Celebrate the authentic heroes of speech therapy carry-over – siblings. Celebrate their role; encourage and empower siblings to be active participants in their brother or sister’s speech therapy journey.
Continue readingCommunication Boards by the Pool
Pool communication boards can make it easier for everyone to have a good time in the pool, especially people with communication differences.
Continue readingWhat to do This Summer?: Top 3 Questions Answered
Take the time you need to make solid decisions about your child.
Summer? Here in NorthEast Ohio, snow is still flying …. the idea of Summer doesn’t seem like it will every be a reality! Alas, we all know those Spring showers will bring those May flowers and Summer is but a few days away! And so the age old question – to schedule the summer away or not? Everyone has on opinion on this topic. Sign the kids up for camp after camp after camp so they don’t miss a thing. Don’t sign the kids up for anything and let the lazy days of Summer lead the adventure. And with every opinion, there is child, parent, family that stands in the shadows waiting for the final answer.
So what is the right answer? That is an answer only YOU as your child’s caregiver can answer. What is needed in the Summer months for one child may not be needed for another. As a caregiver, you need to sit yourself down and really think about a few questions. Answer them honestly and then act upon them and don’t look back.
Three questions to ask yourself
Question #1: What does my son/daughter/child NEED during the Summer months?
Do they NEED the structure of a camp? Do they NEED a flexibility schedule? Do they NEED intensive therapeutic intervention or time with peers? Do they NEED a summer off? What your child NEEDS vs what you WANT can really make a huge difference in the effectiveness of the Summer programming.
Question #2: How much TIME do you and your family have to devote to the Summer program?
Look at that calendar – Summer FLIES by waaay to fast. When do you plan on going on vacation? When are you going to visit Grandma and Grandpa? When is Grandma and Grandpa coming to visit? Signing up for any program or intervention and then canceling is non-productive for you as well as the therapist/program on the other end. Sign-up for days/times that you are pretty sure you will be FREE. Does this mean no Monday or Friday programming for you? Does this mean nothing before 11am? The flexibility of your child’s schedule is paramount in planning for Summer programming.
Question #3: What’s the budget?
We all know price is a big factor in any and all Summer programming. How much is the ultimate limit? Would your money be better spent on one Summer program or spread out among a few? What funding opportunities exist for your child? Is a Summer program ‘gift worthy’ – meaning is it worth the time to suggest a family member(s) give the Summer program to your child as an early birthday or holiday gift? Staying in your budget is just as important during the Summer as it is any time of the year.
You Hold the Answers
Summer programming is up to you and your child. You hold the answer that is right for your child and your situation. We know you’ll make the right decision!
Yours in Speech,
Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC.
How to Celebrate Childhood Apraxia of Speech
What is Childhood Apraxia of Speech?
Childhood Apraxia of Speech is some degree of disrupted speech motor control.In other words, a child diagnosed with CAS experiences difficulty rapidly and accurately moving and sequencing the tongue, lips and palate for the required movements for continuous and intelligible speech production. While the data on incidents of CAS in children is lacking, the estimates of some sources indicate that CAS is low incidence with perhaps 1 – 10 in 1000 children affected or 3 – 5 % of speech-impaired preschoolers.
What does this look like at home, one the playground, in preschool?
A child with CAS may experience a limited number of vowel sounds, difficulty imitating mouth movements and/or words/sounds, or a variety of errors that may be unusual or idiosyncratic. Children with CAS may or may not experience receptive language deficits. Depending on the child, negative behaviors associated with not being understood may also be evident.
What does a parent do? Where do you go?
An experienced Speech-Language Pathologist in the area of CAS can help navigate families and children through the CAS journey. As a parent/caregiver, do not feel intimidated asking if your SLP has experience in the area of CAS. The therapists at Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC. are happy to answer your questions about CAS as well as provide specific therapeutic interventions.
February is CAS awareness month. If you would like more information, please feel free to ask your Speech-Language Pathologists as well as visit The Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association of North America.
Yours in Speech,
Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC.
How to Use Coupons to Build Communication
Coupons can help create communication
Junk mail, inserts in the Sunday papers….those shiny glossy teeny tiny piece of paper worth $.25, $.50, $1!!!!! If you are savvy shopper your coupons are organized and ready to go with every shopping trip. If you are not the organized savvy shopper, your coupons are a crumpled at the bottom of your purse or better yet in a pile on the kitchen counter, never to see the inside of a store.
Coupons are not just for saving a few pennies! Coupons open the door for communication! There are a number of easy – and fast – ways to not only create a mode of communication for your child, but to help she/he practice specific sounds, increase story telling, turn taking, and the list goes on!
How to Use Coupons to Create a Communication Board
Coupon Communication Board: use coupons or the adds surrounding the coupons to make a simple communication board for your child. Cut the object on coupon object out and tape or glue it in a grid form on a piece of paper. The next time you are playing 20 questions trying to figure out what your child would like for a snack, a drink, breakfast, lunch or dinner simply pull out your “Coupon Communication Board” and have she/he point to the choice.
Expanding Communication
Coupons expand communication: not only can coupons create a wonder communication board, but those glossy adds make for wonderful ‘stories’ to talk about. What do you see? What is that? Who is that? What are they doing? Should a doggie be allowed to play with toilet paper? Does candy really talk? Touch something blue. Do you see anything that flies? The number of questions to elicit and expand communication is endless!
No need to go crazy trying to find that ‘just right picture’, they’re right under your nose. Coupons are for communication!
Yours in Speech,
Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC.
Consider Making Your Resolutions for the New Year!
Speech-Language Therapy Resolutions for a New Year
“What’s your resolution this year?” The most frequently asked question from January 1st – 10th of any year. After about 10 days of asking we are all pretty certain that either a. all resolutions have been broken or b. there were none to begin with. For 2018 we might consider to resolve ourselves versus struggle to meet unrealistic resolutions. Resolve ourselves to find the good in all actions and words. Resolve ourselves to be present…present to our children, our partner, our friends, our corner of the world. Resolve ourselves to laugh more, to smile more, to find the joy, to communicate!
Developing Communication Skills is a Team Resolution
So how does this remotely relate to speech-language therapy? Good question! Communication is not just made up of one mode of expression – talking. Rather communication is any way we get our message understood – talking, facial gestures, hand gestures, sign-language, AAC devices, etc. ; being understood is what communication is all about. Speech-language therapy is a means by which we learn how to communicate in a mode that is most effective and efficient. Speech-language therapy does not happen in a bubble and a Speech-Language Therapist (SLP) cannot make effective change in communication without the support and team-work of a child’s entire TEAM . Speech-language therapy is most effective when the entire TEAM is on the same page working towards the same end. The resolve of the entire TEAM has to be finding, practicing and expecting a child to communicate in the most effective and efficient mode. As the main members of the TEAM, parents/caregivers need to communicate with the SLP. Your SLP wants to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly….what worked, what didn’t work. Your SLP should be able to clearly explain how to best manage and create an environment for successful communication in a manner that works for the ENTIRE TEAM. The time spent communicating with your SLP is equally as important as the time she/he spends working with your child. By resolving ourselves to communicate more effectively, our children not only learn by our example but those around us will as well.
Hats off to the start of amazing things in 2018!
Yours in Speech,
Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC