For example, books on spiders are a great way to work on s-blends. There are many excellent books that talk about emotions. For a link to a post on the benefits of reading <a href="http://bit.ly/SLPReasonsForReading" target="_blank">go here</a>. If you want suggestions on how to read to children, <a href="http://bit.ly/SLPTipsforReading" target="_blank">go here</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">2. Make memory books.</span> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Children love to read books with themselves as the main character. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Take pictures or have your child take pictures of your outings over the summer. This can be during a vacation, camping trip, going to the zoo/science </span>centre<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">/amusement park, visiting family or even just going to the park or the grocery store. Take pictures based on what your child is working on. If your child is working on increasing the number of verbs they use, then take pictures of them sliding, climbing, eating, chasing, leaping, etc... Memory books are also a great way to work on personal narratives, such as being able to answer, "What did you do over the summer?" If your child is working on their pronunciation, take pictures with objects that contain their sounds.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Make a small book by printing off the pictures and write sentences or have your child write sentences under the pictures. If you have access to Powerpoint or Keynote, put the pictures in the Powerpoint file along with typing out the sentences and print off the book. If you make it into a PDF, then your child can look at on a smartphone or tablet. Read the book with your child and show it to other adults in their life. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">3. Cook with your child.</span> Cooking can work on so many language skills such as sequencing, building vocabulary, and describing. You can also work in pronunciation goals while cooking too. Find a recipe that has your child's sound in them. For example, if you are working on "ch," then find a recipe with chocolate. If you are working on s-blends, then use words such as "spatula," "stir," and "spread." Make sure that you do any steps of the recipe that you deem to be unsafe for your child. Cooking with your child also teaches essential life skills. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. <span style="color: #38761d;">Draw with your child.</span> Draw with your child, have them tell you about their drawing and you talk about what you drew. It can be as simple as them scribbling on the page or making a face/person. It can be as complicated as drawing a whole scene. If your child needs help with deciding what to draw, start with a character and talk about the adventures they may go on. If your child is working on pronunciation, then have them draw pictures with their words in them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you would like more ideas for preschoolers through to grade one on what to do over the summer, <a href="http://bit.ly/SummerSpeechFreebie" target="_blank">here is a freebie that you can download</a>. I would like to thank the Frenzied Speechies for hosting this linky party that shares amazing ideas for speech and language carry over for the summer. </span></div>
Alberta Speechiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08152664166324712716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1596691085002246323.post-22235153166439336332018-04-22T13:28:00.000-06:002018-04-22T13:28:11.267-06:00Bringing Lit into Speech Therapy with "Oh No!"<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As you know, I am a strong believer in reading to children and using books in therapy. One book that I have been loving of late, is called, "Oh No!" by Patrick George. It is a wordless book that shows a variety of situations, such as a boy climbing a tree to get his kite and then what could happen. There is a transparent page that when you turn it, shows what happened.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The pictures are cute but would still be appropriate for children up to about grade three. Here are five ideas on how you could use this book in therapy:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuxmlygDzfpH4HaIv4g0Y1xmQ6PJfgSKIXaZTqML6h0X89LrB89q179WMUYgVUp1BYc146B64Q6RMJrP1egJqSa7iLslpwfwjiBZX9I-PsmCq3IHFgC1AQguI178GnxS4qYRNwdVIiXs8/s1600/Bring+Childrens+lit+in+to+therapy+with+On+No+Blog.001.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuxmlygDzfpH4HaIv4g0Y1xmQ6PJfgSKIXaZTqML6h0X89LrB89q179WMUYgVUp1BYc146B64Q6RMJrP1egJqSa7iLslpwfwjiBZX9I-PsmCq3IHFgC1AQguI178GnxS4qYRNwdVIiXs8/s400/Bring+Childrens+lit+in+to+therapy+with+On+No+Blog.001.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1. Answering questions. This book lends itself well to working on questions. You can target, "where" questions, "why" questions, "What is he/she/it doing?," "What do think will happen?," "How did X happen?," "Why did X happen?" and "What happened?" </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2. Describing a scene. These pictures are simple enough to not be overwhelming but have enough detail that they would be good for children to describe them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3. Sequencing. These are two picture scenes that could work well on, "First X happens, then Y happens."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">4. Narratives. This piggybacks on working on sequencing. Because there are only pictures and each vignette is two pages long, they are great for working on developing a story.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">5. Inferencing. You don't see everying part of the scene. For example, when the boy is climbing the tree, you only see part of the kite or when the boy is kicking a ball, you don't see the ball. The children have to infere part of the scene to fully understand it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: helvetica neue, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Have you used this book in therapy? And do you have other suggestions on how to use it?</span></div>
Alberta Speechiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08152664166324712716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1596691085002246323.post-32295058451426815952018-03-25T19:28:00.000-06:002018-03-25T19:28:03.689-06:00Seven Ways to Use Matman in Language Therapy<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Matman is a part of the <a href="https://www.lwtears.com/hwt" target="_blank">Handwriting Without Tears</a> program that Occupational Therapists and teachers use to teach children how to write. One of the first steps they use is to introduce children to Matman. Children are encouraged to make Matman with lines and curves. Eventually, children will draw Matman. As usual, I have no affiliation with the Handwriting Without Tears program other than they are used in the classrooms I have worked in. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here are seven ways to use Matman:</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">1. Teach body parts.</span> There is a song to help teach how to make Matman. It is excellent for working on body parts. Once the children are more familiar with the song and body parts, I will draw the body parts in the wrong location, or I will miss drawing a part of Matman. The children then tell me what I have done wrong and help me fix it. When Matman "has to leave," I will erase body parts, or the children will tell me what to erase, or they will close their eyes and tell me which body part I have erased.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">2. Greetings.</span> Because Matman is a frequent visitor, I will have the children greet him at circle time or during centres and then say, "bye" when he has to leave. It's a fun way to practice this skill. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">3. Teach emotions. </span> One of my favourite activities is to make Matman look happy, sad, mad, scare and calm. I with either have the children identify the emotion that I have drawn or tell me which emotion I should draw. When they are able, I have them draw the feeling. We practice sentences such as, "Matman feels scared today." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Later I tell a short story about Matman's day. For example, "Matman's favourite toy broke." The children then tell me how Matman feels. Reversely, I have the children tell me about Matman's day and how he feels.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">4. Working on action words.</span> I will draw Matman doing an action. The children would then tell me what Matman was doing. Versly, the children would tell me what Matman was doing and I would draw it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">5. Working on associative vocabulary.</span> Matman loves to take trips. The students help plan the clothes and equipment he needs to bring as he goes to the desert, or the ocean, or the Arctic. Matman also likes to go to work. The students help tell me what Matman needs when he is a policeman, firefighter, chef, etc...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Do you use Matman in therapy?</span><br />
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Alberta Speechiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08152664166324712716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1596691085002246323.post-3395576494523992832018-02-19T17:42:00.004-07:002018-02-19T17:42:59.192-07:009 Ways to Use Cups in Speech and Language Therapy<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cups are a fun tool to incorporate into your speech and language therapy. They are inexpensive, I buy mine at the dollar store, and easy to store. They come in a variety of sizes and colours. If one breaks, they are easy to replace. They also low prep activities (for the most part). Here are nine ways to use plastic cups in therapy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. <span style="color: #38761d;"> Stack artic cards with cups.</span> After your student(s) has practiced their sound(s), give them the artic card and a cup. While another child is practicing their words, the child(ren) can build their towers. Using the cards as part of the structures allow the children different building options. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. <span style="color: #38761d;">Have tower races.</span> If you have a group of students, have them race to see how high they can make their towers before they crash. Student's get a cup for every artic production or group of productions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. <span style="color: #38761d;">Ball drop.</span> This is an oldie, but I still use it frequently. Have a group of cups grouped together. Have numbers written at the bottom of the cup. Have a child stand above the group of cups or a short distance away and drop the ball into one of the cups. They then have to say their targets the number of times as it says on the cup. Hint: if you don't want the balls to bounce around, big pom poms work well too. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. <span style="color: #38761d;">Following directions.</span> You can purchase cups in a number of colours and sizes. Have the cups out and give directions about which cup to pick up and where to put it. Great for also working on prepositions! An alternative is to have the child tell you which cups to pick up and where to put them. It also makes a great barrier game!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. <span style="color: #38761d;">Describing.</span> Have the student make a structure (machine) with cups (and other objects if you like) and then have the students explain what they built, and how it works. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6. <span style="color: #38761d;">Sequencing.</span> Have a set of pictures out to make a structure. Have the child use the photos to make the structure while telling you the steps. Once it is complete, have them tell you how they made it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7. <span style="color: #38761d;">Requesting.</span> The children ask for the cups as they build a structure. This is also an excellent activity for children who are working with AAC.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8. <span style="color: #38761d;">Pretend play. </span> Build structures and then add figurines. You would be amazed at the type and breadth of play children can create.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9. <span style="color: #38761d;">Social skills.</span> If you have children who are working on social skills/language, have your students build towers together. They will have to work in a group, negotiate, problem-solving, and deal with situations where they experience failure (e.g., the towers fall).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These are ways I have used cups in therapy. Do you use cups in therapy?</span></div>
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Alberta Speechiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08152664166324712716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1596691085002246323.post-86299033773169731952018-02-04T09:14:00.002-07:002018-02-04T09:14:55.659-07:00Five Tips for Creating Vocabulary Rich Preschool Classrooms <div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Establishing an environment for vocabulary development is crucial for all children. This is especially true for children who are in special education/at-risk programs. In my experience, most of these children have weak vocabularies. They need to be exposed to a variety of words, not just nouns, over and over and over again. Here are five tips I have found helpful for creating vocabulary rich preschool classrooms.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. <span style="color: #38761d;">Use themes. </span> This is a great way make sure that children are exposed to same/similar vocabulary during the time you are working on a theme. They would be exposed to words such as farm animals during circle time, while reading books, while playing, etc... Some children may be playing with cause and effect toys. It can be challenging, but try and find some cause and effect toys that match the theme. For a list of favourite topics, <a href="http://bit.ly/PreschoolThemes">click here</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even with emergent curriculum* being implemented here in Alberta, I would argue that you can still do an overarching theme. If you have children who love vehicles, have them use toy farm equipment. If you have children who love blocks, have them stack "hay bales." Finally, if you have a theme that the children are loving, then don't be afraid to extend that theme for a week or two. As well, if your children really are not interested in a specific theme, then don't be afraid to cut that theme short.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. <span style="color: #38761d;">Be intentional about the toys/equipment you use.</span> If you are using themes, this can be easier. If you are doing a farm theme, then every centre and free-play area is related to farms and farming. For example, use counting pigs to work on math skills. Create a mud table and put animals in it for sensory play. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Same goes for circle time.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> If you are not using themes, then think about the vocabulary you want the children to learn and brainstorm about activities that would best teach that vocabulary.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. <span style="color: #38761d;">Pick specific vocabulary to focus on.</span> Write down a list of vocabulary that you want to target in class. It is also helpful to post the words somewhere in the classroom. I have even seen it where they post the words, where they would be most frequently used (e.g., clean and dirty were displayed above the water table). <span style="color: #38761d;">Make sure that you are picking more than just labels for things. </span> Children need to be exposed to a wide variety of vocabulary including action words, location words and describing words. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you are working with a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP), find out what vocabulary goals the children have and incorporate them into your classroom. E.g., if you have children working on "in" and "out," talk about the pigs going "in" the mud to get dirty and coming "out" of the mud to get clean. At the same time, share with your SLP/OT/PT your themes. They could probably find activities to work on their goals using your theme regardless if they are doing pushed in or pull out therapy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. <span style="color: #38761d;">Play and interact with the children.</span> This may seem obvious to some people and very challenging for others. First off preschool sizes are getting larger and even with a "large" number of adults, staff members are often busy with crowd control, or paperwork, or getting ready for the next part of the schedule. Secondly, many adults have forgotten how to play or feel uncomfortable getting down and playing with children. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Remember, you are helping to expose children to a vast array of vocabulary and knowledge. Playing with allows you to answer their questions and expand their understanding. Children are little sponges and will learn from each other. If you teach a few, then they will often then teach some of the other children. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. <span style="color: #38761d;">Make it fun.</span> The more fun you have and the children have, the quicker they will learn, the longer they will retain it, and the odds are they will go home and share it with their families. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With the vast array of studies linking vocabulary size and use to academic success, it is vital for preschool classrooms to be as rich in vocabulary as it can.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">*A very concise definition of emergent curriculum is a process where the classroom staff uses the students' interests, skills levels, and needs in order to plan the activities in the classroom. </span></div>
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Alberta Speechiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08152664166324712716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1596691085002246323.post-52810614052943912472018-01-23T14:33:00.000-07:002018-01-23T14:33:22.594-07:00Importance of Making Mistakes in Speech Therapy<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most SLP would describe themselves as having more of a type A personality. We don't like to make mistakes, especially in front of others. At least I don't. But I am here to encourage you to point out your errors in therapy. It is helpful for those students you serve who don't like to make mistakes or when they make a mistake do not have to problem-solving skills to fix them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You probably have had or will have a student who is a perfectionist. These can be some of my trickiest students. They may be reluctant to try if they think they can't do the task or if as soon as the student makes a mistake, they may stop participating. It can make progress extremely slow. It can also have a significant impact on their academic career. In my experience, they are less likely to become involved in class discussions and may be less likely to ask their teacher for help or clarification.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Along the same lines, a child with difficulty with problem-solving may become upset or not know how to react when they have made a mistake or expect an adult to solve the problem for them. This also can have a significant impact on a child's education.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are four strategies I use in therapy:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">1. Point out the mistakes you make.</span> We all make mistakes. If you are working on articulation, then point out when you mispronounce a word. Then talk about trying again. Say the misspoken word again. This should be done nonchalantly as it if it happens. The tone you correct yourself will show the students that making mistakes happen and it's not a "huge deal." It also teaches students who have difficulty solving problems how to fix it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">2. Talk about how to fix the mistakes students may make.</span> If they are working on artic, then explicitly teach them how to make the sound. If old enough, have the students analyze what they did wrong and, if applicable, have them tell you what they need to do to fix it. If you are working on grammar or vocabulary goals, make sure the students can explain the rules or the steps they use to master the skill.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">3. Start the therapy sessions with an activity or skill that the student experiences more success.</span> Next, move to the more difficult skills, then end with a skill that the child experiences more success. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">4. Talk about progress.</span> Have the child use a rating system on how they felt about the activity or the session. Also, keep those and then every so often, go over them with the student to show them progress. As well, I have made comments such as, "Do you remember when this was tricky for you? Now it is getting easier."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The other thing to think about is to not be afraid of backing off and playing with the hierarchy. Talking about how you would not make the student do something they couldn't do can also be helpful. Progress will probably be slow but will ultimately be more successful if you have a positive relationship with the student.</span></div>
Alberta Speechiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08152664166324712716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1596691085002246323.post-46627295259003647202017-09-14T19:57:00.000-06:002017-09-14T19:57:25.456-06:00Bring Children's Lit into Therapy with "Pirate, Viking and Scientist"<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Pirate, Viking, and Scientist</i> by Jared Chapman is an engaging book about a scientist who is friends with a pirate and a Viking, but the pirate and the Viking are not friends. Follow the scientist as he tries to help the Viking and the pirate become friends. It is a favourite for boys, especially those who are hard to engage. This book also provides excellent opportunities to work on speech and language goals with children from the first grade through second grade and onto the first half of third grade. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Social language goals.</span> The story is about making friends, so it lends itself to talking about the different ways the scientist tries to help the pirate and the Viking become friends. It is an excellent opportunity to talk about what worked and what did not. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> As well, you can discuss why you think the pirate and the Viking were not friends at the beginning of the story? </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What other ways could the scientist have tried to help pirate and Viking become friends? Finally, the two become friends when they discouver how much they have common. Again, you could talk about questions to ask others when getting to know someone. As well, talk about proper behaviour at a birthday party. What is wrong with the pirate eating cake with his hands? Should the Viking have pushed the cake onto the pirate? What could they have done instead?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Similarities and differences.</span> Pirates and Vikings have a lot in common. Use a Venn diagram to talk about what is the same and different. Another fun activity is to have the children dress up like a pirate or a Viking and have them describe what they are wearing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Tier two vocabulary.</span> The scientist uses a slew of scientific words such as <i>hypothesis, experiments,</i> and <i>calculations</i>. Other tier two words in the story include <i>pillaging, plundering, fuming, seething,</i> and <i>foes</i>. This can also be a great book to talk about synonyms. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Articulation: multisyllabic words.</span> Many of the tier two words are two and three-syllable words. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Articulation /s/.</span> This book contains many /s/ words in all positions including s<i>cientist, seething, instinct, smooth,</i> and <i>answer</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Articulation /v/.</span> The word <i>Viking</i> is frequently repeated throughout this story.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Articulation /r/.</span> This story contains many /r/ terms such as <i>friends, pirate, Saturday, mornings, favourite, experiment, observe, </i>and <i>laughter.</i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is a great addition to a pirate theme, and at the same time, it works on more functional science vocabulary. It has been a hit in my therapy room so if you are looking for a fun book to read during treatment, this would be an excellent candidate! </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(As usual, this post does not contain affiliate links.)</span></div>
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Alberta Speechiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08152664166324712716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1596691085002246323.post-78508388670416242402017-07-16T08:45:00.000-06:002017-07-16T08:45:55.903-06:00SLP Report Writing 101<div style="text-align: justify;">
At this time of year, my work life consists of writing report, after report, after report. Paperwork is definitely not my favourite. Writing reports is hard and some do it better than others. What I talk about here is not new or earth shattering but writing good reports are crucial, and these are areas where I struggle/have struggled. They are also areas that I see other Speech-Language Pathologists struggle.<br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;">1. Who is your audience?</span><br />
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An essential aspect of report writing is to know who is going to read it. Just as important, is identify ing or anticipating the background knowledge of the people who are going to read the report. For me, most of my reports are not read by other SLPs. They are read by parents. For many, English is not their first language. Most don't have the background or haven't yet been immersed in all the jargon us SLPs love to use. My reports are also read by doctors, who may or may not be as well versed in speech and language development as we would like. Finally, reports are often read by people who determine the types of funding and services a child will receive. In my case, these people are typically not SLPs. Knowing when to include technical jargon and when to back off relies heavily on who is reading your report(s).<br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;">2. Why are you writing this report?</span><br />
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This is closely tied to the question, "Who is your audience?" What is the purpose of the report? Is this to make a referral to a clinic (e.g. get a swallow study done)? Is it to help the family receive additional services? Is it to re-qualify for services? Each type of report can sound very different. What I include in a report for children who will definitely qualify for services next year can look very different from a child who may not qualify or from a child who is moving on to his neighbourhood school. The vocabulary I use can be very different. What I include and don't include can also be very different.<br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;">3. What kind of vocabulary are you going to use?</span><br />
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This is a big one for me. It always amazes me, but really it shouldn't, that what language we SLPs use and consider basic really isn't. In one of my first years as an SLP, I had a parent come up to me and asked me to "decode" and "translate" her son's speech and language report from another agency. At that point, her son had had speech services for about four years. She was struggling to understand some "basic" terminology such as <i>receptive language</i>. I have also had some very highly educated parents ask me what a <i>preposition</i> was, and what are <i>visuals</i>?<br />
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Move away from the jargon as much as you can. If you are going to use more technical language then back it up with definitions and examples. This will help those non-SLPs reading the report understand what we are trying to say. So include more words such as <i>comprehension</i> along with receptive language and <i>pictures</i> along with visuals. This can be challenging, using technical vocabulary can feel like a warm blanket in the winter, warm and comforting. It can also sometimes be challenging describing terms that are clear and easily understood by people with little or no background.<br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;">4. Did you include the necessary information or sentences that are required for this type of report?</span><br />
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There are certain sentences or phrases that I need to include in a report in order to have a child qualify for services. I have to talk about how a child's deficits will negatively impact their education. If I don't include this part, it could affect whether they get approved or not. If I'm writing this report to help a family get more comprehensive home services, I need to talk about how the parents and child are struggling in the home. When I write letters recommending a Video Fluoroscopy Swallow Study (VFSS) for a little one, I have to write out <i>Video Fluoroscopy Swallow Study.</i> If I'm not explicit they might not get their VFSS, or it may not be deemed a priority, and they are put further down the waitlist. Lastly, what are your licensing body, school or program requirements? It can be a lot to remember. When I first started my job, I had a checklist on what I needed to have in each report. That way I knew I had all necessary information.<br />
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I am not a master report writer by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, when I first started my career, my reports were atrocious. I worked very hard at improving them, and these are the parts of report writing that I am very conscious about and are areas that I often see as needing to improve in others reports. Happy report writing!<br />
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Alberta Speechiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08152664166324712716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1596691085002246323.post-41243420286600152632017-07-09T12:53:00.000-06:002017-07-09T12:53:15.547-06:00Using Balls in Therapy<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Balls are a great therapy tool for early intervention up through to children of elementary school. You can play quick games which allow for a high number of repetition in artic therapy, and because the activities can be short, it can keep the attention of young children. They can also be used one on one but also in small groups. Here are some ways I have used balls in therapy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">1. Communication temptations:</span> We will take turns rolling/throwing the ball. I will wait until the child reaches to/points to/says ball then I will roll/throw the ball back.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">2. Requesting:</span> This goes with communication temptations. I wait until they ask for the ball before sending it back.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">3. Making Choices:</span> I will often have more than one ball with me. I have the child choose which ball they would like use. If choosing which ball to play with is too complicated, I will often give them a choice to play with it and something they don't want to play with (e.g. a sock). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">4. Taking Turns:</span> Roll or throw a ball back and forth. R</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">olling usually works better for young children.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> This allows children to interact with others and they get the idea that conversations are two-way. I will also use a ball like a talking stick, whoever has the ball get to talk. When you are done with what you want to say you give it to another, and then that person responds. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">5. Increasing Sentence Length/Describing:</span> I will often have more than one ball with me. The balls are usually different in size, and colour and sometimes in patterns. We will pass the ball back and forth for a couple of turns and then I will ask which ball they want and have them use phrases such as "big ball" or "green ball" or "I want the big yellow ball." As you can see, I also use this to work on describing skills.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">6. Increasing understanding or use of verbs:</span> When working on comprehension of verbs, I will tell them how to get the ball back to me. You can use words such as <i>roll, throw, kick, bounce, dribble, walk, hand (me), hold, jump, run, skip, march,</i> etc... When working on having the child use the verbs, they get to tell me how to get the ball back to them. This is usually a huge hit as what child doesn't like to "boss" an adult around.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">7. Following directions/increase understanding of longer sentences:</span> There are many different ways to work on following directions. They can be used for single-step all the way up to multi-step directions. Here is a couple. Have some balls out. Tell the child which ball to use, how to get it there and/or where the ball needs to go. Have pictures out/draw pictures. Tell the child to throw the ball at the different pictures on the wall. If you are in the gym or at a playground, you can use the equipment available and tell the child(ren) where to roll their balls. This is also an excellent way to work on prepositions. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">8. Asking and answering where questions. </span> Roll/throw/kick a ball and have a child say where the ball landed. E.g. "The ball is under the slide." or "The ball is in the ball pit." You can do this with pictures on the wall. Have the child say which picture they hit with their ball. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another fun but ultimately messy activity is to paint with balls. I have used this as a reward or on days where I know that focusing is going to be difficult (e.g. near Christmas). Draw a picture on a sheet or paper. I usually use old bed sheets. Put the large sheet on the wall and a couple of sheets on the floor. Get balls that are different sizes, and textures. As well, get out different buckets full of paint. Have the child(ren) throw balls covered in paint at the sheet on the wall and tell you where their ball hit the sheet. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You can do this over a number of sessions/groups. It can make some very interesting pictures. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">9. Artic therapy: </span> I will use balls during artic therapy frequently. You can throw balls back and forth as the child(ren) are practicing their sounds. As well, you can dribble/bounce a ball off a wall as you are saying the words/phrases/sentences etc... I have also played a version of HORSE with older children. Each letter is randomly assigned a number. Before you shoot, the child has to say their words X number of times. If they miss, they have to say addition words based on the number associated with the letter. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm sure there are more ways to use balls in speech therapy, but these are how I have used them. For more ideas on doing speech therapy in the gym or playground <a href="http://albertaspeechie.blogspot.ca/2016/02/10-articulation-activities-for-gym.html" target="_blank">check this post</a> out. Do you use balls in therapy?</span></div>
Alberta Speechiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08152664166324712716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1596691085002246323.post-89684686327353126352017-07-03T14:57:00.000-06:002017-07-03T14:57:25.003-06:00Using Objects to help with Transitions in the Classroom<div style="text-align: justify;">
Using visuals in a Special Education classroom and really in any classroom, home, or treatment room is very valuable. It helps children know what they need to do or what their schedule will look like (<a href="http://albertaspeechie.blogspot.ca/2015/03/importance-of-visual-supports-in.html" target="_blank">go here</a> for more info). Visuals are also critical to help a child move from one activity to another (aka transitions), especially if this is hard for them. In a special education preschool, this can mean moving from centre time to circle time, snack, gym, etc.. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhny-kEaKnIRLVycxKiLZjKdOoIl2yqgQ3sV_KPfgg24N_boAH6b9SvZyelS6qm3zpcRKNNsZfWay5YVtI0g9v-NOmR8ZG9UjBPniOVcuh8MhhEWA4eUAMUpKaUfxWRMaRZpe7k270fhO8/s1600/Transition+objects+cover.001.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhny-kEaKnIRLVycxKiLZjKdOoIl2yqgQ3sV_KPfgg24N_boAH6b9SvZyelS6qm3zpcRKNNsZfWay5YVtI0g9v-NOmR8ZG9UjBPniOVcuh8MhhEWA4eUAMUpKaUfxWRMaRZpe7k270fhO8/s400/Transition+objects+cover.001.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Some children respond really well to pictures or symbols, and those can be used to help children transition. I tend to have a variety of sizes of visuals as some respond to smaller visuals and some respond to full page size visuals. The child typically carries it from one activity to another and puts it away when the new activity starts. For some kids, 2D visuals just aren't as compelling. For many of these children, I have found that using objects to represent different parts of their day have worked.</div>
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Some objects work better than others. Here are some of my guidelines. </h3>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">The object has to be related to the activity the child is going to do. For example, using a ball to represent gym/recess. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">You use the same object for the same transition. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">The object is only used as a transition object. Once the activity or the transition is over, it goes back to its proper place. It is NOT a toy to be played with. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">It can't be too enticing meaning that it is more attractive than the activity. For example, I don't use a jar of bubbles because then most children would want to blow bubbles instead of participating in the next activity. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">It has to be light enough for the children to carry. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">It has to be 3D. </li>
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Some objects that I use</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcxjmFnpDOFCp-nG6ItY_kV92lgXbBQ13_3xMGUQvhBDXExN0itBRtfyibo9lxcRxTL1Jb93Kq7XEvlFhzSi1g5JjSGwVXPAXPwzrNzyHtkkxW-lwYquQ6LODN6CxFrt-RgYMVwkw3pbI/s1600/Transitions+objects.006.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcxjmFnpDOFCp-nG6ItY_kV92lgXbBQ13_3xMGUQvhBDXExN0itBRtfyibo9lxcRxTL1Jb93Kq7XEvlFhzSi1g5JjSGwVXPAXPwzrNzyHtkkxW-lwYquQ6LODN6CxFrt-RgYMVwkw3pbI/s200/Transitions+objects.006.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Implimenting this has been very helpful. While transitions can still be difficult, using objects has helped to reduce the stress and anxiety that transitions can evoke. </div>
<br />Alberta Speechiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08152664166324712716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1596691085002246323.post-28029147808286416892017-05-08T20:14:00.001-06:002017-05-08T20:14:29.851-06:00Speech Material Organization<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I will be honest with you, I like and have a lot of treatment material. It's partly because I can become bored when using the same materials all the time. I also used to do some private speech therapy and worked with a broad range of ages that needed different materials. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As happens with many SLPs, storage became a big problem. How was I to store my materials? How could I make it, so I had quick access? Here is my solution. I'm also going to show you some of the materials I use later on in this post.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqoE-SSW1V_2mIvKFeHEeSnvvBkm286YcM9h_1c1gWokcMKCmrSgijo-Mca66maRoPvjWr4t-5PTteAG-q_snpcWNUm3lW-zdqFDsMbXu52B2LX4CnFoMQljA-lPA_cq4VdrBDmtvgC0c/s1600/Artic+Org+Blog.001.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqoE-SSW1V_2mIvKFeHEeSnvvBkm286YcM9h_1c1gWokcMKCmrSgijo-Mca66maRoPvjWr4t-5PTteAG-q_snpcWNUm3lW-zdqFDsMbXu52B2LX4CnFoMQljA-lPA_cq4VdrBDmtvgC0c/s640/Artic+Org+Blog.001.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I wanted to store all my speech materials for each sound in the same location. This would (and did) make it easier for accessing my materials, and it would be simpler to put my materials away. I confess this can sometimes be a challenge. I also wanted to have something that could be repurposed. I haven't had the best of luck with plastic carts, so they were off the list.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My solution was to buy metal drawer unit </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(Helmer) </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">from Ikea. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pros: The drawers were big enough to hold all my materials. I could use magnetic tape on the back of the labels so I wouldn't ruin the finish of the unit, a pet peeve of mine. It would make it easier to re-organize material and repurpose the units later if need be. They were easy to assemble and are sturdy. They also fit well into the area in my house that I am storing my materials.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXhZEsUD78YVLZtfCI2vqGqYUs0ZN2I6-nxriXm9l01lr0J0r03_cSTmHr9s6PYcOvpSjfs_P_tZSjLVl2UD9eqq8joGGQxQqeHucIlpdiMABsWV9lqL2d8F_yLrWAqc8YpC4jgjgQn9s/s1600/Artic+Org+Blog.002.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXhZEsUD78YVLZtfCI2vqGqYUs0ZN2I6-nxriXm9l01lr0J0r03_cSTmHr9s6PYcOvpSjfs_P_tZSjLVl2UD9eqq8joGGQxQqeHucIlpdiMABsWV9lqL2d8F_yLrWAqc8YpC4jgjgQn9s/s320/Artic+Org+Blog.002.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cons: The units were more expensive than other options (i.e. plastic carts).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Overall, I'm very happy with the results. Now, </span>lets<span style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> take a look at what is inside my /s/ drawer.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL6Zx0_QZo2Ncok5NzgZVZ5AaCcO9iLhtitmx112DW0bhMurI-mYA3Wy83DmMD9CWzU-9A4SY7clHXhFfdQTkhQykL1dKKRvNMhsvX5B3boc0_VsZDljJfWvcZcPbL6MENPYbicaf_h04/s1600/Artic+Org+Blog.009.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL6Zx0_QZo2Ncok5NzgZVZ5AaCcO9iLhtitmx112DW0bhMurI-mYA3Wy83DmMD9CWzU-9A4SY7clHXhFfdQTkhQykL1dKKRvNMhsvX5B3boc0_VsZDljJfWvcZcPbL6MENPYbicaf_h04/s320/Artic+Org+Blog.009.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As you can see, there is a lot of materials in there. Here is what's inside:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1. Articulation Blocks from <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Articulation-Blocks-A-Speech-Therapy-UN-stacking-Game-Low-Prep-2165589">Panda Speech.</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2. Packing /S/ Articulation Game from <a href="http://bit.ly/AlbertaSpeechiePackingS">Alberta Speechie</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3. Dough n' Go from <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Articulation-S-Z-Dough-N-Go-1828997">TLC Talk Shop</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">4. Flip Book /s/ from <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Interactive-Articulation-Flipbooks-for-sz-with-editable-slides-1834143">The Dabbling Speechie</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">5. Artic /S/ Dominoes from <a href="http://bit.ly/SDominoes">Alberta Speechie</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">6. Popping Pirate Speech from <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Popping-Pirate-Speech-Language-Sword-Mats-Game-Companion-2474355">Peachie Speechie.</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Have you found a great way to store your speech materials?</span></div>
Alberta Speechiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08152664166324712716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1596691085002246323.post-58068710874268416182017-04-15T14:15:00.002-06:002017-04-15T14:46:00.265-06:00Visual Impairments and Language Development<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the last few years, I have had more and more children on my caseload with significant vision issues. They have some unique challenges when learning to communicate, and the research that I was able to find was scarce. Here is some information on speech and language development from what I could find:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnYM4Qpr9YDlLVdm_tYgX7XQixSWo40VphVnxumkOj6vsHQUUvOtLnw16VrMkxvIGM-yvhbvu-arbqRsK3yXxpUpt4efmfrOTxTZ7B2o9xYKpZpXD9iXVgpxmM_RjNQ7GtyEXQTqg5NNY/s1600/Visual+Impairments+and+Language+Development.001.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnYM4Qpr9YDlLVdm_tYgX7XQixSWo40VphVnxumkOj6vsHQUUvOtLnw16VrMkxvIGM-yvhbvu-arbqRsK3yXxpUpt4efmfrOTxTZ7B2o9xYKpZpXD9iXVgpxmM_RjNQ7GtyEXQTqg5NNY/s640/Visual+Impairments+and+Language+Development.001.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1. <span style="color: #38761d;">Imitation Skills:</span> Much of how children learn language is through initiation. Sighted babies will look at their parents and start imitating facial features. Growing up, children will watch their parents and then re-enact it through play. Children who are blind or have significant vision loss, don't have the same opportunities. And while children who are blind may imitate sounds earlier than others, they take longer to attach meaning to the sounds and later words because they are unable to see what their words are referencing. As a result, many children who are blind become echolalic. </span><span style="background-color: #f5f6f5; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They also require more direct teaching around vocabulary than</span><span style="background-color: #f5f6f5; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> their sighted peers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2. <span style="color: #38761d;">Classification:</span> Classification other than size, shape, and texture can be difficult to learn and often need to be explicitly taught. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3. <span style="color: #38761d;">Vocabulary:</span> Children with visual impairments need to be taught that objects with different forms still are called one word. For example, a fried egg, an egg in its shell and an egg that is broken are all eggs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #f5f6f5;">4. <span style="color: #38761d;">Multiple Meaning Words:</span> These can be very challenging to learn and to generalize.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">5. <span style="color: #38761d;">Non-Verbal Communication and Social Language Skills:</span> Not being able to see how a person's behaviour effects others makes it challenging to learn social cues. They will not have access or adequate access to see or read facial expressions, and body language. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Incidental social learning does not happen as often as with children who do not have vision deficits. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Skills such as how far away to be when talking, orienting your head and body towards a person you are talking with will need to be explicitly taught. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">5. <span style="color: #38761d;">Articulation delays</span>: Due to the lack or limited visual input, there is a higher probability that children with visual impairments will have articulation delays as compared to typically developing peers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While this isn't a lot of information, it does and has provided a basis to start to provide therapy. If you have any useful information, articles, etc... on this topic, I would love to hear from you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><u>Sources:</u></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">Brouwer, Kyle et al., (2013) SLP Services with Visual Impairments: A Qualitative Report of Practitioner Practices. Presented at ASHA Convention. Found on ASHA's website.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">Brouwer, Kyle et al., (2015) Speech Sound–Production Deficits in Children With Visual Impairment: A Preliminary Investigation of the Nature and Prevalence of Coexisting Conditions. Contemporary Issues In CommunicatIon Science and Disorders, Volume 42 (33-46).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">http://www.tsbvi.edu/infants/3293-the-impact-of-visual-impairment-on-development</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">http://www.teachingvisuallyimpaired.com/language-development.html</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">http://www.ssc.education.ed.ac.uk/courses/vi&multi/vnov10ii.html</span><br />
<br />Alberta Speechiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08152664166324712716noreply@blogger.com0