November News

Second quarter has arrived and we are in full swing - although trying to adjust to the short weeks of attendance!  For some, I'm sure things at home are already starting to feel busier than ever, especially since it gets dark so early.  Please be sure to make the time for speech and language practice each day, if you can.  During the holidays, there is so much to talk about and do that the opportunities for social language are much greater.  Talk about things that go together, categories, requesting, greetings, polite ways to interrupt, etc.  Language practice done in the most natural settings has the greatest impact on carryover.  The link below will give you some ideas on how to work on language throughout the busy holiday season.  

http://www.scribd.com/doc/113499503/Language-Homework 

Enjoy and be safe!  

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.  ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

October Happenings

Welcome to the beginning of fall and Halloween season!  I cannot express how pleased I am with the students and how well they are already progressing.  Thank you for your continued support at home - it truly makes all the difference in the world.  If you think about it in terms of numbers, it is obvious that at home practice and support is the driving force in speech and language.  I see my students once or twice per week for 15-30 minutes per session and while they may be producing their sounds correctly or using correct grammar in my room, if they leave and aren't supported, think about how MANY hours of incorrect productions they can produce and will need to overcome.  While I am thrilled to work with your children, my main goal is for them to be independent and succeed.  THANK YOU for your dedication at home and support of my work!

I have included some ideas to work on speech and language at home to change your approach and not make it seem so much like "work" (for either the parents or students).  I hope these help and you can always contact me if you would like more!



OCTOBER Speech Homework

And Away We Go......

This week all screenings and referrals have been completed and invitations for the Sound Improvement Groups have been sent home.  If you have received one and not yet turned it in, please do or request a new one if necessary.  Speech services began this week and it has been just wonderful working with your children!  I will also be working with some students not in speech within our RTI program and that will begin on Monday.

I cannot express the importance of working with your child daily on speech homework.  Practice, practice, practice is the key to remediating articulation errors.  Remember that it takes time to learn a new skill, particularly one that will eventually become natural.  Here are some suggestions for working with your child in the home environment:

• Designate a time each day to review production of target sounds.

• Avoid "over-correcting" a child.  It is acceptable to remind your child to use his/her "new sound" without correcting each mispronunciation. 

• Slow your rate of speech to model production of target sounds.

• Use language at an age-appropriate level.

• Avoid interrupting the child's speech to correct production when he/she is in mid-sentence.

• Find time to do quiet things, such as reading a book or going for a walk, and talking about the activity without correcting each sound.

• Find ways to build your child's confidence.  Praise is very important!

• Always listen to what your child says, not how your child talks.

• Be patient and use good eye contact.  Give your child a chance to express himself/herself.

• Talk about your child's speech in a matter-of-fact, reassuring way.

• Make homework time fun.  Play games which require turn-taking.  Before each turn, your child could label a picture or produce a word with the targeted speech sound. 

• Use a variety of resources.  Here is a link to a website which offers speech articulation games:http://www.quia.com/pages/havemorefun.html

If you need any suggestions or would like some creative ideas on practicing with your children at home, please contact me at any time!

Moving Along.....

It was wonderful to see you if you were able to attend our Curriculum Nights here at Elizabeth Ide.  It was nice to reconnect with familiar faces and meet new families.  It has been a joy to see returning students and I am anxious to begin working with them!  Kindergarten screening will be completed next week and speech services will officially start the following week.

If the screening determines your child may benefit from speech services, you will receive a letter and consent form next week regarding Sound Improvement Training. This is a program offered to students in compliance with the government's Response to Intervention (RTI) program.  I developed this program four years ago and it has proven quite successful for many students.  A program such as this allows students to benefit from speech services without initially being placed in special education. RTI is a preventative measure that allows a student to possibly reduce his/her risk for further articulation difficulties that may negatively affect his/her educational performance by participating in a Sound Improvement Group.

In the Sound Improvement Group, I meet with students with similar needs individually or in small groups to 1) check for stimulability of sound production, 2) attempt possible interventions to develop correct sound production, and 3) track data to interpret future needs of the students. Since we focus on sounds that are still developing, there is no guarantee that this will be your child's only speech and language intervention. This is a preventative measure used for a specific amount of time (semester basis) to see how your child's sound production develops. Your participation at home is warranted for the duration of this program. Homework will be given and each child is expected to practice while in this group.

If you see this paperwork come home and you have ANY questions, please contact me at any time via telephone or email.  

Fair is not everyone getting the same thing. Fair is everyone getting what they need. -Anonymous.

Happy New School Year!

Welcome to all our new and returning families!  I do hope that everyone enjoyed their summer.  The first few weeks back can be quite an adjustment for all of us, but things have been going VERY well here at Elizabeth Ide.  We have welcomed new staff as well as new students.  I am looking forward to a new year and so far it has been great.  The first week is complete and has been very positive - so many smiling faces around here!

The next two weeks I will spend screening students and putting together my schedule.  I will check on the progress of my Response To Intervention (RTI) speech improvement groups and screen all incoming Kindergarteners during these next two weeks.  If you want your child screened for speech, please call me or send me an email with your concerns.  I will be contacting the parents of students that are candidates for RTI speech improvement groups after screenings are complete.  Speech services will begin as soon as all testing and screenings are complete and my schedule is finalized.

Thank you for your patience as we begin this school year together!

May is Better Speech and Hearing Month

http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/communicationdevelopment.htm

This link provides information regarding children's communication development for Kindergarten through fifth grade. It has been my pleasure to work with your students in the 4 year old Early Childhood program and at Elizabeth Ide School again this year.
And while it is Teacher Appreciation Week, I am appreciative of not only the teachers that I work with, but the parents who support what I do here. Speech and language services are not a single-handed process at any level - without support in the classroom and at home, your children and students would be unable to achieve the success they have these past years in this district. Thank you!

To love what you do and feel that it matters - how could anything be more fun? Katharine Graham

Parents Advised On How To Detect Communications Disorders In Their Children
Although more than 5 million children in the United States have a speech, language, and hearing disorder, parents are often uninformed and unsure about what to do when they suspect their child. This May, and every May since 1927, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) has used the May is Better Hearing and Speech Month (BHSM) celebration to provide parents with information about communication disorders to help ensure that they do not seriously affect their children's ability to learn, socialize with others, and be successful in school. Speech and language problems can occur at any time in a child's life. They can be caused by accidental injury, illness, or inherited by birth.

Child speech and language problems include:
Stuttering
Articulation problems ("wabbit" instead of "rabbit")
Language disorders such as the slow development of vocabulary, concepts, and grammar.
Voice disorders (nasal, breathy, or hoarse voice and speech that is too high or low)

Parents who suspect their child has a communication disorder should see an ASHA-certified speech-language pathologist. These professionals identify, assess, and treat speech and language problems including swallowing disorders. Speech-language pathologists work in schools, private practice, hospitals, clinics, rehabilitation centers, health departments, research laboratories, and other health education settings. "Fortunately, most children with speech, language, and hearing problems can be helped,".
"Even if the problem cannot be eliminated, we can teach the child strategies to help them cope with their communication disorders, or provide them with the appropriate technology.

By promoting Better Hearing and Speech Month, we hope parents will learn about communication disorders, what they can do to help their children, and how speech-language pathologists and audiologists can help with their child's communication disorders." Meanwhile, hearing loss, like speech and language problems, can have a negative impact on a child's social and academic development. Communication disorders like hearing loss in children can occur at birth or as a child grows older due to chronic ear infections or exposure to noise. The earlier hearing loss occurs in a child's life, the more serious the effects have on the child's development.
 Typical signs of a hearing loss in children include:
 Inconsistently responding to sound
Delayed language and speech development
Unclear speech
Sound is turned up on electronic equipment (radio, TV, cd player, etc.)
Does not follow directions
Often says "Huh?"
Does not respond when called
Frequently misunderstands what is said and wants things repeated

As a first step, people who think their child is displaying many of these warning signs and think they may have hearing loss or other hearing disorders should see a certified audiologist. These professionals specialize in preventing, identifying, assessing, and treating hearing disorders. Also, they provide treatment for hearing loss including fitting hearing aids and other assistive listening devices, and they can teach children with hearing loss how to concentrate on hearing all sounds. ASHA recommends that children at risk for hearing loss, such as those who suffer from chronic ear infections or in cases where there is a family history of hearing loss, be screened by a certified audiologist as frequently as needed to ensure they are hearing well. Otherwise, for children ages 5-18, hearing screenings should occur on initial entry into school and annually in kindergarten through 3rd grade as well as in the 7th and 11th grades.

 Parents who think their children may have a speech, language, or hearing disorder or know of a loved one who has a communication disorder should access ProSearch at http://www.asha.org/findpro/, ASHA's online directory of audiology and speech-language pathology programs, to find an ASHA-certified speech-language pathologist or audiologist in their area.

About the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association ASHA is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than 145,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists. Audiologists specialize in preventing and assessing hearing and balance disorders as well as providing audiologic treatment including hearing aids. Speech-language pathologists identify, assess, and treat speech and language problems including swallowing disorders. www.asha.org/.

Welcome Back!

I do hope that everyone enjoyed their spring break and has come back refreshed and ready for the last trimester. Spring allows us plenty of opportunities to speak with our children and do plenty of hands-on activities both inside and outside. As daylight becomes more abundant, we have more time to spend outdoors describing the changes nature is taking, working together, and playing.



http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/vegetable-flowers-with-homemade-ranch-dip-685566/



"I'm a great believer that any tool that enhances communication has profound effects in terms of how people can learn from each other, and how they can achieve the kind of freedoms that they're interested in."

- Bill Gates

Spring Story Activity

Spring Rebus Story

March is an Exciting Month!

There is so much that happens in March, including many celebrations and days off! There are Institute Days, Casimir Pulaski Day, St. Patrick's Day, conferences, and of course, Spring Break. Yet, we are still working hard here and have been celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday this month! It is one of my favorites as the books are fun to read and they promote rhyming and repetition which is wonderful for speech and language teaching and practice. I do hope that you enjoy reading with your children, too. I found a great website that has plenty of activities you can do with the kids at home and continue to practice while having fun!



http://www.kidactivities.net/post/Dr-Seuss-Theme-Activities.aspx

As we end the second trimester, you have received updated progress reports. If you have any questions or comments, please email or call me at any time. I will be happy to speak with you regarding your child's progress!

Enjoy the extra time you get to spend with your child this month - cherish each moment - they're not little for long.

"Kind words are a creative force, a power that concurs in the building up of all that is good, and energy that showers blessings upon the world."
- Lawrence G. Lovasik

February is Here

We have had much fun with different themes this month - Groundhog Day, Valentine's Day, and upcoming President's Day. Your children and I have incorporated these exciting things into our lessons this month. I have posted a homework page to use for practice this month on articulation and language. Please continue to practice at home with your children to ensure their success and keep them motivated as they progress. Home support is crucial for carryover of skills they learn and work on in speech once or twice per week.

Enjoy the three-day weekend! As always, I am available if you have any questions or concerns.


"If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear."
Pooh's Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

February Speech and Language Homework

Feb Homework3

Winter Fun to Promote Language and Home Practice

I have found some books and fun projects that you can work on with your children to practice at home. This month's theme as the children returned to school was "Snowmen" and I wanted to share some of the resources I have found.


Fun Winter Books
A wordless book, The Snowman is excellent for working on interpretation and language development. Have the child look at the pics and tell what they think is happening. Prompt them to notice details in the pictures and assist them in processing the clues to arrive at a logical narrative. This is a great activity for developing narratives, working on verbal expression skills, and improving grammar and written language. This task is also excellent for the child with weak processing or pragmatic language skills. Social skills can be addressed by discussing how the characters may be feeling, why they feel this way, and how we come to those conclusions based on what we see or know.

The Mitten is a classic story about a lost glove and the forest animals who find shelter there. This story lends itself to sequencing tasks and story retelling. There is also lots of advanced vocabulary to be learned in this version of the story. Jan Brett's website
http://www.janbrett.com/search_results.htm?cx=003689230839966827781%3A9myke-i4ega&cof=FORID%3A11&ie=UTF-8&q=the+mitten&sa=Search+janbrett.com
includes many free activities. You can add all types of activities depending on your goals: matching mittens (real one, wallpaper/scapbook paper cutouts, or pencil paper tasks with worksheets), learning about the different kinds of animals, or creating your own story based on another article of clothing. The Hat is an example of expanding an idea from one story to another.

Cooking Activities

"Take advantage of every opportunity to practice your communication skills so that
when important occasions arise, you will have the gift, the style, the sharpness, the
clarity, and the emotions to affect other people."
Jim Rohn