NEWS & LINKS
LUCY POLLARD THERAPIES - NOW ATTENTION AUTISM TRAINED!
LUCY POLLARD THERAPIES - NOW TRAINED IN NATURAL LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
Lucy Pollard is now a qualified practitioner of Natural Language Acquisition with Meaningful Speech. This is an approach designed to support Gestalt Language Processors. It is child-led and play based. Read more about it here.
MORE FREE STUFF! BACK TO SCHOOL SOCIAL STORY
It is back to school time! Here is a social story to support children's return to school. Download or print it here.
LUCY POLLARD THERAPIES - NOW ATTENTION AUTISM TRAINED
Lucy Pollard is now a qualified practitioner of Attention Autism. This is an approach developed by Gina Davis which aims to help children with autism develop joint attention skills using activities that are highly motivating, visual and creative. It is really functional and REALLY fun. Read more about it here
HANDY LINKS ABOUT SPEECH
Are you worried about your child's speech? Here are some links to some great visuals from Mommy's Speech Therapy explaining what is developmentally appropriate:
FREE RESOURCE TO SUPPORT WORD LEARNING.
This week on Facebook and Instagram we have been learning all about vocabulary (or word knowledge). If you are teaching new words to children at home or at school, please download our word map. It helps with word learning by encouraging children to think about the sounds and the meaning of the word. Plus it's free! Link is here.
DEVELOPMENTAL LANGUAGE DISORDER AWARENESS DAY IS FRIDAY THE 16TH OF OCTOBER
As this Friday is Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) Awareness Day, here is a link to a fantastic website, courtesy of our friends in Australia, the DLD Project. Containing advice, resources, training and information for parents, educators and therapists, it is well worth a look.
WHICH FONT SHOULD YOU USE TO SUPPORT PEOPLE WITH DYSLEXIA?
I have heard a lot of anecdotal evidence about which fonts should be used to support people with Dyslexia. This article in the TES takes a hard look at the evidence and unpicks some of the myths.
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN LANGUAGE SKILLS AND TEMPER TANTRUMS IN TODDLERS
It often seems as though children are more likely to lose their temper when they struggle to express themselves using words. This study confirms what we all probably suspected - toddlers with fewer spoken words seem to experience more frequent, and more severe 'temper tantrums'. This study highlights the importance of early identification of language delay and disorder.
DEVELOPMENTAL AGES AND STAGES
Children progress at different rates. If your child seems to be progressing differently from his or her peers, it can be tricky to figure out if this is just part of typical development, or if they need a little help. I Can is a charity that helps children communicate. There are loads of fantastic resources on their website. This page has information on ages and stages of typical development. This one asks some simple questions to let you check on your child's progress. It's really useful!
THE IMPORTANCE OF SCREENING LANGUAGE IN SCHOOLS
A great article here from the charity DLD and me, about the importance of screening language in Reception age children. We screen vision and hearing - why not language skills?
If you are a school interested in buying in a whole class language screen - get in touch!
AVOID WORKING MEMORY OVERLOAD IN STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DIFFICULTIES
So many children with speech, language and communication needs also have difficulties with working memory. This article has some great strategies on how to support these children in the classroom.
HOW TO HELP CHILDREN WITH AUTISM GET TO SLEEP
Many children with Autism struggle with getting to sleep, or staying asleep. This article has some great ideas on how to practise good sleep hygeine.
FEEDING YOUR LITTLE ONE WITH WORDS
I love this video about how to support early communication development.
WHAT IS AUTISM?
Are you just beginning to find out more about Autism? Maybe you have concerns that you, or a member of your family, has the condition. The National Autistic Society is a fantastic organisation that provides help and support to people at all stages of the process. Here is a link to their page called 'What is Autism?'. It's a great place to start.
If you have concerns about your child's social communication, please give me a call.