receptive language | Resources at Lakeshore Speech, LLC.

Daylight Saving Time: How to Helping Children Adjust

Tips to help children adjust to the time change.

Speech Therapy: How To Involve Caregivers & Grandparents

Grandparents working with child on an activity

Speech therapy is not just about what happens in the therapy room—it’s also about practicing skills at home. Involving caregivers and grandparents in home carryover can greatly increase a child’s progress.

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How to Make Play an Important Part of the Day

Play is important at all stages of child development. Play is the ‘work’ of childhood.

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Following Your Schedule: How to get Back on Track

Holidays can be a time when the normal routine is disrupted. It’s time to get back on track and follow your daily routine.

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Talking & Growing: New Year’s Resolutions for Speech Therapy

A brand new year is days away, and that means we get a chance to make some new resolutions! This year, let’s think about making some special resolutions for speech therapy.

Practice Every Day:

One resolution could be to practice your speech exercises every day. Turn practice into playing a game. The more you practice, the better you will become!

Use My Special Words:

Use the special words your speech therapist teaches you as much as possible. These words help you talk smoothly, and they make you feel super proud!

Speak Slowly and Clearly:

Work on speaking slowly and clearly. This way, everyone can understand you when you talk.

Tell More Stories:

Make a resolution to tell more stories or help your child tell more stories. Share your adventures, dreams, and funny moments. It’s a fun way to practice talking.

Ask Questions:

Ask more questions and join in conversations. Questions help you learn new things, and it’s a cool way to make friends!

Read Out Loud:

Reading out loud is like a speech party! Pick your favorite books and read them to friends, family, or even to a pet. It’s great practice!

Be Patient and Positive:

Sometimes, it might feel tricky, but you might want to promise to be patient. Stay positive and celebrate even the small wins. Every step is a step forward!

Thank Your Speech Helpers:

We help each other, and this year, thank your speech buddies. We’re in this together!

Try New Sounds:

Be adventurous and try new speech sounds. It’s like a fun challenge to make your speech even more awesome!

Celebrate Progress:

At the end of each month, celebrate the progress you’ve made. Maybe treat yourself to something special. Yay for progress!

So there you go, friends! These speech therapy resolutions are yours for the taking. Let’s make it an amazing year of talking, growing, and reaching new speech goals together. Here’s to a fantastic year ahead!

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Exclusive: A Christmas Social Story for All Ages

‘Twas days before Christmas

And all thru the place,

Anticipation was brewing

Behaviors a disgrace.

Young and old are excited

Let’s celebrate – oh Joy!

Use your expected social skills

For every girl and boy.

With gifts a plenty

Don’t forget the magic word,

For friends and family,

“Thank you” must be heard.

All the smells and sounds

For many is bliss,

Yet other lament

“I can do without this!”

Have a plan in place

Creating comfort abound,

Makes for a season

Of happiness all ‘round.

Happy Holidays to all

The message to you each,

Tidings of joy to everyone

From Lakeshore Speech!

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How to Prepare for Gift Giving & Receiving

Getting and giving gifts can be exciting but hard for some individuals. Preparing for this time of the year helps to make everyone’s celebration special.

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9 Easy Ways to Create Sensory Friendly Holiday Decor

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.

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10+ Memorable Sensory-Friendly Thanksgiving Tips

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.

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5 Teletherapy Tips for Families – What You Need to Know

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.

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

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Tag: receptive language