Welcome to the Children's Speech Therapy Corner

Welcome to a Corner filled with Information related to the Speech and Language disorders seen in Children. Information on assessment, intervention strategies, and the latest updates in research. You will also be able to interact with other professionals and parents.

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Friday, November 16, 2012

Getting young readers into Chapter books

The below article is a wonderful write up , on starting chapter books. My son, has started wanting to read a big book. And I got the help of my friend and International school Teacher Librarian to introduce me to a collection of great started chapter books for my 5 year old.

We are reading "Tashi" at the moment. He also picks on a few lines and reads it by himself.
Couldn't be prouder.
Enjoy the great read!


http://trevorcairney.blogspot.nl/2012/08/getting-young-readers-into-chapter-books.html

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Apps Mania

I have been going Apps Mania for the past few hours.I couldn't emphasis much more on how effective, great, easy, did I mention great.. Apps from Itunes can be.
Apps have been proved to help children and especially children with special needs relate to skills we try to teach them. These Apps allow us to use low cost, space efficient, fun and interactive, multi sensory and organized resource material for us to use with our clients.These are a list of some of the Apps that I use:
1.The first ever App to use as an Alternative Augmentative Communication (AAC) device such as Proloquo2go
.
2.Smarty Ears by Barbara Fernandes ,a SLP who has opened up a whole treasure chest of resources for us to use.
3.Grammar Jammer with its fun rap singing explanation to what Adjectives, nouns, verbs, punctuations and more,allowing you to check the skill that you have learnt.
4.Kindergarten.com using the principle of ABA(Applied Behavioral Analysis)
5. and many relevant Apps if you look into the Education section.

Also, to hear from Barbara Fernandes writing for ADVANCE on Apps to revolutionize you Therapy.

Enjoy Apping!

Thursday, July 7, 2011

A Picture Is Worth 1000 Words: Using Photo Books to Increase Vocabulary, Grammar, and Narrative Skills



2011 JULY 6
tags: literacy, reading comprehension
by Becca Jarzynski

Photo by DeusXFlorida

Making photo books with your kids is a fabulous way to help increase their language skills. It matters not if you are a mom simply looking for creative ways to provide your toddler with a language-rich environment or a dad looking for ways to help your kindergartener learn to tell stories– photo books are a flexible tool than can be used in a huge variety of ways.
How to use picture books? The general idea goes a little something like this:

1.Take pictures during a fun event such as a trip to the zoo or the beach,
2.Capture key moments in the pictures,
3.Print the pictures that highlight the key moments from the event,
4.Spend a few afternoons gluing the pictures onto construction paper, letting your children help cut, glue and color around the pictures; if your child is old enough, help him to write captions for the pictures, and
5.Laminate the pages and have them bound into a book that can be read over and over.
6.One you’ve done this, you’re all set up to use the books to help increase language. Kids love these books because they are based in experiences that they had; this makes the books both meaningful and fun. And children usually want to read the books over and over again– as annoying as this can be, it makes picture books the perfect vehicle for developing language.

With toddlers, you can use the pictures to build on language. Most toddlers love to start looking at pictures of themselves around 12-24 months, right when they are starting to rapidly increase their vocabulary and move from one-word phrases to two-word phrases. Photo books create excellent opportunities for using parallel talk, description, and expansion to help children develop new vocabulary and help them make the jump from one to two words.

I use expansion with my daughter, who is looking at a picture of herself riding a toy motorcycle with her brother, James. First, I wait for her to say something (“ride!”). Then I build on her words by putting them into short phrases, two different times. As a result, she comes back with a two-word phrase of her own (“James riding”)! No, it doesn’t always work this quickly….I’ve been using parallel talk, description and expansion with her for the past year and it’s only really starting to pay off now.



Toddlers aren’t the only ones who benefit from photo books, though. Using these books with preschoolers and early elementary age children can be great way to work on a whole variety of language-related skills. You can:

1.Work on sequencing by having your child lay out the pictures in the right order as you make the book,
2.Work on pre-writing and writing skills by having your child trace words you write or write his own words and sentences as you make the book,
3.Work on vocabulary by defining new words and integrating those words into the story and by using time words such as first, next, then and finally,
4.Work on language by using indirect correction, in which you correct errors in your child’s grammar by restating what he said, correctly and conversationally (e.g. Your child: “I runned really fast!” You: “You did. You ran so fast!”), and
5.Work on memory by having your child practice telling the story with and without the picture book in front of him.
6.Finally, photo books are a fantastic way to work on narrative (story) development. Developing an understanding of narrative structure (the typical flow of stories) is essential to being able to engage in conversations, tell others about things that have happened, and understand academic texts later in the elementary years. Enhancing narrative development is an asset for any child; I work on it with my son, often. It’s also a skill that can be very hard for children with language delays and specific diagnoses such as autism, so working on it with these children is essential. Using photo books to visually show stories in which children actually participated helps make narrative structure more concrete and easier to understand. At first, you can use photo books to help your child understand that the story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Later, during the early elementary age years, you can help your child form a story that has the following elements:
1.Setting (“We were at the zoo”)
2.Goal (“We wanted to see the animals,”)
3.Problem (“But Sally was scared of the lion.”)
4.Feelings (“I was so mad, because I wanted to see the lion.”)
5.Attempt to solve the problem (“So we went to see the owls instead. Then Sally was ready to see the lion. Mom just covered her eyes.”)
6. Conclusion (“After that, we had a really fun day.”)
It doesn’t have to be perfect, of course. Stories are messy, just like life. They won’t fit perfectly into those elements, nor should they. But telling stories in a way that wraps loosely around those story elements, over and over and over again, will help your child begin to internalize the flow of stories.
There is so much to do with picture books that the possibilities seem endless. What’s more, at the end of the day, you also have a book full of memories that your children will cherish for years to come. And that’s just priceless.

Becca Jarzynski, M.S., CCC-SLP is a pediatric speech-language pathologist in Wisconsin. Her blog, Child Talk, can be found at www.talkingkids.org and on facebook at facebook.com/ChildTalk.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Word Acquisition in toddlers

A team of cognitive scientists have good news for parents who are worried that they are setting a bad example for their children when they say "um"and "uh".

A study conducted in the Baby Lab at the University of Rochester, in Rochester, NY, shows that toddlers actually use their parents’ stumbles, hesitations and other disfluencies to help them learn language more efficiently.
For instance, a mother walking through the zoo with a 2-year-old may point and say, “Look at the, uh, rhinoceros.” While fum- bling for the word, the parent also is sending a signal that the child is about to learn some- thing new and should pay attention.

The researchers aren't advocating that parents add dysfluencies in their speech, but it is okay to have these verbal pauses.

From an article cited in the ADVANCE magazine . June 13,2011 Vol.21 No.10

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Research Shows that Books without Text Can Increase Literacy, Vocabulary Skills in Children with Developmental Disabilities

Utah State University Study Shows Parents Are More Engaged With Their Children When Reading Books Without TextEarly Literacy Skills Are Indicative of Later Academic SuccessEmma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services Ranked Fifth for External


Compared to books with text, wordless books have been shown to increase literacy and vocabulary skills in toddlers with developmental disabilities, according to research from the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services at Utah State University – ranked fifth in the nation in terms of external funding for research.

The research, led by professors Sandra Gillam, Ph.D., and Lisa Boyce, Ph.D., examined the type of language mothers used when their children made comments during shared reading of a wordless picture book and compared it to the language used when comments were made during the reading of a book with text. The findings showed that more complex language and interaction were present between mother and child with the wordless book.

“We found that when creating a story or just responding to pictures, the parent used many words and complex sentence structures while engaging with their child. That level of engagement wasn’t as present when reading books with text,” said Gillam. “These results fall in line with the generally accepted belief that less structured activities, such as playing with toys or creating things with Play-Doh, elicit more productive language interactions between parent and child. These findings in no way diminish the importance of reading printed books, but incorporating interactions with wordless books is a way to build a more solid literacy foundation in children with developmental disabilities.”

Previous research has shown that early literacy skills are predictive of later academic performance, and while interventionists have encouraged parents to engage in interactions that involve traditional books, this study indicates that mothers may be more likely to respond to their child’s language attempts while sharing wordless books with their children than in interactions surrounding printed text.

“These findings are particularly important for speech pathologists who have long believed that parents of children with developmental disabilities must be taught how to respond to their children’s attempts to communicate. In actuality, many parents naturally respond to their children when sharing wordless books with them. Parents may need assistance in recognizing the skills they are already using and be encouraged to transfer them from less structured activities to literacy-based activities,” added Gillam.

“The research Sandi and Lisa are doing is really indicative of the mission of the education college at Utah State University, which is to help people lead richer, fuller lives through education,” said Beth Foley, dean of the College of Education and Human Services. “In order to best prepare our future educators at the college, we first have to have a solid understanding of how children best learn, both in the classroom and at home. This research is just one of many projects currently in progress at the college that will help us as we continue to develop the most productive and effective instructional strategies in education.”
The research “Maternal Input During Book Sharing: Wordless vs. Printed Books” was most recently presented at the Annual Convention of the American Speech Language and Hearing Association in Philadelphia.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Best Practices in the Evaluation of Autism Spectrum Disorders (Ages 0-3) WEBINAR

Date: Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Time: 3:00–4:30PM Eastern
Presenter: Amy Dilworth Gabel, PhD

Register here: https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/schedule/display.do?udc=an9g1u3nst4k
Putting together an appropriate battery to assess infants and toddlers with suspected Autism Spectrum Disorders can be challenging. Early intervention for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders leads to better outcomes. Good assessment data helps to promote effective intervention. During this session we will review some of the best practices as you consider which types of measures could be used to answer specific referral questions.

Amy Dilworth Gabel, PhD, is the Training and Client Consultation Director with Pearson Clinical Assessment. She earned her PhD and MS in school psychology from the Pennsylvania State University. Her undergraduate training is in psychology and elementary education from Gettysburg College. As a licensed school psychologist in Virginia, her specialty is the comprehensive evaluation of preschool and school-aged students.
Prior to joining PsychCorp, Dr. Gabel worked in the Fairfax County Public School system in Virginia. In Fairfax, she served in positions as a school psychologist, special education administrator, and due process specialist. She has provided training workshops on a wide range of topics, including linking assessments to effective teaching, AD/HD, reading disorders/literacy, executive function disorders, and a variety of assessment and intervention methodologies.

April is Autism Awareness Month

The United Nations declared the first official World Autism Awareness Day on April 2, 2008.

Since that time, April 2 has been the designated day to highlight the need to help improve the lives of children and adults who suffer from the disorder.

The State of Qatar and Autism Speaks spearheaded World Autism Awareness


10 ways to honor Autism Awareness Month
Posted by
Kathie Harrington, MA, CCC-SLP
Occupation: SLP, author, speaker, mother of a son with autism.
Setting: Las Vegas, NV

1.Brainstorm with other SLPs about one child in particular, not at school or in the clinic, but over a cup of coffee or a soda.

2.Find a new app on your iPad or iPhone that you can use with a client with ASD.

3.Take a client with ASD on a field trip and explore a new environment together.

4.Find three new motivators to use with students with ASD. I scavenger around in dollar stores myself.

5.Make a bulletin board for your room/office that announces April as Autism Awareness Month.

6.Call one or all of your clients with ASD on the telephone and have a conversation. I would suggest telling them ahead of time that you will call them tonight to talk about ___________.

7.Turn on some soft music, sit back for 10 minutes, close your eyes, and allow your mind to drift into the world of a person with autism. They are sensory people, so you must see, hear, feel, smell, and perceive the world as they would.

8.If you team in a school/clinic with teachers, PTs or OTs, call a 15-minute "Autism Awareness Chat." Hey, buy a dozen cookies and make it a friendly, mind-freeing experience for everyone. Fifteen minutes may lead to more, and a chat in April may lead to one in May and June.

9.Invite the parents/caregivers of your clients with ASD into the therapy setting. Demonstrate strategies and pick one or two that you want the parent to carry over in the home environment.

10.Number 10 is probably the most important of all: read something new about autism, such as a story, poem, research, therapy strategy, etc, etc. Always be informed because as SLPs we are #2 in line to help children/adults with ASD. Who is #1? You tell me.
"Speech pathologists make good things happen."