Little Speech Spot

10/09/2023

07/21/2023

Soapbox time: Short, individual sessions work SO MUCH better for students working on articulation than more minutes per week in a group setting! I see so many more gains in such a shorter span of time when we are able to work one on one and focus solely on placement and high numbers of repetitions. I often do “challenges” where we use a timer and see if we can meet or exceed our previous record of correct word or sentence level repetitions in five minutes. ⏱ Need help convincing admin? Less time out of the classroom is the *definition* of Least Restrictive Environment. See the work of Byers et al (2021) for more details.

03/21/2023

The Well-Balanced OT 🎉

12/13/2022

Helping a toddler learn to talk means we need to talk... a lot!
However, not all talking is created equally.

Be sure to use all THREE of these talking types:
Talk TO them
Talk WITH them
Just GIVE them the words

12/07/2022

As always, when I post milestones- I know these posts can be hard for some parents (especially many parents who follow me!) to see- if this is you, I see you- and scroll on by!

However, sharing milestones (what 90% of kids can do at a certain age) can help parents identify if their child may need support - AND can give us helpful info on how most kids develop skills.

It’s important to note that not all kids will develop language in the typical manner, and in fact, Autistic kids OFTEN develop skills differently than neurotypical kids. So, while it may be helpful to model skills that are developed earlier- we should Always meet a child where they are at! ❤️

12/06/2022

Just doing a little light “baking” over here with this homemade gingerbread play doh yummmm

10 trials on the abacus = time to make a gingerbread man!
Great for describing and requesting too 🙌

Recipe:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 tablespoon cream of tartar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice (or a combination of cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger)
1 cup water

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a saucepan.
2. Turn the stove to medium-low heat and stir it continuously until it forms a ball.
3. Take it off the heat and dump it onto parchment paper. Once it’s cool enough to touch, knead it to help make it smooth.
4. Enjoy! Store in an airtight container.

11/12/2022

Stone Soup 🥣, themed therapy style 💫

💡📖 Repetitive books make it easier to know what’s expected
💡🧑‍🍳Pretend play helps with real world connections, and makes it so much more fun!
💡🧐Simple picture cues help with comprehension
💡 📆 Multiple sessions means more opportunities to learn target skills

We worked on vocabulary development, categorization, sentence expansion, speech sounds, grammar, asking and answering questions and more 😱

10/27/2022

Come Back Big Green Monster!!! 👻 🎃

There were actual tears over our session being over today. I had to promise this monster would come back after Halloween !

10/03/2022

Ten Apples Up On Top 🍎 🍏