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Speech Therapy Activities for Janamashtami Festivals bring us all together. They are moments of joy and happiness to celebrate with your family and friends. At festivals everyone comes together as a community to dance on the same tune and enjoy the same vibe! Moreover, children enjoy festivals more than adults. Festivals mean holidays, sweets, games, decorations, dressing up and loads of fun! Using festival themes to teach children is a great way because children enjoy and imbibe the concepts faster. Teaching and revising speech and language concepts is no different. In this blog I will cover some easy speech therapy activities for Janamashtami. Furthermore these speech therapy activities can be used by parents as well as educators or professionals. Children with speech delay or autism will also benefit from these activities. What is Janamashtami? Janamastami or Krishna Janamashtami is a popular Hindu festival  which marks the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna. Janamashtami,  also called as Krishna Jayanti celebrates the birth (janama) of  God Krishna on the eighth (ashtami) day of the dark fortnight of the month of Bhadrapada (August–September).  This festival is fondly celebrated by Hindus all over the world with great fanfare and enthusiasm. Speech Therapy Activities for Janamashtami 1. Krishna/Radha Dress Up You can dress up your child as Krishna or Radha with minimal items at home. You can simply use a fancy dupatta, peacock feathers, some ornaments and light makeup to do this activity. Activity examples Name all items used in the activity (vocabulary building) Teach the sequence of wearing clothes. Demonstrate the order and then ask the child to tell the correct order. e.g : First we will wear the vest, then the dhoti, after that we will wear the dupatta, then the ornaments. etc. Click photos after the dress up and ask the child whom all he/she wants to share the pictures with. Talk about grandparents, friends and identify names of relatives Make a video of the little Krishna/Radha playing the flute. Encourage him to say a few lines or sing a song. Further, show him the video and praise his confidence. 2. Krishna Flute Getting a simple flute on this Janamashtmi can do wonders for your child. Blowing a flute works on breath support, rounding of lips and coordination of the speech oral motor muscles. Read more about oral motor exercises for children here . Activity examples: Practice blowing skills with the flute. Check how loud the child can blow the flute. Get two flutes and have a flute playing challenge : who can play the loudest flute! Use a stop watch to measure for how long the child can blow the flute. Encourage the child to have a good posture, and inhale deeply before attempting to blow. Breathing muscles aid in speech 3. Art Craft & Decorations Involving kids in doing hands on crafts is an amazing method for speech language stimulation and practice. Crafts invite repetition, create structure and produce an awesome tangible reward for task completion. Additionally, doing the craft the child can ask for help, use sounds and words and make requests. Furthermore crafts create more opportunities for language expansion in a fun way. Activity examples: Dahi Handi / Curd Pot : Paint and decorate an earthen pot with lace or mirror. Krishna and his friends in Gokul used to love eating curd and butter. You can talk about dahi – handi and gopis with the child. Krishna’s crown: Make a crown at home with cardstock paper/glitter and crayons. Additionally, involve the child in making it. Janamashtami Greeting card:  Create a Happy Janamashtmi greeting card with your child. You can encourage the child to draw and colour with minimal prompts. Give simple instructions and choices. Give the card to a family member or friend. Krishna’s play dough idol:  Use play dough or clay to make Kirshna’s idol. By all means, exercising the little fingers, children will be able to practice their fine motor skills with this fun activity. Talk as you make the idol together. Ask simple questions to take the child’s choice into account. “Which colour shall we choose?” “Shall we add white for the curd in the pot?” Rangoli Making:   Make a colourful rangoli together! Use eco friendly colours or flowers. You can first draw and colour the rangoli on paper. Then referring to it, ask the child about when to use which colour. Krishna Painting:  Print out Krishna colouring sheet here and encourage your child to colour it. By and large, you can revise all the colour names and give simple directions while colouring. Aarti Thali Decoration:  Encourage your child to help you in decorating the aarti thali. Get him to pluck flowers, put them in the thali. Arrange the prasad and sweets, put Krishna Idol and make the swastika with red vermilion. Krishna Jhoola:  You can make a Krishna Jhoola at home and decorate it with your child. Moreover, you can revise prepositions by putting the Krishna idol in/on/behind/under the jhoola! Peacock & Flute  Bookmarks:  This is a simple activity which you can do with your little one. Draw peacok feather heads and a flute. Stick them on Ice lolly sticks and you’re done. Give choices to your child and take his lead while doing this activity. Use the bookmarks meaningfully to add more to this creation. Krishna Feet:  Cut out Krishna’s feet on blue card stock paper. Decorate and stick the foot prints on the floor leading to the temple in your house. Tell your child about the significance of the footprints. 4. Reading Krishna Books Books are a treasure house of learning new words and practising speech sounds. They additionally help to strengthen the foundations of early literacy and reading. Here is a list of books that you can get for your little one on Janamashtmi.  Coupled with speaking strategies, books are a powerhouse of knowledge for kids. Read here  to learn how to use books in speech therapy. 365 Krishna Stories Krishna the protector of Dharma The Upside-Down King: Unusual Tales about Rama and Krishna Krishna The Adorable God-Indian Mythology Krishna loves you Krishna’s Butter bash Krishna: An invisible friend Krishna Tales Krishna : Board Book Krishna : Cut out book 5. Visit to the Temple All hindus visit Krishna temple on this auspicious day. Firstly, take your child along with you. Secondly, talk about the different deities, the prasad, the long queues, the decorations in the temple. Finally, let your child explore the festivities! If the child is very young, then take him and narrate and expose him to different new words. For older children, prepare them before hand. Henceforth, ask them to look at all the things in the temple and come home and name any 3 things he liked. 6. Krishna Bhajans & Songs You will find various Krishna bhajans on YouTube. Play the songs and dance along with the child. You can expose the child to new vocabulary in your mother tongue with this activity. Eventually, listening to the same songs again and again strengthens the vocabulary. 7. Kitchen Activities All festivals in India call for sweets and savouries. Many Indian households prepare lavish sweets at home as well as order from a local sweet shop. Kitchen activities will provide novel real time opportunities to connect with your child, model correct language and expose him to a variety of meaningful conversations. Activity examples Make laddoos/modak at home. Involve your child in helping mix the ingredients, pick up plates and henceforth store the sweets in boxes. Create a grocery list. Ask your child what he wants to eat on the day of the festival . Put that in the list as a word or a drawing. Additionally, encourage him to tick it off when you go shopping. 8. Krishna Vocabulary Krishna is said to have 108 names. Teach these common and easy ones to your child. Krishna Krishan Kanha Laddoo-gopal Hari Murari Govinda Gopala Vasudeva Kanhaiya Gopinath Giridhari Madhav Nandlal Keshav 9. Krishna Sensory Play Krishna Village Scene:  Making a Krishna village scene with sand and small figurines is probably something that we all have done as children. This activity can be used to achieve tons of goals. Collect sand together, make mountains, place the figurines, build small houses and have so much fun together.Let your child explore the sand/ grains/ while doing this activity. Let it get messy but supervise at all times. This activity  can be used for identification, naming, command following, sentence building, sitting tolerance, task completion and other goals. Learn more about how sensory activities facilitate speech and language development here . I hope these ideas will give you plenty of opportunities to engage with your child! Genuine emotional moments when you connect with your child, foster joint attention. Such occasions lay the foundation of correct modeling of language. All these activities can be done at home. Remember to take the child’s lead. Do not waste money, but make use of items at home. Involving your child is all that matters. Let me know if you find these activities useful! Leave a comment below. Wondering if your child has a speech delay? Take this free screening test to find out. Do not wait and watch. Quality help is right here! #SpeechDelay

Speech and language disorders therapy We at 1SpecialPlace provide the Best Online Speech therapy In india. Speech and language disorders are among the most frequent health problems among children and adults in India, where statistics show that speech impairment is the fifth most common handicap, with a prevalence of 7%. One out of every ten schoolchildren is said to have a speech disorder. Furthermore, 90 percent of children with speech and language disorders may experience long-term challenges. Speech and language impairments can be caused by several factors, including genetics, injuries, environmental factors, neurological illnesses, stroke, and others. The absence of parental involvement in communication with their children is also cited as a contributing factor to the diseases. Why do you need speech and language therapist? Speech and language therapy, which is provided by speech therapists or speech-language pathologists, can help with problems with speaking, language, and swallowing. Because of the ease and convenience and opportunities for more family engagement, Speech Therapy Online is becoming extensively popular. Parents or caregivers can attend the session and observe what is going on, as well as receive advice from the therapists on how to help their child. Online speech therapy can treat a wide range of speech and language impairments, including articulation difficulties, fluency disorders, and any other disorder related to Aphasia and Dysarthria. Your child will benefit more from online speech therapy with video interfacing and interactive tools. People in remote areas with little or no access to speech therapists can book online sessions with Best Speech Therapist India through online speech therapy platforms. Clients with mobility limitations may benefit from online speech therapy at home. Both children and adults can benefit from speech therapy. Speech Therapy at the 1SpecialPlace Our personalized Online speech therapy works for people of all ages and ailments, and it's also convenient and fun. In fact, our customers tell us that they don't feel like they're doing "therapy work" throughout their sessions. Speech is how you express yourself; it's what we hear. Language is not only what you wish to convey; it is also what we believe. When you have excellent speech and language, you can fully express yourself and connect with people. We'll collaborate with you to create your own specialized strategy and uncover your most effective communication. Click here to see video about 1SpecialPlace The Articulation, stuttering, stammering, delayed speech & language, voice difficulties, Autism, and other speech disorders can benefit from online speech therapy exercise. Your health is our top priority, and we guarantee a perfect outcome for you. Your child will work with our therapist during Speech Therapy Online. Some children's speech improves with age, while others continues into adulthood. In this case, the youngster will require ongoing speech therapy for the rest of his or her life. With our exclusive Online Speech therapy exercises and best therapist online in India, receive cutting-edge treatment from the comfort of your own home. At 1SpecialPlace you have the right to be confident in your communication and to learn from the finest. Book your session now #OnlineSpeechTherapy #OnlineSpeechtherapyexercises #Speechtherapyonline #therapistonlineinIndia

All about W sitting in Children Normally when made to sit on the floor, a child uses many sitting positions. These are sitting with outstretched legs, legs bent to one side, W sitting, Cross-legged, or 1 leg bent over another outstretched leg. Let us know more about W sitting. Is it good, is it not? What is W sitting? W sitting is a sitting pattern where children sit with internal rotation at the hip, flexion at the knee, and plantar flexion at the ankles. So, the child makes a ’W’ pattern in sitting, if seen from above. Is W always sitting a problem? Not really, a child prefers to use this as one of many sitting positions. Generally, they shift from outstretched legs to W to crossed legs in general. We can easily direct the child to change this sitting position. So usually, W sitting in children, as an occasional pattern, is absolutely okay. Click here to read more about W sitting How can you help? Remind a child to change their sitting. For toddlers, demonstrate. Offer to sit with them with legs in front of them, on their side, or on a chair, where feet rest easily on the floor. Outstretched legs: when the child sits on the floor with both legs straight in front Legs on the side: When a child sits on the floor with both legs on one side with bent knees Crossed legged: When a child sits on the floor by crossing both legs at hip and knee Half kneeling: like in the position we use to get up from the floor Tummy time: for positioning the legs straight A child prefers to W sit if: They have a drooping posture with a wide base of support. We observe too, that exploration with hands is less. When a child has a low tone, he uses a wide base of support. This is also seen in a child with low truncal control and low core strength. As opposed to above, a child with increased lower limbs tone also shows this sitting pattern. The disadvantage of w sitting: It can result in: Tightness: Across hip, knee and ankle resulting. This results in poor gross motor skills. This can affect a child’s balance and coordination. These are also a result of medical conditions like Cerebral Palsy. Trunk control: The ability to turn through the trunk can be affected. For young children, this is mostly observed during play and floor time! Core: Signs of weak core muscles either flexion of the lower trunk or hyperextended lower trunk. Does the child sit with a curved back? Affects: Reach, Truncal rotations, midline crossing, and bilateral hand use. Whats happens is, these issues limit a child’s movements affect easy interaction with its surroundings. These limitations make you wonder: Can the child grab this toy, is there a limitation in using both sides of the body? Is the child visibly distressed when made to sit cross-legged or with legs straight in front? W sitting is a preferred sitting pattern in: Low tone or hypermobile joints as noted in Down’s syndrome, sometimes Autism Read here to know about OT activities for Autism In Autism, a child may have a lack of body awareness and awareness of movement through space. Inability to sit crossed leg after the demonstration is a concern of motor planning too. Increased tone in conditions like Cerebral Palsy Who can help: Orthopedic consult to check for any deformity and intervention for correction/tone management. Additionally, Physical and Occupational Therapy intervention for splinting, correcting position, stretching, and strengthening. For certain conditions using a modified chair for hip abduction, knee flexion, and ankle dorsiflexion is suggested. Why seek intervention? It is genuinely difficult for a child with concerns to sit cross-legged or with outstretched legs. Further, The stretching at ankles and knees causes them discomfort. Furthermore, for this, seek intervention to address their underlying cause. Contact Us if you have observed this in your child along with other sensory concerns. Links: Pathways Autism helper #Autism #disordersanddelays #DownsSyndrome #occupationaltherapy

Articulation Therapy /w/ sound This article is on Articulation Therapy /w/ sound. Development of /w/ sound Children normally master/w/ sound pretty early in their development. They generally start to produce /w/ sound clearly by around 2 years of age and master it completely by around 3 years. If a child does not produce /w/ sound clearly even after 4 years, then the child may require help from a speech-language pathologist to correct his/her speech sound. Through articulation therapy, the speech therapist will work on the error sound and teach the right way of its production. What is /w/ sound? The /w/ sound ( in well, week, one, etc.) is known as a glide or a semi-vowel. This is because unlike a consonant it sounds a lot similar to a vowel when it is produced. However, its production requires a greater restriction in the vocal tract as compared to the vowels. How is it produced? The /w/ sound is a labio-velar approximant. This means that you round your lips and form a narrow space at the back of your mouth with your tongue to make this sound. The major articulators involved in its production are the jaw, lips, tongue, and velum. We need to understand that it is the position of the lips and the tongue that matters the most in its production. The jaw is in an almost closed position. The lips are pursed and the tongue is raised to the roof at the back of the mouth. Thus creating two narrow cavities; one between both the lips and the other between the tongue and the roof of the mouth. Furthermore, /w/ is a voiced sound. This means that the vocal folds vibrate during the production of this sound. The sound created from the vocal folds then passes through the narrow cavities created by the tongue and the lips to produce the /w/ sound. Articulation therapy /w/ sound: How to teach? Teach the sound in progression. Initially, teach the sound in isolation/sound level, then syllable, word, phrases/sentences, and then in the conversation level.  Establish the sound in isolation: In the beginning, teach the child to produce /w/ sound by pursing the lips out (away from the face, like a kissing face) with the tongue raised high close to the roof of the mouth and by producing the sound from the vocal folds. If it is difficult for the child to approximate the sound, we can encourage him/her to start making sounds from ‘ooo’ (as in too) and then saying ‘uh’ by moving the lips apart (sounding like ‘ooouh’). Practice it many times until the child gets the gliding movement easy and fast to get the /w/ sound right. While we work with the sound in isolation, it is important to give the child as many cues as possible to get a complete understanding of how the sound is made. These cues include: Visual cues: Encourage the child to look at your face and watch how the articulators (jaw, lips, tongue) look like while producing the sound. When we produce /w/ sound, the lips are pursed like a kissing face. In the beginning, let the child practice making a kissing face by pouting lips outward like a tight ‘o’. Then, point to the lips while making the /w/ sound. Verbal cues: As we demonstrate the production of the sound, verbally explain how it is produced. You may exaggerate the mouth movement and produce the sound slowly to make it easier for the child to understand. Tactile/kinesthetic cues: Let the child understand how the production of this sound feels like. /w/ is a voiced sound and it involves the vibration of the vocal folds. Initially, try placing your hand on your throat while making the sound. You may feel a vibration as the voice is turned on. Then, have the child keep his/her hand on your throat and feel this vibration. Once the child understands this, let them keep their hand on their throat and learn to turn their voice on. 2. Building the sound at the syllable, words, sentences, and conversation level: Once a child learns to produce the sound in isolation, we need to practice the sound in utterances of various levels of complexity. That is, in syllable level, different word positions, sentences, and further in longer utterances as in conversation. In all the levels, intensive drilling needs to be done by repeating the utterance several times without making the activity feel boring. Syllable level : Here, teach the child to produce the sound in combination with a vowel (before/after the sound). Pair the sound with all the different vowels. The idea is to make the child produce the consonant-vowel combination together in one go. Do this in a playful way. Have the child make the syllable by clapping hands together or by tapping on the table. Use a syllable wheel to make the practice more interesting and engaging to the child. It also gives a visual cue to the child. A few examples include ‘we, we, we’, ‘ew,ew, ew’. Click here to know more about using the syllable wheel in articulation therapy. Word level : The first task at this level is to prepare separate lists of words with the /w/ sound occurring at the different word positions that are, word-initial, medial, and final positions. : Here are a few examples for the words with /w/ in the: Initial position: where /weə/, we /wiː/, world /wɜːld/ Medial position: away /əˈweɪ/, someone /ˈsʌmwʌn/ Final position: ‘rainbow’, ‘saw’, ‘now’ etc Click here to know more about how to make the word list. Present the words from the word list through various modes; read the words out or name the pictures of the words. Make this more interesting for the elder kids by having them guess the words from the clues. For example: Ask the child to guess the coldest season and the child must answer winter.  The child and the caregiver/therapist can take turns and ask questions to each other. Another interesting game to practice the words is through picking the chits. Write down words with the /w/ sound in all three positions on chits. We can also use pictures instead of words. Put all the chits in a box and mix well. The child/caretaker takes turns and tells the words one by one. Phrases/Sentence level: In the beginning, introduce the sound in shorter phrases/sentences with 2-3 words. Make silly sentences with the words from the wordlists. Later, introduce more words to make longer sentences and paragraphs. Here are a few examples of phrases using /w/ sound: Walk away Wide awake Covered wagon Here are a few examples of sentences using /w/ sound I want waffles for breakfast She puts money in her wallet. This is the new watch. It was their wedding on Wednesday. At the later stage, introduce stories targeting the /w/ sound. While reading the stories to the child, stress on the target words/phrases and read them slowly. So many books are available targeting the /w/ sound in words and sentences. Kids enjoy reading books and listening to their parents read books. Here is a list of a few books targeting /w/ sound: Mrs. Wishy-Washy’s Farm, Winter Wonderland, Waiting for wings. Conversation level: When the child is able to make the sound correctly in sentences then we move into conversation level. This is the most challenging level as it is difficult to monitor each and every word that we say. Let the child talk about their favorite things. We can also show them pictures of scenes loaded with words with /w/ sound and encourage them to talk about it. Encourage your child to speak slowly and to pay more attention to the words. Ask the child to listen to his own production of the sound. Give gentle reminders to correct the sound or to repeat the word again whenever the child mispronounces.  Withdraw these reminders/additional prompts gradually. In the final stage, encourage the child to monitor himself/herself without your support. Please note that the above-mentioned steps are just one way of teaching speech sounds. It is always better to consult a speech-language pathologist and take their opinion first before working with the child to avoid any possible difficulties. I hope this article helped you to understand more about articulation therapy of /w/ sound. Please leave your feedback and/or queries in the comment section below. Hope Articulation Therapy /w/ sound was useful. https://1specialplace.com/ #articulationtherapy #Speechactivities

Best websites for Special Education This blog talks about the best websites for Special Education. Technology drives everyone today. Kids want to learn from digital content. Digital learning apps are also very popular today. Helping kids with special needs is important. There are many websites available for them.  These websites are bridging the gap. These websites benefit kids with special needs. Here is a list of best websites for Special Education – 1SpecialPlace is India’s leading online special education service provider. Its feature include – it offers holistic online programs. trained and experienced special educators to teach You can take the classes from home via the internet.  meet your child’s academic goals with ease. The personalized teaching programs are loved by parents. Resources and  worksheets are also provided blogs and expert info are also provided. One-to-one live sessions with guidance are also  given. Learning is fun at 1SpecialPlace If you are looking for an online program for your child’s academics, then 1SpecialPlace is the best option! Do2learn This website is great for kids with special needs.  They also have materials for professionals working with them. Do2learn  is easy to use.  It breaks the resources into smaller parts. They allow the user to learn at their pace. They also provide many ways to learn, such as audio and visual.  it makes learning fun. It includes the following – free pages on social skill activities. it also provides learning songs and games. academic materials are also included. hands on activities within each topic. materials on behavior management plan. teaching tools are also included to create lessons. Teacherspayteachers.com This platform is for teachers and parents. It has materials for different levels. It serves the special needs children also.  Go to the Teacherspayteachers and make an account. Type the materials you need. There are both free and paid resources. It has a variety of materials on the same topic. This allows one to choose the materials as per their need. It also  provides the following – easy to use digital tools resources on social learning matter on emotional learning are also available material for reading and writing resources on learning concepts are also available  Ixl.com Special needs children have different levels and abilities. IXL   provides K-12 syllabus. It has to be subscribed. The website is easy to use. It has more than 8500 skills in all core subjects. This thereby allows teachers to assign skills from any level.  It provides comprehensive skills for each grade. They make learning easy. The website also offers the following- enables children to learn at their own pace. they have a range of questions their practice sessions are engaging it also enables all types of learners to reach their full potential. this also  supports multi – sensory instruction its audio support helps students with dyslexia work on their own. IXL skills adapts to the child’s level of understanding. This helps them to learn and grow. Gingertiger Gingertiger serves special needs children. It has activities designed for them.  They aim to help children learn and also retain it.  It has simple games.  They have low stimulation screen design. It also has options to select the background or foreground color.  They have option to make the cursor big and small.  This is great for children visual problems. It is also suitable for individuals of any age. Its features are – Its activities are available anywhere and anytime. Their activities also target skills such as cause and effect. It also includes activities on speech and language. Their games and activities are in increasing order of difficulty. This allows the teacher to teach in controlled steps. It also helps the child to practice skills according to their abilities. Its games provide immediate feedback.  Aaamath This website is filled with free materials. These can be used at schools. They can also be used for home practice. It allows the child to practice an incorrect method repeatedly. They also welcome suggestions for new topics. It covers concepts such as addition and geometry. They also cover mental math and division. It breaks each concept into sub – concepts. This further breaks the sub concept into specific skill sets.  Users can also look for materials by grade level.  It provides a small over view of the skills with example.  This also includes a practice game. It also includes the following – It does not require registration to practice the skills. Interactive learning experience through games are also provided. Activities are also in  increasing order of difficulty. It also provides instant feedback. This prevents to learn incorrect methods. It makes math  lessons fun. Twinkl It provides a variety of resources for special needs. These can be used within regular classrooms. It can also be used in special settings. Twinkl resources support children across their learning. All their resources are teacher – made. It makes learning accessible to all. They also provide training materials for staff. They also take requests. If you like a post, you can ask for a different version of it to suit your needs.  Its features are as follows – it provides materials for all kinds of disabilities. there are resources on social learning also includes learning materials it also has materials on emotional difficulties materials on mental heath are also there their resources support the assessment and growth of the child. Boomlearning Boomlearning is for teachers and students. They has easy to use materials. Its website is also easy to use. It also serves the special needs children.  They have cards called the Boom Deck. It is game based.  Their cards have multiple choices and open ended answers. They also have movable pieces and clickable buttons. The cards cover almost all grade level and  subjects. Cards can be assigned as per the ability and level of the child.  It can be used on the browser. The app may also be downloaded. It includes free resources as well. They have resources for a variety of disabilities.  Go to the website and make an account.  Its materials also have audio and voice – over.  Its features are as follows – materials for all grade levels materials on social and emotional learning. resource for speech and language practice it has easy to use digital tools they provide immediate feedback it makes learning fun Check out our blog on effective school based apps for kids with special needs View this post on Instagram A post shared by 1SpecialPlace | Speech Therapy (@1specialplace)

Speech Therapy to Stop Mumbling We all want to be heard clearly and well. Our words are meant to make an impact on the listener. We wish that our speech sounds captivating to our audience. Listening to a speaker with a powerful and clear voice seems entertaining and engaging. This makes clarity of speech, the most important factor while speaking in a situation, to be understood by the listener. Mumbling is when someone does not speak clearly. Speaking softly or in a hushed tone, missing out on the word endings while speaking, speech lacking power, or being asked to repeat often are a few signs of mumbling. The reasons could be numerous: Faulty pronunciation Muscle tension in facial and neck regions Poor mouth opening Inefficient breathing Low vocal energy Communication with close ones or in formal situations is an integral part of our daily lives. Being asked to repeat, or a comment like “stop mumbling!” could be a discouragement many times, especially in formal situations. Not being able to speak clearly often can have a negative impact on one’s personality and self-perception.  Mumbling could be misinterpreted as being less confident, less knowledgeable, or less capable. To understand how we speak and what causes one to mumble, let’s first try to understand what exactly happens when we speak. As we go along we shall discuss the issues that can lead to the perception of mumbled speech. The process of speaking has four sub-systems involved: The breathing apparatus, lungs, are the source of our speech. They provide the stream of air that travels up and gets transformed into voice and then words. Poor or faulty breathing affects the very source of our voice thereby affecting the clarity of our speech. Voice The air stream from our lungs travels up to the vocal folds or the “Voicebox”, which vibrates and Resonance: Each one of us has a very unique voice quality. This is termed resonance. Our vocal tract is made up of muscular tubes and cavities of different sizes and shapes. Each of these tubes and cavities treats the Pronunc To say a sound out loud many structures in our mouth come together- lips, tongue, teeth, palate, soft palate, etc. These structures must make accurate contacts to produce a sound clearly. Often, while speaking fast, we tend to swallow words or miss out on clear pronunciation. This happens because the oral structures are unable to make accurate contacts. Thus, resulting in poor clarity of speech. Now that we know what happens while speaking and what could cause one to mumble, let’s try to understand what we can do to make ourselves more clear while speaking.  Here are some tips to help you speak clearly and make an impact : Take a deep breath !! This will help you start off speaking with a loud and clear voice. Practice some exercises focusing on improving deep breathing.  Deep breathing will also help you overcome any anxiety and help you relax before you start speaking. Pause at the right place for a quick breath! If you have noticed that you have been swallowing words at the end of a sentence, then make it a habit to pause at a grammatically appropriate juncture, take a quick breath, and continue. Speak Slowly! Pace out your speed while speaking and remember that speech muscles need adequate time to make accurate contacts so that the words you speak are clear. Also, talking slow helps your listener understand you better. Use an OPEN MOUTH Approach! Practice speaking with a slightly bigger mouth opening and experience the difference yourself. A wider mouth opening will help you speak out all sounds clearly. Work on your Pronunciation! Identifying the pronunciation errors and correcting them brings about an enormous difference in the clarity of speech. A Speech-Language Pathologist can help in the correction of any faulty sounds in your speech. Focus on your posture while speaking! A posture while speaking helps your body to have an alignment for optimum breathing. Good breathing is the key to a powerful voice and clear speech. It is advisable to practice speaking before giving a formal presentation. Read aloud, record yourself and identify which bits of your speech need improvement. This will help you gain confidence with the content and your presentation. You can always consult a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) if you find that your speech is not clear enough or if you have faced negative reactions towards your talking. A Speech-Language Pathologist will help you speak clearly and impactfully. A quick examination of all the speech sub-systems will help the SLP understand your condition. Speech Therapy will then follow to strengthen each of the identified issues in your speaking. Speech Therapy will include a holistic approach to improve your talking- starting from optimizing usage of all speech subsystems to helping you tackle your socio-emotional problems related to mumbled speech. Always remember: Speak to be Heard, Speak with Confidence and Believe in Yourself  !! #intelligibility #speechclarity #speechtherapy

Speech Therapy Progress: What to Expect? When your child began speech therapy , the speech-language pathologist (SLP) would have explained an individualized treatment plan for your child. You would also have been told that you would be receiving periodic progress reports in verbal or written form. The purpose of providing speech therapy is to improve your child’s communication skills . And the most efficient way to track their progress is by conducting periodic reviews. This is required mainly because it helps the speech therapist to note which goals have been achieved and which have not. That is why documenting the progress is not just important, it is required. Setting Goals Before starting the treatment plan, the SLP sets goals that would be achieved in the upcoming months. The SLP will ensure that all the goals are specific to the client and personalized for the child’s requirements. The goal should also address the approximate time by which they will be achieved along with the skills being improved. The SLP will categorize the goals into long-term goals and short-term goals. Long Term Goals Long-term goals the goals that you set for a long period of time. These can be like annual goals. For example, a long-term goal would be, “Hannah will use two-word utterances for functional communication for 7/10 trials with prompts”. This goal is generic and various other smaller goals can be used from these goals. Short Term Goals Short-term goals are basically long-term goals that are broken down into smaller goals. These goals, as the name suggests are achievable in lesser time durations, usually 1-2 months. Once these goals are met, the SLP will change or modify these short-term goals. An example of the short term from the above long-term goal would be, “Hannah will use two-word utterances to communicate with her mother at the breakfast table for 7/10 trials with prompts”. Another example would be “Hannah will use two-word utterances with her class teacher for 5/10 trials with prompts.” For the best progress, your SLP will always set SMART goals. When you set these goals, it is easier to monitor the progress.                                                                                         S -Specific                                                                                         M -Measurable                                                                                         A -Attainable                                                                                         R -Relevant                                                                                         T -Time-bound So, to summarize, the long-term goals will probably not change for the whole year or even longer, but the short-term goals will change based on the progress that is achieved by your child. Setting new goals While evaluating the progress, if the goals are achieved, your child’s SLP will assign new goals for your child for the upcoming time period. If your child has not met some of the goals, the SLP will continue with those goals for some more time and add some new goals too. Setting these goals is very important as speech therapy is always goal-focused. Factors affecting progress in speech therapy It is important to remember that there is no one-size-fits-all therapy approach. All the therapy activities are unique and developed as per your child’s requirements. Just as every child’s therapy plan is different, so is the progress. And this progress depends on numerous factors as listed below: Age of the child: The earlier you identify and intervene in a speech or language difficulty, the better the prognosis will be. Severity of the speech difficulty: A child with mild speech difficulty may have better progress in comparison to a child with severe speech difficulties. However, speech therapy must be continued regardless, to ensure maximum communication development and independence. Associated medical conditions: Children with multiple disabilities may often have slower progress compared to children with fewer disabilities. Frequency of speech therapy sessions: The frequency depends on the type of speech & language difficulty. An SLP might suggest more frequent sessions for a child with a severe language difficulty while less frequent sessions for a child with mild speech difficulties in order for the therapy sessions to be effective and achieve progress. You can always talk to your child’s SLP regarding the optimum treatment hours per week for your child. Type of Speech/Language difficulty: Children who have articulation difficulties may require lesser time to progress compared to children with language difficulties. Home training: Speech therapy sessions alone cannot help with the progress. Your child’s SLP would have given some activities to be done at home. The progress would depend a lot on the quality and time invested in home training rather than the duration or frequency of the speech therapy sessions. To summarize:  As seen above there are various factors that would determine the progress of your child.  Expect to receive progress reports with the details of the specific steps that your child is making toward reaching their goals. As said earlier, each child is different and they progress differently. If you have any concerns with your child’s progress, consult with their SLP and talk with them. Consult with us to start your speech therapy today!! Why and How to get started in Online Speech Therapy #BenefitsofSpeechTherapy #OnlineSpeechTherapy #SpeechTherapyProgress

Activities to Teach Pronouns to Children This blog is on Activities to Teach Pronouns to Children. Further, a child develops speech-language milestones step by step in a particular developmental order. Pronouns emerge at around the age of 19-24 months. Similarly, one of the components of language development is to understand the rules of his/her native language grammar and use it appropriately. Additionally, Pronouns are one of the parts of speech, they are substitutes for nouns. Therefore, if there is a noun that is repeated many times in a sentence/paragraph/conversation; a pronoun can be used to refer to the noun. Finally, there are many types of pronouns, some of which are mentioned below. Personal pronoun [subject] – I, you, he, she, it, one, we, you, they Personal Pronoun [Object] – Me, you, him, her, it, one, us, you, them Possessive adjectives- my, your, his, her, its, one’s, our, your, their Possessive Pronoun- mine, yours, his, hers, its, one’s, ours, yours, theirs Reflexive Pronoun- myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, oneself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves Helping your child learn different types of words is very important. You can use the below described enjoyable simple activities to enhance understanding and expression of pronouns. Activities to Teach Pronouns to Children Talk about photographs Teach: comprehension and expression of pronouns he, she, they, I, we, our, and you First, Take out family photos and have fun talking about the pictures. Next, Encourage the child to describe the pictures using pronouns. Such as: “Look at Grandma, she is wearing a brown dress”. “I am wearing a green dress” Help me to sort Teach: comprehension and expression of pronouns his, her, mine, my, your, their, yours Firstly, Bring teaching in daily routine work, involve the child with you when you are sorting clothes after laundry. Secondly, Encourage the child to help you find out whose clothes it is and put it in “his/her cupboard”. Guess who this is? Teach: Comprehension and expression of pronouns he, she, and it A family group game is always fun. Now, Have secret chits of family members’ or friends’ names/photographs in a bowl. Then, Each one of them has to take turns to describe the person whose/photograph/name is on the chit without relieving the name of the person. Also, Whoever will guess the name right they are winners Example- Mother says “He is the one who plays with his friend, he goes to school, he likes reading storybooks, He is wearing a blue shirt now” Child- “It is my elder brother” Similarly, you can also have names of objects; the group has to guess the object described by the person. Example: “It is a thing which we can use to eat, it is round in shape, and we wash it after we finish eating in it” [Answer- plate]. Create your story Teach: Comprehension and expression of pronouns he, she, it, they, them Firstly, Engage the child in fun creative activities such as creating a story from 3-4 related elements. Secondly, Let the child create a story by choosing the character [he or she] and connect the items with the activities of the character/s. For instance, with the following story elements, the main character is a girl. Then, The story goes as follows “One day a girl went to a park by cycle. She saw so many butterflies in the park. She liked them very much, so she took a picture of butterflies with her phone”. You can also create a story and narrate a story using the quiet book. Let us pretend play Teach: Comprehension and expression of pronouns he, she, it, they, them, you, I, we, etc. Pretend play is so much fun and engaging to kids. Pick up a scene and each will take up different roles. Initiate conversation based on the content and encourage the child to use sentence structures with appropriate pronouns. Take care to highlight pronouns when you are using sentences Here is a brief conversation during pretend play [Doctor] Child [Doctor]: What happened to you? You [Patient]: I have hurt in my knees Child [Doctor]: How did you get hurt? And so on. Match up the dress Teach: Comprehension and expression of pronouns her, his, etc Fun cut-paste activities can make learning more fun. Use a dress-up game, have a picture of a girl and boy. Cut clothe sets of different colors. You arrange the cutouts of the dress for the girl/boy and let the child complete the pattern by guessing whose dress it can be. Encourage this activity with 2 or more girl and boy pictures. Puzzle cards Teach:  Comprehension and expression of pronouns her, his, its and their, etc. A simple puzzle-solving can be made to associate respective pronouns with the objects. Take a print of the [target scene] person and object, cut it into two jigsaw puzzle shapes. Take care to highlight the Subject [pronoun] and the object in the picture. Add their names to enhance sight word learning as well. Shuffle the cut pieces and enjoy puzzle solving and learning time. Find our house! Teach: Comprehension and expression of pronouns our, we, their, they, it Go on a walk with the family. In other words, Motivate your child to help you find the way back home [our home]. Additionally, In a parallel talk to the child by asking whether this is “our house?”/ “their house?”. A sample conversation can be as follows- Child: This is our house, it is white in color Parent: Yes you are right it is white, but, it is their house. It is not our house because it has a red color roof. We have a blue roof for our house. Some general tips: Further, Speak to your child about concept [pronouns] you want to teach, in as many different situations during the day- at home, during the play at the park, while shopping, etc. Therefore, Use games, toys, social situations to teach the child the target words. Alos, Find some more tips in our blogs. Furthermore, use speech journals to note down progress. #pronouns #speechlanguageactivities

AAC: Myths and Facts What is Augmentative and Alternative Communication? Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) is a mode of communication wherein strategies, tools, and devices are used to supplement or replace spoken language. These devices are required for children & adults who have speech impairments. Some individuals prefer communicating by maintaining a notebook and them writing as a mode of communication. Others prefer gestures in order to communicate. You might have also seen children using pointing as a mode of communication. Some people choose to use one or more of these types of communication strategies. These are a few examples of different types. What are the benefits of using AAC? Provides better communication access Reduces frustration among individual Increases social integration of the individual with their community Improves self-confidence Improves the opportunities for educational & literacy development Creates work opportunities Improves the communication independence Even though there are several benefits, there are several myths that surround the usage of Augmentative and Alternative Communication. Following, are several myths that need to be eliminated.  We can do this by creating awareness on the facts. AAC may hinder my child from developing expressive language & can worsen their speech delay: FALSE There is research evidence to support the fact that AAC facilitates speech and language development in children. Even for very young children, it does not hinder speech & language development. AAC is the last option for my child: FALSE Alternative & Augmentative Communication devices facilitate communication. Keeping it as a last resort means that you are depriving your child of communication. We as individuals communicate in various ways. Some examples are gestures, facial expressions, body language, sign language, etc. We use more than one of these for communication. And AAC is just another mode of communication. The sooner we start communicating with these devices, the better the communication outcome. AAC can be integrated with Speech therapy. When these devices become a part of communication, it helps in the quality & ease of communication My child is not ready to use AAC. Let’s wait till they get older: FALSE Children as young as 18 months of age can use AAC to communicate. These devices can be used by anyone of any age range. Even older adults use these devices. Thats why, its important to remember, that it is never too late to start implementing them. High tech AAC may be too much for my child. Let’s start with a simple low tech device: FALSE You can start using any  device based on your child’s needs. Whether it’s a low-tech device or a high-tech device. However, it is not necessary that you transition from a low-tech device to a high-tech device later. Start using the high-tech device from the beginning itself. My child can communicate to me about their basic needs, so AAC is not required for them: FALSE Communication is much more than communicating about your personal or basic needs. It’s not just about saying “Hungry” or “Water”. As your child grows, you will understand that there so much more to communication. Their intentions change. There is a development in language that takes place. So as your child grows, they might want to visit the restaurant. Independently use the device.  They would want to say “I want to eat a Chicken Sandwich”. Or “Can you pass me the glass of water?” Thus, its more than basic needs. You need to have good cognitive skills to use AAC. Only people with high IQ scores can use devices successfully: FALSE It is unknown whether cognitive skills are a pre-requisite to use AAC. Irrespective of cognitive skills, they have been used successfully. It is, however, of utmost importance, to presume competence. Regardless of the cognitive skills, that everyone has something to communicate. Everyone has the ability to learn. Augmentative and Alternative Communications have been proven to facilitate functional cognitive development. Children must have good vision, hearing, fine motor skills/ manual dexterity to use their AAC: FALSE Various modifications can be made to an AAC device. This depends on the multiple anomalies that a child has. Some modifications used are additional pointing tools, keyboard modifications, font modifications, icon sizes, text to speech, etc. If your child has any or many anomalies, a customized AAC would give the best communication. AAC increases my child’s screen time: FALSE It’s unclear whether using an AAC device has similar effects on the brain as general screen time. Until we know for sure, we cannot be blind to the potential hazards of screen time. However, we also cannot dismiss the benefits of using a screen device to communicate. AAC is only for children who are non-verbal: FALSE AAC is for any person regardless of age or gender. It is for those who have  limited understandable speech for communication. These devices are used when speech is not reliable. It can be used along with persons with expressive abilities to give them independence, better vocabulary, and have better conversations. They also help in developing language & literacy skills. Having a few words is great, but it is not nearly enough to communicate with unfamiliar persons or situations. AAC implementation is a Speech-Language Pathologist’s job: FALSE AAC assessment for children is planned & done by a Speech-Language Pathologist. However, it takes the parents, teachers, and other communication partners to help the child to use/ implement the device for the best intervention outcome. At the end of the day, it all comes down to communication. Communication is the true essence of human life. It is also the basic right of every citizen in this world. We need to accept and normalize every mode of communication whether it is verbal, non-verbal, or both. We can do this only once we debunk the myths by accepting the evidence-based facts. #AAC #AACMythsampFacts #AugmentativeandAlternativeCommunication

Speech-Language Activities for Adolescents with Autism Most importantly, growing up with Autism into a teen can be hard for many. Moreover, in this stage, speech is all about social and speech cues. Further, there are many studies that suggest  Speech-Language Activities for Adolescents with Autism can aid in speech. In short, what can you do for your teen with Autism? Read on for some things to do for Speech-Language activities for adolescents with Autism. Speech-Language Activity 1: Firstly, get your child to socialize! In other words, you must actively involve your teen in your social circle. This activity will help in speech for living by themself. For example, going to a shop. Orient: Tell your child well ahead of time. For instance, tell them about the place you will be going to and things to buy. Finally, make a list of items. Then tell your child to see you, ask for the items in your list at the shop. For example, tell him/her to try and ask for some items on the list. In other words, guide him/her to make sentences and requests. Similarly, help him/her to bill and pack up the items bought. Execution: Finally, tell the child to buy and bill one item at the mall. In addition, make sure he/she is under your view. In short, this game will help social speech and independence. Similarly, social skills can be trained in many places. For example, the diners, drive-in food courts, markets, and so on. Speech-Language Activity 2: Another skill, social stories are a great way to help your child to interpret and respond to scenarios. Follow the link to read more on social skills What to do? For the game, you need a few books. In other words, books that target social skills in your child. Lookup a list of social stories and buy the best-suited one for your child. For instance, if your teen finds it hard to ask for help. Then, you can get him/her to read a social story for the same. Consequently, tell the story and give your teen real-life examples. These stories help reduce social anxiety, give visual aids for social rules and etiquette. Besides, they are also a low-cost tool. Click on the link for digital social stories : Speech-Language Activity 3:  To aid in reasoning skills, we can do this activity. What to do? First, sit with your teen and put up a board for the score. Then, play the “What will happen if…” game. In short, you can come up with some questions and think for answers. Each answer can be given 1 point. You can start with; “What will happen if… People did not have ears No one drank milk If you never went to bed If we all had the same name If rain stopped forever Speech-Language Activity 4: Here we can aid verbal speech. It can be made fun by using cards or bits of paper. What to do? The game is called “Talk for 1 Minute”. For instance, write simple topics on bits of paper or print cards. Then, take turns to pick up chits or cards. Finally, talk about it for one minute. Use an hourglass or a timer to make the game fun. For example, you can start with; Talk about what you like about the home. Talk about what if you were a King. Talk about a trip. Talk about what you love to do. Talk about things you can’t live without. Speech-Language Activity 5: This will help to teach cause and effect and what comes next. What to do? Get some comic books with empty speech clouds. Subsequently, tell your child to fill up words in each empty cloud. Additionally, work on skills such as what happens next, predicting, and understanding social gestures. Click the link for blank comic strips For more ideas check out our others blogs  #Autism #autismspectrumdisorder

Amazing Apps for Speech therapy Amazing Apps for Speech therapy, Over the past years, apps for computers, tablets, and smartphones have proven to be effective tools in speech therapy for children. Many speech Therapists report that many children enjoy working with apps. This facilitates the learning process. Another significant benefit of Amazing Apps for Speech therapy is that they’re affordable and offer an easily accessible way for children to practice at home. Considering the fact that the frequency of practice and the quality of the guidance is critical to progress, apps have the potential to greatly increase and speed up children’s development. For parents who do not have the budget or time to bring their children to a Speech Language Therapist every day, utilizing the best apps for speech therapy provides a distinct advantage. What’s more, practicing in the safety of their own home with only their family or caregivers around them can make children feel more at ease. Factors such as a comfortable place and being surrounded by people they know will contribute to better performance. Since there are so many apps out there, it can be confusing to know which ones are effective and which aren’t. That’s why we have selected some of the best speech therapy apps with kids in mind. Why use apps in speech therapy? According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), using mobile devices and apps with children can offer some advantages. Children often enjoy using them, which helps to keep them motivated. Some speech therapy apps are most appropriately used in the educational setting, while others can be incorporated into the clinical therapy setting and/or used at home to reinforce therapy goals. And some can be used by speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to track a patient’s progress. For example, SLP Progress Monitoring is an app for Android devices that helps the SLP user gather data and track students’ progress. Assessment: Speech Doctor: Speech Doctor is an app that assists parents and speech therapists alike in identification of speech related disorders in kids at an early stage. Through the app, a parent or doctor can get a fair idea of whether the child under his/her care needs special speech and language enrichment. Features include: Register and track multiple kids Test both Receptive and Expressive Language skills Get test results in easy to understand colour-coded format Get results mailed to your Email address automatically. Share results via Email/Whatsapp Get intelligent recommendations based on test results Take any number of tests See previous test results and compare them easily Speech and Language: These apps help to improve comprehension, vocabulary and understanding Let’s Use Language: One of several apps offered by Everyday Speech, this app focuses on literary-based language development. It uses 10 stories to teach the language concepts of vocabulary, sequencing, categories and opposites, including 40 total lessons. Expanded Pro version also available. ABC Food: This fun app can help children learn how to use descriptive language. It teaches new words through sight, sound and touch, incorporating food-related pictures, sounds, videos and interactive games. Or check out Peapod Labs’ other ABC apps such as ABC Bugs, ABC Wildlife, ABC Music and more. 3. Early Word Deck – Part I The app is one of the few to provide first words for babies in Hindi and Kannada apart from English, Spanish, Italian and German. This will enable kids to learn their first words in their native languages. Additionally, if your child is a fast learner, simply switch the language and boost his speaking skills further. This app by makes learning for your child fun and exciting. It will help your child learn his/her first 50 words easily and in no time they will be knowing more words than you. The app provides a multitude of features that make learning fun for the kid while allowing the parents to assess the progress of their child : Kids can swipe through flashcards to practice words, their pronunciation and spellings. As a parent you can test and assess their progress, in the Auditory Identification, where words appear randomly and your kid has to identify the correct corresponding image You can mark words that the child has difficulty with and help him/her concentrate on these. You can see how quickly your child is able to identify the words by selecting Auto in Auditory Identification. The time taken by the child as he/she identifies the correct image will be recorded in the background. Share the progress report of your child by clicking the Share button via Email, WhatsApp etc. Early Word Deck – Part II The second part in this series of Early Word apps and continue your child’s progress in learning his/her first words. As with the previous app, there are a multitude of features that make learning fun for the kid while allowing the parents to assess the progress of their child Language Therapy 4 in 1 Developer: Tactus Therapy Solutions Ltd. The full app includes over 700 core nouns, verbs, and adjectives, thousands of exercises and activities, as well as recommendations on what to focus on next based on the clients’ scores. The 4 areas include: Comprehension  (understanding spoken language), Naming (to strengthen word-finding skills), Reading (addressing literacy skills), and Writing (addressing spelling skills) Amazing Apps for Speech therapy Conversation Therapy Developer: Tactus Therapy Solutions Ltd. Ideal for children aged nine and older, this app gives therapists more than 3,000 questions to use as prompts, helping students aiming to make progress in expressive language, pragmatics, problem-solving and cognitive communication. Individual and group therapy is customizable, with individual goal tracking and reporting available. Keyword Understanding Developer: Aptus Speech & Language Therapy Ltd A receptive language app, Keyword Understanding helps children experiencing auditory processing difficulties, receptive language disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorders and reduced attention.  Therapists have the ability to facilitate learning in auditory mode, text mode, or both. Word Vault / Word Vault Pro Developer: Home Speech Home This app is designed for both children and adults. You can access audio and high-definition images for 8100 words, 1800 phrases & sentences, and 115 stories to address articulation and language skills. This includes real-world photos for over 3800 minimal pairs as well as almost 300 multi-syllabic words. There are over 120 categories for language building and over 25 social language categories. Interactive materials found with the Pro version are located in the Phonology, Language, and Social Vaults. You are able to create individual or group files to track the data of your clients. Amazing Apps for Speech therapy  Jellow Communicator: Developer: IDC School of Design at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai. This is a friendly Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) solution that uses icons to aid communication in people learning to speak or with difficulty with speech and language. The easy-to-learn interface and visually appealing icons of Jellow make it is an ideal solution for beginner-level communicators. A novel visual Emotional Language Protocol (ELP) was conceived in order to enhance the language ability of Jellow. ELP represents the 6 core expressive icons of the interface. Using these core buttons along with the central category buttons, the child can very easily communicate their likes, dislikes, and needs with others. Jellow is a complete communication system conceived in the following variations to cater to the needs of users with a varying range of abilities: Jellow Book: Flash Cards, E-book/PDF Booklet Jellow Desktop Application: http://www.jellow.org/web/ Jellow Mobile/Tablet: Android app now on Google Play store Jellow Input Devices: Switch Access Jellow Customized Articulation: Children whose speech is impaired due to a physical issue such as a cleft palate or problems with the jaw can benefit from apps that help them practice articulation. 1. Speech Tutor Speech Tutor is one of the best speech therapy apps to give a clear overview of what happens inside the mouth and throat during speech. It offers 132 animations depicting both a front view and a side view of the mouth so children have an accurate, visible example of how to create sounds. The animations allow users to “see through” parts of the mouth that have been made transparent, with a side view and a front view of each sound production. Animations can be viewed at three different speeds, and paused at any point ArtikPix This articulation app enables children to practice their speech using flashcard and matching activities. Collecting, saving and exporting time-stamped data (per student) is possible for individual sessions – and group therapy for up to four children at a time. The free version gives you “th,” “w,” “y,” and “h” decks; an additional 20 are available as an In-App purchase, with discounts available for all or multiple decks. Speech FlipBook – Articulation & Apraxia Developer: Tactus Therapy Solutions Ltd. Therapists, teachers and parents alike can use this talking flipbook, which is customizable to individual student needs. Speech therapy practitioners can generate specific word lists – for example, focusing on all words that begin or end with a certain sound – and help students hear their progress using recording and playback features. The free version includes 16 sounds and 40 words, with the option to upgrade to more than 2,300 word recordings, 125 phonemes and clusters, all vowels and consonants, and more than 250 sets of homophones. 4. Articulation Station Pro This app is a comprehensive tool for children with speech sound delays. It offers exercises to practice 22 sounds at both the word and sentence levels, as well as the longer story level. It includes six activities: flashcards matching rotating sentences unique sentences level 1 stories level 2 stories With colorful photos and a suite of tools including voice recording for auditory feedback, scoring, and data tracking, it’s easy to use by speech-language pathologists and parents alike. 5. TallyTots One of the best speech therapy apps for toddlers who need help with verbs, two-word combinations, counting, and concepts. Described as action-packed, this is one of the engaging speech therapy apps for iPad users. It includes 20 awesome mini-games that help kids have fun with numbers. This app features: 20 puzzles and mini-games that teach quantity, order, and sorting. An awesome sing-along counting song. An assisted counting guide that helps toddlers count all the way to 100. 6.   Talking Pierre the Parrot Talking Pierre the Parrot is a virtual pet who repeats everything your child says in a funny voice. Although this isn’t a dedicated speech therapy app, it’s a great way to motivate your child to articulate correctly so Pierre sounds good. This app is lots of fun for kids because it is less structured. Consider using this app as positive reinforcement after more intense sessions. Articulation Station Developer: Little Bee Speech This free app can be used on iPad or iPhone and is designed to help children practice at the “word, sentence and story levels in 22 sounds in the English language.” It can be used by SLPs, parents and other educators to work with children and adults with speech sound delays. SLPs can use the app in both individual and group therapy sessions, facilitating the practice of 22 sounds and collecting data to help evaluate progress. Parents can find this useful for reinforcement of therapeutic goals at home. Best Apps for Speech Therapy: Stuttering 1. Fluency SIS Intended for school-age children who stutter, SIS (Smart Intervention Strategy) reshapes the approach to stuttering modification. Its goal is to help the child become an effective and confident communicator by desensitising him or her to feared stimuli, thereby reducing anxiety. Using creativity and humour, it teaches the child how to maintain a positive perception of him or herself. 2. Fluency Tracker One of the best speech therapy apps for the parents of children who stutter and aims to increase children’s positive feelings about speech, as well as reduce avoidance behaviour. Users can enter data regarding how often the child stutters throughout the day, when and where this occurs, and with whom the child was speaking. They can also record when and why the child avoided speaking. This data is processed to provide an ongoing overview of a child’s anxiety and attitudes toward speaking so that the speech therapist can better customise his or her therapy Speech Therapy Apps for Autism Spectrum Disorders Children with autism spectrum disorders can experience difficulty learning language and acquiring basic conversational skills. The following apps can help. 1. Keyword Understanding Aimed at enhancing comprehension in children with autism and special needs, this is one of the best apps for speech therapy with exercises to practice auditory and written instructions. It has three modes: auditory only text only auditory and text With an easy to use interface, colourful photos, and 3D objects, users can create thousands of “tasks” for the patient to perform. For example, you can create the task, “Touch the flower,” and follow it up with, “Touch the vase.” Eventually, when the child has mastered simple task comprehension, you can create the more complex task, “Touch the flower and then touch the vase.” 2. Let’s Be Social This speech therapy app provides exercises to practice pragmatic language or social skills. There are 40 lessons that are divided into five skill sets: personal interactions navigating the community school behaviour handling change social relationships Lessons depict “normal” interactions and teach the patient what the expected emotions and behaviors are in that interaction. This is shown through a video with thought bubbles to reinforce learning. Users can also create their own lessons thanks to the intuitive interface. 3. iSequence iSequence is an educational app for children with Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome that enables them to practice 100 different sequences of everyday situations, such as: Autonomous habits like brushing their teeth, washing their hands, getting dressed or going to bed Fun activities like going to the beach, to the movies or do sports Everyday situations like falling down, taking the bus, going the doctor, buying bread or getting wet in the rain Emotions like happiness, sadness, surprise or fear Talking along with the lead character in the app provide opportunities to practice speech. SpeechBox for Articulation This easy-to-use app was designed for children with autism, apraxia, and other speech language disorders. It is also appropriate for stroke patients. Includes over 700 engaging colorful pictures in 34 categories, plus professionally recorded word prompts; SLPs can also add their own word prompts and notes for targeted words. The limits of speech therapy apps When considering any speech therapy app to use in your SLP practice, it is important to remember that apps have their limits. Even the most widely-used apps may not be appropriate for every patient or client. Some patients have very complex communication needs, and so there may be accessibility concerns. They may not be able to use an app on a mobile device due to certain limitations. Depending on their particular needs, speech therapy patients may need another type of tool to help them communicate effectively with the world. ASHA takes the position that a formal, team-based assistive technology assessment must first be conducted to determine the most appropriate device (and app) for an individual who needs augmentative assistive alternative communication (AAC). #Appsfortherapy #AppsforSpeechtherapy #Therapyapps #Speechandlanguageapps #speechdoctor

In Talks with Kamini Lakhani We are in with another interview with the ever gorgeous and charming lady- Mrs. Kamini Lakhani. She is the founder of SAI Connections, an Autism treatment and therapy centre in Mumbai. Her son being her driving source of inspiration, Ms. Kamini has strived to help individuals with autism spectrum disorder, ADHD and other learning disabilities to develop the necessary skills needed to live an empowered life. In talks with Ms. Kamini, here are a few excerpts from her interview.  Q. Please introduce yourself to our readers. My name is Kamini Lakhani. I’ve been proudly associated with the cause of autism for the past 25 years. I’m a Behavioral Specialist and an RDI Consultant. I’m also responsible for training professionals as RDI Consultants in India and the Middle East. Q. How did the journey with SAI Connections begin? Our cornerstones have been respect and dignity for those on the autism spectrum. The aim is to empower autistic individuals and their families. I knew what we went through as a family. I wanted to support other families. So we started SAI in Mumbai in 2004. That was our ABA Center. It was operational till 2012. In 2011 we opened our RDI Center, known as SAI Connections. Q. Can you elaborate on the various activities at SAI? We work with students and parents closely. Parents are an integral part of our program. We believe in empowering parents. After all, nobody knows the child better than parents. We set objectives for students, which parents and teachers work jointly on. These objectives are related to dynamic intelligence. These are implemented through authentic frameworks in our cookery, music, art, computer and academic sessions. To know more about dynamic intelligence, please refer to  Dr Gutstein’s RDI book which can be ordered through Amazon. My ebook entitled, Independence for your autistic child is available at Amazon. Q. What is your typical day at work? A typical day at work consists of family consultations- either live or online, staff evaluations and feedback, conducting assessments and supervision of admin work. Our days are peppered with brainstorming sessions with different teams. I spend an hour with Mohit during work days. Guiding him is an integral part of my life, so I ensure I fit in a slot for that. Besides this I spend some time each day, writing. On the days we conduct Professional Training, the day looks very different. Each day is dynamic. Q. Can you please enlighten us on RDI and its significance in intervention of individuals with ASD? Yes, absolutely, that’s my favorite subject. When we think of autism, we think of excesses and deficits. We work on building speech and language. We work on reducing negative behaviors. I believe it’s much deeper than that. The Guided Participation Relationship is not in place for autistic individuals. The reciprocity in action, sharing perspectives, understanding non-verbal communication is affected. These are core deficits. Unless we work on this, true remediation will not happen. Once we work on the core deficits, a whole new world opens up. The child understanding skyrockets and it becomes easier to teach the child/adult. Q. Can you share a few inspirational experiences while working with parents and individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders? Since we work on dynamic intelligence, we usually put students on the spot for thinking through a process. It’s pretty open ended since there is more than one correct answer.  My students never fail to surprise me. They come up with unexpected solutions. Their thinking is truly out of the box. Parent empowerment gives me a high too. Being a parent myself, if I can guide a parent to experience fulfillment and pride in their child, it’s mission accomplished for me. We have a group called Moms on a Mission. I have worked with them for the past 5 years. They have all become empowered moms who know how to read and handle their children. Their children have made huge strides. We keep working. We take each day as it comes. Here are a few links to success stories of our kids. Rishi Patnik Vishal Srinivas Aahan Patel Mohit Lakhani Q. What are your personal inspirations and motivations to run this centre? When Mohit, my son was little, I promised him I would speak up for him and others like him, till they spoke up for themselves. I’m just keeping up my end of the promise. Respectful and dignified treatment of autistic individuals is crucial. Q. Can you please share with us some important lessons that you have learnt over time, in working with individuals with ASD? I’ve learned many lessons from them. Presume competence. Whether vocal or non-vocal, people on the spectrum understand everything. Be watchful of what you say. Be respectful. Don’t ever use derogatory language. Accept and love unconditionally. I’ve experienced unconditional love from them. If I can give back even 5%- my life will be fulfilled. Without saying a word, they’ve taught these great spiritual truths. They’re here to show us there is no such thing as normal. Hence they force me to think out of the box and to step out of my comfort zone. Q. Lastly, are there any tips or messages that you would like to share with other parents and caregivers of differently abled children and individuals? Don’t’ give up- Ever. It was wonderful catching up with Mrs. Lakhani, and getting a glimpse of her beautiful world. We at 1SpecialPlace wish her all the very best for her future endeavours.