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Activities for Balance and Coordination in Children To understand balance and coordination in children and the activities for these, let us look at what they are: Balance is the ability to maintain the body position while performing a task. This is either static or dynamic. Coordination is the ability to use limbs and eyes, in sync, to skillfully perform a task. It is the ability to use muscles at the correct time with the correct intensity. Balance and coordination activities begin very early. For example, a baby learns to move from supine to side-lying. Then on tummy, and tummy to side-lying and lastly back to supine. Coordinated movements of the limbs, core muscles, and neck rolling help these movements. Therefore all motor milestones develop when balance and coordination work fine. Thus, they are a function of the intact neuromuscular system. Balance and coordination in children allow them to interact meaningfully with their environment. Thus, they fulfill various demands of a task. Poor balance and coordination result in frequent falls. Secondly, They contribute to poor writing or prewriting skills. Thirdly, they affect performance in activities of daily living. Above all, they cause poor play skills and hence an inability to engage in games with peers. This affects the self-image and self-esteem of the child. What affects balance and coordination? The following factors contribute to concerns arising from poor balance and coordination skills: Fluctuations in tone Weak Muscles Low endurance Poor range of motion Dyspraxia Brain injuries or infections, tumors, meningitis Contributing factors to developing good balance and coordination are: Good reflexes good tone muscle strength, and muscle endurance good postural control and body awareness bilateral integration and sensory processing. Intervention to improve balance and coordination: We begin with muscle strengthening and smaller movements. This progresses to the repetition of movements. Later, the therapist increases the complexity of the movement task. Then,  the selected activities are performed at a faster pace. For compromised proprioceptive or tactile sense, vision is used to train the child. Understanding the expected movements is encouraged by looking at the movement performed. Activities to improve balance and coordination are: Movement-based Activities: The child performs animal walks like crab, duck, bear, and elephant. . Also hopping, creeping, crawling are great gross motor activities. And, they help a child move both sides of his body in a coordinated manner. For Balance, moving between hurdles, mazes, or uneven surfaces provides are excellent examples. Here the child moves on different surfaces. These surfaces provide different heights, different stability. Some are wobbly, some squishy. Also, correcting the body position while walking on these surfaces help with balance. Following this, increase the speed of moving this way! Wheelbarrow walking  provides very good muscle inputs and motor coordination with the use of upper limbs. Fantastic proximal control is gained during this activity. The core is used to maintain body position. A note of caution, look for signs of fatigue in the child while providing this walk. Make sure you support both limbs equally and keep them supported throughout these walks. Crawling under tunnels is another good activity. The child crawls on his forearms and moves forward. Make it difficult by placing cushions inside the tunnel! Watch a detail video on fine motor skills now Games for Balance and Coordination: Games like badminton, tennis, and cricket. They provide ample opportunities for coordination, both gross and fine. Can you hit the ball? Can you run faster? Craft activities to develop visual and fine motor skills and perception. Have the child draw, cut, color, dab, or stick! Balance board activities in sitting, standing: They help excellently with balance, body positions, and core stability. Play target games: The person with maximum paper balls in the bin wins! Also, did you miss a hi-5? Holding body position games like ‘statue’. How long can you hold this position? Can you do so a little longer? Involve the child in string beading, use of scissors, drawing, tracing, coloring for fine motor coordination. Cycling or swimming both provide large, coordinated movements and balancing opportunities Therapist’s Role: Occupational Therapist helps children develop good balance and coordination skills through these activities. They help with improving fine and gross motor skills, postural control, strengthening of upper limbs and core. In addition, a therapist can help with affected play skills or limited peer interaction. Activities of Daily Living: The therapist also helps with the coordination needed in daily life. These include skills of self-care, writing, feeding, and dressing. Sometimes, the therapist suggests environmental modifications like the installation of bars and handles for support. Also, to enable independence for an individual with balance issues, recommendations include using anti-skid mats while bathing, or using stabilizing table mats for plates. Therefore, get in touch with a therapist if your child has issues with balance and coordination Read more here- OT activities in Autism Occupational Therapy what you need to know! A post shared by 1SpecialPlace | Speech Therapy (@1specialplace)

Create VERBAL ROUTINES and get your toddler talking! VERBAL ROUTINES consist of words that are repeated at a predictable time during an activity. A verbal routine occurs any time a person says the same words, in the same way, for the same things, every time a specific activity occurs. Introducing Verbal routines in your daily set of activities can be a great way to promote speech and language skills of your young child in his everyday life. A common Verbal routine that all mothers can use at any time is “Get Set Go” or “One, Two Three Start” You can use this verbal routine in a variety of situations like before pushing the swing, before starting to eat, before singing a song, before starting to dance, before giving your child a bath.. etc As your child learns these routines, you can PAUSE at key points to see if they can fill the gap by speaking out the missing words. You can create your own Verbal Routines depending on your schedule and interests. You can use this sheet to make your own Verbal Routines. Writing them down will help stick them in your mind so that you can use them while running your day with your child. Here are some examples fot the various activities during a typical day. Activity Repeated PhrasesWaking upGood Morning, Wake up time../ Rise and ShineBath TimeLets clean up! Its time for bath../ Water is ready lets take bathGetting dressed/Diaper changeAha! let’s get dressed/ Let us get ready for the day!MealsI amhungry?/ Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner timeNappingOh Im tired, lets snooze/ Lets take a small nap nowGoing outYay! I want to go out/ Let’s go out in the car..PlayingI want to play with blocks/ Let’s play togetherPrayingFold your hands /Bow your head/ Lets say a prayerBedtimeGood night, Its bedtime/ Sleepy time, let’s tuck in bed.. Verbal Routines and Repetitions help in sticking the words in your child’s auditory and working memory. The more a child hears the same words in a particular context, the better he associates with what is being said to him. Chances are that after hearing the same word again and again in a language stimulating context he might start speaking those words when given an opportunity like when paused for him to fill the blank or when asked a question. Simple Fun Examples of Verbal Routines while playing with your child — Bubble Play : Take a bubble wand and while blowing say – “Yay!! bubble bubble blow, bubble bubble POP!” Play Dough Play : “Sticky Sticky Sticky Dough, Roll Roll here you go!” Doll Play : “Pretty Pretty Dolly, Smile please..Pretty Pretty Dolly Let’s cuddle & squeeze!” Car Play : “Beep Beep Beep, My Car drives Beep” Many Songs are repetitive in nature and have Verbal Routines. Some examples -1. Old Mac Donald had a farm 2. Wheels on the Bus 3. This is the way I brush my teeth 4. The Ants go marching 5. Jelly on the Plate Many Books use this concept of verbal routines . Some easily available books that encourage verbal routines and repetitive texts are – 1. Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Bill Martin and Eric Carle 2. Panda Bear Panda Bear by Bill Martin and Eric Carle 3. Cat the Cat Who is That? by Mo Willems. 4. Pout-Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen 5. Pete the Cat: I love my White Shoes by James Dean and Eric Litwin Establishing Verbal routines can also be great for children with Speech-Language delays, Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, and other childhood communication difficulties.

firstly,This blog talks about DIY activities to teach writing. Writing is an essential skill for school – going children. What is writing? Writing is the ability to organize your thoughts, ideas and expressions into words. Appropriate vocabulary should be used when writing. The content should also have proper punctuation. Importance of writing skills – Writing helps in the following ways – firstly, it boosts a child’s imagination secondly, stimulates the brain of the child thirdly, improves communication fourthly, helps in academic success fifthly, increases vocabulary lastly, improves grammar DIY activities to teach writing Given below are a few activities to teach writing to your child – 1. Post a letter This is a great activity to teach writing to children. Ask your child to write a letter to their favorite person. Let them use colored pens, glitters and crayons to make it fun. You can also help them by giving them sentence starter cues or questions. For example, sentence 1 cue can be ‘how are you’. Sentence 2 cue can be ‘what book are you reading’. You can also ask the child to only fill in the blank with one or two words in the letter, depending on their level. After they finish writing the letter, put it in an envelope and take it to the post office. 2. Sensory trays Use of sensory trays is easy and fun. The possibilities are immense when using a sensory tray. You can ask your child to write spellings, phrases or sentences depending on their level. Simply take a tray and fill it with sand, shaving foam or salt. Sugar, rice and flour can also be used. You can play games like ‘ I spy’. When the child gives the correct answer, ask them to write it on the tray. Reward them for the same. To make it more fun, take turns and see who guesses the most answer with correct spellings. You can also play ‘Spell Me’. You can dictate words to the child and they can spell them on the tray. 3. Roll and spell This is a fun game. Firstly, take a paper and draw 6 grids. Secondly, number each grid from 1 to 6. Thirdly, in each grid, draw six things the child knows. Fourthly, give the child a dice and ask them to roll it. They have to write the spelling of the word on the grid as shown on their dice. To make it more fun, take turns with your child. You can also increase the number of grids. Choose the drawings ranging from 3 letter words like sun, cat or 4 letters like moon and the like. 4. Shopping list This is a fun way to teach the child writing. Before going shopping, tell the child you need help in making a shopping list. Give your child a paper and pencil. Now ask them to write the things you need. Help them out with spellings if needed. Alternatively, you can also tell the child to make a shopping list of the things he/ she needs. This is quite a fun task that children enjoy. This makes learning fun! 5. Painting mania Children absolutely love painting. There is no better way to get them to write. Bring out the pain box and brushes. Children can paint their names. This can be stuck on the room of their door. You can also ask them to paint the names of their favorite cartoons or food and the like. This will get them to write without complaining. 6. Silly stories This activity will help children write a small passage. Start with narrating a story to the child. To make the story interesting, include things they love like their favorite color or cartoon. Stop half way. Now ask the child to complete the story by writing it down. They can also draw after they finish writing. 7. Scavenger hunt Get your child to make a scavenger hunt for the family. Involve them in discussing the clues and things to hide. Once you have done the discussion, give them post its and a pencil or colored pen. Now ask them to write the clues. They can then stick the clues at the correct place. This is a fun way to teach the to write. 8.  Party Invitation Every child loves birthday party. Use this chance to get your child to write invitations to their friends and family. Bring out colored papers and pens. Ask your child to write an invitation for his/her birthday party. They can also put stickers on the invite. Children will enjoy this activity and it will also be a great way to teach them writing. 9. What’s this? This is a fun activity to teach writing. All you need is a pencil, paper and an object. The object must be something the child is familiar with. For example, you can take an apple. Now put down three or four cues for the child – firstly, what is the name of this fruit. Secondly, what is it’s color? Thirdly, how does it taste? The child will look at these question cues and write a small passage about it. You can use anything for writing from fruits, toys, vegetables or colors. 10. Comic strips Get children to write comic strips. Simply give them comic strips without the written content. Discuss with them what they think the comic strip says. Then ask them to write it. You can also make a comic strip scrapbook. Keep adding pages to this scrap book. This not only teaches the child to write, but also boosts their imagination. To know more about DIY activities to teach writing, check out this blog To know more about how to improve writing, checkout our blog

DIY communication books for children communication books for children, Communication is a two way-process of receiving and expressing information involving speaking, listening and writing. Non-verbal communication, what you don’t say, is just as important as what you do say. Good communicators “understand and express ideas and information confidently and creatively in more than one language and a variety of modes of communication. They work effectively and willingly in collaboration with others.” Effective communication involves listening to others, forming and sharing opinions, selecting an appropriate language, asking questions and collaborating. Reasons for communicating may include: expressing ideas and emotions persuading others getting things, we need seeking and providing information building and maintaining relationships Difficulties a child can face if he/she is still struggling to speak: Let’s think of that child who starts school without any speech. They have no difficulty hearing (in fact some sounds are amplified to the point where they must cover their ears). But when people speak, they might not be able to process the language. They may hear a mumble-jumble of sounds, and when they try to get a clue from facial expressions, things become even more confused. Without being able to decode what’s being said, how can the child learn the language skills they need to speak? Frustration sets in. They can’t tell us so we start to see challenging behaviour, or maybe they become isolated. They cannot find the way to join in so they self-soothe and withdraw. Modelling speech Speech can be modelled by using a communication book for a child because he/she is so good at using symbols to comment. We generally use communication book all the time with the children, because of those who are not ready to point and comment. The parents love using them because it gives them another way to communicate and model speech consistently. communication books for children Communication books Kids have fun using all their senses as they explore the world around them. A touch and feel book is one way to engage kids with the sense of touch. Babies explore the world around us with touch and get to know objects by feeling it. Quiet books for babies are filled with materials that encourage sensory exploration rather than activities to play with. You needn’t buy one, just make it yourself and save your budget developing your kid! Here are some simple DIY ideas of touch and feel books for babies and toddlers, get inspired! This DIY books will provide an opportunity for kids to explore materials that are furry, scratchy and even spongy! Keep them handy resource within easy reach so it can be used over and over again. A book with a different texture on each page promotes observation, discovery and discussion. DIY quiet book for babies: Make your own touch and feel letters for your littlest learner easily and without breaking the bank. These educational letters let beginners explore letters through their senses. Alphabet for beginners are letters that are fun, playful and interesting and if you push them on kids that aren’t ready you set up everyone for a frustrating experience. DIY sensory book for pre-schoolers: Touch and feel books are books with a little interactive section on each page of the book, aiming to give the child a textural experience as he browses through the book. These books are a great hit with kids of different ages beginning from 3-4 months old and even for toddlers. Your kid will enjoy flipping through the pages, feeling the different textured in the shape of his own palm and also tugging at and exploring the book ring. DIY touch and feel book for toddlers: These touch books are fun and fairly simple to put together. They feature different textures on each page, from both sides. There’s embroidery, sequins, various types of fabric so that your little child could sense the world around. Choose bright fabrics to make the pages catchier and bolder! DIY no-sew touch book for toddlers: If you just welcomed a new baby or expecting one, and you just happen to love making things, there is no better toy than making a little sensory baby book. It is also called a baby quiet book, the sensory book is filled with different materials that encourage baby’s development and sensory exploration. Nevertheless, encouraging baby’s development from an early age with a simple toy will pay off later. Teaching your baby through play and will have a deep impact later on and decrease raising problem with the use of electronic and screen time. Thoughts A child will only learn to use pictures or symbols to communicate if they see it happening all the time. Using a communication book allows us to constantly model an alternative way to comment or make a request. This is such a simple strategy and so effective. Have you ever thought about making your own books? It’s fun, rewarding, and it requires only a few basic supplies. You can make your own journal, photo album, sketchbook, or even a storybook. Hand-crafted books also make beautiful, personalized gifts for friends and family members. Here are three easy ways to make a book. Give these projects a try with your children and see what you can all create! 1.Make an origami book: These mini origami books are super adorable and much easier to make. 1: Take a blank piece of paper and fold it in half lengthwise so it makes a long, skinny rectangle. Open the paper back up. 2: Fold the paper it in half width-wise so it makes a short, flat rectangle. 3: Fold the top flap in half, aligning the bottom edge of the paper to the top fold. 2. Make a secret message book: You can use invisible ink, but this secret message book is much more fun and creative way for kids to communicate with others! Grab a white crayon, a piece of paper and markers, highlighters or watercolour paint. Use the crayon to write your secret message on the paper and be sure to press down pretty hard when you’re spelling out your words, it will make the reveal later easier to read. Once you’ve gotten your words down, have your friend cover the page with marker, highlighter or paint and they’ll go from seeing an empty page to a clear message! communication books for children 3. Make an accordion book: Accordion books make for great displays! Children can fill the pages with funny cartoons, fun drawings, or even paste in photos of friends and family. Then stand them up and view all the pages at once! Need to fill your book? Now that you have a book, you need to fill the pages. Be the star of your own story or makeup one about something else. Perhaps you’ll want to make a comic book, a princess book, or a book of science experiments. Need more ideas? Try some of these: Make a field guide; collect plants and put them in your book with information about each one. Draw pictures of animals or insects and write what you know about them. Make a book of photos of your friends and family. Turn your book into a journal. Cut out pictures from your favourite magazines and put them in your book. Do you like learning about dinosaurs? Weather? Magical creatures? Draw your favourites and label them. Use it as a sketchbook and fill it with your own drawings. Turn it into a book of fashion ideas. Make a songbook with the lyrics to your favourite songs or write your own music. The possibilities are endless, so think of your favourite thing and make it into a book. Keep it for yourself or give it away as a gift.

Do’s and Don’ts of talking to your children Whether your child is typically growing or a late talker or has speech-language delay, the basics of communicating remain the same. Here are some very simple do’s and don’ts of talking to your children, which will benefit them now and in the long run. Your child may or may not acknowledge and respond to all your efforts, but it is essential to keep going. DO’S Maintain eye contact whenever you talk or the child talks. It is important to get down to the child’s level when talking because it establishes connection with the child, and sends a signal that you’re interested. (Have you noticed how the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge always bend down to talk to their children?!) Lot of repetitions – Be repetitive with your sentences and words. Use the same words in different contexts multiple times. The more your child hears the word, the more likely he is to relate to it and remember it. Self Talk – Self talk is to talk about things that you are doing. Simple example would be making chapattis in the kitchen. Few sentences you could use “look mummy is going to roll the dough”, “now I am going to make small balls”, “now I will flatten it with the pin” and so on. Parallel talk – Talk about what the child is doing. Simply become a mouth piece for your child when he/she is silently playing. Some sentences could be “oh you’re dashing the car”, “wow that is a beautiful doll”, “the doll is brushing her hair” etc. Watch a video here Talk about what they’re seeing and trying to say – When the child is trying to say something, talk about it. Talk about what interests them. Expand their sentences – The child may use very basic words. Add on more words and sentences to it. Example a child may say “doggy house”. You can add on saying “yes, doggy is in the house”, “the doggy is chewing on a bone”. Here is how Use simple sentences – Gauge the child’s level of understanding first and use words accordingly. Speak clearly and slowly-  Remember the child needs to absorb all the words you’re saying. Turn every activity into a talking activity- You can talk about the whole kit and caboodle during their bathing time, feeding, dressing etc. Every situation has plenty of language stimulation you can provide. All you need to do is TALK. Read to your child- Simple books with lot of illustrations will kindle excitement and interest in your child. Here are some books you can use. Check out a few books Give choices and opportunities – Give children plenty of opportunities to talk and initiate conversation themselves. This will bring about more words or more attempts from them. Reinforce and reward-  Say “wow”, “yay” or “good sentence” when a child says something impressive. Reinforcing will only lead to the child to do better. DON’TS Ask too many questions – Resort to commenting instead. Complete their sentences all the time – The child will expect the parents to complete their sentences if done frequently and will limit their opportunities to talk. Force your child to talk – Always attempt to make communication fun for your child and not make him/her averse it. Use the word ‘say’ – Let language building be natural. Provide the sentences or add on more sentences as and when required, but do not ask the child to “say”. Use baby talk or telegraphic speech – Using baby talk should be restricted to when the child is a baby. Your speech needs to be modified as the child is growing. Make everything accessible to the child- Tighten the jars lid. Keep his/her toys away from their reach. Let them ask for help. Let them initiate conversation. All these would add on opportunities for your child to talk. Use the word ‘NO’ often- As an alternative, use sentences which the child should perform. For instance, if a child is jumping on the chair, don’t say “no jumping” or “don’t do it”. Use “it’s sitting time now” or “let’s sit and do this”. Use complicated words – The child should be able to relate your words to the ongoing activity or an activity that has taken place. Using complicated words or abstract words (for younger kids) will yield minimal benefits.

Fun Movement Activities for Speech Development Speech development activities, Motor movements including moving, crawling, sitting, standing are crucial parts of a child’s development. These skills help a child to explore his environment. This variety of movements in a child’s environment will help to grow.   The American Academy of Pediatrics, 2007, explains, play is the “work of children”. As play children learn most of the information through play. These play help to discover their interests. Play Influence positively to acquire cognitive, motor, speech, language, and social-emotional skills. Speech and language development is an important part of a child’s overall development. As a parent, there are many fun and creative activities you can do with your child to encourage speech and language development. Here are some Fun Activities To Encourage Speech-Language Development In Children. Motor movements in play help speech development: Engaging children in everyday play and games involving a lot of movement will help them to use speech and language skills in an interactive and fun way.  Also, a child can learn new words and practice other language skills have learned.  A child plays these motor movement games with a communication partner or peer group, in an interactive way. Therefore, these motor movements help in better social interactions. speech development activities Fun Motor Activities: Below given fun Activities are according to different age groups. However, Most of the activities suit all the age groups. We can select fun activities depending on the child’s interests,  materials available, and so on.  These games are played in day to day interactions and also in speech therapy sessions.  Young Babies (0-1 year) Toddlers (1-3 years) Preschoolers (3-5 years) Fun activities in young Babies (0-1 year) Research has shown that motor development and speech development are dependent on each other. In the initial months of life,  more quick and jerky movements will be seen. later, these movements will turn to smooth and intentional physical movements.  In this stage of development pre-linguistic behaviors (PLB) will develop. These include eye contact, joint attention (sharing an object/activity),  facial expression, and simple gestures. These skills are an important building block for speech development. Involving babies in motor movements helps to develop PLB skills. speech development activities Movement Games to play: Eye-tracking activity:  Eye-tracking activity is to share between an adult and a child. The adult moves a toy while the child looks at that toy.  For example, Pretending a  toy car moving on the road or pretending to take the toy dog for a walk, etc Building blocks- Blocks can be in stocking, building, and balancing.  Building blocks- Use Blocks in stocking, building, and balancing are fun.  Sort shapes, colors. Bubbles: Children like to watch the bubbles floating and their movements. Peek a boo: most children enjoy playing peek a boo. Include a lot of variety in playing peek a boo. Using a blanket, hiding behind the pillow, etc will attract child eye contact and attention. Floortime with child- This set of free play with babies including rocking and rolling helps in developing PLBs and also built a positive relationship with the communicator partner. Rhymes and actions: Singing rhymes with hand gestures, facial expressions, and voice fluctuations attracts the child’s attention. Sibling play-movements and games with a sibling is always a great idea for social interactions. Cause and effect games: A child’s action leads to changes in his/her environment. These activities develop a natural curiosity in the child.  Games like building a tower and knocking it down with a ball, wind up toys are useful to get child attention. P.C. Wikipedia 2.  Fun activities in toddlers (1-3 years) As the child is growing, his/her experience with the environment is increasing, resulting in more and more accurate development. In toddlers, motor skills including standing, walking, climbing up/down the stairs, running, and jumping are developed strongly. Play with these activities are useful, because, these will help in speech and language skills including pointing skills, following simple instructions, learning names of different things and people around him/her, learning simple sentences, asking questions, and so on. speech development activities Motor Games to play : Run and chase games – like tag Motor activities involving copying and imitation skills: Imitating different walking styles of different animals. Copying a leader’s actions-child has to copy an adult’s spontaneous movements like hands up, moving/ leaning forward, etc. Imitating nursery and action rhymes and singing along. Play with the Ball- Rolling, kicking, throwing at the targets like throw in the basket, throw at the wall, throw at a distance, etc, catching a ball with the partner or on own. Using a ball to knock down a wooden tower. speech development activities Playground- using slide, swing, merry-go-round, see-saw are the best movement activities that all the children love. Building Dens, house, pet house with wooden blocks, pillows, cardboard boxes, chairs, etc Walking activities such as walking up and down a stair, walking on different textures such as lawn, carpet, sand, floor, etc. Jumping activities such as jumping on targets like different shapes/colors, jump to catch a bubble, or an object in the air, jumping from a comfortable height like a chair/bench, and landing safely. Balancing activities such as walking in a straight line/balancing on a plank of wood or logs. And Balancing bikes. Moving and acting to rhymes, stories, and rhythms. Read a story or sing a rhyme and the child has to perform the actions according to the words. 3.  Fun activities in Preschoolers (3-5 years) In this age group,  children will get good control over motor and language skills. The gross motor skills including kicking a large ball, throwing the ball, play catch with a large ball, peddling a tricycle, and swinging, etc will be mastered. Speech skills seen during these activities are learning a variety of vocabulary, following multiple instructions, conversation skills including commenting, questioning, reporting, group conversations, etc. Movement Games to play: Physical movement games including rule-based games, interactive games in small groups, and challenging activities can be included. The Colour-corner game: each corner in the room will be associated with individual color when the random color is called out, the child will run and matches with a particular corner. Traffic light game: Here, the child has to do a specific action to that particular color. When ‘green’ is called out, the child starts running. When ‘’yellow’ is called out the child will walk on tiptoe, and when ‘red’ is called out, the child stops the action. (The actions to the colors can be changed to challenge the child) Hide and seek: This game involves rules where one child searches the other children who are hiding. Use Movement activities with line markings- activities such as hopscotch. Jumping on different colors, shapes, and numbers when they hear that particular item, balancing on the lines, etc. Exploring open space activity- activities like a treasure hunt, obstacle race, crawl through the tunnels, moving around the obstacles in reverse directions are some examples. Roleplay: using out due materials in the form of play items, a backyard garden as the farm, making a hen coop with a box in the garden, Theme-based games such as vegetable market, doctors clinic, etc attract a lot of movements from a child during the play. Read the story and enact it dramatically being the character.  Music and movement- singing rhymes and dancing to songs.  Bouncing and jumping activities: Trampoline, skipping ropes, passing the small hurdles and touch the finish line, etc Including these gross motor, activities will help in speech and language skills. For more ideas, please contact your speech therapist.

Introduction In this blog, I am going to talk about how to get your child to stay on topic while speaking. Before I move on to the topic, a little introduction on what is staying on topic. Conversational skills have become of utmost importance in today’s day and age. As adults, we need to have good conversational skills. This will help us achieve more professionally and personally. In children, this helps them build friends and form connections. There are various aspects to the conversation. It may look like two people are just talking, asking questions, etc. A lot of finer skills go unnoticed. A speech therapist helps your child is learning these conversational skills. What comes under conversational skills? Eye contact is a very important part of the conversation. It shows interest and confidence. It establishes a connection between speaker and listener. Besides you can communicate through your eyes as well. Initiation – A technical term for starting a conversation. We all initiate a conversation about various topics. It may feel like a trivial thing. But this is crucial for blending into groups, parties, etc. Helps in making new friends as well. Your child may come on the radar if not initiating a conversation. He/she may be termed shy, coy, or introverted. Post this come topic maintenance. This is a technical term for staying on topic. This is again crucial to keep the conversation going. Frequent changes in the topic will cause confusion and disruption to the conversation. This will lead to losing interest in the listener’s end. Repairing a conversation – if we haven’t understood any part. Asking for repair is a part of conversational skills instead of just going ahead without understanding. Understanding the body language of a person is related to the conversation. This will help us know when to stop or start a conversation. If a person looks tired, it may be best to not initiate conversation. If they are talking excitedly about something, probably best to ask questions once they have stopped. Knowing when to stop, comment, compliment, and ask for clarification comes under conversational skills. Joining an existing conversation and ending a conversation is also an art. What is staying on topic? Which are the hardships? What are the skills? In this blog, we are going to speak about one aspect of all the above-mentioned conversational skills. That is staying on topic, technically called topic maintenance. Skills involved for staying on topic are: Listening to what the other person is saying. No impulsive speaking. Waiting patiently. Reading body language and non-verbal cues. Turn-taking skills. Thinking of appropriate replies. Knowing what are replies, questions, and compliments or adding to the narrative. Hardship faced by kids: Some kids can be impulsive and interrupt the conversation. They would have difficulty waiting for their turn to speak. Trouble understanding non-verbal cues and body language. They won’t understand whether another person is losing interest or trying to speak. Getting stuck on one thought. Treatment starts with what is difficult your child is facing. Whether they are having difficulty waiting for their turn. They may have impulsivity. Difficulty with thinking appropriate replies. Listening and reading body language. ST identifies these difficulties. The speech therapist applies tips and activities to teach these skills. Tips and activities to teach prerequisite skills for staying on topic: Turn-taking: Start by teaching basic turn-taking skills using block stacking or putting pieces of puzzles together. Any game teaches turn-taking. Make sure during this you are also targeting waiting. The child is made to realize his or her impulsive responses. Waiting should be reinforced. For instance, thank you for waiting for your turn. That was good of you to wait for your turn. Oh, that was very impulsive of you. Listening: Listening skills can be taught using fun games such as in and out. When the clinician says in, they jump in and when the clinician says out they jump out. A similar thing can be done with a different command such as up-down. Listening comprehension activity can be done by making them listen to a small para. Usually of 2-3 lines. Answering questions based on that. Increasing the para length and question complexity based on the child’s age and level. Another way to encourage listening is by making cue cards. It should have a picture of the ear and listen written on it. Reminding the child before the conversation starts to listen carefully. Reinforcing at the end. Thank you for listening. That was good listening on your end. Following complex commands also comes under listening activity. Body language and different types of replies: Teach body language and verbal cues by enacting. Such as you can act confused and the child should name or identify what you are feeling. Alternatively, the child is enacting and you are identifying. In this way, if he is unable to express emotion through body language. It can be taught. Another activity can be through art and craft and drawing faces. Identifying what is used eyes or eyebrows or mouth to express disinterest, confusion or anger, etc. Teaching different types of replies such as what is a compliment, making sure they are giving one compliment to someone a day. Differences between different types of replies such as okay, asking the question, commenting, adding to the story, etc. Teaching these skills through enacting. For instance, someone says I had a bad day. Let them identify what would be an appropriate reply – saying okay or asking why, what happened, or saying oh, that’s terrible. Remember to do this in a fun and play way. Not in the form of teaching. Encourage and reinforce trying. Do not punish if unable to perform. Instead, model the expected response again. Tips activities for staying on topic: Once you know that the child has some idea of the pre-requisite skill. You can start having conversation-related activities. Firstly, make cue cards on various topics. For instance, school, holiday favorite TV show, etc. child has to speak on a given topic for say 30s seconds or 60 seconds. If they move away from the topic, you can press a buzzer or ring. This will remind them. This activity can be done in the group as well as individual sessions. Comments and questions: this activity can be done in group or individual sessions. You take up a topic. For instance, pizza, comment on pizza. For example – I like pineapple on my pizza. Each person in a group or you and the child take turns to comment something on pizza only. For example – pizza with tomato sauce is horrible. I like to have capsicum on my pizza etc. Then the group or you and the child can ask each other questions related to that topic. Have cue cards for reminders. Doing role play activities using visual cue cards You can use a train or ice cream building activity as an analogy. Let them know each train or ice cream scoop is a turn. If you speak out of turn or do not stay on topic, then the train may fall off. Use this to remind the child. This can be transferred to another setting. Fading can be done by directly saying, hey we were speaking on holiday, I think you changed the topic. Conclusion To conclude, SLP supervision is required to carry out all these activities or tips. Remember to have fun and reinforce and encourage trying over perfection

Introduction This blog is about what are Hanen strategies for speech therapy? It contains information for both parents and therapists. Communication is vital to all living beings. It can occur between a child and mother, two friends, or even animals. Communication uses both words and gestures. Social interaction forms the base of our society. Children learn to talk by observing their parents. But what happens when this is not enough? Kids develop speech and language delays. This affects their social interaction. Parents are often the first model for their kids. But, it can happen, that child is not achieving his/her milestones. In this case,  parents feel that they are not prepared to help their struggling kids. Hanen offers these programs: It Takes Two to Talk – The Hanen Program for Parents of Children with  Language Delays. Target Word – The Hanen Program for Parents of Children who are  Late Talkers. More Than Words – The Hanen Program for Children with  Autism Spectrum Disorder or Social Communication Difficulties. TalkAbility – The Hanen Program for Parents of  Verbal Children on the Autism Spectrum. The Hanen I’m Ready! Program for  Building Early Literacy in the Home.  What are these programs based on? These programs apply techniques to empower parents. Promote natural conversation. Teach language in a natural context. Equip them to do this repetitively. Using only routine and daily activities. Some of these programs are based on the social interaction theory of language development. According to this theory, language develops due to social interactions. There is a desire to communicate with the outside world. Parent and child adjust their language. This helps them understand each other and communicate. For example, a parent may use smaller sentences. The child may start using words to communicate desire. Using daily activities promotes the language. Instead of a clinician-led or fixed set of activities. Open-ended play and routine activities are used. It also focuses on skills required to acquire language. These are joint attention, turn-taking, and pointing. In addition to this, imitation, response to the environment, and following simple commands. Hanen teaches parents various strategies. Such as reducing the length of utterance and imitation. In addition, expansion and focused repetition of target vocabulary. Goal making process involves parents. What words should the child learn first? What environment will facilitate this? Parents decide this. The Clinician will listen carefully. They will also help in selecting realistic goals. How to achieve them. Follow the child’s lead. Use natural consequences. Train the parents is the motto. Some programs are also based on behavioral theory. It helps parents add structure and predictability to their routine. This makes it easier for the child to interact. Reason for development of Hanen program During traditional therapy, parents are asked to wait outside. They are asked to observe the session. Post the session; they are given a summary. Some activities to carry out at home. This is helpful but parents are unable to carry it out with precision. They may feel incomplete. Parents have a lot of questions. They need to wait to ask till the next session. In traditional therapy, it is more of a therapist than the parent. Parents are given some directions. It is also provided mainly in the clinical setup. This makes it difficult for generalization and maintenance. Therapy sessions have variable frequency and duration. Children meet their therapist for a limited time duration. Usually thrice or twice a week. Hanen Program takes care of these side effects. Parents become a part of the assessment, goal writing, and treatment process. They take up the first role in a child’s language development. Parents become more confident in helping their children. As they become the key language facilitator in the child’s life. This helps in carryover from the therapy setting to everyday life easier. Advantages: Hanen program is for various groups of disorders. Delayed speech, syndromes, autism, etc. It empowers parents. They can carry out activities at home easily. A variety of examples and videos are used. Activities are broken down based on the child’s level. It is more of family and less of the therapist as compared to traditional therapy. Communication is inserted into the family’s daily activities instead of being dedicated to ONLY “speech therapy session time”. It is done in a fun way. Takes bilingualism into account and is evidence-based. Gives opportunities to parents to support and meet other parents. What will you learn? You will learn to identify what motivates your child to learn. How to use routine to facilitate language. Ways to interact for a longer time. How to create communication needs. Strategies to talk, using pictures and books. Recognize your child’s level of communication and ways to talk so that he/she understands you. Hanen strategies for speech therapy Remember to be face to face with your child while playing. This will help your child to grasp the mouth movements associated with a sound. It will increase your connection. Observing the child’s interest and taking up those activities. Some kids may like water play and some may not. Waiting and listening are very important. We generally keep talking and forget to let the child use his/her language. Using O.W.L Use these with the child’s stage of development. For example, can your child request, or is he communicating with himself or pointing, etc. Use R.O.C.K – Repeating what you say helps them grasp language faster. Create opportunities for your child to speak. Cue your child to take his turn. Keeping it fun is very important. Keep this going daily. Extend the topic by – talking about the future for example – yes papa will be back. By talking about feelings – oh you are sad. By Informing – we will go out later. Pretending and explaining – ohh the fishy is hurt, let’s take it to the doctor. The doctor will give medicine. Allow your child to lead. Adapt to share the moment. Add new experiences and words. While speaking say your sentences slowly. Stress on target words. Keep language visual. Conclusion To conclude, Hanen is made for parent training. It helps them become primary language teachers. This program has combined the current research in the field. With help of this, it has created practical easy-to-use strategies for parents. It is structured and practical. it may be done any time – bath time, snack time. Making language a fun and natural part of a child’s life.

“I Spy” Speech Activities for Kids Are you running out of speech and language activities for your kids at home? Today, we bring to you this fun “I Spy” Speech Activities for Kids. “I Spy” Games can be played anywhere and in many ways. It is a fun way to teach many speech and language concepts. So, let’s get started! Activity 1: Building Vocabulary The “I Spy” car game is a fun activity for vocabulary building and thinking skills. You can play when you’re traveling or in a car or sitting in a park. Start this game by saying “I spy something that is blue…” Can you guess? Give more clues such as “I spy something that is blue and round…”. You can also give clues to expand language such as talk about color, shape, texture, and use of the object that you’re referring to. Take turns with your child and play this game. Activity 2: Teaching Speech Sounds This “I spy” game can be played to teach specific speech sounds for your child. If there are certain sounds that are difficult such as /r/, /b/, or /sh/, you can play this game. Kids get bored of games very easily. Teaching speech sounds in an interactive way is a big challenge. For the “I Spy” speech sound game, you may need an “I Spy” sheet with pictures of the specific sound that your want to teach. Then, take turns and say “I Spy something that is yellow and is sailing.”, “It’s a ship”. /SH/ is the target word in the example. get your child to say the sound and word right! Activity 3: Working on Reading Comprehension Is it getting very boring for your child to read books? Try this interactive game! Make a list of questions on a paper such as, “I Spy- what is green and is soft”, Give a bag to your child, ask him/her to go around the house, read and collect the objects that match the questions. Activity 4: Following Directions “I Spy” following directions is a fun game to teach your child to follow directions and prepositions at home. Teach One-step and two-step commands in a fun way. To start this game, place some objects, fruits, or toys on the floor. Now, sit along with your child and start by saying, “I spy something next to the car”, “Point next to the car”. Help your child to finger point. You can also teach prepositions, say “Point to something below the book”, “Between the apple and pear”. You can expand on this game by taking turns to play. Activity 5: Expanding Speech Does your child talk in only one- or two-word combinations? Additionally, the “I Spy” game is here to help expand your child’s speech. Start by saying “I Spy something with my little eye, that is pink”. Further, keep expanding your utterances and encourage your child to repeat after you.

Learning To Talk With Sensory Books When it comes to promoting speech development in children, multisensory stimulation works wonderfully. These days multi-sensory books are very popular among parents and Speech Therapists alike. Be it pop up books, sliding books, touch and feel books,  sound books, game books or digital books, all serve as fantastic tools to work on a child’s language and listening skills. A relatively new and exciting series of books called Sensory Books or Quiet books which are made out of cloth (and felt, buttons, strings, yarn etc.) grabbed my attention. While learning to talk, a child uses various pre-linguistic skills( attention span/joint attention) and a set of listening and receptive language skills. Sensory Books can be great tools to help children with all these skills. Using these books, a parent or therapist can work on most of these target areas. Here are some benefits of Sensory Books. Engaging : These books are engaging and entice the child to participate. They are like interactive stories which have to be completed. Attention Building : Sensory books can captivate a child’s attention. Multi-Sense Stimulation : With the visual, tactile, auditory and kinesthetic inputs, a child gets to work various skills at a time. Sitting Tolerance : With enhanced attention, a child using a sensory book is more liable to sit for longer durations. Vocabulary Building : Using sensory books, you can build your child’s verbal vocabulary. Enrich Language : With these books, one can introduce or revise various language concepts like colours, numbers, shapes, prepositions, pronouns, categories, adjectives, inferencing etc. Fine Motor Work : These books provide opportunities to enhance fine motor skills in children. The intricate tasks of undoing a velcro piece or braiding a doll’s hair, or buttoning a shirt,  are all great for fine motor skill development. Problem Solving tools : Activities in these books can sharpen your child’s cognition and problem-solving skills. Instil Imagination & Creativity : Sensory books can tune up a child’s imagination by presenting beautiful tasks in a challenging way. Great for toddlers : Most parents like that these books don’t tear easily. Hence they can be perfect tools for toddlers Travel buddy : These books can keep your child engaged while travelling. They can learn to talk and practice even when on the go. About Artsy Audiologist Through this article, I would also like to introduce my colleague Shruti, who calls herself The Artsy Audiologist . She hand creates some amazing Sensory/ Quiet Books for children. She even uses these books with children having speech & language delays in her therapy interactions. Shruti has crafted captivating and unique sensory books which were appreciated by everyone in her circle. She has tried using these sensory books in her pediatric therapy programs and the kids loved them. She now aims to make more of such Sensory books which can target various goals in therapy. “I decided to do a trial run with some patients. I carefully took the components I have made so far to my sessions and started using them. They became an instant hit with the kids. It is then I fully realized how children enjoy these kinds of sensory activities, which involve actual touching, feeling, seeing, moving etc.” Shruti says.  Here is a peep into one of the popular Sensory Books that she crafted for Speech-Language Therapy. You can see video on Artsy Audiologist These books are a hit with all children. They can especially be helpful for children who have attention difficulties, like ASD and ADHD/ADD. They can also serve as great learning tools for children with language delays. Please leave a reply if you like this post! Subscribe HERE to get more such awesome ideas straight into your mailbox.

What is Play? Messy Play is commonly associated with children and juvenile level activities but play occurs at any life stage among higher-functional beings. The Messy play time that children take part in has numerous physiological and emotional benefits and it aids in the building of social skills and consistency, learning & school readiness, to promote mental and physical development. Dr. Kim Barthel – Occupational Therapist , believes that play should be seen as “an opportunity for a child to think creatively, solve problem, experience success and failure, and learn from those situations. For many children, play is the only time that they can be completely in-charge of themselves. They have the freedom to explore and make new decisions, which contributes greatly to their overall development.” Read a detail blog on Play in Speech Therapy Sessions Types of Play There are various types of play such as physical, messy/sensory, social, constructive, fantasy play & games with rules. They all serve numerous purposes in a child’s development. But, we will put some light on the topic Sensory Play also known as Messy Play . Messy play has been around since the beginning of time and often occurs naturally, in some setups for kids. Sensory play focuses on stimulating the five senses – touch, taste, auditory, smell & vision. They also explore & engage through movement & balance. They help the child develop these senses to interact with their surroundings. It builds the foundational skills of children which is crucial for child’s development by giving them new learning experiences. Sensory play suits all age groups and helps in various ways to each one of them. Few examples of natural setups are playing in garden with soil, playing on beach with sand & water, while eating with their own hands or having bubble bath in a tub. Play is our brain’s favorite way of learning – Diane Ackerman Benefits of Messy Play Exploration : Kids explore & discover more about the world through their senses. It helps in activating & stimulating their senses. Children, who explore with their senses, learn physical principles more quickly which helps them build their foundation skills that can be further used to learn various complex skills such as motor planning, co-ordination etc. Best example is when kids experience a wide variety of textures & materials when they explore their surroundings. Calmness : Messy play inculcates the state of calm in kids. Calmness helps them to build higher functions like sitting tolerance, focus, attention span and concentration power. Skill Development : It helps in developing skills such as fine & gross motor skills, social skills, language development, pre-writing skills. Furthermore, even higher functioning skills can be developed such as cognition, attention span, thinking & learning skills. Lay foundation : Sensory play lays foundation in science and builds math skills by engaging into hands-on activities. Through play they can learn about physical & chemical properties like quantity, shapes, textures, changes and compares objects after the experiment making them more curious about it. Abstract Thinking : Open ended activities give the child an opportunity to experiment and learn at their own developmental pace. For example: Giving them option to choose or asking them to take the lead. Experimenting builds curiosity which makes the process of learning more interesting and creative as it helps to enhance their imagination skills, observation skills and thinking potential. They also develop sense of accomplishment & responsibility through these activities. Play is the highest form of research – Albert Einstein Messy Play : OT Activities Bubble wrap stomping – For this activity one needs two sets of bubble wrap which can be tied to the kids feet and a white paper sheet. Prepare water colors in a tray. Bubble wraps child’s feet and dip their feet in water color. Now make them walk on a white sheet of paper. This will create visuals of colorful footprints on paper. Painting – Since imagination has no limits, one can replace paint brush with any object and turn a painting session into “Messy Play”. One can paint with finger/vegetable etc. Just dip the object in paint and print it on paper. You can even introduce concept of boundaries by asking the child to paint a star/tree/ cloud etc., drawn on paper. Also, Spray painting is a good activity – Dip toothbrush into paint and ask child to rub their thumb across brush to spray paint on paper. Frozen veggie dig  – Mix diced veggies such as peas/corns etc. in a basket. Make the kids sort all those vegetables. Clay Molding – We need clay dough for this activity. Ask kids to roll, stretch, flatten the dough or one can also ask them to create a pattern using spoon or straw. Sensory bins – Fill up a container with materials that provide sensory input to the child e.g.: sand, water, pasta etc. There are lots of possibilities for this activity. It can also be theme based such as beach/ forest so on. Edible Messy Play Few ideas for children who tend to explore everything with their mouth along with their hands. We can make few changes for these kids to get a chance to participate & experience messy play like by replacing Clay/play dough with firm flour dough Soil/Sand with biscuits or dried bread crumbs Shells with Cornflakes or muesli Mud with melted chocolate Foam with whipped cream Thermocol balls with Rice crispies Magic water beads with jelly Pompoms with Marshmallows Edible paints can be made with natural fruits & vegetable One can also use colorful cooked spaghetti Purposeful Messy Play Plant a garden – This can be a fun activity that involves a sensory benefit. One can go as big as they want, right from planting a seed in a small box to planting your own garden in balcony. It involves many tasks such as sorting seeds, digging in dirt, smelling flowers, etc. which will stimulate all the senses. Cooking – Child can be a helping hand to parent for cooking their everyday meal. Formalize the task depending on kid’s age – Washing or sorting vegetables, smashing potatoes, etc. Also, scooping ice cream, peeling off bananas, etc. can be part of it with no possibility of child harming oneself. Basically allow your child to squish, smear, taste, and smell everything that’s edible. Water play – This can be the least mess creating messy play – imagine to have the best kind of messy play with no worries of having to clean up the child later. You can have this in your bathroom with soap or foam in bath tub and add all the toys that child has to hunt according to the instruction. Further, this activity also teaches values of cleanliness. Tie & Dye – This is my personal favorite as this gives a different end product every time and you can keep adding new ideas. All you need is to tie white t-shirt with any rubber-band and pour some liquid color on any knotted part, now open the tied part to see amazing colored t-shirt. Tips for Parents Messy play activities doesn’t have to be complex to be fun and they often require a few items that you probably already have around the house Messy play can take place in a well-organized space or naturally available spaces like beach, gardens. Spread tarp or rough cloth to create less mess It is great if one can have messy play regularly in a structured manner Trust your instinct and experiment and be as creative as you can; plan the activity according to your child’s interests and needs Last but not the least, consider which ideas are age appropriate and safe for your child.

Music in Speech therapy: 8 Amazing Action Songs Music and movement bring a lot of fun to a session. The power of music is wonderful in exciting, calming and engaging children. A speech therapist can effectively use action rhymes to build speech and language skills. Repetition of movements, sounds, and words within the songs gives the child ample opportunities to learn and thereafter imitate actions and (many times) speech. Here are 8 fun songs that bring in movement and music while developing skills to build communication. 1. What are you wearing? This is a great song to begin a session or to talk about clothes to a child. Customize the song to suit the clothes the child is wearing e.g. blue shorts, white shirt etc. Link to the song 2. Hockey-pockey song . This song has fun lyrics to encourage concepts of body parts, in/out and right/ left. It consists of several sequenced movements that are repeated. Reduce the sequences for beginning learners or reduce the number of stanzas for children who may not be able to focus for too long. Focusing on one body part at a time is a wonderful way to begin the song e.g. only do right hand and left hand. Add in more body parts over sessions or sittings with the child. Link to the song 3. If you’re happy and you know it. Like the previous song, this is a longer song with several stanzas and sequenced movements. Once again, reduce the stanzas to suit the child’s capabilities and needs. Add actions based on what the child likes e.g. If you’re happy and you know it ….’say achoo’ or ‘snap your fingers’. Link to the song 4. Wheels on the bus. A favorite amongst children and therapist. Add different aspects that make a child happy or the child can relate to – e.g. ‘Baby Nia’ goes ‘hahaha’ or ‘Aunty Tanya’ gives a ‘high five’ Link to the song 5. Old McDonald. A classic that will not go out of style. A great tool to teach sounds and syllables to a child through animals and animal sounds. Adding sounds of favourite characters/animals makes it more engaging. Link to the song 6. Baby shark song . A fast-paced, popular song that has a really catchy tune! Repetition is a huge part of this song along with names of family members. Add a family member the child enjoys meeting e.g. an aunt or uncle. Link to the song 7. Jack in the box. Another catchy number. This is a wonderful song to talk about body parts. It is slightly slower paced as compared to the previous song, but kids love it! Link to the song 8. Five little monkeys jumping on the bed. A song to reinforce the skill of counting while having fun. Counting down from 5 to 1 is what is usually done, but based on the child’s attention span fewer numbers can be taken at first e.g. start with 2. Get the child to pretend to be the mother or doctor and repeat their action or words. Link to the song Remember: Singing these songs live for your child allows you to slow the pace of the song or make it faster, at any point in time. You can make fun changes to the lyrics as and when required too! Use visual cues for different actions or to provide reminders for the actions. Puppets, face masks or pretend play toys can be added to the songs to make it easy for a child to relate to and enact. A lot of encouragement and appreciation for participation should be a part of the activity.