Paper chain

Borrowed from Diary Of A Mom...

Great idea!!

"We have a trip coming up. A kinda big one. The kind with a lot of moving parts and the need for a fair amount of prep in order to make it successful for little Miss. I’ve been talking to friends and accumulating advice to help smooth our way.

Of all the tips that I gathered (like ‘When there are two queues and you have to choose between the right and the left, always choose left’. You’re welcome.) my favorite is the paper chain.

Brooke does very well – OK, she does well – traveling, but after more than one night away from home she begins to get anxious. No matter how much she may be enjoying the trip, she has trouble understanding how long we will be there and when we will be coming home.

Years ago, I started drawing out calendars. As soon as we reach our destination, we sit down together and map out our days. I draw in the plane or the car or the boat that got us to our destination and another on the day that we will be heading home. Each day, we write in our plans and each evening we mark off another day’s passing. Each and every day we count the days left and talk together about when we’ll be going home.

It has helped immensely, but it still isn’t perfect. Enter the paper chain.

In a conversation earlier this week, my friend Carrie shared what she did for her little guy on their last vacation. Instead of a calendar, she made him a good old-fashioned construction paper chain. Each day of their trip was represented by a link. After each day was over, its link was removed. The chain got smaller and smaller as the week went by.

I can’t tell you how much I love the simple brilliance of this idea. My girl NEEDS a way to see the days passing. She needs a tangible representation of how much longer the trip will last and when we will be headed home. She can see the chain. She can touch it and feel it and hold it. She can even decorate the links or draw the day’s activities on them. She can control it. The possibilities are endless.

And even better, it can be used in any situation where time or patience are an issue. Waiting room? The links can represent five-minute increments. Days before school starts at the end of the summer? Got it covered."

funny

Me thinking out loud... I wonder why you turn your voice on when you say P's and T's at the beginning but not at the end?! I wonder if you can hear the difference? Pig. Big.

little boy J... Yep I hea da diffwince but you-a speet wady so you dan figure it out.

sounds of my days...

1. This child may or may not have Selective Mutism. I've seen her for 15 visits and these are the first true sounds that have managed to escape her little mouth.... I almost cried. Ignore my stupid voice...



2. This little girl has a huge vocabulary and imagination but a very small phonetic inventory...


3. No idea what he actually said...



4. Not really sure about this one either...

weatherman

One of my sweet (8 year old) patients told me yesterday how much he loves to watch NBC13 news and specifically the weather with Jerry Tracey so we made this homework sheet together...

Easter Eggs

My therapy kids LOVE hunting Easter Eggs!

Text borrowed from: Speech Therapy Ideas
What’s fun, inexpensive, and versatile for therapy activities?  Plastic Easter eggs!  All of the ages I work with (from 3 to 19 years old) enjoy our egg games.  It could be that I make prizes part of the activities or just that it’s something we only do for about one week each year.  Whatever the reason, we all have a great time in the sessions. 

What goes into the eggs?
Depending on the child or group you are working with, you can change the stimuli (pictures, words, directions to follow, etc.) and prizes that go into the plastic eggs.  For example, for young children, I cut out stickers to put in some of the eggs.  For older students, I put papers in the eggs that say “pick again”, “candy”, or “extra point”.

What do you do with the eggs?
Here are a few different ways that you can use the eggs in your sessions.

1. Egg Hunt – Before the session begins, hide the eggs around the room.  Have the child or children hunt for the eggs and put them in a bowl.  When all the eggs have been found, they open the eggs one at a time, saying the target word or following the directions on the paper inside the egg.  Finding prizes in random eggs keeps it fun and exciting.  If time allows, let the child(ren) hide the eggs for the next group or client.

2. Pick a Good Egg – Have the clients take turns picking eggs from a big bowl or basket.  They say the target word or sentence or get a prize like in the Egg Hunt game. 

3. Up, Down, and All Around – Plastic eggs can also be used for working on prepositions.  For a receptive task, place a few eggs relative to an object (e.g., on, in, next to) and have the child point to the one that is in the place you describe.  For an expressive task, place one egg relative to an object, and have the child tell you where the egg is (e.g., “in the basket”).

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Phonological Awareness

Lesson 1 – Listening

Goal:

Understand what we use when we listen.

Recommended book:

The Ear Book – Dr. Seuss

What to do:

• Talk about what we actually do when we listen.
• Stress the behaviors that show how well we are listening:
• Eye contact
• Sitting still
• Responding appropriately
• Discuss how fidgeting, talking to a friend and not paying attention interfere with listening.

Lesson 2 – Make some noise!

Goals:

Focus listening/attending behavior

Become aware of a variety of ways to make sounds
Follow directions to start/stop noisemaking

Recommended materials:

drums, bells, horns, pots/pans, game buzzer, toys that talk

What to do:

• Talk about the different ways we can make noise (clapping, snapping, stomping, mouth noises, etc.)
• Talk about how we can turn them on and off.
• Make some noise together and then say “off” or “stop”
• They may not respond right away. Calmly, say it again. You may also want to use a hand motion or a picture of stop sign.
• Practice until the child learns to respond quickly and appropriately to the commands.

Lesson 3 – Hearing Sounds

Goal:
Learn that objects and people make sound
Learn that there are many different types of sounds
Encourage children to respond to verbal cues
Learn that you hear sounds

Autism Blogs:

http://momnos.blogspot.com/

http://adiaryofamom.wordpress.com/

http://autismblogsdirectory.blogspot.com/

http://rhemashope.wordpress.com/

http://autismville.blogspot.com/

http://goodfountain.wordpress.com/

http://teenautism.com/


**These are just some favorites and suggestions. Each of these websites has multiple links to other blogs and sites. Feel free to wander. The ideas and concepts presented are not always representative of me as a therapist. Please consult your physician, pediatrician, or therapists before attempting any ideas or treatments with your child.