Playgrounds are loved by young and old. Playground communication boards play an important role in creating a sense of inclusivity, support and community in city playgrounds.
Continue readingImproving Inclusivity in City Parks
Be Spooktacularly Ready for Halloween with Speech Therapy
Discover how speech therapy can make Halloween a treat. Explore how speech therapy can help practice Halloween-themed conversations, boost confidence, and improve social skills.
Continue reading5 Teletherapy Tips for Families – What You Need to Know
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
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
Revving up the holiday season – Proactive Actions
The holiday season is revving up to get ready to roll. While we acknowledge there are significant stressors for you and your loved ones at this time of year, we could also consider the stress and comfort of extended families and friends. It is not your job to do everyone else’s job, however, taking a few moments to realize the impact you and your loved ones have on others could make family and friend gatherings more enjoyable for everyone.
Providing information about characteristics that are unique to your loved one, may create a more tolerant and understanding environment. A simple phone call, text or email to the host or hostess the explain those ‘quirks’ that you and your immediate family may not even notice. For example, let the homeowner know if your loved one needs to see all the bathrooms upon entering a new location or if your loved one may go around the home and close all the doors.
Help your extended family and friends better understand your loved one’s form of communication. Share his/her successes and any ‘triggers’ that may exist (ie: asking more than 3 times to clarify a phrase or word). Provide a few simple tips for the best way to engage your loved one (ie: asking yes/no questions or asking questions about the here/now vs past/ future).
Anticipate situations that may prove to be very stressful not only for you and your loved one, but the host/hostess. Communicate that you may be bringing a different meal for your loved one to enjoy vs eating the traditional meal. Share that your loved one may take a ‘break’ during the meal and what that can be expected (ie: your loved one may need to take a break in a room where you can guide your loved one to quiet area).
Open and host communication and preparation can create a setting where everyone enjoys their time together creating memories!
Yours in Speech,
Lakeshore Therapy Speech, LLC.
How to Make A Candy Plan : Take the Stress Out of Halloween
You’ve planned the costume, you’ve walked the route, you’ve practiced knocking on doors… a few more thoughts to help make your family’s trick or treat evening sweet.
What will you do with all that candy? Once your loved one sees her/his bounty of sweetness, she/he may not want to part with a single piece. Create a plan and share that plan well before that candy is in your house.
Will your family spend the last minutes of Halloween counting and sorting candy? Will there be a huge candy trading event in the middle of your living room? Providing a plan for the evening can make a difference in ending the evening on a sweet note.
Create a ‘buy back’ program if you would prefer your loved ones not have free access to that much candy. Make your program work in a way in which your loved one will receive a certain number of dollars, stars, tokens, etc. when they ‘trade in’ a certain number of pieces of candy. Check with your dentist to see if they are offering a buy back program.
Create a ‘decorate a gingerbread house’ program. Decorate a box with pictures of gingerbread houses. Put candy that could be used to decorate a gingerbread house in the box. You now have everything you need to decorate your holiday gingerbread house.
Create a ‘week long candy plan’. Divide a shoe box into 7 sections. Place one or two pieces of candy in each section. Give your loved one the opportunity to choose the candy in one section every day.
Whatever your plan, share it with your loved ones well before the candy starts pouring in the house. Make it very clear where the candy will be stored and what the plan will be once it is collected. It may feel like you’re taking the fun out of the candy collection, rather you are providing the framework for a fun and enjoyable evening from start to finish!
Yours in Speech,
Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC.
Fall into Fall!
How it is that September is just about over? While we continue to enjoy the final days of warm weather, living in Northeast Ohio, we all know what will be knocking on our door much sooner than later. It always seems like there are so many outdoor activities in the summer months and as soon as the mercury drops below 60, everyone retreats into hibernation mode.
Enjoying the area’s many Fall activities and festivals gives not only the opportunity to spend valuable time together, but the time to practice and experience a variety of language rich activities. These language rich activities are the foundation and play an extremely important role in a child’s language development and maintenance. As a parent/caregiver, you naturally provide these opportunities to practice language skills naturally. This article provides information to not only validate your hard work, but provides information for more or different techniques that can be added to your repertoire.
Speaking of Fall activities, please take a moment to research the many different and wonderful opportunities in your area for you and your loved ones to enjoy together. If you are in the Northeast Ohio area here are a few activities to fill your calendar:
Northeast Ohio Family Fun article #1
Northeast Ohio Family Fun article #2
Yours in Speech,
Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC.
Take Time To Celebrate – Acknowledge the Big and Small Wins
School is officially in full swing across the country! This too is the time of year where you may be receiving a lot of information related to your child’s development and skills in comparison to same age peers. Too often we lose sight of typical development, especially if our child is developing on their own time. The information is shared in this blog not to make anyone feel bad about their child’s development or skill set, rather to celebrate those skills and provide clear information of what would be expected related to language development at the END of their specific school year.
Your Child’s Communication Development: Kindergarten Through Fifth Grade
Ultimately, if your child’s skills are moving forward, regardless of the pace, he/she is making progress and there is much to celebrate! Take the time to celebrate every small step forward!
Yours in Speech,
Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC.
Let the Music Play
We welcome September with a song! September is not only Classical Music Month but National Piano Month. An individual’s language development as well as overall development can be positively influenced by music. Listening to a variety of music genres builds an appreciation of the art that lasts a lifetime.
An individual’s reading comprehension can also be positively influenced by listening to music. Celebrate this month by brushing off those old LPs, 8-track, cassettes, and CDs and fill your world with music.
Can Listening to Music Help Your Child with Language Development and Reading Comprehension?
Yours in Speech,
Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC.
Proactive Planning Goes the Distance
Changes in schedules and routines are completely expected if not expected. As we approach the July 4th holiday, evaluating the changes in schedules and routines – PROACTIVELY – will provide for a much more enjoyable holiday experience for everyone!
Last year, one of the blog posts was dedicated specifically to preparing for the July 4th holiday. We invite you to revisits that post as the information continues to be ever important. These proactive steps do not end with just the holiday. As you are devising your summer plans, it is helpful to be aware of the resources within different venues and activities that are designed to meet the needs of individuals with special needs.
If you are visiting the Cleveland MetroParks Zoo, you should be aware of these services available to you and your loved ones.
Going to an Indian’s game at Progressive Field? Check out these resources and these and these.
Headed to the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse? You are going to want to be aware of this information.
And if your summer plans take you to Cedar Point, you definitely are going to want to read this information.
In general, before you head off to any vacation or stay-cation destination, check with the facility to inquire of what materials and resources are available onsite to address the needs of individuals with special needs.
Yours in Speech,
Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC.