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Yearly Archives: 2014
`Free Screenings!
Summer is quickly coming to an end, but there is still time to do something about your child’s speech/language skills! If you are concerned about your child’s speech/language development, call Golden Speech Therapy to schedule a screening.
We are offering FREE screenings (by appointment) at our office in Plymouth.
Appointments are currently being scheduled for August and September.
Call today to reserve your spot! 781-603-8529
Summer Speech Fun: Sand Dough
Welcome to the first post in a series about ideas for fun summer activities and how to tie in speech/language skills to your summer fun!
Hopefully this summer will be full of sunny beach days! But, for those times that Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate, it is a good idea to have some ideas for some indoor fun up your sleeve. In my house, a go-to inside summer fun activity is Sand Dough.
Recipe:
4 cups of sand (we used beach sand)
3 cups of flour
1 ¼ cups of warm water
¼ cup of oil
Mix all of the ingredients together and knead until dough forms.
*After we mixed the initial recipe together we added a little more sand/flour to make the consistency a little bit less sticky.
Once the dough is formed it’s time to play! We found some beach rocks and small beach toys to use with the dough. My daughter enjoyed playing with her sand dough all week!
How to tie in speech/language skills:
- Work on following directions while mixing the ingredients
- Use describing words to talk about how the ingredients feel and how the sand dough feels (sticky, wet, dry, etc…).
- Roll the sand dough out and use your fingers to draw shapes and letters with your child
- Hide things in the sand dough and let your child dig to find the treasures – then talk about what your child found
- Roll the sand dough into various size balls and talk about the different sizes
I hope you enjoy this fun summer activity and can to tie in speech/language skills to your summer adventures!
Summer Speech Therapy
Does your child receive speech therapy at school during the school year but not during the summer?
Are you concerned about them not receiving services for two months?
Are you looking for someone to provide services over the summer?
Call Golden Speech Therapy!
Summer is a time to enjoy the sun, head to the beach and have some fun! However, if your child has a speech/language disorder you don’t want them to take any steps back. Golden Speech Therapy in Plymouth is happy to offer services in a fun, family-centered environment.
Booking an appointment for an evaluation in the next few months can assure that your child is able to begin receiving services before the end of the school year!
Call today to inquire about our services or to book an appointment.
781-603-8529
What did I learn today? How can I use it?
I have a sign hanging by the door in my office for my clients to read (if they are able to) on their way out. It says: “STOP! Think about it…. WHY do I come to speech? WHAT did I learn today? HOW can I use it outside of speech?”
The meaning behind this sign is so important. I try to address these questions with all of my clients. In order to make progress it is so important for clients to know what they are working on and why it is important. While it is easier for my older clients to take ownership of their therapy than it is for my younger clients, a key piece to the puzzle is also the caregivers.
As a parent of a child in speech therapy it is so important to be involved. Being “involved” may mean a variety of different things depending on you, your child and your child’s therapist. For some families it may be beneficial for the parent to sit in the therapy room for every session. This will allow the parent to watch the techniques the therapist uses, understand the goals that are being worked on and easily take away strategies to use at home. For other families, having the parent in the room can be too distracting for the child. In this case, the parent may instead choose to sit in for one session every month or every other month. Or, if possible, the parent may watch the therapy through a one-way mirror in an adjoining room.
Whether the parent is in the room or not, it is important for the parent and therapist to have open communication. In my clinic, I try to take the last 5-10 minutes of my session to talk with the parent. I inform them about what goals we addressed that day, what activities we completed and what carryover activities can be done at home. This is also a time for parents to ask any questions they may have. Parents and therapists should work as a team to have open communication and share ideas/strategies to increase the progress of the child.
If you are a parent of a child in speech therapy (or any other kind of therapy!) I urge you to truly be involved in your child’s therapy. Think about the words on the sign:
Know WHY your child goes to therapy.
Know WHAT your child is working on in therapy.
Know HOW you can promote the carryover of skills to outside of therapy.
You are your child’s best teacher and advocate!
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