Early Intervention Speech Therapy : books

Reviewing Speech Resources

Stephanie Bruno — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:23:00 GMT

Over the past year this blog has addressed a variety of syndromes, disorders and conditions that affect the many children we treat in early intervention. Due to my lack of time (but not lack of interest!), I do not always have a chance to research all...(read more)

In the Spirit of Giving...Toys!

Stephanie Bruno — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 14:39:00 GMT

On Tuesday, I submitted a post discussing the dangerous presence of toxic chemicals in toys. As I had stated in that post, parents will often ask for suggestions regarding toys that would be appropriate and helpful for their child with a diagnosed speech and/or feeding delay/disorder. Especially at this time of the year with the holidays and gift-giving approaching, parents are eager to purchase items that will foster communication and support the speech/feeding needs of their child. Our last post focused on the possible hazards of toys, but today's post will focus on the benefits of using healthy toys to support the play, speech and feeding skills of children!

The following is a list of toy ideas that can help to stimulate speech and healthy eating habits in young children:

Bubbles
Microphone/Recorder (something that will record the child's voice)
CD player (something to play music and stories for the child)
Musical instruments (i.e. tambourine, maracas, etc.)
Alphabet toys - ABC books, puzzles, etc (i.e. toys to promote phonemic sounds)
Whistles and whistle activated toys (i.e. Whistle/Voice activated Thomas the Train; also good for Cause and Effect)
Oral Motor Bucket - Straws, cotton balls, feathers, etc. (i.e. Items to promote oral motor strength and awareness) Great for stocking stuffers!!
Art Supplies/Easel - Markers, crayons, glitter glue, construction paper, etc - items to allow children to experiment and be creative!
Pretend Kitchen and Food - great for children with feeding issues
Mr. Potato Head - great way to practice naming and pointing to body parts
Baby Dolls - great for pretend play and practicing daily routines - "wash the baby", "dress the baby", "feed the baby", etc.
Animals - farm house and farm animals, zoo animals (also great for pretend play)
DVDs - musical and speech supportive videos
Flash cards
Books! Books! Books!

Remember to always consider not only the child's age, but also their developmental level and natural interests when making toy choices! If your child loves music, buy some toys that will support and foster their musical curiosity!

Of course there are tons of wonderful toys out there, so please write in and share other suggestions you may have for children receiving speech and feeding services!

Childhood Apraxia of Speech

Stephanie Bruno — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 14:49:00 GMT

Since beginning this blog, I have had several requests from both therapists and parents regarding information on CAS or Childhood Apraxia of Speech. Throughout my years of practicing speech therapy, I have found that this can be one of the most difficult disorders to treat, especially with young children (children under 3 years old). In addition, we as therapists are often pressured by a lack of time, support and/or resources, which can also make this disorder that much more daunting.

In order to keep today's post has factual as possible, I am using ASHA's published statement on CAS to guide my discussion. You can link onto ASHA's direct statement here: http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/ChildhoodApraxia.htm#signs.

ASHA defines Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) as the following:

"CAS is a motor speech disorder. Children with CAS have problems saying sounds, syllables, and words. This is not because of muscle weakness or paralysis. The brain has problems planning to move the body parts (e.g., lips, jaw, tongue) needed for speech. The child knows what he or she wants to say, but his/her brain has difficulty coordinating the muscle movements necessary to say those words."

ASHA's statement continues discussing the signs and symptoms of childhood apraxia, how the disorder can be diagnosed, the treatments that are recommended and three other organizations that have information about this motor speech disorder. Here are links to those three (the first one was also featured on my post from 12/2/08):

In addition to presenting the clinical side of apraxia, I wanted to also share two personal blogs that I found. Both blogs are narrated by moms with sons diagnosed with apraxia. Both explore the factual as well as the often emotional side of apraxia. Both also offer a comprehensive list of favorite links and resources, such as the books, The Late Talker as well as Easy Does It For Apraxia- Preschool (I have used both and love them!). You can access these blogs here:

Thank you for reading today's post. I hope you found it useful. My goal was to give readers a solid overview of apraxia and a substantial list of resources to help people find the support they are looking for, whether it be factual, emotional or both. In follow-up posts I will be discussing the different therapies (both traditional and non-traditional) that exist to treat apraxia.

I welcome your comments and feedback and would love to hear about the techniques you have used that have proven to be successful when treating apraxia!

Halloween Therapy: Tricks n' Treats

Stephanie Bruno — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:30:00 GMT

With Halloween just a week away, it's a great time to include pumpkins, ghosts, spiders and all the scary little characters we associate with this spooky time! Kids love the holidays and I see a spark in their eye whenever I include seasonal themes in my sessions. In addition, as I stated in my last post, FALL FUN, seasonal and holiday based sessions help build vocabulary that is relevant to the child's environment and daily life, making these activities not only exciting but also meaningful.

Below is a list of Halloween-themed speech and language therapy ideas:

Carve a Pumpkin - This activity is a fabulous way to do some hands-on sensory work! It's slippery and slimy and for children who are sometimes fearful of different textures, it's a great way to help them "dig" right in! (Also great for improving fine and gross motor control with scooping and scraping out the pumpkin seeds and rind). You can also bake the seeds with cinnamon and salt for a flavorful snack!
Construction Paper Pumpkin Face - This is perfect for learning to follow basic 1-2 step directions, as well as discussing facial features and body parts. You can also make silly faces to practice oral motor exercises. I always like to have a finished product completed for the child to follow.
Dress-up in Costumes - This is a great way to work on a wide variety of skills ~ self-help dressing skills, following directions, and decision-making skills allowing the child to choose what they want to be and what they want to wear.
Face painting - wonderful for oral motor work! Use a mirror to give visual feedback.
Books - There are tons of fabulous books about Halloween! Ones that light-up, make noises and of course, tell amusing tales! One that I particularly like is The Spooky Smells of Halloween, which is a scratch n' sniff book that is interactive and provides lots of colorful vocabulary.
Painting with Halloween Stamps - This is a great way to practice naming color words and getting a little messy! Use black, purple or navy paper as the background and then have the child stamp a moon, cat, pumpkin, etc. in bright yellow and orange paint creating a spooky scene!
Halloween Music - Sing silly Halloween songs, such as "5 Little Pumpkins". Singing is always a wonderful way to stimulate speech and language. There is also a 5 Little Pumpkins book that tells the story as you sing.
Pumpkin Milkshakes - Use vanilla ice cream, butterscotch pudding and nutmeg, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice to flavor - zoom it all up in a blender to create an exciting tasty treat! Great for kids that have feeding issues related to texture! Also good for fine motor (stirring and scooping ice cream) and following basic directions (pour, shake, etc.)!

Hope you find these suggestions creatively inspiring! Happy Halloween!

Please write in and share the Halloween Therapy Treats YOU have used in your sessions!