9 Easy Ways to Create Sensory Friendly Holiday Decor

string of holiday white lights

The holiday season is a time of joy, celebration, and togetherness. We’ll explore how to create a sensory-friendly holiday environment by making thoughtful choices in your decorations.

Continue reading

Help your Community – Shop Local

Open front door of Lakeshore Speech Therapy Clinic

In a world dominated by large corporations, the importance of supporting small businesses cannot be overlooked. Choosing to shop small is a powerful decision that goes through communities, increasing economic growth, uniqueness, and a stronger sense of connection.

Continue reading

Sensory-Friendly Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving table set with food

Celebrating Thanksgiving with a child with Autism may require some preparations ahead of time and on the special day to ensure a comfortable and enjoyable experience.

Continue reading

Thanksgiving Tips for Kids with Communication Differences

Thanksgiving pie on a decorated table

Thanksgiving season is upon us. It’s a special time for families to come together, celebrate and be thankful. For children who have a communication difference, this holiday is a great chance to work on their communication skills and feel more confident. In this post, we’ll explore some simple ways to help support children with communication differences get ready for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Suggestions for increasing communication
  • Create a Communication-Friendly Environment: A child who has communication differences needs the support of an environment where they feel comfortable to be successful. To create a communication supportive environment, consider the following.
    • Setting aside a quiet space for conversation to minimize background noise.
    • Encouraging family members to be patient and attentive listeners.
    • Using visual aids like picture cards or communication boards to facilitate communication.
  • Get Ready to Talk: Thanksgiving often means chatting with relatives and friends. Before the big day, work with your child to practice key phrases they might use during Thanksgiving. These could include:
    • Thank you”
    •  “I’m grateful for” 
    • “more please.”

Working with your speech therapist and rehearsing these phrases can help your child feel more confident and prepared for social interactions.

  • Use Pictures: Encourage Non-Verbal Communication: It’s important to remind your child (and guests) that there are many ways to communicate besides speaking. You might want to practice using the following to communicate before the big day: 
    • use gestures
    • facial expressions
    • picture cards 
    • a communication board with pictures on it to help your child express themselves
Helping everyone better understand
  • Use a Social Story: Social stories are a great way to prepare children with communication differences for social events like Thanksgiving. A social story walks your child through the day and includes pictures and simple text to help them understand what to expect and how they can respond. Here are some free resources where you can find social stories: 
  •  Make Everyone Feel Welcome: It’s important to educate (or remind) your family and Thanksgiving guests about your child’s communication differences. You could try:
    • Making a phone call or sending a message to explain how they can support your child could make the day more enjoyable for everyone. 
    • Encourage them to be patient and kind. 
    • Tell them the different supportive items you will have in place (quiet area, social stories, etc.).
    • Share with them how you and your child are preparing to communicate on the day (share this blog post with them). 

We want everyone to feel comfortable and included on Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is a time for coming together and giving thanks. By using these simple tips, you can help kids with communication differences feel confident and part of the holiday fun. Encourage them to communicate, join conversations, and enjoy Thanksgiving with the family. With your support, Thanksgiving can be a special and happy time for everyone.

The Power of Playground Communication Boards

children using a playground communication sign

Discover the significance of AAC Awareness Month in October and explore the transformative power of playground communication boards. In this insightful article, we delve into the world of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), shedding light on its importance for individuals with communication challenges. Learn how playground communication boards foster inclusivity, encourage social interaction, and promote language development among children, all while making outdoor play areas accessible to everyone. Join us in celebrating AAC Awareness Month and discover how these communication tools create opportunities for communication, empathy, and connection. Explore the ways you can support AAC initiatives and make a difference in the lives of those who rely on AAC, both on the playground and beyond. #AACAwarenessMonth #PlaygroundCommunication #Inclusivity #AACSupport

Continue reading

Teletherapy Tips for Families

drawing of therapist performing teletherapy

As we are all beginning to adjust to teletherapy as well as online or elearning, we thought it best to share some tips to make you and your loved ones time in therapy, albeit significantly different than ever before, more successful. 

  1. Count on some sort of technology failure – if you count on the fact that the mic won’t turn on or your wifi will be running slow, you won’t panic when it does happen.  If there is a technology failure (on your side or on the therapist’s side), the first thing to do is breathe. Next calmly begin to troubleshoot. Prior to the appointment, you may want to trial the mic and speakers on the device you intend to use for therapy.  If your bandwidth on your wifi is slow, as those in your home to stay off the network or not engage in activities (streaming videos) that use a lot of bandwidth. If the session can’t happen, you can reschedule. Flexibility is key.
  2. Create a “Therapy Space” or designate a “Therapy Space” for the duration of the session.  You may want to create a ‘Therapy in Session’ sign with your loved one and hang it on the door of the room you are in for the session.  If you will be in a shared living area, you may want to consider the use of a headphone and mic combination. This will decrease the amount of background noise your loved one will hear as well as the therapist. Consider scheduling therapy at a time when others in your family would be napping or engaged in more quiet activities as well.  Creativity is key. 
  3. Count on staying with your loved one for the onset of the therapy session. For individuals that may need support to pay attention, consider this time extra snuggle time.  Have your loved one sit on your lap or very close to you during the session to help guide her/his attention to the therapist. This is time for your loved one to receive the critical therapy services needed as well as a time for YOU to better understand the techniques used to elicit specific behaviors, actions, and sounds from your child.  Teamwork is key. 
  4. Listen to the therapist and therapy session.  Remember, this is your loved one’s therapy time, not necessarily yours.  While it may be hard, refrain from answering the therapist’s questions for talking for your loved one. You may consider the situation/task that the therapist is asking your loved one to do is too difficult, but creating these situations to ‘push’ your loved one to the next level is necessary in progress towards mastery of goals. Trust is key. 
  5. Carryover of all the new skills learned during the therapy session (both for you and your loved one) is extremely important for everyone! You will have new skills to support your loved one as he/she works on speech-language skills.  Share what you have learned with others in your family. Help everyone realize the necessary supports to help your loved one succeed. Practice is key. 

Keeping in mind the importance of flexibility, creativity, teamwork, trust and practice will ensure your loved ones success with this different approach to speech-language therapy.  

More information about the telepractice services offered at Lakeshore Speech can be found at www.lakeshorespeech.com/telepractice or by calling 1-440-417-4190.

Yours in Speech, 
Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC

Learning to be Social

The calendar doesn’t lie.  How is it we are only 10 days away from Valentine’s Day!? With all the attention on sharing love and kindness on that day (as well as every day), we need to take a moment to pause and take into account the skills that bring people closer are really hard to learn.

Some loved ones pick up on social cues and nuances without issue and others require a very clear explanation.  As parents, taking the time to frame acceptable and unacceptable  behaviors for your family’s values is crucial.  Society dictates a number of ‘unwritten’ rules, which makes learning these skills even more difficult for some. Providing a safe environment to discuss and process these ‘unwritten’ rules is important at every age of development. The American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) provide a nice resource for families focused on this area of speech and language.

Your friendly speech-language pathologist would be happy to help you and your family with any questions or concerns you may have related to social communication, social skills, or social pragmatics.  Please feel free to give Kelly a call at 440-471-7190 to set up an appointment.

Yours in Speech,
Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC.

 

Hope in the New Year

Happy New Year!  It’s a new decade filled with hope! Hope for a year filled with much health and happiness! Hope that the closets will organize themselves!  Hope that somehow, someway tiny building blocks will no longer find themselves in the path of an adult walking barefoot. Hope that dinner will be made and eaten without issue.  Hope, hope, hope! 

Hope is what keeps us all moving forward.  Setting goals or evening having ideas of what hope can bring to the New Year is expected at this time of year; so long as this hope isn’t a disguise for bringing the feeling of failure to the New Year as well. 

Sessions with a Speech-Language Pathologist is filled with the promise of hope and belief in your loved one.  Your therapist believes in your loved one and his/her language potential all the while continually promoting your good work at home and navigating the developmental process to guide you all towards mastery and success.  Walking out of a therapy session, you and your loved one should have a renewed feeling of strength to continue working on the specific skills, techniques, etc. until you see your therapist again. 

Cheers to the New Year filled with much hope, happiness and health!

Yours in Speech, 
Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC