It's summertime and your child may be taking a break from his direct speech therapy services (particularly if he is receiving services through his school SLP).  What can you do to help him maintain his awesome skills over the break?  How can you help him keep progressing without the homework sheets he brought home all school year?

Never fear!  There are some amazing websites and apps that are perfect for filling the summer break therapy gap.

Mommy Speech Therapy: http://mommyspeechtherapy.com/?page_id=55 
This site has SO many free worksheets!  My advice, print off a few for sounds your child can make but isn't using in his daily conversation yet and practice them for about 5 minutes a day.  You might need an SLP to teach sounds your child can't say at all yet BUT these worksheets are perfect for practicing sounds your child knows and just isn't using all of the time.  Don't stress on words he is missing, practice, practice, practice the words he can do.  For now, just mark the especially difficult words and let his SLP know when school starts back up again.

Word Vault: Get home-speech-home.com's World Vault app, it's FREE on the apple market!!  This is my #1 go to to practice sounds with kids who can read (the free app has no pictures, just word lists). Play around with it, you can change where the sound is at in the words (beginning, middle, and end) you can also change how difficult the words are and put them into sentences or paragraphs.

All of these activities may not work for your child, but this summer try them out.  If you are looking for activities tailored more specifically to your child's needs and interests...talk with your SLP, we are the experts when it comes to designing speech and language programs!

ASHA just published the results from a parent poll relating to the time kids and parents spend using devices vs. interacting or reading.  The article suggested that we as parents need to be aware of our children's device use and make mindful choices about how, when, and how much access kids have to devices.

CLICK HERE to check out the article that my numbers are from.

This week I have had two of my friends tell me they had no idea speech and language therapists treat literacy skills (like reading comprehension and decoding).  One was a mother of a child with multiple delays and one was an elementary school teacher.  If anyone would know about SLPs and how specialized we are to treat literacy...these two fabulous women would have known!

So...I am going to assume the world at large does not understand why SLPs are such an effective service provider to help children develop literacy skills.

#1 We are SPEECH Language Pathologists:
Who understands the sounds of our language better than an SLP?  We are perfectly trained to help children learn about phonological awareness and how the letters in a word sound and why those letters are important.  We can teach children how letters are represented phonetically and orthographically.  We help teach onsets, rhyming pairs, letter families.  We are the experts when it comes to decoding written language as well as teaching producing spoken sound!!!

#2 We are Speech LANGUAGE Pathologists:
Who understands the complex nuances of spoken and written language better than an SLP?  We receive years of training in morphology (pieces of meaning that build words), semantics (word meanings), syntax (grammar), and pragmatics (the social nuances of language).  WE get complex sentences, vocabulary needs, figurative language,  synthesizing, comparing and contrasting, making connections, etc.  THAT IS WHAT WE DO!!!  Reading comprehension is hugely dependent on skills that we are uniquely trained to teach.  A speech language pathologist can teach reading comprehension because we understand how to develop the language comprehension reading skills are based on.

Please don't assume because I am an SLP all I do is correct "s" and "r" errors (although I do help kids with speech sound delays and I LOVE it, it's way more involved than you think).  Teaching literacy skills is one thing that I specialize in,  I know how much we SLPs have to offer.  It is time that all of you concerned parents and educators know it too.

Have you ever wondered what private speech and language therapy looks like?  Here is a little glimpse of how I work with preschoolers and how I engage parents in the process.  There is nothing better than private speech and language therapy for parent training and carry-over into the home!

Summer is coming​!  Now is the time for preschool graduations and end-of-year programs.  Our kids finally get their long-awaited ice-cream parties and field days!  Then FREEDOM!!  Endless hours of play and snacks and vacations and fun, fun, fun!  

I love summer time!  There is so much good about having weeks of exploration and downtime.  BUT I feel like summer can easily turn into endless, mindless hours of TV, iPad, and general junk screentime.  It's almost TOO easy right?  Too easy for mom (if you're me...) and too easy for our kids.  So my post today is about motivating us all to take charge of screentime this summer with these three tips:  minimize, mindfully use, and model healthy habits.  (the position statement I am basing this post off of can be found HERE).

MINIMIZE
We all have heard about monitoring how long our kids are using devices and watching TV/videos.  Probably most of us see the recommended time allotments, do a double take, and immediately give up...they are pretty strict.  In summary they suggest no screentime for 0-18 months and 1 hr or less for 2-5 year olds...here's the problem: Parents are not listening to or following these recommendations.  I am a speech language pathologist, I KNOW why it is so important and I still struggle to follow the guidelines!! 

What to do:  visit healtychildren.org to create a family media plan that works for your family and try your best to minimize screentime.  Remember young kids learn better from face-to-face interactions than they do from screens!!  Minimize screen time and maximize face-to-face interaction, family-time, outdoor-play, exercise, unplugged downtime & sleep!!!

MINDFUL USE
Here is hands down the best advice I have heard in regards to choosing screentime opportunities: before giving your child a device or turning on the TV complete this sentence: "Let’s watch or play this content, at this time, for this reason"  
CONTENT: meaning all apps, videos, programs are not made equal!!  Help your child select content that is high quality and noncommercial.  Take charge of what is going into your kids' brains!  
TIME: meaning think about the time your child is spending, time they are not actively playing, interacting, being outside, sleeping, etc.  Choose your screentime time wisely!
REASON: Think about WHY you are letting your child watch that screen.  Be purposeful in what you choose and why.  

MODEL HEALTHY HABITS
​Spend too much time online?   Yeah, me too!   Here are some ideas to help us make better choices of how we spend our own time:

• Choose healthy alternatives, such as reading, outdoor play and creative, hands-on activities.
• Turn off our devices at home during family time.
• Turn off screens when not in use and avoid background TV.
• Be present and engaged when screens are used and, whenever possible, co-view with our children to help them learn.

SO...how will you incorporate these 3 Ms into your family's use of screentime this summer? For me, I am going to focus on being a better media model for my kids and being mindful about the media that we do choose for our screentime.     

Time to set a goal for this week!  Here are some AMAZING tools to help get your toddler talking.  My suggestion:  rate yourself on how well you are already doing, and then pick one skill to work on at home this week.  For more information on helping your toddler talk check out this blog post: encouraging-my-child-to-talk.html

Wait for your child to try!
Don’t cater to your child’s every need or want before they have a chance to communicate with you.  Observe their actions, wait for them to interact with you, and then listen!!

How often are you waiting?   Never  -  Rarely  -  Sometimes  -  Often 
 
Mess things up:
Mess up routines so your child has to communicate his or her needs.
Example: During mealtime give everyone a spoon but “forget” to give your child a spoon. Wait and see if your child initiates they need something. If they don’t initiate what they need, help them by saying. “What do you need?” or “Are you missing something” or “Uh-oh!” Label the item before you give it to them.
 
Do you ever mess up the routine? Never  -  Rarely  -  Sometimes  -  Often 
 
Parent Speech:
Use clear simple speech with your child during play routines. The goal is to talk in phrases you want your child to copy.  Use one or two words more than your child is using.

How often do you use Parent Speech? Never  -  Rarely  -  Sometimes  -  Often  
 
Use add-ons:
Add 1 or 2 words to what your child says when you respond back to him or her.
Example: When your child says “up” say “up… you want up”.

How often do you use add-on? Never  -  Rarely  -  Sometimes  -  Often 
 
Narrate your life:
When your child is within hearing range, talk about what you are doing while you do it.
Example: When washing your hands at the sink say “I'm washing my hands”, when the phone is ringing say “I hear the phone”.

How often are you narrating your life? Never  -  Rarely  -  Sometimes  -  Often
 
Narrate your child’s life:
When playing with your child, describe what your child is doing while they are doing it.
Example: When your child picks up a car – say “pick up the car”. When your child drops a block – say “you dropped the block”.

How often are you narrating your child's life?  Never  -  Rarely  -  Sometimes  -  Often 
 
Hopefully this list gives you an idea of a skill to focus on this week.  You can do it!!!

My son had his phase 1 orthodontia work done a little over 2 weeks ago.  This included getting an expander to widen his palate and braces to help close the gap between his front two teeth.  I thought I was pretty prepared to deal with all of the metal he now has in his mouth because:

-I am a speech language pathologist!  Mouths are like totally my domain, right?
-I have had clients get expanders and braces.
-I had braces growing up...been there, done that!

Oh boy, I was SO WRONG!  The first two days were incredibly difficult for my son, and by extension, me.  So together we (my son and I) decided to make a list of things we wish we had known going into this whole new world.

1)  Best foods for the first two days:  hard meltables (grahm crackers, animal crackers, Ritz crackers, etc.)  These types of foods are hard enough that you have to chew them, which is good for practice and according to my orthodontist decreases mouth pain.  BUT they also melt if they get stuck in your mouth, like under the horrible expander bar.  A banana is soft but once its squishiness is stuck in all the new metal grooves in your mouth it doesn't go away...it just gags you.  Other good choices:  smooth things you don't have to chew (apple sauce) and cold things (frozen yogurt).

2) Small bites are a big deal:  cut things up really small for your child, especially in the beginning.  This was super important for my son.

3) Meals take a long time:  eating is going to be slow going for at least the first week.  My biggest suggestion, call your school and ask them to let your kid be first in the lunch line for his class for the first few days.  This super helped my boy.

4) Use sips of water to rinse:  eating at first is super messy!  I found that having water available for my son to use to rinse his mouth after every couple bites was a must.  Another good strategy we tried to help get food out of his braces/expander was to send a little travel toothbrush with him to school for after luch.

5) Swallow that spit:  for the first two weeks my son had a lot of extra saliva to deal with.  His mouth was working overtime which led to some crazy drooling.  I found that if I cued my son to swallow his spit his speech cleared up and he didn't drool on his homework.  All good things.  The spit is out of this world!  Good news, it does slow down with time.

6) Practice oral reading:  the first week or so really push oral reading at home.  This gives your kid the chance to refine his speech sounds.  His tongue has to change the way it moves now when he goes to make /s/, /z/, "sh", /r/, /l/.  His lips move differently to say /p/, /m/, /b/.  Things will be pretty sketchy for a while.  The more your child can hear his own voice in a safe environment the better he will get at producing his sounds clearly once more.  If you want to know more check out: The Auditory Feedback Loop.

7) Really push oral hygiene: my son had been brushing and flossing his own teeth religiously before getting his braces and expander.  After getting his gear I let him continue to brush his teeth and I took over flossing, because it is super tricky.  BUT two weeks in he had major plaque issues because his brushing technique was not cutting it.  I suggest for the first few days you really watch his brushing AND help with flossing.  Also I wish I had actually tried flossing his teeth in the orthodontist's office the day he got his braces instead of just watching.  It is way harder than it looks, especially the back teeth.  Get all the tips you can before trying it on your own at home!

Hopefully reading through some of our tips will help make the first few weeks of your child's (or your own) orthodontia experience a little more manageable!

Mom!  I'm hungry!!  Can I have a snack?

Who has heard that before?  Like 10 times, or 20 times... and it's 10:30 am.  Am I right?

Lucky for us, making meals and snacks can be a super excellent way to work on speech and language AND feed your starving child.  It's a win-win!

When I first started working in early child development, a mom told me the most valuable thing she had learned so far was how to talk and be with her kid while he was eating.  She told me that before her therapy services, meal and snack times were all about getting other stuff done while her son was busy eating.  BUT once she started using some of the following tips her son's language really started exploding.


Building Vocabulary 

• Use lots of describing words when you cook and while you are eating:
  • adjectives: hot oatmeal, sticky honey, wet, cold pudding, crunchy carrots
  • verbs: cutting, mixing, pouring, squishing, rolling
  • adverbs: carefully, quickly, before, after
  • prepositions: in the cup, on top of the muffins

 
Using My 5 Senses 

• Talk about how things taste, look, feel, sound, and smell.  These kinds of sentences help your child make connections.  I use my nose to smell.  Apples smell sweet AND peas smell sweet!  I wonder how they taste?

Beginning Literacy

• Use words like first, next, then, after, and last to help your child learn to sequence.  These words automatically take language to a more complex level.

 
Imagination and Guesses

• Ask your child to imagine what his meal or snack might look like, taste like, feel like one you are finished.  Being able to make an educated guess based on what you know is critical for good reading comprehension and social communication skills.

Repetition is key! 

• One of the best parts about cooking is that it is naturally repetitive.  You follow the same basic steps each time you pour a bowl of cereal or make your child’s favorite sandwich. Because of the repetition your child has lots of opportunities to learn and practice! 

*these tips are mainly geared toward the toddler/preschool age kids, if you have older children some good ideas would be having them navigate the recipe card, measure ingredients, and then create their own notebook with their favorite tried and true recipes.

Check it out!  My first speech and language therapy video!!

I reviewed a new toy that I bought at www.smartfelttoys.com.  For the month of April it is 20% off in honor of World Autism Awareness Month, use the Promo Code: WAAD. 

Hooray for discounts on specialized SUPER AWESOME toys!!