Besides the sheer “fun” factor, there are at least 5 very important skills you can observe when presenting a wind up toy to a toddler. Listen to this show to hear my take on why this toy should be in every pediatric SLP’s arsenal, particularly during the initial assessment when we’re getting to know a child, and as a way to “spot check” developmental progress as therapy continues.

Here are the skills you’re looking for as you play together with a wind up toy:

1.  Joint Attention

   Joint attention means how a child shares this play experience with you. Does he look back and forth between you and the toy? Does he watch for your reaction? Toddlers who don’t know how to shift their attention between objects and people often aren’t socially engaged enough to learn language. They don’t “get” that they should include others in their own play and experience. These kids may be described as “doing his own thing” or “super focused” because they have a hard time connecting with others, particularly when their attention is glued elsewhere.

2. Cognitive Skills

   Cognition refers to how a child thinks and learns. We can observe several important early cognitive milestones with a wind up toy, and the ones I look for first are cause & effect and simple problem solving. When children are typically developing, both of these skills are emerging around the age of 12 months.

   Cause & effect means that the child understands that one action leads to an outcome. With the wind up toy, I’m looking for how quickly a toddler understands that the toy must be wound up before it moves. Even if a toddler can’t wind the toy himself (and most of them can’t, which is completely normal!), he should somehow demonstrate to you that he “gets” the cause – that someone must wind up the toy first before it works.

   Simple problem solving refers to how a child uses first one option and then another to accomplish his objective. In this example with a wind up toy, a toddler might try a few different actions in order to figure out if he can activate the toy. When a child ignores toys or doesn’t try new ways to operate the toy, we can begin to think about how his cognitive skills are developing. Many times parents assume that a child who doesn’t play with toys doesn’t like toys, when the real issue is that there are cognitive delays and the toys and play aren’t meaningful for a child yet.

 3. Receptive Language

Receptive language means how a child understands the words he hears. With a wind up toy, you can see how a child responds to a familiar command such as, “Give it me.” If he doesn’t give you the toy as you requested, add a gesture by offering your open hand to see if he will place the toy in your hand.

Understanding simple requests such as “Give it me” or “Come here” or “Sit down” begin to emerge around a child’s first birthday. If an 18 month old (or a 2 or 3 year old!) can’t follow these kinds of directions, we know there are delays with receptive language, or how a child understands language.

4. Communicative Intent

Here we’re looking for how a child asks for help. Most of the time, a toddler won’t be able to wind up the toy so he needs  adult assistance. When we use a toy that a child can’t operate by himself, like a wind up toy, we’re naturally setting up an opportunity to measure how a child communicates.

We’re not necessarily looking for words yet either. Does a child look at you as if he’s asking you for help? Does he give you the toy before you can offer to wind it up again? Does he indicate in some way to you that he needs you? Even whining is communicating, particularly when he’s directing that “fussiness” toward you by looking at you or moving closer to you.

Does he take your hand and place it on the toy? Many times toddlers with autism will use an adult in this way. Although this is a red flag and is not typical, it does show that a toddler understands at the most basic level that he does need another person and it’s the beginning of teaching him to truly communicate.

5. Expressive Language Skills

Obviously as SLPs and other pediatric therapists, we’re listening for any kind of vocalization a child may use during your interaction. Are his verbal attempts words? If not, is he squealing and laughing? Does he use any exclamatory words such as “Uh oh” or “Wow”? Is he imitating any words you use?

If a child is nonverbal, we can still assess his very early expressive skills. Can he imitate any actions, such as clapping when you clap, and eagerly say, “Yay!” as you watch the toy move? Does he use any gestures, such as pointing at the toy?

Does he follow your point when you point at the toy? Although this is not an expressive skill, it’s very important diagnostic information. Many times children with autism don’t understand nonverbal communication, including gestures like pointing or waving.

Of course, this list is not exhaustive. There are other things we can begin to evaluate using a wind up toy, or any other toy for that matter! (Which is why I will always, always, always be a play-based SLP!)

• We can note a young child’s fine motor skills with how he uses his hands – although most toddlers (even those whose fine motor skills are fine!) will not be able to wind up the toy on his or her own.
• We can look at a child’s ability to attend and participate in a play activity together.
• We can assess a child’s ability to transition to a new activity.
• And on and on and on…

Because of how versatile wind up toys are, I own enough to fill a couple of buckets! Anytime I post about my love for a specific toy, my inbox is flooded with questions asking “Where can I buy that?” My favorite places to purchase wind up toys are the same places I buy other toys – Target, Toys R Us, Walmart, and drug stores like Walgreens, especially during holidays (like Halloween, Easter, and Christmas) since wind up toys are popular seasonal promotional items. Links from Amazon are included here for your convenience.

Beyond assessment, we can also use wind up toys to begin to treat a child’s delays. For some ideas for how to use wind up toys in therapy, check out this post with several of my Therapy Tips of the Week videos. Scroll down to #3 for ideas for wind up toys.

For specific instructions for how to use wind up toys and other familiar toys to address joint attention, early turn-taking, communicative intent, and all of the other social skills, you can get fantastic information in my book Teach Me To Play WITH You.

Hopefully, between the show and this post, I’ve given you some reasons to go out and get yourself at least a couple of different wind-up toys to use with toddlers. I promise it’s money well-spent!

More options I mentioned during the podcast:

My new favorites… so cute!!

There are so many things to target with a FUN animal wind up toys! I work on all kinds of animal sounds – especially with the dog – panting like a puppy, barking like a dog, growling, whining – and then of course the words “dog” and “puppy,” extremely important words for little ones who love animals!

Need a set for Christmas?

I love this bathtub set too! These also work well for me in the kitchen sink, a larger plastic container to use as a water sensory box, or even in a baby pool.

Here’s a set I just found. I’m ordering it myself right now because of the variety!

Working with a child (or you!) who likes things that are a little quirky? This set is for you!!

The post #270 5 Things You Can Learn About a Toddler with a Wind Up Toy appeared first on teachmetotalk.com.

The post “Red Flags” That Warrant a Referral for Early Intervention or Preschool Therapy Services appeared first on teachmetotalk.com.

ASHA course # 0380, Provider Code AAYF

Many times when we’re working with toddlers with speech intelligibility issues, we don’t know where to begin – or we start working on the wrong things and are met with little progress and lots of frustration! There are 6 developmentally-appropriate patterns to target to improve speech intelligibility in very young children. In this show, I’ll teach you the last pattern, final consonant sounds, to prioritize when working with toddlers. I’ll give you tips for explaining to parents why this pattern is important for speech development and how to determine if a toddler uses this pattern. In the last half of the show, we’ll also review the speech diagnoses that a child may receive when his speech is highly unintelligible.  Join pediatric speech-language pathologist Laura Mize, M.S., CCC-SLP for this one hour audio/video podcast.

Therapists – get CE credit for this course for only $5 – including ASHA CEUs for speech-language pathologists! 

This show is part 8 in our summer podcast series. Watch podcasts #373, #374, #375 , #376 , #377 , #378, and #379 for other important information for helping toddlers be understood when they talk!

LINK TO WATCH

Link to listen:

ASHA CEUs and Other CE Credit

A Course Handout will be provided with the purchase of the course. ASHA CEUs for speech-language pathologists… coming soon! Therapists… get continuing education credit for this 1 hour course! (If you’re an email subscriber, you’ll get details first!)

Course Description

This course explained the final of the six speech/phonological patterns to prioritize when working with toddlers with speech intelligibility issues – correct final consonants. Clinicians learned to explain to parents why this pattern is important to speech development and how to determine if their toddler uses this pattern in spontaneous utterances. Early target words and activities were reviewed for teaching final consonants to toddlers. Relevant speech diagnoses were also reviewed to aid clinicians in differential diagnosis.

Objectives

1. Explain to parents why including final consonants is important to speech development. 
2. Explain to parents how to determine if a toddler uses final consonants in words during spontaneous utterances.
3. Name developmentally appropriate initial target words to teach final consonants to toddlers.
4. Explain basic definitions for speech delay, apraxia, dysarthria, and phonological disorders to parents.

Outline

Final Consonant Sounds

• Explaining the Impact of Using Final Consonant Sounds for Speech Intelligibility to Parents
• Teaching Parents to Identify Correct Final Consonant Sounds
• Practical Ways to Facilitate Correct  Final Consonant Sounds in Toddlers’ Speech
• List of Early Target Words Containing  Developmentally-Appropriate Final Consonants for Toddlers

Review of Speech Diagnoses 

• Speech Delay
• Apraxia – Suspected  Childhood Apraxia of Speech
• Dysarthria
• Phonological Disorder

Summary 

Course Director

Laura Mize, M. S., CCC-SLP, is a pediatric speech-language pathologist specializing in young children ages birth to four with communication delays and disorders in her private practice in Stanford, Kentucky. She earned a B.S. from Mississippi University for Women and an M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology from The University of Southern Mississippi. Laura holds her Certificate of Clinical Competence from ASHA. She authors the website teachmetotalk.com, hosts her popular YouTube channel, and publishes a weekly audio and video podcast Teach Me To Talk: The Podcast. Laura produced a series of training DVDs for parents and professionals who work with children with developmental speech-language delays and disorders. Her best-selling DVDs and therapy manuals are used by pediatric therapists and speech-language pathologists in private practice, early intervention programs, grad schools, preschool programs, and continuing education conferences throughout the USA, Canada, South Africa, The Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore, Israel, Australia, India, Zambia, Greece, and the UK.

SPEAKER DISCLOSURE

Financial – Laura Mize owns teachmetotalk.com and The Laura Mize Group and therefore receives a salary, compensation for speaking, and royalties from teachmetotalk.com product sales and also receives revenue from the YouTube Partners Program. Nonfinancial – Laura Mize has no other financial or nonfinancial relationships with any author, publisher, or SLP whose work she recommends in this course.

This course is offered for .10 ASHA CEUs (Introductory level, Professional area).

REGISTER FOR COURSE

(Coming soon!!)

Satisfactory Course Completion Requirements

Participants must have watched the video and paid the $5 processing fee to obtain a certificate of completion and/or to have your participation submitted to the ASHA CE Registry. Once the $5 fee is paid, you will be redirected to complete additional information online required to award a Certificate of Completion which includes completion of the Verification Statement that you watched the video, Self Assessment of Learning Outcomes, a Program Evaluation, Request for Certificate, and an ASHA CEU participant form or your ASHA number for filing ASHA CEUs (if applicable).  Once all required sections are completed and submitted, you will receive access to generate your certificate which will be emailed to you upon final review of your submission. No credit will be awarded without completion of this entire process. ASHA CEU information is submitted monthly and will appear on your ASHA CEU Registry shortly thereafter. Partial credit is not available.

For Other Professionals: Upon completion and return of the forms and receipt of your $5 processing fee, a Certificate of Completion will be provided so that you may file for continuing education with your own organization or licensing agency.

For Non-Professionals and Parents: All course content is offered at an Introductory, Professional Level and may not be suitable for all parents or non-professionals. If you’d like a Certificate of Completion, you may also register for credit.

Participants who are dissatisfied should notify us by email at customerservice@teachmetotalk.com so that your issue can be resolved. We want you to be 100% satisfied with your purchase.

Questions? Email me! Laura@teachmetotalk.com.

Do you need more ideas for working on speech intelligibility with toddlers? Get my therapy manual FUNctional Phonology: A Language-Based Approach for Improving Speech Intelligibility in Toddlers.

If a child is an infrequent imitator, begin with strategies from Building Verbal Imitation in Toddlers.

When a child has difficulty with consistent social interaction, begin with Teach Me To Play WITH You.

When a child has difficulty following directions or has a limited vocabulary, begin with Teach Me To Talk: The Therapy Manual.

The post Podcast #380 Teaching Final Sounds and Speech Diagnoses Review appeared first on teachmetotalk.com.

ASHA course # 0375, Provider Code AAYF

As a therapist or parent, do you struggle when you try to work with a late talking toddler? I can help! Watch this podcast for 7 key principles for teaching parents to achieve success with therapy strategies at home with late talking toddlers, particularly for those toddlers with speech intelligibility issues.  This show is part 3 in our summer podcast series. Watch podcasts #373 and #374 to catch up!

Let’s face it… anytime we’re trying to direct a toddler’s attention and focus to what we want him to do instead of what he wants to do, the potential exists for it to go badly… as in bomb! This is especially true when we’re working on speech intelligibility. The very essence of this goal – changing how a child says a word – is somehow very difficult for the child, or else she would have already accomplished this feat on her own. Because this challenge already exists, we have to do everything we can to make working on speech intelligibility as painless as possible for everyone involved – the child, her parents, and the therapist.

The 7 Key Principles I’ll be explaining in this podcast are:

1. Keep it Fun

2. Keep it Real

3. Keep it Realistic

4. Keep it Meaningful

5. Keep it Moving

6. Keep it Easy (Enough)

7. Keep it Going!

Therapists – get CE credit for watching this video! SLPs – this course is eligible for ASHA CEUs.

LINK TO WATCH

Link to listen:

ASHA CEUs and Other CE Credit

A Course Handout will be provided with the purchase of the course.

ASHA CEUs for speech-language pathologists… coming soon! Therapists… get continuing education credit for this 1 hour course! (If you’re an email subscriber, you’ll get details first!)

Course Description

This course explained 7 key principles for teaching parents to use successful therapy strategies at home with late talking toddlers, particularly for working with toddlers with speech intelligibility issues.

Objectives

1. Define 7 key principles to parents for working with toddlers to achieve success with therapy strategies at home, especially for those toddlers with speech intelligibility issues.

Outline

Introduction

Overview of 7 Key Principles

Review of each principle:

1. Keep it Fun

2. Keep it Real

3. Keep it Realistic

4. Keep it Meaningful

5. Keep it Moving

6. Keep it Easy (Enough)

7. Keep it Going!

Summary  

Course Director

Laura Mize, M. S., CCC-SLP, is a pediatric speech-language pathologist specializing in young children ages birth to four with communication delays and disorders in her private practice in Stanford, Kentucky. She earned a B.S. from Mississippi University for Women and an M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology from The University of Southern Mississippi. Laura holds her Certificate of Clinical Competence from ASHA. She authors the website teachmetotalk.com, hosts her popular YouTube channel, and publishes a weekly audio and video podcast Teach Me To Talk: The Podcast. Laura produced a series of training DVDs for parents and professionals who work with children with developmental speech-language delays and disorders. Her best-selling DVDs and therapy manuals are used by pediatric therapists and speech-language pathologists in private practice, early intervention programs, grad schools, preschool programs, and continuing education conferences throughout the USA, Canada, South Africa, The Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore, Israel, Australia, India, Zambia, Greece, and the UK.

SPEAKER DISCLOSURE

Financial – Laura Mize owns teachmetotalk.com and The Laura Mize Group and therefore receives a salary, compensation for speaking, and royalties from teachmetotalk.com product sales and also receives revenue from the YouTube Partners Program. Nonfinancial – Laura Mize has no other financial or nonfinancial relationships with any author, publisher, or SLP whose work she recommends in this course.

This course is offered for .10 ASHA CEUs (Introductory level, Professional area).

REGISTER FOR COURSE

(Coming soon!!)

Satisfactory Course Completion Requirements

Participants must have watched the video and paid the $5 processing fee to obtain a certificate of completion and/or to have your participation submitted to the ASHA CE Registry. Once the $5 fee is paid, you will be redirected to complete additional information online required to award a Certificate of Completion which includes completion of the Verification Statement that you watched the video, Self Assessment of Learning Outcomes, a Program Evaluation, Request for Certificate, and an ASHA CEU participant form or your ASHA number for filing ASHA CEUs (if applicable).  Once all required sections are completed and submitted, you will receive access to generate your certificate which will be emailed to you upon final review of your submission. No credit will be awarded without completion of this entire process. ASHA CEU information is submitted monthly and will appear on your ASHA CEU Registry shortly thereafter. Partial credit is not available.

For Other Professionals: Upon completion and return of the forms and receipt of your $5 processing fee, a Certificate of Completion will be provided so that you may file for continuing education with your own organization or licensing agency.

For Non-Professionals and Parents: All course content is offered at an Introductory, Professional Level and may not be suitable for all parents or non-professionals. If you’d like a Certificate of Completion, you may also register for credit.

Participants who are dissatisfied should notify us by email at customerservice@teachmetotalk.com so that your issue can be resolved. We want you to be 100% satisfied with your purchase.

Questions? Email me! Laura@teachmetotalk.com.  

Do you need more ideas for working on speech intelligibility with toddlers? Get my therapy manual FUNctional Phonology: A Language-Based Approach for Improving Speech Intelligibility in Toddlers.

The post #375 7 Principles for Designing Successful Speech Therapy Sessions for Toddlers  appeared first on teachmetotalk.com.

How do you know when a toddler, especially a late talking toddler, is ready to work on articulation skills in speech therapy? Join pediatric speech-language pathologist Laura Mize, M.S., CCC-SLP of teachmetotalk.com as she discusses 7 guidelines for determining developmental readiness for articulation therapy for toddlers. To treat or not to treat… now you’ll know!

Therapists – get CE credit for this one hour course for only $5! See details at teachmetotalk.com.

Learn how to recognize, prioritize, and treat speech intelligibility issues in toddlers in an 8 part podcast series this summer. This is Part 2. Watch Part 1 first.

Podcast link:

ASHA CEUs and Other CE Credit

A Course Handout will be provided with the purchase of credit.

ASHA CEUs for speech-language pathologists… coming soon! 

Therapists… get continuing education credit for this 1 hour course! (If you’re an email subscriber, you’ll get details first!)

Course Description

7 Guidelines for Determining Developmental Readiness for Articulation Therapy for Toddlers

In this one hour audio and video podcast, join pediatric speech-language pathologist Laura Mize, M.S., CCC-SLP of teachmetotalk.com as we discuss 7 guidelines for determining developmental readiness for articulation therapy for toddlers. After viewing, you’ll be able to explain why each guideline is an important predictor of success in therapy for toddlers.

Learning Objectives

1. Identify 7 guidelines for determining developmental readiness for articulation therapy for toddlers.
2. Explain why each guideline is an important predictor of success in therapy for toddlers.

Timed Agenda

Introduction  0 – 5 minutes

Guideline #1: Age  5 – 15:15 minutes

Guideline #2:  Language Skills 15:15 – 35:30 minute

Guideline #3:  Social Interaction Skills  35:30 – 41:00 minutes

Guideline #4:  Attention Skills 41 – 43:20 minutes

Guideline #5:  Play Skills 43:30 – 47:30 minutes

Guideline #6: Imitation Skills 47:30 – 50:40 minutes

Guideline #7:  Impact of Intelligibility in Everyday Life 50:40 – 56:00 minutes

Summary and Resources:  56 minutes to 1 hour, 3 minutes

Course Director

Laura Mize, M. S., CCC-SLP, is a pediatric speech-language pathologist specializing in young children ages birth to four with communication delays and disorders in her private practice in Stanford, Kentucky. She earned a B.S. from Mississippi University for Women and an M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology from The University of Southern Mississippi. Laura holds her Certificate of Clinical Competence from ASHA. She authors the website teachmetotalk.com, hosts her popular YouTube channel, and publishes a weekly audio and video podcast Teach Me To Talk: The Podcast. Laura produced a series of training DVDs for parents and professionals who work with children with developmental speech-language delays and disorders. Her best-selling DVDs and therapy manuals are used by pediatric therapists and speech-language pathologists in private practice, early intervention programs, grad schools, preschool programs, and continuing education conferences throughout the USA, Canada, South Africa, The Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore, Israel, Australia, India, Zambia, Greece, and the UK.

SPEAKER DISCLOSURE

Financial – Laura Mize owns teachmetotalk.com and The Laura Mize Group and therefore receives a salary, compensation for speaking, and royalties from teachmetotalk.com product sales and also receives revenue from the YouTube Partners Program. Nonfinancial – Laura Mize has no other financial or nonfinancial relationships with any author, publisher, or SLP whose work she recommends in this course.  

This course is offered for .10 ASHA CEUs (Introductory level, Professional area).

REGISTER FOR COURSE

(Coming soon!!)

Satisfactory Course Completion Requirements

Participants must have watched the video and paid the $5 processing fee to obtain a certificate of completion and/or to have your participation submitted to the ASHA CE Registry. Once the $5 fee is paid, you will be redirected to complete additional information online required to award a Certificate of Completion which includes completion of the Verification Statement that you watched the video, Self Assessment of Learning Outcomes, a Program Evaluation, Request for Certificate, and an ASHA CEU participant form or your ASHA number for filing ASHA CEUs (if applicable).  Once all required sections are completed and submitted, you will receive access to generate your certificate which will be emailed to you upon final review of your submission. No credit will be awarded without completion of this entire process. ASHA CEU information is submitted monthly and will appear on your ASHA CEU Registry shortly thereafter. Partial credit is not available.

For Other Professionals: Upon completion and return of the forms and receipt of your $5 processing fee, a Certificate of Completion will be provided so that you may file for continuing education with your own organization or licensing agency.

For Non-Professionals and Parents: All course content is offered at an Introductory, Professional Level and may not be suitable for all parents or non-professionals. If you’d like a Certificate of Completion, you may also register for credit.

Participants who are dissatisfied should notify us by email at customerservice@teachmetotalk.com so that your issue can be resolved. We want you to be 100% satisfied with your purchase. Questions? Email me! Laura@teachmetotalk.com.  

Do you need help identifying and treating speech intelligibility problems in toddlers? I can help! Get my therapy manual FUNctional Phonology and start seeing better results with your own child or youngest little friends today!

The post #374 Artic in Toddlers… To Treat or Not to Treat Intelligibility Issues in Toddlers appeared first on teachmetotalk.com.

Learn how to recognize, prioritize, and treat speech intelligibility issues in toddlers in an 8 part podcast series this summer. This is part 1.

ASHA CEUs and Other CE Credit

A Course Handout will be provided with the purchase of credit. ASHA CEUs for speech-language pathologists… coming soon! (See additional information for ASHA CEUs below.) Therapists… get continuing education credit for this 1 hour course! (If you’re an email subscriber, you’ll get details first!)

This is Part 1 in this series.  Watch Part 2 (#374)

Link to watch…

Podcast link:

Course Description

In this one hour audio and video podcast, join pediatric speech-language pathologist Laura Mize, M.S., CCC-SLP of teachmetotalk.com as we discuss 5 factors for identifying significant speech intelligibility problems in toddlers and young preschoolers and the evidence-based norms associated with each factor. 

Learning Objectives

1. Identify 5 factors that indicate significant speech intelligibility problems in toddlers. 
2. State the norm or typically developing milestone for each of the 5 factors.

Timed Agenda

Introduction  0 – 6:15 minutes

Factor #1: Overall Intelligibility Rating  6:15 – 15 minutes

Factor #2:  Numerous Vowel Errors 15 – 24 minutes

Factor #3:  Widespread Deletion of Initial Consonants  24 – 30 minutes

Factor #4:  Substitution of /k, g, h/ for Other Consonants 30 – 40 minutes

Factor #4:  Deletion of Final Consonants after age 3 40 – 48 minutes

Discussion of Factors   48 to 59 minutes

Review  59 to 61 minutes

Course Director

Laura Mize, M. S., CCC-SLP, is a pediatric speech-language pathologist specializing in young children ages birth to four with communication delays and disorders in her private practice in Stanford, Kentucky. She earned a B.S. from Mississippi University for Women and an M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology from The University of Southern Mississippi. Laura holds her Certificate of Clinical Competence from ASHA. She authors the website teachmetotalk.com, hosts her popular YouTube channel, and publishes a weekly audio and video podcast Teach Me To Talk: The Podcast. Laura produced a series of training DVDs for parents and professionals who work with children with developmental speech-language delays and disorders. Her best-selling DVDs and therapy manuals are used by pediatric therapists and speech-language pathologists in private practice, early intervention programs, grad schools, preschool programs, and continuing education conferences throughout the USA, Canada, South Africa, The Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore, Israel, Australia, India, Zambia, Greece, and the UK.

SPEAKER DISCLOSURE

Financial – Laura Mize owns teachmetotalk.com and The Laura Mize Group and therefore receives a salary, compensation for speaking, and royalties from teachmetotalk.com product sales and also receives revenue from the YouTube Partners Program. Nonfinancial – Laura Mize has no other financial or nonfinancial relationships with any author, publisher, or SLP whose work she recommends in this course.  

This course is offered for .10 ASHA CEUs (Introductory level, Professional area).

REGISTER FOR COURSE

(Coming soon!!)

Satisfactory Course Completion Requirements

Participants must have watched the video and paid the $5 processing fee to obtain a certificate of completion and/or to have your participation submitted to the ASHA CE Registry. Once the $5 fee is paid, you will be redirected to complete additional information online required to award a Certificate of Completion which includes completion of the Verification Statement that you watched the video, Self Assessment of Learning Outcomes, a Program Evaluation, Request for Certificate, and an ASHA CEU participant form or your ASHA number for filing ASHA CEUs (if applicable).  Once all required sections are completed and submitted, you will receive access to generate your certificate which will be emailed to you upon final review of your submission. No credit will be awarded without completion of this entire process. ASHA CEU information is submitted monthly and will appear on your ASHA CEU Registry shortly thereafter. Partial credit is not available.

For Other Professionals: Upon completion and return of the forms and receipt of your $5 processing fee, a Certificate of Completion will be provided so that you may file for continuing education with your own organization or licensing agency.

For Non-Professionals and Parents: All course content is offered at an Introductory, Professional Level and may not be suitable for all parents or non-professionals. If you’d like a Certificate of Completion, you may also register for credit. Participants who are dissatisfied should notify us by email at customerservice@teachmetotalk.com so that your issue can be resolved. We want you to be 100% satisfied with your purchase. Questions? Email me! Laura@teachmetotalk.com.

Do you need great information and ideas for identifying and treating speech intelligibility problems in toddlers? I can help! Get my therapy manual FUNctional Phonology and start seeing better results with your own child or youngest little friends today!

The post #373 5 Factors that Indicate Significant Speech Intelligibility Problems in Toddlers and Young Preschoolers appeared first on teachmetotalk.com.

The short answer is, you can’t! You have to start somewhere else! We do that by meeting a toddler where he is- that always means making our expectations or goals easier so that a toddler can be more successful.

In this one hour audio and video podcast, join pediatric speech-language pathologist Laura Mize, M.S., CCC-SLP of teachmetotalk.com as she shares the 5 best ways for teaching nonverbal toddlers to imitate.

ASHA CEUs and Other CE Credit

A Course Handout will be provided with the purchase of credit.

ASHA CEUs for speech-language pathologists… coming soon! (See additional information for ASHA CEUs below.)

Therapists… get continuing education credit for this 1 hour course! (If you’re an email subscriber, you’ll get details first!)  

Link to watch…    

Podcast link:    

Course Description

In this one hour audio and video podcast, join pediatric speech-language pathologist Laura Mize, M.S., CCC-SLP of teachmetotalk.com as we discuss how to teach nonverbal toddlers to begin to imitate. You’ll learn five different types of play activities and everyday routines to entice toddlers to imitate actions first and then move toward imitating vocalizations.

Learning Objectives

1. Identify 5 types of activities for teaching nonverbal toddlers to imitate. 
2. Name at least 2 different games or toys to use for each type of activity to teach nonverbal toddlers to imitate.

Timed Agenda

Introduction – 0 – 1 minute

Importance of Imitation- 1:00 – 5:30 minutes

Typical Imitation Development – 5:30 – 10:30

5 Best Ways to Teach Imitation to Nonverbal Toddlers:

#1 Social Games – 10:30 – 21:30

#2 Simple Body Movements – 21:30 – 30:20

#3 Routine Household Activities – 30:20 – 37:50

#4 Music Toys – 37:50 – 49:30

#5 Quick One Turn Toys – 49:30 – 57:30 

Recap – 57:30

Resources & References 59:30 – 1 hour, 3 minutes

Course Director

Laura Mize, M. S., CCC-SLP, is a pediatric speech-language pathologist specializing in young children ages birth to four with communication delays and disorders in her private practice in Stanford, Kentucky. She earned a B.S. from Mississippi University for Women and an M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology from The University of Southern Mississippi. Laura holds her Certificate of Clinical Competence from ASHA. She authors the website teachmetotalk.com, hosts her popular YouTube channel, and publishes a weekly audio and video podcast Teach Me To Talk: The Podcast. Laura produced a series of training DVDs for parents and professionals who work with children with developmental speech-language delays and disorders. Her best-selling DVDs and therapy manuals are used by pediatric therapists and speech-language pathologists in private practice, early intervention programs, grad schools, preschool programs, and continuing education conferences throughout the USA, Canada, South Africa, The Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore, Israel, Australia, India, Zambia, Greece, and the UK.  

SPEAKER DISCLOSURE

Financial – Laura Mize owns teachmetotalk.com and The Laura Mize Group and therefore receives a salary, compensation for speaking, and royalties from teachmetotalk.com product sales and also receives revenue from the YouTube Partners Program.

Nonfinancial – Laura Mize has no other financial or nonfinancial relationships with any author, publisher, or SLP whose work she recommends in this course.  

This course is offered for .10 ASHA CEUs (Introductory level, Professional area).

REGISTER FOR COURSE

(Coming soon!!)

Satisfactory Course Completion Requirements

Participants must have watched the video and paid the $5 processing fee to obtain a certificate of completion and/or to have your participation submitted to the ASHA CE Registry. Once the $5 fee is paid, you will be redirected to complete additional information online required to award a Certificate of Completion which includes completion of the Verification Statement that you watched the video, Self Assessment of Learning Outcomes, a Program Evaluation, Request for Certificate, and an ASHA CEU participant form or your ASHA number for filing ASHA CEUs (if applicable).  Once all required sections are completed and submitted, you will receive access to generate your certificate which will be emailed to you upon final review of your submission. No credit will be awarded without completion of this entire process. ASHA CEU information is submitted monthly and will appear on your ASHA CEU Registry shortly thereafter. Partial credit is not available.

For Other Professionals: Upon completion and return of the forms and receipt of your $5 processing fee, a Certificate of Completion will be provided so that you may file for continuing education with your own organization or licensing agency.

For Non-Professionals and Parents: All course content is offered at an Introductory, Professional Level and may not be suitable for all parents or non-professionals. If you’d like a Certificate of Completion, you may also register for credit.

Participants who are dissatisfied should notify us by email at customerservice@teachmetotalk.com so that your issue can be resolved. We want you to be 100% satisfied with your purchase. Questions? Email me! Laura@teachmetotalk.com.    

The post #372 5 Best Ways to Teach Nonverbal Toddlers to Imitate appeared first on teachmetotalk.com.

CE credit including ASHA CEUs will be available for this course! Details coming soon! (If you’re an email subscriber, you’ll get details first!

Listen below or on iTunes #371 Red Flags for Communication Development in Toddlers…What to Do – search Teach Me To Talk or Laura Mize and you should find it!

Podcast link:

The post #371 Podcast What to Do to Address Red Flags for Communication Delay in Toddlers appeared first on teachmetotalk.com.

#370 Handout Red Flags for Delayed Communication Skills

CE credit including ASHA CEUs will be available for this course! Details coming soon! (If you’re an email subscriber, you’ll get details first!

Listen below or on iTunes #370 Red Flags for Communication Development in Infants and Toddlers – search Teach Me To Talk or Laura Mize and you should find it!

The post #370 Podcast Red Flags for Communication Development in Infants and Toddlers appeared first on teachmetotalk.com.

SUMMARY:

Sensory Easter Eggs

Make Sensory Easter Eggs by placing rice, pasta, beans, or even coins inside the egg and then gluing or taping the egg together. Help a child explore the egg and learn to listen as she shakes the egg. Model excitement and curiosity as you sit with the child and manipulate the eggs too. Try new actions – roll the egg across the floor, drop it in a container (basket, bucket, or bowl), and practice handing the egg back and forth with the child. After the child has initially explored the eggs, teach a longer play routine. Dump eggs out of the container using a verbal routine such as, “1…2…3…Dump! Whee! Out! Eggs out!” Put the eggs back in the container as you say, “In. In. In. In.” Repeat the entire play routine as you say the same words. In this activity, you’re targeting object exploration, building attention, and turn taking. 

Easter Eggs and A Wipe Box

Play with Easter Eggs and an empty baby wipe container. Get a wipe container with an opening in the lid. Show the child how to push the eggs through the hole. Establish a cute verbal routine with single words and short phrases. Say something like, “Egg. See? Push! In!” Repeat with all of the eggs. When the box is full, shake the box and say, “Listen! Shake! Shake! Shake! I hear it! Eggs! Let’s get them out!” Dump the eggs out with a cute verbal routine such as, “1…2…3…Whee!” Repeat the routine using your same words. Pause to see if a child will fill in a word
like “3” or “Whee” after you’ve said the same words many, many times. In this activity, you’re targeting cognition by working on object permanence (The egg is in the box, even if a child can’t see it), cause and effect (Push the egg in and it disappears. Push it half way and it’s stuck.) and problem solving (How to get the egg in and out of the box.) You’re also establishing cute verbal routines to use in this activity as well as the following one…

Egg Push

Make an Easter Egg Box by cutting holes of various sizes in the sides a larger cardboard box. Show a child how to push the eggs through the holes in the box. Establish a cute verbal routine with single words and short phrases. Use the one above or come up with something new like, “Eggs go in! Bye bye egg!” This activity will be especially FUN using many, many eggs with small groups of children in daycare, group sessions, or even siblings at home. Once the children have explored and played with the box, introduce a “racing” kind of game. Place the box across the room and show the children how to run get an egg from a bucket or container and then run back to shove it in the hole in the box. In this activity, you’re targeting using single words and verbal routines as well as building attention, task completion, and social interaction with peers.

Hide and Find Eggs

Teach a child how to hide and find Easter eggs. Even at this developmental level, you can begin to play
with Easter eggs in more traditional ways by hiding the eggs in obvious places. To begin, give a child a bucket or basket to hold. Hide one or two eggs in very obvious places as the child watches you. Say, “I’m hiding an egg. Look! Right here! It’s in the chair.” Approach the child and say, “Where’s the egg? Let’s go find it.” If the child doesn’t immediately go get the egg, point to help him remember where the egg is. If he still doesn’t go retrieve the egg, take the child’s hand and help him find the egg saying something like, “Look! Here it is! I got it! I got it! Egg!” Help him place the egg in his basket or bucket. Repeat the play routine and gradually hide one or two more eggs as the child’s interest and memory allow. I also love to use this game to target vowel variation by using words that begin with vowel sounds since many prepositions (in, out, on, off, up) begin with vowels. For example, you’d say, “Where’s the egg? It’s on. On the table. On! Take it off. Off the table. Off!” Find out more about this goal in FUNctional Phonology. In this activity, you’re working on cognition (memory for where the eggs are located), receptive language by following directions with prepositions (such as in, on, etc…), saying new words with prepositions, using holistic phrases (as the child says, “I got it!” every time he finds an egg), and vowel differentiation.

Match and Sort Eggs

Match and sort Easter eggs for color or size or pattern. These kinds of tasks are great for older toddlers and preschoolers with language delays who also need help learning these important cognitive concepts and who have limited attention spans. Many children with limited attention spans don’t know how to play with toys yet and need very structured tasks to begin to participate in any kind or organized activity.  an empty egg carton to provide more structure and a definitive starting and ending point for the task. For another variation, place colored pieces of construction paper on the floor so that you’re matching eggs to the paper. This game is a fun “racing” game for individual toddlers or groups of young children. Place paper or containers on the other side of the room. Let a child request an egg using a sign or word such as more, please, egg, or the color of the egg if he already knows colors. I don’t teach color words with this kind of task with late talkers since those kids should be learning other more functional words first. In this activity, you’re targeting cognitive skills as well as other language goals you add with requesting.

Open and Close Eggs

Practice opening and closing Easter eggs. Show a child how to open the Easter egg and then close it again. Use simple language as you’re playing together. Teach action words/verbs such as open, close or shut, pull, and push. Once you’ve shown a child how to open and close the eggs, open all the eggs and let him find the matching end. You could also set this up in an egg carton or muffin tin by placing half of an egg in the container. Show the child how to find the matching half and then place it on top. In this activity, you’re working on fine motor skills, cognitive skills with matching, and new actions words/verbs.

What’s Inside?

Hide a variety of small objects in the Easter eggs and open the eggs together. Because you’re using small items which may be a choking hazard, close adult supervision is required for this activity! To begin the activity, hide the eggs around the room and find them together. When you find all the eggs (or one egg at a time if a child is super eager to open the eggs), pick up an Easter egg, shake it and say something like, “I hear something! Listen! Something is in this egg. Let’s open.”  Talk about the object repeating its name many times and encouraging the child to repeat the new word. Remember, unless a child has named an object previously, it’s very unlikely he will name the object as you ask, “What’s that?” Many children will need to hear the word many, many times during the task before they can say the word. If a child doesn’t immediately name the object as you open the egg, say the object’s name such as, “Wow! It’s a ball! Ball!” Many children may respond to the completion or cloze method as you say, “Wow! It’s… a…” and wait expectantly for the child to fill in the familiar word. Set up requesting more eggs with all-purpose words or signs such as “more” and “please” or even a specific request for “egg.” For children who are working on articulation or phonological goals, include items in the eggs with the target sound or pattern. Small pictures may be useful here if the child likes to color, but real objects are more fun for toddlers! In this activity, you’re working on receptive and expressive language, as well as articulation and intelligibility.

Cute Social Game

Play a social game for Easter with the child and one or more other people. Gather a few plastic Easter eggs and an Easter basket or bucket. Sit on the floor in a circle. Place the Easter container in the middle of the circle. Hold an egg and tell the children you’re going to play a game. Pass the egg from person to person around the circle as you sing to the tune of “Frere Jacques” or “Where Is Thumbkin?”

“Pass the egg. Pass the egg.
All around. All around.
Easter is coming. Easter is coming.
To our town. To our town.”

The child who is holding the egg at the end of the song gets to place the egg in the basket. Repeat until every child has had a chance to place an egg in the basket. Teach new vocabulary by using this song with other items related to Easter such as a bunny, a carrot, a smaller Easter basket, etc…  In this activity, you’re working on social interaction, joint attention, vocalization, and any other language goal.

Hope this will help you plan some fun ideas over the next couple of weeks! Happy Easter!

Laura

The post #360 Easter Therapy Activities for Late Talking Toddlers appeared first on teachmetotalk.com.

Listen here:

Written summary:

Lots of educators and therapists use the generic (but trademarked!) term Social Story to represent all kinds of stories we write for little friends. They are more accurately called Routine Scripts and Rule Books. I recently watched a nice presentation of this information by ­­­­­­ Dr. Pam Buschbacher, SLP. There’s also treat information about Social Stories at autismspeaks.com and on Pinterest.

If the term social story is new for you, let me give a little history from her website. Social Stories were developed by Carol Gray in the 1990’s to help increase predictability for kids with autism and other developmental delays/disorders. She was the first teacher for students with autism at Jenison Public Schools in Jenison, Michigan 1977-2004.  In 1989, she began writing stories for her students to share information with them that they seemed to be missing, information that so many of us take for granted.  Many of the stories resulted in immediate and marked improvement in her students’ responses to daily events and interactions. Her website is very helpful. carolgraysocialstories.com

Social stories are written in a special format providing accurate information about those situations that they may find difficult or confusing. This tool has proven to be effective for ages preschool through adulthood.

Examples of social stories include:

School Topics – Going to Gym, Taking Turns with Toys, My Teacher is Absent Today, Riding the Bus Home

Home Topics – My Birthday Party, My New Baby Brother, or Taking Medicine

Community Topics – Going to the Doctor, Waiting in Line at the Store

A Social Story accurately describes a context, skill, achievement, or concept according to 10 defining criteria. These criteria guide Story research, development, and implementation to ensure an overall patient and supportive quality, and a format, “voice”, content, and learning experience that is descriptive, meaningful, and physically, socially, and emotionally safe for the child, adolescent, or adult with autism.

As I mentioned previously, Social Story is a trademark term because there are the specific criteria. When I look at the criteria, lots of the little books I’ve written over the years don’t actually meet that full criteria. Therapists and educators have generalized the collective term social story to include routine scripts and rule books which are so helpful for visual toddlers I’ve worked with. Routine Scripts and Rule Books are picture heavy books with some text of everyday activities, some familiar and some unfamiliar.  They purpose is to help a young child organize his/her understanding of the routine & their world, diminish anxiety and/or confusion, and guide then through the routine.

Why go to this trouble? Why are Routine Scripts and Rule Books important? (from Dr. Buschbacher presentation)

1. Routine Scripts enable children to understand & predict the order of events for an activity or explain the “method to the madness.”
2. Routine Scripts serve as scaffolds for the child’s active participation in the activity.
3. Routine Scripts support children in developing a meaningful vocabulary for the activity.
4. Routine Scripts can link children with different communication and interaction partners.
5. Routine Scripts build joint attention.
6. Routine Script knowledge enables children to remember the most predictable features of an event or activity explaining the facts – what, who, where, when, what they are doing. Think about it as an outline of the event.
7. Routine Script knowledge enables children to identify optional features.
8. Routine Scripts encourage adults and others to perform the routines in the same manner which is super helpful in increasing predictability for a child and other caregivers.

Guidelines for Writing Social Stories

Determine your problem.  What is it you are trying to teach? You should only have one goal per Social Story, and it should be very clear – one topic or event.

Be a detective. For therapists – interview/decide. Gather all the information you need to write your Social Story.

Begin to write/edit the story using the right language level. Adjust your vocabulary and sentence length based on the receptive language developmental level of the child.

Stories should be written in the first or third person from the child’s point of view. (You can use “I” sentences and also names of others like Mommy, Teacher’s Name, Sibling, Peer, or even the child’s name.)

Sentence types include:

Descriptive sentences including Who, What, When, Where, and Why of your story such as “I ride the bus to school every morning.”

Perspective sentences including how the child may react and feel such as “Sometimes I get scared when I hear the fire alarm.”

Directive sentences including what’s expected of the child. Identify positive responses and gently direct a child’s behavior such as “I can pat my baby brother when he’s crying. I can kiss his head too!”

Affirmative sentences including things like “Staying calm when I get a haircut is good.”

Carrier phrases you’ll read as “fill in the blank” such as “When I see my friends at school, I say __________!” (Good morning!) These sentences help to teach a child what to say.

Offer other behavior options like “I can ask my teacher for help.” Or “I can go sit in the quiet corner when I need a break.”

Other tips – Try gentle language and avoid absolute words like always and never. For example, say things like sometimes, usually, most of the time, etc…

Keep your wording super positive written with what the child should do – not tons of “Don’t!” or “No Rules.” Rather than “Don’t tear up the books,” write “I am very careful when I turn the pages.” Instead of “No hitting” or “No biting,” give the alternative… “When I want a turn, I say “My turn.” Address these negatives with the perspective sentences… “When I hit my friends, it hurts them and they might cry or hit me back. Then I might cry because hitting hurts me too.”

Provide simple steps. When providing directions for a task, break the skill or situation down into simple steps a toddler can follow. Remember that young children with language delays are very literal, so don’t skip the steps. A child may not pick up on things you take for granted.

Include photos. Children are often visual learners, so try to incorporate real pictures of the child and the actual place or objects used whenever possible.

Read the story together with as few distractions as possible. I read the story several times during a session with a child and encourage mom and dad to do the same. You may also have a child read the story with other people too like teachers or grandparents.

Do the event/activity together so that you can revise or edit the story as needed.

More from autismparentingmagazine.com/social-stories-for-autistic-children/

https://www.autismparentingmagazine.com/social-stories-for-autistic-children/

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This information is based on a chapter from my therapy manual FUNctional Phonology. Although that project is geared toward improving speech intelligibility in toddlers, the recommendations are relevant for all areas.

Let’s face it. Anytime we’re trying to direct a toddler’s attention and focus to what we want him to do instead of what he wants to do, the potential exists for it to go badly… as in bomb! We must remember that anytime we’re working with a child in therapy, what we’re doing is very difficult for the child, or else she would have already accomplished the task on his/her own.

Because this challenge already exists, we have to do everything we can to make working on the new skill as painless as possible for everyone involved, including the child, her parents, and the therapist.

7 Key Principles for Successfully Working with Toddlers and Preschoolers:

1. Keep it Fun!
2. Keep it Real!
3. Keep it Realistic!
4. Keep it Meaningful!
5. Keep it Moving! 
6. Keep it Easy (Enough)!
7. Keep it Going!

The post #357 7 Key Principles for Success When Working with Toddlers and Preschoolers appeared first on teachmetotalk.com.

The post #356 Selecting Goals for Minimally Verbal Kids appeared first on teachmetotalk.com.

The post #355 HOW to Cue a Toddler to Use New Speech Sounds appeared first on teachmetotalk.com.

Summary:

Find a child’s current developmental skill level and expand within that same category. To do this, we meet a child where she is – expanding on what she can currently do – rather than trying to teach something new.

I’ve written about it in my therapy manual Building Verbal Imitation Skills in Toddlers.

For example, if a nonverbal child learns to use a gesture or two, teach more gestures instead of pushing for words. If a child has learned to use a sound effect, teach him more sounds, not words.

Listen to more examples in the show!

The post |#354 When a Child Does Not Imitate Words Consistently appeared first on teachmetotalk.com.

• what’s normal
• red flags that indicate a toddler’s speech issues need intervention
• diagnoses related to decreased speech intelligibility
• six priority patterns to target to improve a young child’s ability to be understood

Listen here:

Today’s show is an overview of my newest therapy manual FUNctional Phonology.  Get yourself a copy of this book to learn how to treat toddlers who are difficult to understand – written for both therapists and committed parents.

The post #352 Speech Intelligibility in Toddlers appeared first on teachmetotalk.com.

BEFORE Strategies

AAC – Augmentative Alternative Communication strategies like signs, pictures (PECS!!), and speech-generating devices.

Also – structured teaching to improve attention, participation, and task completion – demonstrated in my course Is It Autism?

AFTER Strategies

Choices, Withholding, and Sabotage to Help Kids USE  Their Words

Strategies for Phrases

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When there are no other developmental  red flags ( meaning a child is socially connected to other people, has an adequate attention span when you try to interact with or play with him, plays with a variety of toys, and understands language well enough to consistently follow directions), here’s the method I use…

TEACH IMITATION!

Begin with actions…

Introduce gestures…

Analyze nonverbal actions a child might imitate…

Get noisy…

Begin play sounds…

Try automatic speech…

Teach FUNCTIONAL single words…

Move on to phrases…

Listen to the show for this hierarchy… it works!!

Resources mentioned in today’s show:

Building Verbal Imitation Skills in Toddlers – a therapy manual that walks you through helping a nonverbal child begin to say words using the 8 levels of imitation we discussed in today’s show. You’ll also get “THE CHART” for a one-page summary of this effective and easy treatment approach.

Steps to Building Verbal Imitation Skills in Toddlers – 6 hours course on DVD with CE credit for therapists – same information as Building Verbal Imitation Skills but with video clips with real kids on my caseload so you can SEE how to implement these strategies. You’ll also get “THE CHART” for a one-page summary of this effective and easy treatment approach.

Teach Me To Play WITH You – therapy manual filled with step by step instructions for TONS of social games and routines with a list of goals to sequentially address with toddlers who need help establishing consistent social interaction AND with automatic speech!

Teach Me To Talk: The Therapy Manual – a manual that lists every communication milestone from below 12 months to 48 months WITH therapy activities and homework ideas for parents – a must-have resource for SLPs and other therapists who work with toddlers and preschoolers

Use the coupon code PODCAST for $10 off!

The post #350 Effective Strategies for Toddlers with Expressive Language Delays appeared first on teachmetotalk.com.

The post #349 Top Strategies to Target Receptive Language During Everyday Routines appeared first on teachmetotalk.com.

This week we’re discussing ways to improve a toddler’s social connectedness with other people – especially his parents at home during everyday routines.

First, we’ll review red flags for differences in social interaction. Many times parents miss these characteristics in their own children. Many times therapists don’t point these out because we either don’t recognize them as red flags or we’re too afraid of a parent’s reaction. We’ll talk about that on the show too!

Our overall strategies for improving a child’s ability to respond to you are:

• Consistently respond to him.
• Don’t let a toddler “check out” or be alone for long periods of time.
• Get eye to eye and face to face!
• Don’t force eye contact and interaction – invite it!
• Sound fun… less like an adult and more like a kid!
• Do what a toddler likes.
• Play, play, play…and then play some more!
• Limit distractions when you’re working on responding.
• Be the toy!
• Avoid power struggles.
• Lavish love!
• Be persistent in your attempts to join him.
• Reward a child’s efforts to respond to you.

Final review… what “counts” as responding?

Remember – Your #1 goal is INTERACTION!

Try activities that involve:

1. Movement
2. Music
3. Sensory Experiences
4. Social Games

Listen to the show here:

Resources mentioned in the show

Teach Me To Play WITH You

Let’s Talk About Talking

The post #347 Strengthening Social Connections in Everyday Routines appeared first on teachmetotalk.com.

Social and Interaction Skills

Cognition and Receptive Language

Expressive Communication

Speech Intelligibility

When we focus exclusively on these areas without regard to a child’s mastery of easier, earlier skills, kids may plateau. In plain English… when we work on skills out of order, children get stuck and don’t make any progress!

What are Everyday Activities?

In this show and for the following 3 weeks, we’ll look at how to include each area in 8 Everyday Activities for most families including:

1. Caregiving Activities
2. Meals/Snacks
3. Play with People
4. Play with Toys
5. Play with Props
6. Reading Books
7. Family Chores
8. Transitions

These activities are described in a beautiful handout from Dr. Amy Wetherby’s team at firstwordsproject.com.

Listen to the show

In it, you’ll hear a preview of the 4 big areas we treat in toddlers with language delays and for the beginning discussion of how to treat social skills in toddlers during those everyday activities. Next week we’ll continue with the ideas for improving social interaction in detail. Listen here:

The post #346 Teaching a Child To Connect and Respond During Everyday Activities appeared first on teachmetotalk.com.

Listen here:

Written summary:

A very common theme this year has been people calling in to talk about a kid that they’re struggling with in therapy that is usually having some behaviors (like running away) that are making it hard for us to work with him or her. It’s helpful to track some basic notes every time the behavior occurs noting what happened BEFORE the eloping occurred and also noting what happened AFTER the behavior. This is called ABC data tracking in ABA and is one way that can help you view the patterns objectively and determine what the potential function of a behavior may be. It is also helpful to mention that behaviors can and do sometimes have more than one function. For example, a child may be eloping for BOTH sensory and attention seeking reasons.

Listen to the show for explanations for the A, B, and C components.

Here’s a form Jessica was nice enough to create for us that lists some of the common antecedents and consequences. There may be others that aren’t found here, but it’s a great place to start! Thanks Jessica!!

ABC Data Collection Chart Final (1)

The post #341 ABC Data Collection for Analyzing Behaviors appeared first on teachmetotalk.com.

Then the main topic… I’ll walk you through the 4 areas we focus on when working with late talking toddlers using a single activity, water play! Remember – what you’re doing is not that important. You can use this method for ANY toy or everyday activity.

For a quick refresher, here are the 4 areas we focus on with late talking toddlers:

Social & Interactive Skills

Receptive Language

Expressive Language

Speech Intelligibility

If this is your first time hearing me discuss these areas, I explained them in detail in last week’s show. 

Listen to this week’s show using water play to address the 4 areas:

Written summary:

Today I’ll be teaching you a very basic water play routine that’s universally appealing for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. Let’s begin by reviewing what you’ll need:

If you’re at home with a child, the easiest way to use this idea is during bath time or the kitchen sink. This activity is perfect for therapists who work in a coaching model. Teach parents this play routine anytime they’re using water at home.

For therapists in a clinical setting, get yourself some kind of container to hold the water – so a plastic bin of some kind like this one. I just used this idea during a summer program at my church with a large bucket, so you can really do it anywhere, anytime.

The next thing you’ll need is a cloth or sponge. I’ve even done this with a baby wipe playing with a baby doll bathtub – so the routine is super versatile as well.

The basic play routine is:

• Get the child’s attention by calling his name or getting in his line of vision.
• Make your facial expressions animated and cheerful to give him a reason to watch you.
• Say something like “Ooooh…. Look! Watch me! See?”
• Then do something with the cloth or sponge – you can put the cloth in the water and swirl it around, or make a big deal about dunking the sponge down in the water – even something like rubbing it together – anything to get the child’s attention.
• Once he’s noticed, lift up the cloth. Then take both your hands and excitedly say… “SQUEEZE!”
• You react to the water falling – especially if the child doesn’t react.

Toddlers usually become very excited with this super simple activity – sustained eye contact and attention. If he’s still watching and not trying to join in, repeat the routine a time or two. Other tips:

• Give the child a turn and offer assistance to squeeze the cloth.
• Be sure to repeat the key word squeeze every time you squeeze the cloth.

Many kids begin to imitate the word, but don’t be disappointed if they don’t.

Goals you can target with this easy water play routine –

Last week’s podcast #344 discusses the hierarchy of goals for late talking toddlers. If you’ve not listened to that show or read that post, briefly – the big areas we pay attention to in toddlers are:

1. Social interaction skills
2. Receptive language and cognition
3. Expressive language
4. Speech intelligibility

Let’s use this same framework to discuss the goals you can target.

1. This game is fantastic for targeting social interaction and engagement with skills like eye contact and joint attention. As the child is watching the water – be sure to put your face in his line of vision. That means if a child is in the tub, you’ll sit down beside the tub so he can see you. When I’m using this in therapy sessions with a container, I’m on the floor too, and I like to get right behind the water as it’s falling so that a child can see me when he’s looking at the water. Use your face and your voice to keep his attention focused on you too.

For children with super short attention spans or for those who ignore other people, a big tip is to not give up control of the cloth — you don’t want to get squeezed out of the activity. For those kids,  keep the cloth or sponge yourself so that you’re included in the play routine.

Remember that attention and participation go hand in hand with social engagement – before we can teach a child anything else. Toddlers must consistently learn to “stay and play” with you as a prerequisite for understanding and using words. If you’re working with a child who is super busy or active and who runs from you or doesn’t stay for more than a few seconds, this is where you need to begin working. This game will help you because the child will be enticed by the water and by you and how fun you are.

Once that attention piece is established, this game is a very low pressure way to teach early turn taking – big part of social interaction. For this of course, you will give a child his own turn with the cloth or sponge. Most toddlers will do better using the same cloth as you so that you can establish that nice back and forth. Lead the play routine several times, then offer the child a turn by holding out the cloth. Once he’s played for a few seconds – less than a minute or so, quickly take your own turn – again just a few seconds. Perform the play routine again, then quickly give the cloth to the child for his own turn. Remember here you’re teaching him that I take a turn – you take a turn – which forms the foundation for conversation.

2. Receptive Language Goals include teaching a child to understand new words and follow directions. There are lots of potential new words to teach here, but here’s a list of the ones I most frequently address:

Target words:

nouns – water, tub, cloth

verbs – squeeze, dump, give, hold

prepositions – in, out, up, down, around

pronouns – you, my/me

3. Expressive Language – A big piece of expressive language or learning to talk is teaching a child to imitate. Research tell us that a child’s ability to imitate actions at 18 months is a great predictor of his expressive language at 36 months – so this skill develops before lots of words. This routine is also a super fun way to teach imitation – first with actions then with words. You’ve already modeled some actions like swirling and squeezing – see if a child will try to copy that action you perform. Even splashing in the water is a good idea for teaching imitation! Splash and see if a child will repeat that action.

Of course with expressive language we also teach new words. Your obvious target here is the word “squeeze” and I’ve had lots and lots of little friends who were nonverbal or minimally verbal begin to approximate that word during this play routine.

Listen carefully for those first few verbal attempts – most of the time it begins when a child makes any kind of vowel sound as you say “squeeze” or at the appropriate time during the routine when it’s their turn. Listen and react with praise and pleasure so that you reinforce every attempt to talk.

Other words I’ve targeted during this game are those for saying what comes next –

More – for another turn

Mine – for whose turn it is

In or down – for dipping the cloth in the water

Up – for holding the cloth up

Water 

Be sure you’re modeling the word several times at the appropriate time during the play routine many times BEFORE you expect the child to say the word himself.

4. Lastly, you’ll look at speech intelligibility. How well can you understand what he’s trying to say? You can target lots of new sounds or patterns with an activity like water play. Intelligibility goals:

• Syllableness – this means the child includes the correct number of syllables. Obvious targets are multisyllabic words like water, wash cloth or bath cloth.
• Vowel differentiation -long “e” for squeeze, in, out, up, down
• Switching vowels from syllable to syllable
• Initial consonants or beginning sounds like /w/ for water, /m/ for more and mine
• Final consonants such as /p/ for up, /n/ for down

This idea is super, super simple, and again, one that’s consistently a winner when it comes to building attention and participation, social engagement, turn-taking, and imitation. Those skills are all necessary prelinguistic skills – or things a child learns before he begins to talk. If you’d like more ideas for working on these kinds of skills, I can help you with that! Read step-by-step directions for this activity, along with other similar games, it’s included in my therapy manual Let’s Talk About Talking… 11 Skills All Toddlers Master Before Words Emerge. This water play routine is actually one of about 100 or so different activities included throughout the book – perfect for helping late talkers begin to communicate.

The post #345 Water Play… Using the Framework for Treating for Late Talking Toddlers appeared first on teachmetotalk.com.

Here’s the show:

Here’s the summary:

As speech-language pathologists and parents, when a toddler is not talking yet, we rush in to try to help them learn to say new words and pronounce them clearly. When these first attempts don’t work, we become frustrated, sometimes very frustrated, with the lack of progress. This is the point where I usually meet parents – and even therapists – at a point of frustration. They’re out there looking for a way to do things better or faster and they find this website, my videos on youtube, or my podcast.

That’s the purpose of this post, to help you find a way to help your own late talker – or, if you’re a therapist like me, a whole caseload of toddlers with language delays!

Anytime you’re working on changing something, you need a plan! I’ve been a speech-language pathologist for over 25 years now, and early in my career, I recognized the need for a consistent way of designing my own treatment plans to make sure that I addressed every aspect of helping a child learn to communicate – especially those things that may not be as easy to identify as “he’s not saying any words.”

To keep myself on track, I developed a hierarchy or a plan for how to look at a child’s communication skills in a continuum knowing that everything a child learns is building a strong foundation for what comes next. I started sharing this hierarchy when I launched my website teachmetotalk.com in 2008 and began publishing my DVDs and therapy manuals. In 2010, I began teaching this hierarchy to therapists throughout the United States.

Today I want to briefly share that hierarchy with you and then show you how to apply this method or treatment plan using a specific activity.

Remember – what you’re doing is not that important. You can use this method for ANY toy or everyday activity. The important thing is learning the 4 big areas you should be looking at and in what order to make the most impact for working with a toddler with language delays.

The four areas are:

Social & Interactive Skills

Receptive Language

Expressive Language

Speech Intelligibility

Let me briefly explain each area and tell you why it’s important for language development.

Social & interactive skills are the foundation for communicating. Every time we communicate, it involves at least 2 people. Actually, this 1 on 1 interaction is the reason language evolved in the first place. We don’t need to know how to talk to do many of the solitary things we do every day, but as soon as another person enters the picture, communication becomes necessary. The first piece of that is realizing another person is there and then learning to enjoy that interaction. Social engagement begins very early in a baby’s life – on day one! Over the first several weeks and months, a baby shows evidence that he likes being with other people and seeks out others for the purpose of interacting. Those skills continue to grow and develop over a child’s first year. However, sometimes a baby who has been pretty social begins to withdraw. He or she begins to avoid interaction and tune other people out – especially people outside her own family. Or it may be more subtle – a child used to smile and giggle and be super engaged, but then it shifts a little. He becomes more interested in toys or screens that people. He or she doesn’t learn to consistently respond to her name or pay attention as people talk to her. She doesn’t look at things when you point to them. There’s diminished eye contact so that it may difficult to get them to look at you. They look like they’re always busy with something else or not listening as you talk to them. Let’s contrast this with toddlers who have typically developing social skills. They do respond to their names. They watch you often as you talk to them. They seek out other people to help them and try to communicate with facial expressions and their own body movements, even before a child can talk. When a child is not naturally social and interactive, he’s at a real disadvantage for learning to communicate because that foundational piece is missing. If a child you’re working with or your own child doesn’t frequently connect with you and a variety of other people, then this is the area where you should begin your plan. You’ll work to help a child learn to like (or at least tolerate) interacting with others. Without this piece, communication skills will not move forward.

Receptive Language

The next big area for language development is receptive language or how a child understands the words he hears. Babies and toddlers must first learn to understand words before they use those words to talk and communicate.

The best and most practical way to judge a child’s receptive language skills are by looking at how well he follow directions during everyday routines such as “Go get your shoes,” “Bring me the cup,” or “Let’s go take a bath.” Toddlers with typically developing language skills are completing these kinds of routine requests by the time they are 15 to 18 months old.

For therapists, there should also be evidence of a child’s ability to follow commands during sessions. If mom says, “He understands everything,” but I can’t get him to do anything for me during therapy, there’s a problem! You’ll want to tease that out. Is a parent overestimating a child’s comprehension or is it about behavior? Many times, parents attribute a child’s lack of compliance to behavioral or personality issues like “He’s stubborn” or “She’s lazy,” but most of the time, that’s not the case. Even the most strong-willed toddlers with normal receptive language skills follow many different requests during everyday routines at home, especially when there’s something in it for them!

Receptive language is heavily dependent upon a child’s cognition – or how he thinks, learns, plans, and remembers. Toddlers with cognitive delays will always have at least some difficulty learning language. You’ll know to expect those challenges and adapt your teaching strategies to meet a child’s needs in this area. Your goal here will be teaching a child to understand new words and new concepts, not say those words just yet.

If a child does not understand language well enough to consistently follow directions, you’ve found your first preliminary goal! Teach a child to understand more words first and to follow simple commands. Here’s why and it’s pretty obvious when you think about it…

Remember… toddlers must first understand words before they can use words to communicate.

It’s highly unproductive to spend time trying to teach a toddler to say new words when he doesn’t understand those words. Any child who is 18 months old and can’t follow simple directions during familiar daily routines will very likely be diagnosed with mild to moderate receptive language delays. Children who are 2 and aren’t following simple directions in everyday routines are at risk for significant receptive language delays. You’ll have to address this area first before you teach them to say more words.

Expressive Language

The 3^rd area for language development is expressive language or how a child uses words – or even gestures or pictures – to communicate his own needs and his own ideas with others. Parents and therapists think about expressive language as the “talking” piece.

Before kids can talk, they need to be able to vocalize or use their little voices purposefully. Sometimes toddlers with speech disorders aren’t able to control their vocalizations. Everything is still very reflexive – like crying or even noises with sneezing or coughing. This has to become volitional – where a child understands that he can use his voice and imitate the sound you’ve made.

When babies first begin to babble and vocalize, the sounds are pretty random. Late talkers will continue to do that too. They may even jabber and use lots of jargon. The problem is that they haven’t learned to link meaning with those sounds yet. They don’t understand the direct imitation piece – meaning you say a word and then they say a word.

Verbal imitation is a big part of learning how to talk. It’s often a piece that’s missing too. But we can’t begin teaching a child to imitate with words – it comes at a much earlier developmental level. We first teach a child to imitate using actions with objects and with body movements. In typically developing toddlers, this process evolves over several months in the last half of the first year. It can take much longer in toddlers with developmental delays.

If a child you’re working with isn’t using very many words (but is socially engaged and does follow directions), then look at his or her verbal imitation skills. That could be your starting point. If that’s not practical or it seems like more of a stretch for a child, consider introducing strategies like sign language or picture systems or if this is likely to be a long-term issue, another kind of AAC device – a speech generating device or an app that speaks for the child when he selects the correct picture message.

Speech Intelligibility

The last big area is speech intelligibility or how well you can understand a child as he talks. Of course being understood is a big part of communicating! Speech-language pathologists think about this area as articulation – or getting the right sounds in the right places. Remember too that ALL toddlers can be difficult to understand when you’re an unfamiliar listener. Even parents may struggle to understand everything a child tries to say. The norms are pretty generous in this area. Parents may understand only about half of what a 24 month old says and closer to 75% by 2 ½ and then 90% by age 3.

A child’s speech may be hard to understand for several reasons. Sometimes they’re just using jargon or jabbering which means there are only a few true words included. Those kids understand that they should talk – they just don’t have the vocabulary yet to say what they want to say. This could be an expressive problem, but it’s usually an indicator of a receptive language problem after the second birthday.

Kids may have specific sound errors which prevent them from being understood. It may go beyond just not being able to pronounce a certain sound yet. There are often error patterns – a child speaks only using vowels or he may be able to include a few consonant sounds at the beginning or some words and never the ending sounds. Or he may shorten words and omit entire syllables. Or there may be no pattern in his errors at all. His speech sound errors are inconsistent – he may say a word fine one time and then never again or every time he tries to say a word, it sounds a little different. There are several diagnoses associated with poor speech  intelligibility. But we wouldn’t address this as the main focus for a child with delayed language until the other areas are firmly established.

Each of these 4 areas is an important part of language development.

When we don’t address a toddler’s area of weakness, it could be the reason why progress in learning to talk is much slower – even when a child is already in therapy.

So let’s take this hierarchy and then look at how we can address each of these areas with a single toy or activity. Although the toy does not matter, for the sake of keeping this interesting, I want to show you how to use this treatment model with a super exciting activity for toddlers – water play – during next week’s podcast!

The post #344 I Need a Plan! A Framework for Working with Late Talking Toddlers appeared first on teachmetotalk.com.