“There are not enough hours in the day.”
“Add this to my list of things to take care of tomorrow.”
“Another meeting?”
During the school year, there are often times when I think to myself, "My plate is full." This Thanksgiving season, I challenge you and myself to think differently. Are you busy? Absolutely. Is there a moment for you to catch your breath in between therapy sessions? Maybe not. What are you filling your plate with this season? Is it heaps of expectations that will drive you to burnout? Did you add a side of working overtime to meet the needs of your students? At times, I have served myself a similar portion.
Today, I ask that you scoop off what you can to pile a heaping spoon of gratitude in place of deadlines. I ask that you renew your mind by recalling what drew you to this position in your life. The protein, the meat if you will, of your job is to create successful humans so they may be good citizens of planet Earth. There are a lot of details and behind-the-scenes work. However, I ask that you consider the gift you have been given and take another look at your plate. Does it overflow with the remarkable students who have finally achieved their goals this semester? Can you carve the work/life balance to suit your diet? Are you left feeling satisfied with your portion?
As a “thank you” for all that you do, I want to take something off your plate. Here are some of my tips and tricks for younger students and those with significant speech and language delays. Pass the plate to parents before your students go on break, so they may return ready to continue with speech therapy.
| Naming a choice/pointing gesture |
Place toys just out of your child’s reach |
Prompt: “What do you want?” |
| Directions | Hold your child’s hands and move them up and down as you say “up” and “down,” “up” and “down.” |
Pause before you say the next direction to prompt your child to say it first. |
| Commands | Have containers with snacks to prompt your child to say "open." |
Model the word “open.” Do not open until they say or attempt to verbalize "open." |
| More play | Use a toy, book, or game to and pause the activity to prompt your child to say or sign “more.” |
Provide a model for signing or saying “more.” |
| Bubbles | “Ready, set, pop pop pop!” | Use your finger to pop bubbles and say “pop” each time. |
| Cars | “Ready set,” pause for your child to say “go” then release the car. |
Keep practicing until your child imitates the word “go.” |
| Peekaboo | As you pop into view, say "peeka- ____" and wait for your child to say "boo." |
Use different objects or your hands to hide behind. |
| Animals | Practice animal sounds | Bee (buzz), dog (woof woof), cow (moo), duck (quack quack), lion (roar), snake (ssss), etc. |
| Questions/Choices | Use questions with choices to help your child name a response. |
"Do you want milk or juice?" Instead of, "do you want a drink?" (which would result in a head nod). |
| Songs | Use songs with repetition. | "Wheels on the Bus" or "If You are Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands" |
| Repeat/Model | Repeat your child's word to show you understand. Model the correct pronunciation. |
Ex: "Nake."
|
| Expand | Expand your child’s communication by two or three words. |
Ex: Your child says, "car". You say, "blue car, fast car, mommy's car." Your child says, "shoe." You say, "shoe on, two shoes, dirty shoes." |
| Model for Imitation | Your child uses incorrect speech, respond with the correct model. |
Ex: Your child says, "uh dide." You say, "Oh, you want to go outside? Let's go." |
| Self Talk | Talk about what you are doing. It’s as easy as that! |
"Mommy is cooking. Let's add water. Stir, stir." “I am turning the water on.” |
| Parallel Talk | Talk about what your child is doing. |
"You are playing with the truck. Vroom vroom. You moved it by the yellow truck." |
Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!
Author: Brittany Stanford, M.A. CCC-SLP