The Weekly Review: Week 45

Ava this Week

Ava had a hidden talent that has recently become quite prominent. She is a born manipulator. She is impressively good. She has started having trouble falling asleep at night. She'll leave her room over and over and over. Sometimes this will go on for 90 minutes and the number of excursions will reach 8-10.

Now, I have a plan. The plan is to not interact with her at all. The plan is to simply pick her up, return her to her bed, tuck her in, and leave the room without even making eye contact.

Well, that sounds great in theory, but Ava knows how to derail that plan. For example, this is how the other night went...

Round 1: First she needed help going to the bathroom. And she actually produces when she's there. It doesn't seem right to just tell her to pee in her pullup.

Round 2: Then she wanted some treasured item she needs to sleep that has been forgotten somewhere in the house. She has about 8 things she cuddles in her bed so inevitably something has been forgotten. She knows how to play it too. Her eyes are wide, her voice trembles, she asks so nicely. I feel like such a grinch not responding to her when all it takes to be responsive it to walk three feet into the next room, pick up the requested item, and hand it to her.

Round 3: Then she'll hear a scary noise. And this time there are some tears and an actual quiver in the voice.

Round 4: Her tag reader pen (which she carries everywhere listening to stories) runs out of batteries.

Round 5 Her tummy hurts. She acts pitiful when delivering this line. Somehow, "I don't care, go to sleep sweetheart" doesn't seem like the appropriate parental response.

and so on...

I am so hoping that this is a brief stage in her development.

The Weekly Michael

The issues with Michael are already becoming more complex. How am I supposed to respond to the following:

"What does stupid mean mama?" (Where did he even hear that word? I certainly don't use it. Must be school.)

"Boys don't like pretty things mama." (I was speechless. I stammered something about Daddy and Grandpa certainly liking pretty things.)

I'm sure this is just a tip of the "big kid issues" iceberg and I don't much like it.

Weekly Home Therapy Focus

We are still working on /s/, /sh/, /f/, /l/, and /k/. /k/ continues to be remarkably stubborn. In fact, it has been worse this week than it was a few weeks ago. /sh/ and /s/ are moderate. /f/ and /l/ are coming along nicely. We're doing those sounds in sets of three (light, light, light) and in pairs where I put out two cards and the same time and she'll say each word with an and in between (light and lamb). We also are practicing those sounds in short 2-3 syllable phrases.

Weekly Song

Sung to the tune of Oh Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone.

Oh where, oh where did the pm nap go?
Oh where, oh where could it be?
I took care of it and I loved it so,
How could it abandon me?

(It isn't completely gone, but it is going. I'm wondering if Ava's night-time sleep issues might actually be because she doesn't need her nap any more.)

Our Last IFSP Meeting

Our last IFSP meeting was held yesterday morning. To be honest, it was mostly a formality. It was due by January 29th and therefore we had to have a meeting even though Ava will age out of the program in five weeks.

I filled out a few forms about the progress Ava's made and the concerns I still have ahead of time. Our case manager emailed them to me so that we could have a head start at the meeting. We went over the forms and she took our new insurance information (some insurance will reimburse Missouri First Steps for part of their expenses). We agreed to leave Ava's services the same for the next 5 weeks.

I worried and worried and planned and planned before the first IFSP meeting to ultimately feel relieved that it seemed so easy. Then I repeated that experience before the second IFSP meeting. This one just felt a little token.

My focus is moving forward to the transition from early intervention services to school age services. We've qualified and our first IEP has been written. Now we just wait for Ava's birthday to switch. We'll appreciate the last few sessions of OT in our home and our last few sessions of speech with our wonderful early intervention therapists. Then we'll start all over again.

Free Speech Therapy Articulation Cards: Game and Activity Ideas

Speech Therapy Card Activities and Games

Here are some suggestions for fun activities to do and games to play using the free speech therapy articulation card sets (or any other card sets you might be using with young children). They're great for speech therapy, but could also be used for flash cards while studying for a grade school test.

1. Play a matching game. This requires two copies of a set.
2. Play go fish card game. This requires two copies of a set.
3. Play a fishing game. Put a paper clip or a couple of heavy duty staples in each card. Make a fishing pole with a magnet on the end of the line. Turn the cards upside down and have the child "fish" for the cards. Alternately, you could leave the cards face up and ask them to fish out the card you prompt them to find (see levels of prompting).
4. Play bowling. Put cards in clothespins you can stand on end. Line up 3-5 clothespins in a row and have the child say the words pictured on the cards before attempting to "bowl" them down with a small ball.
5. Build a train. Make a train engine and caboose and laminate for durability. Line the cards up in between to build a train. Put a small prize on the caboose like a sticker or cheerio. The child receives the prize when they finish saying all the words pictured on the train.
6. Put cards in a mailbox. Cut a slit in the top of a box or other container to make a "mailbox". Let the children "mail" the cards after completing each card.
7. Play top-bottom puzzles. Cut each card in a card set in half and have the children match the top of each picture to the bottom saying the words as they complete the mini puzzles.
8. Play speech uno. This requires four copies of a set. Take foil stars in four colors (red, green, blue, gold) and put a star of each color on the four cards for each word. (You could also use smiley stickers in four colors, or simply color dots with crayons or markers.) Then play a card game uno-style matching either color or word. The child says the word each time a card is played.
9. Play flashlight hunt. Tape the cards on the wall and turn off the lights. The adult or child shines a flashlight on each card in turn saying the word when the card is illuminated.
10. Play stepping stones. This is recommended only if your cards have been laminated and you have a large space to work in. Place the cards on the floor making a trail. Space the cards so the child has to take a large step to move from one to the next. The child can only move to the next "stone" once they've said the word on their current card.

Note: Keep in mind, you're making a trade off. The more game-like the activity is, the fewer repetitions the child will produce. Particularly with a child who has motor-planning problems, you want to get in as many repetitions as possible in each session. Strike a balance between fun and productivity and try to keep things moving quickly with the focus on many productions no matter which activity you are using. One way to increase the number of productions during an activity is to require multiple repetitions instead of a single production if the child is capable of doing so accurately. So ask for chains of two, three, four, or even five if you can get them. (ex. "pay, pay, pay)

Does anyone have any other games or activities they play while using articulation cards? I'd love to add more ideas to this list. Please leave suggestions in the comments.