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- What can we do at home to reinforce what my child is learning in speech class?
- My child enjoys the computer, is there anything available for speech practice?
- Although I'd like to help at home, I feel like there is never enough time...
- What can we practice over the long holiday vacation?
- Any tips to help encourage responsibility for hearing aids?
- How can I help my child explain him/herself better?
- What can I do to increase my child's vocabulary?
- Any fun activities to improve vocabulary?
- Why are the batteries rusting in my child's hearing aid?
What can we do at home to reinforce what my child is learning in speech class?
I will periodically update this answer and provide you with a few fun
suggestions/games/ideas to support what we are doing in school.
-We are working hard in speech trying to improve our written language
skills. The kids have been "correcting" my sentences and writing their
own, practicing correct grammar use. To support this skill at home,
encourage your child to write a letter to someone special to them.
Writing is much more rewarding when it has a purpose. Suggest that
they write to a friend they have not seen in a while, a grandparent that
would love to hear from them, or even someone famous they admire.
-To support phonological awareness skills play a fun family game. A
few familiar games that are enjoyable while also being educational are:
-Boggle: In this game each player must find words in letter cubes.
To find a word, your child must sound out letter combinations.
-"I went to the supermarket/beach/etc. and I took...": In this game your
child must think of an item that they would bring (appropriate or
silly) to the location you have named. The first person that goes
thinks of an item that begins with the letter "A". The second person
must remember what the first person is bringing and name an item
that begins with the letter "B". The game continues through the
alphabet.
-Rhyming games help the kids become aware of the flexibility we
have with words, and the way we can change the word by changing
one sound.
-With Halloween approaching soon, why not tell some fun ghost stories.
Encourage your child to be as descriptive as possible. Give them an
example with vivid details demonstrating how much scarier and real a
story can be when descriptive words are used. This will support and
enhance their creative writing ability and expressive language.
My child enjoys the computer, is there anything available for speech practice?
As you know, the internet is full of a vast array of resources. In fact it is
often one of the first places I look for new ideas concerning worksheets
and activities. I have stumbled upon a few sites that are very thorough
and educational.
-The first site works on -ed endings. This site is not for everyone. Some
of the kids with residual hearing may benefit from this website. I have
noticed that -ed endings are difficult for many of the children here. This
site provides practice for the correct production of this ending in a variety
of circumstances.
http://www.mines.edu/Outreach/interlink/LESSONS/EDENDING/ED.HTM
-The next site I found is extremely comprehensive. It provides
definitions, examples, and practice for all of the parts of speech.
http://ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/index2.htm
-There is a wonderful computer program that works on phonological
awareness, auditory processing, and phonics training. It is called
EAROBICS and available for use for $60. If you are interested in this
program I can help to get you more information.
Although I'd like to help at home, I feel like there is never enough time...
Time is so precious. Often by the time your children come home and
finish their homework the last thing they want to do is more practice with
mom/dad/grandma/grandpa. I'm sure you feel the same way, and that
you would rather be spending quality time together then quizzing your
child. Speech and language does not have to practiced in a formal
structured lesson. You are helping your child just by interacting with
them. A simple conversation can work on grammar, speech production,
speechreading, and vocabulary development. Although you do not want
to constantly correct your child's signing or speech, you can mirror what
they say. This provides validation that you were listening and
understand. At the same time you can state what they said correctly and
expand on it with different vocabulary and a new way to say it.
Conversation with your child is not only valuable to the speech/language
development, it is also valuable to your relationship.
What can we practice over the long holiday vacation?
Christmas is a wonderful time of year when children can work on their
language skills in enjoyable ways. It can be as simple as writing a letter
to Santa, having a discussion with Grandma and Grandpa about holiday
traditions, or creating their own holiday stories (complete with pictures!)
It is also a busy time of year and it is nice whenever the kids can feel
included in all of the holiday preparations. Depending on your child's
hearing and speechreading abilities you can present them (through
signing, verbally, or verbally with no visual cues) with a small set of
instructions to follow. Your child can work on
auditory/speechreading/auditory memory while following directions, it
also makes them feel important to be involved in a special activity!
Any tips to help encourage responsibility for hearing aids?
In speech we spend a lot of time discussing the importance of being
responsible for hearing aids. You would laugh if you heard how many
times I would question where a hearing aid is or why it was so dirty and
hear "Mom didn't...." Poor mom is always getting blamed! I feel that the
best way for a child to be responsible is give him/her the responsibility.
Many of the kids just assume that you are there to remind them to wear
it, check their batteries, and make sure it is clean. At the very least , it is
important that they are able to inform us when they need a battery or if
they think it needs cleaned. I found a good web site that explains proper
care in a clear lanugage. Take a moment and sit down with your child
and explain to them how they can take more responsibilty for their
hearing aids. http://www.audiologyawareness.com/hhelp/hacare.htm
How can I help my child explain him/herself better?
One of the first activities I worked on with some of the kids centered
around using your 5 senses to describe and explain. They were asked
to close their eyes but guess what it was that I was presenting them
with. They tasted cheeseballs, smelled a fruit spray, felt a prickly cactus,
and heard a loud drum. What I really wanted them to see was that we
don't just describe objects based upon how they look, we also you our
senses. For sounds we often had to do some brainstorming, and I was
impressed with their understanding of sounds that they had never
encountered. We also talked about defining by thinking about their job,
category, and make up. Well, I have reintroduced a lot of that lesson 6
months later because I feel it is an important one. Too often I hear " You
know, you know" when I really DON'T know. At times I think that they are
unaware how little information they are providing us with. At home
reinforcing these skills might be as simple as guessing games. At
school I sometimes draw exactly what they are describing to show what
information they are lacking. See how well they do and the flip it to them
and have them guess something you are thinking of. Leave out key
pieces of information at first to demonstrate how difficult it can be when
you are not getting all of the details.
What can I do to increase my child's vocabulary?
Throughout the school year we have focused on vocabulary growth.
Vocabulary has a strong influence on their understanding of subject
matter in science, social studies, English, math, computer, current
events, and daily interactions. Improving vocabulary can be as simple
as confrontation naming, where you ask your child the name of objects
that they come in contact with. You can also try teaching your child 1
new word a day. There are several calendars, etc out there that
introduce a new word. Reading together is also a wonderful way to
improve vocabulary. By sitting with your child while they read, you give
them an opportunity to ask about unfamiliar words that they may have
otherwise skipped over. It is also important for them to not only know
the sign for the word, but also the spelling. If they are unable to spell the
word, chances are that they will not use the word in their writing.
Exposure and repetition are key to vocabulary development, so ensure
that you are using these words again and again in several different
contexts.
Any fun activities to improve vocabulary?
Vocabulary, as I stated before, really is so important and relevant to their
academic successfulness. A wonderfully fun family game
"Scattegories" really can be a great tool to develop vocabulary skills
through categorization. It is also fun for nearly all ages!
Why are the batteries rusting in my child's hearing aid?
Tis the season for sunshine, outdoor activities, rambunctious children,
and SWEAT! I have noticed an epidemic occuring across the school. I
have had more and more kids coming to see me with hearing aids that
are going in and out and rusty batteries. The culprit is sweat! The
solution is a DRY AID. Have your child put their hearing aid into the dry
aid when they take it off at the end of the day. The next morning the
hearing aid will be moisture free and ready to endure another day of
heat and humidity. It is a good habit to get into doing everynight!!!
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