Speak Your Mind
900 Guelph St, Unit 201 N2H5Z6 Kitchener, ON, Canada

As we head into a week of distance learning that is new for some students, please be mindful that if it is challenging, your child will not fall behind. "Kids are resilient. They will be okay as long as the adults in their world take them seriously, demonstrate appropriate levels of concern and support, and refrain from catastrophizing their educational situation" Breathe. Take pause. And make sure you get out to enjoy the snow!!

Doing with and for others Whether we have strong social interest or not, we have to learn to co-regulate with people, doing with, and for others. This comes nat...urally for most children, but those on the spectrum need numerous opportunities to learn these important functions. 1. Doing with others. Start as early as possible, do activities together (we-do activities), take turns helping each other, and share the experience of doing it together. The child learns to reference others for information, learn to stay coordinated in actions with others, share roles, and take into account others' perspectives. They learn to share pleasure together, problem-solve together, and share the feelings of completion and success together. From day one, engage the young child in simple play together, doing household tasks (cooking, laundry, cleaning, yard work, etc.) together, community exposure (shopping, errands, banking, etc.) together and recreation activities together. You teach relating skills as well as life skills at the same time. You teach the importance, value, and skills of co-regulating with others. If this is not done early in life, the child becomes too self-centered and incapable of the adult skills of working and maintaining relationships. As the child ages, these functions become more complex and harder to establish if the foundation is not laid early. Once they become teenagers, they often withdraw into their safe comfort zones, isolating from others because they do not have the skills to co-regulate with others. Relating becomes confusing and scary, something to avoid. Regardless of how smart and educated they become, they cannot hold a job or maintain relationships. 2. Doing for others Also, in the early years, get them used to doing for others and feeling their appreciation for doing this. Make Christmas cards and gifts together, making lists of what others enjoy (taking into accounts what others do and like). Do simple acts of kindness together to help others out while highlighting how others feel and appreciate the favors. Help take care of another's yard or house when they are ill or on vacation. Do volunteer work for others while highlighting the values of helping others. Also, spotlight times when others do kind things for them, instilling the concept of reciprocity. As the child becomes older, turn odd jobs and volunteer work into part-time paid work, learn to follow directions, meet the expectations of an employer, show up to work on time, and do things that are not always fun. Start small and simple, whether shoveling snow and sweeping garages and building up to more complex work, learning, and instilling work skills. Keep part-time work occurring even if attending college. The valuable lessons of learning to work with others and for others need ongoing practice. Earning a graduate degree is meaningless if you cannot hold down a job and be productive. We often do not realize how important these early experiences have in learning how to become successful, independent adults. We do for the children, cuddle them in their comfort zones, expect little from them, and avoid providing them the numerous experiences they need to co-exist with others effectively. Then they struggle in all areas of life as they get older. Start early and incorporate numerous opportunities for doing with and for others, moving from very simple to complex, first with you and then with others as their skills develop. Teach them how to co-exist in our social world even if they choose to live alone and maintain a solitary life. They still need to learn how to co-exist in our social world.

Supporting local is what it is about during these challenging times for small businesses. Help support our KW community!!

"Although they may seem like small seasonal changes, layering clothing, wearing mitts, shovelling snow or warming the car can actually disrupt a child’s routine and cause meltdowns."

Aaaaaannnd we are back!!!! We are all feeling recharged and we hope you are too. This past week mother nature has gifted us with gorgeous snow and winter filled opportunities. What a treat! We will be bringing some winter magic into our sessions this month.... Let's Go! Happy January!! We will be inviting new clients to join our sessions at the end of this month. If you are interested in booking we would love to talk to you and determine a plan!

Everyday activities and interactions provide rich and varied learning opportunities for young children. As an early intervention provider, I don’t want parents... to think they need to set aside special time to work on certain developmental skills with their toddler. Life provides plenty of teachable moments each day...and helping parents identify those moments is a critical component of routines-based intervention. Engaging and connecting with little ones can happen during the following teachable moments: 1 Social play without objects: peek-a-boo, pat-a-cake, singing, playing chase, hanging out time 2 Toy play: blocks, puzzles, play dough, balls, trains, shape sorters 3 Play-based movement activities: swinging, playing in the backyard, jumping on couch cushions, pushing child in the laundry basket 4 Meal preparation: gathering ingredients, pouring, stirring, measuring, scooping, mixing 5 Mealtime: setting the table, serving the food, cutting the food, passing the food, using a napkin, cleaning up 6 Family chores: taking out the trash, vacuuming, dusting, doing laundry, cleaning up toys, watering the plants 7 Daily routines: washing hands, getting dressed, getting diaper changed, getting the mail, brushing teeth, walking the dog 8 Story time 9 Community outings: running errands, grocery shopping, going to church, going to the zoo, going for a walk, going to the library Visiting friends and family (even if visits are via Zoom for awhile longer!) . . . #cariebertseminars #slpsofinstagram #instaslp #earlyinterventionspeech #earlyintervention #routinesbasedintervention #speechies #slpeeps #ashaigers #speechtherapy #speechpathology

Hey SLP friends. Do you know about this amazing opportunity??

Do you know? #JoeBiden #stuttering #speechlanguagepathology #ASLP #speech_and_hearing_matters

Speak Your Mind will be operating on reduced hours until Jan 4th. Please contact your therapist directly via email if you need to be in touch. We want to thank you for your patience, understanding, trust and partnership during this past year. We are so grateful to work alongside you. Merry Christmas. May it be full of comfy times as we snuggle close to those we love.

Speak Your Mind is currently seeking a Speech-Language Pathologist to cover a maternity leave position and carry a private practice caseload consisting of children ages 0-12 years for an 8 month period. The successful candidate will be interested in working as a team member to continue to build quality services within the community. Services are provided via teletherapy. This is an ideal position for anyone who has a wide range of pediatric experience, and is committed to providing quality care to the children in our community. We are striving to find a dynamic Speech- Language Pathologist who is engaging, energetic, and has a passion for providing early intervention and school-aged service via a telepractice platform. Working in pediatrics requires this successful candidate to be flexible, creative, curious and enthusiastic.

Our SLP Aren found this beautifully written story through the KPL library. Proud as a Peacock, Brave as a Lion. Written by Jane Barclay. The language used is wonderful and demonstrates how our use of adjectives, metaphors and similes can bring the story visually alive. (For families teaching from home, this aligns with the grade 3-5 curriculum for creative writing) https://www.youtube.com/watch