Hobbies

Hi all,
   As a therapist, I was wondering about what kind of hobbies you enjoy. Are they related to your work or are they more For entertainment purposes? Post your responses. I would love to hear from all of you.

New Autism Information

I read an article today proposing the possibility that Tylenol may play a role in causing autism. The article was based on a survey so I don't want to state that it was a medical study of any kind but researchers are looking at this possibility through survey results. Apparently, pregnant women who took Tylenol regularly ( at least once a week) had children who displayed autism-like behaviors, poor communication skills, and weak motor skills. I'm not saying there is anything credible to this but I did want to share this information since a lot of studies have been conducted stating Tylenol may not be as safe as we thought, pregnant or not.  If anyone knows anymore about these findings, comment and share.

Only 5 Days Left!

Hi all,
    There's only 5 days left to win a free Christmas activity. Just follow my blog to win! Contest ends December 1st.

Thanksgiving Activities in TPT Store

      If you're looking for last minute language ideas for therapy targeting Thanksgiving, check out my Mini Language Unit focusing on pronouns, categories, following directions, and sequencing. I also have a "Thankful for Verbs" worksheet targeting present progressive verbs. Click on the link "Teachers Pay Teachers" on my blog for quick access into my store. Enjoy!

The Holidays are Coming!

      With the cold air moving in and the holidays right around the corner, it's the perfect time to help your children improve their category skills. Take them shopping with you whether it's food shopping for the holidays or shopping for presents.
      One of the ways you can really increase these skills is have the child separate the items into categories:
       - If at the grocery store, let the child put items in the basket or cart. They should put all the vegetables together, the fruit, drinks, meat, etc. or they can tell you where they belong in the cart.
       - If shopping for toys, use the same model...things that bounce in one section of the cart, dolls, puzzles, etc.
       - If shopping for clothes, have the child hold all the things that go on your feet like socks or shoes. Use this model for all clothing items so the child can learn what clothing item goes where on the body.
       One of the most important parts of speech therapy is parent involvement. The more parents are involved, the better their prognosis will be.

Don't Forget to Follow Me!

Don't forget to follow my blog to win a Speech and Language Christmas Activity. The first ten followers will win the activity. Hurry while the offer lasts. Contest ends December 1st!

Working with Occupational Therapists

Hi all,

      As speech therapists, we come across clients and students who may or may not need occupational therapy. Throughout the course of my career so far, I've seen countless kids who needed OT but were not receiving those services because parents and speech therapists don't really know what to look for. Here are some tips I have learned from two occupational therapists that I have had the privilege of working with...
     - Incorporate a coloring activity in your session and monitor how the child holds the crayon. If the child is holding the crayon with for example, with a closed fist, it may signify weak fine motor skills. 
     - Take notice of how the child is actually coloring. Is the child coloring the picture completely or are there lots of white spaces showing the child did not complete the picture even though he/she thinks it's finished? This too may also demonstrate a fine motor weakness.
     - Take notice of switching hands. If the child is switching back and forth between right and left hands, it may indicate that the child does not have a dominant hand or difficulty with both, again signifying weak fine motor skills.
     - I noticed that one of my kids could not color while sitting in a chair. He needed to be standing in order to color a picture. I brought this to an occupational therapists attention and she said it may be an issue with proprioreceptive skills.
     - Watch the child actually color. Does it appear that the child is moving his/her entire arm to color the picture or are they using their hand? Again, another sign of potential weaknesses.

     Keep a look out for all of these things while working with your client/student. Of course we are not the experts in classifying delays in these areas but these issues to watch for may help the child obtain services he/she needs. Even if your not sure about what it is you're noticing, always ask an OT who could better point you in the right direction.