The 4 S's

From "More Than Words:  Helping parents promote communication and social skills in children with autism spectrum disorder." Sussman, F. 

These ideas are also great for any child with a language delay!

Say Less
Stress
Go Slow
Show

Here is an example of what this would look like:
"Johnny, come over here right now and put all of this stuff away before you can get a cookie". (said while Mom is standing in the opposite side of the room from Johnny.)

What message do you think Johnny got out of this direction?  Most likely, "cookie."  He gets excited, then begins to meltdown when Mom doesn't have a cookie for him.  Mom might misinterpret the meltdown to mean that he doesn't want to clean up, and possibly yells at him or gives him a time out for not following directions.  Then Johnny is really upset!  What a mess!   

Using the 4 S's:

"Blocks.  In box.  Put blocks in box." Said while standing next to Johnny and pointing to the box.  In this example, Mom said much less, she exaggerated key words, and she used visual cues to help Johnny understand. 

Receptive language skills are typically impaired in children with autism. Therefore, some meltdowns could be a result of not understanding what has been said.

Proximity is also important.  Be near your child when giving directions, which could increase his understanding.

Try using the 4 S's this week when giving directions, and see if it makes a difference! 

Tip of the day

For a child who is just beginning to make sounds:
If he makes a sound, say it back to him.  If he makes the sound again, say it back to him again.  This is an early form of conversation.  After a few turns, you can change what you "say" to him, and see if he imitates you this time!

Example:
Child:  "ba!"
Mom:  "ba."
Child:  "bababa"
Mom:  "bababa"
Child:  "bababa"
Mom:  "mamama"
Child:  "mama"

Have fun!  I'm trying to get a video example of this with my son, but haven't been able to catch a good one yet.  Keep checking back! 

Signing Saturday: Done

If you would like to see a video of the sign, look here:  Video for all done

AAP and TV

The following information is from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP):

"The first two years of your child’s life are especially important in the growth and development of her brain. During this time, children need positive interaction with other children and adults. This is especially true at younger ages, when learning to talk and play with others is so important.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) discourages TV and other media use by children younger than 2 years and encourages interactive play.

For older children, total entertainment screen time should be limited to less than 1 to 2 hours per day of educational,nonviolent programs, which should be supervised by parents or other responsible adults in the home."

Take home message: no "screen time" (which includes phones, iPads, video games, etc) for under the age of two. For kids older than two, no more than two hours of screen time per day.

Time to share: Is this feasible? Do you follow this advice in your home?  

                                                

                                              

Mealtime "More"



The other day as my family was sitting down to dinner, I did something that I always tell parents not to do...I noticed my son's high chair tray was empty, and absentmindedly scattered a handful of Cheerios for him to enjoy.  I immediately realized my mistake, and scooped up all but a few of them.  When those few were finished, I had him sign "more" before giving him any more Cheerios. 

The point is, mealtime is an excellent opportunity for communication with your children.  If you don't already, I recommend having at least one meal a day together as a family.  Sit down around the table, and if you don't have a kitchen table, at least sit around the coffee table, or on a rug on the floor.  The point is to be together, not each person in a separate room, not kids eating alone first and adults later, not kids wandering the room to eat.  Turn the TV off for those 30 minutes and enjoy conversation.

With older children, conversation is of course answering and asking questions.  You can get your little one in on the action as well, by teaching them the skill of turn-taking and requesting.  They can be required to ask for "more" by either verbalizing or signing.  They can say please and all done.  You can ask them "what's that?" questions to address the skill of answering questions and labeling. 

So far I haven't touched much on receptive language (understanding spoken language), but mealtime is a good opportunity to ask your child quesions such as "where's mama?  Where's dada?" as well as names of siblings and pets. 

There is so much communication that can occur during meal time--I could go on and on--but I will save this for a later post.  For now, remember to take advantage of the daily routine of eating, and enjoy this time as a family! 

Time to share:  What's your favorite way to get your littlest family members to communicate during mealtimes? 



Signing Saturday: Please

The sign for "please" is made by placing your flat right hand over the center of your chest.  Move your hand in a clockwise motion (from the observer's point of view, use a circular motion towards your left, down, right, and back up) a few times.  (http://lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-signs/p/please.htm)

Watch a video of the sign please HERE

Bubblicious

What it is:  BUBBLES!!!

 Where to get it:   Almost anywhere, especially this time of year.  Target, wal-mart, grocery stores, dollar stores, and if you want to order on-line:  Here

Alternatives: There are also a variety of bubble making toys, including bubble machines and bubble guns.  These easily make a lot of bubbles, but I still prefer the traditional bubble tumbler and wand because it targets skills such as lip rounding, coordinating air flow, and lip strength. 

What to do with it:  sound development--/p/;  airflow coordination (blowing); expressive vocabulary development--"bubble, please, more, pop, up, down, big, little, my turn, your turn, wet, yuck, uh-oh, all gone.

Along with that you are developing skills of requesting, describing, and turn taking. Early two word combinations can also be targeted (my turn, more bubble, big bubble).  In the area of phonological development, the skills of initial consonants, final consonants, and two syllable words can be focused on.  

Why:  A child should begin to request objects/actions between 13-17 months (The Early Intervention Kit, Swigert), and begin to combine two words by 24 months.  Also, while it is important for a child to learn nouns (names of people/things), he should also learn other parts of speech including action words (verbs) and describing words (adjectives).  This helps increase the messages that your child can communicate. 

Turn-taking is an important skill as well.  By learning to take turns, a child is learning how to initiate social interactions with caregivers and peers, which is something he should begin to do between 12-24 months (The Early Intervention Kit,Swigert)

Fun developmental fact of the week:  A toddler will begin to imitate adult use of an object around 20 months (for example, using a rag to wipe off the table, holding phone to his ear.)  (Introduction to Language Development, McLaughlin)

Disclaimer

Please note that I am not compensated in any form for any of the products discussed in this blog. These are simply toys and products I have found to be very useful in my therapy sessions for achieving specific objectives. All opinions are my own! I have also found these, or similar items, to be products that many families already own.

Thanks, 
Leslie

Time to Sign: "More"

Signing "more" video

Baby Faces

What it is:  "Baby Faces" by Margaret Miller

Where to get it:  Baby Faces

Alternatives:  Baby Faces DK Publishing

Baby Faces Peek A Boo

What to do with it:  Facial imitation (wrinkle nose, stick out tongue, smile), action imitation (rub eyes for crying, arms in air for "yipee", wave hand by face for stinky), sound/exclamation imitation (uh-oh, yuck, mmm/yum, peee-ew, yay!) 

Why?  Motor imitation (such as facial and action imitation), preceeds speech imitation.  This is a skill that your child needs to master before imitating speech sounds.  In addtion, sound imitation comes before word imitation!  ("It Takes Two to Talk", Manolsen)

Practicing these skills while looking at a book gives your child both a pleasurable experience with you and with books, and gives him/her repetition of motor and sound imitation!  This also promotes eye contact and joint attention. 

Fun developmental fact of the day:  Children typically uses their first true word around their first birthday. 

Important: Please Read!

Please keep in mind that the tips and techniques shared in this blog are presented at a basic level to get you started in the right direction in helping your child with his/her speech. There are many factors that contribute to a child’s speech development, and the scope of this blog is not to address all of the issues, but to give insight at a basic level on how to help your child improve their speech & language as they grow. The information and links referenced on Easier Done Than Said are believed to be reliable. However, the content is neither exhaustive nor conclusive. It is intended to be used at the discretion of the reader.
Additionally, this information is not intended to replace the expertise and judgments of your speech language pathologist or other appropriate professional. If you feel your child has other more serious issues which may be affecting his/her speech, please contact your local professionals that will be able to work with you to be sure your child receives the best treatment possible.
Finally, feel free to print and distribute any of the articles or information found on Mommy Speech Therapy.com. I only ask that credit be given back to Easier Done Than Said and the web address (www.easierdonethansaid.blogspot.com) be visible somewhere on the page. Please be honest and do not copy any of this information and post it to your site or blog as your own.
Thank you! Leslie

(text copied from www.mommyspeechtherapy.com)