Meet Emily. Emily is one of four "facial expression empathy dolls" available from EmotiPlush Inc. On their website, EmotiPlush dolls are described as: "a revolutionary way of playing with dolls - change the toy's features to reflect the emotions you want it to express!"
The Read With Me! program is designed to facilitate oral language and preliteracy skill development in young children (18 months to 8 years, although can work for older children with delays/disabilities). These strategies help parents, caregivers, and early childhood educators learn how to make reading time interactive to get the most out of reading time.
children's books, early intervention, language, literacy | in Child Development, Language Children are observant and naturally curious. As they get older they begin to notice differences between themselves and others. Sometimes that sparks questions about differences in skin color or other physical differences, sometimes about behaviors they find curious, sometimes regarding the way another child talks (or the fact that someone doesn't talk). These questions are not intended to be rude, insulting, or hurtful. They are simply seeking information and learning about the world around them. Whether or not you have a child with special needs, it is important for all kids to understand special needs. Understanding leads to acceptance and compassion, inclusion and kindness. Books can be a great way to share information and open a dialogue.
children's books, disabilities, language, special needs, speech | in Child Development, Language, Speech, books Dr. Robertson made a simple but powerful statement: we are good at telling parents about the need to read to their children (the why), but we never tell them what or how to read to children. Oh. My. Goodness! As Oprah would say, huge 'ah-ha!' moment! Then I saw a review for a new book by speech-language pathologist Kimberly Scanlon: "Learning to Read is a Ball". "Learning to Read is a Ball" is part children's book, part parent guide. An example of what to read, with a guide on how to read it!
book review, language, literacy | in Child Development, Language Melt-down. Tantrum. Challenging behavior. Whatever you call it, at its core is the lack of skills needed to navigate emotional upset and/or disregulation. Self-Regulation is one of those all important executive function skills. It is "the ability to manage emotional upset and behavior", and a skill set that is particularly difficult to learn for children with language/communication disorders.
