Lillian Said:

Any suggestions for a speech therapy session on pronouns?

We Answered:

Speakingofspeech.com is a great resource!

I have used "The Pronoun Game" and had good success with it. You can find printouts at http://www.speakingofspeech.com/Language…

The "Potato Game" is another one listed there that I haven't used, but it looks really good too.

QUIA is a website that has lots of shared materials for online practice. These are harder for a four-year-old, but maybe you could print and modify.
http://www.quia.com/quiz/460768.html
http://www.quia.com/jg/1153229.html
http://www.quia.com/rr/67646.html
http://www.quia.com/pop/34143.html

Good luck!

Larry Said:

Speech Therapy for toddlers?

We Answered:

If he's 2.5 and not using 2+ word combinations then he needs speech. Get a referral from your GP or look into privately. Go and do a group of sessions and then continue it at home as well. Early intervention is vital if you don't want him to have language difficulties throughout his schooling. Start asap.

Gabriel Said:

Physical/occupational/Speech therapy activities for a toddler?

We Answered:

Hi.

My son has left hemiplegia CP, due to a grade IV Intraventricular Hemmorhage on his brain at birth.

His struggle is with increased tone in his left arm and leg, and he has decreased tone in his trunk. He was diagnosed also with apraxia and dysarthria (his speech).

The mention of Early Intervention is valid, but you are absolutely right to want to do home programming. Basically, keep in mind that you ARE your son's BEST therapist. Your son SHOULD go to therapy (we go to therapy every week, 2x's a week), but it is what you re-affirm for him at home that will do him the most amount of good.

When my son was born, he was put in EI at the age of 8 weeks. I would BEG for them to see him every day, but it took me a while to understand that they were right when they'd insist that it was really up to what I did with him that would ensure the best success.

Ok-as for activities.....

What you want is for him to gain muscle strength (vs. tone, which can almost be an enemy at times). If you get increased tone, it likes to work against your child, as he often times can not control it.

For gross motor, have him do a lot of weight bearing exercises on the affected side. We'll assume your child is affected on the left side (for the sake of examples). Have him lean on his left hand while he is sitting up and play with a toy while he is reaching across his body with his right hand. Popping bubbles is a good one here, too. This strengthens his affected arm and hand.

Another good one for arm and hand is having him on his hands and knees, and pretending to dust, or playing with a toy with his rightie, while lefty holds him up.

When he gets stronger, do a wheelbarrow game (he holds himself up while you hold his feet).

Climbing outside is always good for hands and feet.

If you have wood floors (or tile), have him sit on a towel. Give him a towel to hold onto with lefty while you pull him around for a ride. Make sure righty has a toy to hold so he doesn't want to cheat!

Fine motor-have him pick up little toys and drop them into a small container/bucket of some sort. This is good for voluntary release.

When he gets really good, be sure he starts to use his "pretty pinchers" for the pincer grasp (thumb and forefinger).

Always remind him of having "big, open fingers" if he fists.

Lacing beads are a good fine motor.

Actually, most toys at this age can somehow be used as a fine motor activity. You may be bored to tears, but remember, it is for your little one!

Other things-look into something called Constraint Induced Movement Therapy. This is where you cast the unaffected side so the affected side has no choice but to do stuff. This is a FANTASTIC therapy tool. As a parent, this will break your heart the first few times your child cries with frustration, but after a few days, you will see results. Once the time is up (usually a few weeks, but all therapists do it different), you will see AMAZING results.

Equilibrium-while your child is standing, be sure he is weight-bearing on the affected side. Kids who are hemi's tend to put all their weight on the un-affected side. Therefore, the other leg is not nearly as strong.
Also, you know that toy that looks like a half-ball, with a flat surface on the other side? Having your child balance on that is a great one for balance. Also, using an exercise ball, have your child sit on it. Hold them at the waist/hips. Bounce them up and down (some kids like, others hate-usually no in-between), sway them around while they are on the ball. This is excellent for trunk strength.

As for speech. My son said 3 words until he was almost 3 years old. He then began to speak in sentences. The best thing we can do here (other than speech therapy) is to model, model, model. Once your child begins to speak more, there are good activities your therapist can offer.

Check out
www.chasa.org (children's stroke and hemiplegia association)

www.hemikids.com

Great support networks!

Good luck.

Olga Said:

What are good speech therapy activities for a 10 year old with comprehension issues?

We Answered:

that's a really hared question to answer, not knowing what levels the breakdown is and what the impairment is. (I'm a speech pathologist). Does the child see a an SLP at school? If so, you can ask her. But, usually, language therapy usually revolves around using language in ways that are functional. Like getting involved in an activity that stimulates language. Baking cookies, reading the ingredients, having the child talk about the experience. The key is to always talk while you are doing activities. Ask questions, repeat back the child's ideas in an expanded way. Also, there are some really neat games where you use blocks or something and put up a barrier. Then arrange your items in a certain way and tell them how to do it and see if they can duplicate the design based on listening. But again, this is a good question for the SLP at school/

Martha Said:

please help me find activities for dysphonia/speech disorder?

We Answered:

when i was in speech therapy they lady gave me candy if i said a word right. I always tried harder so i could get it.

Jerome Said:

What Speech Therapy activities can I do with someone who has articulation problems?

We Answered:

Conversation about topics of interest to the child (i.e. favorite TV shows, recording artists, sports, fashion, etc.)
Reading books aloud
Doing online Mad Libs games
Electronic Catch phrase
etc.