Final N: Free Speech Therapy Articulation Picture Cards

Description

These articulation picture card sets are designed to be more comprehensive than the typical sets you might find elsewhere. The target audience for these sets are young children or children with more severe speech delays that need intensive practice with sounds at a one-syllable level or simple two-syllable level. No blends or vocalic /r/ sounds are included in these sets. (Scroll down to preview sets.)

Key Features

• Initial and Final sets include 30 one-syllable words that begin or end with the target sound.
• The words are simple and are easily understood by or easily taught to young children.
• Combines the target sound with all possible vowel sounds at least once.
• Words are sorted by difficulty level for an easy progression from easy to hard.
• Describes the progression from most intense prompts to least intense.
• Provides a simple carrier phrase for every word.
• A gestural prompt for the target sound is explained.
• A list of therapy activities is included.
• Includes 30 therapy cards with the target word and a picture on the front,
  and the difficulty level and the carrier phrase printed on the back.

Permissions

I give permission to copy, print, or distribute these card sets provided that:

1. Each copy makes clear that I am the document's author.
2. No copies are altered without my express consent.
3. No one makes a profit from these copies.
4. Electronic copies contain a live link back to my original and print copies not for merely personal use contain the URL of my original.

Looking for Feedback

I would love to hear back from anyone who uses the word sets. Let me know if there is anything you would change. Comment on this page, or send me an email at testyyettrying(at)gmail(dot)com.

Where can I find more?

More sets are on my Free Speech Therapy Articulation Cards page.

Card Sets

To download click on the image to open it full size. Then right click on the image, choose "save as" and save the page to your computer.

Instructions for printing and using the cards are included in the set.

Initial N: Free Speech Therapy Articulation Picture Cards

Description

These articulation picture card sets are designed to be more comprehensive than the typical sets you might find elsewhere. The target audience for these sets are young children or children with more severe speech delays that need intensive practice with sounds at a one-syllable level or simple two-syllable level. No blends or vocalic /r/ sounds are included in these sets. (Scroll down to preview sets.)

Key Features

• Initial and Final sets include 30 one-syllable words that begin or end with the target sound.
• The words are simple and are easily understood by or easily taught to young children.
• Combines the target sound with all possible vowel sounds at least once.
• Words are sorted by difficulty level for an easy progression from easy to hard.
• Describes the progression from most intense prompts to least intense.
• Provides a simple carrier phrase for every word.
• A gestural prompt for the target sound is explained.
• A list of therapy activities is included.
• Includes 30 therapy cards with the target word and a picture on the front,
  and the difficulty level and the carrier phrase printed on the back.

Permissions

I give permission to copy, print, or distribute these card sets provided that:

1. Each copy makes clear that I am the document's author.
2. No copies are altered without my express consent.
3. No one makes a profit from these copies.
4. Electronic copies contain a live link back to my original and print copies not for merely personal use contain the URL of my original.

Looking for Feedback

I would love to hear back from anyone who uses the word sets. Let me know if there is anything you would change. Comment on this page, or send me an email at testyyettrying(at)gmail(dot)com.

Where can I find more?

More sets are on my Free Speech Therapy Articulation Cards page.

Card Sets

To download click on the image to open it full size. Then right click on the image, choose "save as" and save the page to your computer.

Instructions for printing and using the cards are included in the set.

The Weekly Review: Week Twenty

Great Blog Post this Week

Mayim Bialik writes about discovering that her son is color blind. I found reading the post valuable not so much because of the story of her discovery (although I liked that too), but rather because of her description of the parenting moment and the lessons she took away from the experience.

The Weekly Parenting Technique I Said I'd Never Use, But Did

Michael has been whining incessantly lately. Well, at least it seems that way. It started before he was sick last week, but then last week I gave in to the whining a lot because he was so pitiful and this week it has been so much worse. I tried not responding to the whining at all. I tried calmly replying, "I can't understand you when you talk that way." Neither technique worked.

Finally I began whining back. I didn't do it in anger or frustration or from a desire to make fun of him. I was just desperate. I told him calmly that I didn't like his whining voice. It was not a nice way to ask for things. I told him that from now on, whenever he whined at me I was going to whine back. And then I did. When he whines at me, I reply, "I can't understand you when you talk that way to me." And I do it in an incredibly exaggerated annoying whiny voice. He immediately cues in to the problem and makes a visible effort to reign in his own whining. The technique gets his attention and works every time (so far). So, even though I don't prefer the whole if-your-child-hits-you-hit-them-back method of parenting in general, in this case, whining back at him seems to be working when nothing else did.

The Weekly Ava

Periodically this week when we are sitting on the floor playing in the playroom Ava will ask me to lie down. After I lie down on my back she climbs on top of me, chest to chest, settles her head on my shoulder, and hugs me. Those are treasured moments for me. A second later, she's up and running again.

The Weekly Michael

"She likes me." Michael said that, in amazement and wonder when one of the kittens came to him for some attention. I am so enjoying watching the kittens get to know the children and vice versa.

Weekly Moment When I Realized My Children Are Older and It Is Wonderful

I took Michael to his second ever dentist appointment this week. For his first ever dentist appointment my husband took off work and watched Ava while I took Michael. This time I dragged both children by myself. Everyone was wonderful. Ava sat in a chair while Michael got his teeth cleaned. They were both adorable and impressed everyone there. The entire experience was easy and fun. Both children got balloons and small toys and new toothbrushes. Perhaps we'll even get Ava to participate next time...

Do you think we'll look back...?

Do you think we'll look back ten years from now and wish we could tell our past selves to relax? Tell that past self that it really will all be ok?

Even now, only six months after our first official evaluation, I wish I could go back to the me that was sitting in front of the computer writing that first post while wiping tears away that things will get better soon. The worst of my fears on that day are not going to come true. Ava can talk. She does not have severe apraxia and we're seeing relatively quick progress. The intensity of those first emotions does fade. Life has moved forward and we have found a new equillibrium.

We are raising a daughter for whom talking is difficult rather than a natural miracle like it is for the rest of us. She needs help and practice to learn to talk and that process will be measured in years rather than in months. I've accepted that. It is simply our new reality. Our lives are so complex and are made up of so many events that the speech issue is really only one small part of the whole. And the whole picture of our lives is a good one. I really do believe that in my heart.

Then there are the fears that creep in late at night, or after a particularly difficult day. At those time I wonder if I'll look back at the day I wrote this post and wish I could tell her that there are unanticipated struggles ahead and that I need to be more vigilant.

Initially, I was nothing but grateful over the extra OT services Ava will be receiving. As it sinks in that she is receiving those services because experienced professionals believe that there is a whole additional area of concern I had previously missed, I find myself struggling again to adjust.

I can wrestle with all these thoughts endlessly, but the bottom line is that Ava is always the same. She is my daughter. She loves me and I love her. A new opinion, service, or diagnosis does not change who she is. Like all other children she needs love, space, encouragement and excellent teachers to help her learn and grow into the best person she can be. I will continue to provide her with those things to the best of my ability and let the future take care of itself.

Our First, and Only, 6-Month IFSP Meeting

Unlike IEPs, IFSPs are reassessed twice a year. Our 6-month IFSP meeting was held Monday morning. I was nervous going into that meeting. Ava has made great strides and I was a little concerned they would tell me that she didn't qualify for services any more.

As it turns out, I didn't need to worry quite so much about that. I was careful to stay focued on her needs rather than her successes, but I did not exaggerate her needs. The main ones I see right now (in no particular order) are:

• The more stress she's under, the more difficulty she has communicating. So, when she's upset or hurt, that is when she tends to lose her words. Those moments are exactly the ones in which you need for her to communicate the most.
• Although Ava is making many communication attempts at home, she is reluctant or unable to communicate at school with her teachers and peers. At school she'd often rather go without than try to tell someone what she needs. At school she doesn't even try to talk to the other children in the classroom. That situation just breaks my heart and I desperately want to see improvement there.
• As an SLP, I continue to recognize the comprehensiveness of the speech delay in terms of intelligibility, but early intervention won't really write goals for specific speech sounds or intelligibility issues because there is such a wide range of normal at this age. That doesn't make it less valid, just something out of the scope of early intervention apparently.

So, we reviewed her speech progress and discussed her speech needs rewriting her goals and continuing her in speech therapy for an hour a week. If our therapist's schedule permits, she will actually see Ava at school in order to facilitate her communication and speech there. I will obviously continue to work with Ava here at home.

The big story of the IFSP meeting, however, is that we veered off into an entirely new direction. My service coordinator sent me a questionaire ahead of time and one of the questions was about my areas of concern for Ava. Almost on a whim, I wrote in a couple of non-speech items that have been bugging me for a while now. Honestly, I was expecting to bring them up and be reassured that they were within the normal range for kids her age. That's not exactly the way it went.

I've noticed that Ava is really sensitive to noise. The sound of the washer or dryer running will bother her enough while she is watching television in another room for her to leave the tv, run around the corner and down a hallway and shut the door to the laundry room. The flushing of the toilet in a restroom bothers her. Her hands clap over her ears and she recites, "loud, loud, loud" until the sound stops. Her father's electric razer will get the same reaction. We took the kids to their first movie (Winnie the Pooh) and I spent the entire time with my hands over her ears trying to reassure her that it really was all right.

Another issue is her picky eating. It is getting worse and worse and seems to be related to texture. She doesn't like to touch things that are messy and if her hands do get messy she immediately wants a napkin. She doesn't like to be touched or restrained. When other children approach her she gets really upset and reacts almost as if she's been hit. Washing her hair and face is pretty traumatic because she reacts so poorly to the washcloth and tilting her head back.

Well, to make a long story a bit shorter, we've added an hour of occupational therapy to her services. They feel like some OT might make a big difference with her feeding and bathing issues and other sensitivities.

I've never been closely involved with occupational therapy services before and so this will be a whole new area for me. I am hopeful that they can help Ava to be less sensitive and to experience the world a little more comfortably and fully. That would be such a gift to her.

All in all, a useful IFSP meeting. Next up: transition meeting and scheduling our first occupational therapy session.

Thoughts about IFSP Meetings

In order to qualify for services, children need to meet specific criteria. That's necessary. I get that. No one wants to provide therapy to children who don't really need it, and we can't afford to treat everyone who is even a little delayed, so you set a criterion and treat the children who need it the most. It is practical and theoretically fair if the same criteria are applied to everyone.

However, when the system is set up in this way it causes stress and tension. Parents want therapy for their children and are nervous about qualifying. When the time comes for a new meeting, the parents are hesitant to celebrate their child's successes because they are afraid they may no longer qualify for services that are still very much needed.

So, instead, you focus on all of the areas in which your child still struggles. It makes the meetings more than a little depressing. And although early intervention can be a wonderful experience and resource for families (it is for us), the time frame for early intervention ends so early. Ava will have been in the early intervention program for only a little over a year and then she will age out.

Then you have to start the whole process over again with your local school district and their criteria are even harsher. At yesterday's IFSP meeting, our service coordinator mentioned that next month we will need to hold a transition meeting. The purpose of that meeting, as I understand it, is to introduce us to the school district people that will be handling evaluating Ava to see if she qualifies for their services when she turns three.

And so time, and the special education processess, marches on.

(more on how our IFSP meeting went tomorrow)

Nervous

Later today is our first IFSP six month review meeting. I will be there along with Ava's therapist and our service coordinator. I'm not really sure what to expect and that always makes me a bit nervous. I think the purpose of the meeting is just to check in and see if Ava is making progress towards her goals and make changes if necessary.

Ava has done so well in her first six months of therapy. It is hard to believe six months has gone by already. Ava has gone from being a practically non-verbal child who couldn't imitate and had only three consonants and a handful of vowels to a child who is chattering non-stop at home. We can't understand her all the time of course. She is particularly difficult to understand when the sentences are longer or when she's talking about something out of context. But what amazing progress in such a short time.

But here's the twist. I'm afraid to say so. Somehow, I'm afraid that if I talk about how proud of her I am, and what a wonderful job her therapist has done that they will conclude she no longer qualifies for services and take that away from us.

So I think I'll squash my usual nature and try not to talk much at the meeting. I'll try to listen and only respond when necessary and walk carefully. Perhaps I am worrying without cause, but better safe than sorry.

When I get a chance, I'll let you know how the meeting went.

Final M: Free Speech Therapy Articulation Picture Cards

Description

These articulation picture card sets are designed to be more comprehensive than the typical sets you might find elsewhere. The target audience for these sets are young children or children with more severe speech delays that need intensive practice with sounds at a one-syllable level or simple two-syllable level. No blends or vocalic /r/ sounds are included in these sets. (Scroll down to preview sets.)

Key Features

• Initial and Final sets include 30 one-syllable words that begin or end with the target sound.
• The words are simple and are easily understood by or easily taught to young children.
• Combines the target sound with all possible vowel sounds at least once.
• Words are sorted by difficulty level for an easy progression from easy to hard.
• Describes the progression from most intense prompts to least intense.
• Provides a simple carrier phrase for every word.
• A gestural prompt for the target sound is explained.
• A list of therapy activities is included.
• Includes 30 therapy cards with the target word and a picture on the front,
  and the difficulty level and the carrier phrase printed on the back.

Permissions

I give permission to copy, print, or distribute these card sets provided that:

1. Each copy makes clear that I am the document's author.
2. No copies are altered without my express consent.
3. No one makes a profit from these copies.
4. Electronic copies contain a live link back to my original and print copies not for merely personal use contain the URL of my original.

Looking for Feedback

I would love to hear back from anyone who uses the word sets. Let me know if there is anything you would change. Comment on this page, or send me an email at testyyettrying(at)gmail(dot)com.

Where can I find more?

More sets are on my Free Speech Therapy Articulation Cards page.

Card Sets

To download click on the image to open it full size. Then right click on the image, choose "save as" and save the page to your computer.

Instructions for printing and using the cards are included in the set.

Initial M: Free Speech Therapy Articulation Picture Cards

Description

These articulation picture card sets are designed to be more comprehensive than the typical sets you might find elsewhere. The target audience for these sets are young children or children with more severe speech delays that need intensive practice with sounds at a one-syllable level or simple two-syllable level. No blends or vocalic /r/ sounds are included in these sets. (Scroll down to preview sets.)

Key Features

• Initial and Final sets include 30 one-syllable words that begin or end with the target sound.
• The words are simple and are easily understood by or easily taught to young children.
• Combines the target sound with all possible vowel sounds at least once.
• Words are sorted by difficulty level for an easy progression from easy to hard.
• Describes the progression from most intense prompts to least intense.
• Provides a simple carrier phrase for every word.
• A gestural prompt for the target sound is explained.
• A list of therapy activities is included.
• Includes 30 therapy cards with the target word and a picture on the front,
  and the difficulty level and the carrier phrase printed on the back.

Permissions

I give permission to copy, print, or distribute these card sets provided that:

1. Each copy makes clear that I am the document's author.
2. No copies are altered without my express consent.
3. No one makes a profit from these copies.
4. Electronic copies contain a live link back to my original and print copies not for merely personal use contain the URL of my original.

Looking for Feedback

I would love to hear back from anyone who uses the word sets. Let me know if there is anything you would change. Comment on this page, or send me an email at testyyettrying(at)gmail(dot)com.

Where can I find more?

More sets are on my Free Speech Therapy Articulation Cards page.

Card Sets

To download click on the image to open it full size. Then right click on the image, choose "save as" and save the page to your computer.

Instructions for printing and using the cards are included in the set.

The Weekly Review: Week Nineteen

This week the Weekly Review will appear in a slightly different format.

List of Notable Events this Week (in order of occurrence)

• My wonderful parents took both children overnight from Saturday morning through Sunday afternoon. It was bliss.
• My husband and I celebrated by accomplishing one of the items on our "We will do this at some point in our lifetime" list. We adopted two kittens from the same litter and brought them home.
• Michael caught a cold.
• The kittens spent four hours lost in my own house. It turns out they were stuck behind the washer and dryer.
• Michael's cold turned croupy.
• (Warning: Slight icky factor ahead.) One of the kittens developed bloody diarreah. Mental note to call vet and shelter in the morning. Decide to quarantine kittens until further notice.
• Michael woke up much worse. Called pediatrician. Spent 4 hours at hospital with two young children to confirm original diagnosis of croup. Went home with no new information and no new treatment plan. (Instead of dealing with sick kitten.)
• Noticed that kitten's problem is intermittent, but still present. Called shelter and vet to begin working on the issue. Waiting for vet appointment later today.

Minor (I hope) Health Crisis - Update

We arrived for our appointment 10 minutes early. We were seen relatively quickly, probably no more than 10-15 minutes past our appointment time. Michael's temperature was normal and his oxygen levels were fine. Of course, his temp was down because I gave him acetaminophen this morning and it hadn't worn off yet.

Our pediatrician came in and agreed that Michael sounded croupy but was obviously bothered by the fact that he got a fever first and the croup second. Apparently that's not the usual order of operations. So she did order that chest x-ray. She also added in an upper airway x-ray too. She didn't tell me this at the time, but she was worried he had some kind of abscess in his upper airway.

Now, our pediatrician's office is in a building attached to a hospital so we just went down an elevator and traveled a long corridor to radiology. We sat in a waiting room and waited our turn to give them our order papers and then sat back down to wait for the x-rays. The children were so good. First we used the coloring books and markers. Then we used the paper and stickers. Then we used the popsicle sticks and fuzzy yarn to make (Hmm, can't think of what they're called...little diamond shaped things...very pretty....off on an internet search to find name...really? That's what they're called?) God's Eyes. Then I pulled out a book and we did nursery rhymes and songs. Now the natives were really restless so my husband pulled out the iPad and let them watch a little television.

I wasn't really paying attention to the time because I was so focused on keeping the children entertained, but my husband tells me an hour and a half passed by. Then someone came in and said, "There you are, you're supposed to be in the other waiting room. We've been looking for you guys." Seriously!!!!! Turns out the other waiting room was a 5 second walk down the hall. They couldn't have checked the front waiting room a little sooner?

So, we go down to the other waiting room and wait some more. Finally it is Michael's turn. He was a trooper. By now it was past his usual nap time. He's sick and hungry and his fever had returned so his patience and bravery were a little low. He got through the first two (front and side of chest) like a champion following all the directions and in a fairly good mood, but by the time they did the second two (back? and side of the neck) his patience was a little low for the constant directions to lift his chin just a little more. We got through though. Then we had to wait to make sure they all came out well. Ten minutes later we needed to go back for another chest x-ray.

Finally we headed back up to the pediatrician's office where we waited 15-20 more minutes to see our pediatrician again. They told us that they had to call down to radiology to ask about us and that was the only reason they came looking for us. Wow.

So, after all of this..... The x-rays showed he has croup. Which we already knew. It only took 4 hours at the hospital with two children under the age of four to confirm. Sigh.

The children were so exhausted. By the time we got home it was two hours past their usual nap time. They did well though. I'm proud of them. And I'm thankful that my husband left work and came to help with Ava while I focused on Michael. And I suppose I am also grateful that it is nothing worse.

End of story.

Minor (I hope) Health Crisis

The fact that I've used the word crisis twice in post titles tells you what kind of week I'm having.

So, Sunday night it became apparent that Michael had a fever. I figured it was your typical summer cold and it behaved that way. Monday morning he had a cough and still the fever, but no runny nose or anything. His behavior was pretty normal.

Michael often gets the croup when he has a cold, and as I was getting him ready for bed Monday night I made him laugh and I could hear the stridor when he inhaled. We know the drill. We got out two humidifiers and closed all the downstairs A/C vents to redirect as much cool air upstairs (and therefore into his bedroom) as possible. We could hear the barking cough all night long, but no crisis. Tuesday morning the fever broke and he seemed on the mend. We put him to bed last night with the humidifiers just because they were already out, and why not be careful?

So, this morning the fever is back. He had full on stridor for an hour after he woke up and that has never happened before. His nose is running constantly. He's lethargic and extremely overly-sensitive. Any time he gets upset the stridor comes back.

I called his pediatrician to ask how concerned I should be about this. She is fitting him in on her lunch hour and is pretty sure she's going to be sending him for a chest x-ray.

I have a bag packed full of snacks and activities for a 2 and 3 year old. I have their clothes laid out. I'm feeding them a snack of apples and carrots/dip. I'll dress them right before we go. Everything is ready, now just to wait until the appointment time rolls around.

A Tragic Love Story: The Perfect Cookies and Growth

Let's completely digress into the personal arena today.

Over the past 2-3 months I have gained 15 pounds! Prior to this adventure in weight gain I weighed about 5-10 pounds more than when I got pregnant the first time. Back then, at only +5-10, I figured that wasn't too bad for having two babies in two years. I decided that I wasn't going to be morose and self deprecatory about the weight and instead I was going to take a healthy lifestyle approach to (hopefully) a gradual weight loss.

Then, to place the blame where it belongs, my husband went on the hunt for the perfect chocolate chip cookie. (I love you, sweetheart!) It really was a wonderful hunt. We started with the generic cookie recipes on the back of the chocolate chip bags and were disappointed. That didn't stop the two of us from consuming each batch, mind you.

Then we moved on to a recipe my aunt kindly sent me in response to my post asking for recipe contributions. Her recipe was really good actually. We ate that entire batch as well.

But one fateful day we remembered that about three years ago the New York Times had published something on the perfect chocolate chip cookie. He went searching online and found it. The recipe was terribly complicated. It requires two kinds of flour neither of which are all-purpose. It requires a sifter. Most importantly, it requires patience. According to the article you need to stick the dough into the refrigerator for 36 hours before cooking. Really, you make cookie dough and then don't cook it? But he was determined. He bought all the ingredients and made the dough.

Now, we didn't wait. We baked two cookies that first night. They were very good, but not exceptional. Then we put the rest of the dough in the refrigerator and baked two more the next night. Wow!! They were even better. That still was only 24 hours and we wanted the full effect so we waited one more night to bake the rest. Oh my goodness were these cookies wonderful. Seriously, best cookies ever. You need to try the recipe and really do put the dough in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours. It makes an amazing difference.

At this point I had eaten half of several batches of cookies, but my husband wasn't done yet. He needed to find the perfect chips for his cookies. He started working his way through every kind of chocolate chips found in our local grocery store. That's at least 4 kinds.

And then I stepped on a scale to confirm my suspicion that the feeling that my wedding rings were getting tight was not in my imagination. And our love affair with the New York Times cookies came to an end. It is very sad. Very, very sad. I didn't even let him try the last bag of chips he had bought. The bag is sitting forlornly in the pantry calling to us.

And so, here I am 15 pounds heavier and still trying to keep a positive, healthy attitude about the situation. I have started by eliminating treats (cookies) and soda. I am watching portion control closely. Finally, I am increasing vegetables in my diet considerably. I like vegetables, but they're so much more work than the carbs that I love. So far, after about one week of the new plan, I am already 4-5 pounds down. I'm not sure exactly how that happened, but I'll take it. Now to continue the effort when the novelty and rate of weight loss decreases will be the real trick. That and resisting that last bag of chips.

Crisis

Before I tell you about the introduction of kittens to children and vice versa I need to share another story.

Yesterday I decided it was time to let the kittens out of the two room area they had been confined to, but the floor plan of our house is pretty open so after that it was difficult to do another gradual change. I tried. I took scrap material and blocked off the upstairs "balcony" and closed the child gate at the top of the stairs. I hoped that would be good enough to keep the kittens upstairs. They would be able to hear the children and I playing on the first floor and get used to those sounds a little before diving in. At least, that was the plan.

Two hours later two kittens appeared at the foot of the stairs. They figured out how to get under the material and just jump onto the stairs. I just went with it. I followed them around for an hour or so and they seemed fine. I blockaded the doorway to the basement with a few laundry baskets hoping that would keep them on the main floor. Then I started making lunch for the kids.

An hour later I noticed I hadn't heard from the kittens for a while. Unusual because they are kittens. They're usually running around underfoot. I just figured they had gone back upstairs for food, water, and a nap. After lunch I went up to check on them but couldn't find them. While the kids wandered, I searched the entire upstairs and main floor. I searched the basement in case they had squeezed past, or climbed over the laundry basket blockade. I searched all those areas again but couldn't find them.

I hoped that they were just hiding because the kids are kind of noisy and they'd come back out once the kids went down for nap. I rushed the children to bed, gave it a half hour and began searching again. No luck. I was really panicking and upset at this point. I noticed the basement door was unlocked and wondered if Michael had let them outside. I wondered if they were trapped somewhere. I just couldn't figure out how I had managed to lose not one but two active kittens in my own house. One, two, three, and then four hours went by. They hadn't been quiet for that long in the two days they'd been here.

A hint of a thought appeared in the back of my mind and without even thinking I wandered to the laundry room. I didn't see anything there either. Absentmindedly I picked up some clothes that had fallen off a pile next to the washer. Then I wondered why the pile had fallen. Then I started trying to peer behind the washer and dryer. Now, I'm pretty short and so getting a look behind there was going to be difficult, but just then I saw Sophie sticking her head around the corner. They managed to get back there, but couldn't get back out.

I was so relieved. I had been just sick with worry. And is it strange that I kept thinking how disappointed the shelter would be with me for losing the kittens they had entrusted me with?

Anyway, crisis averted. Thank goodness.

Sophie and Grace

Meet Sophie.

Meet Grace.

They are sisters born Wednesday May 4, 2011. They were adopted into our family on Saturday July 16, 2011 from an amazing no-kill shelter in our area. They are 10 weeks old.

The shelter had 300!! cats for adoption. (They also had 100 dogs.) I wish I had taken a picture of the room these two were living in. It was kitty heaven. It was extremely clean and full of kitty toys, beds, climbing posts and kitties. We spent a couple of hours there picking out which kittens we wanted to take home, and then waiting for the shelter to send someone to drive by our house to check it out (apparently part of their check before letting people adopt their pets).

The cats are allowed to roam freely in their room during the day when staff and volunteers are there to care for them and show them to potential adopters. Then, at night they are kenneled in very nice crates. Because the kittens are out and playing with each other and people all day, seven days a week they are extremely well socialized.

They already have their kitten shots and a microchip. The adoption fee includes pre-paying to bring them back when they are four months old to have them spayed. At that time they will get their final kitten shot and at that point they will be up to date on their shots for a year. They sent us home with two kitten sized litter boxes and a scoop, a bag of the food they had been feeding the kittens, two collars, and two toys. If we hadn't brought our own carrier they would have had a cardboard carrier for us too. I really was impressed.

I'll share more details about their introduction to the children later. For now I have two kittens to go play with.

Final D: Free Speech Therapy Articulation Picture Cards

Description

These articulation picture card sets are designed to be more comprehensive than the typical sets you might find elsewhere. The target audience for these sets are young children or children with more severe speech delays that need intensive practice with sounds at a one-syllable level or simple two-syllable level. No blends or vocalic /r/ sounds are included in these sets. (Scroll down to preview sets.)

Key Features

• Initial and Final sets include 30 one-syllable words that begin or end with the target sound.
• The words are simple and are easily understood by or easily taught to young children.
• Combines the target sound with all possible vowel sounds at least once.
• Words are sorted by difficulty level for an easy progression from easy to hard.
• Describes the progression from most intense prompts to least intense.
• Provides a simple carrier phrase for every word.
• A gestural prompt for the target sound is explained.
• A list of therapy activities is included.
• Includes 30 therapy cards with the target word and a picture on the front,
  and the difficulty level and the carrier phrase printed on the back.

Permissions

I give permission to copy, print, or distribute these card sets provided that:

1. Each copy makes clear that I am the document's author.
2. No copies are altered without my express consent.
3. No one makes a profit from these copies.
4. Electronic copies contain a live link back to my original and print copies not for merely personal use contain the URL of my original.

Looking for Feedback

I would love to hear back from anyone who uses the word sets. Let me know if there is anything you would change. Comment on this page, or send me an email at testyyettrying(at)gmail(dot)com.

Where can I find more?

More sets are on my Free Speech Therapy Articulation Cards page.

Card Sets

To download click on the image to open it full size. Then right click on the image, choose "save as" and save the page to your computer.

Instructions for printing and using the cards are included in the set.

Initial D: Free Speech Therapy Articulation Picture Cards

Description

These articulation picture card sets are designed to be more comprehensive than the typical sets you might find elsewhere. The target audience for these sets are young children or children with more severe speech delays that need intensive practice with sounds at a one-syllable level or simple two-syllable level. No blends or vocalic /r/ sounds are included in these sets. (Scroll down to preview sets.)

Key Features

• Initial and Final sets include 30 one-syllable words that begin or end with the target sound.
• The words are simple and are easily understood by or easily taught to young children.
• Combines the target sound with all possible vowel sounds at least once.
• Words are sorted by difficulty level for an easy progression from easy to hard.
• Describes the progression from most intense prompts to least intense.
• Provides a simple carrier phrase for every word.
• A gestural prompt for the target sound is explained.
• A list of therapy activities is included.
• Includes 30 therapy cards with the target word and a picture on the front,
  and the difficulty level and the carrier phrase printed on the back.

Permissions

I give permission to copy, print, or distribute these card sets provided that:

1. Each copy makes clear that I am the document's author.
2. No copies are altered without my express consent.
3. No one makes a profit from these copies.
4. Electronic copies contain a live link back to my original and print copies not for merely personal use contain the URL of my original.

Looking for Feedback

I would love to hear back from anyone who uses the word sets. Let me know if there is anything you would change. Comment on this page, or send me an email at testyyettrying(at)gmail(dot)com.

Where can I find more?

More sets are on my Free Speech Therapy Articulation Cards page.

Card Sets

To download click on the image to open it full size. Then right click on the image, choose "save as" and save the page to your computer.

Instructions for printing and using the cards are included in the set.

The Weekly Review: Week Eighteen

Great Blog Posts this Week

• Amy at Amalah.com shares an anecdote about her boys. I loved the entire story. Perhaps I loved it because our household has also been through a Wonder Pets stage. Or maybe because it was such a wonderful example of imaginative, creative play. Anyway, check it out and enjoy.
• WaldenMommyandFamily is another blog written by a mother with a young child with apraxia. She wrote a post this week about being an advocate for your child and using your voice to speak up for them when they cannot.

Website of the Week:

I don't remember how we stumbled across the Alphablocks website, but my children love it. Michael and Ava spent at least an hour the first time exploring it. I sat down with them becuase it was really that engaging. The characters are little alphabet blocks and the videos are all about phonics, but truly entertaining for both adults and children at the same time. After playing some of the games, I found that Michael was spelling words on his own. He already knew the sound/letter correspondences, but was not yet trying to make words. After playing on this site for an hour he can find the first sound in a word, the last sound in a word, and often guess the vowel in the middle. He's also picking out blends with some help. Wonderful site. Check it out.

The Weekly Michael

A couple of days ago, when I went to get Michael from his room in the morning he told me the following story:

"I slept with some friendly ghosts. They are little. They are a mama and papa ghost. I let them sleep on my pillow because they were sad because their children died. The ghosts are following me because they like me because I am nice to them. They want me to read this book to them. They are sitting right next to me."

And then he picked up a little book off his nightstand and plopped down on the floor and read it to the ghosts. All day long he mentioned his ghosts and how they were with him doing various activities.

Then I never heard about them again. Strange. Perhaps he had a really vivid dream about ghosts or something. It was cute though.

Ava this Week:

Wow! Ava is really, really in the midst of Mama Stage 2. This time she's more articulate, louder, and a better performer. She's also more resistant to change. Sigh. I will perservere. We will be patient. This too shall pass.

Baby Kitty

This is Baby Kitty.

She is precious to Ava. Baby Kitty sleeps with Ava during naps and nighttime. Baby Kitty often accompanies Ava downstairs during the day or on a car ride. She was named Baby Kitty because she was smaller than Mama Kitty (we had Mama Kitty first).

When Ava first became attached to Mama Kitty, we got a couple of backup Mama Kitties just in case... We have needed one or two of those upon occasion (one Mama Kitty spent an accidental night at the mall, another needed a run through the laundry). Baby Kitty was a gift. A very loved gift. However, Baby Kitty has no tag or identifying markings. There was probably some sort of tag that I cut off when she first arrived, but I have no idea what it was. Therefore I cannot order backups for Baby Kitty. That makes me nervous.

Yesterday, at nap time, Baby Kitty could not be located. I managed to distract Ava with a soft snuggly blanket she hadn't seen in a long time, but it was a glimpse of how sad she would be if Baby Kitty disappeared. I found Baby Kitty in a corner after Ava went to sleep, but what if I can't next time? I know she'll survive, but I'm kind of attached to Baby Kitty too.

Glimpses of the Future

Until recently, our house has been full of two babies. Or a baby and a toddler. Or two toddlers. Or a preschooler and a toddler. At all of those stages the children have been very parent focused. At first it was just crying, and then came the "Mommy, Daddy, come play with me stage." It was as if they had no toys or space to play in unless an adult was at their side. They simply didn't seem to know how to play on their own. (Notable exception: Michael can play for over an hour in his room if he is supposed to be falling asleep.)

Recently I am beginning to see glimpses of a more independent future. Michael in particular will occasionally become absorbed in a self-directed activity for 30-45 minutes at a time. When an older playmate comes over, they will all disappear for half an hour at a time. They are beginning to see each other as playmates instead of always depending on me. Michael will "whisper" something to Ava that he doesn't want me to hear. (His whisper needs some work, I can pretty much always hear what he is saying.) They will converse with each other in the car. As long as they are not the one causing the other to cry, they will try to comfort each other when someone is upset. When Ava is away (at her grandparents, taking a nap, off to a therapy session, etc.) and returns home, the first person she looks for is Michael.

It is wonderful watching their independence and relationship as siblings develop simultaneously and in an interconnected way. This is what I was hoping for when I made the completely impractical decision to get pregnant when my first child was only 6 months old.

Apraxia Adventures

You might notice that I've added another blog to my blog list (lower right). It is called Apraxia Adventures and is written by a mother of a young daughter with apraxia. She attended the CASANA conference held this past weekend and wrote a great post about a session she attended that was conducted by five young adults who had all been diagnosed with Childhood Apraxia of Speech when they were little. Laura's thoughts about the session and the young adults who conducted the session are a valuable read for anyone who wonders what the future holds for their little one.

Difficult in pairs

Ava is experiencing a return of the Mama Phase. See here and here for the original version of the Mama Phase. I'm sure it didn't appear from nowhere, but somehow I didn't notice until it hit critical. Ava now wants me to do everything for her and refuses to accept attention and assistance from anyone else. She doesn't want her Daddy to kiss her hello or goodbye. She doesn't want her Daddy to get her from her room in the morning or after nap. She doesn't want her Daddy to help her go to the bathroom, dress her for bed, read her stories, get her milk, wipe her face, or anything else. "No! Mommy do it!" is the phrase we hear all the time around here.

This time, we know better than to give in. We learned last time that giving in only makes it worse. We also know that the way to fix it is to give her reduced Mama time and extra Daddy time (making it fun) until the phase passes. It is even more "fun" this time around though because she has so much more speech. As she was pitching a huge fit the other day because Daddy happened to be the one carrying her out of Chick-Fil-A instead of Mommy, she tried a variety of tactics to get him to switch. "I need Mommy" didn't work. Then she tried, "I need to pee, I need to go poopy, I need to get down." Sigh. These situations are even more fun in a crowded public setting. So that's Ava right now.

And then there's Michael. It just wouldn't be as much fun if my children didn't experience their difficult phases at the same time. I remember saying the following statement. I remember saying it to multiple people, on multiple occasions, over several months if not years. I really should have known better. I said, "Unlike Ava, Michael is fundamentally a rule follower. He usually pretty much listens to what I say and doesn't question it much."

Oh boy. Little did I know that he was just saving up all his defiance for 3 1/2 instead of for the "terrible twos". You name it, he's trying it right now. Where did my sweet, compliant little boy go? I say, "Don't do X." He immediately responds by doing the forbidden action. Then, in the action specifically designed to increase my temper into the red zone he giggles and runs around in glee at my obvious anger. He's hitting, throwing, and making messes several times a day. In his defense, they're all pretty low level versions of those things and he's obviously just testing, but it is driving me crazy. I need to take a step back and come up with some kind of plan, because I really don't like the amount of yelling I've been doing recently and it isn't working anyway. Ideas?

Oh, and as a bonus, when not dealing with all of the above, the Why phase rages on here as well and it is contagious. Now they're both at it. They take turns. This one doesn't bother me as much though. It gets to the point where it is just funny. I enjoy trying to think of the answer to the next why that I know is coming as soon as I finish the last response.

I hope all of your parenting adventures are going more smoothly than mine.

Chipmunk

My parents took Ava Friday night. (Thank you Mom and Dad!) When they brought her home Saturday evening she was clutching a package of crackers in her hand like it was treasure. I'm still not sure what the story behind that was. Since we were about to eat dinner, I quickly confiscated the crackers but lessened the blow by letting her have two. She wandered around carrying them without eating them for a while but was eventually down to half a cracker.

In the meantime, Michael noticed the sudden appearance of crackers in the house and came to beg one for himself. I told him "just one" and was handing it to him when Ava rushed in from the other room apparently having overheard us. She popped her last half cracker in her mouth and held her hand out for more. I told her, "Absolutely not! You've already had your two." She thought about that for a moment, accepted that it was fair, and pulled that last half cracker right back out of her mouth and walked away holding it.

My little chipmunk.

Final T: Free Speech Therapy Articulation Picture Cards

Description

These articulation picture card sets are designed to be more comprehensive than the typical sets you might find elsewhere. The target audience for these sets are young children or children with more severe speech delays that need intensive practice with sounds at a one-syllable level or simple two-syllable level. No blends or vocalic /r/ sounds are included in these sets.

Key Features

• Initial and Final sets include 30 one-syllable words that begin or end with the target sound.
• The words are simple and are easily understood by or easily taught to young children.
• Combines the target sound with all possible vowel sounds at least once.
• Words are sorted by difficulty level for an easy progression from easy to hard.
• Describes the progression from most intense prompts to least intense.
• Provides a simple carrier phrase for every word.
• A gestural prompt for the target sound is explained.
• A list of therapy activities is included.
• Includes 30 therapy cards with the target word and a picture on the front,
  and the difficulty level and the carrier phrase printed on the back.

Permissions

I give permission to copy, print, or distribute these card sets provided that:

1. Each copy makes clear that I am the document's author.
2. No copies are altered without my express consent.
3. No one makes a profit from these copies.
4. Electronic copies contain a live link back to my original and print copies not for merely personal use contain the URL of my original.

Looking for Feedback

I would love to hear back from anyone who uses the word sets. Let me know if there is anything you would change. Comment on this page, or send me an email at testyyettrying(at)gmail(dot)com.

Where can I find more?

More sets are on my Free Speech Therapy Articulation Cards page.

Card Sets

To download click on the image to open it full size. Then right click on the image, choose "save as" and save the page to your computer.

Instructions for printing and using the cards are included in the set.

Initial T: Free Speech Therapy Articulation Picture Cards

Description

These articulation picture card sets are designed to be more comprehensive than the typical sets you might find elsewhere. The target audience for these sets are young children or children with more severe speech delays that need intensive practice with sounds at a one-syllable level or simple two-syllable level. No blends or vocalic /r/ sounds are included in these sets.

Key Features

• Initial and Final sets include 30 one-syllable words that begin or end with the target sound.
• The words are simple and are easily understood by or easily taught to young children.
• Combines the target sound with all possible vowel sounds at least once.
• Words are sorted by difficulty level for an easy progression from easy to hard.
• Describes the progression from most intense prompts to least intense.
• Provides a simple carrier phrase for every word.
• A gestural prompt for the target sound is explained.
• A list of therapy activities is included.
• Includes 30 therapy cards with the target word and a picture on the front,
  and the difficulty level and the carrier phrase printed on the back.

Permissions

I give permission to copy, print, or distribute these card sets provided that:

1. Each copy makes clear that I am the document's author.
2. No copies are altered without my express consent.
3. No one makes a profit from these copies.
4. Electronic copies contain a live link back to my original and print copies not for merely personal use contain the URL of my original.

Looking for Feedback

I would love to hear back from anyone who uses the word sets. Let me know if there is anything you would change. Comment on this page, or send me an email at testyyettrying(at)gmail(dot)com.

Where can I find more?

More sets are on my Free Speech Therapy Articulation Cards page.

Card Sets

To download click on the image to open it full size. Then right click on the image, choose "save as" and save the page to your computer.

Instructions for printing and using the cards are included in the set.