Mother's Day

For Mother's Day help us celebrate:

The determined mom who pushes doctors to find treatments for cancer and rare childhood diseases.

The dedicated mom who fights for life-saving cures despite the loss of her own child.

The devoted mom who gives her gifts, time, talents and voice to champion our cause.

Make a gift in honor of your mom      

to deliver hope to a child with cancer          

and the mother by his/her side.



            

Send an e-card to your mom                          

to celebrate Mother's Day.    



Happy New Year: Resolutions and Goal Work ... make it fun!

Happy New Year to You All !!!

Goal work ... this is what we work on all the time in therapy with our kids.  This is the time of year, though, that we all take pause to do a little self reflection, and come up with our own self goals.  Hence, the New Year's resolutions!  It's also a great time to reiterate some of the goals some of our kids have (related to interventions, therapies, and such that our kids are receiving).  Why not make it fun? Our kids have been hearing a lot about New Year's resolutions this month, in particular.  Why not create a fun game, activity, and/or craft project to map out applicable goals. 

Another thought that would be easily replicated at home is to rewrite an already familiar song (i.e. "Twinkle, ,Twinkle", "Mary Had a Little Lamb", "Hokey Pokey", or use a more current song that your child likes).  Focus the lyrics around goal work ... what area(s) you want to work toward on a daily basis.  Most of you are familiar with Social Stories, and how effective they are.  Setting social stories to music takes it one more step further, making it more exciting (fun!) as well as making them easier to memorize and recall on spot.  Also, we all know how a certain tune can get "stuck in your head", right?   Why not use this concept to your advantage?   It's what was done with the ABC song, and look how effective that has been! It's used in every commercial you see for a reason.  Sing the song (maybe even have pictures or some visual prop to accompany) in the mornings and/or just before the related task (goal related task). 

Jessica

July 4 coming soon ...

Our Independence Day holiday is just around the corner! I'll be posting some more in preparation for that this week, but I also wanted to mention past postings on the subject.  Visit these past blog postings for July 4th holiday tips and fun:

"Fun for the 4th"
"Welcome to July"



Jessica

Gluten Free recipes for JULY 4

For all my fellow gluten avoidant/gluten intolerant buddies, I wanted to share this ...

I was browsing for some gluten free recipes for July 4th, and I stumbled upon this article by Examiner.com/Columbia.  Click on the link below to go to the actual page (which includes the recipes). 

Top ten gluten free July 4th summer recipes


1.  Sweet and Sassy Red Potato Salad – Bored with your old potato salad? Think again and try this zesty twist on a traditional favorite!


2.  Apple Mint Salad – a crisp, different, and delicious take on a fruit salad for your summer party!

3.  Simple Strata Salad – a southern favorite, the layered salad with lots of meat, veggies, and cheese. Great for a side dish or lite dinner!

4.  Summer Squash Scramble - What can you do with all that leftover yellow squash or zucchini? This recipe is the answer for you!

5.  Homemade Caesar Salad – If you’ve ever wondered how to make a REAL Caesar salad this is your guide. Perfect to go with your grilled hamburgers and hotdogs!

6.  Fresh Strawberry Pie – Always a favorite, but with a perfect gluten free crust it makes the best dessert on the table for your July 4th celebrations!

7.  Secret Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies – Your kids won’t eat vegetables? They will now! They will never know the secret ingredients of these delicious kid-friendly treats!

8.  Easy Skillet Cornbread – The easiest and most delicious gluten free cornbread you will ever make! Perfect to go with your baked beans and corn on the cob this July 4th!

9.  Southern Fried Summer Squash – The classic southern fried squash you love. If you haven’t tried this already with your Farmer’s Market finds, you need to now!

10.  The BEST chocolate chip cookies – Your friends and family will NEVER know these truly amazing cookies are gluten free. Enjoy these classic cookies on your dessert table this July 4th!
 
So ... I have not yet tried any of these recipes so you and I are in the same boat ... sitting here with our mouths watering as we read over this list wondering if they are as good as they sound.  The southern fried summer squash, strawberry pie, and skillet cornbread are all on my list of things to make this July 4 weekend, though.  Yes, mom, add it to the list of yummies we'll be enjoying on our trip ;)

I'm stoked about the cornbread, in particular, because I have tried several attempts at 'the perfect cornbread' since I've been gluten free ... am still tryin! My only concern, though, is that I will be baking this up in the mountains this weekend which I know can affect rising ... correct? Any suggestions?

As an added note ... I sometimes make fried zucchini/squash as an appetizer in the summer time when I have family/friends over.  When I do, I make a HORSERADISH DIPPING SAUCE to go with it that's pretty yummy.  I don't have a recipe as I just sort of throw things together, but typically, it includes:

• fresh horseradish (not prepared sauce as I find those to be a little too sweet for my taste - also I can be sure this way that it's GF)
• mayo (again, I don't prefer the sweet stuff generally so I often go with Kraft)
• a little garlic
• salt and pepper to taste
• a squirt or two of lemon
• and a little dill weed. 

 
I'm hungry now. 
 
Jessica

Father's Day Gifts and Crafts

Looking for gift ideas for Father's Day? Visit the below links for lots of great little 'from-the-heart' crafts for the kids to make ... my favorites are the Car Air Freshener Craft, the Altoids tin pocket memory book, and the luggage tags ... brilliant. The site includes pictures, directions, and templates for crafts listed.

http://www.daniellesplace.com/html/mengifts.html

Jessica


 

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1129/562815285_bee11adbe4.jpg&imgrefurl=http://mamaurchin.com/category/paper-crafts/&usg=__J43zM7NcJ0qrf_WKcEWLKVY5BbQ=&h=333&w=500&sz=50&hl=en&start=125&sig2=m1mRaUg_khHZulLJ9Bet-A&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=ENZTiqu9cR2Y_M:&tbnh=87&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dfather%2527s%2Bday%2Bcrafts%26start%3D120%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rlz%3D1W1TSHB_en%26ndsp%3D20%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=znAZTOrbO4OClAer4MCpCw

St. Patrick's Day Activities and Songs

Here are some fun St. Patty's Day activities and songs I found while web surfing! I'm adding these to my collection :)

1. Fill a black pot (use a Halloween witch's cauldron) with either gold foil covered chocolates that look like coins, or gold foil wrapped Hershey's HUGS. To make the pot look really full, stuff the bottom of the pot with crumpled newspaper and cover that with a piece of black construction paper. Show the pot of gold to the children in the beginning of their session, then, when the class is out of the room, ask a co-worker to hide all the "gold" and turn the pot upside down in the center of the room. Have a note written on the chalkboard (in green chalk of course!) that reads: "Have some fun and find my gold". Explain to the class that leprechauns are full of fun and mischief and that they want to play a game! Find the hidden "gold" pieces and count them. You can use both types of candy for this activity and then do a sorting activity. Let each child take home one or two pieces of "gold".
2. Lucky Charms Chart : Take a box of Lucky Charms, and sort the marshmallows in rows. Ex. all rainbows in one row and stars in one row.  Count how many of each you found and eat the cereal.
3. We go searching for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow! I run a very long length of ribbon throughout our playground. It weaves around trees, under large toys, around corners, etc. Actually, it is several long pieces of ribbon tied end to end...first red, then orange, yellow, green, blue, violet. The kids follow the rainbow path to find treasure -- a leprechaun's pot of gold coins, small toys, stickers, gold rocks, or whatever you want to hide! This activity works especially well if you have enough teachers to take the children out to the path in small groups.
4. "Leprechaun, Leprechaun Where's your shamrock?"
   (This game is a take off on "Doggy, Doggy, Where's Your Bone".)The "leprechaun' sits with his eyes closed and a paper shamrock behind him. A child is chosen to tiptoe up and take the shamrock and return to his seat. Then all the children hide their hands in their pockets or behind their backs and recite "Leprechaun, Leprechaun, where's your shamrock? Someone has it in their pocket!" The leprechaun gets 3 guesses as to who has his shamrock. The person with the shamrock is the next leprechaun.
5. Spray paint small rocks gold and hide them on the playground on St Patrick's Day. Some are almost in plain sight but some are hidden so well, they continue to find them for weeks. They can take them home in snack size ziplock bags.

Here are some St. Patty's Day themed songs to use with or without some of the activities listed above:

Leprechaun Song (to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot")
"I'm a little Leprechaun
  Dressed in green,
  The tiniest man
  you ever did see.
  If you ever catch me, so it's told
  I will give you my pot of gold!"

You'll Never Catch Me or My Gold (to the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb")
"I'm a little leprechaun, leprechaun, leprechaun
I'm a little leprechaun
Who likes to hide my gold.
I dress in green from head to toe
head to toe
head to toe
I dress in green from head to toe
I wear green all day long!
You'll never catch me or my gold
not my gold
not my gold
You'll never catch me or my gold
I hide it all to well!"


The Leprechaun (Fingerplay)

A leprechaun is small and green,
(Use hand to indicate a small person.)
He hides where he cannot be seen.
(Cover eyes with hands.)
But if you catch one on this day,
(Shake finger.)
He must give all his gold away.
(Pretend to put gold in pocket.)


Happy St. Patrick's Day! Another St. Patty's Day has come and I still don't know ... do green eyes count for "wearing something green"? I think I'll wear some green to be safe ;)

Jessica

Upcoming Vday FREE Event for Families of Special Needs Children

Hello Friends,


I just wanted to pass this along for anyone who is interested. Seacoast Church is hosting a very special evening for families of children with special needs. They will be providing dinner (catered by Sticky Fingers) and fun on Sunday, February 14, and it's FREE! See below for more information or you may visit the website page at http://www.seacoast.org/Story.asp?storyid=1734
Jessica

_________________________________________________

The Luke 14 Banquet

Sunday, February 14th, 5:00 until 7:00

Seacoast Church in the Warehouse

750 Long Point Rd, Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464

In the Luke 14 story, while sitting at a dinner table in Jerusalem
and conversing with His host, Jesus said,

"when you give a banquet, invite the

poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,
and you will be blessed. Go out to

the roads and country lanes and make them come in,
so that my house will be full. When one of those at the table
with Him heard this, he said to

Jesus, "Blessed are those who will eat at the feast
in the Kingdom of

God." Luke 14:13-23 NIV

In response, Seacoast Church and Healing Farm Ministries
will be partnering to host a Luke 14 Banquet
for families touched by a disability.

Please join us for free dinner and entertainment
to delight the whole family.

For more information on attending

this event or how you can serve the

families at this banquet, please

contact wandagilbert@seacoast.org

or click HERE to register

by February 7th

Our Sponsors:

The Tutterow Agency

The Kickin' Chicken/RPM Management

Kat's Famous

________________________________________________

New Year

Happy New Year! I hope this new year is treating you all well so far.  For all of you who had a tough year in 2009, look forward to this year full of new opportunities, hope, and healing. 

We are all 'cleaning out our closets', so to speak, this time of the year, and coming down from chaos.  We are packing up our decorations, and doing a little spring cleaning January style.  We are looking to new things and renewing commitments to others (which, in itself, brings newness).  I wish you well as you embark on your goals, resolutions, and journeys for your new year.  I am working on that, myself.  I am telling myself these things, and working on keeping my head up.  Just thought I would share a few of my own thoughts with you. 

This blog slowed down a bit during the holidays, but it's gearing up for a new year, hoping to inspire, inform, and connect you.  Thank you for your thoughts and ideas along the way in 2009. 

Jessica

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you all! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday, filled with joy, peace, and lots of love. 

Jessica

Putumayo Music Holiday E-card

You have heard me mention the Putumayo World Music collections before ... AMAZING! I use the various kid's playground CDs in session, in particular.  Anyhow, I receive Putumayo updates through emails, and received this (see below) in a recent email. 

It's great! I was able to download a photo to send in an ecard to friends and family, and I loved that Putumayo holiday-inspired music was playing in the background.  I received a lot of feedback on this one from friends and family :) What is really exciting is that after sending your card, you are able to download a free song from a recent Putumayo collection (I believe it's a different one from the one that plays with the card).  See below for more information, and to create your ecard!

1. Choose a personal photo

2. Write your own custom holiday message

3. Send your personalized holiday e-card to
    your friends and family

4. Receive a free holiday song download!
Create your e-card now

Other languages : Español
Français
Deutsch
(The e-card will launch in a new window and requires the Flash player.)

Enjoy!
Jessica

"In My Stocking" (a speech related activity)

Here's another little holiday related activity that is very easy to implement ... I think anyone could do this one with no problem :)








"In My Stocking" (to the tune of: " Oh My Darlin' ")

In my stocking,
In my stocking,
In my special Christmas stocking,
Look inside for little prizes
In my special Christmas stocking!

Materials Needed:

• Stocking
• small toys or pictures of small toys/candy prizes

Directions:

1. Sing song through 1x.  (slowing down speech to enunciate/stress certain words and/or syllables on targeted words)
2. Have child reach into stocking to pull out 1 (only one) item.
3. Look at and name the item.  Repeat item name (i.e. "dinosaur", "ball", etc), being sure to encourage/practice verbal clarity and speech fluency. 
4. Make sure you have fun with this!

Targeted Goal Areas:

• Speech production/clarity/fluency
• Impulse control
• Auditory cueing/Auditory attention
• Attention to task for duration

NOTE:  If working mainly toward speech goals with this activity, be sure to choose items (to go in stocking) that include speech sounds/characteristics that fit your child's speech needs.  For example, if your child needs improvement on blended sounds, include an item with blended sounds in it's name (maybe a blue item /bl/).  If your child needs improvement on producing words with 2 or 2+ syllables, include items with multi syllables (maybe "dinosaur" or "alligator"). 

Have a great weekend!
Jessica

The Silly Elf (activity)

Anytime I can use a general theme for a session or activity, I do.  Developing a theme always seems to pull things together as well as faciliates increased attention and interest.  Simply put ... themes are fun!

Holidays provide perfect opportunities for themed concepts and activities.  Below is a little poem/rhyme that I came up with a couple years ago for use in sessions.  Due to it's simplicity, it's fairly easy to implement outside of session so I'm posting it here :) 

I typically use this activity for these goal areas:

• Facilitate/Improve auditory attention
• Increase Impulse control
• Decrease auditory response time
• Increase cognitive skill (color identification, sequence commands/events, reading/story comprehension, etc)
• Increase visual attention

If working on pre-reading skills, you may want to print this story  (focusing on 1 sentence at a time if necessary) rather than just reading it yourself.

MATERIALS NEEDED:
-  "Silly Elf" story
-  Pictures (street, elf, feet, tic tac toe, Nintendo, smiling)
-  Colored items (bells, instruments, scarves)
-  A drum (or like item)
-  "The End!" paper (for on top of drum)

DIRECTIONS for activity:

1. Set up items in semi circle or table around child/client.  Introduce each item.  If appropriate, present child/client with a "pointer" (this can be a special wand, drum stick/mallet, etc) for child to point to items as they are named in the story. 
2. Explain that the child/client will get to touch and point to each item/picture in the story, but he/she has to wait until they hear that word first. (see above for picture sheet you can print)
3. Practice saying the word of an item, and having child/client point to the item. 
4. Have the child practice "playing" a color item (i.e., when you say "red", the child will play the instrument/item associated with that color.  NOTE:  For the colors, I typically have colored bells that the child gets to play when he/she hears the color name.  This makes this more interactive, and provides the opportunity to change from different types of cues within the activity (pointing to some items, playing other items).  IN PLACE OF COLORED BELLS, you may want to gather instruments or items that can be used as instruments (or items that make funny sounds).  Have a solid colored scarf or paper next to/under each of the noise/instrument items (i.e., have one item placed on a green scarf or piece of paper, and when when child/client here's "green" said in the activity, he/she will play the that item).
5. OPTIONAL:  Have a drum (or like item) with paper on it ("THE END!").  Child/client has to wait until the very end when he/she hears you say, "The End!", to play the drum.  This is lots of fun - a great opportunity for impulse control, and it really creates increased auditory attentoin and anticipation ;) 

The Silly Elf

One day as I was walking down the street
I came upon a jolly elf with red shoes upon his feet.
He smiled at me and said, “Orange you going to play with me?”
It was a glorious, sunny day,
a sky decked in yellow.
I decided I'd play with my new red footed friend -
He was quite a nice fellow.

We played a game of tic tac toe,
and then a game of Nintendo.
Jumping jacks, and sliding down green hills -
Oh what a thrill!
Hide and seek, and purple cookies to eat.
A long day of fun we've had,
I said goodbye to my new red footed friend.
Smiling and waving, I said,
“The End!”

Kids and Holiday Stress

Kids and Holiday Stress ...
The article below is one I found through my LinkedIn profile, and I thought it has some great points which may go a long way in helping you to keep your kids stress free duirng the holidays.  This article was posted on Wellspring™ (http://www.wellspring.com/).  Wellspring™ was created in response to the growing need for effective treatments for children with autism-spectrum disorders, behavior disorders and developmental disabilities.

Helping kids cope during the holidays
Wellspring™

It’s that time again. Halloween decorations have come down, retailers are preparing for Thanksgiving which means only one thing……holiday shopping season is upon us. As behavior professionals, one of the single most questions we get asked is about kids’ behaviors at holiday time. Keeping kids well-behaved during the holiday season is every parents dream. However, it is not a goal that is achieved easily.
Even the best-behaved child can have a meltdown at this time of year. Holidays cultivate many stressors that may cause a child to erupt: Absence of routine, over stimulation, being away from home and one important one that many of us may overlook – parent stress. Kids are very tuned into their parents’ mood and when they sense you are stressed, they can get extremely overwhelmed. They need you to stay grounded and when you aren’t, their behavior may show it. So, how do we stay calm and keep our kids calm when we have 37 gifts to buy at 16 different stores and holiday meals to cook and 12-hour trips to take? Read on for tips that can help every parent help their child cope during the stress of the holiday season using positive behavioral support.

SHOPPING!
Shopping with a child can be a nightmare but it doesn’t have to be.
Our number one recommendation for parents is to shop online or leave the kids at home. Unfortunately, this isn’t always a realistic expectation. If you do have to take your children shopping, make sure they are prepared for the situation and make sure you go with realistic expectations:

Explain to them what you are going to be doing and where you are going. Tell them when you will eat, or when they will be able to play.

Be specific about what behavior is expected. Being a good boy or girl is too vague. For example, “we are going to a place where we will have to walk and stay close to mommy and we will have to use an inside voice”. Always tell them what TO do instead of what NOT to do. Providing them with the tools to behave makes life easier.

The mall is boring, overwhelming and confining and children don’t like to stand in line, be quiet or be still. Allow your child some time to run around between stores.
Provide incentives for your child to receive when the shopping is done, such as a trip to the park or an ice cream. When a desired activity follows an undesired activity, a child’s motivation to behave is increased.

Look for the signs that your child may be unraveling. Validate their feelings and needs and remind them of the expected behavior and reward. For example “I know you are getting mad but if you use a quiet voice and remain standing you can earn your treat”. One warning is appropriate but if your child does not stop what he is doing, you may need to leave whatever you are doing.

Always provide praise for good behaviors. We parents focus too much on scolding or punishing our kids when a bad behavior occurs but we forget to reward the good ones. Catch them being good. If your child is standing patiently in line, even for a few seconds, use it as an opportunity to praise him for the good behavior.

Do not plan on going to the mall at rush hours, or the day before Christmas. Avoid overcrowded places as much as possible.

Feed your kids before going out. A hungry child is a recipe for disaster.

Be sure your kids are not tired. Taking them to the mall after a nap is always easier.

And finally, be prepared for a meltdown. If you have a plan of action if the dreaded does occur, it will help you and your child remain calm during the situation. Next week we’ll cover what to do if a tantrum does occur.


For more good tips from Wellspring™, visit http://www.wellspring.com/ .

Jessica

Whew! Halloween!

Wow - what a day/week/weekend! Talk about chaos! But fun, though.  The week of Halloween was an especially crazy one for me with work and home life.  My CSU clinical students are closing in on the end of their clinical semester, I've got some perspective new clients that I've enjoyed speaking with this week, and I've had various schedule changes this past week as well (two cancellations and some extra sessions also).

On Friday, we parents hosted a soup lunch for the teachers/staff at my son's school.  I am so thankful for my fellow volunteers! I rushed home from this to finish the prep work at home for a Halloween Party we were having at the house for my son and his friends Friday night.  Although my back was killin me and I was so ready for those kids to go on home by the end of it ... (come on, now, my house was full of middle schoolers ... can you blame me?) ... we still had a great time ;) I have great friends who came to 'party' with me as well as to help with the party. 

All in all it was good chaos :) The way I am built, though, I had to be sure to 'schedule in' some downtime for the sake of my sanity and my nerves. 
I hope you all had a nice, safe, and fun weekend,
Jessica

"Pumpkin, Pumpkin" (song/activity)

As you are carving and lighting your pumpkins this week, you may want to take this fun holiday tradition as a yet another (FUN!) opportunity to reinforce certain goal areas. 


Here's a simple little Halloween song and activity...

"PUMPKIN, PUMPKIN" (click link to my webpage where you will find this song listed)

This activity may be used with these goal areas:

• Auditory Attention (listen for and follow auditory cue)
• Impulse Control (wait for cue to touch items)
• Cognitive Skill (teach/reinforce concepts such as colors, shapes, holiday/theme related material, etc.)
• Verbal Commands (follow verbal prompts/commands/directions)
• Sensory

Be sure to use props for this activity (a real or toy pumpkin and black cat AND/OR pictures of a pumpkin and black cat).  As always, keep in mind your child's age and/or developmental level when determining appropriateness of an activity.

Jessica

Your Monster Mash!

Many of my clients just love working and playing on the computer.  As I've mentioned before, for these kids, I often incorporate computer fun into some of my music therapy activities within session.  It may be fun cognitive based games/activities, emotion/facial affect games/activities, social skill activities, or it may be work on the recording studio (which is accessed from my laptop). 

Someone shared with me this great link to an online Monster Mash photo activity (sponsored by Oriental Trader) that I wanted to share with you.  (http://www.monstermashup.com/)

You may have non goal-oriented fun with it by simply uploading fun family member pictures, and then watch as say, Dad, dances around in a silly monster mash dance.

Another option that I thought of was a goal-oriented approach.  If you have access to this (maybe pictures from field trips or pictures from last year's yearbook), download pictures of your child's peers/classmates into this little activity.  This would be a great way to help increase peer awareness and may help in decreasing mild social anxiety through use of peer pictures (and references) within a fun activity.  As I've mentioned in previous blogs, I find that first implementing these types of activities can go a long way in working on social skill/peer awareness activities with children who have anxiety related to peer socialization.  This is a way of "getting the toes wet" socially, and may be perceived as a little more 'safe' to a child with social anxiety.  See some of my other social skill/peer awareness blogs for further explanation.

See my family's monster mash - we got a kick out of it! We may do it again with a different theme/music.  There are lots of choices there including using pre set characters or uploading your own pictures.  Fun, fun!

Jessica

Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day!

I'm hoping you and your family are able to enjoy some labor day fun activities that involve sunshine and outdoor fun today! Here is a nice resource for some of your indoor downtime today.

Here is a website I found that has information on Labor Day as well as interactive coloring pages (related to Labor Day). From this link http://www.apples4theteacher.com/coloring-pages/labor-day/ you will find black and white coloring pages to choose from. Once you choose a page, click on it, and you will then be able to 'color' the page online. You are also able to print your page after you've colored it!

You will also find other fun Labor Day activities there. Here is a little info on Labor Day (taken from this website):

About Labor Day
Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday in September. It's a day dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. The holiday tributes the working class contributions to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.
Labor Day became an official national holiday in 1894. In an ideal society - everyone plays a role, or works a job that supports the community.

Activity ideas given to use with these interactive color pages:

#1 Beginning reading:
Have your child practice reading the sentence on line as they color their picture.
Print out the picture and post your child's coloring on the refrigerator.
Have your child point to each word in the sentence and read the words to you.

#2 Sentence matching:
Print several completed coloring pages.
Cut off the sentence from each picture.
Have your child match the sentence with each picture.
Have your child read each sentence and explain why that sentence goes with the picture.

#3 Following directions:
Some of the coloring pages use sentences that specifically describe the picture (ie mentions colors or numbers).
Have your child complete the picture as described in the sentence.

#4 Literacy with math:
Find all coloring pages that use number words in the sentence.
Show how the number is represented in the coloring page.

#5 Letter recognition or beginning word sounds:
Print out the interactive alphabet coloring pages and use for an alphabet book. Room has been left on each page to glue pictures of words that start with that letter. Old magazines work well with this idea.

For my clients, I have to mention something that I that I know the kids will find amusing. The whole time that I've been trying to post this blog, little Cooper kitty has been swooshing his tail in my face, trying to walk across my laptop, meowing, and trying to get his head under my hands for me to pet him. Oh! And he just put his paw on top of my hand as I was typing ... so funny! Many of the kids just loooove Cooper!

Have a great day,

Jessica

Fun for the 4th

(Click on the coloring page

in order to view and print

full page version.)

Yesterday's blog offered some 4th of July ideas that were geared toward making this holiday meaningful for everyone in the family. In today's blog, I am including a link to a fun web resource. I have included the website link below as well as the coloring page links (that go directly to the "view and print" page so that you don't have to do a lot of navigating).

The website is Kaboose Funschool, and it includes a wide variety of games, puzzles, activities, and information that are all cognitive related. You've heard me mention summer bridge work/activities, and this is yet another great resource that can be used for that as well as throughout the school year. The link to the home page is http://funschool.kaboose.com/.

In order to view and print the full page versions of the coloring pages above, just click on the coloring page. You can find additional coloring book pages on the website link above.

Have fun!

Jessica

Welcome to July

Hello July!

Oooooh ... and it's

a hot one today.

July 4 is just around the corner, and I know many of you are especially looking forward to this July 4 as it falls on a Saturday this year. As you are making your Independence Day celebration plans, take a look at these hints and tips that I have listed below. These are things that myself and others have found to be helpful when trying to make this special time meaningful for everyone in the family. Some of these tips are from a recent podcast on FAQautism.com.

Some of you may have children/family members who have certain sensory sensitivities, general anxiety, and/or may simply have a fear of fireworks (this doesn't just apply to children with specific disabilities/disorders, but can apply to typically developing children as well). Others of you may be sharing your July 4th celebrations with a child who may have these sensitivities.

TIPS:

1) Come up with a plan ahead of time that you think will work best for your child.

2) Prepare your child for the upcoming event if you feel this will help him/her. It may be fun to watch fireworks on a youtube video and/or listen to it within an applicable song (for example, John Philip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever" or other patriotic marches) ahead of time. If you are watching a video, you may want to initially watch it without sound, while commenting on the colors and shapes the fireworks make. You can then (without bringing it to attention) watch it with low sound. You may want to repeat this again later with the sound just up a little more each time. Again, don't make a point about turning up the volume - just gradually do this little by little.

3) If your child seems to show anxiety in anticipation of the fireworks, let him/her know that you will be watching the fireworks from faraway. You may find it gives him/her a little more feeling of control and safety if you allow him/her to accompany you in locating a specific spot.

4) Know ahead of time (plan ahead) where exactly you will be sitting when the fireworks begin. You may want to find a place a little ways away from where everyone else is as your "special spot". You may even want to take a blanket a couple days beforehand to your "special spot" and lay on it looking up at the sky. You and your child can practice making your own firework sounds while making your hands open in a bursting manner. This can serve as a sort of practice/dress rehearsal, and may help your child to establish positive associations with the fireworks.

5) If the above (#4) is not an option for you (i.e. - if you will be out of town for July 4 and aren't able to stake out a spot days ahead of time), you can still role play the situation with a blanket on your own lawn.

6) Some of you may find that it is most enjoyable/least stressful to simply sit in your car to watch the fireworks.

7) Another idea is to play an applicable song (such as John Philip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever") close to your child while the fireworks burst in the background of the music. This may be especially helpful if you decide to implement #2.

8) Again, in order to establish positive associations, you may want to purchase and/or make things to have and use only during the fireworks. Your child may even begin to have a positive anticipation in association with the fireworks. Make sure these are things that your child has very high interest in (possibly involving a favorite toy, type of object, or maybe even have a very special food treat that you will get to eat during the fireworks). I would use this one (#8) along with one or more of the other ideas listed here (rather than simply using #8 independently).

9) VERY IMPORTANT: Be aware of your own anxiety level in anticipation of your child's possible reaction to the fireworks. Focus yourself ahead of time to be as calm as possible. As many of you have already found, our children can be very intuitive and can often times pick up on our own feelings of anxiety.

I hope you will find these helpful BUT, even more, I hope you will leave your own comments, ideas, and suggestions related to this! My Gestalt thinking has gotten my mind in a tither since I left off at #9... it just seems so wrong to not have a #10. Maybe someone else can come up with the #10 (???)

Jessica