Is Therapy on Hold?

Will children who are three years old on December 31st enter pre-kindergarten programs?

The rule in Early Intervention is that children are about to age out. Given that COVID19 is here and that the “aged-out” age group of toddlers have no current vaccine of which to take advantage at the writing of this blog post, there are some parents who will be opting to keep them home. They will not have their children in school and remote treatment options may not be available. If you are a parent of a disabled child who may be in this position there is something that you can and should be doing, Research shows that 90% of the brain develops in the first five years of life.

What Can Be Done????

The whole basis of the early intervention, no matter where you are located is that activities can be embedded into daily routines. Hopefully, if your child was enrolled in the program you came to understand that you as an adult are your child’s first teacher. You have learned the “tools” for how to teach language within the context of daily routines.

Toys! These are the tools for children to learn from so if you have blocks, balls, boxes, unisex doll houses, mini brooms and dusters, babies or action figures, teach your children how to use them in imaginative ways.

Target - Melissa & Doug Let's Play House! Dust, Sweep & Mop 6pc Set
Target - Tinkertoys Classic Retro Building Set
Hey! Play! Dollhouse for Kids – Classic Pretend Play 2 Story Wood Playset with Furniture Accessories and Dolls for Toddler...

I personally loved blocks, as a child. You can learn so much from them (and don’t forget the wooden family figures too!!) Tinker Toys, Lincoln Logs and blocks teach children counting, balancing, colors, size concepts, prepositions so they know where things are in space

Board games can teach basic concepts

Guess Who teaches children to use descriptive terms and answer/ask questions. It facilitates problem solving and reasoning.

Guess Who?

Hi Ho Cheerio teaches preschoolers (three years and up) turn taking, counting, following directions.

HiHo! Cherry-O Game by Hasbro

Chutes and Ladders: When playing this game, your child is working on counting, prepositions, turn-taking, social skills, and following directions.

Reading Skills – preschool aged children learn phonics. Phonics is essential for children to become successful readers and spellers/writers in the early years of schooling and beyond. Introductions to phonics through engaging learning experiences can start from the ages of 3 and 4.

They can also look at magazines and should be exposed to “real” (non-electronic) books. Some resources, aside from the public library are Books Scholastic book Highlights Magazine

I hope that these suggestions are helpful. The situation we are faced with due to the pandemic is nobody’s fault; but it has its consequences. I hope that this blog will empower you and leave you with knowledge of some ideas for helping your child grow. If you have any questions or additional ideas that may be helpful to share, please leave them in the comments section below. Stay well!

Pandemic Halloween?

pumpkin halloween covid

The traditional trick or treating as we did growing up brings to mind the neighbor who gave out handfuls of peanuts and chocolates. As kids, my parents would search through the bags that my brothers and I brought home to make sure that what we had gathered was safe – unwrapped candy for example. I also recall carving out a pumpkin, drying out seeds and then roasting them. Cupcakes with icing was another thing that we enjoyed eating. As we got older and when I was raising a family there was the house next door that had a fabulous display and my son running out the doorway, coming back to the door saying that there were “customers mommy!!!”. This was in a suburban area of NY and now in an urban setting the “customers” are limited to buildings not so much those on the street OR those in schools who dress up and walk from class to class.

Those are fun memories, but this year things will look a lot different. Going trick or treating by yourself isn’t much fun. What will the memories be of this year’s generation of trick or treaters? Will there be any in an age of social distancing??? How can we be safe and how can it become a memorable one. All is not lost. Here are a few resources that I pulled together.

Halloween Guidance

picture_as_pdfDownload Guidance

En Español

COSTUMES

Masks are certainly in vogue… that will most likely remain in place for those non-sensory challenged people. Costumes and masks can perhaps be homemade.this year so that you don’t have to be shopping for them if you are or are not in a “hot spot”. see how these are. In searching for some ideas to share I came across CDC Guidelines that are for use at Halloween and also include those that will be applicable for the upcoming holiday season. Keep them nearby as you consider celebrations with family and friends.

GAMES

Games to be played?? Google online and you will find a number of them. For older kids or adults

School-aged kids https://redtri.com/halloween-activities-and-ideas-for-kids/slide/3 and https://kizi.com/games/halloween-bingo

Preschool through early elementary grades https://www.totschooling.net/2017/09/free-halloween-printables-for-kids.html?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=%F0%9F%91%BB%F0%9F%8E%83%F0%9F%95%B7%EF%B8%8F+Halloween+Theme+Learning+Printables&utm_campaign=Halloween+2020

Benefits of Clear Masks

Those with hearing challenges may need to be able to lip-read and for that reason, a different type of mask is available to them. It is called a mask with a “mouth expression shield”. As a speech-language pathologist, I see real benefits for the use of this mask when children are in school be they diagnosed with learning challenges, intellectual differences, with diagnoses as being on the autism spectrum or just neuro-typical. It’s also a wonderful tool in the age of COVID19 when you are an adult with communication challenges.

If your child is in school-a teacher would be more likely to interpret the reaction of a student to the information being presented and visa-versa

A parent may be able to bond more effectively with an infant and visa versa.

An adult with compromised communication function may be able to communicate more effectively with a significant another person, a caregiver, friend, or family member.

A person with cognitive deficits who may not be able to recognize others may be scared if they see a part of the face that is blocked; but unable to express this and become emotional – thinking they are alone. They may perseverate on a remark such as “where is…..?”

A newborn may more easilly bond with you if you are visible to them.

Image result for clear masks for adults
For Adults https://www.popsugar.com/smart-living/best-clear-face-masks-47602563

9 Reusable Clear Face Masks That’ll Let Everyone See Your Smile

  • Transparent Vinyl Protecting Mask. …
  • Anti-Fog Adults/Kids Clear Mask. …
  • Anti-Fog-Transparent Mask. …
  • Transparent Face Mask. …
  • Handmade Smile Lip Reading Communicator Mask. …
  • Adult Sized Non Woven Fabric Masks with Clear Viewing Window. …
  • Clear Vinyl Protected Mask.

More items…•Jul 8, 2020

For Kids: https://people.com/style/clear-face-masks/

Additional Reviews of Masks: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/reviewedcom/2020/07/22/benefits-clear-face-masks-and-where-buy-them/5489635002/

Are your kids scared of wearing masks??? Here are two links to books that may be helpful: https://www.bing.com/news/search?q=Sesame+Street+Masks+For+Coronavirus&qpvt=sesame+street+maskks+for+coronavirus&FORM=EWR

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sourcebooks-and-sesame-workshop-to-publish-heroes-wear-masks-to-support-families-through-back-to-school-season-301110110.html

Back to School?

What a challenging prospect in times of a pandemic.  It’s a tough decision in terms of how to educate your child whenever schools open up. Both kids and parents will have feelings. Nobody seems to be considering that, in my opinion.  There are novel CDC guidelines. In case you missed them, here is a link CDC Guidelines   Other thoughts are outlined by the  American Academy of Pediatrics. 

For starters:  How do you explain coronavirus?  In very simple terms

Your child is entitled to additional services in terms of having lost much therapy time if they have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP)? Check with the school special education supervisor and/or the principal.

and finally, how do you deal with the emotions that kids may experience when potentially planning for the first day back if that is your decision?  There are some ideas below:

Resources:

Know Your Rights for a Special Needs Child https://www.familyequality.org/2020/03/30/special-education-rights-during-covid-19-pandemic/

Dealing With Anxiety-Helping Kids Cope:

Give toddlers tools to ease anxieties and worries and feel better again. It’s normal for toddlers to worry and feel anxious—they have enough …
 
For older children
 
 

With a Feeling of Obligation to Provide Some Suggested Guidance Regarding the Use of Technology in a Responsible Way as the School Year Starts:

Leader Live — Happening now in the speech-language-hearing world

HomePrivate PracticeAudiology Advising Families on Screens: 7 Resolutions for the New School Year

Advising Families on Screens: 7 Resolutions for the New School Year

written by Jaumeiko Coleman August 12, 2019

Family eating a meal together.

It’s that time of year: back to school. Whether you are celebrating or mourning the end of summer, this time marks a fresh start for families. As parents consider how to best help their child achieve success this school year, audiologists and speech-language pathologists know how much tech use can affect a child’s school achievement. This makes it an ideal time to guide parents toward better balance after the all-too-common summer screen-time binge.

Editor’s note: As always, children who use low- and high-tech augmentative and alternative communication devices (AAC) should continue to use them at all times—and in an interactive way.

As with almost everything in child rearing, the rules are not necessarily one-size-fits all: what works for one child (or family) may not work for another. Finding the ideal balance can take trial and error. As parents continue to grapple with setting appropriate parameters for kids, it’s not necessarily as simple as “no more than 30 minutes a day.”

Try sharing these tech resolutions with families to help them find a screen time balance to the new school year:

  1. Make—and stick to—a plan. If you haven’t already developed a family technology plan, the start of school makes an excellent time to do so. Numerous trusted groups, including the American Academy of Pediatricsand Common Sense Media, offer templates to make this easy. Even if you already use a plan, find time to revisit it and consider—with your kids—whether the rules need to evolve. What is, and isn’t, working? Are kids old enough for additional/different privileges? Screen time plans need to change to stay effective.
  2. Focus on quality. While quantity—such as daily/weekly time limits—still work for many families, not all screen time is created equal. As most experts now stress, 30 minutes spent creating something—art, stories, programming—isn’t the same as 30 minutes passively viewing YouTube videos. Emphasize the former—and consider allowing more leeway if the time gets well spent.
  3. Make dinner time sacred. An oldie but goodie, dinner time should be offline time. Make conversation king at the table. In addition to building kids’ communication—speech, language, and social—skills and providing an unmatched, consistent opportunity for family bonding and connection, a host of other benefits are linked to regular family dinners. Technology is almost always a distraction—so no answering texts, emails, or Googleing. Everyone can hold off for those 30 minutes.
  4. Keep bedtime use off limits. Another classic, but oft-ignored recommendation. Recent research from Common Sense Media found 68% of teens—and 74% of parents—now take their mobile devices to bed with them. Not only can this detract from beneficial bedtime activities such as daily reading, but it can interfere with adequate sleep—which is necessary for physical and mental health, as well as academic success.
  5. Limit during homework time. This undoubtedly becomes more difficult as kids get older and assignments require online research. To that end, minimize technology as much as possible—and only to assist in homework. During homework time, discourage multi-tasking with social media or texting.
  6. Get involved. Make tech use a group activity. Watch your kids play Fortnite or view videos from their favorite YouTuber with them. Ask questions. Show—better yet, have—interest. This not only keeps the lines of communication open and provides a chance to talk/bond, but it can moderate parents’ concerns about their child’s online time—i.e., it may not be as bad as you think. Conversely, it can be an early indicator of problematic content.
  7. Elevate the conversation—Think beyond limits, rules, and restrictions. Again, these have their place, but encourage kids to think critically, for themselves, about how they use technology (risks/rewards) and help them appreciate and value offline time—both activities and relationships—prioritizing people over devices. Parents can’t monitor everything, especially as children get older. Talk about your expectations for being a good digital citizen and your family’s values, so they carry these along when they are at friends’ houses, on the school bus, and out in the world. Give them the tools to make good decisions.

For more information and tips, visit ASHA’s Healthy Communication & Popular Technology Initiative.

Jaumeiko Coleman, PhD, CCC-SLP, FNAP is ASHA’s Director of School Services. jcoleman@asha.org.PRIVATE PRACTICESCHOOLSTECHNOLOGY1

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