The Speech Path

While we are in the season that emphasizes the giving of gifts, let us not forget that the one thing every child craves is the thing we have the least to offer ...most days...and that is the gift of TIME. Two of my favorite words in the English language are the homophones presence and presents. We are in the season of presents but our presence during the holiday season is a more powerful gift. Want to make your child feel special? Put your phone down, turn off the TV, and do something together. Your gift of TIME could include: Playing a board game Singing Christmas songs Dancing to Christmas music Reading Christmas stories together in front of the fireplace (Don’t have a fireplace? Turn on the Yule Log channel on Netflix) Frosting and decorating sugar cookies (store bought cookies are fine!) Having a candy cane treasure hunt (hide candy canes around the house for your child to find) Hanging a small bird feeder near a window so you can watch the birds together (you can make a homemade bird feeder together by spreading vegetable shortening on a toilet paper tube and rolling it in bird seed; put a string through the tube and then hang it in a tree) Coloring together (a box of new crayons makes this activity extra special) Driving around to look at Christmas lights Decorating a gingerbread house together Decorating a wagon or tricycle with bows and tinsel and then going for a walk around the neighborhood Making homemade peppermint play dough (google the recipe...it smells delicious!) Scheduling a Zoom Christmas sing along with grandparents and other family members Having a Christmas tea party (be sure to invite all the child’s stuffed animals and dolls!) Enjoying a cup of hot cocoa together (offer chocolate milk for kiddos who don’t like hot yet!) and don’t forget the marshmallows! Having an indoor snowball fight (if you don’t have indoor snowballs, you can use extra large white pom poms from the craft store or rolled up socks) Whatever you do this holiday season, do it with love in your heart. . . . #cariebertseminars

The office will be closed December 19 - January 3, reopening January 4, 2021. Wishing you all the very best of the Christmas season!

This live event is happening now, and available to watch later. https://www.youtube.com/watch

Monday morning chuckle!

Let's talk about toys! LESS IS MORE :) As speech-language pathologists, we are often asked what types of toys are recommended for communication, language, and learning / cognitive development. Another very important question is HOW MANY toys are optimal. ... Research shows that FEWER TOYS promote better focus, creativity, and longer periods of sustained play. It makes sense that our child will be better able to engage with us well when his focus and play are sustained, and there are fewer distractions. Please send a PM if you would like the full text version of this (one of the more recent articles on this topic). https://www.sciencedirect.com//a/abs/pii/S0163638317301613

We can all be part of the solution, and celebrate inclusion and diversity every day!

This we know! Great reminder as we approach the holiday season.

In my pre-graduate school days, I was assigned as a volunteer to support students in a grade 2 classroom who were not yet reading. They were 'successful' with readers at the first 1 or 2 levels meaning they had memorized the carrier sentences and 'read' the word that changes on each page using the picture. I remember watching them gaze at the pictures as they read, rarely and sometimes never even looking at the print. I was assigned to encourage them using the whole language ...approach to reading - best guesses based on the shape of the word, what would make sense meaning-wise, picture clues, etc. Beyond kindergarten, there seemed to be little focus on phonics and little or no focus on decoding strategies. The readers themselves were not structured based on a hierarchy of sounds and words that were decodable. It didn't make any sense! This was a very long time ago, and these types of readers are still used in classrooms today. A return to science would help so many struggling readers, and those at risk. It is a privilege to partner with parents and school teams to help these children learn to read using synthetic phonics, decodable readers, and individualized supports to meet each child's unique strengths and needs.

A great opportunity for those who love and care for a child(ren) with Autism. If you are looking for a deeper understanding and a bigger toolbox, this free online conference is for you.

Quote from Jessica Matthews reads: Children's behaviour, their adaptive responses, do not tell us WHO or WHAT they are. Their behaviour tells us HOW they are.... When we respond with safety, connection and reciprocity, we get to learn WHO they really are and WHAT is important to them.