by admin | May 13, 2019 | Uncategorized
Lessons Learned from having Laryngitis Every year or two, I get laryngitis. Either my allergies act up and take my voice, or it’s from being sick. Each time I am amazed by how eye opening it is to not be able to communicate clearly. I am a speech/language pathologist. I should totally understand. I work with so many students with a variety of communication challenges. I talk about their individual challenges and try to explain that they are not “lazy” or that their behaviors are really based in communication. It all makes sense, it all sounds good, but it’s hard to act on. We just want them to communicate clearly right?! Then I get laryngitis and it reminds me how hard they each have to work every second of every day. When people couldn’t hear me, I had to put in extra effort to get my message across. Preparing dinner, instead of yelling out “How many pieces of sausage do you want?”, I had to walk around the house to each person, get their attention, and ask them individually. I had to make loud noises with my hands or stomp my feet to get attention. During dinner I slammed my hand on the table to get everyone to let me get a word in. Scared the heck out of everyone, but since my condition was temporary, we got a good laugh out of it. The kids I work with might find themselves in trouble for doing the same thing. On multiple occasions I reached out and grabbed the person I wanted to talk to as they walked by, to...
by admin | Aug 6, 2018 | Uncategorized
by Joyce Ravary, Occupational Therapist Ok, this has been a great summer so far! My only complaint is that it’s flying by way too quickly. I am originally from Michigan, and state law does not allow any school to start back before Labor Day since travel and tourism during the summer months generate a lot of money for the Michigan economy. However, here in Ohio, school will be starting in a few weeks! Wow! So I would like to offer a few resources to help you begin to prepare for BACK TO SCHOOL! Bedtime Routines. One of the most important areas to think about in preparation for back to school time is to re-establish a good bedtime routine for the kids! It’s not too early to start backing up the bedtime over the next several weeks so that everyone is ready to rise and shine on the first day of class. See below for a list of suggested bedtimes, by age, to help you: National Sleep Foundation’s Sleep Duration Recommendations: Age Recommended May be appropriate Not recommended Newborns 0-3 months 14 to 17 hours 11 to 13 hours 18 to 19 hours Less than 11 hours More than 19 hours Infants 4-11 months 12 to 15 hours 10 to 11 hours 16 to 18 hours Less than 10 hours More than 18 hours Toddlers 1-2 years 11 to 14 hours 9 to 10 hours 15 to 16 hours Less than 9 hours More than 16 hours Preschoolers 3-5 years 10 to 13 hours 8 to 9 hours 14 hours Less than 8 hours More than...
by admin | Dec 12, 2017 | Uncategorized
Speech & Language Game Ideas The following is a list of educational toys, games, and activities for kids of various ages and abilities. Several of these games are no longer in circulation, but can be found online or used as a reference for a similar game format. These toys help develop a wide range of speech and language skills which include, but are not limited to: following directions (FD), asking/answering a variety of WH questions (WH?), building vocabulary (V), expanding language utterances (MLU), oral motor exercises (OM), using descriptive adjectives (ADJ), creating grammatically correct complete sentences (GCCS), pragmatic language skills (PLS) improving expressive (EL) and receptive (RL) language skills. Use these suggestions at your discretion. These games do not replace direct speech/language therapy services. Talk to your Speech & Language Pathologist about which games he/she recommends or how the game may be modified to better suit your child’s needs. BOARD GAMES HedBanz (WH?, V, ADJ, GCCS, EL, RL) Zingo (FD, GCCS, EL, RL) Guess Who? (FD, ADJ, V, EL, RL) Guess Where? (FD, ADJ, V, EL, RL) Apples to Apples (FD, WH?, PLS, EL, RL) See-it? Slam-it! (V, GCCS, RL, EL) Let’s Go Fishin’ (FD, V, ADJ) Bubble Talk (FD, WH, V, MLU) Silly Story Maker (V, MLU, ADJ, GCCS, EL) Stare Junior (FD, WH, V, MLU, ADJ, GCCS) TOYS Bubbles Balloons Toy Cars Swings Trampoline Balls Slides Rock Walls Doll House Food/Kitchen toys Action Figures Legos/Lincoln Logs/Building Blocks Puzzles Kid Power Therapy Services, Inc. and its staff have no personal connection or financial interest in the above games. If your child is experiencing problems with their speech, language,...
by admin | Nov 16, 2017 | Uncategorized
Visual Processing and Fine Motor Games This is a list of educational toys, games, and activities for kids of various ages and abilities. These toys help develop visual processing, visual motor, and fine motor skills. These games do not replace direct occupational therapy services or appropriate vision care and treatment. Talk to your occupational therapist about which games he/she recommends or how the game may be modified to better suit your child’s needs. Hand-Eye Coordination and Visual-Spatial Skills: Rush Hour Legos Blokus Beading Crafts Jenga Frisbee Perfection Paint by Number Light Bright Suspend Pick Up Sticks Kanoodle Tinker Toys Color Stix Operation Quick Cups Etch-A-Sketch KEVA Brain Builders Yo-Yo Pixie Cubes Jacks Uno Stacko Barrel of Monkeys Color Code Visual Perception/Visual Thinking Games: Spot It Set Raccoon Rumpus Spot It Words Farkle Robot Face Race Sequence Connect Four Zingo Parquetry Blocks I Spy Book iTrax Rubik’s Cube Mastermind BBQ Blitz Imagine That Tri-Ominos Brain Cheeser Race to the Treasure Simon Tangrams Dominoes Pentominoes Color Code Racko Block By Block Where’s Waldo Jig Saw Puzzles Battle Ship Memory Match Fine Motor, Strategic Thinking, Social Skills/Turn Taking, Pre-Academic Skills: Pancake Pile Up Frieda’s Fruit Fiesta Game Pop the Pig Hoot Owl Hoot The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Velcro Pretend Play Food Shelby’s Snack Shack Smart Snacks Alphapops Avalanche Fruit Salad Frankie’s Food Truck Smart Snacks Numberpops Kid Power Therapy Services, Inc. and its staff have no personal connection or financial interest in the above games. If your child is experiencing problems with their visual motor, fine, or gross motor skills, please schedules a comprehensive evaluation with a pediatric occupational therapist. If your child...
by admin | Oct 16, 2017 | Uncategorized
Joint Attention: A Foundation for Language Development What is Joint Attention? Joint attention is the act of a person sharing attention with another person towards a given object or event, and there is understanding between the two people that they are both interested in the same object or event. In order for an individual to demonstrate joint attention, he/she must be able to gain, maintain, and shift their attention. While engaged in joint attention, an individual is able to (non-verbally) communicate to another by using their eyes and looking at an object, and back at the other person. This shared moment not only allows for individuals to communicate, but also fosters development of social skills. When does is start and what does it look like? Joint attention starts very early in a child’s life and it’s first instances are usually between a child and his/her parent. These moments are when a child and the adult are both shifting their attention and eye sight back and forth from an object to the person. These examples can include pointing to a desired toy/object/food item/bottle, looking at a book together, or reaching out to be picked up. As a child grows into a toddler they should develop more skills such as turn taking during a game or requesting for help getting on a swing. A child can exhibit joint attention by responding or initiating. An example of a response would be if a parent and a child are playing together and the parent says, “Look at the puppy!” The child responds by following the parents gaze and point, and looks at the puppy....
by admin | Sep 21, 2017 | Uncategorized
Creating Routines to Drive Relationships and Learning Opportunities By Joyce Ravary, OTR/L School is under way, and most households are quite busy! The days start early and after school time flies by, and before you know it, it’s off to bed. One day can roll into the next. Since I am a pediatric occupational therapist, many of the parents I come into contact with on a weekly basis have children with special needs and it takes a unique set of parenting skills and lots of energy (emotional and physical) to meet the daily demands of nurturing their child, and supporting their continued development. I can only imagine how parents must feel as they are pulled in so many directions. So, as the start of the school year is upon you, I would like to encourage all parents, and especially parents of kids with special needs, to think about how routines can create built in opportunities to really connect with your child and additionally, how routines can create many wonderful opportunities for learning. Daily routines are perhaps thought of as just ‘maintenance’ activities: meal time, running errands, taking a bath, getting ready for bed. But these day to day activities provide rich opportunities for having fun together, and supporting your child in learning new skills, and new levels of responsibility. Here’s some of my thoughts on routines: They provide comfort and a sense of safety from knowing what will happen (this is especially helpful for young children or children who are very disorganized or disregulated). Routines can help limit behavior disruptions because it provides children with a sense of control...
