A blog about speech therapy.
No matter what season you are currently experiencing, one thing is for sure, weather is all around us! Preschool is the perfect age to begin learning about weather, because it is a concept that kids experience first hand on a daily basis. If you’re planning a weather themed unit, or just looking for some engaging weather activities, you have come to the right place! We have compiled a list of our favorite art, math, literacy, STEM, sensory, and fine motor skill weather activities that are sure to be a hit with learners of all ages!
There 5 parts of the house; bedroom, bathroom, living room, kitchen and garage.
Today we are revisiting some of Robin’s most popular posts. 30 Ways to Celebrate Autism Awareness Month AAC Must-Have’s for the Classroom and Therapy Room The First 12: Getting Started with Core Wo…
I have come to the conclusion that getting over the mess is a big part of parenting. Noah is messy just eating with his own hands and today I am about to hand him a rocket launcher.Until I had Noah I had no idea how important eating was to the strengthening of muscles in the mouth and eventual speech development. From breast feeding or bottle feeding to using a straw to moving solid food around your mouth with your tongue, all of this helps your mouth develop the ability to talk.
If you have a blossoming reader, you will want to download this fantastic tool for learning vowel sounds, blends, digraphs, and more. There are over 60 phonics cards, and they are each as cute as can be!
A sweet little speech and language blog
Working with children in the school environment By Dean E. Williams, Ph.D. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss ways to accomplish and some problems involved in "transfer" and "maintenance" in stuttering therapy for elementary school aged children. Ordinarily the clinician works to "establish" a desired response pattern in the therapy room and then to transfer it to outside situations.
My son has a huge taste for jelly beans. While the texture is something I can't stand, he could play BeanBoozled for hours. No, thank you! However, using this jelly beans science exploration activity was a win for both of us. Especially, when there is a surplus after the Easter holiday. Use What You Have
Building Functional Pretend Play Centers in an Pre-K Classroom
Committed to creating free or low cost speech-language materials. Other life snippets provided too!
Grab a copy of my free mini Christmas Escape Game. Lock away a Christmas present and use this easy-to-set-up envelope puzzle Christmas morning.
Today we have a guest post from Valerie Gent. Valerie is an Australian based Speech Pathologist working primarily with infants and children with feeding difficulties. She has graciously offered to share some insight regarding timelines for starting infants on solid foods. Take it away Val... When should I start my baby on solids is a question posed to Paediatric Feeding Speech Pathologists, Doctors and Baby Health nurses nearly every day. When I answer it in my practice, 'Let's Eat! Paediatric Speech Pathology', I find that it's not always a clear 'yes' or 'no'. The difficulty being that there are lots of different views on when is the "right" time. I hope to be able to summarise most of the recommended guidelines from different authorities as well as tell you as mums what you need to look for in your own baby. What are International and Australian organisations recommending? Organisation When to start solids Factsheet link World Health Organisation 6 months WHO also notes that at 6 months, infants are likely to be developmentally ready for solids. They also recommend not waiting longer than 6 months as it may affect a child's growth. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs342/en/index.html On an aside, there is a really strong push in Australia to breast feed up until 12 months with some organisations such as WHO and the Australian Breastfeeding Association recommending it for longer. WHO states that breast milk provides 'one half or more of a child's energy needs between 6 and 12 months of age, and one third of energy needs between 12 and 24 months.' - think about it - one third - which is actually a lot! Australian Breastfeeding Association 6 months They have written a very informative article on this topic - see link. https://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bf-info/weaning-and-introducing-solids/solidsconfusion National Health and Medical Research Council (The Australian Government) 6 months They do acknowledge that some babies may benefit from the introduction of solids earlier than 6 months (but not before 4 months of age) - but it is generally advised to discuss this with your doctor first. Under review - I contacted them when writing this article and they said they should have something available in mid Feb 2013. Email me if you would like this factsheet emailed to you when it's released. NSW Health As most of you reading this are Australians living in NSW where my practice "Let's Eat! Paediatric Speech Pathology" is located, I thought it would be helpful to also see what our state health is recommending. 6 months http://www0.health.nsw.gov.au/pubs/2006/baby_foods.html So you may begin to start wondering why I decided to write this blog post? I'm on several "mummy" Facebook groups and it astounded me the varying advice bantered around - controversy, myth, outdated advice and mothers getting quite heated that they had the "right" information with internet links to boot! Maybe history may explain some of the advice given to mums? In the early 1900s, Paediatricians recommended cod liver oil and orange juice (with no solids) up until 12 months. More recently, in our grandparent's generation, the recommendation was to start bit earlier than 12 months due to iron deficiencies and in our parent's child bearing era (1950s - 1970s), starting solids was recommended as young as 3-6 weeks of age. So it is likely that our parents started us earlier on solids.... To add more food for thought - The Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy ASCIA recommends introducing solids between four and six months (whilst breastfeeding) and not to delay the introduction of possible allergenic foods (unless you have a family history of allergies, in which case it's advised you speak with your doctor). Here's a link to their factsheet: http://www.allergy.org.au/health-professionals/papers/ascia-infant-feeding-advice What is causing health professionals to hesitate is that there is a lot of debate around solids and their introduction, what we do know is this: * Food allergies are rising in Western countries with the frequency of allergic disease in Australia doubling over the past 25 years (ref 1-3) * There appears to be a link between allergies and delayed introduction of food but as to starting earlier? A systematic review of the literature suggests there is an increased risk of allergy associated with the earlier introduction (early than 4 months) of solids (ref 3 & 4). So that's the evidence but how do you as a mum know when your baby is ready for solids? We use 26 different muscles to eat and swallow. We also have to coordinate our eating and breathing - we hold our breath while we swallow food. So your baby not only needs to: Develop the right oral muscle strength to control and manage their solids - this is more than just the loss of the 'tongue thrust' reflex which happens around 4-6 months. It is also the development of your baby's jaw, lip seal and tongue. Babies need good body strength (commonly known as core stability) to be able to keep their head and body supported while they concentrate on eating. There is a bit difference in core stability in a 4 month old baby to a 6 month old baby. Show an interest in your food - this is more than just mouthing as most 4-6 month old babies will put just about anything in their mouth - food, fingers, toes etc. The other signs might also be looking at spoons and opening their mouths while you eat, your baby might imitate your chewing/mouth movements etc Another sign is one I don't necessarily agree with - showing hunger signs by waking in the middle of the night. There is a developmental growth spurt around this time so starting solids earlier to help your baby sleep through the night may not necessarily work. So where does that lead you? Don't start too early (before 4 months) as it is →not ideal for your baby's digestive system →can affect their intake of breastmilk/formula · Don't start too late (later than 6 months) as it → may increase their allergy risk → their nutritional sources (zinc and iron) start to deplete (it is a gradual process) · Introduce all food types from 6 months and onwards! There is no need to hold back on certain foods (see the Ascia 'infant feeding advice' link above for details). However if you do have a history of allergies in your family, it is best to discuss what to introduce and when with your GP/Paediatrician/Allergy Specialist. Knowing when your baby is ready for solids is not as clear as black and white. Remember that it is a learning process for them and they may not start eating big amounts for a while which is okay! Let them touch it, taste it and most importantly enjoy the experience. Keep mealtimes as fun, interactive and pressure-free as you can and your baby will thank you for it. Good luck and enjoy this next chapter of your child's life! References: 1. Wilkinson, P.W. & Davies, D.P. (1978) When and why are babies weaned? British Medical Journal 1: 1682-1683 2. Fewtrell, M., Morgan, J. Duggan, C., Gunnlaugsson, G., Hibberd, P., Lucas, A. & Kleinman, R. (2007) Optimal duration of exclusive breastfeeding: what is the evidence to support current recommendations? American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol 85 no. 2 635S-638S 3. http://www.allergy.org.au/patients/food-allergy/food-allergy factsheet 4. Beth A. Tarini, MD; Aaron E. Carroll, MD, MS; Colin M. Sox, MD, MS; Dimitri A. Christakis, MD, MPH. (2013), Systematic Review of the Relationship Between Early Introduction of Solid Foods to Infants and the Development of Allergic Disease, JAMA Paediatrics Vol 167, No. 1 About the author of this blog post: Valerie is an Australian based Speech Pathologist with 10 years experience in Paediatric Feeding. She has recently opened a private practice called 'Let's Eat! Paediatric Speech Pathology' that caters for Newcastle based babies and children with feeding difficulties. Valerie is passionate about working in the area of paediatric feeding and has been involved in the teaching and training of Australian Speech Pathology University students and allied health professionals. You can find out more about Valerie Gent and 'Let's Eat! Paediatric Speech Pathology' via her website www.letseatspeech.com.au and Facebook page or email her on [email protected]
Because it seems there has been a lot of emphasis on core words and visual schedules over the past couple of months, we wanted to highlight a particular resource titled: …
Committed to creating free or low cost speech-language materials. Other life snippets provided too!
Get those senses working with a fun mystery gross game
TOP FIRST 100 SIGHT WORDS FLASH CARDS - FREE PRINTABLE
