Thankful :)

The focus this week in the therapy room at the ECC has been on Thanksgiving.  I think we sometimes forget how lucky we are and to take time to be thankful.  This past week has reminded all of us to take that time and be thankful for the people we love and the things that we have.  I'm so thankful for all of my friends at the ECC and that they are safe and healthy following the tornado last weekend.

Here are some of the fun activities we have been working on this week:

In kindergarten, we made a giant turkey and used the feathers as a way to describe the things that we know about turkeys.

In preschool, we added feathers to our turkeys based on categories such as food, animals, and people.

This activity was used to work on articulation skills.  We added our target sound feathers to the turkeys and then came up with our own words to add.

In the preschool language group, we learned all about the different kinds of food that we can eat at Thanksgiving and used the pictures to make our own Thanksgiving dinner.

With my older students we worked on some writing and describing.  I love hearing what the kids are all thankful for.  They put a smile on my face everyday!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, we will see you in December!

Thankful

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, the therapy rooms at CCES and CCIS have been filled with all things Thanksgiving.  This week we have several Thanskgiving themed activities to play targeting skills such as answering questions, following directions, describing by attributes, and practicing our good speech sounds such as /r/ and /th/.   Last week most of my students took time to write down three things they are thankful for, and in light of the recent events within our school district recognizing all the things we have to be thankful for takes on a whole new meaning this year.

Here are a few of the things my students mentioned that they are thankful for this year:

"I am thankful for my XBox because I like to play video games."

"I am thankful for Mrs. Ludes because she helps us read."

"I am thankful for days off school because it gives us the freedom to do activities like riding bikes and playing outside."

"I am thankful for Mr. Spencer because he does cool things like Minute to Win It."

"I am thankful for my house because it keeps me warm and safe."

"I am thankful for my family because they protect me."

"I am thankful for food because it helps me be healthy."

"I am thankful for my dog and cat because they love me."


I know I am speaking for all of us at Tales from the Therapy Room when I say that I am thankful for my students, their families, the first responders, and the amazing support, love, and generosity shown by the members of this entire community in so many ways.

Happy Thanskgiving to all of you!

ASHA 2013

It has been a shortened week in the speech therapy rooms at the ECC due to the annual American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) Convention in Chicago.  The theme of this year's convention is "The Magic of Teamwork: Science and Service Delivery."

As Chicagoland therapists, this is a great opportunity for speech language pathologists, audiologists, and speech and hearing scientists to come together and learn about the latest technology and evidence-based practice in our field.  More than 12,000 attendees are expected to gather at McCormick Place for this annual event.  Multiple oral and poster presentations are offered by experts in the field, and an exhibit hall is set up for companies to showcase their products.  Not only do professionals who have been practicing for years get to participate, but many graduate students are also given the opportunity to display posters based upon their research.  I had the opportunity to present a poster at the 2012 ASHA Convention in Atlanta.  The topic of my research was the complexity of narrative stories in school-aged children.

To learn more about this event, click here.  We are excited to learn new information that can be used in therapy sessions and help advance our skills and knowledge as clinicians, and to share this information with colleagues and families. ASHA's website is a always a great resource for information about speech, language, and hearing disorders.

Fine Motor Friday

The preschool kids had a great time playing a new game in Occupational Therapy this week.  It's called The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game.

The game, for up to 4 players, includes acorns of different colors that are meant to be collected on a log.  Each player uses the spinner to determine if they are to pick up a specific color or number of acorns or if they steal an acorn from another player with the Sneaky Squirrel.  The first player to fill their log wins the game.  

The occupational therapist in me loves this game for so many reasons.  This is the first reason:

The adorable little squirrel is actually a pair of tweezers and the children have to pick up the acorns using his paws.  Taking the fine motor fun to an even greater level, I had the kids take the acorn out of the paws and insert it into the log with their fingers, which was a great opportunity to use the small muscles of their hands to manipulate and orient these little objects.  

My friend will demonstrate. (watch how nicely he turns the acorn around to put it in the log!)

I love coming up with fun activities to work on in-hand manipulation of objects.  It is so important for kids to be able to do this because the skill supports refined control over pencils and crayons.  The in-hand manipulation skills you see the kids do in this next video complete are called translation skills.  

These skills are usually present in children by about age 3 and continue to be refined up through about age 6.  This game is such a fun way to refine in-hand manipulation skills, which will support hand function and participation in school activities.

The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game is made by Educational Insights and can be purchased through their website or through Amazon.