Listening and Attentional Supports

Students are frequently referred for a speech and language screening due to teacher reports that "they just don't listen."

Ruling out any hearing loss, behavioral issues and true language challenges, let's discuss why this is most likely not the case. Our vestibular systems are responsible for providing our brain with information about motion, head position, spatial orientation and motor functions such as balance and head stabilization. The eyes and the ears are connected, do you turn down the radio when you're lost?!

Academic tasks that require moving eyes and coordination can manifest as attentional symptoms, therefore look like a student "just can't listen" when in reality they're having difficulty focusing with their eyes.

• Visual Fixations: sustained focus
• Tracking: following a moving object
• Con/Divergence: shifting gaze from teacher to work
• Quick Localization: visual attention shifts in space to monitor
• Saccades: attentional shifts needed to read/monitor

When a student is having difficulty using their eyes they will start to utilize other parts of their body. Eye strain/fatigue will bring in the use of their head/neck/back, and cause postural deficits. Resource allocation means that they are on output NOT input, which is essential for absorbing information for academic tasks. 

There are plenty of simple activities to incorporate into your speech and language sessions to support visual skills:

Eye Found it

The 6 foot board game is a collaborative style game where players work together to all reach the castle before the clock strikes midnight. Students can follow directions, target vocabulary (I use the Expanding Expressions Tool (EET) to describe the items on the card) and answer WH questions. 

The compact card game is a fast pace competitive search and find activity. Students race to see who can find the objects on their cards. When the object is found, a new card is flipped and play continues. 

PROMPT Lexicon: I see it, I did it, I am, me, I do, character names (Pooh, Woody...), Counting numbers

Hiding Break

Fighting eye fatigue after many hours of screen time can help regulate students (and teachers!)

Students can use their hands or cover themselves in a blanket. Keeping eyes open and staring into the blackness will bring better benefit for eye fatigue.

*IMPORTANT: Make sure students wash their hands prior to putting them over their eyes.

Hit the Hat

The hammers have suction cups and the hats are different shapes, patterns with blue or red borders. Students roll the dice and race to locate the correct hat. Game can be modified to eliminate boarder color for more winners. Students can take turns rolling the dice and describing the hats for others to find.

PROMPT Lexicon: hat, hit, did, it

Track Slow Objects

Use bubbles, balloons or juggling scarves in sessions to support visual and language needs.

Keepy Uppy: Have students tap a balloon to keep it up in the air

Bubble Pop: weighted wand for popping bubbles slowly (duct tape a small weight to the end of a stick)

Throw and catch juggling scarves

PROMPT Lexicon: /ah/ (want, exclaim excitement, again), /mm/ (more, me), bop, pop, go, oh-no

Vision Boost

Every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds to keep your eyes healthy. A vision boost is an easy way to accomplish this task.

One arm straight, one arm bent and shift your eye gaze (ONLY your eyes, no moving your head) from near to far points 20 times and then switch your hands and do another 20 looks. 

Cozy Up with a Great Book

"Young children who heard the same book multiple times retained a new word better than children who were read different books containing the same word."

Numerous studies have shown that storybook reading promotes later academic performance, reading fluency and print knowledge. A study in 2011 by Horst et. al. was the first of its kind to explore how being read to influences young children's ability to learn new words from storybooks. The lack of research in this area is particularly surprising given how frequently young children are read to during their everyday preschool experiences. The study found that repetition of storybooks is important for learning new vocabulary from books. Young children who heard the same book multiple times retained a new word better than children who were read different books containing the same word. 

Reference: Horst, J.S., Parsons, K.L. & Bryan N.M. (2011). Get the story straight: Contextual repetition promotes word learning from storybooks. 

KUDOS to @midtownspeechnyc for this special instagram post, if you're not following along click this link to check her out!

Here are the books I read on repeat for my students during Winter. 

Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner

Read the story of what Snowmen do at Christmas.

-Compare/contrast our Christmas traditions to the Snowmen's

-Search for hidden items on every page; mouse, T-Rex, cat, bunny and a Santa face.

*Tip: Searching for hidden pictures is great for visual skills needed for attention, reading and writing!*

Sneezy the Snowman Maureen Wright

Sneezy the snowman enjoys winter fun with his friends, but keeps sneezing!? His friends make attempts to help him warm up, but keep melting him.

Pair the story with the amazing melting snowman, build the snowman and read the story. Watch what happens!

-Sequence

-Cause/Effect

-Categories (things that are hot)

*Tip: I have students discuss items that are hot, and then illustrate a sentence as to why Sneezy may have melted*

The Mitten by Jan Brett

Nikki goes on a winter adventure and loses a snow-white mitten from Baba. Forest animals find the cozy mitten and all squeeze in.

-WH questions

-Sequencing/recall

-Following directions

-Oral motor (put it on, ball, bam/smash, put it in)

*Check out @simply_speech and her FREEBIE smash mat companion*

Falling for Rapunzel by Leah Wilcox

Add this fun story to your Valentine's Day sessions. Rapunzel is too far away to quite make out what the Prince is trying to say. This is a hilarious hit in my speech sessions as we read the story of miscommunication.

-Sequencing/recall

-WH questions

-Rhyming

-Yes/No questions

-Vocabulary

-Create your own story

*Book companion can be found on TPT by SteamPunk Speech*

*Tip: pair this story with card game Sleeping Queens and Lover's Leap found on www.thelisteningroom.com*

Pancakes for Breakfast by Tommie DePaola

National Pancake Day is typically in early March. We celebrate every year in speech with this story and flippin' fun activities. This wordless story is great for any age. Early one morning the lady wakes up and decides to make pancakes, but keeps running into problems. 

-Problem solving

-Create grammatically correct sentences

-Sequencing/retell

-Vocabulary

-Oral motor (she can make it, she needs..., go out)

Bon Appetit: Toca Kitchen 2 app companion BUNDLE

 

This product is useful to target various speech, listening and language goals during sessions. Students can follow simple and complex directions, work on expressive and receptive language skills via pronouns, commenting, identifying food items as well as target activities for daily living by sequencing orders through cooking. 

This product includes 

-45 WHO questions

-20 WHAT questions

-32 HOW questions

-22 opportunities to make grammatically correct sentences

     10 unscrambling sentences

     12 create your own with target conjunctions

-22 items to describe

     6 pre-teaching slides

     10 Level 1 sorting descriptions

     12 Level 2 fill-in descriptions

**Click on the pictures to see a preview of the items**

Find this product on

  TPT

and 

BoomCardLearning

The Doctor is in...

Anyone else celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday?! I love incorporating real world items into our therapy sessions. The students love making a mess, so in honor of the great Dr. Seuss we make "oobleck". We learn about Dr. Seuss and read a short biography, I read a truncated version of "Bartholomew and the Oobleck" by Dr. Seuss (the original takes over 30 minutes for me to get through!?) and then I present them with the science experiment.

Oobleck is a 'non-newtonian fluid'. Viscosity is the rate at which something pours. Water pours quickly and honey or syrup pours slowly. These liquids have a constant viscosity, it will never change. Oobleck pours both quick AND slow!?

When made correctly Oobleck can be molded into a ball and have properties like a solid, and when released will "melt" in your hand like a liquid.

Oobleck is a 2:1 ratio

2 cups cornstartch

1 cup water

TIPS:
*I love to find youtube videos to help the students see what should happen, before starting.
*Use disposable bowls and spoons for easy clean up.
*Buy the rolls of plastic tablecloths to work on, then just throw everything out.
*If the oobleck is too hard add water, and if it is too wet add more corn starch!
*If the oobleck spills over and out, let it dry it will turn into powder and you can easily vacuum/sweep it up!


PROMPT: *I created a short "Bartholomew and the Oobleck" on my SMARTboard, I can change the words/phrases/sentences to achieve my various targets!

LANGUAGE: scientific method, following directions/steps, math fractions

PRAGMATICS: sharing items, turn taking for measuring, following rules

Oo the messes you will make!

Listening Language

Dingle Dangle: Listening and Language! I love this app it is so adorable and silly. There are two different activities: players can listen to instructions (in noise!) or build their own scarecrow.

This app was created by the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children (RIDBC) by listening and spoken language specialists.

I love to pair this app with the story "The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything". I use this with a lot of my students.

We color and cut out the pieces and make puppets. They have to listen to the sounds of the pieces and make their puppet do the actions

Shoes say "clomp clomp"
Pants say "wiggle wiggle"
Shirt says "shake shake shake"
Hat says "nod"
Gloves say "clap"
Pumpkin says "boo!"


       

PROMPT:
Phonatory Control: "ah" for on, "mm" for more
Labial-facial control: boo, shake, oh no!
Lingual control/sequenced: clomp, wiggle, clap, nod

LANGUAGE: sequencing, following directions, recall story, describing

      And the mouse went ::click click::

Peek-a-Boo I'm back

Using visuals I can use this for a great listening activity.; for auditory-visual therapy. The animal hiding behind the door makes a sound and the door shakes so it's a good visual for the hearing impaired! Animals include the usual farm friends: horse, cow, sheep, chicken... and some funny new friends: owl, rabbit, llama! From a closed set I show the pictures of the animals and have the child guess which animal they hear in the barn.



I love the Melissa & Doug matching game and pair a simple barn toy to finish our FARM-tastic session.



LANGUAGE: follow directions, prepositions, matching

PROMPT:

Mandibular control: baa
Labial-Facial: boo, moo, peep, woof, meow, baa, me, push
Lingual: one, two

Old McDonald has nothing on me!

Toca BOOca

Toca Boo is a new and a great game for the Halloween season.

The little girl Bonnie dresses as a ghost to scare her family members! Travel through the big, dark house to find: mom, grandpa, little sister, big brother and the twins.

Hide behind items for a big scare! But don't get caught in the light. Find some snacks for even sillier scares!





PROMPT:
Phonatory control/Mandibular control: ah, ha, ma.mama, pa/papa, pop
Labial-facial control: boo, eat, ew, mom, toot, baby, me
Lingual control: eat, toot

Scare on, Bonnie.

Heads Up...I'm back!

After a long hiatus, I'm back. Hoping to connect with some parents to help them chose and use apps and activities for speech therapy!

So, this is one of my new FAVORITE games. Of all time. Ever! 

Ellen DeGeneres is a DeGenuis! A simple "Heads-bands" type game, keeps kids and adults entertained while working on various speech goals.

Players can pick various categories (I use "just for kids", cause there's a smattering of everything: people/places/things). Place the iPhone/iPad on your head and the other players describe the item! If you are able to guess correctly turn the iDevice down, if you are having trouble you may pass it by turning the iDevice up/over your head.

LANGUAGE:

Expressive: adjectives, describing, antonyms, synonyms, using word finding strategies

Receptive: (understanding all the above!), word finding strategies, follow directions

*Follow directions/understanding figurative language: I always use the phrase "It's over your head" (you don't get it) to explain the correct/pass rules. 

PRAGMATICS:

turn taking, controlling voice volume & remaining in your seat (things can get crazy!)

Just keep playing. Just keep playing.

Don't Let this post get by....

Mo Willems has done it, time and time again! Author and illustrator of the "Don't let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" (caldecott honor) and many others.

I love this interactive book.  My kids love to yell "NO!" when the pigeon asks to drive the bus.  My strong willed preschoolers occasionally are swayed when the pigeon offers them $5 bucks...but are easily redirected when reminded, "The bus driver said, don't let the pigeon drive the bus!" They then enthusiastically yell, "NO!"

**Hello labial-facial control!**

Best yet, there's an app for that! "Don't let the pigeon run this app".  This allows the user to create their very own pigeon story! The "chick" makes up a different story every use, "little pigeon" allows the user to choose different items from a field of three and "big pigeon" allows the user to answer questions using their own words/voice!  The author Mo Willems even teaches you to draw the pigeon in a step-by-step!

PROMPT:
Labial-Facial control: no, mo

Language:
Answer "Wh" questions, simple sequence

Don't let this book and app pass you by!

Hungry for Summer!

Here's a few activities that keep my clients compliant and engaged throughout the entire session! Read the book, make some art and of course play on the iPad!

READ THE BOOK:
I've been on a "Hungry Caterpillar" kick!  First I read the story to my clients and tell them they will read the story.  All my Pre-Schoolers tell me, "But I can't read!" I assure them they can!  Then using felt pieces I made (A.C. Moore sells iron on paper! I just scan and iron onto white felt) my clients "read" the story.  It's great to see how proud they are when they finish and I get to tell them they read the story!

*Leave a comment with your e-mail address and I can send you a copy of the pieces so you don't have to scan!*

ART PROJECT:
A fun companion activity we do after is we make our own symmetrical butterflies.  Using scented dot markers (Wal-mart!) we make dots and designs and fold our paper in half to make symmetrical designs.  The kids think it's neat, I love the dot markers cause they don't make a mess and we get to explore some sensory integration with smell!

*Remember those great markers your elementary art teacher let you use! Check out all their products*

INCORPORATE THE BELOVED iPAD:
I was able to grab this app during a free app sensational sale (Check it out)! I have my kids follow directions and practice counting!

ARTICULATION
need, dot, more, me, same, mmmm, one, two

Mandibular control: dot, need
Labial-Facial control: more, me, same, mmmm
Lingual control: one, two

LANGUAGE

sequence; first/next/then/last, labeling (food items), counting, answering/asking "WH?", predicting ("What do you think yellow will smell like?"), follow directions

Smell ya later!

APP-Y HOUR: Bubbles

Bubbles (.99 cents)

Totally worth the money. I have used this app for EVERYTHING! I use this app with children who are unfamiliar with the iPad.  I have had a lot of success with teaching skills used, such as drag/tap with the appropriate pressure.

Reinforcement (earn the game)

**Teach pre-iPad skills (drag and tap with the appropriate amount of force/pressure)

Articulation: (labial facial control, mandibular control, lingual control)

         -"Pop" 

         -"More" 

         -"oh-no", "uh-oh"

        -"Me"

Language:

         -Turn taking (You make bubbles, I make bubbles)

         -Requests (More bubbles please!)

         -WH?

Pop-on friends.

APP-Y HOUR: Glowcoloring

Glowcoloring

I love to use this with one of my school aged clients.  We practice writing spelling words, and she loves to pick a color to write in (one only, otherwise we would be picking colors ALL day!)

This is a great app not only for free-hand drawing, but for coloring/worksheets! Yes. You can import any picture from your photo album and bam! Boring old sheet because super fun and exciting with colors and stamps.  I use Dropbox to store all my exciting papers.

What are you waiting for. "Glow" and download it!

APP-Y HOUR: Questionit

Questionit (LITE/$24.99)

Users answer: who, what doing, where, when questions.  There are different areas to answer these questions: sorting, sentences (basic/advanced) and paragraphs.    Within the areas there are 3 levels.  Level (1) is easy and color coded for easier sorting, Level (2) is medium as only the borders are color coded and Level (3) is the hardest with no color hint.

I have used this with various students (preschool, school aged, adolescent and even adults!) The school aged students don't even know they're learning "WH" questions and categorization skills! We are able to learn and have fun.

Can you believe they pay me to have fun?!

APP-Y HOUR: Sparklefish

SparkleFish (FREE!)

I know you're thinking, "What is that scary fish from Disney's Finding Nemo doing on a children's app?!" And why does he look like he's got a disco ball on his head? Is he trying to lure John Travolta instead of Marlin and Dory? (Disco ball look-alike is actually a microphone).

Sparkle Fish is an interactive mad libs!  Choose a story to create.  The user is provided with a list of 10 mixed vocabulary (adjective, noun, verb, adverb, etc.).  Record your answers and "Sparkle Fish it".  The app inserts the vocabulary into the story to create a silly tale, that's never the same!

Just keep swimming. pinning. blogging. whatever.

APP-Y HOUR: PEPI Bath

PEPI Bath: (Lite, $1.99)

PEPI Bath allows the user to work on activities of daily living.  There is a choice between a boy and a girl.

In the LITE version there are 2 scenes available.  Laundry and brushing teeth.  The upgrade provides an additional 2 scenes: toilet and bath.

Users can wash and hang their clothes during the laundry activity.  Then at the sink the user can: brush PEPI's teeth/hair, trim their nail, wash their hands and blow their nose!

This apps provides opportunities to: follow directions, sequence, use pronouns (he/she/his/her) and discuss ADL's/bathroom behavior.

APP-Y HOUR: Token Board

Token Board ($3.99 iTunes,)

Story unrelated to review, scroll down to find what you came here for:
Personally, I have always had success with a token board.  (Sometimes not TOO much, but enough to be headed in the right direction).

During my student teaching stint, children with autism would come to speech with their laminated boards in tow.  They moved 5 "pieces" or "tokens" (spongebob, thomas, etc.) in order to earn what they desired (bubbles, a *BIG* potato chip, cookies, beanbag, etc.) It would change from day to day depending on what they felt like.

After graduation and my CF started, on my caseload was a child who would not listen! No matter how many bubbles I blew, or stickers I offered he was self directed.  I came across "Token Board" and thought $3.99?! No way.  I own a laminator. Construction paper. Glue. Velcro. I will make my own!

Days past and here I am under the table with this child, promising him that if he accepts the PROMPT facial cues I will blow bubbles until the cows come home!

Weeks later another child gets added to my caseload more self directed than the last.  He runs out of the room. Cries. Face plants into the couch.  Rolls on the floor. Hits his mother. Demands "OUK!"

WHY HAVEN'T I MADE THAT !@#$%^&* board.  I cave. I buy it instead of being Martha Stewart, I am Daddy Warbucks (+ hair).

REVIEW:

I LOVE THIS APP.  I use it for a variety of clients and it allows me to instantly change what we work for.  Oh you want to work for bubbles? No problem.  Changed your mind to "Elefun"? Not a problem! Oh you want to work for chips? Hmm...I don't seem to have a picture of that, let me just ::SNAP:: insert new picture, TA-DA!

Best part, my self directed clients are so happy to be "playing" on the iPad they forget what they were refusing to do in the first place.  They love the different celebrations when they achieve the desired number of trials.  Horns play.  Man yells, "congratulations!".  My little ones are excited and eager to work, I mean play.

You are able to customize not only what you are trying to earn, but how many trials it will take.  Need some instant gratification 1.  Want to try more, 10?  

Ready. Set. Enjoy!

APP-Y HOUR: Speech Trainer3D

Speech Trainer 3D ($7.99)

Valerie the SLP is a blonde bombshell that takes your through the basics of speech therapy.

There are 2 views: lateral (where you can see the inside mechanism of the speech cavity working) and anterior (where you can see the front of the person only)

I have used this with kids and adults.  For adults it helps them visualize what they should be doing with certain articulators (this was of course pre-PROMPT training).  For kids I use it for that wacky IEP goal "will identify articulators used in speech".  It's fun to learn how everything works together, and they think they're watching TV on the iPad! (Awesome).

It's not a bad app for you up and coming SLP's.  You can see the anatomy of the oral cavity and have a nice visual for certain sounds!

It's an app just like us speech language pathologist; a multi-tasker.

APP-Y HOUR: TherAPPY

TherAPPy (by tactus solutions) $24.99 each/4-in-1 $59.99
LITE version available (only includes one object/trial)

There are 4 different apps: naming, categories, writing, reading.  I only have the naming and reading (there was no deal for all 4 at the time I purchased mine).  The LITE version allows you to download it and get a better look for yourself with out the commitment.

I use mine with adults and school aged children.  There is a wonderful customizing feature to this app.  You are able to insert your own pictures and choose your own buttons to help describe the object.  My adults loved it just as much as my kids.

This is a simple activity, that is made more engaging because it's on the iPad.  It tracks data and percentages and is easily adapted to fit a variety of clients. I love that I can use it with adults and school aged children (as young as 6!).

APP-Y HOUR: Bamba ice-cream/burger

 BAMBA: Ice-Cream (FREE)

Pick your flavors: vanilla, chocolate even robot and rainbow! Pick toppings: sprinkles, gummy bears, zombie?! Create all the different ice-creams you want. Baskets of ice-cream. Ice-cream on waffles! Don't eat too fast, you'll get a brain freeze!

 BAMBA: Burger (FREE)

Create your own fast food creation.  Burger. Soda. Fries. Put whatever you want on your burger.  Cheese, ketchup, toilet paper. Fill your soda up, make french fries, pay and eat it up! You even get a fun kids prize.


These are both simple food making apps. My kids love them for the silly factor (Vanilla ice-cream with unicorn on top, don't mind if I do).  Another one of my favorite triple threats: Articulation, language, pragmatics.

Articulation/PROMPT:
Stage 3 Mandibular: top, hot
Stage 4 Labial Facial: mmmm, yum, more, me, tap, pay, eat, cup, bun
Stage 5 Lingual: hot, top, tap, paid, eat/ate, cone, cut, bun
Stage 6 Sequenced: eat it up, pay now

Language: sequence, follow directions, WH?, yes/no questions (expressive/receptive)

Pragmatics: Sharing, asking appropriate questions, "What would you like on yours?"

APP-Y HOUR: Lazoo

LAZOO: let's color (FREE!)
LAZOO: squiggles (FREE!)

That's right folks. Free. This is another triple threat: articulation. language, pragmatics.

Tell your occupational therapist friends! Drawing shapes/lines to create a picture that is put into motion.  Wonderful app to work on a variety of goals.

Articulation: Tons of pictures with many possible words to work on.  At the end of drawing you press the "go" button and your picture is animated!

Language: WH? (What's coming out of the hose? What color? yada yada yada)

Pragmatics: Turn taking, **spoiler alert** there is a picture of a toliet, and you can flush whatever you'd like down.  It tells you to "draw poops".  Personally, I avoid this one picture.  But there are certain situations where this would work (i.e. potty training, fear of pooping).

Who says there's no such thing as a free lunch? What about an app!?