Summer! Practice Ideas for at home Speech Therapy

Okay so summer is here and maybe you are taking a break from speech-therapy for awhile or maybe you are still coming to speech regularly.  Either way, don't mean stop practicing!

Here are some of my go to strategies and practice ideas for summer.

1. Read out loud. (I know I say this all the time.  It's one of the single best things you can do regardless of speech issues). Don't pick a super challenging text though, the focus is on getting the sounds, not on decoding the text.  Scan the page first with your child and find words that have your child's target sounds, then read the text.  If your child is too young to read, you read and have him or her repeat you. I call the "echo reading."  If it's too hard to get the sounds "right" in this context, pick out a few words on the page that contain the target sounds and practice just those words 3-5 times/word.

2. Search for practice videos on my "practice at home" link.  There are many videos for all levels and several different target sounds. There are also videos that demonstrate different strategies including strategies detailed here.

3. Refer back to old emails from me for practice ideas.  I usually try to send ideas home on a regular basis.

4. Play some version of an "I spy" (I search, I'm thinking of...., I remember...) guessing game.  This is great for the car.  Focus on target sounds while you play and change the opening phrase to reflect the target your child is working on.  For example, if your child is working on TH, use "I'm thinking of something ...." when giving clues.

5. Board games and card games can always be adapted for speech purposes.  Practice the target sound 3-5 times before each turn.  Use phrases like: "spin the spinner", "roll the dice", "shake, shake, and drop," "ready to go", "your turn", "I should go", "I choose to go", "I think I'll go", "This is my card", I'll play a ______", etc.

6. Give descriptions.  Tell 3 things about your day or pick an object and tell 3 things about the object.  Use your target sounds. Try making tally marks for each target sound while you are talking or take a chip (snack cracker, coin, etc) from a pile for each target sound you say during the activity.

7. Put up signs around the house and/or make a special book mark (remember I want you to read out loud!) to remind you to practice.  Put signs in the rooms and places you frequent and also on objects you use often (maybe on a backpack or a book you are reading).  Consider places like the family room, bedroom, bathroom, fridge, and car. 

8. Search online for pictures that have your target sounds or brainstorm a list of words.  Maybe you just practice the words 3 - 5 times each.  Maybe you use the words in a sentence.  Or, if you are more advanced, try putting the words together to create a silly story. 

9. Pick a specific time each day to practice or a specific location.  For example, practice every time you are in the car, walking up and down stairs, or riding in an elevator.  Or maybe it's a dinner time, bath time, book time at the end of the day, or "adult swim" time at the pool.  If you choose a regular time or location practicing will become a habit.

10. Make videos of yourself and listen back to the video.  How did you sound? Did you hear any mistakes? If so practice the words that were challenging. Where can you improve? Do you need to slow down? 

If your child is slipping, give me a call or send an email.  We can always work in brush up sessions during the summer as needed! Good luck and PLEASE practice.  Remember a little bit every day makes a big difference.  

Have a great summer!!!

Simple Things Matter - Autism Awareness

April is Autism Awareness month and really from coincidence, I've been doing a lot of thinking about Autism.....what's going on in the research? What am I seeing in my own practice? What are the some of the myths out there, even my own myths? So today, a myth re-thought.

My own personal contemplation started back around Valentine's Day.  My son Jonathan has a boy in class that he really likes talking with and even hanging out with.  His friend's name is Mike.  I didn't know Mike at the time, but it was few days before Feb 14 and Jonathan wanted to be sure Mike had a Valentine card during the class exchange. See Mike's not always in Jonathan's class, he's part of a Pilate Program at school and he's "included" in Jonathan's class at various points during the school day.  And yes, Mike has Autism.  Jonathan had run out of the store bought Valentines so he made Mike a hand made one, not really thinking too much about it, just wanting to be sure Mike had a Valentine.  It was a heart cut of of paper with a handwritten note.

A few days later I received an email with the subject "your lovely son"......

It was from Mike's mom and this is what she had to say:

I’m the mom of a 5th grade boy Michael who is in the facilitated communication “pilot program” at school.  I was quite worried that since Mike isn’t listed in the teacher’s homeroom, that he wouldn’t receive any Valentine’s Day cards.  But your son Jonathan gave him a handwritten Valentine’s Day card that said “Happy Valentine’s Day, Michael.  I hope you have had a good school year.  I love having you in my class.”

I must tell you that your son’s card made my son’s (and my) day.  Mike was over the moon happy with the words from your son.  Mike is so worried that he disturbs the students and he is a little intimidated.  Prior to this, he was at another school with all kids with autism and only 7 kids in his class.  This has been a big transition for him.  But since he received Jonathan’s card, he has said that “I really like school” and “I’m so glad to be going to [my new school]”.  I just wanted to make sure you knew what a lovely son you have and what a big difference his message has made for my son.

Reading this made me cry.  I'm a crier, yes.  Not because of what Mike's mom said about Jonathan, but because it was a smack in the face that simple things really MATTER.  I know I should know that, you should too! But it's moments like this that serve as a stark reminder.  It made me think about Valentine's and letters in general.  How nice would it be to receive messages of encouragement, compliment, thanks, etc from your friends, family, and classmates on Valentine's Day or any day?  That's the stuff that feeds the soul, that brings us up when we are down or even when we just need a little confidence boost. Do we really tell others how we feel, give compliments, just say something nice to someone....just because (even if they aren't nice to us)?? We live in a time of tweets, email, text, IM, but the hand written note is slowly disappearing.  Even for me it's hard.  I know my mom loves cards, but sending them somehow seems like a lot of trouble.   Maybe my challenge here and my challenge to those reading this in general, is to try and say something extra thoughtful at least once each day.  Something that takes a little extra effort.  Feeding and nourishing the soul matters, to everyone, even the child and the parent of the child with Autism. 

The reality is that persons with autism will almost certainly have pragmatic language difficulties.  They might not look you in the eye.  They might make weird noises or gestures. And they might experience and perceive the world differently.  But that has evolved into a myth out there that people with autism don't show or feel emotion. Emotion presents in different ways for different people, with and without Autism, but that does' mean it's not there.  I can't speak for anyone with Autism and many with Autism haven't found a voice yet to speak for themselves, but clearly Mike's voice is saying that these small actions do matter; his soul wants to be nourished too.  Small gestures are hugely important to him and his mom, just as they are to me and Jonathan. 

Why speech therapy?

So why bother with private speech therapy? What's it do?  

Often times insurance won't reimburse for speech therapy even if it's clear your child needs it. In some cases, where there is an educational impact, your child may qualify for school based services. You should always check with your local school to find out what services may be available.  Educationally based speech therapy is governed on the mandates of the law and is not the same as private therapy.  However those differences are for another time. 

When your child has  speech-language based difficulties and insurance isn't offsetting the cost and/or your child doesn't qualify for county services, then you have a very conscious choice to make regarding private therapy.  Yes, private therapy is a  lot of money.  However, the reality is that communication skills matter, social-language skills matter, and clear speech matters.  Speech-language intervention facilitates the development of these skills.  Everyone has good things to say and great thoughts to share.  It's important that their message is clearly communicated.

I work with both young children and older youth.  For the young ones, improved communication skills builds self-confidence, decreases frustration (for both child and parent!), and improves a child's ability to understand her world and express herself.  Yes, that's very simplified.  It does much more than that too, but those are some of the most important components. When you have a young child, speech therapy is for the parent as much as for the child.  When parents know what to do and "how" to facilitate their child's development, it makes all the difference in the world.  My children didn't come with instruction booklets and I'm sure yours didn't either! When I feel that I don't have the skills necessary to help my child, that's when I turn to a professional. I find this concept to be a good gauge for parenting in general.  If you feel that you don't know "how" to help your child or you are feeling stressed about your child's development, consider calling a professional.  When searching for a therapist for your young child, be sure to choose one who specializes in pediatrics and who actively teaches parents what to do.   

For the older ones, the same bar is true - if you feel it's beyond your ability to help your child, seek help.  If your child is struggling with reading, learning, understanding, communicating, clarity of speech, social interactions or other speech or language based issues that you feel are outside of your realm of expertise, talk to a speech-language therapist. Calling in no way obligates you! Speech-therapists are able to answer your questions and tell you if an evaluation is warranted.  Personally, with the older ones I specialize in voice and clarity of speech.  The bottom line is that peers and adults tune out when they don't understand what's being said.   Beyond that, the unfortunate reality is that people judge you based on the way you sound.  It's not right or fair, but it happens.  Your voice is one of the first things people notice.  As children get older speech patterns become more engrained and can be more difficult to remediate.  Also older children with speech issues are often teased, and this is no fun for anyone.  Most importantly, back to my opening idea, they have great things to say.  We want that communication to be judged and listened to on the merits of what was said, not on the "way" it was said.  Speech therapy can help.  

Yes, sometimes a child may "outgrow" her speech difficulties, but often this is not the case, especially when a child is past age 7.  Personally, if I feel speech patterns are developmental and there's a chance that a child will "outgrow" the problem, I'll often suggest a home activities or a "wait and see" approach.  For example, four year olds often cannot say R.  However, if your 8 year old is having difficulty with that sound (or any sound), there is very little chance your child will "outgrow" it. It's a complex set of factors that will lead a speech-language therapist to recommend therapy.   Family history, history of prior speech-language, learning difficulties, and other risk factors will all influence a therapist's recommendations.