When do you elicit a language sample? Certainly when you first see a child you would want to take a language sample. However, if the child is not comfortable on the initial assessment, there is nothing written in stone that says that it has to be completed the first time around. That in itself should tell you something. I feel that ...

A couple of weeks ago, I was browsing Amazon, and a ''Recommended for You'' item popped up. It was the book, ''The Pirate Who Couldn't Say 'Arrr'''! I am trying to be a school-SLP-on-a-budget, but I couldn't resist. I impulsively clicked on the ''1-Click'' ordering button, and the book arrived two days later. The book is by Angie ...

In last week's blog post, ''The iPad Becomes a wePad for Autism,'' I encouraged you to develop a relationship between the iPad, the child and another person, rather than letting the child with autism treat it as a ''thing.'' Let's call that with the iPad. That's when we can turn it into a wePad and make those applications come alive ...

I was hoping to share some photos of bulletin boards in response to my last blog, ''Ideas Needed: Bulletin Board!'' in today's post, but I didn't get any pictures. I did, however, get some great ideas in the comments section! If you are interested, check it out! There are some wonderful ideas from some creative people. However, I DO want to ...

Last year I wrote a post, a la Oprah, about my favorite (speech therapy) things! Since it is that time of year again, I am going to discuss one favorite, recycled item! In the clinic I do some work for over the summer, there is an amazing long, transparent tube. I cannot tell you how much I have coveted this tube and wanted to take it ...

   This blog is based on the following blog from the ASHA Convention 2011:  Teaching Speech to Nonverbal Children at Risk for Autism by LorRainne Jones, PhD, CCC-SLP Kid Pro Therapy Services, Inc.Tampa, FL, verbalbehaviortherapy.com How to teach speech to nonverbal children with autism is a blog I am sure ...

According to Wikipedia, ''Star Wars is an American epic space opera franchise conceived by George Lucas. The first film in the franchise was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon.'' I never told George Lucas this, nor did he ask, but it was because of ...

Joint Attention is two people sharing the same point of attention. It is being in the same moment at the same time. It is a basic skill for learning - EVERYTHING. Think of joint attention as the wall that supports Humpty Dumpty. The wall holds Humpty up, until of course, someone pushes him off. My first lesson in Joint Attention I learned ...

  Learning to wave ''Hi'' and ''Bye'' is # 2 of my TOP 5 GOOD MANNERS FOR YOUNG TODDLERS WITH ASD This is essential because it is an early, basic and reciprocal means of communication. It is a greeting and a salutation. It takes place between two or more people. It represents a beginning and an end. Typically developing infants and ...

If you know my area of focus at all, you know it's hard for me to stay away from tooting the technology trumpet for too long. For the past several posts, I have been writing about specific picture books that can provide a great context for speech and language lessons. It's helpful to know about some online resources that support that infusion of ...