Letter of the Week: U

Well, it’s time we faced facts. We have returned to the time of year when rain is our frequent companion. So we are going to talk “umbrellas” for a week. A stretch, you say? Pi-shaw! Okay, okay. I knew without thinking about it that ‘X’ was going to be a challenge in the theme department. It wasn’t until I started thinking about it that I realized ‘U’ also presents a challenge (although not to the same extent). And for the the hardcore Seattleites who never use umbrellas…well, it’s good to know what one is so we can tell stories about how we saw one invert on someone in the windy rain. Anyone up for singing in the rain, twirling an umbrella?

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“Casey do.” Waiting for Pronouns

I have pronouns on the brain. Recently, I have had questions from friends and family about “when should” their little one be using pronouns correctly. Just this morning I saw a post on Facebook questioning “why (we) educators refer to ourselves and others in the 3rd person when working with young children?” Pronouns are actually quite complex to learn. They change meaning depending upon who is talking and the ‘cast of characters’ involved.

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Letter of the Week: H

Hhhhhhhhhhalloween is coming! I’m not sure if you can tell, but I LOVE this time of year. Cooler air, warmer layers of clothes, hot drinks and beautiful colors changes outside = happy, happy, joy, joy. Mother Nature is even helping to create a Halloween-mood with all the fog. For H / Halloween week, practice saying “Happy Halloween!” If your child cannot say it verbally, learn to sign it or say it via an AAC system. Oh, and Halloween costumes are definitely welcome in therapy for the week of Halloween!

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Letter of the Week: M

Are you getting in the Halloween spirit? For kids with speech, language, communication, social, and sensory issues, now is a good time to start practicing for the “big day”. Talk about and rehearse the steps and social expectations of trick-or-treating and Halloween parties. Do some dry runs with costumes to get used to them. Practice saying (or using alternative means to communicate) “trick or treat” and “thank you”. Preparation and practice can go a long way to allowing your child to participate in and enjoy the Halloween experience. To continue getting into the Halloween spirit, up next is the letter ‘m’ and monsters!

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Do you speak AAC?

Once an appropriate AAC system has been chosen through feature matching, we need to provide the same level of immersion, experience and opportunity to AAC users as we do children developing verbal communication. We need to “speak AAC” to users in an immersive fashion for a LONG period of time before we expect any expressive use from the AAC user. We need to provide many meaningful, functional opportunities daily for the AAC user to practice.

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