Getting out the door in one piece

A new school year, a new therapy schedule, just the time to create some new habits for a smooth transition.  Being pulled in a million different directions is enough to make anyone harried . You and your family’s stress levels do not need to be off the charts.  Help yourself and those you love create a game plan that is sure to score big this Fall.

Organizing tasks, managing time and executing a plan are all executive functioning skills.  Skills we all (no matter the age) continue to polish and refine throughout our lives. Executive functioning skills are not innate to some, butare skills that need to be taught and practiced.  When executive functioning skills begin to mature and become second nature, the stress decreases significantly.

Your game plan to create an environment that supports and teaches executive functioning skills does not have to be elaborate.  Try a few of these suggestions and see the difference for yourself. .

  • Under 5 years old
    • Specific area or tub or bin where favorite toys are kept
    • Diaper bag filled and ready to go – this bag should be kept in the same location (ie: hook, shelf) at all times so it is easy to find and grab while you are running out of the door.
    • Keep an emergency bag/bin in the car at all times – stock with snacks, diapers, change of clothes (for your child and yourself), wipes, etc.
  • School Age
    • Backpack, coat, boots, etc. all have a specific location.  This does not have to be elaborate. Grab a few empty cardboard boxes, have each child (and adult) decorate the box, arrange boxes near the entrance door. Elminiates the “trail” of belongs going through the house when your children return from school.
    • In/Out Boxes/bins for school papers.  Inevitably, your child will have a ‘home’ folder and/or school papers that need your attention.  Make a simple In/Out box system using gift boxes (reinforced with tape) to ensure these important papers do not get lost in a pile. Work with your child in getting the home folder out of the backpack and into the In/Out box.  You won’t have to worry about losing the papers and can get to them when you have time to focus your attention.
    • “Everything has a place and every place as a thing.” Words to live by!  
      • Key hooks
      • Shoe mats
      • Lunch box baskets
      • Home information Centers
      • School clothes dresser drawers vs play clothes dresser drawers
    • Simple after school “To Do” list :
      • Put folder in IN/OUTBox
      • Change clothes
      • Get a snack
      • Start homework

Your family’s unique style will dictate the creative ways in which you discover to better manage executive functioning skills.  Do not hesitate to consult with a Speech-Language Therapist for specific techniques not only for the entire family, but for specific members who could use individual attention in this area.

Yours in Speech,

Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC

Love of Learning

Labor Day, the holiday of the working women and men in our country, a holiday honoring us for what we do day in and day out. When what you do everyday is something you love and are passionate about, it’s hard to consider it ‘work’.

The anonymous quote, “Find something you love to do, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life” holds more true today than ever before.  In this fast paced world, with the use of computers and smartphone technology, getting ‘away’ from work is almost impossible. Finding the balance between work and the rest of one’s life at times can seem impossible, but is definitely made easier when the ‘job’ doesn’t feel like a job at all.

It’s equally important to ensure our children’s’ ‘jobs’ are loved as well.  Children’s jobs? You might be asking yourself what jobs can a 2 year old, 6 year old, 10 year old possibly have.  The job children have day in and day out is learning….learning is the job every child holds. Loving the job of learning will take children to places we have yet to  imagine.

Helping a child to love learning can be trying, but knowing when to push a little more or step back can really alter the how a child perceives learning. Challenges are adventures that need careful navigation.  Becoming a partner in discovery of these adventures helps a child realize challenges can be overcome and are not insurmountable. Those easy “lessons” are opportunities for the adult to step back and follow the child’s lead.  These opportunities help to build independence and practice leadership skills. Those lessons that keep reappearing can be looked at as steps and with every time the child get to practice her/his skills building confidence and positive self-esteem. And let’s not forget the lessons that do not result in the intended or anticipated outcome.  These lessons provide the opportunity for child and adult to reevaluate the strategy and prove that we are all human. The less than perfect lessons help a child realize it is okay to not be perfect and in that imperfection is beauty. These are the lessons that are sometimes most important.

The love of learning will span a child’s lifetime and influence every decision.

Yours in Speech,

Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC

 

“Flex” your social skills!

Were you ever in public with your child and his/her behavior made you wish the floor would open and swallow you whole?  Ever been without words following your child’s painfully truthful comment? Remember that time when no matter what you said or what you offered your child she/he could not and would not get his/her mind off of the one little thing that made them upset and therefore ruined the event/day/situation?

We have have experienced these ‘moments’ in life and for most these situations are not a daily occurrence, however for some these ‘moments’ happen daily.  The ability to communicate, verbal or non-verbal, as well as interact with those in our environment in a socially acceptable manner is called social skills.  Social skills are typically not taught in an out right manner, rather a child ‘picks’ up these rules and skills by watching adults interact. For example, chances are you were never sat down and given a full explanation as to why when you meet someone, you extend your hand.  There’s a pretty good chance that you had seen this occur enough times that without really thinking about it, you appropriately responded when an adult extended their hand to shake yours. All children require some level of direct instruction (formal or not) when being ‘taught’ social skills.  How many times have you said under clenched teeth in an audible whisper, “Get your finger OUT of your nose immediately. HERE is a tissue!” or “Please, when you are at your grandparent’s house, please to not burp at the table, please!!! For some children (and adults) these social nuances are not easily ‘seen’.  For some, these social skills, social graces, manners, whatever you want to call them, are very difficult skills to learn, remember and execute.

We are proud to offer the small group program based on the Superflex: A Superhero Social Thinking Curriculum by Stephanie Madrigal and Michelle Garcia Winner.  Your child will experience the adventures of our hero Superflex conquering the dastardly Team of Unthinkables such as “Rock Brain” , “WasFunnyOnce”, and “Glassman”.  All of the villains embody different challenges or behaviors that your child may experience everyday. Using ‘Superflex” as an example, your child will learn techniques and acquire ‘super powers’ to manage these villains!

Julie Ruddy will be leading our band of Superflex Heroes into battle against the Team of Unthinkables.  Julie brings 24+ years of experiences working with children with special needs grades K through 12 as an Intervention Specialist.  Julie received her Masters in Curriculum Instruction and is a proud graduate of Ohio University. Julie has super powers of her own which she will share at Lakeshore’s Superflex Main Command Room in a six week program on Tuesdays from 6:30pm – 7:30pm.  Class size is limited to 6 SuperHeros in training. Registration is open until Wednesday, September 12, 2018. Find more information at https://www.lakeshorespeech.com/events/ .

Yours in Speech,

Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC