I am tickled pink about this week’s post! It is a continuation of the Toys and Tips Series and contains ideas to consider revolving around language development. Included are some thoughts on how to use a toy to elicit a sound, a word, a sign, or maybe to follow directions. Unfortunately, when you have doing this for awhile, … [Read more…]
I was thinking about my post for this week’s blog and a recurring thought kept coming to mind… The more I know the less I know! Recently, I have been branching out into the oral motor and feeding arena and I tell you for every article I read there are 100s more to consider. I … [Read more…]
What is on the agenda for this week? I am so glad you asked! Let’s talk balloons! And not just any type of balloon. Rocket balloons. As promised I will be sharing some of my favorite toys over the next couple of months, whether it be my favorite or the children’s favorites. Along with the … [Read more…]
Container play taken to a whole new level! Put the child in the basket. Yes, we are putting kids in laundry baskets, large Rubbermaid containers, large circular tubs! Why? Because we become friends with our OTs and learn new tricks. Not only are we going to talk laundry baskets we are going to think about … [Read more…]
I like to shop for therapy materials and sometimes it is a nice break in the day to sift through the toy aisles and take a gander at what’s new and exciting! But, there is always a but, I am continually hopeful the toy manufactures do not take some of the good ones away. In my … [Read more…]
I wanted to lead with a shout out to one of my high school cronies. She said “I don’t know anything about speech therapy but I will gladly follow your blog. Throw in a high school story and that will even better.” (We will eek one or two in at some point!). So, thank … [Read more…]
I have been on vacation this week and I was thinking about our little language learners while walking through the streets of New York! First time visitor and I feel blessed for the opportunity. And, I felt compelled to take a bunch of pictures. Why share this information in a speech blog post? Between the … [Read more…]
Many of the kids I see learn from direct teaching vs. spontaneous learning from the environment. (What does this mean?) And, often times, the child is demonstrating skills but not consistently. Do you have a child that has many skills but does not answer on a regular basis when you ask a question? The child might … [Read more…]
Over the next couple of months I am going to share some posts about my favorite toys and how I use the toys in therapy to encourage receptive and expressive language. We will also discuss ways the toys can be used to help with attention and joint attention. If you enjoy my weekly posts and want … [Read more…]
Toy selection… So many toys, options and opinions about toys. Ha! No One Asked Me But… The toy stores are inundated with colors, numbers, shapes and letters. I love finding some good ole simple toys that provide tons of playing options and allow for a variety of learning opportunities. Especially for our concrete thinkers who … [Read more…]