Resources to share with your speech therapist

I'm really annoyed that, as far as I know, none of the Easter Seals Speech and Language Pathologists (SLPs) from our center went to the conference this past weekend. Our SLP did ask me to share my knowledge, so I just sent her an email with this information:

Online courses for SLPs
Overview documents
Dynamic temporal and tactile cueing for speech motor learning

Also, word pairs. For example, Nea can say "K" in the final position. So, use that to work toward initial K sound. I'm using Lightning McQueen for this, naturally. We are practicing MIC-KEEN for his last name.

Apraxic kids should be pushed to make 100 word/syllable/phrase productions per every 10 minutes of speech therapy. (!)

I'm tired of both the Easter Seals and school SLPs not knowing enough about apraxia. Techniques that work with other speech problems (articulation, stuttering, etc.) do NOT work with apraxia. Having an SLP with little training in apraxia is just as bad as not getting ST at all.

Apraxia progress

Yesterday Boo told me she had 6 papers in her backpack, and Nea piped up, “Ohn pay-pa!” (One paper in her backpack)

And today she told me what she wanted for lunch: “hah doe” (hot dog)

And this has nothing to do with her speech, but she just helped me dig up the rest of our potatoes in the garden and it was great fun. Us yelling at the ground, “Babies! Where are you? We want to EAT YOU!” Tonight we’re having my very tasty meatloaf (secret ingredient: vegetables) with crash hot potatoes. Don’t those sound amazing?

OK, we’re off to Easter Seals – taking the bike today!

Fish, vegetables, recycling

May was Easter Seals month for my little Amazon ad, but sadly no purchases were made. Luckily I had hit up some friends for online donations and we raised $350 dollars that way! Thank you to Tish, Adam, Wolf, Pam, Steve, Greg, John, and Beth. We love Easter Seals and fully believe in their mission, values, and incredible help and support that they make affordable to thousands of families in Illinois and nation-wide.

So now my Amazon link will raise funds for Heifer again. I looked at their WorldArk newsletter today, and there was a lot of useful information. I thought I’d sum up some of it here.

Seafood Watch: eco-friendly seafood selector, including pocket-sized guides you can carry with you.

Plant a Row for the Hungry: how to donate extra vegetables from your garden to local food banks.

MyBoneYard: recycles cell phones, computers, etc. They pay for shipping and then pay you for your device. Anyone use this before? Please report back and let me know how it went.

Sound like the sort of newsletter you’d like to receive? Sign up here!

Wherein I pretend to be athletic

OK, so, Saturday I ran the Easter Seals 5K. Beautiful weather. Perfect conditions for self-inflicted torture.

I reminded myself at the beginning that it’s important not to start too fast, so I was one of the last down the road. Chug chug chug. Huff puff. I was running 12 minute miles when I hit the 2 mile marker. Only a little over one mile left. I took stock. I decided I could push myself a little. So, I actually passed a few people on my last mile, which clocked in at under 10 minutes. Not blistering, but pretty good for me. Did the whole thing in 34 minutes and change. I’ve been waiting for Easter Seals to put up the results, but I don’t think they have yet.

Also, Boo walked the whole 2 mile course with her friend Madeline! Not too shabby.

Thanks to those of you who donated! We appreciate it, and we know that it will be used to help those in need of physical, occupational, and speech therapy. You can donate anytime. I will continue to donate funds from the Amazon link through the end of May.

Assistive Technology

At Easter Seals yesterday our speech therapist said, “What do you think about an Assistive Technology* assessment for Nea?”
I said, “Oh, I would be very interested in that.”
She said, “Lots of parents are against it because they think it’s giving up on the child ever being able to speak.”
I said, “Oh, no, not at all.” Then I walked down the hallway and tried not to cry.

So, we’ll see if it goes anywhere. I do think she is getting increasingly frustrated. As would we all, of course, if we were almost 4 and non-verbal.

* Which includes options such as:

• Adaptive keyboards such as IntelliKeys USB Board, onscreen keyboards for alternate access via mouse control, etc.
• Access options to all technology via items such as switches, joysticks, headpointers, etc.
• Speech generating devices (SGDs) such as the Vantage/Vanguard II, DV4/MT4, Mercury, ChatPC II, Tango, TechTalk, BIGMacks, etc.
• Software programs that help address literacy, writing, math and play.

[List lifted directly from Easter Seals]

Easter Seals 5K

For the months of March, April, and May, proceeds (if any) from this site will go to Easter Seals. If you don’t need anything from Amazon, please feel free to donate directly to Easter Seals DuPage instead. They do wonderful work. We are coming up on our one year anniversary of ES speech therapy. I just can't say enough good things about them.

May 10th, our ES is hosting a 5K run/2 mile walk. N and I have decided to participate! Two months should be enough to train. Why just today I shoveled the old ice off the driveway, went for a 2 mile jog/walk, walked around the arboretum, shoveled some more, and walked around the block twice while the girls biked. We’ll see how my back feels tomorrow. I did manage to blister my hands a little.

If you are getting back into shape, try map my run to see how far you went.