Speech Card Set Activity: Speech Fours (Card Game)

The children have really been enjoying the variety of activities I've been introducing during speech time. Their favorite so far has been speech switcheroo so I went looking for another card game I could adapt. I found directions for a card game called Sevens that looked like fun. It works on some elementary math number and sequencing skills as a bonus too.

The original game of Sevens is played by dealing an entire deck of cards out to all the players face down. The players then look at their cards and sort them by suit and place them in order by sequence. The player with the 7 of diamonds places their card down in the center and play proceeds clockwise. Each player adds a diamond to the left or right of the currently placed cards in sequence forming a row (the second player would need to play a 6 or 8 of diamonds). If they cannot play a diamond, but happen to have a seven of another suit they can start a new row. If they cannot play they forfeit their turn. Play continues until one player wins by playing the last card in their hand.

Adaptation: Speech Fours

Preparation of Speech Fours Card Deck

Print a free card deck (or combination of decks) and choose 28 cards to be your game deck. Lay them out in four rows of seven cards each. Use dot stickers (or add colored dots with markers) to make each row a different color. Then write the numbers one through seven on the colored dots in each row. (Use light colors so that your numbers will show.)

Direction for Playing Speech Fours Adaptation

Deal all 28 cards out face down to the players. With my children I then had them turn their cards over (rather than hold them so that the other players can't see). I helped them sort their cards by color and sequence. Then I told them that the card with the red four in the corner (choose whatever color you like) was the starting card. The player with that card puts it down in the middle (saying the word on the card as they play it). Play continues clockwise with each player adding to the sequence if possible saying the word on each card as played. (So player 2 would need the red 3 or 5.) If they cannot add to the sequence of the current color row, they can play a four of a new color. If they cannot do either they have to pass. The player to use all their cards first wins. Alternately, you can continue play until all four color sequences are complete.

The game addresses speech articulation, color identification and matching, identifying the numbers 1-7, number sequencing, and basic turn taking and good sportsmanship.


If you liked this card set activity you might also like:

• 10 Card Set Game and Activity Ideas
• Simple Speech Card Puzzles
• Speech Card Stories
• Speech Card Caterpillar
• Speech Card Game: What's Hiding?
• Speech Card Game: Speech Switcheroo (An Uno-Style Game)

Clear as Mud (Trip to the Allergist)

Yesterday afternoon was Michael's allergist appointment. We were there to discover if allergies are playing a part in his nasal congestion and habitual mouth breathing. When we made our appointment we were told to make sure he wasn't on any antihistamines for 5 days prior to the appointment so that skin testing would be valid if the doctor decided to test.

Monday night, and again the morning of the appointment I told Michael that we were going to a special doctor to help figure out why he has trouble breathing through his nose. I told him the doctor might decide to do a special detective test to figure out if his body is allergic to certain things. I explained that some people have bodies that get confused and think regular things like tree pollen and cat or dog hair are germs. Then those people might get stuffy noses when they are around those things.

I told him that the nurse would write on his back and use a special device to poke his back several times. I showed him some of the less scary google image search results of pictures of skin testing on children's backs. I think I struck a good balance, because he was intrigued at the idea of the "detective test", but not scared.

After collecting a little bit of family medical history and listening to my concerns, the doctor decided to do a skin test. I held a shirtless Michael in my lap with his chest to my chest. His arms were around my neck. The nurse drew some lines and numbers on his back first and then cleaned his back with alcohol soaked cotton. This made him giggle. She had all seven pricking devices ready to go. She was two down before he realized that he didn't much like what was going on. She got two more done before he managed to voice his first complaint. She was done by the time I finished telling Michael he could choose a small bag of candy when we were done.

When he realized she was finished he decided it wasn't worth getting upset and asked for his candy instead. After that he hopped back up on the exam table and watched Wall-E on the iPad for the 15-20 minutes it takes to complete the test. I only had to remind him he couldn't touch his back once or twice. The kid loves Wall-E.

The doctor came back in to read the test results. As far as I could tell that was based upon the size of the wheal (mosquito bite like bump) in each spot. Her rating could be from 0 (no reaction) to 4++ (large reaction). They tested 54 things. Michael had no reaction to 32 of those. He had a 1+ reaction to 13 substances. He had a 2+ reaction to 2 more. He had a 3+ reaction to horse, cat hair, pigweed, and kochia. He had a 4+ reaction to dog. He had a 4++ reaction to oak. Well, that seemed like a lot of reactions to me.

Then she explained that the magnitude of the reaction does not correlate to the magnitude of actual allergy symptoms experienced by the patient. ?!?! So, some people might have a huge allergic reaction to something their allergy skin test showed as 1+ and no reaction at all to something their skin test showed as 4+. The only thing she could say for sure was that the substances he didn't react to at all would be unlikely to cause allergy symptoms. So, of the things he does react to (21 things!) any of them could be causing the most trouble? Or all of them? Or none of them? Well, how on earth is that useful at all?

I left with the instructions to continue Flonase at night and try switching from Claritin (which didn't seem to help) to Zyrtec in the morning. Call her in 8 weeks if that doesn't seem to be helping. In addition to the medical treatment we should try to reduce allergens in our home starting with keeping the cats out of his bedroom and washing all his bedding in hot water once a week.

Somehow I expected more. I thought we would get a definitive answer about whether or not allergies are contributing to the mouth breathing problem. I thought that if allergies are a contributing factor we'd know which ones, specifically, are the problem and could react accordingly. Instead, she isn't actually convinced allergies are the issue. Any allergic symptoms could be caused by one of 21 things. And taking medicine and cleaning the house may or may not help.

Great. Clear as mud.

I'm hoping the ENT visit on Friday will be much more helpful. Aren't I the optimist?


__________________

One year ago I wrote a post on how to use gestural prompts during therapy with children with apraxia (or any other severe speech delay). One year later we still use gestural prompts in every single therapy session. They are a powerful therapy tool. The video I linked to in that post is very helpful if you've never actually seen someone using gestural prompts before.

Initial V: Free Speech Therapy Articulation Picture Cards

Initial /v/ Card Set

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.

I recommend you print on cardstock and laminate for durability.

Description

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

Key Features

• This set includes 12 therapy cards with the target word and picture on the front, and the difficulty level and a carrier phrase on the back.
• The words are all CV or CVC in syllable shape.
• 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.

Permissions

I give permission to copy, print, or distribute this card set 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 this card set. Let me know if you find errors or 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 Set Activity and Game Suggestions

1. 10 Card Set Game and Activity Ideas
2. Simple Speech Card Puzzles
3. Speech Card Stories
4. Speech Card Caterpillar
5. Speech Card Game: What's Hiding?
6. Speech Card Game: Speech Switcheroo (An Uno-Style Game)
7. Speech Card Game: Magnetic Speech Cards

Contemplating Homeschooling

I have two children who are only a little over a year apart. From late 2007 through late 2010 I fantasized about sending my children to school. It was going to be the best thing ever. I would first spend a year at home regaining my sanity and then consider going back to work part or full time.

I like my profession. Becoming a parent also gave me a whole new perspective. Becoming a parent of children with speech issues gave me new insight. Getting back into the schools as an SLP would be wonderful. I itch to exercise my skills with children who need help (other than my own). I want to use my professional skills. I want interact with other adults. I want to make a difference in the lives of children.

And yet, a little over a year ago I found myself beginning to daydream about homeschooling. My children were outgrowing their toddlerhoods and entering into the preschool years. We were able to start doing some structured activities. Michael began learning his letters, letter-sound correspondences, and how to read practically by himself. It was all exciting and fun. And I was following some blogs of homeschooling parents. And so the occasional daydreaming began.

There are so many advantages. We would get to dictate our own schedule rather than having it dictated to us. We could visit family without worrying about missing school. I could customize content and pace of learning to each child individually. It is more efficient. We could accomplish in 2-4 hours a day what a school takes 7 hours to accomplish (not counting the homework time schools involve on top of school hours). My children could have stimulating, individualized education and still have time leftover to spend with family, pursue independent activities, play, and just be kids.

I feel like homeschooling could be a gift. It is a gift to the children. They get to learn at their level and pace with time leftover to spend with family and just be kids. It is a gift to our family. Instead of yanking everyone out of sleep and rushing out the door in the morning we can determine a schedule that works for us. Instead of picking kids up from school and doing homework until dinner, dinner, bath and bedtime we would have time for recreation, exercise, activities, and play. When we get invited to a special family event in Louisiana (ex. Easter Crawfish Boil/Birthday Party) we could go because we wouldn't have to be back at school on Monday.

On the other hand, it wouldn't all be roses. It is expensive. We'd need curriculum materials and we'd be giving up my salary indefinitely. I'd give up the opportunity to practice my profession. That's huge.

Another challenge... Hmm. How do I put this? It's an awful lot of together time. I love my children, but I know myself. I need a certain amount of "by myself" time in order to stay sane and happy. That's just who I am. I get that time right now during the two mornings a week the children are in preschool. If we went to full-time homeschooling I would need some way to get a minimum amount of time to myself, in my own home, to stay sane.

I also have to remind myself that in daydreams everything is perfect. The children are always perfectly behaved. Learning is easy, seamless, and fun. Lesson plans and materials magically present themselves to be used at just the right moment. Meaningful friendships and socialization for the children develop easily through some as yet to be determined activities/homeschooling groups. There are rainbows and unicorns. No one ever gets sick. You get the idea. I know that reality will be different.

And then I start browsing potential homeschooling curriculum materials. Oh, bliss. I love browsing curriculum materials. There are so many good options out there. I have already decided on some. You know, if I were to homeschool, I would use... Just theoretically.

I haven't made any decisions. Michael has one more year of preschool before he'd be starting kindergarten so I have time to decide. I'm thinking of getting some homeschool materials and trying them part-time in the meantime to get a feel for it. (Hello Rightstart Math Level A!... Hello Handwriting Without Tears preschool curriculum!)

Dysfunctional Stages of Adaptation (me)

Stimulus: Learn new information to integrate. (Current example: Michael has a mild tongue-tie.)

Response sequence:

• Panic, panic, panic! (Tongue-tie! Oh no, how terrible! It will ruin his life!)
• Self-recrimination. (How could I have possibly missed it, I'm an SLP? I'm the worst SLP ever. I'm the worst mama ever.)
• Online research. (ASHA: Tongue-tie is no big deal. Other sites: Tongue-tie is a big deal.)
• Additional panic. (It might be a huge deal. How will I ever decide? This is a huge decision...)
• Blog about it. Blog about it some more.
• Consult everyone who will listen for opinions (pediatrician, therapist A, therapist B, random family members, random casual acquaintances). Be swayed by the opinion of whoever is speaking at the moment.
• Begin to assimilate new information.
• Begin to calm the heck down.
• Gain some perspective.
• Realize that the initial sequence of reactions was, yet again, perhaps a bit over-the-top.
• Decide that the problem is probably not a problem.

The end.


Hmm...perhaps there is a better way?

The Weekly Review: Week 55

SLP Idea of the Week

Pat at Speaking of Speech had a brilliantly simple idea for motivating articulation drill. She lays her articulation cards out in a grid face up and hides a sticker under one of the cards. The children have to name the card before checking underneath to see if it is the one hiding the sticker. If you want to increase difficulty add a carrier phrase like, "Is it hiding under the _____?" Or ask them to make up a sentence about it. If you're really creative, you can match your carrier phrase to the speech target you're working on. For example, for final /k/ you could have the child use "look under the" as your carrier phrase. Whoever finds the sticker gets to keep it and then you simply hide another sticker and carry on.

Ava this Week

It has been over a month since Ava's birthday. She'll still occasionally remark, rather wistfully, "I'm going to have another birthday!" I have to gently remind her that birthdays are very special occasions and that it will be a long time before she has another one.

Weekly Michael

I was busy cleaning. I know. I don't say that often, but I'm still enjoying the new vacuum cleaner. When I flipped the switch and there was some wonderful silence for a moment Michael asked me if I wanted to play his game. I'll admit it. I hadn't been paying any attention to what he'd been up to while I was cleaning. He had drawn arrows on pieces of construction paper and taped them up in various sections of the house. You started at the beginning and looked in the direction the arrow was pointing to find the next arrow. He had set them up perfectly. The last arrow pointed to a drawer. In the drawer was a rolled up piece of paper held closed with a rubber band. He had drawn a puzzle on that piece of paper and when you reached the end of the hunt you had to solve the puzzle. I loved it. It was so creative and well executed. We had never done anything like it so I was curious where he got the idea. He told me he had seen Kipper do it on a television show.

Ava's and Michael's Weekly Home Therapy Notes

Ava's private therapist decided it was finally time to reintroduce /k/. I'm overjoyed (no, no, no). On the other hand, she's having some success this time so I suppose I shouldn't complain too much.

Michael's trying so hard. It is adorable and breaks my heart a little at the same time. He's really paying attention and trying to correct his /s/ and /f/ sounds. When we're practicing reading, he slows down with every S or F and concentrates on his pronunciation. I know he'll be glad later that his speech errors have been addressed, but I hate seeing him so self-conscious now.

Weekly Mini-Projects

I got both of these ideas from pinterest pins, but I saw them such a long time ago, that I no longer remember the sources. I apologize to the wonderful people who came up with the original ideas and thank you for the ideas.

We did a spice painting. I used a cup to trace six circles on a piece of white cardstock for each child. I then gave them some glue and a paintbrush and grabbed six spice bottles off the rack. One at a time they filled each circle with glue. We then opened a spice bottle and smelled (and sometimes tasted) the spice and sprinkled it on the glue. We got to explore the sight, taste, smell, and texture of a variety of spices and the end display was kind of pretty.

I needed spare keys for the second project and got a bunch of discards from the very helpful man at the key desk at the home improvement store. I chose 11 different keys and taped them onto a piece of paper and then photocopied it. Then I pulled the keys back off the original and the copy plus the keys resulted in a very nice key puzzle that the children really enjoyed.

Usborne Very First Reading Boxed Set of Early Readers: A Review

I absolutely love this early reader set published by Usborne. I am in no way affiliated with Usborne, I just got the set for Michael and like it so much I wanted to share it with you.

This is a boxed set of early readers. There are 15 hardback books and one paperbook parent manual. The books are designed to be read (multiple times per book) in sequence and gradually increase in difficulty. The topics are appealing to young children and the illustrations are engaging. The first seven books are set up so that the parent reads the left hand page of each two-page spread and the child reads the right hand page.

Each book begins with simple instructions for the parent followed by the story. After the story there are three reading exercises. There is also a website that has a free downloadable activity for each book in the set.

So far we've done the first three books in the set with Michael. I enjoy it and he enjoys it. He even loves doing the "puzzles" at the end of each book. We read one book each night at bedtime. I have two out at a time and let him choose which one he wants to read. After he's read the book 4-5 times and it is easy, I return the book to the box and get out the next one in the series.

Here are some sample pages from a couple of the books. Pirate Pat is the first book in the series and uses the parent/child format. Moon Zoom is the eighth book in the series and is an example of what the books look like once they are supposed to be read entirely by the child. I've also included some sample pages from the parent manual.

Homemade Speech Articulation - Word Family Game

Speech Articulation - Word Family Game

Materials

1. Blank copy of game board found at bottom of post.
2. 3-5 dice.
3. Blank stickers.
4. Something to use as game markers for each player. We used squinkies.

Preparation

1. Write initial consonant targets of your choice in blank spots on game board. We used /s/, /f/, and /l/.
2. Leave one die as is. Take the other dice and put blank stickers over each side. Or use tape and construction paper squares. Write in word endings on die. I stole some I had from another game so I was able to skip this step.

How to Play (Method A)

1. Students take turns rolling the number die and moving that many spaces on the game board. This selects their initial consonant.
2. Then students roll the word family dice. Help students combine their initial consonant with each word ending to make a word or pseudoword.
3. They get one point for each real word that is formed.
4. The student with the most points when someone ends the game by reaching the end of the board wins.

How to Play (Method B)

This method works just like the first, except that you skip keeping points and the winner is simply determined by who reaches the end of the game board first.

Variations

You could also skip the word ending component all together and use the game board to work on sounds in isolation. Or just write in target words for children who can read.

Medial /f/ Homework Booklet: Free Speech Therapy Articulation Picture Book

Medial /f/ Homework Booklet

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.

I recommend you print on cardstock for durability.

Description

This articulation homework booklet is designed to be an extension of my single-syllable card sets. The target words are all 2-3 syllable words that include no blends. This booklet is designed to be read by a parent (or therapist, older sibling, classmate, teacher...) and child together. The helper reads the typewritten words pausing for the child to "read" the picture words. Each time the book is read, the helper can put a sticker/stamp/checkmark in one of the boxes on the front of the book. This will encourage multiple practice readings. The child's fluency should increase with each repeated reading. The words on the back page can be used for either auditory bombardment before reading the book together or for drill after finishing reading the book (or both). The target audience for these cards are children with speech delays who are ready to practice medial /f/ sounds in a more natural context. Move to these exercises to add complexity and increase generalization after the child has achieved good accuracy with single words, single word repetitions, and simple alternating single words with the medial /f/ sound.

Key Features

• This booklet features 14 medial /f/ words incorporated into a simple story to be read by a helper and child together.
• The words are 2-3 syllable words that do not include the targeted phoneme in consonant blends.
• The words are easily understood by or easily taught to young children.

Permissions

I give permission to copy, print, or distribute this booklet 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 this booklet. Let me know if you find errors or 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 card sets and related printables are on my Free Speech Therapy Articulation Cards page.

Here is a picture of a homework booklet (the /l/ booklet) printed on cardstock and folded into the booklet. It slides nicely in between board books to be pulled out and read during bedtime story time.

Other Speech Practice Booklets Available:

• Initial /s/ Homework Booklet
• Initial /l/ Homework Booklet
• Initial /sh/ Homework Booklet

Final CH: Free Speech Therapy Articulation Picture Cards

Description

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

Key Features

• This set includes 20 therapy cards with the target word and picture on the front, and the difficulty level and a carrier phrase on the back.
• The words are all VC or CVC in syllable shape.
• 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.

Permissions

I give permission to copy, print, or distribute this card set 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 this card set. Let me know if you find errors or 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.

I recommend you print on cardstock and laminate for durability.

Card Set Activity and Game Suggestions

1. 10 Card Set Game and Activity Ideas
2. Simple Speech Card Puzzles
3. Speech Card Stories
4. Speech Card Caterpillar
5. Speech Card Game: What's Hiding?
6. Speech Card Game: Speech Switcheroo (An Uno-Style Game)
7. Speech Card Game: Magnetic Speech Cards

The Secret Playroom

We have a wooden playset/swingset in our backyard. We got it from Sams a couple of years ago and assembled the thing ourselves. It's pretty nice and the children are growing into it. I try to change it a little each year to freshen up interest in it.

The first year we didn't install the rock climbing wall because the children were just too little. Michael was only two and Ava had just turned one. That was the year they could climb up the ladders, but not back down and were also too afraid to slide down the slide. So they would climb all the way up to the third level and then start screaming for help. That was tons of fun.

The second year we installed the rock climbing wall and switched one of the infant swings to a "big boy" swing. They love the rock climbing wall. They still pretty much ignore the "big kid" swing. Well, Ava will tummy swing on it but that's about it.

The lowest level of the playset has a steering wheel and needs to be passed through to get to the second level which features the slide. The third level was rarely used, because nothing was up there. I decided to try to turn it into some kind of secret hideout this year by covering the sides with canvas.

We bought a $10 canvas dropcloth from a home improvement store. We cut panels just a little larger than each side of the playset and stapled it in place. The project didn't take more than 90 minutes or so. Then I used sharpies to decorate it. The children decided to call it "The Secret Playroom". Suddenly the top floor of the playset is a pretty cool place to be.

I also thought it was pretty funny when Ava liberated the telescope to play pirate in the yard. And isn't she just an example of high fashion?

Welcome to April everyone.

Post Pediatrician Visit Update (tongue-tie / mouth breathing)

As such things often are, Michael's pediatrician visit was oddly anti-climactic. I think I tend to build doctor visits up in my head as Super-Important-Life-Altering-Decision meetings when often they are pretty routine. Our pediatrician was -completely- uninterested in the tongue-tie. She had been educated that clipping a tongue-tie rarely fixes speech problems and didn't want to give it further thought.

I've been thinking about why the tongue-tie bothers me even though I know that Michael can produce 4/6 alveolar sounds. It bugs me that he cannot stick his tongue out horizontally and cannot lift his tongue up on command. If it isn't the tongue-tie restricting that movement I want to know what is. Is it weakness? If so, what is the origin of the weakness? Can habitual mouth breathing result in low enough tone to impact tongue strength? Our pediatrician was uninterested. She said, some people can curl their tongue up. Some can't. Perhaps Michael just can't lift his tongue. I have to say, I was unsatisfied.

She was, however concerned about the mouth breathing. After examining him, she declared his tonsils of normal size. She can't see his adenoids though and wants him to see an ENT to get an opinion about the tonsils/adenoids/sinuses. She said I could ask the ENT about the tongue-tie if I wanted another opinion.

Her bet however, based upon my husband's history of needing allergy shots as a child and Michael's history of eczema, is allergies. She referred us to an allergist and wants him to take Flonase at night and Claritin in the morning. The receptionist for the allergist told me that they always allocate time for skin testing even when scheduling an initial appointment so I need to pull him off the Claritin 5 days before the appointment just in case the doctor decides he needs skin testing.

Hmm. Skin testing my 4 year old. That sounds... interesting. Other than educating him before hand, bringing something distracting to watch on the iPad, and some super special treat for when he's done does anyone have any suggestions for what to expect or how to handle it?

Presumably, when we figure out why Michael can't breathe through his nose and address the underlying issue the mouth breathing will cease. Perhaps some improved tongue strength and mobility will follow? It'll be two weeks or more before we get through the specialist appointments and begin to get some answers (I hope). I sure do hate waiting.

The Weekly Review: Week 54

Crafty SLP Idea of the Week

Katie at The Red Kitchen made 26 beanbags out of old t-shirts (one for each letter of the alphabet). She stitched the capital letter on the front of each beanbag and the matching lowercase letter on the back. They are adorable and you should definitely follow the link to her tutorial if you're interested.

If you made some for the consonant sounds you could play a ton of games with them. Kids could toss them back and forth and say the sound each time they catch the bag. They could toss them in a bucket or through a hoop. They could play hot potato with them. You could use them for practicing the sounds in isolation, or have older kids think of a word that contains the sound.

Ava this Week

Ava's been bitten by the I'll-do-it-myself bug. Every time I try to help her with something only to have her firmly and often rudely reject my assistance, I have to take a deep breath and remind myself that this is a good thing. She's becoming more independent. Letting her do things herself improves her self-help skills. It would all be easier if she said it sweetly, with a pleasant smile and managed to do it just as quickly as if I were helping. Is that too much to ask?

Weekly Michael

The littles were playing in the backyard together by themselves (oh, the joy) the other day. The back door opened with a boom and Michael came running inside looking for me with quite the sense of urgency. I mentally prepared myself for some kind of minor disaster. Instead, he just had a question. "Mama, is sod a word?"

We've been having fun with rhyming and playing games with word endings, so we have been having lots of discussions of what is and what is not a word. So I wasn't completely surprised by the question. I told him "yes" and launched into a somewhat long-winded discussion of what sod is. As soon as I finished, he rushed back outside shouting to his sister, "Sod is a word, but it doesn't mean jump!"

I was left wondering what exactly their discussion had been about before Michael came in to request my expert opinion.

Ava's and Michael's Weekly Home Therapy Notes

The children have enjoyed the change of pace provided by the magnet cards and switcheroo game, and we met my goal of slowing down to focus on quality over quantity. I think next week we'll go back to drill fueled by bribery though and focus on some intense practice again.

It explains some things... (Calling for tongue-tie experts)

So here's the situation. Earlier this week I took the children to the dentist. She informed me that Michael has a mild-moderate tongue-tie. My mental response: Umm what? Are you sure? How on earth could I have possibly missed that!!! Did you make that determination based upon physical examination or behaviors?

I wasn't present for his examination because they accidentally scheduled the children at the same time and I was busy with Ava keeping her very overloaded sensory system calmed down just enough to get a little cleaning in through holding her in my lap, trying to simultaneously cover her ears and hold her hands, and singing soothing songs. But that's another story and I digress.

I knew Michael can't raise his tongue on command and that he can't stick it out very well. When you ask him to stick his tongue out he can get it out, but it curls down and sticks to the outside of his lower lip. He cannot stick it out forward at all. He can't raise it at all. I had always assumed that that was part of the same motor-planning spectrum that I've become so familiar with in Ava - or possibly a weakness issue. Well, look at where assumptions get you.

When we got home, I grabbed a clean cloth and pried up his tongue. Sure enough, you can't get it up very far and his lingual frenulum extends pretty far towards the tip of his tongue. On top of that, the lingual frenulum doesn't stretch at all and therefore even with some gentle manual pulling you can't get a lot of distance between the tongue and the bottom of his mouth. On top of that, he cannot get any upward curl of the tip of his tongue at all.

Let's summarize. Michael does appear to have a mild-moderate physical tongue tie. He has speech problems with /f, v, s, z, and th/. He produces all of those sounds as an interdental /s/ that is produced auditorily as a nice sharp /s/ sound. So, his /s/ sounds sound fine but are produced "incorrectly" and his /th/ sounds are produced with proper placement but sound like an /s/. He can, however, produce /t, d, and l/ just fine and those involve alveolar placement.

So here's my question for anyone out there who wants to chime in with an opinion. Given that he can produce /t, d, and l/ is it likely that the tongue-tie is the issue with the other speech errors? If there is no functional consequence of the tongue-tie I'm reluctant to have it clipped. However, if it is likely that the tongue-tie is impacting his speech errors, even in part, getting it clipped seems like an option to consider.

I already have a pediatrician appointment set up for Friday to discuss Michael's chronic mouth-breathing and nasal congestion and I intend to get her opinion about the tongue-tie issue then. However, she's not a speech-path so her opinion on whether it is effecting his speech isn't going to be an expert one. She's more the person to offer information and pros and cons on the procedure itself.

Thoughts and opinions from SLPs with some experience with tongue-tie? Please. :-) I tried to get some pictures for reference, but it was tricky. I had to try to manipulate his tongue with my left hand while taking the picture one-handed with my right. I apologize for the picture quality.

The first picture is what he does if you just instruct him to stick his tongue out.

The second picture is what he can do if you model sticking the tongue straight out without letting it curl downward.

The third is his attempt to curl his tongue up. He tilts his entire head backward and tries to push it up with his bottom lip and bottom jaw.

The fourth picture is my attempt to get an actual picture of his lingual frenulum.

Speech Card Set Activity: Magnetic Speech Cards

As the next installment in my quest to slow the kids down so I can focus on quality s-blend productions I decided to make some of our /s/ blend cards into magnetic cards.

It took me a good half hour to get the magnetic speech cards ready. I printed two copies of my chosen card set and put purple dot stickers on one set and green dot stickers on the other set. I had 22 cards total. Then I cut 22 rectangles out of a cardboard box. The rectangles were slightly bigger than the speech cards. I taped two jumbo paper clips onto each piece of cardboard and then taped the speech cards over the paper clips. Voila. Now I had a speech card set that would attract to magnetic wands. (You could get the same effect by just putting staples or paperclips onto the plain cards, but they wouldn't be as durable.) This is my set when I was finished.

I played several games with the kids. First I just put all the cards face down in a pile and mixed them up. I told Michael that the green ones were his and Ava that the purple ones were hers. They fished one out of the pile with their magnet wand and said the word for me. They got to keep the card if it was their color and had to put it back in the pile if it was not their color. They continued to take turns until all the cards had been distributed. This worked really well. The kids liked playing with their cards while the other child took their turn. Michael lined all of his up in a row to display them with pride.

Next we played a memory game with the cards. The kids liked the novelty of playing memory with magnetic cards and so they were very engaged.

As one last game we piled all the cards in the middle again. They took turns trying to fish out as many cards as possible at one time with their wand. Michael managed to get six at once on one of his tries. They would then pull them off, count them, and say each word they had "caught".

One activity we didn't get to, but I intend to try soon is to bury the cards in a bin filled with rice, beans, or dried pasta and then try to fish them out using the magnetic wands. I think they'll really enjoy that one too.



If you liked this card set activity you might also like:

• 10 Card Set Game and Activity Ideas
• Simple Speech Card Puzzles
• Speech Card Stories
• Speech Card Caterpillar
• Speech Card Game: What's Hiding?
• Speech Card Game: Speech Switcheroo (An Uno-Style Game)

Initial /s/ Homework Booklet: Free Speech Therapy Articulation Picture Book

Initial /s/ Homework Booklet

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.

I recommend you print on cardstock for durability.

Description

This articulation homework booklet is designed to be an extension of my single-syllable card sets. The target words are all CV or CVC in syllable shape and include no blends or vocalic /r/ sounds. This booklet is designed to be read by a parent (or therapist, older sibling, classmate, teacher...) and child together. The child should be familiar with the target therapy words/pictures from working with the initial /s/ card set. The helper reads the typewritten words pausing for the child to "read" the picture words. Each time the book is read, the helper can put a sticker/stamp/checkmark in one of the boxes on the front of the book. This will encourage multiple practice readings. The child's fluency should increase with each repeated reading. The words on the back page can be used for either auditory bombardment before reading the book together or for drill after finishing reading the book (or both). The target audience for these cards are children with severe speech delays who are ready to practice initial /s/ sound in a more natural context. Move to these exercises to add complexity and increase generalization after the child has achieved good accuracy with single word, single word repetitions, and simple alternating single words with the initial /s/ picture cards.

Key Features

• This booklet features 12 initial /s/ words incorporated into a simple story to be read by a helper and child together.
• The words are CV or CVC in syllable shape.
• The words are simple and are easily understood by or easily taught to young children.

Permissions

I give permission to copy, print, or distribute this booklet 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 this booklet. Let me know if you find errors or 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 card sets and related printables are on my Free Speech Therapy Articulation Cards page.

Here is a picture of a homework booklet (the /l/ booklet) printed on cardstock and folded into the booklet. It slides nicely in between board books to be pulled out and read during bedtime story time.

_________________

One year ago I wrote about how to use songs and rhymes and a cloze technique to get a young child to verbalize.

Speech Card Set Activity: Speech Switcheroo (An Uno-Style Game)

I needed to slow the kids down so they could focus more on making quality productions rather than on simply making lots of sloppy productions, so it seemed like the perfect time to introduce a new speech card set game. I turned our /st/ cards into an uno-style game I called Switcheroo. The kids had a blast playing and I was really pleased with the experience. It should take you no more than 10 minutes to prepare any of the free speech sets for your own Speech Switcheroo set.

Directions for Making Your Own Speech Switcheroo Game

1. Print 4 copies of the free speech card set of your choice. (You probably need no more than 12-15 cards to make a large enough deck, so I recommend printing four copies of only one page of the sets.)
2. Print 1 copy of the special cards. (Found at the bottom of this page. Click to open full-size image then right click on that and save image to your computer for printing.)
3. Before cutting the cards out, put yellow stickers on each card of the first sheet and one one of the skip cards and one of the +2 cards. Then do the same for green stickers on another sheet, red stickers on the third sheet, and blue stickers on the fourth sheet. No stickers need to be placed on the Switcheroo cards. You could also use colored markers to make dots on the pages if you don't have stickers in the four colors.
4. Cut out all the cards and shuffle. Then deal 7 cards to each player and play the game uno-style. Have the child say the speech word as they play each card.

If you liked this card set activity you might also like:

• 10 Card Set Game and Activity Ideas
• Simple Speech Card Puzzles
• Speech Card Stories
• Speech Card Caterpillar
• Speech Card Game: What's Hiding?

____________________

One year ago, during a speech session with our early intervention therapist, I encountered a very concrete example of the oral apraxia exhibited by both of my children.

Reading Eggs - An Online Reading Program

I am trying a free trial of Reading Eggs which is an online reading program. You can sign up for a free two week trial. After you sign up, you can add multiple children to the account. Then you can enter the code ABC1034 to extend the free trial by an additional 4 weeks (you can enter the same code for each child extending the program trial for multiple children). You have the option to have your child start at the beginning with letter recognition, or have them take a test to determine an appropriate starting level. Michael got 19 of 40 questions right and the program started him at the Level 4 Map.

Each map has about 10 lessons. Each lesson takes about 15 minutes to complete and has a variety of activities. The first lesson Michael completed was about the letter G and the second was about the letter L. He practiced letter recognition in isolation and in words. He practiced phonics with three letter words that included the featured letter in initial or final position. He practiced sight words featuring the letter. They even include an exercise that uses a connect the dots format to teach how to write the lower case letter. You can download a printable sheet of exercises for each lesson. He enjoyed the "game" and we've barely scratched the surface.

I haven't tried it yet with Ava, but given that the program starts with letter recognition, I may have her try it too beginning with the first lesson. She doesn't recognize all of her letters yet, so it might be really nice for her. She did enjoy watch Michael play through his lessons, so she might be interested in doing her own lessons.

If the children continue to enjoy playing with the program, I'll consider subscribing when our free trial is up. Has anyone else seen or used this program? Does anyone have recommendations of other online reading programs we should check out (particularly if they have free trials)?

Now I've Done It (Bad Speech Habit Acquired - Help!)

Ava has been doing so well with her blends. She went from simply eliminating the second consonant in an s-blend to being able to include both consonants almost every time. I was excited about that achievement and simply failed to notice that she began inserting a pretty prominent schwa to the end of the /s/. So, instead of saying "snow" or even "ssssssno," she's saying "suh no". (or "suh pin", "suh tep", etc...) I think it happened gradually and I just didn't catch it early. I really should have caught it, but I'm just not perfect. In fact, I'm only aware of it now because one of her speech teachers pointed it out to me. I was pretty embarassed. Now adding that schwa seems firmly ingrained in her motor planning for s-blends and I can't figure out how to get rid of it. Her therapist recommended shortening the /s/ and overemphasizing the second consonant when modeling, but that isn't helping.

Does anyone have any strategies they use under such circumstances?


_____________________

One year ago I reflected on my jealousy when watching other babies smile and the possible impact of oral apraxia on the infancies of my children.

The Weekly Review: Week 53

SLP Idea of the Week

Christie at My Ocean of Notions did a post on making alphabet picture sticks using pictures she cut out of old workbooks and popsicle sticks (one for each letter of the alphabet). Hers are adorable and definitely worth checking out.

You could easily use my articulation picture cards and do the same thing as an alternative to just using the cards flashcard style. With the popsicle sticks attached they could be used as puppets to tell stories. They could be distributed among the children in a group and they could take turns holding up one stick at a time for the others to say (at the single word, phrase, or sentence level).

Ava this Week

Ava's preschool has been incubating a dozen chicken eggs for a couple of weeks now. On Tuesday when I picked her up she talked her teacher into bringing me into the room where they've been keeping the incubator. Most of the eggs had little volcano shaped protrusions in the shells where the chicks were beginning to peck their way out. One chick had actually pecked a hole and you could see the beak through the hole. We were all quite excited. Two days later, when I went to get Ava from school, we checked on them again. Now there were 11 fluffy yellow baby chick. Michael had the opportunity to see too because he is on spring break this week. The children were captivated. I had them keep their voices low and their movements slow. I told them they could touch, just once, gently with one finger. They both reached into the box and followed my instructions perfectly. I was so proud of them for treating the chicks with respect even though they were quivering with excitement. They talked about how soft and cute the chicks were all the way home. I'm so grateful to her preschool for going through all the trouble to give their students such a wonderful experience.

Weekly Michael

Michael is maturing before my eyes. He's calling me "mom" more often than "mama" or "mommy". He's more confident and independent. He's had a busy week this week even though his school is out for spring break. He spent one morning with his grandmother and they had a wonderful time together. He adores her (rightfully so). We had a friend over another morning. The three children played hard all morning. Michael raced his older friend on his big boy bike (with training wheels) and won several times. He climbed his first tree. I must say that I wish that his first tree climbing experience could have been with a tree that had branches lower than five feet up (pretty much my head height). However, he was excited and proud and had to be peeled out of that tree. He went on his first unsupervised playdate. It was so strange to just drop him off. He had a great time for two hours and can't wait to go back. He and I went to lunch - just the two of us. I didn't realize until halfway through the meal that it was the first time we'd done that. It was nice to have that one-on-one time together. As much as I love/enjoy/need those mornings when the children are both at preschool, this week has actually been a lot of fun.

Ava's and Michael's Weekly Home Therapy Notes

All the sounds are the same (/f/ and /s/ for Michael and /s/-blends for Ava) so I won't go into that again. I've been doing a lot of experimenting. I tried moving all the cards to a binder system. I thought it was brilliant, but when actually using it during a session it was awkward and slow. The children were more focused on choosing their next marker than actually making their speech sounds well. I was focused more on helping them with the mechanics of the binders than on the speech. I know all of that would get better as we all became used to the new system, but I certainly didn't love it out of the gate.

On the other hand, I love the homework practice books (/l/, and /sh/). They integrate seamlessly into our evening book reading routine. She reads one or two of her articulation books to me, and then I read 2-3 storybooks to her. She loves reading her speech books and getting to put a sticker on the front of the book. She gets better and more fluent at the story with each repeated reading and that's useful too. I'm going to make several more when I get some time.

I also love the articulation rubric for working with /s/ with Michael. It's such a quick, efficient method of feedback and works so well for those sounds that have to be shaped.

Favorite New (to me) TV Show

I don't have the time to watch a lot of television. When I do have the time and desire to watch some I use Hulu on the computer (or my iPhone) to watch. I discovered a show that's showing exclusively on Hulu right now called Endgame. I am really, really enjoying it. It's a procedural in the sense that there is a mystery of some kind solved in each episode. The twist is that it isn't being solved by the police or a medical examiner. The characters are engaging and the interplay between them is fun. The main character, and mystery solver, is a chess grandmaster who is agoraphobic and stuck in a hotel due to a trauma in his past.

Just thought I'd mention it since I've been enjoying it so much. 12 episodes are currently available and the 13th and final episode will be available on Monday. The show was cancelled after those first 13 episodes, but rumor has it that the show has done so well on Hulu that there are talks of bringing it back.