The Weekly Review: Week 25

Two Favorite Blog Posts of the Week

I enjoyed a post by Swistle about nutritional advice because I've had similar thoughts. And she expresses her thoughts so very eloquently.

I enjoyed another post at All & Sundry because I have a similar Melissa and Doug puzzle box and I knew exactly how the post was going to end. I sympathize.

Siblingness of the Week:

The children are ramping up both their sweet togetherness sibling moments and their shouting/pushing style sibling moments at the same time. It seems we get more of both. They are talking to each other instead of us more and more. Ava will ask Michael for help when she's having trouble with the computer or if she needs someone to turn on the water in the bathroom so she can wash her hands (he can reach the faucet, she cannot). I love it.

And then there are the moments that perplex me because they are coming too soon. Michael will repeat an action that irritates Ava simply because it bothers her. Why on earth does a three year old need to irritate his two year old sister just because? Alternately Ava will just push Michael out of her way instead of asking him to move. Or grab a toy from his hands, not because she wants it, but because she feels it is hers. Sigh. Lots of mediation going on in our household now and probably for the next 16 years or so.

I am trying to butt out whenever possible. I am inclined to micromanage and I'm making a concerted effort to just let them be and figure things out on their own.

The Weekly Michael

Michael continues to love his new preschool. I continue to love the fact that he's happy there. He comes home talking about art, and songs, and snack, and activities. Before, when it was a school day he'd protest going. Now he's excited. It is a beautiful thing to watch.

Ava this Week:

Singing. I wish I knew how to post audio samples here so you all could hear her too. She's singing the ABC song and Itsy Bitsy Spider and Row, Row, Row Your Boat. By no means are they perfect, but I think that even a stranger would know what she's trying to sing. Understanding her isn't what is important here though. What makes me so happy about it is that she's finally confident enough to try and capable enough to string many, many syllables together in sequence to a tune.

Ebooks, Kindle, and Lendle

I don't remember when exactly, but let's guess around a decade ago, someone gave me a palm pilot as a gift. I honestly didn't know what to do with it. I wasn't super impressed with the address book or calendar functions and so it was a rather expensive but unimpressive toy. Then I discovered ebooks.

I was always an avid reader. I would go on vacations with half my suitcase filled with paperbacks. I carried one to every doctor's appointment. I read in the car until the sunlight faded and then continued on with a flashlight until my batteries died. The ebook was an amazing upgrade for me. Suddenly I could carry dozens of books in less space than one paperback. Also, it was backlit and so I could read in the dark. It was wonderful. I never struggled with eye strain, so other than the occasional low battery issue, I never looked back.

Due to issues I won't go into now, I switched from my old ebook format to the Kindle format a couple of years ago. I don't actually own a Kindle. I use a Kindle app on my iPhone. I'm perfectly happy with that. It is smaller than the Kindle device, has backlight capability, and is always with me. I love ebooks. It is by far my preferred format for reading.

I recently stumbled upon a new website that is really great. It is called Lendle. Some Kindle books are lending enabled. The publisher determines if that function is enabled, not Amazon. If the book is lending enabled, you can loan the book to someone else with a Kindle account one time for two weeks. Or, they could loan a book to you for two weeks. The problem is, I don't know anyone else using a Kindle. That's where Lendle comes in.

You set up an account with Lendle and tell it what Kindle books you own. They automatically figure out which of those are lending enabled. (I own 81 Kindle books. Only 16 are lending enabled.) You get a few free borrowing credits just for signing up and entering your book list. Your available loans are entered into a database along with everyone else's. Then you can browse available books and spend a borrowing credit to request a loan. You earn another borrowing credit for every book you loan out. As an added bonus, Lendle gives you a small credit (5-49 cents so far for the five books I have currently loaned out) for each book you loan out. When your account reaches $10 they send you an Amazon gift certificate.

Their catalog is pretty slim because so few books are lending enabled. However, I found one I wanted and requested the loan. It came through within half an hour and then I was reading the book on my phone. It was great. I requested the sequel. Now, that one is taking longer. The lender has two days to actually send you the book and this person is a bit slower. Still, I'm getting to read free books in exchange for loans that were sitting around unused in my Kindle account.

If you have a Kindle account, I highly recommend checking out Lendle.

Apraxia Therapy Materials: Kaufman Speech to Language Protocol Workout Book

Therapy Materials Review: Kaufman Speech to Language Protocol Workout Book

This is a review of the Kaufman Speech to Language Protocol Workout Book. The book was developed by Nancy Kaufman, MA, CCC-SLP. Nancy Kaufman is a nationally acclaimed expert in apraxia who has developed assessment and treatment materials in the area of apraxia. The book is 127 pages and is a 9" x 13" spiral-bound hardcover book. This book contains 16 different motor-speech "workouts" and some great resource pages in the beginning of the book on a variety of useful topics. Just like with the Kaufman Kit Level 1, the Workout Book focuses primarily on the consonants /m, p, b, t, d, n, and h/.

Target Audience

The target audience for the Kaufman Speech to Language Protocol Workout Book will usually be children between the ages of two and six. The pictures in the book were designed with those ages in mind. The book will be most useful for children who are struggling with producing simple syllable shapes and need to focus on the early emerging consonants /p, b, m, t, d, n, h/.

Description of the Kaufman Speech to Language Protocol Workout Book

This is a 9" by 13" spiral-bound hard back book with 127 pages. The book begins with resource pages on a variety of topics followed by 16 different types of activity pages. An SLP could pick up this book and use it with clients with very little advance preparation. I believe this book would also be useful to parents for home practice.

• Introductory Pages and Resources
  The book begins with some great explanations and resources:
  
  • Description of the Kaufman Speech to Language Protocol
  • Treatment Tips for Establishing First Words
  • Introduction to the Mutt Family (characters used both in the workout book and the treatment kit)
  • Explanation of Word Approximations
  • Discussion of Vowels
  • Pictorial Guide to Hand Signal Cues for Vowels
  • Vowel Workout
  • Pictorial Guide to Hand Signal Cues for Consonants
  • Discussion of Other Cueing Techniques
  These resource pages are very well done and are written in a way that is easy to understand and very useful. These first 26 pages add significant value to the person trying to use this book to help children with severe speech delays.
  
  Here is an example of one of the resource pages:
  
  
  
  
• Workouts
  The next section of the book consists of 16 "workouts". These workouts are exercises designed to easily elicit many practice productions of specific motor-speech combinations. Each workout begins with an explanation of the targeted skill (for the SLP) and is followed by activity pages that are well designed and engaging even for very young children. The workouts address the following topics:
  
  • Reduplication (CVCV)
  • Consonant Vowel (CV)
  • Same Initial Consonant Pivot Phrases with CV
  • Pivot Phrase "Open"
  • Naming Function: Noun-Verb-Object
  • "I Want" Pivot Phrases to Request Objects
  • "I Want To (Verb)" to Request Actions
  • Final Consonant Inclusion of /p, t, k/
  • Simple Bisyllabics (C1V1C2V2) plus CVC
  • Naming Action: Noun-Verb-Object
  • Sequence Stories: Noun-Verb-Object
  • Present Progressive Structure
  • Short Stories
  • Scripting Functional Language
  • Click here to see sample pages. (You may have to reload page after it opens.)

How to Use the Kaufman Speech to Language Protocol Workout Book

This book is a wonderful resource for any SLP. The early workouts are perfect for beginning work with children with severe speech delays. The later workouts are great for generalization of speech skills and are also great for working on expressive language skills as well. The book is compact, portable, and reproducible. It is a great investment.

Pros and Cons of the Kaufman Speech to Language Protocol Workout Book

• Pros:
  This book is sturdy, has great reference information, and has 16+ ready-to-go activities that are appealing and useful for a wide variety of speech and language students. The book takes you from eliciting single consonants and vowels to generalizing early emerging sounds in phrases and short sentences.
• Cons: The book is expensive. It only addresses early emerging consonants.

Bottom Line:

This is a great investment. The cost is high, but not completely inaccessible and worth every penny. You get a product that is educational for you, includes ready-to-go activities, is appealing to children, and is useful for a fairly wide variety of clients. It is also accessible and useful for parents that want to do extra practice at home for children with severe speech delays or expressive language delays.

You might also be interested in the following articles:

Apraxia Therapy Materials: Kaufman Speech Praxis Kit 1 (Basic Level)

Apraxia Therapy Materials: The Big Book of Exclamations

Apraxia Therapy Materials: Webber Jumbo Articulation Drill Book