Sound of the Week: before we begin, consideration #2

Time to get back to the "Sound of the Week" posts! I want to continue with items to consider before directly targeting speech sound production with children exhibiting significant speech disorders. When I last posted ...

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Children's Books about Special Needs

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.

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A new "project": Sound of the Week

A while back I did a "letter of the week" project. At the time I was working with several young children with speech and language impairments who were also at risk for literacy difficulties. That project was actually the impetus for starting this blog! Just as I was wrapping up the letter of the week project, I had a shift in focus for several of my clients. Apraxia and other motor speech disorders popped to the forefront. What evolved was essentially a "sound of the week" project...

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Pat, I'd like to buy a vowel.

As a speech-language pathologist, it wasn't until I started working with children with significant speech impairments that I started to really appreciate the importance of vowels. I mean, I knew vowels are important. After all, without vowels our words have no meaning. Consider the following...

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Sound of the Week: CH

Are you ready for sound of the week /ch/?? When I made the decision to take a break from the letter/sound of the week project...well, let's just say it was a little longer than I had intended! But here we are. So, let's hear three cheers for "CH"!

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