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Slow Parenting Slow parenting is a style which allows your child to explore, play and enhance creativity through experience. Often I see children carrying bags on their shoulders from a tender age, getting stuck to the routine of school and curriculum which is bookish. I also observe parents how they run to various coaching classes- swimming, karate, dance, music and the list is never ending, without even stopping once to find out what their kid really enjoys doing. In our times, when the first thing we did after coming back from school is talk to our parents and play for good two hours, make new friends, play new games and basically enjoy. Have You Heard About Slow Parenting Technology had not seen so much advancement then as it has today. And even if it did, our parents had strict rules for television. Mobile phones were a dream and who even thought of apps? Now I see even a seven year old capable of finding out movie ratings and skillfully operating a mobile phone or a tab. So while the kid in the next seat in a metro was busy checking movie ratings for an upcoming animation, I clumsily browsed through the internet to find out tips to grow a child more close to the nature since I wanted my child to thoroughly enjoy the childhood. And it was then I was introduced to the idea of slow parenting. What is Slow Parenting? While I read through it, I found it very much similar to the parenting style my parents adopted while bringing me up. And quite honestly, almost every friend we had back then was exposed to a similar style of parenting. Yes, it definitely had few changes in the dos and don’ts to suit todays circumstances, but the entire essence of it still remains the same. It’s the way you let your child explore activities to curb their boredom, develop creativity, and solve their own problems. Understanding the Approach Schedule: Make a schedule and stick to it with your kid. It is very crucial to develop one in the early years of childhood. Make sure you just not spend ‘quality’ time with your kid but also as much time in ‘quantity’. A schedule for the child and you will go a long way in parenting and helping your child grow up into a beautiful and confident person. Studies state that a child needs about 12 hours of sleep a day. While your child might enjoy that afternoon nap, keep in mind to indulge your kid in physical activities that would not just keep them active and alert but also help them get a good night sleep. Food Habits: Nutrition is of prime importance, not just to kids but also to grown-ups. And during the formative years of your kid, you definitely need to monitor the food habits and measure the amount of nutrition you give. Again, schedule plays a very important role here. It’s not just the nutrition you include but also the eating schedule. Tackle Boredom with Empathy: Just like we adults, kids get bored too. Even your hyper active child gets bored staying indoors on a rainy day. As a parent you will surely be tempted to keep your child involved in some activity to kill the boredom. Fair! But refrain yourself from doing it too often. Allow the child to figure out ways to check the boredom. It not only increases their creativity when they start using the items at home to keep themselves involved, but also makes them capable of solving their own problems right from the small age. Do not always plan activities: Yes, you read it right! It’s a very natural tendency of parents to carefully plan all the activities for your kid. Slow parenting encourages you to plan less and let the child explore more. So next time you are out on a beach or a museum or a park, do not direct your kid. Let the little one feel the sand and water on his feet, and then if he sees other kids building sand castles on the beach, he will follow suit. If not, do not be disheartened that the ‘normal’ activity did not happen. Rather observe your kid enjoying himself with the activity he finds his interest lying. Escort them, but let them wander and find them checking out items that intrigues them. Read a detailed blog on Parenting tips for working mothers Alone time: Much like adults, kids also wish for some alone time. Do not criticize or demoralize them by comparing them with the other kids and staying idle ‘doing nothing’. Let them lie down on the hammock and count the stars or watching the birds build their nest or the cars plying on the road or just simply step back and let them have the privacy to learn and explore things at their own pace. Avoid too much technology: When you are around your kids, avoid the use of gadgets or any other technology. It not only hinders their creativity and makes them lazy, but also delays their thoughts, speech and alignment to physical activities. While many parents prefer hyper parenting style to raise their kids, the others prefer slow parenting. Give yourself some time to think which style you would need. This article was written by Arushi, a mother and a blogger! #AdultLanguage #OnlineSpeechTherapy #parenting #Slowparenting

Articulation Therapy: Teaching P and B sounds Articulation therapy : The sounds P and B are bilabial plosives . The name ‘plosives’ comes from the way the sounds expel air when being said. ‘ Bilabials’ refers to the fact that the lips are used when the sounds are said. If these sounds are misarticulated, a speech therapist will assist in bringing an understanding of how the sounds are made and sound, then establishing them, followed by strengthening and generalizing them. 1. How are the sounds produced? The sound /p/ is produced by closing the lips firmly together and then releasing air from the mouth in an ‘explosion’ or with a burst of air. The sound /b/ is produced with the same position and movement of the lips and air, with an addition of voicing (i.e. vibration at the throat level). 2. How to establish the sound /p/? Several speech therapists work on establishing the sound /p/ before moving to the sound /b/. The child will be taught to make the correct lip and mouth action while blowing air correctly from the mouth. To establish the sound, a few fun games can be: Move the mouth like a fish: The child can be taught the action of closing and opening the mouth like a fish (see the image) . This helps establish the position of the lips and mouth to produce the /p/ sound. Slowly begin to get the child to say /pa/ when making the mouth action. Blowing raspberries: If the child can blow raspberries, get them to do the same to begin to form the /p/ sound. Initially, the sound would be a long /ppppppppppp/. Slowly let them reduce the duration of the raspberry to form /pa/ sound. Blowing a napkin: Take a thin napkin sheet or paper tissue. Hold it close to the mouth and produce the /p/ sound. Show the child how the air moves the napkin. Let the child imitate. Blow a flying kiss: Show the child how to press the lips tightly with the tips of the fingers and then remove fingers while swiftly releasing air from the mouth. This would be like the action of blowing a flying kiss. The child should be encouraged to listen to the sound that is being made when releasing the fingers. * Note: Before working on producing the sound, several times a therapist will work on listening to and identifying the /p/ from a /b/ sound. Take guidance from your speech therapist about this and how to work on the same. 3. How can voicing be achieved ? Voicing differentiates the sound /p/ and /b/. Once the child can produce the /p/ sound thereafter voicing can be worked upon. To get the child to learn ‘voicing’, a couple of ideas are: Let the child try to grunt and say the /b/ sound for a longer duration, as in- /bbbbbbbbaaaaaaa/. Slowly get them to shorten the sound. Contrast this with short bursts of /pa/. They need to feel the difference at their own throat . Get the child to see and feel voicing when the sound /b/ is said by the therapist/adult. Say the sounds /p/ and /b/ alternately so that the child can feel the difference of voiced sound (b) versus unvoiced sound (p). 4.  How to build the sound at syllable, word, sentence and conversational level. Once a sound is established by itself, it must be encouraged in longer utterances. Syllables : The beginning of which is at the syllable level. A syllable wheel , which is popular amongst therapists, can be used to encourage a child to say the sound with different vowels. This must be played in fun ways. The sound and the syllable can be exchanged, and different syllables can be produced and practiced such as ap, op, up etc. In Words: A word list is a great way to get the right words in the practice or session. How to build word lists (for parents), can be read in a previous article here  (Articulation therapy – Four go to materials). The words from the word list must be practiced in a fun manner and not only through drills. In Sentences: If the child can use sounds in words, then sentences should be targeted. The child should be encouraged to use words with the sound in short sentences, at first. Beginning with two to three-word sentences is great. Later moving on to longer sentences and even paragraphs or stories ones should be encouraged. For example  – These are sentences using words that start with the /b/ sound.   Blow bubbles. The bee took a bath in the bucket. The …… (a word that the child fills in starting with /b/) took a bath in the bucket. * Words and sentences can be practiced through books . If a child can not read, they can repeat what the parent or therapist read. The pictures can be encouraging for the child. A few books that can encourage the /b/ sound are – Brown bear, brown bear; Big bear and small bear, Polar bear, polar bear. In Conversation: Once the child uses the sound(s) well in sentences, then it must be strengthened within conversations. During a conversation, the pronunciation of the sounds must be listened to carefully. If the sounds are misarticulated, gentle reminders can be given to the child to correct himself/herself. If there are too many errors being made, practice in sentence and paragraph level may be required once again. *** There are several ways to build on these plosives. Hope this article provides guidance for a good beginning while building the sounds /b/ and /p/. *** Subscribe with us to learn more tips about Articulation Therapy for different sounds.  Leave us a comment or feedback. We’d love to hear from you. #articulationtherapy #speechtherapyideas #teachingsounds #teachingsoundspandb

How to use Sensory Books for Speech Development Sensory Books for Speech Development are great speech and language-building tools. Children find them engaging and captivating. Sensory books offer many opportunities for open-ended play. Read more on Sensory Books here. Here are some ideas to use them with children. Babies and young toddlers The focus here would be on activities which improve basic sensory awareness. For this child, we can plan a book which is colourful and has a lot of textures. Let the child feel these textures and understand the differences. This is a wonderful time to also introduce vocabulary to the child in terms of the colours that they see or the textures that they feel. Let them feel soft, hard, smooth, rough, wavy, grainy, squishy etc. In addition, some other activities could include feeling the texture of bubble wrap and trying to burst the bubble in the bubble wrap. If the child is a little older, you could make some homemade slime and let the child play with that. Using play dough at this stage is also a good idea. In both these conditions, the child would need to be very well supervised so that they don’t put anything in their mouth. If there is a fear that the child would ingest the slime or play dough, you can also consider putting it in a zip lock cover or balloon and then let the child play with it. Even something as simple as putting some flour in a balloon and tying it up would give the child the squishy sensation. Toddlers and Young Children At this stage, we can introduce those activities which would not only improve the child’s language but are also aimed at improving the child’s gross and fine motor skills. With a sensory book, we would be aiming at improving the child’s fine motor skills. These include fixing or removing items with velcro, use of buttons, clothespins, zippers, tying ribbons/ shoelaces, braiding hair and weaving. The language-based activities that could be introduced in this age group include body parts (through the potato head activity), some occupations (through the change of dresses), routine-based activities like brushing teeth, combing hair, bathing, eating; counting, animals, colours, vehicles, vegetables and shapes. Older Children Older children are beginning to think and reason. To develop this skill, activities which improve problem-solving can be introduced to the older child. For example, in one of my books, I have made a matching activity where the child needs to match the sense with what it is responsible for. These children might also be able to work out complex puzzles. Puzzles where they need to put together a picture or where they need to put together smaller shapes to make a bigger shape like a square (explained with a representational image in the picture below). Some basic mathematics can also be introduced in the book. In my example below, I also have two palms with fingers that can be folded. This can help the child through the simple addition and subtraction. The child can also be taught to tell time with a clock where the hands can be turned and the parent can teach and quiz the child about time. In one of my books, I have also introduced the concept of saving money with a piggy bank and a page on the popular game tic-tac-toe. Language-based activities can also be included for the older child. Here the focus would not just be to introduce higher level vocabulary, but also helping children form sentences. Story based activities can also be carried out. Some new concepts can also be introduced like gardening, weather etc. I have made a mailbox page in one of my books where the mailbox opened with two envelopes inside with notes for the children that I made the book for. However, the same envelopes can be reused by the child to write simple notes for the members of their family. This would also encourage the child to do some basic writing. Although technology has changed considerably, I remember as a child how I enjoyed playing postman! Books for Speech Development Books for Speech Development Simple versions of these books could be made at home with paper or felt and some glue. This is a guest blog post by Shruti, The Arsty Audiologist. Subscribe to Shruti’s channel here!

8 Tips to Improve Reading in Toddlers The gradual, ongoing process of emerging literacy begins at birth and continues through the early childhood years. It involves understanding and using language . During this period children first learn to use oral forms of language (listening and speaking) and then begin to explore written forms (reading and writing). Sorting, matching, classifying, and sequencing materials such as beads, a box of buttons, or a set of colored cubes, contribute to children’s emerging literacy skills. Research has shown that phonemic awareness is the best predictor of early reading skills. Phonemes, the smallest units of sounds, form syllables, and words are made up of syllables. Children who understand that spoken language is made up of discrete sounds – phonemes and syllables – find it easier to learn to read. Simple ways for parents to encourage early & emergent literacy skills in young children Books: It is said to be the most important in creating interest in reading in a child. Having a reading corner or a bookshelf is great but having books by the coffee table, in the bedroom, in the bathroom (water-proof) and in the kitchen (recipe books) will provide more opportunities to access books for young children. Shared reading can help children develop sound awareness and knowledge that print reflects words and vocabulary. Writing/Scribbling space: Having surfaces, black/white boards, that are readily available for children to scribble, draw, paint and write can help them practice motor skills required for writing. Story narration: A strong oral language foundation is one of the predictors of reading and writing. Bring the stories alive by using props, puppetry to narrate. Use gestures and facial expressions and vary the tone of your voice to keep your little one interested. Simplify and slow down as you talk to young children. Use a variety of positive responses when your child responds, expand on their speech and make sure you show interest in what they have to say. Make alphabet patterns with objects such as buttons, beads, small colored cubes. By putting them in a order, children gain an understanding of sequence of alphabets Name the common objects in your house by using sticky notes. This helps child in relating the word along with the object. You can read them as in when you pass that particular object. Alphabet crafts: You can try different types of craft activity. For example: Decorating an alphabet, coloring, Making alphabet cookies, Alphabet Pancakes. Sight words, also known as high-frequency words, are the most common words in our written language are are often difficult to decode phonetically because they don’t follow the rules of phonics.  Because of this, they must be memorized.  It only utilizes the lowest level of cognitive processes.  However, sight words must be memorized in order for your child to become a fluent reader. Book your appointment now For more ideas check out our other blogs #8TipstoImproveReadinginkids #Childhoodreadingtips #TipstoImproveReadinginToddlers #Tipsforreading #8TipstoImproveReadinginToddlers

Importance of reading newspaper Importance of reading newspaper-  Reading a newspaper with your child has huge payoffs. The newspaper can be used to enhance skills in reading, writing, listening, speaking, math, social studies,  and science. Even critical thinking is the natural outgrowth of using a newspaper to learn. Top ways in which Newspapers enhance your child’s language skills – Fresh and Engaging Information : A newspaper can bring a fresh perspective to a child’s learning. Information in textbooks can be stale and not engaging enough. While on the other hand, a Children appropriate newspaper can be a great tool to provide new content to keep your child hooked! Enrich Reading repertoire : Along with storybooks that children read regularly, reading a newspaper can help provide a non-fiction experience for your child. Reading a variety of genres in a newspaper can trigger creativity, mindfulness and critical thinking. Become a Better Listener : For children who need support while reading, a newspaper can really boost listening skills. This can be accompanied by catchy visual information in the form of pictures. As a parent, you can chalk out a time in the day to read out what your child likes in the newspaper and encourage him to listen and understand. Initiate Conversations : Newspaper reading is a totally different genre. Reading out or helping in reading anything the child likes can initiate conversations which can be original and rich in language. Reading newspaper can provide a great opportunity to connect with your child as it opens doors into enhanced verbal expression. Variety of Topics : Your child can choose what he wants to read or listen. From Science to News around the world, there are various subjects to benefit from. Oh, all the pictures! : Newspapers offer lots of photos and pictures which kids love. A picture is a worth a million words and it can tap into stimulating creativity and imagination in children. Ideas to Use Newspapers as Learning tools There are multiple ways in which you can use a Newspaper to build your child’s language skills. Spot New Words – Ask your child to spot some words in the article he just read or was read to. Depending on your child’s age and language skills you can make this activity exciting. Reward if your child can tell the meaning of any new word that he has understood himself with contextual cues. Picture Stories – This activity can be a lot of fun. You can ask your child to skim through the newspaper and find any 5 pictures which he can link up to form a story. This would rehearse many skills of receptive and expressive language. Friendly Messages – Ask your child to pick out any phrases from the newspaper which can serve as kind and loving messages for his friends or family. Some examples – ‘You are great’, ‘Let’s hang out’ “You are kind” Alphabet Letter Chase – For smaller children who are learning to read, playing alphabet games can be awesome. Ask your child to find words that begin with a letter. Set a timer ( say 1 minute) and see how many he can find. ( The child can circle these words with a marker, crayon or pencil) Search the paper – This activity can be great for younger kids. Ask your child to find some items in the newspaper. Some ideas – Sunglasses Person with a red shirt A cup of tea/coffee An advert A house Earth An animal A cartoon Something to eat Importance of reading newspaper Speak up – This is a nice activity for children who have speech ( pronunciation) problems. Circle words with the letters that your child struggles with. Write them down in a place and practice speaking them loudly. Use a mirror while carrying out this activity. You can even record what your child spoke and let him hear it! Label me – In this game which is suitable for younger children, the child can be shown various pictures in the newspaper and can be asked to give them a name. Pointing – You can encourage your small toddler to point to the various pictures in the newspaper. Learning to point is a great skill that a child uses for communication. I Spy – This is a popular group game which can be played even using a newspaper. Example – “I spy with my little eyes something which is round”. Throw in variety and enjoy this classic game with your child to work on listening and critical thinking skills. There can be numerous other ways to use a newspaper for your child! I would take this opportunity to introduce India’s only children’s newspaper to all of you – ‘My Paper’ My Paper is a monthly English newspaper which is available for yearly subscription. It is written specifically for children between 6-12 years. Paper serves as a wonderful tool to expand your child’s learning opportunities. It was started by Suraj Lokare and his team in 2012. It has more than 6K subscribers nationwide and is adding value to many children and schools. My Paper can reach anyone anywhere in India. “The idea of creating something valuable reading material for children sparked way back in 2003 when my son started imitating me reading my morning newspaper. I realised then that there are limited options for children to read on a regular basis. Of course, there were books, magazines, comics but a regular, consistent product was missing”, says Suraj Lokare. Born out of a great need, My Paper brings carefully crafted content to your doorstep. You can subscribe to My Paper from here! We would love to read your ideas about how reading newspapers is helping your children expand their language and speaking skills. Leave us a reply! 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 #newspaperreading #activitiesforlangauage #newspaper #childslanguageskills #Languagedevelopment

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: Bangles. Bangles are generally easily found around the house. There are many types that can be used to play with. The best are colored metallic or plastic ones. A little bit of sheen would not hurt, but having transferable glitter or even sharp studs should be avoided. Glass bangles are definitely to be avoided while playing with young children for the fear of breaking when dropped. It’s best to use bangles of the adult’s size when playing the following games, however, a child would love to try on bangles of their size also. Hang it. The child can learn about body parts by hanging the light bangle on different parts of the face. Such as – “Let’s hang the bangle on the ear.” Similarly the nose or around the mouth or even on the finger etc. It’s also a great way to teach counting, e.g. two ears, one nose. Everyday Items as Awesome Toys Use a Scarf: Use a scarf or a long piece of cloth and assist the child to string the bangle through it. String one bangle at a time. Count while stringing it. Once done, the scarf can be held on either side and the bangles can be ‘swung’ or else it can be held around the child’s neck as a pretend necklace. String it. Tie a knot with the string on one side of the bangle. Now wrap the string around the bangle, moving it in-out-in-out. A wonderful way to teach concepts of ‘in’ and ‘out’ while building the child’s concentration. This activity is easiest when using a thicker string and bangle. When the child gets more comfortable with the activity move to thinner bangles and /or thinner string. This will make the activity more challenging. I C U: A fun game is to look through the bangle. Play games of “I see you” while the adult and child look at each other through the bangle. Also, a game of eye spy with a twist can be fun. Look at an item through the bangle, such as the fan. Say “I see a fan”. Get the child to imitate and look at the fan through their own bangle. Fun to build labelling, attention, eye contact. Want to make it more creative? Stick together 8 to ten bangles and make a hollow cylinder. Make two of them and use them for the same game. Speak through it: Use larger sized bangles when playing this game. Put the bangle around mouth and say simple vowels slowly (a o i…). This gives the child the ability to focus on the mouth when saying the sound. Take turns with the child to place on the mouth and try to produce sounds. You can also sing a simple rhyme (Old McDonald) and play the same game. Everyday Items as Awesome Toys We hope you enjoy playing with these ideas! *** 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! *** 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/ #speechtherapyideas #activitiesforspeechlanguagetherapy #banglesinspeechtherapy #funinspeechtherapy #everydayobject

Pragmatic Language Impairment Pragmatic Language Impairment- Pragmatics is the corpus of rules that govern the use of language in various social situations, i.e. the social skills of language (when, where, with whom, and how language is used).  These skills are important for social, educational, and career success. Social norms have expectations for proper pragmatic usage in language, such as topic maintenance, turn-taking in conversation, eye contact, and providing the listener with information. These rules may vary depending upon cultural norms. What is pragmatic language disorder? A pragmatic language disorder may harm social relationships and social acceptance by others. Children with pragmatic language difficulties may be unable to vary their language use, may relate information or stories in a disorganized way or say inappropriate or off-topic things during a conversation. Pragmatic speech disorder can also be related to difficulties with grammar and vocabulary development. As children get older and more social skills are demanded peers may avoid conversation with children with pragmatic speech issues and therefore these children have fewer friends and are less accepted in social situations. Symptoms Difficulty with conversation exchanges Difficulty telling a story Difficulty responding to indirect requests  Difficulty with topic initiation Difficulty with conversational repair strategies (e.g. asking “What did you say?” or “Can you explain?”) Demonstrating little variety in language use Diagnostic Criteria for Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder The following criteria are from The 2013 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition, DSM-5™.   Persistent difficulties in the social use of verbal and nonverbal communication as manifested by all of the following: Deficits in using communication for social purposes, such as greeting and sharing information, in a manner that is appropriate for the social context. Impairment in the ability to change communication to match context or the needs of the listener, such as speaking differently in a classroom than on a playground, talking differently to a child than to an adult, and avoiding the use of overly formal language. Difficulties following rules for conversation and storytelling, such as taking turns in conversation, rephrasing when misunderstood, and knowing how to use verbal and nonverbal signals to regulate interaction. Difficulties understanding what is not explicitly stated (e.g., making inferences) and nonliteral or ambiguous meaning of language (e.g., idioms, humour, metaphors, multiple meanings that depend on the context for interpretation.) The deficits result in functional limitations in effective communication, social participation, social relationships, academic achievement, or occupational performance, individually or in combination. The onset of the symptoms is in the early developmental period (but deficits may not become fully manifest until social communication demands exceed limited capacities). The symptoms are not attributable to another medical or neurological condition or to low abilities in the domains of word structure and grammar. They are not better explained by autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability (intellectual developmental disorder), global developmental delay, or another mental  disorder. Is Pragmatic Language Disorder a component of autism? SCD is also seen as distinct from several neurodevelopmental conditions, such as autism spectrum disorder, that may similarly damage communication abilities (ASD). There are numerous approaches to differentiate between autism and social pragmatic communication disorder. People with autism typically repeat particular actions and frequently engage in disruptive conduct. These behaviours are not present in those with a SCD diagnosis. How is social pragmatic language disorder treated with speech therapy? Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are crucial to the diagnosis and care of people with social communication disorders like SCD. Despite the fact that everyone occasionally has social anxiety, raising a child with SCD can make navigating social situations difficult on a regular basis. One of the most successful SCD treatment options is speech therapy. Make an appointment for your free initial call now to learn more about this illness and how speech therapy might help. When determining whether a social communication problem is present, the SLP always takes into account cultural and familial variations and watches the kid as a whole. One or more of the following may be covered during a speech therapy appointment: Learning and using social behaviours Learning The Best Ways to Make Friends Education in Social Skills (greetings, introductions, conversations, humor, etc.) Playing games and doing other activities to practise skills like taking turns, asking questions, etc. Programming in groups Education for Parents & Caregivers Speech therapists are crucial to solving this difficult problem. Like with other communication issues, a competent SLP’s early detection can alter the course of a child’s social communication development. SLPs can significantly contribute to a child’s or adolescent’s ability to succeed in social and academic contexts. Treatment Treatment for a pragmatic language disorder involves teaching appropriate strategies for social awareness. Use role play to help your child understand appropriate language use in various social situations such as school, church, the library, a party, etc. Create scenarios for your child and help them learn how to respond in a socially appropriate manner. Discuss with your child various ways of requesting, such as polite (May I have a drink?) versus impolite (Give me a drink NOW) and direct (Shut up) versus indirect (Would you mind talking in a quieter voice?). Discuss with your child why some ways of asking or requesting something might be more persuasive and appropriate than others. Work on general conversation and storytelling with your child. Use pictures, objects or a story outline to enhance visual cues for storytelling.  Read and discuss: Read a book with your child, asking and encouraging open-ended questions such as “what do you think about what he did?” Talk about the feelings: Books and stories provide a great opportunity to talk about feelings. Suggest why you think a character in a story is behaving or feeling a particular way. Try extending this to real-life situations, privately discussing what a friend or sibling might be feeling and why. What’s next? Have your child try to predict what will happen next in a story. Help him locate the clues. Or work backwards. Once an event happens, go back and figure out the clues leading up to the event. Take, for example, a picture of spilled milk and food on the floor; ask what might have happened. Introduce your child to popular, developmentally appropriate shows and public figures so he can join related conversations with friends and classmates. Plan structured play dates. Begin with just one friend at a time and have a planned activity with a time limit – say, 60 to 90 minutes to start. Please leave us a reply if you found this post useful.  Subscribe here for more information! #CommunicationDisorder #earlydevelopmental #PragmaticLanguageImpairment #SocialCommunicationDisorder

Learning To Talk With Sensory Books When it comes to promoting speech development in children, multisensory stimulation works wonderfully. These days multi-sensory books are very popular among parents and Speech Therapists alike. Be it pop up books, sliding books, touch and feel books,  sound books, game books or digital books, all serve as fantastic tools to work on a child’s language and listening skills. A relatively new and exciting series of books called Sensory Books or Quiet books which are made out of cloth (and felt, buttons, strings, yarn etc.) grabbed my attention. While learning to talk, a child uses various pre-linguistic skills( attention span/joint attention) and a set of listening and receptive language skills. Sensory Books can be great tools to help children with all these skills. Using these books, a parent or therapist can work on most of these target areas. Here are some benefits of Sensory Books. Engaging : These books are engaging and entice the child to participate. They are like interactive stories which have to be completed. Attention Building : Sensory books can captivate a child’s attention. Multi-Sense Stimulation : With the visual, tactile, auditory and kinesthetic inputs, a child gets to work various skills at a time. Sitting Tolerance : With enhanced attention, a child using a sensory book is more liable to sit for longer durations. Vocabulary Building : Using sensory books, you can build your child’s verbal vocabulary. Enrich Language : With these books, one can introduce or revise various language concepts like colours, numbers, shapes, prepositions, pronouns, categories, adjectives, inferencing etc. Fine Motor Work : These books provide opportunities to enhance fine motor skills in children. The intricate tasks of undoing a velcro piece or braiding a doll’s hair, or buttoning a shirt,  are all great for fine motor skill development. Problem Solving tools : Activities in these books can sharpen your child’s cognition and problem-solving skills. Instil Imagination & Creativity : Sensory books can tune up a child’s imagination by presenting beautiful tasks in a challenging way. Great for toddlers : Most parents like that these books don’t tear easily. Hence they can be perfect tools for toddlers Travel buddy : These books can keep your child engaged while travelling. They can learn to talk and practice even when on the go. About Artsy Audiologist Through this article, I would also like to introduce my colleague Shruti, who calls herself The Artsy Audiologist . She hand creates some amazing Sensory/ Quiet Books for children. She even uses these books with children having speech & language delays in her therapy interactions. Shruti has crafted captivating and unique sensory books which were appreciated by everyone in her circle. She has tried using these sensory books in her pediatric therapy programs and the kids loved them. She now aims to make more of such Sensory books which can target various goals in therapy. “I decided to do a trial run with some patients. I carefully took the components I have made so far to my sessions and started using them. They became an instant hit with the kids. It is then I fully realized how children enjoy these kinds of sensory activities, which involve actual touching, feeling, seeing, moving etc.” Shruti says.  Here is a peep into one of the popular Sensory Books that she crafted for Speech-Language Therapy. You can see video on Artsy Audiologist These books are a hit with all children. They can especially be helpful for children who have attention difficulties, like ASD and ADHD/ADD. They can also serve as great learning tools for children with language delays. Please leave a reply if you like this post! Subscribe HERE to get more such awesome ideas straight into your mailbox. #speechlanguagetool #speechlanguageactivity #learnwithsensorybooks #sensorybook #speechdevelopment

WHAT IS A CALM DOWN BOX? We have all been in situations where our kid is having a meltdown. It can be at home, or in the supermarket or really anywhere! That is a moment when you as a parent feel helpless to see your child crying or screaming and that is when you and your kid will find a lot of solace by this Pandora’s box also called as calm down box. A calm down box contains all those tools that can help your child soothe their senses and calms them down. And it works wonders for all kinds of behavioral issues like anger outbursts and anxiety as well. Instead of punishing children for having a lack of control over their emotions, a Calm Down Box encourages children to learn how to cope and gives them strategies to enable them to be the boss of their own emotions. It doesn’t promote shame over feeling emotions and it doesn’t punish, either. The idea of a Calm Down Box is that when a child is feeling intense anger or frustration, they are encouraged to take some time and use the tools within the box to self-regulate and calm down effectively. Calm Down Boxes can be created inexpensively, often with things parents already have at home. So what exactly to put in a calm down box? Lets find out! ITEMS THAT PROVIDE PRORIOCEPTIVE SUPPORT Weighted lap cushion or weighted stuffed animal weighted weight or pressure vest stretchy resistance bands sensory tunnel mini massager body sock body blanket ITEMS TO SQUEEZE AND KEEP HANDS BUSY Rubik’s cube Play Dough Stress Balls Bubble Wrap ITEMS FOR BREATHING AND RELAXING Bottle of bubbles Pinwheel Straws and Cotton Balls ITEMS TO GET KIDS MOVING Yoga activity cards Skipping rope ITEMS FOR AUDITORY SENSORY SUPPORT Noise cancelling headphones Audio books ITEMS FOR OLFACTORY SENSORY SUPPORT Calming essential oils Smelling bottles/ soap Potpourri ITEMSORAL MOTOR SUPPORT Chew toy Chewing gums Lollipops Snacks with different textures Whistle Harmonica Party blower. If you wish to know more about Speech Therapy, kindly contact us at info@1specialplace.com

De-stressing for Parents Special needs children to require special parents who have immeasurable amounts of pressure and stress. The mundane daily tasks and taking care of your children can often weigh down the parents and takes a toll on the marriage, social life, and mental health in general. Almost always, these feelings are also accompanied by guilt for feeling sad or tired. As parents, we often forget to take care of ourselves and as a result we end up burnt out. Most important thing for parents to remember is that if they as caregivers are not mentally healthy, they won’t be able to provide proper care for their kids. Hence, it’s important to value your health and take care of yourself for yourself and the children. 1. Join or create a support group for like-minded parents. Having a child with issues can be very isolating. Few stress-relievers are as effective as hearing other people share their story or receiving support from someone who knows exactly what you’re going through. Support groups can meet in someone’s home, online or at a local house of worship, and if there aren’t any groups in your area already, start one yourself! It is empowering to take control, and you’ll help others in the process. De-stressing for Parents 2. Try yoga or meditation. Simply being conscious of slowing down your breathing can make you healthier, calmer and more capable of seeing things clearly. The added benefit is that you’ll also get fit, giving you more physical energy, which also helps with stress. 3. Take a break You may not be able to avoid all the stress, but you can get away for just a few minutes to feel less overwhelmed. Giving yourself permission to take a brief “stress break” is often enough to decompress or just give a new perspective. This can include: Taking a Mommy time out: Put up a “do not disturb” sign on your bedroom door. Listen to relaxing music or plant a picture in your mind of a soothing place. Take five minutes to decompress. Give permission to “take ten”: Let everyone in your family know it’s OK to walk away until they can get back in control. Some families create a family signal such as using an umpire “Time Out” hand gesture that means that the person needs to decompress. 4. Create solutions for your “hot” times Stress mounts for moms at predictable times, such as in the morning when everyone is dashing to get out the door or at that dinner time witching hour. Identify when you are most irritable, and find a simple way to curb the friction during that “hot” time. For instance: If mornings are stressful because your kid can’t decide (or find) what to wear: lay clothes out the night before. If your car pool is frantic because you can’t find your keys, make an extra set. De-stressing for Parents 5. Learn deep breathing Deep abdominal breathing, meditation, and prayer are proven to help moderate stress and help the body relax. Best yet, you can also teach the tension-relieving strategies to your kids! How to start: Inhale slowly to a count of five, pause for two counts, and then slowly breathe out the same way, again counting to five. Repeating the sequence creates maximum relaxation. (Using bubble blowers or pinwheels helps younger kids learn to take slow deep breaths to blow “meanies” away.) Try elevator breathing. Close your eyes, slowly breathe out three times, then imagine you’re in an elevator on the top of a very tall building. Press the button for the first floor and watch the buttons for each level slowly light up as the elevator goes down. As the elevator descends, your stress fades away. De-stressing for Parents 6. Exercise together The research is growing that exercise keeps stress at bay whether it’s walking, bike riding, swimming, playing basketball or something else. The trick is finding the type you enjoy. Best yet, find a strategy to do with your kids so everyone benefits. Just walk: Walk alone, with your kids or find one other mom to join for a short walk each day. Ride off the tension: There is nothing like riding bikes with your kids. Dance stress away: A ten-minute spontaneous dance session with your kids is a great tension reliever whether the music is a nursery rhyme or your favorite Bollywood number. 6. Take time to laugh The American Psychological Association reports that stressed people often hold a lot of stress in their faces. Laughs, smiles and giggles can help relieve some of that tension. So when is the last time you belted out a good, long belly laugh with your kids? Find ways to bring a little more fun into your life to curb stress and create fun family memories.  De-stressing for Parents 7. Be spontaneous Celebrate the dog’s birthday by baking him a cake. Eat dinner in reverse. Tape a dollar bill to the garbage can (and don’t say anything about it) to see who will take out the trash. Go for dates with your better half. It can be just having some coffee together or watching a movie or even a short walk. These things will go a long way. Just have fun! If you wish to know more about Speech Therapy, kindly contact us at info@1specialplace.com Book your appointment now For more ideas check out our other related blogs View this post on Instagram A post shared by 1SpecialPlace | Speech Therapy (@1specialplace)

Articulation Therapy: Four Go-To Materials Articulation Therapy – The inability to pronounce sounds correctly in speech can be corrected through articulation therapy. It must be multisensorial as well as fun! ( Read more about these basics in the article here ). However, it requires precision of placement, good coordination and movement of articulators. There are several items that would make an articulation therapy effective yet interesting. When saying each slowly, think about where your lips and tongue are positioned and what they are doing. Also, try to feel where the air from your throat is going while saying each sound. My four go-to materials for articulation therapy are: 1. Mirror The power of a mirror cannot be undermined in articulation therapy! It provides good feedback to the child/individual about the placement of the articulators. I’d like to have mirrors of different sizes available. Small ones that can be used under the nose help to get the child to see the mist on it forming from nasal sounds (like /n/). Mid-sized ones are useful to show the mouth or whole face during the production of the sound. This is the most important mirror and is a must when working on therapy. A large one for the whole body when we are having a lot of movement fun but also are working on sound production! Read a detailed blog on Articulation Therapy: A Beginner’s Guide In tele-practice, the use of a mirror is replaced by the camera in the computer or tablet. However, parents should use the mirrors for practice at home. 2. Puppets. These are a brilliant way to make a session fun and many times interactive. Puppets or even stuffed toys where the mouth can move are ideal. They help a child see the mouth movement easily. If a tongue is a part of the face, that makes it even better. However, many times just taped pink paper can do the trick! Using a puppet or a toy character that the child likes can be even more encouraging and engaging for the child in the session. Drawing board. A drawing board, (chalkboard or magic) slate, paper with pen or pencil are used to do several things in an articulation therapy session. They help to (a) Draw out tongue positions in the mouth, (b) draw the words that are to be said, and even help (c) create quick games. If the child is using the computer or tablet for practice, the drawing or paint app can be used between the therapist/parent and the child. In tele-practice, a whiteboard on the computer is mostly used. It adds another level or dimension to therapy since you can add board games to play or even colorful pictures from the net and then draw over them to create fun games while practicing sounds. A word list: After a sound is established, the next step is to work on the sound at the word level. A word list is created for the target sound (i.e. the sound that is being worked on). The word would have the sound in the beginning, middle and/or end. This list is wonderful for practicing the sound, and, it can be incorporated in games or used for drills. How do I make a list for articulation therapy, you ask? Here are different ways to do the same. Use the therapists: This is the easiest beginning for the same. It gives you, the parent, the idea of how the list should be and what it should focus on. It also strengthens the target sound in the words that have already been practiced in the speech therapy session. However, you must move from this list to others also! Build one with words your child knows: Make a list of words with the target sound that your child knows. Build the list with your child! Make it a fun activity. Take guidance from your speech therapist to know where the target sound should be in the word (e.g. beginning, middle or ending). For example – The parent can ask “Let’s say words that begin with sound /b/” – Child says “bus, ball, bubble”. These will then be added to the list. Add more words you know the child knows – e.g. brown, blue, bus. Keep the list with meaningful words. Preferably simple words at first. Move to complex ones, over time. Create similar lists with the sound in the middle or end (based on whether it is required). Making up words (meaningless words): To practice the sound, even meaningless words can be used. They can be such as ‘bup, bip’ for the /b/ sound. The word lists can be a lot of fun for a child if used well in a session! Online materials: Websites, Pinterest have a lot of lists available that can be used. You must ensure that the list remains useful for the child, relevant to the understanding of the child as well as fun! Word lists are used to teach the sound beyond syllable level. There would be a need to practice along sentence and story level and then within conversations also. Words from the list can be incorporated at each of these levels. *** Articulation therapy can use many more materials. It’s important to keep it engaging and fun for the child! Let these materials be a beginning for you and the child! *** Please note that these are basic guidelines for articulation therapy. A child’s individual assessment results would guide a speech therapist for specific inputs which may include working on listening to sound and sound pairs or practicing specific sounds before the other (different from above) etc. Subscribe with us to receive articles related to Articulation therapy in your inbox! Leave a comment or feedback on the article! We’d love to hear from you 🙂 #articulationtherapy #misarticulations #speechtherapist #speechtherapistmaterials

Is Your Child’s Curriculum Brain Compatible? Choosing a curriculum that is a good fit for your child is an important and also an overwhelming task. Whatever the choice may be what’s important is to check if the curriculum or the way it is taught in the school is ‘brain compatible’? In other words, does it have (instruction) the brain in mind? ‘Brain compatible’ is the new buzzword in education, an approach of instruction that weaves maths, geography, science, social science and physical education together along with movement and arts. A substantial amount of research in the recent years through brain imaging techniques has gone into studying the brain in the context of learning in order to design more effective learning strategies. An ideal curriculum/school should give all students experience of learning in different intelligences so that children are able to make connections across subjects and be able to apply in multiple situations. The beauty of such an approach is that every subject is woven into each other. Here are some examples: Math has an intersection with arts (music and movement). In the Kindergarten, many simple songs incorporate many basic math skills such as matching, comparing, patterning, sequencing and counting. Fairy tales are a great resource for teaching cause and effect predictions and problem solving. Most fairy tales have a problem to solve in them. Indian Math Genius, an expert in number theory & Fields Medalist Prof Manjul Bhargava explains how the ‘laghu’ (short) & ‘guru’ (long) syllables of Sanskrit are applied in different combinations while playing the tabla or while writing poetry. He quotes, “If you are writing poetry and you have 8 beats left in your stanza and you need to fill it with long and short syllable, where a long syllable takes 2 beats and a short syllable takes one beat, how many ways can you fill in 8 beats with long & short syllables? There are 34 ways of doing it and it involves math”. Movement also influences the brain in a positive way and keeps children actively engaged and There are movement based programs such as ‘Kinderdance’ which combines kids’gymnastics, kids’ fitness and dance with educational concepts. Activities that enhance fine motor skills such as knitting, crocheting develops the finger sense which in turn develops the overall brain capacity. It is not just about making learning fun! Parents often exclaim, “What’s happening? Is this all required? Where is learning to happen amidst these activities” and so on. That is because we tend to measure a child’s abilities quantitatively and not qualitatively. So, the point here is not to simply make learning fun without proper goals in place. Imparting instructions in a way that appeals to children and at the same time design programs that are based on empirical evidence drawn from brain research is the key to effective learning/teaching. Core elements of a brain-compatible classroom: Absence of threat – excess fear and stress impairs brain’s access to critical and creative thinking. Collaboration with peers– enhances basic intrinsic nature of students wanting to question, discuss, argue and share. Immediate feedback– Positive feedback for the development of a good self-concept and healthy self esteem. Meaningful content-helping students see why it is worth learning, enhancing intrinsic motivation. Opportunity to make choices-using multiple intelligences and differentiation to increase student learning. Pacing of learning-developing relaxed alertness that is the learner is put into a state of being where they feel comfortable yet experience a high level of challenge. Some questions for parents for reflection? Is the curriculum aligned to the developmental milestones and needs of the children? This is especially relevant for early childhood programs. In what ways and how often does the school/program facilitate novel and challenging activities in the classroom? Is learning facilitated in multiple environments? Are you sure that the students are challenged and not threatened? Brain-based learning is a growing trend. Schools are opening up spaces and creating environments in which real-world, hands on experience is at the forefront. Unleash your child’s potential by making a brainy choice! #BrainbasedLearning #BrainCompatibleClassroom #childsdevelopment #SchoolCurriculum