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Autism Series X: The Power of ‘Preparation’ (Part 1) The Power of ‘Preparation’ – Preparation is a big part of our lives. We prepare ourselves for our busy days, tasks around the house, sleep time or even work. For individuals with ASD, this aspect becomes essential for them to manage their daily tasks with ease as well as reduced stress and anxiety. Preparation is one of the many ways in which transitions (in routines) or changes (in the environment or behaviors etc.) can be managed better. What does ‘preparation’ refer to? ‘Preparation’ refers to any means by which individuals are geared towards a schedule/ routine, changes in the routine or even transitions in the environment. Why is it so essential? Preparation is considered essential to allow individuals to lead their lives better and function more smoothly in day to day activities. Several individuals with ASD prefer structured routines for this reason. Read more on routines for ASD here. Being ‘prepared’ for a simple task, such as the cutting activity allows us to be–focused for the task, aware of what needs to be done, able to successfully complete the task and have lesser distractions from it (such as the need to constantly get up for forgotten supplies). This gives an idea of how essential preparation may be for children/individuals with ASD How to ‘prepare’ effectively for transitions/changes? It is best to use a combination of visual, verbal and auditory modalities/modes. Here are few ways to prepare an individual effectively for a possible change or transition: Social stories: They can be made very visual (using a lot of photographs or pictures) and colorful, but should not be complicated or too long. A social story, if read before the possible change or break in the routine, can allow the child to be ready for it and thereby perform better and have lesser stress and discomfort. You can read more about social stories and how to make them here  and here The Power of ‘Preparation’ Schedule for routine Having a schedule for routines is crucial. This allows the child to be aware of all the steps or activities (for the day, the session or a specific task). The schedule is often a visual one (pictures, photos, written words, a combination of both) to allow for easy reminders of the tasks. Such a visual schedule also enabled a child to indicate completed tasks easily.  A ‘finish box’ is one of the ways to do so. Schedules should be placed near the child, or somewhere that is easily accessible. For instance, in the classroom, the schedule may be placed on the child’s desk.  At home, it can be on a board that the child passes by often, preferably in his/her work area. Similarly, in a session, it should be in the child’s view at all times (since sessions at typically only an hour long and the child has several tasks to complete through that time). Read more about routines – here Slowly introduce changes Changes can be very tough on many children with ASD. Therefore, preparation for it is essential. Making huge changes all of a sudden may not be a good idea. Hence, it is suggested to introduce smaller changes one at a time. For example, if we have a child who loves to play with cars. Therapists within a session, would not completely remove cars during the initial sessions. They would prepare the child visually about – how the car needs to be kept away, how playing with cars will take turns with playing with blocks, etc. Changes within our lives and daily routine are inevitable. Therefore we must introduce subtle changes, at times, for our children with ASD. They need to learn to be able to cope with this inevitability. The Power of ‘Preparation’ Be with your child. Be prepared, yourself. Allowing the child to calm him/herself in the way suitable for them, continuing to verbally prepare them as you go along, and using short yet assuring words, that you understand their discomfort but they must move on with tasks or the routine. Each one of us, during our times of discomfort, would like a familiar person around. It is important to remember this for our children too. Read more about the power of preparation in Part 2 of this article series. *** Liked the article? Leave a comment, we’d love to hear. Subscribe to us, to receive the latest articles from 1SP. *** The Power of ‘Preparation’ #autismseries #ManagingchangesinkidswithASD #preparation #strategiesforASD

Teaching Non-Verbal Children On The Autism Spectrum “It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge” -Albert Einstein Teaching Non-Verbal Children, The following article is authored by Ms. Alakananda Sen, who is now the Managing Director and Principal of Viha Primary School in Bangalore, India. In this article, she questions the common myths surrounding nonverbal children and also offers strategies to test and apply differentiated teaching methods for nonverbal children on the Autism Spectrum. Nonverbal does not imply incapable! I am not a trained special educator, but a teacher who is passionate about making the teaching-learning process a wonderful journey. The reason I am beginning with this preamble is that I am no authority on the methods and practices that are to be used for non-verbal children, but rather, I am presenting a storyboard of events that when followed, can create a beautiful learning story with these children. Non-Verbal Children for Autism When one hears and reads about Autism and its related difficulties, one is instantly worried about the case of non-verbal children . Here is a group of children who are widely misunderstood owing to their mannerisms. There are beyond ‘normal’ sounds, gesticulations, actions and habits that when the untrained eye encounters, the image formed is one of a child with severe handicaps, especially in the domain of intelligence and comprehension. These children will never see a regular classroom for the very reasons and will never be treated with the respect they deserve purely owing to the lack of understanding on the parts of several people, most of them, sadly, being adults. This is my story; this is the tiny dent that I would like to create in this unkind and unfair image that exists, so do give me a patient ear for a while. In my years of work with non-verbal autistic children, there were some cardinal truths to be dealt with. Firstly: These children may have the attention span of a toddler (however old they may be), so when one starts work with them, the assumption is that they haven’t noticed anything that was taught. Correct? Wrong, they do! And they do so much better than an average child of that age. The difference lies in how quickly they are able to look at and scan a demonstration, instruction, or document. Once that is out of the way, these children are waiting for our next step forward, which many of us omit, and tend to repeat till the child is bored stiff and does exactly what we expect him/her to do…throw a fit, scream, throw things around, or slide off the chair into the welcoming oblivion that the space below the table offers. It is unfortunate that, this is when we consolidate our claim of non-verbal children having acute behavioural issues. I am not saying that some don’t, but at most times, it is because we the ‘adults’, the ‘be all and know-alls ’ in the picture haven’t understood that they could have achieved the first objective of listening/reading/understanding with greater ease than we had imagined. Secondly: The level of comprehension and extent of a skill learnt by non-verbal children can only be deciphered when one has tried various methods to gauge that level. One cannot assume that the comprehension or skill set would be proportional to their extent of social and physical difficulties, or be commensurate with the standard objectives to be met for a certain grade or age. It is best to start with the basics and move up the rung sequentially, assessing at each stage, what works for the student and the extent to which the skills have been mastered, sans any assumptions or bias. Teaching Non-Verbal Children Choosing the very basic lower order skills of recall, and comprehension only is detrimental to the child’s ability to respond to challenges and only serves to severely hamper the child’s ability to enjoy a task. Teaching Non-Verbal Children The principles of Bloom’s Taxonomy to teach and create assessment methods, help me create lesson plans that have ‘character’ . A lesson plan has ‘character’ or ‘depth’ when it takes into account what the child already knows ( I would have tested at each level and gauged that), what the child has mastered and how we as teachers can raise the bar, so that the child finds meaning and reason in working hard. I don’t adhere to the idea that a child must only learn what has been assigned to a grade; there may be a number of skills that may have been overlooked if one followed only this and the unfortunate fall out, is a bored and destructive child. Thirdly: The amount of positive change and good work that a non-verbal child can do is directly proportional to the effort, patience and unconditional love a teacher can show to keep up and steer ahead. That is the least one can do when one has chosen to work with children with special needs. Any form of condescension and impatience pushes the child into a corner, the corner that becomes a safe place for him/her to not react or act anymore. It is heartening to see several teachers’ use differentiated teaching methods in their classrooms, trying to figure out the multiple intelligences their students have, but while teaching special children all these wonderful principles seem to be shelved.  We need to bring these to the fore. As teachers who want to reach out to every child, including that non-verbal little soul in the class, we must employ techniques that ensure we have taken into consideration, how the child likes to learn. Differentiated Teaching Strategies: This isn’t difficult to do. I usually use a variety of simple techniques. I think demonstrations work well as teaching modules and try and ensure that every new topic I do, includes a fun demonstration. One that is animated somewhat exaggerated in terms of what one can achieve with that activity and how one can reach a solution. The drama and exaggeration help catch the attention of the otherwise distant and distracted learner and the demonstration of how a solution can be found has usually been accepted quite well by my non-verbal students. It’s best to keep instructions short and simple and provide a visual scaffold of how and what one expects as a result. Just one example helps set the flow. Some non-verbal children may also have poor muscle tone, so a pencil grip is tough and challenging. In such situations, I alter their activities to include multiple choices, so I can cut down their writing. This gets me a much faster response to the tasks.  Sadly, writing, being the documented proof of what a child can do is often used as the only tool to get work done. A greater travesty I can’t imagine! A non-verbal child can think much faster than he/she can wield the pencil and that puts them in an awful state of frustration. We have no right to pile up hurdles this high for a child who is already dealing with so much. One should respect the child for his abilities and focus on helping him/her cope with their difficulties. Discussing their difficulties in their presence has to be avoided; they can’t speak, but they are not daft or deaf! Plans must be drawn up with clear insights from the parents and other teachers to get a 360 degree understanding of the strengths and difficulties, such that goals set are realistic and achievable and ones that help build the chi ld’s skills and esteem. I strongly believe that one’s self-esteem and self-image are a consequence of the love, attention and dedicated help one receives from one’s parents, families, friends and teachers. And since as teachers we share this one pillar of responsibility, it is imperative that we work our hardest at building the self-esteem of the non-verbal children in our care. In conclusion, I would like to use a line from Rabindranath Tagore’s song ‘ Ekla cholo re’  which is a patriotic song, dating back to 1905 or so. Roughly translated, “Jodi tor daak shune keu na aashe tobe Ekla Cholo Re” means if no one responds to your call then walk on your path alone. So dear parents, teachers and well wishers of non-verbal children, seek that path of helping children the right way yourselves, even if the system prevailing hinders that! If this article has inspired you, share it to make it a better place for nonverbal children on the Autism Spectrum Conditions. Teaching Non-Verbal Children View this post on Instagram A post shared by 1SpecialPlace | Speech Therapy (@1specialplace) #Autism #nonverbalchildren #NonverbalautisticChildren #TeachingNonVerbalChildren

Pointing: An Important Tool for Communication Pointing to communicate – Experts say that a person’s communication is not solely through ‘Speech’ or spoken words. A large chunk of it is via non-verbal modalities . Non-verbal communication can include, the use of body language (which also includes pointing ), the tone of voice, proximity/distance between speakers, facial expression, and others. Pointing is one of the ways in which the body can be used to communicate information and desires. The skill of pointing is an important developmental milestone that is learnt between the stages of babbling (i.e. the first few sounds the child makes) and saying their first word. As the research base about pointing keeps growing, it is becoming clearer that pointing is a precursor for speech and language skills. It also allows us to understand a child’s later language skills and learning. Is Pointing important? Pointing proves to be a good indicator of a child’s vocabulary and later language skills. Since it is the first communicative gesture a child makes, it also allows the child to begin interactions with the world around him. This is very important since it enables the child to draw others’ attention to them, interact with a listener/adult, get into a conversation and learn that they can influence the outcome of the interaction. Pointing to communicate What are the stages of Pointing? The skill of pointing is developmental and gets refined as the child grows. 7 or 8 months upwards, a child begins to understand and later use pointing for a variety of ‘communicative functions’. A child will begin to develop the skill of ‘watching’ others point (by a speaker/adult). Later they will begin to point. At first, they may use whole-hand pointing, and later it will advance to index-finger pointing. A child should use index finger pointing (to communicate a desire or need) by 18 months. Only with time, will a child learn to point to items that were present in the environment (but are not there anymore) or to items that are at a distance. Why does a child Point? Pointing is used for diverse purposes or ‘communicative functions’. A child may use pointing to- Tell a need or express a desire; so as to tell ‘I want.. / Give me….’ Express himself or label an item; to communicate ‘This is….’ Share an experience; in a way of saying ‘Look at me / Look at …’ Draw attention to something; such as to communicate ‘Oh oh / Oh no!’ Talk about something that is no longer present, which may mean, ‘Oh! Where is ….?’ What skills should I child have to achieve Pointing? Although the skill of pointing may seem quite straightforward and simple, it, however, isn’t so. A child can learn to point only with an amalgamation of several important developmental skills. These include – motor skills (fine and gross), joint attention, eye-hand coordination, eye contact (especially during shared attention), awareness of other people, language skills, object permanence (when communicant the absence of an item) and understanding of cause and effect. A child will slowly develop each of these skills from birth. Research indicates that the ability to – wave bye, clap and raise hands to be lifted up – are all precursors to using the skill of ‘pointing’. These specific skills allow a child to build on imitation skills, eye-hand coordination, ability to request for need, amongst others. When should you be concerned about the skill of Pointing? Between 12 and 18 months, a child should develop the skill of pointing. Look out for the following subtle skills and seek professional assistance if your child is not able to do several of the following by the age of 18 months : Looks towards what you are pointing at (which may be nearby and of interest) Attempts whole-hand pointing Points to an item of desire or want Claps hands (can be in imitation) Waves bye (can be in imitation) Looks for objects that are hidden (the child must be familiar with the items) Looks at items that are named (the child must be familiar with the items) Will pointing be different in a child with developmental delays? Each child with developmental delays will come with their unique skills set. An assessment will help define the child’s ability. Pointing, in these children may be as follows: Few children with delays may not be able to point. This may be due to several reasons, ranging from poor motor skills, lack of eye-hand coordination, inability to imitate the action, vision issues etc. Instead few children may learn to fulfill their needs or desires by themselves (by taking the item they want on their own) or on the other hand, have communication breakdowns (which may lead to meltdowns). Some may learn to point, as they develop the precursor skills for it. At times, children with developmental delays will only be able to use ‘whole-hand’ pointing to indicate their needs. Their skill does not refine to Index finger pointing until taught. Other children may learn to point in a different way – such as with the whole body or with their face/eyes. Children with developmental delays may not be able to use pointing for several communicative functions. It may be limited to pointing for needs only. They have to be taught to use it for other functions too. Despite the level of pointing skill a child has, a therapist can assist in developing the needed abilities to encourage pointing. This is an important milestone to get the child to communicate with his / her environment. It is wise to watch the development of the skill of Pointing closely over the first couple of years for all children. Such a crucial tool for communication and an important indicator for later language development must be given importance! If there is any deviance or delay in this ability, a professional’s assistance should be sought. *** Subscribe with us to read more about How to build the skill of Pointing. **** If you wish to know more about Speech Therapy, kindly contact us at  info@1specialplace.com Book a session now For more ideas check out our other blogs https://1specialplace.com/news/ #communicativegesture #pointing #pointingindevelopmentaldelays #ToolforCommunication

Everyday Items as Awesome Toys: BOTTLES You will find it amusing, that you don’t really need fancy, trendy, or expensive toys to do so. There are also other types of building toys, such as Magnatiles, that offer greater flexibility and different ways to build. In doing so, children can help bring their figurines to life. For example, they could role-play as an astronaut figurine and explore the dark starry sky at night with all the stars and planets. It also helps  children in communication, Speech and language skills, social skills and awareness about themselves and their environment. Bottle play ideas – The awesomeness of common items in play should not go unnoticed! In this series, we will explore one such common item each time and discuss five different ways to play with it. This article is exploring the everyday item: Bottles The activities in the article can use any type of (plastic or unbreakable) bottle that is lying around the house. Cleaned empty bottles may be spruced up by painting them or using masking tape. This can make it more attractive for the children when the games are played. Here are the games: 1. Pom Poms. A bottle with a small mouth is needed for this activity along with several small pom poms. The child is shown how to fit the pom poms into the bottle, till they are all over or till the bottle is filled (which ever is first). This is great to build attention, concentration, motor skills. The child can be asked to fill in only a specific color of pom poms into the bottle and thereby following instructions and understanding of colors can be reinforced. In an alternate way to play this game, the pom poms can be picked up by tweezers to be dropped into the bottle or small cut straws can be used instead of pom poms. This is a fun game that can keep a child engaged for long. Bottle play ideas 2. Pour ’em. Use bottles that are heavy bottomed and wide mouth for this activity. Use a waterproof red tape (electrical ones are ideal), a red permanent marker to draw a thick line near the mouth of the bottle to mark the maximum water level. Show the child how to fill the water till the level marked in red. Use a spouted bottle or mug to pour. This is a wonderful activity to build the skill of pouring, which enhances eye-hand coordination, motor skills amongst several other skills. Use this fun activity to build language by adding a level of pretending. Allow the child to fill water to drink for a favourite toy. Talk how the water is being poured and exclaim with suitable words when it spills. Alternately, you can pour sand into the bottles. Different colored sand may also be layered. This would give another aspect to talk to about the child and to allow him/her to expand on creativity. Bottle play ideas 3. Sensory bottles Sensory bottles can be quite calming to watch. For children, they can be used to keep them engaged or to calm them down. They can also become goal-oriented activities or a language building task. There are a huge variety of sensory bottles that can be made. Including ones that are visual, auditory or may stimulate the sense of smell. Visual bottles: Fill an empty bottle with colored glue (I like to use the one with glitter in them) along with water. Alternately you can use water and glycerol. Fill fun items that can move around in the bottle which may include more glitter. Children can shake it and watch how the glitter items move around. If you add some random small toy items (such as a small ball, tiny chair etc), this bottle can be used to build language. The child can play eye spy or try to label different items that are in the bottle. Smell: Smaller bottled can be filled with different ‘masalas’ such as zeera, oregano etc. Small holes can be made on one side (the holes should be small so that the masala does not fall out). A child can be asked to smell the bottles to describe the smell, guess what masala it is etc. Language skills can be easily encouraged through this activity. 4. Ring the bottles A classic game which is truly enjoyable for kids and adults. 5 to 6 bottles with narrow necks, small mouth, and a broad base are best suited for activity (such as plastic coke bottles). If the bottles are filled with some sand at the bottom or with some water, they are less likely to topple over. This would make the game easier and less frustrating for younger children. Rings will be used to throw at the bottles so that they land on them. The aim of the game is to have all the bottles with rings on them. This is great to build attention, concentration, aiming,  eye-hand coordination. If the bottles are of different colors, the child can be asked to listen to instructions such as ‘ aim for the blue bottle’. This will be a way to build on language and listening. Increase the difficulty of the instructions to make the game more challenging. The game can also become competitive if each bottle is given a point. And if that bottle is caught by the ring, then the child gets that point. Bottle play ideas 5. Bowling The bottles used for the game ‘Ring the bottles’ are great to use for bowling also. Have a medium-sized ball to play this game. Kids do well if the ball is just right for them to hold and somewhat heavy. You would like to get the child to roll the ball (rather than throw) to make them topple the balls down. Aiming, concentration, eye-hand coordination, perception are few of the skills that are improved through this game. Get a lot of speech and language going here, by commenting appropriately through the activity (so that they listen to new words and sentences), getting the child to talk about what s/he is to do, cheering and repeating appropriate exclamations each time the child completes bowling. The game aims to get all the bottles toppled by one throw. Taking turns is essential for this game. Social skills (turn-taking, commenting, initiating a conversation and other pragmatic skills) can be pushed through this game if a group of children play together. Bonus: Drum away This would be one of the easiest fun ways to use bottles. A cylindrical plastic box is the best with a lid on the top. The child and adult can take turns to drum on the lid. Since these drums can be carried around, fun marching songs can be played to a tune. Allow the child to sing along or vocalize to tunes played on the drum. It can build imitation, listening skills, motor skill, and speech. *** How have you played with empty bottles? Leave a comment. We would love to hear from you. *** Make sure to say and model as many words to your child while you play. Encourage your little one to repeat the words. Once they get an idea, wait for your child to initiate a speech before giving the toy. 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Toilet Training: An SLPs perspective Toilet Training is an important milestone for a child to achieve. Many parents would fret over this, especially when the child is getting ready to begin (play)school. Children are typically ready for toilet training around the age of two. A child’s physical and emotional readiness must be considered before beginning the training process. As a Speech-language pathologist, I see many ways in which speech and language techniques can be used to assist the toilet training routine. Here is how: 1. Building an understanding about the toilet and the use of it is an important aspect of toilet training. Several ways to strengthen receptive skills (i.e. understanding) include Labeling the toilet door. Use a visual along with the name on the door of the toilet the child will be taken to. This will make sure s/he gets familiar with where s/he is being taken for passing urine or motion. Preparing the child for toileting. The child needs to know what is going to happen when s/he is being toilet trained. This means, preparing the child by reading books and/or using photos. Through them, talk to the child about how everyone uses the toilet from time to time. It should also explain how to tell when one needs to use the toilet, and that one is to sit on the seat, wash hands and even clean up after an accident. Several books on potty training are available for children, however, you can always make your own and customize it to your child’s environment. Personally, I like making the book with the child and with photos of his own house and environment. Keeping visuals ready. There are several steps involved in using the toilet. It is easiest to have the steps visually available for the child to see while s/he is in the toilet. It can be shown through photos or drawings that the child can relate to.  Going over the photos/drawings before using the toilet or while using it, can be helpful to remind him/her what is to be done e.g. flushing toilet, washing hands, closing door etc. 2. While working on receptive skills, there is a need to have an avenue to let the child express the needs to use the toilet. It can be done in the following ways Teaching gestures. When a child is unable to use words to express a need, the use of gestures is quite important. Teaching the child simple gestures for ‘toilet’ can be one way to get him/ her to express himself when he needs to use it. It is important to let the child imitate the gesture, at first, every time s/he is taken to the toilet. Over time, the child may be able to pick up the same gestures and use it independently. Hearing words about toileting, often. The child needs to hear words about toileting consistently, whenever s/he is taken to use the toilet. This is important as it provides the child with the language environment needed for him/her to start using it in his / her own speech. Begin with simple words such as – toilet time, pee pee, poo, sit, flush, wash etc. With time, and as the child begins to use the simple words – move towards using phrases and then sentences e.g. Going to the toilet, Time to pee, Sit on the toilet (seat), etc. Don’t forget to use words of praise and reinforcements. This will be useful in the child using positive words him/herself. Using words of emotions. Many times, the use of emotional words is forgotten during the process of toilet training. It is, in my opinion, quite important to use these words – since a child may be feeling a lot of things. It may include words like – happy, embarrassed etc. Use them at appropriate times through the process, but importantly not in a way to ‘shame’ the child. By using these words, a child will start relating and then using them too. Allow the child to use words of praise which are modeled by you. Praising the little steps towards being toilet trained is crucial. For instance, removing of pants/diapers, assisting in cleaning up a toilet accident – all requires praise. I would exaggerate my praise quite often, during the initial stages of toilet training and then, over time, space out my praises and bring it in for using the toilet. Let these tips begin to guide the toilet training process. Good luck! *** Tell us what’s worked for your child during the toilet training process? We’d love to hear from you. *** Subscribe to us to receive more articles like this. #SLPinputs #suggestionstoboostskill #ToiletTraining #typicaldevelopment

Screen Time For Infants and Toddlers It might be a common sight to find mothers feeding their babies in front of television once the baby learns to sit. Additionally, screen time supports the need to keep the child seated to finish his meal if he or she is hyperactive and constantly on the go. These days, kids are exposed to digital media such as iPads and smartphones on top of television, making it challenging to persuade them to stay still for a short period of time without giving them a device. But how much screen time is healthy for your kid? You have your kids around when you come back home after a long day at work and switch on your television or laptop. It is almost inevitable to completely cut off technology from kids. But there should be a rule and protocol set in the family to limit the screen time in kids for a healthy brain development and nurture that emotional connection between parents and the child. According to a survey conducted by a leading UK based tech website- “over a third of parents (35 percent) said they use tech gadgets to entertain their children because they are convenient, and nearly a quarter (23 percent) because they want their children to be tech-savvy. A 2015 survey of 1,000 British mothers of children aged 2 to 12 found that 85 percent of mums admit to using technology to keep the kids occupied while they get on with other activities. The AO.com survey pointed to children spending on average around 17 hours a week in front of a screen – almost double the 8.8 weekly hours spent playing outside.” This not just hinders brain development in kids but also creates a disconnect between the parents and the child due to lessened face-face interaction, cause distress in kids and also hamper the sleep pattern in them. Impact of screen time on kids Certainly, overexposure of children to the screen has its own perils. One of my colleagues had once mentioned about a behavioural issue in his child. The child was 4 years of age and still did not speak and always kept to himself. Not that the kid has any issues physically, but it took them long to strike a conversation with him. It was after a series of long sessions with a child psychologist and neurologists it was revealed that the kid was exposed to too much media and screen. At first, the idea seemed quite bizarre to me since I never realised that screen time would have such a huge impact on a kid. People around me, parents and new mothers always handed their kid a tablet or mobile phone to keep them engaged while they carried on with their work. And of course, the kids learnt quite easily, browsing through apps and clicking selfies and was an interesting topic of discussion at the gatherings- “Kids are so smart these days!” But the pressing concern is, are these gadgets really helping the kid get smarter of doing an irreversible damage to their brains? Let’s have a look at how much screen time is okay for your kid and few tips to check screen time in kids. Infants 12 months or younger Mothers frequently find it simple to engage their children in digital media to complete everyday tasks and other work. When you are breastfeeding your kid, it is necessary for you to develop that connection and have an eye-eye contact to create that bonding between you and your baby. Fathers can involve in activities like reading the kid from a book or set a playtime for the kid which will enhance their cognitive and motor skills. Do not let the TV be the babysitter for your child. You can, however, introduce your toddler to digital media, not during the meals but for an hour before bedtime with videos that are educational and encourage conversation. Children of 1-3 years of age Children of this age can be introduced to digital media but only for an hour and under strict parental supervision. Cartoons are a big no-no at this stage. Instead, interactive media like Skype and Facetime and video chats with relatives promote healthy development in kids. However, there are certain checks that need to be done before you introduce them to digital media: Apps that encourage creativity. You can use an app that allows them to draw on a digital screen or match colours and shapes of objects, spot differences and the like. Make sure that the videos you play for your child and the shows you make them watch are of good quality and do not affect their eyes. Supervise the videos that they watch. The ones that have no content of violence or make some bad act seem good. Check the age appropriateness of the app and video that you introduce your child to. It would be great if you can watch the video and use the app yourself first before showing it to the little one. Introduce lessons through play; encourage kids to become familiar with fables or folktales that teach morals and virtues. You may also want to introduce them to videos of nursery rhymes and make them sing along with you. Limit their screen time to an hour and make sure there are activities for them to partake in thereafter. American Academy of Pediatrics The American Academy of Pediatrics in October 2016, published a makeshift report on banning children younger than 2 years of age away from social media to a new view that even toddlers can be exposed to screen time as “no screens during meals and for 1 hour before bedtime,” with specific guidance to parents and caretakers to opt for high-quality videos that will be easy for them to enact when the child is away from the screen. The key is to use technology with responsibility for kids of all ages. AAP and other paediatrics do not just tell you to hand your kid the iPad or laptop but recommend you to assist and mentor the child the entire time they are watching a screen to make the best use of the digital media on learning. It can also be useful for sparking dialogue and fostering children’s curiosity. Of course, parents should conduct their own investigations before introducing their children to an app or other digital content, keeping the video’s quality in mind. American Academy of Pediatrics reports In its latest notice, AAP, instead of recommending a direct ban on television for kids, have asked the doctors to guide the parents on “family media use,” which would help the families’ design the media use. The one hour cap does not necessarily include the videos your child may watch or app he uses as long as they are educational and helps in their brain and overall development. For example, your kid might watch a program designed for kids on science lessons and use an app that catalyzes their creativity-like a doodling app and then later goes to bed watching another educational video. The time is surely not limited to one hour a day but with the inclusion of intermittent physical activity throughout the day coupled with videos that helps in the development of the child’s outlook, the media game can be easily tackled. To make the process easier on parents, AAP has developed an online tool for parents to help them understand the importance of media exposure to children and also make changes in their household to incorporate the recommendations. It’s crucial for parents to remember the three C’s while picking up children’s media- Content, Context and the Child. Technology is something we cannot keep our kids away from. I take my daughter to a few classes and most of the teachers recommend some video or the other on YouTube. Sometimes these videos can help kids learn and especially children with developmental delays can benefit from them. Supervision and regularization are the key when it comes to screen time in kids. We would like to hear your thoughts. Please leave us a reply. If you wish to know more about Speech Therapy, kindly contact us at info@1specialplace.com For more ideas check out our other blogs #Developmentaldelays #digitalmediaforchildren #braindevelopment #ScreenTimeFortoodlers #speechdevelopment

Funtastic Play Ideas: LEGO Funtastic Play Ideas- LEGO: In each article of this series, five different ways of playing with a toy will be discussed. Let’s begin to explore the games and enjoy ourselves! This article explores play with: LEGOs LEGOs, which have been created by The Lego Group Company consist mostly of interlocking plastic bricks. These have been played by children and adults alike for many years. The company has created several variations and types of LEGOs. This article explores how to play with the LEGO blocks or the simple Duplo sets which include basic figurines and blocks. Typically, the first way LEGO blocks are played with is to build a tower. Here are five other ways to play with them. Let’s get creative: 1. Sort them. 2. Where is it? This game gives a lot of sensory stimulation while building language and attention. 3. Build a story. If simple LEGO bricks are only available, prepare simple items out of it e.g. toothbrush or house.  Allow the child to build a story with them. E.g. reenacting a daily routine task of brushing teeth by using the pretend toothbrush. 4. Match a shape. 5. Use your language. This game can be quite demanding to a child’s attention, interest and listening skills. The maze can be made more difficult or really easy based on the child’s skill set. Keep challenging the child to more listening and attention as required. Also, remember to take turns to allow the child to use his / her speech-language skills to give you (the adult) the instructions. BONUS: Stamp away! *** Hope you’ve enjoyed the ideas. Give us feedback. We would love to hear from you! Don’t forget to subscribe to us to receive our most recent articles in your inbox! Funtastic Play Ideas – LEGO If you wish to know more about Speech Therapy, kindly contact us at info@1specialplace.com https://therakonnect.com/appointments/book/1specialplace For more ideas check out our other blogs https://1specialplace.com/news/ #activitiesforspeechlanguagetherapy #activitiestobuildskills #fungames #LEGOblocks

Everyday Items as Awesome Toys: STRAINER Everyday Items as Awesome Toys– The awesomeness of common items in play should not go unnoticed! In this series, we will explore one such common item each time and discuss five different ways to play with it. This article is exploring the everyday item: Strainer Strainers are practical and convenient additions to play toys for toddlers and preschoolers. Although strainers are available in a variety of sizes, colors, and styles; use the ones that are currently available around the house. Here are five easy ways to use them for play while building speech-language and other skills. 1. Pulp to juice. A yummy activity to build attention and concentration. Language use regarding consequences and time sequences (now /later, first/ next) can be strengthened here. By using a variety of fruits, language skills regarding colors, tastes, likes and dislikes can be explored also. 2. Bubbles Galore. The child can be involved in making the bubbles, or bubble solution. If you’re building attention, allow the child to pop as many bubbles as possible and attend to the activity. The child can strengthen his/ her oro-motor (blowing skills) here, also. Use a lot of language words that are fun and reinforcing – such as words like- fun, exciting, create/ make, blow etc. 3. Fish it out. Eye-hand coordination, attention, concentration, task completion and language can be easily encouraged through the activity. Build a story around this activity to make story-telling and language building a breeze. 4. Sort ’em out. Strengthen your child’s matching skills, color sorting, and motor skills through this simple game. The same can be played with mid-sized balloons. Everyday Items as Awesome Toys 5. Color me. Teach the child the concept of colors, about creativity and build language about the activity, actions or colors. *** Have other ideas, leave a comment about them! We’d love to hear from you. Don’t forget to subscribe with us to receive our most recent articles in your inbox! *** Everyday Items as Awesome Toys If you wish to know more about Speech Therapy, kindly contact us at info@1specialplace.com https://therakonnect.com/appointments/book/1specialplace For more ideas check out our other blogs https://1specialplace.com/news/ #activitiesforspeechlanguagetherapy #straineractivities #therapyactivities #fun #fungamestobuildskills

How Storytelling Can Help Your Child? At a first glance We all love stories, we have grown up listening to them. For a minute, sit and think back, down the memory lane. Your grandmother must have told you a fable when she was combing your hair. Every mom would have recited a prayer and told you a religious story when you were helping her in the kitchen. The older sibling, for sure, must have scared you off with a horror tale, just when you were about to sleep after all the lights were switched off. Your dad must have narrated a biopic of a sports person when you were sitting next to him watching cricket. Be it books or movies or drama, there is a story which is being narrated to us through different media of expression and communication. Even as adults, to this day, a book or a movie impact us so much that we never know at which point of time our minds get influenced and our thought processes change, and our lives will never be the same again. Stories help us understand the world better, make sense of things around us and react to a challenging situation in a methodical manner. Why stories? When we as adults can gain so much from stories, Imagine, how much the young minds, with their curiosity and their natural inclination towards learning, can benefit from them?? A child’s mind is a blank canvas, if painted with the right choice of colours, it can turn into a beautiful painting. It’s like clay, which we as responsible parents can mould into whichever shape we choose to. Stories are the best way to introduce our little ones to the world of imagination. It’s the first step towards creativity. Kids love to imitate. So, when they hear a good story, they would want to imitate the character inside that story. Be it naughty Pepper sharing his toys with his friends or a larger than life Superhero trying to save the world, they imbibe it all. Stories are a holistic portkey to the entire knowledge which you would like to give your children about the world they are going to live in. Stories teach us how to face a situation – how somebody else faced a similar situation and how they got over it?  Relevant issues which children face like confidence, communication, stage-fear, sharing – these all can easily be taught to them when they are shown how another child in another setting is dealing with the problem in hand. The most important aspect of stories is and always will remain knowledge. It could be a knowledge of an event which has occurred hundreds of years ago or an event which is happening on a different continent. It could be a tale from a different culture or a struggle in a difficult climate.  Children have only to gain from stories, and nothing to lose Stories – myth away from reality?? When I do my Christmas workshop, parents come and ask me,” Is it a right thing to make children believe in Santa? That he comes down the chimney at midnight and keeps toys for the children. That he has a sleigh with eight reindeers pulling it in the sky. Why feed fancy tales in children’s minds?”. But looking at the other side of the story, Children are also told that Santa only comes when they behave like good children when they help others when they learn to give away their old toys to the poor. If Santa takes them away from reality, so do the superheroes. What the parents miss is that stories are a more dramatic medium to inculcate the right morals in the children. They derive their first role models from stories. As they grow up, children will understand the difference between make-believe and reality, they will outgrow the fancy tales which were taught to them, but the crux of what is good and what is bad is already drilled in their minds. Story Telling Techniques Stories can be told to children in multiple ways. Showing a movie or reading a book is the best way to start off with the whole process. Why not make it a little bit more interesting to them? Sing a song, play with puppets, make them laugh, enact few snippets? A little bit of art, a little bit of mess, riddles to crack, such fun to guess!! More the merry, more their involvement. More their involvement, more their interest, and thus attention. And once you get their attention, you can do wonders with them. Here are some tips for an engaging story session. In a Group: Children always like company. Storytelling with a group of children always works better than one-on-one. They emulate each other, and also picture themselves as different characters in the story. They would love to contribute to the discussion and talk about what they think that character should do as well as love making sillier expressions looking at each other. In short, a group is always better. Props: Props play a vital role in any storytelling session. Props are a visual medium through which the children will start imagining a story. Visual presentation works the best, especially with small children to gain their attention span. Make children a part of a story: Let the children enact a part of the story. Enacting is the best way to get the child into the groove of the character. Give them some lines, ask them to act it out loud with expressions. Depictions and Reflections: The story has to culminate with an activity. It could be as simple as asking the children to draw what they understood or give them a sheet to colour and talk about that scene or character. For younger children, you can also ask them to narrate bits and pieces of the story and pen down their reflections. When you read and re-read the reflections back to them, they will relate to the story much better. Summary: To conclude, the benefits of storytelling are numerous. And somewhere in the back of our minds, we all know that. The techniques are simple. All it takes is a dedicated effort from us adults to introduce children to the world of stories. Stories will shape them, mould them and make them better individuals than what they are today. This article has been written by Anantha who is a blogger with 1SpecialPlace. We would love to hear how you engage your children in storytelling. Leave us a reply. View this post on Instagram A post shared by 1SpecialPlace | Speech Therapy (@1specialplace) #storytelling #storytellingfordevelopingskills #storytellingstrategies #storytellingtips

Music & Speech Therapy: Building Language while Crafting Instruments Music & Speech Therapy – There are several ways in which music can be used to build speech and language skills (read about it here). Music allows a speech therapist to bring in a lot of fun into the session. The right song (or rhyme) can also bring enjoyment into the session (read about 8 fun movement songs here) while building skills. Music can also be brought into the session though musical instruments and toys. These can be bought from toy stores. However, creating a toy instrument can bring its own element of fun! Why use music in speech therapy? Music makes the therapy fun and engaging. It adds another dimension to the session, which makes learning language and speech a tad bit easier for the individual with speech and language delays/ disorders. It reduces the pressure to perform (to speak or use language) since music destresses the child or adult. Teens and adults in speech therapy would typically also enjoy listening to music and hence perform better. Science tells us that music has a positive effect on the development of the brain, language learning as well as reading skills in children. For adults with speech and language disorders music makes learning more memorable or relatable while keeping the sessions more relaxed/playful. Playing music on an audio/music device (such as a computer, tablet or phone that can run a music app off the internet) will allow access to a lot of songs quite easily. Why get crafty, you ask? Well, it is a wonderful way to enhance a child’s skill at many different levels. It can expand or strengthen a child’s speech-language skills, his/her attention and concentration, listening, and imitation skills. Additionally, you can customize the activity to suit a child’s liking. For example, build a blue colored banjo for a child who loves blue! This article will talk about how to create three different musical instruments. The activities would require some preparation and planning, but it will be well worth it! Let’s first talk about how you can get your child involved as well as build his language skills. How to get the child involved Allow your child to participate in each step of the activity chosen. The steps for all the activities are simple and short, making it quite possible to have the child participate easily. Alternately, you can model a part of the activity and the child can follow and carry out the same. You can place one or two of them while giving the child the chance to follow your lead and place the remaining two or three. Another way to have the child involved in the activity is by alternating steps of the sequence (within the activity). For this, make sure a visual sequence is available (that will illustrate clearly what the sequence of events for building the instrument). Take time to go over the visual sequence chart with the child, first. Then take turns and carry out the steps to create the instrument (together). For slightly advanced learners, you can keep two sets of the materials ready. This will allow you and the child to build the instrument in parallel. Each one of you will make your own instrument. You will be a good model for the child but allow him to be completely independent along all the steps. How to build language: Language building can be present throughout the task. Make sure to use a visual /picture sequence card to prepare the child for the many steps to create/build the instrument. This is a wonderful time to introduce the child to any new words s/he may not know. Use a lot of words relating to time and sequence. Words such as – ‘first, next, last’ or ‘now- later’ can be emphasized throughout the activity. Let the activity create opportunities for use of such language. The activities can allow you to generalize a lot of language the child may already know. For example, ‘Waiting’ can be generalized across several activities and steps such as ‘waiting for glue to dry’, ‘waiting for paint to dry’ or ‘waiting for mummy to tape the egg’ etc. Allow the child to learn to listen and follow instructions. You can direct simple instructions to the child, such as – “Cut the balloon here (on a marked portion).” and provide the items to allow the child a chance to follow the instruction. The child can learn a lot of receptive skills through the activities, such as ‘Understanding item by their use, colors of items, choosing a named item from a group’ etc. You can lead the child to learn the following. For example, if you want the child to know that you ‘cut with scissors’, then during the drum making activity – you can tell him “Now we will be cutting the balloon….can you pick up what we can use for cutting?”. This can encourage the child to pick up the scissors with your guidance. To make the activity more for social learners, ensure that you create independent instruments but share few materials. For instance, while creating the maracas, each child should get their own eggs, but the tape can be common. This would allow the child to learn social communication including – requesting, turn taking, waiting, initiating relevant conversation etc. Work on recall by allowing the child to talk about how they created the instrument. Now, let’s get crafty. See how to make 3 different instruments with an outline on how to ensure you are building skills: Rubberband Banjo. What to prepare? 4 to 5 Rubber bands, a metal lid/cap (mid-sized), glue, ice-cream stick, paints and stickers (or any embellishment). What to do? Place two or three rubber bands around the lid, leaving 2 to 3 cm between each other. Hold each rubber band in place by gluing them to the top of the lid. Glue an ice cream stick to one side of the top of the lid (as a handle for the banjo). Use embellishments (stickers) and color to customize the banjo. How to get your child involved?  Placing the embellishments can be the most fun part of the activity. Let the child be creative during this time. Placing the rubber bands may require some attention (and attention to detail). Assist the child through this, as the rubber bands can slip off quite easily. Speech / Language word suggestions: Lid, top/bottom, Around / next to, glue/stick, dry/wet, ice cream stick, handle, the name of colors/ stickers, banjo, music. Bottle drums. What to prepare? Empty cylindrical (sturdy) plastic or metal bottle with a medium sized mouth, 2 balloons, scissors, strong thick tape What to do? Remove the cap of the empty bottle. Snip off a little of the bottom (at the opening) of the balloon. Stretch the intact part of the balloon tightly over the mouth of the bottle. Tape the balloon on to the bottle. Make sure that it is stretched well. Now it is ready to play. How to get your child involved? Let the child build attention and concentration by cutting the balloon or taping it to the bottle. Speech / Language word suggestions: Drum, bottle, cap, on / off, balloon, cut, stretch/pull, tight/loose, tape, music. Kinder joy Maracas What to prepare? 2 plastic spoons (that can fit the kinder egg in it), 1 kinder joy egg, Tape, ghungrus (or small metal beads), Paint and stickers (or other embellishments) What to do? Place the ghungrus into the egg and tape it closed. Now, place the in between the two plastic spoons (see the picture). Tape them together tightly. Now, the macaras as ready to be personalized with paint and stickers. Let the child be creative here, also. How to get your child involved? Allow the child to build listening, attention, and concentration by placing the ghungrus in the kinder joy egg, taping the egg together and taping the spoons around it. Speech / Language word suggestions: Maracas, Egg, inside / outside, less / more, ghungrhu, close/open, tape, spoons, music Let us know what you thought of these instruments and what language you could build through them. We would love to hear from you. *** Subscribe to us to receive our latest articles in your inbox. *** #funwaystobuildskills #creatinginstruments #SpeechandLanguagedisorders #craftactivityforkids #speechtherapy

Tips to Engage Children Meaningfully During Travel Tips to Engage Children Meaningfully During Travel -Vacations call for happy times with family while you explore the place and enjoy being away from work and daily chores. We all plan well ahead of our vacations, except for the impromptu plans. Even till date, whenever I plan a vacation, I browse through various websites, people’s opinions, best time to travel and all the places out there which I can explore. These are some of the basic things that anyone would do as a tourist. If you have a traveller bug in you, you would go some extra steps to read about the place, its history, the cuisines and delicacies you can try out there and find out those places which remain unexplored by a vast majority of people. Travelling with children requires exactly the same amount of preparation. After all, your ultimate aim is to let your kid explore and enjoy right from the beginning of the trip till you get back home. Just like us, travelling not only expands their horizon and knowledge but also makes them get that break from staying within the four walls and all the comfortable places he has known and always been to. Travelling for children with developmental delays is a great way to boost their confidence and also help them explore and learn. Here are few tips that you can imbibe to get your child more engaged during travel. These tips work very well with children with developmental delays as well. Tips to Engage Children Meaningfully During Travel Set an expectation The most effective way I have felt is to let your child take a virtual tour of the place you are planning your vacation to. Show them the famous places and vacation spots of the destination. It will not only trigger their thirst to know more about the place but also set an expectation of what they might see over there. You may also learn quite a bit in the process and figure out what kind of places your child really enjoys visiting. Back in the days when we used to travel as a family together, my father used to tell us about all the famous places, monuments and the geography of the place; if we will be seeing a mountain or it will be a beach. It would just keep me imagining the place and all the things I can do once I get there. Now with internet being available to everyone and on the go, the process is even simpler. Humans learn a lot from pictures. So grab their attention by showing them the place and taking them through a virtual tour. You will see your kid being excited as you to explore the place once you get there! Read Yes! Read. Remember the time when you had visited Banaras or Munnar and how our parents would tell us all the relevant stories about the place? The historical background, the scenic beauty, or talk of a war memorial established there. So read them stories of the place. Let them know why you have chosen the place to be your upcoming holiday destination. It will not just introduce them to a world of knowledge but over the years when they grow up and start reading about the places in their books, it will be easy for them to relate and understand better. Most of the historical events or mythological events that I know of are all told me as stories by my parents and grandparents every time we travelled to a place of interest. These stories that you tell them now along with the travel will be etched in their memory for long. Moreover you can see your kid asking you questions when you get there with every place you visit about its significance. Plan activities for them There will surely be few places you go on a vacation where you can plan some activities for your kid. If you are on a beach holiday, you can carry your kid’s beach play kit along. Even if you do not have extra space for a kit in your luggage, you can engage your child in making sand castles once you are at the beach. It enhances their creativity and imagination power and also lets you relive your childhood memories! Include them in the planning If you wish to engage your kid during travel, the first step should be taken at home. Include them in the planning. Help them read a map, mark your destinations and let them plan their own basic luggage. Certain websites let children know and understand about a country they are travelling and they will surely learn few from these websites which even you would not know! Travelling is all about exploring and creating memories. Surely we cannot expect our kids to be as interested in a museum or art gallery as we would for half a day, but we can surely give them some background of the place and tools to help them get them hands on experience and create memories that will last them a lifetime. How to use Sensory Books for Speech Development #activities #Kids #travel #travelwithkids

Autism Series VIII: 7 Ways to Deal with Fluctuations in your Child’s Skills Deal with Fluctuations in your Child’s Skills, Consistent therapy for a child with Autism / ASD can help develop positive changes in his / her skills. However, there are times when the child may show fluctuations in the skills despite such consistency in routine. This can be tough to understand for a parent placing a lot of effort for the betterment of their child. Here are a few tips that can help keep you positive despite these ups and downs. 1. Spend time reflecting. First and foremost, reflect and ask these questions about your child and his / her environment: (a) Has there been a change in any part of the routine of the child? (b) Has there been an illness, discomfort the child has had to deal with? (c) If on medication, have there been any changes? (d) Emotionally, what is different for the child? Any parent traveling or a favorite aunt not around? If there is any significant change that is causing the fluctuation, it’s important to address it. If the child is dealing or is suspected to be dealing with any medical issue, a medical professional should be consulted first. Therapy is most effective when the child is healthy. For children with any possible chronic issue, consistent guidance by a medical professional would enable the child to function healthily. There may be times when there may be no concrete answers to the above- mentioned questions. At those times, it’s best to focus the attention towards points 2 and 5 given below. Deal with Fluctuations in your Child’s Skills 2. Talk to your therapist(s). If you’ve noticed a change in skill at home, bring it to the notice of your therapist(s). It is likely that they have noticed the changes too, but maybe spending some time observing the changes closely. At times, a child’s skill may spring back with time (and the continued consistent routine). 3. Troubleshoot with the therapist. Once you and the therapist(s) are on the same page. Troubleshoot and figure out a plan of action. You may be asked to refocus on some older goals at home. Do not let that dishearten you. Many times, a child can relearn the skills quicker than you imagine. 4. Keep faith in the therapists. A seasoned therapist will be able to provide appropriate guidance based on the child’s changes in skill(s). They would have an understanding of the possibility of fluctuations in skills for a child with ASD. When a parent and therapist work together through this tough time, a child has better chances of gaining skills quickly. 5. Continue the routine. Keeping the routine going is important for the child. It can include the sessions, activities at home, play time, daily routine activities etc. Such predictability and focus are quite important for a child with ASD to get back on track. 6. Destress. Despite fluctuations in the child’s skills, it’s important to keep yourself together and as stress-free as possible. Take time to de-stress on a regular basis since it would help you refocus better with your child while keeping your spirits and energy levels up. The diagnosis of Autism / ASD may at times bring fluctuations and uncertainties. However, regular therapy can provide good long-term changes. Some tips on how to destress can be found in an article here. Share with us how you have dealt with fluctuations in your child’s skills. *** This article is a part of the Autism Series. Read on to learn about intervention and other topics. Subscribe to us to receive the latest article in your mail! *** #Autism #fluctuationsinskills #TipsforParent