Okay it’s time to write down those resolutions, throw them in the fire and hope for the best. I’m actually not one for making resolutions as much as setting goals for myself. Maybe it’s the same thing but goals seem more attainable.
Here are some new years resolutions for parents of children in speech therapy:
- Become more involved in the therapy process with your child
- Communicate more with the therapist. This is easy if you receive services in your home and attend the sessions, but takes more work if your child receives services at his school or a clinic. Therapists work hard at keeping you up to date on goals and progress so be sure to give them feedback too. What are you seeing carried over at home and what is still hard for your child to master?
- Practice daily what your child is working on. If your therapist doesn’t give you something to reinforce at home, ask for it. You might have a word list to practice, or certain language functions to reinforce like questions, pronouns etc, or you might be assigned to help your child engage in conversation with another child in the neighborhood.
- Appreciate your child’s therapist for their hard work and interest in your child. People who chose this field of work are usually caring, concerned, creative people who love kids.
Okay, that might be a misnomer–gingerbread house, since the first one I want to tell you about is made from cardboard!
I was raised making gingerbread houses from scratch until I realized you could buy them already made and still have the fun part–decorating them. I’ve read the story of the gingerbread man, acted it out, made a little man out of play-doh and ran him through the town. We made little houses by frosting small milk cartons and placing graham crackers on for siding. But I have to admit, I was fascinated by the “gingerbread” house (minus the gingerbread) that I encountered at a child’s house last week. It was too easy to resist telling you about.
Mom got the idea from allrecipes.com. Easy cut outs from cardboard save the hassle of baking the forms and waiting for the next steps. This mom cleverly added her child’s picture peeking out of the front door! Luckily her frosting stayed a bit soft so her son can sample the goodies whenever he wants!
Just in case you want to do a lot more work and bring out a little Martha Stewart in you, I will share my traditional way of making one from scratch. I use a Gingerbread House Bake Kit that includes large cookie cutters for the walls and roof. Four batches of icing later, it is together and the fun begins. I only decorated half of it in anticipation of 3 year-old Will helping me put the candy on.
So have some fun and reinforce the story with some gingerbread 
people and a house for them to go home to!
As a speech pathologist, I am always interested in what others in my profession are producing besides doing therapy. I came across these delightful books called, God is with me Through the Day, and God is with me Through the Night that are authored by speech pathologist, Julie Cantrell. Perfect for toddlers and up, God Is With Me Through the Day, takes a child through the apprehensions of their day and night, as they leave the safety of family laughter and mom’s kisses and run out into the world, alone.
Pairing a simple sentence, “I start to feel alone,” with a matching picture of an animal seemingly feeling the same emotion–a lonely raccoon peeking out from behind a bush–each page builds on reassuring spiritual concepts of “God is always with me,” and “Just like when God kept Jonah safe inside the whale.” Cheers of “God loves me,” ”I am safe!” and “In God’s hands I am strong!” give little ones something to say in the face of fear, relying on God.
Just enough language for a toddler or preschooler to master, each short statement comforts a child, leading up to the final Bible verse, “When I am afraid, I will trust in you. Psalm 56:3
God is with Me Through the Night is a perfect sequel, taking your child from the comfort of evening family fun, goodnight kisses and snuggles, to feelings of loneliness and fear. Encouraging your child to declare God’s comfort and assurance, the animals encourage, “I say out loud, ‘I am loved!’ or “I roar like a tiger, ‘I am safe!’”
These books are adored by children and would make a great Christmas present.
It’s that time of year to make our lists and check them twice–and select the best toys and games for our kids and grandkids for holiday gift giving. Again, there are many helpful lists out there from Parents Magazine to Parents Choice Foundation. Check them out for their carefully toy tested lists, and kudos to Parents Choice who included a section for recommended toys for children with special needs.
Here is my list of favorite toys and games that build language skills through fostering pretend play, encouraging chat, and giving parents plenty to talk about to a baby or toddler:
Babies and Toddlers:
Cuddly Kid Mirror by Alex Toys:
Kids love to cuddle and check out faces so why not get snuggle and face time in one toy? With outstretched crinkle hands, this half ball of fun is asking for play. Strap the “Cuddly Kid Mirror” in the crib for baby entertainment, or prop him up for tummy time and crawl around exploration. Showing off his bright colors, fuzzy textures, knotted strings and bean bag legs, this buddy encourages visual, auditory and tactile investigation and is just plain fun to squeeze.
Recommendated age: Newborn and above
Taggies Go Go! Car
Cuddle up with this friendly-faced coupe, covered with soft plush and shiny geometric designed tags. A takeoff from the popular Taggies balls, this car packs more features for your baby to explore and parents to talk about, enhancing learning. Press the button on top to hear “beep, beep” 
and see his cheeks light up, grab the crinkly wheels, see your reflection in the mirrored bumper, play peek-a-boo with a puppy peering out the window or pull the string to start the motion. A combination of textures, vibrant colors, and sounds, this compact car is engineered to give kids plenty to investigate and parents many features to describe, feeding your child important language to encourage learning. His endearing face invites baby’s conversation, providing practice for future chats.
Recommended age: 3 months and up
Favorites from other years:
Taggies Go Go Car was provided by International Playthings.The opinions expressed in this review are solely those of the author.
Flow ‘n’ Fill Spout by Yookidoo:
Toddlers are drawn to running water. Since the best part of bath time is playing with the stream as the tub fills up, imagine the investigating going on with the “Flow ‘n’ Fill Spout” as it keeps the water flowing after the tap is turned off. Submerge the little pump under the water and suction the spout anywhere in the tub for continuous streams of water play. Little ones quickly learn to start and stop the flow by pushing the face, and experiment with the three friendly-faced cups, spinning a propeller, creating a shower and revealing a surprise pop up friend. Teaching the language of empty/full, heavy/light, start/stop, on/off, up/down, and floating/sinking, this joyful distraction makes scrubbing a dirty toddler a little easier.
Recommended age: 9 months and up
Taggies Rocker by International Playthings
Kids lined up for a turn on Taggies’ newest giraffe rocker, swinging a leg over his sturdy, plush back and 
hanging on to the handles for a lively ride. Just the right size for a one to three year-old, this playful friend is adorned with bright colors, varied textures, crinkle ears and patterned taggies to amuse the youngest ones while the older toddlers can saddle up and hang on to the mane of ribbons. A plush, huggable friend with a cock-eyed grin, this giraffe leaves the fun and creativity to your child–no batteries needed. He’s low enough to the ground but life-size for kids to invite him into their land of imagination. Don’t be surprised if he is asked to join the picnic or play house. Watching a one-year-old greet him with a morning hug, I know this giraffe can serve to expend rockin’ energy or just be a hang around pal in the playroom.
Recommended age: 12-36 months
Taggies Rocker was provided by International Playthings. The opinions expressed in this review are solely those of the author.
Preschool and Above:
PLAYMOBIL Pyramid:
Take a break from the usual monsters and dragons menu for boys’ pretend play and introduce the ancient life of the Egyptians. Available in the complete pyramid set or smaller sets of chariots, the sphinx, or tomb raiders to name a few, this newest play scenario invites a history lesson as well as creative play. Secret chambers and trap doors set up the fun for chases, captures and discoveries. Kids love to investigate, hide and surprise with all the moving parts to keep the action going.
Recommended age: 5 and up
Playdate Central Puppet Show by International Playthings
Pull out this puppet show in a box when the kids come over to play and watch it spark their imaginations. Mom or Dad can easily assemble the cloth, hanging theater to suspend in the doorway as kids make puppets, part the curtains and start the story telling. Before the show starts, kids create their 
own puppet characters with six fuzzy bodies and thirty stick-on ears, faces, tails, noses or outfits. Go traditional in making a prince, princess, lion, puppy, or dragon or combine the features to make an original character. As the story develops, kids can re-figure the puppets, ripping off the reusable features and attaching them to create new characters. Moms were amazed at how well the features stuck on the puppets during active play. My three-year-old puppeteers enjoyed presenting a show and then chased each other with puppets in hand. Language learning begins with selecting a character while devising and assembling the puppets, continues during the creation of the story and dialogue, and extends through open-ended play with flexible props to expand plot possibilities. Take a seat and let your children learn language through play.
International Playthings Playdate Central Puppet Show
Recommended ages 3-6
Playdate Central Puppet Show was provided by International Playthings.The opinions expressed in this review are solely those of the author.
Richard Scarry’s Busytown Eye Found it! by I Can Do That Games
Having raised my kids on Richard Scarry books, searching for Lowly the Worm, I am excited to see a new generation of children examining his delightful drawings, learning about communities of fun. “Richard Scarry’s Busytown Eye Found it! Game” is a winner in innovative, entertaining, language learning games. Unfold the six foot game board and race through the bustling town, busy airport, industrious construction site, and working farm, to board the ferry for Picnic Island to grab your lunch before Pig Will and Pig Won’t eat it. Spin a Goldberg Mystery Card and start the timer as all players work together to spot the most objects on the game board of the kind pictured on the card—construction cones, garbage cans, shovels, kites, or bicycles. Kids love to place their magnifying glass tokens on the objects when found, rewarded with a bonus move. Can you see why I hear squeals of delight when a bug card is spun?
This team game models collaboration, encouragement, patience and the satisfaction of “winning” together. Scarry’s detailed drawings teach the language of concepts, categories, association, and storytelling as little ones learn what objects, people and actions go together to build narratives. Where would we find shovels? Look in the construction site. Where would we search for letters? Check the town post office or neighborhood mailbox. What about garbage cans? Everywhere! Enjoy this game for a balance of talents and fun for kids and adults alike.
Richard Scarry’s Busytown was provided by I Can Do That Games. The opinions expressed in this review are solely those of the author.
Recommended age: 3 years and up
Favorites from other years:
Horton Hears A Who-You to a Rescue
Green Eggs and Ham-Speedy Diner
Gobblet Gobblers by Blue Orange Games
Assemble your tic-tac-toe grid and off you go with a chance to place three of your gobblers in a row to win. With each turn, players can add a new gobbler to the board or move one that is already in place. Two options–to find an empty space or “gobble up” an existing smaller piece–make this game a multi-leveled game of strategy and memory. Go ahead and move your piece already on the board but don’t forget who was under him, because the littler guy will be left behind in that space and might set up a play for your opponent. Requiring visual-spacial memory and the ability to weigh different strategic options and outcomes,“Gobblet Gobblers” stretches young minds and gets them giggling as they surprise even themselves as opportunities open up to win!
Age: 5 and up
Favorite from other years:
Step2 All Around Art Tower
There’s fun all around when kids step up to this tower of artistic possibilites. The circular table allows for budding artists to work side by side and select their medium from the two bins surrounding the central pole. Don’t be fooled that this can’t be a language building toy–many kids create stories and narrate their drawings while painting and drawing. Having a friend next to them encourages the dialogue of sharing supplies and talking about what they are making. I love the feature of displaying their finished pictures or works in progress on the clips above the table. Don’t miss a chance to ask your kids about what they’ve made and to tell you the story.
Recommended age: 3 and up
Favorites from other years:
ChickyBoom by Blue Orange Games
Chicks have come to roost on their favorite perch, performing a balancing act on thick bales of hay and slim wagon wheels. Plump Mom and baby chickys peer out their adorable eyes, beckoning players to take turns, skillfully plucking pieces off the teetering perch without toppling the brood. Players remove birds and their accessories, hoping to keep the remaining pieces in place. Each piece has its own point value from one to three, so after the perch is dumped, collect your pieces, add up your score and declare the winner.
A game of fine motor skill and balance, “ChickyBoom” requires slow, precise movements so as not to disturb the roosting chicks. Strategy comes into play as risk takers remove a piece of higher value that might start the gang wobbling but adds value to their winnings. Get some math practice as you add up the numbers on your pieces to reach the highest score and win the game.
Recommended age: 4 and up
ChickyBoom was provided by Blue Orange Games.The opinions expressed in this review are solely those of the author.
I just got a note from Marshalla Speech and Language, pointing me to Pam Marshalla’s new free videos on YouTube, demonstrating her cues for consonants. She has developed a helpful system of hand cues to focus a child on placement of sounds. I watched her video and tried them out with a few of my 3 year-olds who keep confusing /k/ and /t/. They were helpful and the kids started to use the cues themselves! Try them out.
What cues do you find helpful in articulation therapy? Share with us in the comments below.
As the holidays approach, we start thinking about what to give the kids. Target’s gift catalogue just arrived at the house, and the kids are pouring over it as if it’s an encyclopedia.
There seems to be a new trend, according to an article in the Wilmington News Star this weekend,”Back to Basics” by Kim Cook, reflecting a back to basics attitude among parents, wanting to “lower the volume on tech toys and on children’s environment as a whole.” They are tired of all the plastic in playroom and the noises coming from the toys. They yearn for just a few well-made toys that start the imagination going and will generate some powerful pretend play. A parent just voiced to me the other day that she won’t buy any toy that makes noise, unless there is an off button. That was after I asked her for a screw driver to remove the batteries in the Fisher Price Barn so her son would continue his nice play and not get distracted by the sound effects. I am sure that manufacturers have good intentions of adding all of these sounds for teaching cause-effect, but after several rounds with the toy, the sounds often become a distraction and interrupter of play.
Some of the manufacturers that I like for back to the basics simple, sometimes wooden toys are:
- Melissa and Doug
- Plan toys
- Blue Orange Games
- I Can Do That Games
- Playmobil
- Haba
- Taggies
I was talking to my daughter-in-law today and she asked me if I wanted an idea for a Christmas gift for the kids. Of course I said, “Yes!” I had just been talking to another grandma who had a toy catalogue in her hand for advice but also said she wasn’t going to buy anything the kids didn’t want. With everyone being cautious about spending this year, we don’t want to buy toys or games that won’t be used.
Anyway, Katie asked if we would like to buy a year’s membership in their children’s museum for the kids. I loved the idea. The membership at the Children’s Museum of Wilmington in North Carolina includes many free classes including holiday crafts in the Art Room, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” storytime by local celebrities, The Cat in the Hat Games (which are REALLY fun by the way), and letters to Santa.
In Connecticut, you know I love The Stepping Stones Children’s Museum in Norwalk, CT. Get a Stepping Stones passport and get it stamped each month as programs present a different country with activities and performances highlighting characteristics and traditions from that country. November is Australia. The next Family Fun Night features Winnie the Pooh for dinner and pictures with Pooh himself. Come to interactive story times and meet the authors.
Another great idea for holiday gift giving by grandparents is to give a year’s subscription to a children’s magazine. My favorites are from National Geographic Kids and The National Wildlife Association. Check out the magazines by age of the child you are giving them to. “Your Big Backyard,” “Animal Baby” and “Ranger Rick” are all favorites with kids.
Today I was called in to consult on a little 2 year-old girl who has been receiving services from a Birth-3 provider. I usually ask parents to have all the reports and current goals for me to get an idea of the background on their child. Once again, a child had been labelled “apraxia” and the parents wanted to know what I thought. Personally, I have seen very few children who truly have apraxia in the 35 years that I have been in practice. I have seen many that initially I thought had motor planning difficulties but they settled into therapy and began to show progress and were eventually dismissed.
This little girl was using some 3 word sentences, imitating what I was saying and also had the advantage of just getting tubes put in her ears a few weeks earlier. The parents noticed a dramatic improvement in her speech and ability to imitate. Fluid in the ears and temporary hearing loss can contribute to slow progress and a need for medical intervention.
I gave the parents several suggestions for how they were to respond and talk to their child–not a lot of questions or requests for her to say words, but modelling the words and phrases for her, turn off background music and tapes during your talking play time and talk in 2-3 word phrases during your play time. I offered some suggestions for therapy as well as increasing her frequency of sessions. I am careful not to be invasive when recommending ideas to other therapists because I know that they are doing their best and usually a very good job as in this case. But, sometimes it is helpful to take a step back and view the child through different eyes.
Wow, I can hardly finish Halloween and the stores are pushing Christmas! I was downtown today and I was re-routed on the sidewalk because they were putting up the Christmas lights. I need to just take a breath.
With that said, I am compiling my list of best toys and games of 2009 to send out soon for those of you who ask what I recommend to build language. If you have any toys or games that were introduced this year that your child really likes and gets them talking let me know in the comments below. I love to get ideas from parents, since you are the best toy testers!
Recently, as I was looking on the internet for games to play with my kids on the autism spectrum, I came across autismgames.org, a wonderful site engineered by speech pathologist, Tahirih Bushey.
Her site and blog encourages parents and specialists to learn about how to use games to teach children on the autism spectrum. According to her website it includes:
- Games that will engage young children with ASD in play
- Videos of kids and families playing the games to model play and imitate
- Tips on how to make the play more fun and educational
