Improving Your Child's Writing At Home!

Writing is one of the most essential skills when it comes to successful academics and careers. A lot of the older generation are skilled writers, but I wouldn't expect that from the younger generation. I'm not trying to be blunt, but if you think about it, there's a decline in formal writing. The younger generation is used to typing with barely any grammatical rule over text, Facebook/Twitter. Twitter only allows a small amount of characters, forcing users to abbreviate everything and totally throw grammar out the window. It's obscene! Interest in developing good writing skills begins early on, and as a parent, it can be a great idea aid your child in taking on this interest. You can make a difference, and here are some tips on how to promote writing improvement at home!

• Notes! Leave notes on chairs, pillows, wherever! Make sure the note is written in the form of a question, waiting for a return. Leave some room and a pen close by. Or, be like me, and get a chalkboard for your house to leave each other messages. 
• Letters! Make letter writing a habit for your child. For example, have them write letters to family and friends. 
• "Year and Review" Notebook! Keep a record of your family's life. Every family member can add their own stories to the mix, and on New Years Eve have fun rereading them. 
• Story Gifts! Have your child write stories and give them as gifts. 
• Postcards! Have them write and mail postcards on family vacations or special outings. 
• Thank You! Have them get in the habit of writing "thank you" notes for gifts or whenever appropriate. 
• Journaling! I made that word up. Get them a special journal on their birthday. Encourage them to write in their journal. 
• Make a Menu! Every once in a while, let them write menus for a family dinner. It'll give them something to do while Mommy and Daddy are cooking. If a word is hard, write it on a piece of paper on the side, so they can copy it, like lasagna. 
• Create Writing Prompts! An example of a writing prompt would be: "Pretend you are the first to create a spoon. Write how the world responds."
• Be Creative and Fun! Have a puppet show. Perform skits. Set aside time for creative play. Use some challenging words and make it an educational pursuit for your child. 
• Keep a Travel Log! When you go on vacations, give your child a notebook to record and even draw his/her sights and experiences in.
• Copycatting! If your child like's a song, challenge them to copy the lyrics by ear. Encourage neatness and legibility. 

Remember, it is more important to focus on the content your child writes as opposed to their grammar and other details of their writing. When they begin to write in school, they may receive criticism. It's your job to keep them going. Writing can be both a skill and a habit. Aiding your child in putting his/her thought into words early on give them a great sense of accomplishment, and fostering positive writing experiences will have a positive impact on their writing skills throughout life. Help your child learn to write well, and enjoy doing it too. 

Resources

Prince, Audrey W., M. Ed., Super Duper Publications © Handy Handouts: Put it to Paper: Tips for Parents to Improve a Child's Writing Skills

The Fidgety Learner

A lot of times, teachers will try and make kids sit still, and stop being "fidgety"; but being fidgety can actually help students keep their attention span. Children are always moving. It helps them maintain energy, the natural way. Spend energy to get energy. Scheduled breaks that encourage movement have many positive impacts on children and their alertness during school.

How so? There are many ways movement helps achieve alertness, and a lot of it's physiological. The benefits of movement include the following:

• It increases blood flow, which increases alertness. 
• It decreases stress, which helps us keep our attention. Just like exercise, simple movement is proven to reduce stress. 
• It prepares the brain for learning. When we are less stressed, our brains are open to learning new things and experiencing "the now". 
• It improves motor control. The more children are moving, the more they are practicing with their motor skills, understanding their strengths and their surroundings.
• Breaks improve attitude. When children are able to release energy, they're naturally in a better mood than they would be without movement all day. 

Ways to Encourage Movement in the Classroom

• Toss the Ball - I actually remember this one. Buy a ball each year for your students to decorate and during break time, have them practice their speech and language as they pass the ball back and forth. They can make up sentences as each one says a word and tosses it to the next, or ask each other questions. As long as it's fun or funny, they'll enjoy it. 
• Charades Real Quick - This will get your students up, striking poses and doing gestures, moving around and practicing their language and understanding skills.
• March in Place - Have your students march in place to get the energy out. Tell them they can move about, but only if they march. 
• 

Resources

Kjesbo, Rynette R., M.S., CCC-SLP. Super Duper Publications © Handy Handouts 2011: "Learning In Motion - Using Movement Activities During The School Day"

Intervention for the Child with Language Difficulties

When a parent expresses that they are concerned about their child's reading/speaking capabilities, or if a teacher confirms a lack of ability in the classroom, an evaluation will take place. A speech-language pathologist will usually take initiative in this evaluation, screening the child using a checklist similar to one developed by Dr. Hugh Catts. Dr. Hugh Catts, the Chair of Speech-Language-Hearing has contributed a great deal of psychological research to help SLPs determine whether or not kindergarteners or first graders have language difficulties. Parents can use this checklist as a means of expressing their concerns with the child's difficulties to teachers and SLPs (Spivey 1).

If your child receives a low score on the checklist, not to worry; this simply means the student is in need of early intervention. And students can't be tested for learning disabilities before going through a structured intervention program. These interventions are intense, individualized and targeted instruction of reading and language skills. This approach guides children in obtaining the particular skills they are lacking. If children display a lot of difficulty with the intervention program, further assessments are taken and it is decided if the child has learning disabilities and requires extra attention and guidance through schooling (Spivey 1).

Children who are identified early on for phonological trouble (kindergarten) or language reading skills (1st grade) have shown a significant gain from the intervention program. Unfortunately, many children aren't recognized as having difficulties until the third grade. The earlier on the better. Developmentally, that's how it goes. And children who display these struggles, when identified early on, stand a much better chance at becoming proficient readers in the future.

So, it might seem silly to pay attention to a kindergarteners "report card", if you will, but it truly isn't. Great strides have been made in the field of speech-language pathology, so much so that phonological disabilities can be determined in a child who's only five years of age. No child builds a foundation for great speaking or reading skills alone; you are their help. In my last post, I went over some great tips to helping our child improve his writing skills at home. These tips can do the same for reading, and they're a great start to helping your child build a foundation for a successful academic future.

Resources

Spivey, Beck L., M.Ed. Super Duper Publications © 2012  Handy Handouts: "Why is My Child Not Learning to Read? The Need for Early Intervention"

How We Talk

Do you ever wonder how much is truly involved in communicating our feelings, our thoughts, our needs and desires? Do you ever kick yourself for saying something in the heat of the moment you didn't mean? I do. I kick myself for writing messages in the heat of the moment. As we grow older, we learn to control what comes out of our mouths. When we're young, all is fair game. We're more focused on expressing a thought correctly than the influence it will have on those who hear it.

Speaking begins with a person's thoughts; the brain formulates the thought and breaks it down into words, then into sentences, and finally, meaning. The act of speaking occurs by air coming up from the lungs, through the vocal folds, and out the mouth. We shape these sounds using our tongue (the tip, blade, front and back), upper and lower lips, upper and lower teeth, and the roof of the mouth in order to produce specific sounds and words. Speech sounds can differ by voice, place (where sounds are made in the mouth) and manner (the type of sound) (Stuckey 1).

How Do We Produce Different Types of Speech Sounds

Several different parts of the body, in fact, are used in the production of speech; not just our mouths. Our stomach muscles, lungs, voice box, tongue, teeth, lips, and even our nose are all used in the production of speech sounds. So, the thought originates in the brain. But where does the sound originate. Believe it or not, it originates in the stomach, with the diaphragm (the upper part of the stomach which controls the lungs). The diaphragm pushes air from the lungs into the voice box, which contains inside it numerous vocal cords that vibrate to produce your particular and distinct voice. Then, the lips, tongue, and teeth form the sounds to make speech, such as phonemes and words. For example, the tip of the tongue touches the roof of the mouth to produce the "d" sound while air is pushed out. When the tongue moves, the sounds the comes out changes. Over development, our minds create patterns for bodily movements to create specific words, or even phrases, to the point where it becomes second nature. It's quite phenomenal. So, your nose, eh? Don't believe me? Oh it's involved. Are people surrounding you? No? Good. Make the "mmmmmm" sound. You'll feel your throat and mouth vibrating. Now, pinch your nose, and try to make that sound again. Not so easy now, is it? 

What If My Child Has Difficulty Saying Speech Sounds?

Many children experience difficulty when attempting to create intelligible, clear and understandable speech. This can make it difficult for listeners to understand what they are saying. Speech sound production occurs on a developmental basis according to a child's age. By age 2, a child should be able to produce sounds such as p, d m, w, h, and n. By age 3: t, b, k, and g. By age 4-5: f, v, y. By age 5-7: s, z, j, l, r, sh, ch, th, blends (Stuckey 1). If you notice that your child is having trouble producing these sort of speech sounds around these ages, and if you recognize that they are having trouble speaking, as well as their listeners listening, it may be time to consult a speech therapist for a screening/evaluation of your child's speech production. Difficulty with producing intelligible speech is best tackled early on, and only becomes more difficult to treat as the mind tends to stick with its vocal patterns through development. 

Stuckey, Kevin. M.Ed., CCC-SLP. Super Duper Publications © 2009: How Do We Talk?

Grammar and Syntax: Put the Fun in Fundamentals

Formation of language begins at birth, believe it or not. When a baby cries, they're communicating the need for help and attention. Later, babies begin to produce sounds when they want certain objects or even family members; they are naming them: ba ba (bottle), ma ma (mother), da da (father), etc. We don't recognize this as the beginning of the development of grammar and syntax, but it actually is. Children are "speaking" and we are responding, appropriately! When we respond appropriately, we are teaching them (slowly but surely) how to talk. As a child's language is developing, parents can help children learn grammar (classes of words, their forms and functions) and syntax (the arrangement of words and the sequence in which we put them together to create meaning). Children with speech and language difficulties often have problems understanding the even the simplest and smallest units of words (-ed, -ing, -s). So, sometimes their sentences may come off as immature dependent on their age.

Children realize early on that the more words they hear and repeat, the more the world around them is expanding, or rather, their understanding of it. As early as two years old, children are trying to use prepositions, nouns, pronouns and verbs altogether to make meaning; "Me up mama," want my ba," "you go dada." Even though children put together sentences that may lack sense to a parent, they should respond appropriately using correct grammar in order to teach the child appropriate use of language. Responding with baby talk is cute up until a certain age, but there comes a time when it only reinforces inappropriate use of language. You see, when we respond using baby talk, we are telling a child that this type of talk is appropriate (we may not directly see the innate thirst to learn language in our toddlers, but it's there). Use appropriate language and children will follow ("Suzy hitted me!" - "Did Suzy hit you?")

Children with speech and language difficulties often:

• Use words in the wrong order (their sentences don't make sense or are misleading)
• Struggle to use pronouns correctly (identifies self as 'she,' 'her,' or 'me' when 'I' is correct)
• Cannot grasp how to use word endings (-ed, -ing, -s) correctly
• Do not understand how to connect sentences or thoughts using conjunctions (and, but, or, yet)
• Do not understand verb tense (past, present and future)
• Need practical experiences to understand some concepts
• Need to use concrete materials to understand plurals (one doll, two dolls) 

Here are some strategies to use with children at home to help improve their use of grammar and syntax.

• Play sentence games. For example, cut out pictures from a magazine and verbally reenact the scene. This can help a child understand nouns, verbs, adjectives and where they belong (syntax). (Picture of a dog playing catch with his owner - "What is/was the dog/owner doing?" "The dog is/was/will..., His owner is/was..., The ball is/was... " As you can see, this can also helps children understand tenses. And it will be fun!
• Play sentence games. Cut pictures of individual items out of a magazine and paste them on cards. Mix them up, have your child describe the object to you and guess what it is. ("It has icing you can eat and candles that tell how old you are!")
• Scramble! Write words on small notecards, punctuation marks: everything that makes a sentence. Scramble them up and have your child put them together in the right order. Correct them when they're wrong, but in a way that challenges them to correct it themselves. If they're wrong about where a comma goes, ask "should the comma go here, or there?". This will engage them and help them pay more attention. 
• Mad Libs! Word searches, and puzzles galore!
• Use everyday objects around the house to teach plurals. "Jerry, how many spoons am I holding in my hand?"

Resources

Spivey, Becky L., M.Ed. Super Duper Publications © 2009 Handy Handouts. "Teaching the Fundamentals of Grammar and Syntax at Home"

Giant Colored Warning Signs Making The World A Safe Place

They're all around us: signs that warn you of something possibly to come. There's a deer on this road, or, there's a railroad crossing coming up, or, that's the ladies room, not the man's room. We know what all of these mean, but do our children? In the myriad of knowledge we're expected to pass down to your children, this could easily be forgotten. But include it. It keeps them safer, knowing what they mean, and brightens their understanding of the world.

As far as ways to teach them, it's easy. It's only an object association, and a stroll around the park can do it. Walk them to the park, and show them the signs and talk about what they mean (stop signs, railroad crossing signs, no parking signs, watch for deers signs, etc). Talk to them about why these are so important, and what would happen if society didn't have them.

Teach them words, letters, and shapes early on. Most of these signs are always either of the three. Arts and crafts are a great way to do this. Buy some felt, cut it up, and let them decorate their wall or bookshelf.

Resources

Hodgson, Amber, M.A. CCC-SLP. Super Duper Handy Handouts © 2011: Signs, Symbols, and Safety in the Community

Sound-Object Associations: The Foundation For Language Perception and Fluency

What are Sound-Object Associations?

We make all sorts of associations in our head. They're the building blocks of memory. Our strongest sense of memory associates with our sense of smell. Like Mom's perfume that one year, until she found a new one. You went on family vacation with her at Jersey Shore, and she used half the bottle for every dinner gathering. Ten years later, if she puts on that perfume, you can't help but feel a strong sense of nostalgia for that vacation; it's so vivid it's as if it were yesterday. Tiny associations create memory. Speech and language development requires a strong memory. Sound-object associations are associations we make with sound. They're quite simple: we hear the noise an object makes more than once and this association becomes engrained in us, like animal sounds.

Children begin learning sound-object associations very young. And as they grow older and experience more of the world, they continue to create these. One of their first associations is the sound of their caregiver's voice (Kjesbo 1).

So Why Are Sound-Object Associations So Important

Sound-Object Associations Help a child learn the environment around him. They make sense of the world every day with them. "The ability to hear, recognize and attach meaning to environmental sounds is a first step toward phonological awareness (the ability to indentify, mix together, break apart, and change around the sounds in words) and literacy" (Kjebo 1). It also aids children in developing both their vocabulary skills and overall comprehension of language. 

As well, different types of sound-object associations help children in increasing their perceptual skills. In other words, the way they perceive the world around them. It can keep them safe, and we can impress these on them. For example, a child hear's a dog growl and is automatically careful around it. Hopefully he didn't find out the hard way, and his parents told him "be careful when a dog growls like that." They associate the sound of a dog growling with the behavior of carefulness. Perceptually-speaking, if they hear a dog on the TV growling, they know they're safe, and won't elicit this behavior. This is why sound-object associations are so important. They are the building blocks of language and properly perceiving the world around one's self. 

Resources

Kjesbo, Rynette R., M.S., CCC-SLP. Super Duper Handy Handouts © 2011: Sound-Object Associations - Knowing What We Hear!

Recess: The Reasoning, Psychologically Speaking

Recess, oh recess. I remember you fondly. 

There's more than meets the eye when it comes to recess. Recess can be a truly valuable part to a child's day, providing them with the energy release they need to keep attentive during class thereafter. 

For some, it's the only time during the day when they get physical activity in. This reduces the risk of obesity, diabetes and other chronic diseases, assists in improved academic performance, improves self-esteem, and reduces risk of depression and effects of stress. 

Recess is also an opportunity for children to be introduced a myriad of other skills that will help them out later in life. It improves both emotional and social skills. When free play is involved, children learn to put themselves in others' shoes, introducing them to empathy. Recess can teach children: cooperation, helping and sharing skills; respect for rules; conflict resolution skills, language skills for communicating with peers; turn taking skills; and problem-solving skills.

Finally, many children who attend recess tend to be less fidgety in class, more behaved and attentive. This is because sitting down most of the day isn't releasing a physical energy the children have, and the release of this physical energy is healthy. Recess is healthy! Reeses, unfortunately, are not.

Some children find it difficult to engage themselves during recess. They've spent most of the day learning, absorbing knowledge, and they just don't know how begin physically moving about. That's why it's important for faculty to have objects they'll have fun with, like frisbees and those harmless footballs. It gives children something to do, and it gives them something to revolve themselves around, together, in free play. 

Resources

Hodgson, Amber M.A. CCC-SLP, Super Duper Handy Handouts © 2011: Benefits of Recess

Promoting Alertness and Productivity by Packing the Right Lunch

What’s your child eating for lunch? If you pack nutritional lunches, you’re doing your child two great services at once. It’s important to monitor what your child eats for lunch. Lunch is what provides your child energy for the rest of the day. Without lunchtime, hunger sets in, and information tends to slip through one ear out the other. I remember this one specific year in high school; I had 8^th period lunch (out of 9 periods). It was already 1:45pm by the time I got to eat. From 4^th period on until lunchtime, I couldn’t focus.

Lunchtime at school is both nutritional refueling and a social event. Children sometimes get caught up in conversations, or eat too fast so they can have more time in recess. So, before your child reaches high school and they shaft them with 8^th period lunch (which should be outlawed!), take these tips to providing your child with enjoyable and convenient food to eat that toggles that toggles the fence of “cool” and truly nutritional. Help create within your child an unconscious habit of healthy eating with these suggestions.

Packing a Healthy, Fun Lunch That Will be Eaten!

·      Let your child be involved in choosing and preparing the foods they take for lunch. When I say be involved, I don’t mean let them pack 4 Fruit by the Foots and call it a meal. Give them a slew of healthy foods, perhaps roast beef or turkey for a sandwich, mustard or mayo as a condiment, carrots or grapes as a side…you get me. They are more likely to eat the lunch if they’re the ones who choose it.

·      Sit down with your child before you shop and plan out his or her lunches for the week. Impress why it’s important for them to stick to this routine as well, as it is dipping into your wallet and the food cannot go to waste.

·      Know what your child likes. Know their tastes and distastes. If they’ll eat anything, give them a variety of healthy foods to create crafty, nutritional lunches. If your child is a picky eater, just make sure their meals are nutritional.

·      Use fewer prepackaged foods that are higher in fat, salt, and sugar content. Those “lunch in a box” brands are action-packed with preservatives and ingredients that don’t help refuel your child a fraction as much as meals you package yourself, with fresh veggies and fruits and low-fat dips. Put the crunch in lunch with other items instead of chips, like nuts, trail mix, or sweet and salty popcorn. If chips are a favorite, get the baked kind.

·      Be creative with your packaging. Use colorful, themed napkins, stickers to seal up sandwiches. Be fun with your lunch packing, and your child could be more than happy to open up lunch. Reflect your child’s likes. If he likes Cars (the movie), try and find some napkins and even lunch bags that are Cars themed. You can find these at Dollar Tree, or other dollar stores. Bring your child with you when you purchase his or her lunch bag/box. Occasionally put a riddle or a coded message in their lunch box to promote lunch-table conversation.

·      Make sure each day you clean and dry with a towel (completely, so no water marks show) your child’s lunch box. Keep it nice and clean and your child will keep it sacred, not letting a crumb go to waste. At least, I know I would.

My Child Buys Lunch at School

A lot of schools today are preparing menus as far as a month in advance for students to take home to parents. This is great and helpful in deciding which days you want to pack lunch for your child and which days you’ll let them get on that long, obnoxious, unfair, unorganized lunch lines (I really did not like buying lunch).

·      If you’re school doesn’t do this, and you’re unsure about your child’s cafeteria selections, ask your child. I’m sure they’ll open up…over lunch.

·      Many schools differ in their preparation of their meals. Some schools use privately owned enterprises or other institutional kitchens. All schools must use a Nutrient Standard or Food Group system to document the value of their meals for federal guidelines. I’m not so sure what these guidelines have turned into lately, but I vaguely remember there being a huge change in New York schools and their lunch menu selections.

·      Many cafeterias have vending machines for students packed each day with unhealthy side snacks like Doritos and sometimes ice cream. I used to have a Toasted Almond for dessert every day in 11^th grade. It was $1.50 a day for about 10 pounds every 4 months. Discuss with your child why these vending machines should only be visited on occasion; that unhealthy choices for lunch will weigh them down, both cognitively and physically. The less they eat those unhealthy snacks the worst they’ll feel when they do. I know this sounds horrible, but it’s a good way to instill healthy eating habits. I haven’t had fast food in over 2 years now. I used to eat it every few days without an issue. Now, if I eat it, I’m sick for a whole day.

·      Make food another educational pursuit. If your child is buying lunch, teach them why it’s important to pick food wisely, how to eat in terms of that pyramid thingamabob. Monitor their choices: have them jot down what they eat every day for lunch right near their homework, and review with them what’s healthy about it and what’s not.

Whether your child prefers packed lunch or buying lunch at school (from my understanding, most students now think it’s “cooler” to buy lunch), the goal is still the same—to create a healthy eating habit filled with nutritional foods that will keep your child’s energy level going throughout the school day. It may be too late for your or I, tapping our feet in front of the Keurig, but it’s not for them. Food is the natural form of fuel. We as humans are meant to spend energy to get energy. If you like exercising, you catch my drift. The rush of energy, of happiness and concentration we get after a nice run. This is how we’re supposed to be, this is what’s considered healthy. The best way to instill this in your offspring is to do it early, and making lunchtime fun and healthy is a great tip I hope you all give a try.

Resources

Spivey, Becky L. M.Ed. Super Duper® Handy Handouts (2006): Healthy Lunches Promote Alertness and Productivity: What’s YourChild Eating for Lunch? 

How To Defeat Procrastination Today, Not Tomorrow...Maybe Tonight

We’re all guilty. In fact, you’re probably guilty right now. But there comes a time in one’s life when procrastination just isn’t half as big a deal as it used to be. One, because you still manage to get things done, you’ve learned how to successfully procrastinate at this point, or two, it’s just how you roll. But at one point during your life, procrastination only made things worst, and your reasoning for it just would not do. You were a student, constantly assigned papers and homework and exams to study for, and your procrastination led to a slip-up (I’d assume). If it never led to failure, then bravo; you’re just like me J.

Well, now you have a child, and he/she procrastinates, either from time to time or all the time. There are many reasons that children may procrastinate. They may feel the work is too hard for them, and they fear the failure. They may not know what steps to take to complete given assignment, or to organize them correctly (“I don’t know where to start”). They also simply might not know when their assignment is due, and so they think they’ll have more than enough time to complete it. And finally, the student may have no interest in the subject and would just rather be doing something else. No matter what the reason, there are ways that may effectively decrease the amount of procrastination a child is displaying. Here they are:

• Turn work into games for a more relaxed approach to complete schoolwork. Got siblings? Good, then this one will be easy for you. Whoever gets the most homework done within the hour gets more for dessert. Or, you can be much more creative than that. Read out the questions to them, and if you know t the answer, make it a trivia. Guide them, just don’t do it for them
• Create a timeline for completing the project or assignment. Use this only as a guide (as all children an all projects are different, requiring various sets of effort and time).
• Set rules at home for work and play. This is one to be tough on, but they’ll thank you when they get the hang of it. Give them a break after school though, to veg, to relax and absorb the day. But cut it short with some homework before they pass out!
• Talk about a project or assignment and the steps needed to get it down. Help your child prioritize them by asking them why they need to do A before B.
•  Write down goals for each night, on a big chalkboard preferably, so they can draw a wonderful check mark next to it when they’re finished.
• Turn off all electronics (except calculators, or others they may need for the assignment). Electronics can distract, especially if a child is planning to watch TV after their homework is finished. If you see electronics cause procrastination, this is a rule to stick by.  
•  Reward your child for finishing goals. Whether it’s a simple “great job Johnny, I’m so proud of you,” or a Twizzler, reward them for goodness sakes. Young ones need to conceptualize reward in their little worlds before they grow up and are expected to complete assignments without instant gratification.

Keep in mind all students are different and will respond to methods of instruction and motivation in different ways. But by paying attention to your child’s process, what distracts them and what motivates them, you may be able to diminish interferences and maximize work ethic. You may see these skills transfer on later in life to other areas aside from homework. Teaching students effective strategies for task completion and time management is crucial early on and can also provide a sense of increased self-confidence as they learn to get things done.

Resources

Stuckey, Kevin. M.Ed. CCC-SLP. Super Duper® Publications Handy Handouts (2010):  Procrastination - We'll Talk About That Later

State Standards: Specific Guidelines for Each Grade and District

What Are State Standards

State standards are guidelines, set specifically for each grade, for the knowledge and skills students are expected to obtain. Each state sets its own benchmark for core curriculum areas like language arts, math, physical education, science, social studies, and technology. Every state hands their school districts specifics for what teachers should be teaching to each grade level, but these standards do not give specifics on how they are to meet the objectives of the learning standards of their students (Kjesbo, 1).

What do you think about this? In a previous blog, I had stated that these state standards are set forth initially by corporations, entities that are seemingly irrelevant in the mass education of our children. Why is this? Perhaps these corporations, with firm grips on the economic future, would prefer our young students be prepared for the advancing corporate future. On a cynical note, some corporations capitalize on the ignorance of the people: commodity businesses that rely on materialistic personalities to thrive, fast food companies that rely on the nutrition-oblivious, and the television set, which, if you haven’t noticed, has been creating sillier and sillier children shows than ever (Sesame Street was so informative!). Perhaps they’re preparing the wealthy to work and the poverty stricken to follow. There are portions of this country, generally wealthy spots, I must note, that are known for their vigorous educational standards. These same districts are well regarded for fostering successful students that are prepared for the career paths ahead of them. Then, there are school districts known for their poor standards, as well as their poor educational success rates.

Many debate about who’s to blame for this social stratification of America. Is it the school systems? Could this large gap between the rich and the poor root its perpetuation, or initiation, in grade school? It’s very possible. I believe, and in this moment I speak not for the Suffolk Speech establishment (although I feel they would agree), that we as a country should at least try to bridge the gap between social classes by drilling down on the equilibrium of state standards across the country. It’s a difficult debate, though, as these more poverty stricken areas don’t possess the capital for a fair game. Rather, if they are to match standards, they must match resources (quality teachers, quality schools, up-to-date libraries, etc.).

What About the Common Core State Standards Initiative

Right now, every state maintains its own set of academic standards, with no continuity in between them. However, there is talk about setting a national standard: expecting all states to have the same academic goals for students’ learning. The most well known of these initiatives is the Common Core State Standards Initiative which “is a state-effort to establish a shared set of clear educational standards for English language arts and mathematics that states can voluntarily adopt” (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2010). Involved in the effort for implementing national standards are experts, teachers, school administrators, and parents across the country (Kjesbo, 1.)

How Can You Find Out More?

Ask your local school for information regarding grade level expectations for your children. If the answer does not suffice, take a look at the Department of Education Web site in your state in order to find out what the academic standards are in your state. http://www.educationworld.com/standards/states or http://www.academicbenchmarks.org/ will have information as well. For information on Common Core Standards, go to http://www.corestandards.org/. I implore you to take a look. It’s a very interesting read. This is your child’s future at steak. These organizations literally mold students’ young minds. We should have a say. What would you prefer? Is there a way to mix the best of both? Could “Common Core” work?

Resources

Common Core State Standards Initiative. (2010). Frequently asked questions. http://www.corestandards.org/frequently-asked-questions

Kjesbo, Rynette R., M.S., CCC-SLP. Super Duper® Publications Handy Handouts (2010): State Standards-Specific Learning Guides for Each Grade

Test Taking Skills - Learn the Best Right Here, and Pass It Along

Test-taking skills…why isn’t there a class solely devoted to this? In my opinion, there should be. These standardized tests being handed out, even for children in middle school, are much more difficult than you would think. Now I’m not sure if teachers still follow this protocol (it’s been 9 years since middle school for me), but next time your child comes home with a test for you to sign, try taking it. They aren’t as simple as we’d like to think, and even for children who study for days before a big test, a lack of test taking skills could land them a below average grade. Test-taking skills are especially helpful for students with disabilities and reading difficulties. But trust me when I say that the tips I’m about to review will be helpful for any student, even up into their college years.

There have been times in my life where I was a great test taker. Other times, when anxiety hit, I’d make foolish moves on tests (like not reading directions carefully enough) that I wish I could take back. As an English student in college, I recall a drastic improvement in my test taking abilities. I’d would read a question, and keywords would immediately pop out at me; key words that triggered memory recall from my studies. And the answer would become immediately apparent. I remember I took an introductory class for poetry, a class in which we read over 200 poems by over 30 different posthumous poets. For our final, we had roughly 50 different one-liners given to us, and we were expected to know the name of each poem these lines were excerpted from, the poet who wrote them, and the year they were written. The class and especially the midterm were difficult, and so our professor promised all students an A for the entire semester given we scored a perfect grade (seemingly impossible) on this last test. I had a friend named Grace in that class, who sat right next to me during the test. The directions were simple, but the poems we read (and we were made to study ALL 200) were sometimes 50 lines long, and we were expected to recall just 1 line from each. As I read each “question”, each choppy line of poetry, keywords immediately popped out at me and I breezed through this exam within 20 minutes (out of the given 2 hours). I handed my professor my exam, who looked at me with this “you give up?” expression, and I walked out at least an hour before the next student finished up. Grace told me he immediately graded my paper and proclaimed, in front of the whole class as they banged their heads on their desks, “Tim is the first to ever ace this exam—in 20 minutes no less—and will be given an A for the entire semester." I’d have landed a B- were it not for this test (his midterm was a killer).

I digress. Your child has these capabilities just waiting to be mastered. Test taking these days is much more about memory recall than it is conceptualization, especially in middle school and high school. Don’t get me wrong, if you can help your child conceptualize their school work, it may be his/her best bet to acing their exams. But memory and word recall is also so crucial. Aside from language skills being paramount in developing strong test taking skills, there are many other ways to help your student out. Teach them to utilize these tips and they're sure to improve (unless they're already straight-A students).

Review the entire test before beginning. Skim it, at the very least. Make sure you understand what is expected from each section. Know the time allotted for the test. After reviewing each section, estimating how long each will take. Tackle the sections you know you’ll do best in first; leave the more challenging ones for last. Don’t be surprised if the sections you firstly tackle clue you in on other answers. Know the point value of each question. That is, if they are given, at least. This helps you prioritize the time you spend on each question. Follow directions to the T. This is self-spoken, but often not recognized as extremely important. Notice key words in instructions, questions, and answers. It’s also a good idea to associate key words in your studies. This might be hard to explain, but it’s simpler than you think. I’ll make an example: e=mc².  E=energy, M=mass, and C=the speed of light. Let’s say your physics teacher takes this equation, and puts it in words (most likely won’t happen), asking you what energy multiplied by mass equals. Well, it equals the speed of light times the speed of light, of course. Reread directions and questions for clarity. If you don’t understand it, reread it. And if rereading it doesn't clarify it, call your teacher for a rephrase. My Earth Science teacher liked me so much, she would point to the answer for me (shhh, I would have failed and she thought me too hilarious to flunk). Check off questions you don’t know and return to them later. Who knows, another question might clue you in on the answers to the questions left behind. Give it a chance. And finally, review the test before you hand it in! Big tests can give students high anxiety, and so when they finish, they just want out. Impress on your child how important it is to review before handing in. They may find a mistake or two, or they may stumble upon a question they initially made their best guess on only to realize (after answering a similar question later on) that it’s not the best answer.

And there you have it: 8 great tips for developing strong test taking skills. Teach these to your children or students, and even if you don’t see improvement right away, it will help them out big time, even during college. As I finish up this blog, I find myself wishing I could go back four years and retake every test. These tips would have surely helped out my GPA.

Resources

Prince, Audrey W., CCC-SLP. Super Duper® Publications (2008) Handy Handouts: Activities for Developing Test Taking Skills

Pretend Play and its Real Benefits

You see it all the time. It makes you truly wonder; it also makes you remember. You can’t stop it, even when supper is ready. It wants your child. Playtime: it just seems so unproductive. Your kid wants to be out there engaging in “pretend play,” and although you’d rather have them preparing and focusing all their strength on school (this sounds like a ticket straight to college), pretend play has some pretty great benefits for achieving healthy development. Now, I know this might sound crazy when you’re watching your little guy run around with his equally imaginative friends exploding aliens with invisible grenades, but bare with me.

Pretend play is an important part of childhood. You may see it begin around the toddler stage. Children learn about their friends, their family, and the world around them when they pretend play. When their imaginations take over, they’re learning social skills, vocabulary skills, problem solving skills, and even disciplinary skills, all timed perfectly in their early development (Hodgson 1).

When children are playing together, they practice sharing, turn-taking, and negotiating. They’re building a foundation for social-emotional skills. They’re acting out certain experiences, pretending to endure them, and this can guide them in control of authentic emotion. And as they play around with consideration of how their peers act, think and feel, they’re scooping a place in their heart for empathy.

Children have a myriad of experiences to share with each other, all new and exciting. When they engage with each other, they’re learning language and vocabulary skills. When they communicate with each other, especially when they tell each other stories, they must develop a logical plot with a sequence of events. Fact is, they’re learning.

During pretend play, children often come up with their own problems to solve. It’s like their miniature model of the world. If a problem arises (or is created) during their journey, they must think as a team of ways to overcome said problem to successfully reach their final goal. It engages their imagination, and gives them a smaller feel for problem-solving skills. Early introduction to problem-solving skills, as you might easily believe, is crucial in its stronger development later on in life.

Children will often practice with rules when they play. And when someone breaks a rule, another is bound to put his/her foot down. This is discipline in their small, imaginative world, and it can prepare them to understand and learn from discipline later on in life.

So how can you encourage pretend play if your child isn’t displaying it? Well, for starters, make time for it. Try not to overload your child’s plate with extra-curricular activity; leave them time for unstructured play. Creativity takes time to develop, and children can have difficulty entertaining themselves if they aren’t given enough free time to use these imaginations (Hodgson 1).

• Show them that play is valuable by playing with them. They’ll realize it’s important if they see their parent or caregiver paying attention to them while they’re playing. I mean why not, I’m giving you an excuse to be a kid again. Take it! It’s one of the best parts of having kids. Don’t miss out on it.
• Appreciate the skills, no matter how minuscule, that they display during pretend play. If you see them solve a problem in some crafty, totally unrealistic way, praise them for it. This can really up your child’s interest in pretend play.
•  Give your child a place to play. Fill it with props, things to explore and play with.
• You should monitor your child’s playtime. Not only to keep them safe, but to offer them ideas when they seem stuck. If they’re getting bored, be their muse. Offer new props, new character roles, or new places to “explore”.
• Children get their ideas for pretend play from life itself. Usually, what interests them the most finds its way to the plot in your child’s epic unwritten novel. Find out what they’re interest is and go with it. Read them books on it. This will give them plenty of ideas for pretend play!

P.R.O.M.P.T. Therapy: Who, What, & Why?

PROMPT stands for Prompts for Restructuring Oral-Muscular Phonetic Targets. The technique utilizes tactile-kinesthetic (a fancy word for "learning through doing") articulatory cues on one's jaw, face, and under the chin to develop OR restructure speech production.
Many therapists at Suffolk Center for Speech are trained in PROMPT therapy, versed in manually guiding children in articulating specific sounds or words. PROMPT, for many children, can be boring and unengaging. But we know how to make it fun. Our therapeutic platform for children is heavily focused on motivating and rewarding. Many parents of patients tell us their children "can't wait for speech."

During PROMPT, a clinician will use their hands to cue and stimulate articulatory movement in the patient's mouth area, and simultaneously, discourage unnecassary movements to eliminate them. This type of therapy addresses cognitive, social, pragmatic, behavioral, sensory motor and physical domains. Each individual is evaluated for his/her strengths and weaknesses. Strengths are utilized to improve the clients communication skills with a focus on dimishing weaknesses. PROMPT therapy may be different for individual patients in terms of how a clinican helps the patient improve motor control, cognitive skills, and social interactions. At Suffolk Center for Speech, our main objective in PROMPT therapy is to improve functional, interactive, and verbal communication of young ones. PROMPT therapy is not for everybody.

Who Can Benefit?

Children and adults who suffer from Apraxia of Speech, Developmental Delays, Dysarthria, Phonological Disorders, Autism Spectrum Disorders, and Hearing Impairments can all benefit from PROMPT therapy.



What Does A PROMPT Session With A Child Involve?

A therapist will initially evaluate a child's degree of focus during the communication process. If a child is having difficulty paying attention to the therapist, maintaining eye contact, and/or generally focusing, a therapist will implement strategies to help the child "be present". The therapist may attempt to slow down the child's rate of speech, and prompt the child to use vowel sounds. Once the child begins to imitate or initiate vowel sounds for the purpose of communication, Parameter PROMPTS (processes that facilitate jaw/facial control and a degree of articulatory movements) are provided. These will shape speech production for a child in need. It won't happen overnight, but PROMPT is an extremely effective approach to teaching a child to proper communication skills(physically and verbally). Therapy structure will shift from focus and attention to functional speech exercises.
 

Can Parents Carryover PROMPT Therapy Goals At Home? 

They sure can. In fact, parental involvement is critical to the success of PROMPT therapy. Parents are NOT encouraged to attempt to imitate PROMPT training. PROMPT therapy is a specialty that requires in-depth training, and incorrect emulation can interfere with PROMPT therapy goals. Parents are encouraged to talk with their children about what he/she did during therapy: to ask them questions about it. This will help the child remember what he/she has learned during therapy (how to articulate certain sounds or vowels, or how not to). Parents are also encouraged to read stories that contains words that force out the articulators the child is finding difficulty with in a fun and engaging environment (particular to the child). If the child is still pronouncing sounds wrongly, inform them subtly. Make it fun for the child to learn correct pronunciations by playing games that include well rehearsed words or phrases. A fun and natural environment is important for the child to rehearse pronunciation; otherwise, they may not bring what they've learned at Speech Therapy home or to school. It's extremely important that parents acquire a solid rapport with their child's speech-language pathologist, so that strengths and weaknesses can be discussed as well as ways to foster successful therapy (homework, if you will). A skilled therapist will give ideas to a parent regarding situations and scenarios where a child may experience most effective practice.
 

PROMPT Trained and PROMPT Certified:
What's the Difference? 

A PROMPT-trained therapist is allowed to practice PROMPT therapy on patients in need, and are completely qualified as well. The only difference between a PROMPT-trained therapist and a PROMPT-certified therapist is a video project, which is extremely costly to the therapist. Other than that, there is no difference.

Is Your Child Right-Brained or Left-Brained?

Everyone has a dominant side of the brain, and it's possible to tell if your child is right-brained or left-brained. Sure, it's easier to tell if they're right-handed or left-handed. But there's a secret to knowing which side of the brain your child utilizes most, and it's pretty interesting. A right-brained child might grow up like me: writing blogs and updating statuses to make parents giggle on a Speech Pathologist office's Facebook. A left-brained child might grow up like one of our therapists. The science behind this isn't sure-fire, but it's intriguing nonetheless. Odd fact about the brains motor function: the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body while the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body. We're so backwards! Ever compare your reflection in the mirror to a photo taken of you? It can be pretty bizarre. That is, unless you're face is completely symmetrical, like Rowan Atkinson's.

At any rate, knowing your child's brain dominance can help you in guiding them academically. It can give you insight into their way of thinking. Right-brained individuals are often intuitive and/or spontaneous, while left-brained individuals are known for the weight they place on logic and reasoning. So...

How Do You Know if Your Child is "Right-Brained"

Prominent characteristics of right-brain dominance include creativity, spatial awareness, and a more profound understanding and grasp on associations. You might find that right-brained individuals can easily recognize faces, places, objects and names, and associate these different properties together (at least, with more ease than left-brainers) (Sousa, 1995, p.88). Right-brained individuals are known for their "out-of-the-box" thinking, creativity with the arts, imaginative thinking, and strong inclination to enjoy and revel in music. A right-brained child or individual may display all of these characteristics or just some. It very much depends, and is not a "sure-fire" science. There's so much about the brain we've yet to discover. 



How Do You Know if Your Child is "Left-Brained"

The characteristics of an individual with dominance in the left side of their brain aren't drastically different, but distinct enough for a Mother or Father to recognize. Left-brained individuals are known to be well-spoken, have analytical skills, easily understand mathematical concepts such as time and sequence. They may be good with numbers, letters, and words. Left-brained individuals seem to have a knack for language skills, including reading, writing and speaking, math, logic and reasoning, and science. Much like right-brainers, left-brainers may only display a few of these characteristics...or ALL. It all depends. The human brain is so very complex and Psychology is ever-growing.

How To Foster Accordingly

So, you can see that there is definitely a difference in the "ways of thinking" between left-brainers and right-brainers. As you could imagine, the two have distinct "ways of learning" as well. Right-brainers, for example, have a higher learning curve when you throw creativity into the mix. Turn a lesson plan into a song and see how much easier it is for your right-brainer to retain information. Right-brainers are also social beings. They tend to learn better in groups, where shared learning is the primary objective. Group discussions can do wonders for a right-brainer.

On the other side, a left-brainer holds tight to logic and reasoning. An organized lesson plan will help them learn much more than a sporadic, creative lesson plan. Left-brainers should do their homework step-by-step and learn their lessons one-by-one. They need plans to follow. Left-brainers thrive in structured activities such as analysis, research, realistic projects, and worksheets.

So, is your child a left-brainer, or a right-brainer? They may be too young to tell, or even too impressed upon by peers in school for you to distinguish. Nevertheless, now you know.

Resources

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (2007). Brain basics: Know your brain.

Quantum Learning (1999). Orchestrating student success. Oceanside, CA: Quantum Learning Network.

Sousa, D. R. (1995). How the brain learns. Reston, VA: NASSP.