I am writing this in the midst of the "shelter in place" order in IL...I wanted to share one little tip of something that is working in my own home as far as my son communicating his choice of activity. He's almost four and is smack-dab in the middle of a super-independent streak, however he still resorts to the almighty tantrum at times when he is bored or anxious or overwhelmed. Today he told me that he wanted to do SUMPING (something) but he didn't know what. I verbally gave him the choice of a few different activities (play doh, books, dinosaurs, etc.) and he gave a dramatic, "NOT THAAAAT" with each suggestion.
I grabbed my phone and went around the house, snapping quick pictures of items representing activities that he could choose...seventeen in all (come on kid, with all of options how COULD you be bored?!). Now, you could print out the pictures if you have access to a printer to have tangible photos of choices to flip through. Or, you could do what I did - make a photo album in the phone and store the picture choices. Important - you may want to have different albums for different times OR delete out choices that are no longer relevant. Only show the child pictures that are true options!
While not every "parenting tip" works right away the first time...for whatever reason, this worked for us this morning! He looked through the pictures and chose to go play "store" in the basement. Great!
Now, how could we tie this in to verbal communication as well? If your child is able, have him or her repeat after you the choice that the/she made. For example, if my son chose a picture of Play Doh, I could say, "Oh, you want to play with the Play Doh? You tell me, Play Doh please!"
If you want to use the choice of a preferred activity as a reward for after completing a bit of school work (or cleaning a mess!), you could say, "Ok! You can have the Play Doh after work! Work first, then Play Doh!"
Keep it simple, keep talking! :)
Friday, March 27, 2020
Tuesday, March 24, 2020
Fishing Games for Targeting Speech and Language
I just uploaded a YouTube video showing some simple ways to use a fishing game to target increasing speech and language skills. Check it out HERE (disclaimer: I will never pretend to be a professional videographer! HA!)
There are a ton of suggestions on the internet for ways to make homemade fishing games (Google away!)...here is one of my favorites! You just need a few things that you should have around the house (tip - they suggest using a laminator or contact paper to make the fish sturdier. While this would absolutely help, don't sweat it if you don't have those things!)
Homemade Fishing Game
Happy fishing!
-Mrs. Wells
There are a ton of suggestions on the internet for ways to make homemade fishing games (Google away!)...here is one of my favorites! You just need a few things that you should have around the house (tip - they suggest using a laminator or contact paper to make the fish sturdier. While this would absolutely help, don't sweat it if you don't have those things!)
Homemade Fishing Game
Happy fishing!
-Mrs. Wells
Sunday, March 22, 2020
Targeting the Tricky R Sound
Often one of the hardest sounds for young children to produce is the /r/ sound. This sound is typically one of the latest sounds to develop. While there are some different schools of thought amongst speech-language-pathologists and specific school district therapy qualification standards, generally the /r/ sound is not targeted during speech therapy until first or second grade.
The /r/ sound is tricky for a number of reasons, one being the fact that it is produced slightly differently depending on the sounds that come before and after it in words.
Here is a SUPER video that will help you explain to your child how to correctly produce that tricky RRR sound! Watch this video (first link) and then have your child work on producing some of the /r/ words located in the second link...scroll down to "R Sound"! You could have your child produce the words in isolation (by themselves) and then put the words into sentences if they are able to produce the words correctly in isolation. You could also play a game together and before each turn ask your child to say 5 /r/ words. Make sure you take a turn saying words before your turn in the game, too!
Free Articulation Handouts
Happy Talking!
-Mrs. Wells
Friday, March 20, 2020
Ten Simple Speech and Language Enhancing Activities
Hello!
I am writing this post in the midst of some crazy times...the Covid-19 pandemic. Hopefully someday we will look back on all of this and remember things like the quality time with family and the things we learned. I know the logistics of daily life right now is uncertain and stressful. I am doing my best to work from home, entertain/teach/feed/keep alive and happy/bathe/love my almost-four-year-old and eight-month-old, and support my husband who is also working from home. I know we are ALL (as an entire human race!) dealing with a lot right now...some FAR more than I am personally dealing with.
One of the positives I have already seen come out of this situation is the plethora of shared educational information. On the Speech-Language Pathology and education facebook groups I am a part of, for example, there is an almost endless supply of people sharing wonderful blog posts, videos, and Google docs full of ideas. I won't pretend that my paltry little page (and fledgling YouTube channel...I feel silly even putting it out there right now!) will ever compete with some of the big pages out there, but I am committed to disseminating bits of useful information as I find it for the families I work with.
With that, I leave you with ten SIMPLE (read: MINIMAL materials/prep/"special knowledge" needed!!) you (yes, you!) can do at home with your children to enhance speech and language skills. YOU are your child's best teacher...truly! Please do NOT stress about perfection. I've had some parents reach out to me in the midst of the current crisis worried about being a perfect teacher and therapist for their child. No one is expecting perfection from you! No one among us is perfect. We will all continue to do the best we can...and we must commit to taking care of one another!
Without further ado, here are the promised SIMPLE activities...
10. Write a Letter! Write a letter to a friend or family member. If your child is not yet writing independently, have him/her dictate what they would like to communicate and write it for them. If your child is writing (even just minimally!), have him/her write the letter and provide some "translation" if needed. You could target retelling a narrative by having the child describe something he/she did that day in the letter. You could use physical pen/pencil (or markers!) and paper, email, or an app like Postagram (my personal favorite!) that allows you to send postcards with a picture to a loved one!
9. Play Doh! If you don't have any Play Doh (or if yours is all dried up because SOMEONE left the lids off...not that this ever happens!!), there are many easy-to-Google recipes available! Talk about actions (great verb practice!) while you SQUISH and ROLL and CUT and PUSH. Talk about colors and talk about shapes (as you cut out shapes!)! If you have access to a printer, there are also fun Play Doh mats you can simply Google and print out...press Play Doh balls down onto different targets as you talk about the pictures!
8. Family Picture Albums! Get out some family photo albums (either electronic or actual physical books!) and talk about the people and actions depicted in each. This is a great way to target WH questions as well as social/emotional concepts..."WHO is that?" "WHERE are they?" "WHAT are they doing?" "WHEN did we go there?" "WHY are they happy?" "HOW does that person feel in the picture?"
7. Game Time! Choose someone in the family (take turns!) to pick a favorite game. Choose a speech or language target to work on while you play the game. If you are working on the /b/ sound, for example, have a list of /b/ words or pictures and ask each person to make the sound/say the word prior to each turn. Playing a game is also a great time to work on turn taking and the language associated with turn taking ("WHO goes next?" "WHO goes AFTER Mom?" "MY turn!" "YOUR turn!").
6. Be the Teacher...Choose a target sound that your child has worked on and have him/her "teach" another family member. Have a number of pictures or items that start with the target sound and have the person who is being "taught" name the items and make mistakes articulating the target sound. Have the child "catch" the errors and correct them using strategies like "try again!" "make your mouth look like mine" "put your tongue _____" "put your teeth _____" "put your lips _____" etc.
5. Mystery Box...use any box or container and have one person hide an item inside. The rest of the family gets to ask questions about what could be hidden inside. "Is it alive?" (haha) "Is it red?" "Is it something we read?" etc.! To add specific articulation focus, you could challenge individuals to put mystery items in the box that start with a target sound.
4. Family Obstacle Course...targeting memory, following multi-step directions, and you could even add in an articulation piece by having your child produce a specific sound (or sounds) at different steps of the obstacle course. Example: fold up a blanket to make a long straight line "balance beam"to walk on, have three pillows spread out on the ground to hop on, run up/down the stairs, do 5 jumping jacks, bear crawl, even add burpees if you're into that! If you have a baby in the house (like we do!), strap baby on to Mom or Dad in a carrier and bring them along for the literal ride!
3. "Simon Says"...targeting memory following multi-step directions! One person is "Simon" and gets to give three (or however many you feel is appropriate for your child) instructions to the rest of the family, "Simon says STAND UP, STOMP THREE TIMES, SIT DOWN!" "Simon says RUN UP THE STAIRS, CLOSE YOUR EYES, TOUCH YOUR TUMMY!"
2. "I Spy"...choose a sound (...perhaps a specific sound you know your child is working on in speech, but really ANY sound will do! Working on the skills related to sound-letter association are so important!). Take turns finding something in the room (or out the window) and having the rest of the family guess what you found. "I spy something that starts with a SSSSS sound!" "Is it the SINK?" "No!" "Is it a SALAD?" "No!" "Is it the SILLY PUTTY?" "YES!!"
1. Read...simply read with your child. Choose a book together and read it aloud to your child. Have an older child read to a younger sibling. You could even video chat with a friend or relative and have them read a book to your child (or have your child read a book to them!). Read for enjoyment...and don't dwell on mis-articulated sounds or mis-read words every time you read. Just read and enjoy the time together!
Please reach out with questions, concerns, anything at all.
Much love to you all!
Mrs. Wells
I am writing this post in the midst of some crazy times...the Covid-19 pandemic. Hopefully someday we will look back on all of this and remember things like the quality time with family and the things we learned. I know the logistics of daily life right now is uncertain and stressful. I am doing my best to work from home, entertain/teach/feed/keep alive and happy/bathe/love my almost-four-year-old and eight-month-old, and support my husband who is also working from home. I know we are ALL (as an entire human race!) dealing with a lot right now...some FAR more than I am personally dealing with.
One of the positives I have already seen come out of this situation is the plethora of shared educational information. On the Speech-Language Pathology and education facebook groups I am a part of, for example, there is an almost endless supply of people sharing wonderful blog posts, videos, and Google docs full of ideas. I won't pretend that my paltry little page (and fledgling YouTube channel...I feel silly even putting it out there right now!) will ever compete with some of the big pages out there, but I am committed to disseminating bits of useful information as I find it for the families I work with.
With that, I leave you with ten SIMPLE (read: MINIMAL materials/prep/"special knowledge" needed!!) you (yes, you!) can do at home with your children to enhance speech and language skills. YOU are your child's best teacher...truly! Please do NOT stress about perfection. I've had some parents reach out to me in the midst of the current crisis worried about being a perfect teacher and therapist for their child. No one is expecting perfection from you! No one among us is perfect. We will all continue to do the best we can...and we must commit to taking care of one another!
Without further ado, here are the promised SIMPLE activities...
10. Write a Letter! Write a letter to a friend or family member. If your child is not yet writing independently, have him/her dictate what they would like to communicate and write it for them. If your child is writing (even just minimally!), have him/her write the letter and provide some "translation" if needed. You could target retelling a narrative by having the child describe something he/she did that day in the letter. You could use physical pen/pencil (or markers!) and paper, email, or an app like Postagram (my personal favorite!) that allows you to send postcards with a picture to a loved one!
9. Play Doh! If you don't have any Play Doh (or if yours is all dried up because SOMEONE left the lids off...not that this ever happens!!), there are many easy-to-Google recipes available! Talk about actions (great verb practice!) while you SQUISH and ROLL and CUT and PUSH. Talk about colors and talk about shapes (as you cut out shapes!)! If you have access to a printer, there are also fun Play Doh mats you can simply Google and print out...press Play Doh balls down onto different targets as you talk about the pictures!
8. Family Picture Albums! Get out some family photo albums (either electronic or actual physical books!) and talk about the people and actions depicted in each. This is a great way to target WH questions as well as social/emotional concepts..."WHO is that?" "WHERE are they?" "WHAT are they doing?" "WHEN did we go there?" "WHY are they happy?" "HOW does that person feel in the picture?"
7. Game Time! Choose someone in the family (take turns!) to pick a favorite game. Choose a speech or language target to work on while you play the game. If you are working on the /b/ sound, for example, have a list of /b/ words or pictures and ask each person to make the sound/say the word prior to each turn. Playing a game is also a great time to work on turn taking and the language associated with turn taking ("WHO goes next?" "WHO goes AFTER Mom?" "MY turn!" "YOUR turn!").
6. Be the Teacher...Choose a target sound that your child has worked on and have him/her "teach" another family member. Have a number of pictures or items that start with the target sound and have the person who is being "taught" name the items and make mistakes articulating the target sound. Have the child "catch" the errors and correct them using strategies like "try again!" "make your mouth look like mine" "put your tongue _____" "put your teeth _____" "put your lips _____" etc.
5. Mystery Box...use any box or container and have one person hide an item inside. The rest of the family gets to ask questions about what could be hidden inside. "Is it alive?" (haha) "Is it red?" "Is it something we read?" etc.! To add specific articulation focus, you could challenge individuals to put mystery items in the box that start with a target sound.
4. Family Obstacle Course...targeting memory, following multi-step directions, and you could even add in an articulation piece by having your child produce a specific sound (or sounds) at different steps of the obstacle course. Example: fold up a blanket to make a long straight line "balance beam"to walk on, have three pillows spread out on the ground to hop on, run up/down the stairs, do 5 jumping jacks, bear crawl, even add burpees if you're into that! If you have a baby in the house (like we do!), strap baby on to Mom or Dad in a carrier and bring them along for the literal ride!
3. "Simon Says"...targeting memory following multi-step directions! One person is "Simon" and gets to give three (or however many you feel is appropriate for your child) instructions to the rest of the family, "Simon says STAND UP, STOMP THREE TIMES, SIT DOWN!" "Simon says RUN UP THE STAIRS, CLOSE YOUR EYES, TOUCH YOUR TUMMY!"
2. "I Spy"...choose a sound (...perhaps a specific sound you know your child is working on in speech, but really ANY sound will do! Working on the skills related to sound-letter association are so important!). Take turns finding something in the room (or out the window) and having the rest of the family guess what you found. "I spy something that starts with a SSSSS sound!" "Is it the SINK?" "No!" "Is it a SALAD?" "No!" "Is it the SILLY PUTTY?" "YES!!"
1. Read...simply read with your child. Choose a book together and read it aloud to your child. Have an older child read to a younger sibling. You could even video chat with a friend or relative and have them read a book to your child (or have your child read a book to them!). Read for enjoyment...and don't dwell on mis-articulated sounds or mis-read words every time you read. Just read and enjoy the time together!
Please reach out with questions, concerns, anything at all.
Much love to you all!
Mrs. Wells
YouTube - /f/ sound with Mrs. Stucky
Hello, friends!
Here is another wonderful speech lesson that my friend Mrs. Stucky shared on YouTube....this time, it's the /f/ sound! Happy talking!
Here is another wonderful speech lesson that my friend Mrs. Stucky shared on YouTube....this time, it's the /f/ sound! Happy talking!
YouTube - /k/ sound with Mrs. Stucky!
Hello, friends!
A wonderful SLP (who I went to college with!) has been sharing some lessons on YouTube! Here is a great lesson on working on the /k/ sound.
ENJOY!
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Favorite speech and language products lately...
I often get asked about books/games/toys that I would recommend, either to other SLPs working with children or to parents of children I am working with.
Here are a few things I love and use OFTEN:
1. "That's not my ____" books by Usborne Books.
If you haven't heard of Usborne Books, you should check them out. I am often wary of things that are sold by consultants (like Usborne Books), however I will say that these books are amazing products. I have used them for years and will continue to do so. In particular, the "That's not my ___" books are awesome for working on a variety of language targets with young children (usually I would use these with 2-6 year olds, depending on the child's skills). The simple illustrations are great and the inclusion of touchy-feely elements on each page offer the opportunity for sensory stimulation as well as vocabulary expansion. That's Not My Bunny and That's Not My Snowman are among the many titles available in this collection.
2. The Mystery Box and Guessing Game by Lakeshore
These are two products that work well both together and separately. The Mystery Box and Guessing Game are both great tools to work on things like describing items using adjectives, matching items to pictures (The Guessing Game is a box full of objets with corresponding pictures), making inferences ("What do you think is inside the box?"), turn-taking, and more!
3. Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Tap & Teach Drum
I am not always wild about toys that make lots of electronic "noise," but there are ways that such toys can be used in an educational fashion. This is a cute, inexpensive drum toy that can be used with littles to work on cause and effect skills (turn on the drum - when the child taps on the top, it lights up and makes a variety of sounds which are typically rewarding to a child), imitation of motor skills (tap the drum either with it either on or off and encourage the child to imitate you with language like, "do it like me!" or "now you do!" or "your turn!"), and social language skills such as joint attention, turn taking, and three-point gaze.
4. The Articulation Station Pro iPad Application
This has been an old favorite of mine for the past few years now. The app developers have added great updates and the app has become one of the staples in my articulation therapy sessions. It's a little on the pricey side (currently $59.99), however there are sales every now and then that will bring that price down. I've seen sales occur in November around the time of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association national convention. The app includes all sounds in American English and has a variety of activities under each to work on increasing the child's accuracy. There are even tips for parents or therapists for eliciting correct production of the sound. In my personal opinion, this app is so valuable that I purchased it one year with my classroom budget for my school iPad as well as personally purchased it on my private device.
5. The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Game
This is a great game that I use in my therapy sessions for a variety of functions. It is great for turn-taking and memory (remembering what the different symbols on the spinner indicate) as well as for use as a reinforcer during articulation drill activities.
Of course there are many other products that I love for a variety of reasons, but these are a few things that I use on a regular basis for a variety of functions. I am a HUGE proponent of using the same tools in a variety of ways - why have a ton of materials that can only be used for one function each? Instead, I recommend having a collection of materials that could each be used in many ways. Sometimes this takes some creativity and planning on the part of the therapist (or parent), but it's a great mental practice in addition to just smart planning!
Have a wonderful day :)
~Mrs. Wells.
Here are a few things I love and use OFTEN:
1. "That's not my ____" books by Usborne Books.
If you haven't heard of Usborne Books, you should check them out. I am often wary of things that are sold by consultants (like Usborne Books), however I will say that these books are amazing products. I have used them for years and will continue to do so. In particular, the "That's not my ___" books are awesome for working on a variety of language targets with young children (usually I would use these with 2-6 year olds, depending on the child's skills). The simple illustrations are great and the inclusion of touchy-feely elements on each page offer the opportunity for sensory stimulation as well as vocabulary expansion. That's Not My Bunny and That's Not My Snowman are among the many titles available in this collection.
2. The Mystery Box and Guessing Game by Lakeshore
These are two products that work well both together and separately. The Mystery Box and Guessing Game are both great tools to work on things like describing items using adjectives, matching items to pictures (The Guessing Game is a box full of objets with corresponding pictures), making inferences ("What do you think is inside the box?"), turn-taking, and more!
3. Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Tap & Teach Drum
I am not always wild about toys that make lots of electronic "noise," but there are ways that such toys can be used in an educational fashion. This is a cute, inexpensive drum toy that can be used with littles to work on cause and effect skills (turn on the drum - when the child taps on the top, it lights up and makes a variety of sounds which are typically rewarding to a child), imitation of motor skills (tap the drum either with it either on or off and encourage the child to imitate you with language like, "do it like me!" or "now you do!" or "your turn!"), and social language skills such as joint attention, turn taking, and three-point gaze.
4. The Articulation Station Pro iPad Application
This has been an old favorite of mine for the past few years now. The app developers have added great updates and the app has become one of the staples in my articulation therapy sessions. It's a little on the pricey side (currently $59.99), however there are sales every now and then that will bring that price down. I've seen sales occur in November around the time of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association national convention. The app includes all sounds in American English and has a variety of activities under each to work on increasing the child's accuracy. There are even tips for parents or therapists for eliciting correct production of the sound. In my personal opinion, this app is so valuable that I purchased it one year with my classroom budget for my school iPad as well as personally purchased it on my private device.
5. The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Game
This is a great game that I use in my therapy sessions for a variety of functions. It is great for turn-taking and memory (remembering what the different symbols on the spinner indicate) as well as for use as a reinforcer during articulation drill activities.
Of course there are many other products that I love for a variety of reasons, but these are a few things that I use on a regular basis for a variety of functions. I am a HUGE proponent of using the same tools in a variety of ways - why have a ton of materials that can only be used for one function each? Instead, I recommend having a collection of materials that could each be used in many ways. Sometimes this takes some creativity and planning on the part of the therapist (or parent), but it's a great mental practice in addition to just smart planning!
Have a wonderful day :)
~Mrs. Wells.
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