Stacking Up

What it is:  Discovery Toys stacking cups

Where to find it:  www.discoverytoys.com

Alternatives:  There are many other brands of stacking cups.  Check out the follwing:  Stacking cups

If you do not have, or do not want to buy, stacking cups, there are plenty of other options already in your home!  Try cans from your pantry, plastic containers from your cupboard, toilet paper rolls, books, etc. 


What to do with it:  take turns stacking (turntaking, joint attention), requesting recurrence (more), signing ("more", "please", "up"), requesting object (cup), describing, (up, down, colors, size), knock down (ready, set, go, boom, uh-oh, oh-no), color sorting, size sorting, use the cup as an echophone (vocalize into the cup), knock cups together (action imitation), beat on cups like a drum (action imitation), hide toys under the cups (object permanence), hide your eyes (peek a boo--social game/turn-taking), pretend to drink/give baby a drink (pretend play)

Why:  Action imitation--important for the development of other cognitive skills. Helps improve eye contact and interaction.  Turntaking--another important factor in childs development, and essential in conversation as speech and language develops.  Joint attention (a shared experience between a child and a partner)--an essential skill needed for language, speech, and social skills.  Requesting recurrence or objects and commenting on objects is first seen between 13-17 months of age.  Finally, early play behaviors are related to the development of communication skills, and therefore developing appropriate play skills is an important precursor to the development of communication skills.   

Fun developmental fact of the week:  By age 24 months, a child should be using approximately 50 words, and beginning to combine 2-3 words. 

The Beginning

My name is Leslie Garthaus. I am a speech language pathologist. I graduated from Illinois State University with my bachelors degree in speech pathology in 2004, and my masters degree in speech pathology in 2006. My internships included 11 weeks at Bloomington Junior High School, and 11 weeks at Decatur Memorial Hospital.  In June 2006 I began my career at a small, private company in Peoria, IL, Speech and Language Rehabiliation Services, where I worked with ages birth to 90+ years!  (Thanks to Danila, Donna, Nikki, Martha, Mandy, and Amy--wonderful coworkers and amazing SLP's!).  I worked with toddlers learning their first sign, their first picture exchange, their first sound, their first word, and with kids and adults using high tech augmentative communication devices.  I worked with articulation and phonological disorders, apraxia, and language disorders.  I worked with adults experiencing voice disorders and dysphagia.  Looking back on it, I am amazed and thankful for such a diverse population I worked with for those three years.  But, I also began to realize that what brought me the most joy were those 1 and 2 year olds who were imitating a sign, a gesture, a sound for the first time.  Early Intervention, or birth-3, is truly my passion.  So, in June 2009 I began working for my friend and colleague Erin Mueller, who had started her own company, Mueller Communication Connections, providing speech therapy and evaluations for Early Intervention.  In August 2010, feeling the need to maintain my skills working with older students, I joined the staff of Hammitt High School/The Baby Fold, a therapeutic day school, in their autism program.  I work there two days a week, and in Early Intervention 3 days a week.  There are many parallels between the highly involved students I work with at Hammitt and the 2 year olds I work with in Early Intervention, and have learned so much working there! 

One aspect of Early Intervenion that I love is the family-centered philosphy.  Services are typically provided in the most natural environment possible, mostly the child's home or daycare.  The family is involved in writing "outcomes" for their child, involved in the therapy session, and provided suggestions for practice at home.  It is so important for both the family and therapist to remember that therapy is provided for one hour (usually) per week.  There are 168 hours in a week.  That leaves a lot of time, to say the least, that the child spends without the therapist!  This means it is imperative that the family learn as many skills as possible to help their child during the other 167 hours a week that they aren't in therapy.  Which leads me to the goal of this blog...

I am a bag lady, and I know it.  I come in with my huge, red and white, monogrammed LL Bean canvas bag, filled to bursting with wonderful goodies.  Books, puzzles, Little People, Cars, animals, instruments...the stash changes weekly.  I perform my hour of therapy, review what I did with the family, provide verbal or written suggestions for the week, and dash out the door, my bag of tricks disappearing with me.  Hmm, now what, I imagine many parents think.  They continue on their typical week, a few "more" signs sprinkled in here, a couple of "my turns" there.  There must be more I can do.  So my idea behind "Easier Done Than Said" is to review, hopefully weekly if not more often, many of my favorite toys, home items, games, etc. that I use during therapy.  I would like to explain what you can do with these items, and more importantly, what is the PURPOSE of what we are doing!  It is much more than just "playing" folks, we just can't let the kids know that!  I want to give you, the parents/caregivers, the knowledge and tools to help your child for 168 hours a week!!  (well at least 100 hours a week:)  I have no idea what this blog will evolve into, but I count on comments, suggestions, reviews, ideas from all of the readers to help steer me in the direction you want it to.  Because FAMILY is the most important thing about my job!

(I also keep busy with my own family, a 4 year old daughter, 3 year old son, and 10 month old son:)

A special thank you to my friend, Kristin, for the title of my blog.  As a special education teacher, she understands that for many of our kids with language and learning disorders, motor skills are an area of relative strength; therefore for these kids, life truly is Easier Done Than Said.