Speech Therapy Center

A Fun Game to Help Foster Your Child’s Language Development at Home

Written by Nicole Fisher, Student Clinician, FIU

It is well documented that children explore the world and learn through play. You can promote your child’s language development through play in a number of ways. One fun way to build your child’s vocabulary, teach the function of household items, and promote auditory processing skills is to do a scavenger hunt.

Scavenger Hunt
Tell your child that you hid a prize in the house. It could be a cookie, a toy, or perhaps a quarter. Ask them to help you find it. Give clues that suit your child’s level of language development.

Level 1
Ask your child to find certain items around the house. This will help develop awareness of their environment while building vocabulary. Once your child finds the item have him or her tell you what it is used for. Leave a prize at one of the items.
Ex.
Find the bathtub
Find your toothbrush
Find mommy’s bed.
Find your bed.
Find the refrigerator.

Level 2
Ask question to elicit the place or object you want the child to find.
Ex.
Where do you sleep?
What do you put toothpaste on?

Level 3
Give more complex clues. Incorporate function, location, and prepositions.
Ex.
What do you use to sit on? Look under it.
Where do you take a bath? Look inside it.
Go to your bedroom and look next to the bear on the shelf.

Reverse Scavenger Hunt
The same concept can be applied to cleaning up. You can bring a bunch of items into the living room and have your child help you put the items where they belong. Ask your child “what,” and “where,” questions about the object. (ex. What is this? What do you use a spoon for? Where does it belong?) You can also give the child multilevel directions. (Put the spoon in the kitchen. /Put the spoon on the counter in the kitchen. /Put the spoon on the counter next to the sink in the kitchen.)

You can continue to increase the complexity of the directions as it suits your child. Furthermore, you can take turns. Have your child hide an object and give you clues to find it. Most importantly, be creative and have fun!

Navigating Through the Bad Days

written by Nicole Fisher, Student Clinician, FIU

Life is unpredictable.  As stated in the movie Forest Gump, we often find that “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.” We all have good days, and we all have bad days. As parents, your lives revolve around your children. When your child is having a good day, you are having a fantastic day. However, if your child is having a bad day, you may find that you are having a downright horrible day. Parents of children with autism may find life to be especially unpredictable. For a child with autism navigating through the world can be a very challenging and emotionally exhausting task. Thus, parents often spend a considerable amount of time and energy helping their child to learn how to cope and survive these bad days—but what about you?

Here are a few tips to help you, the parent, get through those bad days:

1.    Forgive Yourself
Remind yourself that you are human. You are allowed to have bad days. While parenthood can bring immense joy, it can also leave you feeling tired, frustrated, and perhaps a little angry. It is ok to have these feelings.

2.    Shoe Box Reminder’s
When your child is having a good day, write yourself a little note and place it in a box. For example you can write “7/16—Ryan tried carrots today…and he liked them!” or “4/13—Ryan asked me for a hug ” Add some of your child’s art work or school work to this box. When you are feeling down, take out the box and read your notes. Revel in the memory of your child’s accomplishments and happy moments.

3.    Seek Support
Read articles, blogs, or books. Talk to other parents who have children with autism. These resources will provide help support you as you navigate through life with autism.

4.    Take a Break
Again, remind yourself that you are human. In order to have the energy to care for someone else, you have to spend some time taking care of yourself. You need to recharge your batteries. Whether it be a quick cup of coffee at a nearby coffee house, or a dinner date with your spouse, set aside some time for yourself.

5.    Victorious Venting
When we are upset we often call a trusted family member or friend to vent our frustrations in order to find sympathy and empathy. When your child is having a good day, call this person and share your joy. Ask this person to remind you of these accomplishments and happy moments the next time you are having a bad day. This allows you to share your joy while creating a lifeline for future encouragement when you are in need.

Finally, remember that tomorrow is a new day. The bright side of the unpredictable nature of life is that tomorrow just might be the day that you open the box of chocolate and find that caramel filled chocolate you have been craving.

For more tips, read the full article at:
https://nlconcepts.infusionsoft.com/in/i2ab980/ce3fc5d685463d4e1998a3a243ac74b89f5dc28713611e751ab517c1ede10934&e=na?i=140770&m=0>

Got a Question on Parenting? Check out Pragmatic Mom!

Here is a website where a mother of three, shares her experiences and advice on parenting with our community. Parenting is never easy, and many times guidance is a necessity. Pragmatic Mom posts “how to” guides for parenting, recipes, and much more.  What I find most helpful are her various booklists that are divided by age group and gender; these are especially notable because she includes various topics such as: mythology, literacy, science, and even books for special needs kids!
I am sure many of you will benefit from visiting her site, even if it is just to take a look. She has an abundance of information to share!
You can also follow her on twitter!
To visit Pragmatic Mom, please click on the link below: http://www.pragmaticmom.com

Natural Learning Concepts: Community Organization in Review

Natural Learning Concepts is a website devoted to sharing with the community products for assisting children with Autism; in their intellectual, social, behavioral, and cognitive development. They offer a variety of fun and educational games, toys, puzzles, and books.

Parents and speech pathologists alike, can benefit from their materials. We use their products in therapy everyday, and our children love them.

For more information about this organization:

http://www.nlconcepts.com/autism-nlc.htm

Pizza Fusion: Community Organization in Review

Pizza Fusion offers delicious pizza, salads, sandwiches, and more with the healthiness of organic ingredients.  They have from traditional cheese pizza to specialty vegan pizzas.  They even offer gluten free pizza crusts, for those families who are on gluten free diets! There’s a something for everyone!

Also check out the dozens of ways they implement alternative strategies in their business, in order to stay as “green” as possible. For example: “delivering food in company owned hybrid vehicles,”  and “offsetting 100% of energy usage with the purchase of renewable wind energy certificates.”

Thank you Pizza Fusion for FOOD & INSPIRATION.

For more information on Pizza Fusion, please feel free to visit their website at:

http://pizzafusion.com/saving-the-earth/

How to Build Early Language in your Language Delayed Child at Home or in the Car

written by Julie A. Milian, Student Clinician, FIU

Read to your child for about 5-8 min. every day.
Books should contain simple pictures and language.
Describe the pictures, name and point to the animals, objects and people in the story.
Ask lots of WH questions: Who, What, Where, When, Why. i.e., Who is this? What is she/he doing? Where are they going?

Play with your child for about 15-25 min every day.
Puzzles: animals, transportation, numbers, and alphabet puzzles are great.
Ball: throw and catch
Toy Animals: hide an animal and describe it your child will have to guess. Take turns hiding and guessing.

Name body parts and identify what you do with them.
i.e., I walk with my feet, I eat with my mouth.

Ask them questions that requires a choice.
i. e., Do you want juice or milk? Do you want apple or grapes?
i. e., Do you want a blue or red shirt?

Count and sing as much as you can.
You can count cans, apples, bananas, etc. at the store while food shopping.
Sing on the way to the store or while bathing your child.

Use two words to comment with their newly learned vocabulary.
i,e., gimme apple, more ball, yummy juice

Integrating Early Language in your Nonverbal Child: Home Activities in English/Spanish

written by Julie A. Milian, Student Clinician, FIU

Language impairment affects many aspects of the person’s life. Communication is essential for learning, social interaction and for the ability to be independent. It is important to consult an SLP in order to understand the reason for your child’s language delay. However, the following are some good activities that will generally stimulate language.

•    Labial sounds /m, p, b/are a good start due to their increase visibility
o    mama, papa, bebe - reduplicate syllable
o    mami, papi, baby – variegated syllables

•    Increase the use of vowel sounds /a,e,i,o,u/ specially when there is an apraxic component
o    aqui, este, igual, otro, uno
o    ant, elephant, in, open, the cow says moo

•    Increase gestures for showing and requesting as a bridge to increase verbal language
o    Showing by pointing things on the environment like ball, book, puzzle, juice, cookie, etc.
o    Requesting by using the index finger to point to the palm of the opposite hand (here/aqui) or by raising a hand to the chest (give me/dame)

•    Greetings hand waving

•    Increase ability to follow directions with single commands as:o    Sit-down
o    Wash hands
o    Clean-up toys
o    Get your shoes

Don’t Forget

Always make eye contact when speaking to your child.

Verbal cues should also be reinforced in addition to hand gestures.

I Love My Voice: Prevention of Voice Disorders

written by Julie A. Milian, Student Clinician, FIU

Why are Speech Language Pathologists and teachers at greater risk for voice disorders?

“Over 3 million teachers in the United States use their voice as a primary tool of trade and are thought to be at higher risk for occupation-related voice disorders than the general population. Teachers are often required to speak loudly in noisy classrooms for long periods without much time to rest or recover”. Roy et al.:
Prevalence of Voice Disorders in Teachers and the General Population

How to Prevent Voice Disorders

How can certain types of food and beverages affect voice production.
We all love coffee, chocolate alcohol or spicy foods; don’t we? They somehow increase the risk of backflow of stomach fluids going to the voice box. Food as the ones mentioned before can increase stomach acid fluids. This production of acid fluids going to the voice box will increase the risk of causing reflux laryngitis. Do you know that you can “dry out” your vocal folds? Yes, caffeine and alcohol play a role on drying out the vocal folds which will contribute to voice problems.

Avoidance of Voice Overuse/Misuse/Abuse

-Voice Rest: plan short periods of voice rest throughout the day. No shriek with the radio
-Diet: avoid caffeine, alcohol, chocolate, and spicy foods
-Proper hydration: drink plenty of water (NO gas water)
-Cherish your voice: avoid stressful situations. If you are anxious or nervous your voice box will constrict. Take a deep breath through the nose it will help you to relax your voice box.
-Throat clearing: Don’t make it a habit. It can be a sign of backflow of stomach fluids to the voice box. If you are experiencing this symptom visit your doctor. Instead get sips of water to remove the excess of mucous from the vocal folds.

Questions to Ponder

How do certain types of food and beverages affect voice production?
What role does water play in voice prevention?
How could you avoid voice Overuse/Misuse/Abuse?

References

Ray, Nelson, et al. “Prevalence of Voice Disorders in Teachers and the General Population.” Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research 47.2 (Apr. 2004): 281-293. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Web. 15 Feb. 2010.

http://www.asha.org

http://www.voiceproblem.org/diagnosistreatments/prevention/index.asp

National Aphasia Association- Community Organization in Review

The National Aphasia Association (NAA) is a non-for profit organization committed to spreading awareness on aphasia as well as offering support services to the community.

Aphasia is a communication disorder caused by a stroke or injury of the brain. Depending on where the lesion, or aphasia is located, it may impair an individual’s ability to either process or produce language.
This organization promotes education and research related to aphasia. They post articles, as well as, valid information, tools, tips, and events. If you know someone who has aphasia, make sure you share this website with them; it will highly benefit them.

To find out more about the National Aphasia Association, please visit them at:

http://www.aphasia.org/index.html

AutismSpot- Community Organization in Review

AutismSpot is a great site for both informative resources and reading about other parents like yourselves and their experiences with autism. It also has news and videos to keep you up to date with the latest findings. There are different “channels” you can watch on the video portion including sources on education, family, health, nutrition and more.

To learn more about AutismSpot, please visit their website at:

http://www.autismspot.com/