Sunday, April 28, 2013

SHADES OF AUTISM #5: TELL ME, "NO!"

In my world, REFUSING or COMPLAINING is GOLD

TATTLING after REFUSING and COMPLAINING is PLATINUM!

I teach children to refuse, complain and tattle... especially children who have meltdowns, tantrum or whine or cry a lot. Some children are on the spectrum and others act in ways that are just difficult for adults or other children to handle.

Why?

Because if a child can refuse VERBALLY then the meltdowns, tantrums, whining and crying will all go away.

Why?

Because, when I respect the refusal or acknowledge the complaint, the child learns that his words have power

Then the more strenuous physical behavior [e.g., a tantrum] (that he had been using successfully to communicate or "tattle" his refusal or complain) is no longer necessary.

Simple to More Complex Verbal Refusals:
No.
No, no, no! (add a wagging index finger for emphasis)
No way!
Not now.
Not yet.
AB-SO-LUTE-LY NOT!!! 
-----------------------------------------------------------------

I have helped many children eliminate their negative behaviors:


BEFORE training to refuse/complain:

Noelle: It's clean up time.

Child starts to screech, scream, cry...throws himself on the floor or throws toys. 

---------------------------------------------------------
AFTER training to refuse/complain:

Noelle: It's clean up time.

Child:  "Not yet."
or "No. I'm busy."
or "Not yet. I'm busy playing."
or "I'd like to play a little longer." 

Noelle:  "Okay. You can play a little longer."

Then I ask: "Is it clean up time now?" 
I begin asking 10 minutes before we actually have to clean up and then repeat the question every minute or so until the child answers, "Yes."

If, after 10 minutes, he is still refusing, I say, "I know. I wish we could play more too, but I have to go home.  We had such a good time today.  I can't wait until you come back and we can play again." 

I then shut off my computer monitor (so it's dark) and go to the light switch and darken the room.  I stand by the doorway and say, "Okay. I'm leaving. Let's go. Let's go tell Mommy what a good time we had." Usually the child will follow me out of the room to go to his parent, who is waiting.  Initially, he may act out in the hallway, but that will diminish over time.

After a while the child usually wants to shut off the light himself, and lead me out of the treatment room. 

Note: as the child feels more comfortable verbalizing refusal, he is more likely to agree to clean up without so many repetitions of "Is it clean up time yet/now?" 

------------------------------------------------------------

What about tattling?

Scenario #1:

Noelle swipes a toy car from a child.

Child starts to cry and scream.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Scenario #2:

Noelle swipes a toy car from a child.

*Child: "Noelle. Stop swiping my car. It's not fair!
Mommy! Noelle keeps swiping my car. Tell her to give it back!"

As a speech therapist, and seeker of functional communication (and a happier more confident child), I am proud of Scenario #2.  It wins, hands down.

Refusal: Stop
Complaining: It's not fair
Tattling: Mommy! Noelle keeps swiping my car
+ A Bonus: Asking For Help: Tell her to give it back 

PURE PLATINUM

*Today I modeled this for a child with Autism, so that he could imitate my words and do all of the above: refuse, complain, tattle and ask for help, and he DID IT!

Today was a GREAT day!

Let's work together to help children speak, learn and function at higher levels! 

I'm Noelle Michaels, Speech and Learning Specialist.  I help children to use their words functionally, and I truly love my job!  

I am available for families in the North Jersey area to do a FREE 30-minute in-home consultation

I am available via email or phone, and will speak to any parent or professional with questions or concerns for FREE. If you're outside my area, but are interested in me visiting you, let me know.  I may be traveling to your area soon!

 
CLICK to SUBSCRIBE to This Blog by Email

(You will get an email ONLY when I publish a new post - approx 3 to 5 per month)

For more helpful info from Noelle:

Check www.blogtalkradio.com/superbtherapy for my 15-minute radio shows on my Verbal Apraxia treatments: SPEECH STORIES and DOUGH SHOW (also PICTO-CUES).

Contact me if a parent or professional group wants any training on Verbal Apraxia or other topic, or if you would like to purchase a copy of my Verbal Apraxia book ($8 at a class; $10 by mail - see instructions below).

Check out my youtube channel:
www.youtube.com/superbtherapy
*DORA THE EXPLORER: SNACKademics has almost
10,000 views! 

Follow me on Twitter:
@Noelle_Michaels

LIKE me on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Superb-Therapy-LLC/264601420235424?ref=hl
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To order any of my books:
- Verbal Apraxia
- SNACKademics
- The BEST Way To Teach A Child Colors (Or Anything)

By mail: $10 each; money order (inc. postage/shipping)
Made Out To: Noelle Michaels
Send To: 50 Summit Drive, Denville, NJ 07834
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you for all your support!

And...if you need help or advice, please contact me!

Noelle Michaels, MA, CCC-SLP, LDT-C
Bilingual Speech Language Pathologist
Special Educator & Learning Specialist
Email: noellemichaels@hotmail.com
Text: 201-919-4805   

















 

 

 

   

 





Monday, April 22, 2013

Better Handwriting in Minutes

SUPER TUTOR 

                        TO THE RESCUE...

****************************************************** 

Last week I was encouraging a 9 year old boy to complete his homework.  

I glanced at his planner and saw very poorly formed printing.  

I told his mom I'd like to take a few minutes to work on his penmanship.

I asked this boy if he knew what the lines on the paper were for, and he answered, "No."

When my daughter was in kindergarten, I had asked her the same thing and she, too, had said, "No."

In both cases, explaining how lines help us to know where to make the letters and how big to make them worked.  I modeled the alphabet as I explained.

I stated to the boy and his mother that we would focus on the lower case letters, because they are used more often.
 

Here is the BEFORE picture:


A few minutes later he wrote this:



*****************************************************************


Today I tried the same technique with my son, who is age 9 years 8 months.


This is a sample of his printing:






After our talk, and my modeling, he tried his hand at the alphabet.

My model is on the first line.

His printing is on the second line.  

I asked him to do the q again at the end, because it was formed incorrectly.



*************************************************************

My adult friend was at my home and saw me working with my son.  

She admitted that she had never been taught how to print letters in her native country, and was embarrassed about it.

I gave her the same explanation, and I modeled writing the letters of the alphabet from a until m.  

She formed some letters incorrectly, going bottom to top on a few.  I explained her errors, and showed her the similarity between m, n, and r, because she missed the initial downward vertical line on the m.  

I also showed her that the left-to-right part of the x and the y is made before the right-to-left part.  

She wrote the letters from a to m again.

She then referred to the model I used for my son to complete the alphabet independently.

You can see her usual writing sample on the top of the page.  It is more like script or cursive.

The first line under the word Model is my writing.

She wrote the last 3 lines of letters! 


******************************************************************

I video taped my son's and my friend's samples (as they were writing)I will add those Youtube links to this blog entry as soon as the video is up.

You will hear me explaning about letter formation and letter placement to each of them on the video.  It only took a few minutes.

If someone you know watches the video and is able to print more clearly, because of the simple explanation, please write a comment (either here or on the video comments).  Thanks!

I'm Noelle Michaels, Speech and Learning Specialist.  I help children and adults to write more legibly, and I truly love my job!  

I am available for families in the North Jersey area to do a FREE 30-minute consultation. 

I am available via email or phone, and will speak to any parent or professional with questions or concerns.  Let's work together to help children speak and learn at higher levels! 

 
CLICK to SUBSCRIBE to This Blog by Email

(You will get an email ONLY when I publish a new post - approx 3 to 5 per month)

For more helpful info from Noelle:

Check www.blogtalkradio.com/superbtherapy for my 15-minute radio shows on my Verbal Apraxia treatments: SPEECH STORIES and DOUGH SHOW (also PICTO-CUES).

Contact me if a parent or professional group wants any training on Verbal Apraxia or other topic, or if you would like to purchase a copy of my Verbal Apraxia book ($8 at a class; $10 by mail - see instructions below).

Check out my youtube channel:
www.youtube.com/superbtherapy

Follow me on Twitter:
@Noelle_Michaels

LIKE me on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Superb-Therapy-LLC/264601420235424?ref=hl
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To order any of my books:
- Verbal Apraxia
- SNACKademics
- The BEST Way To Teach A Child Colors (Or Anything)

By mail: $10 each; money order (inc. postage/shipping)
Made Out To: Noelle Michaels
Send To: 50 Summit Drive, Denville, NJ 07834
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you for all your support!

And...if you need help or advice, please contact me!

Noelle Michaels, MA, CCC-SLP, LDT-C
Bilingual Speech Language Pathologist
Special Educator & Learning Specialist
Email: noellemichaels@hotmail.com
Text: 201-919-4805   













Saturday, April 13, 2013

SHADES OF AUTISM #4: READING TO SPEAK

AL'S PASSION - HE LIKED ALPHABET BLOCKS

September 2011 - Age 4
Reading To Speak

I thought about AL's attraction to and passion for the alphabet.  I worked with him on beginning reading skills (starting with Picto-Cues, then quickly progressing to words).  This all happened in a few weeks (with sessions at 30 min 3x/week).  AL took to reading very quickly.

I taught him to read a sentence from a card to request, "May I have more grapes," and the next day he ended up saying the sentence spontaneously during a structured activity.

When his brother had a Bob the Builder truck that AL had been playing with before, and he wanted it back, he would cry.  I made a card and we went over to his brother.  

AL read the card, saying, "Please, may I have my toy back," and his brother gave him the toy.  He was learning about the power of words.

Over the months his interest went from Bob the Builder to Cars 2, then to Thomas Trains, and back to Cars 2.  Whatever his passion was, I followed it and used AL's motivation to my advantage in getting him talking more. 

AL's mom made a holder for his cards that she hung on the wall, and I thought up different sentences to write on the cards.

Mommy:  Another Passion

AL loved to climb into his mom's lap and rub noses with her.  When he did that I held a card where he could see it over her shoulder.  He learned how to read it and said, "I love you, Mommy."

When his mom explained to school staff what we had been doing, the school personnel asked for a duplicate set of cards to use at school. 

**What a blessing to have such great school staff!


November 2012 - Age 5
Whenever Things Seem Stalled

Sometimes there were days when AL was difficult to engage.  

His mother is his champion, and during one such day she said to me, "I think things are getting too easy for him or he's having problems that are more complicated.  Let's push him to the next level."  

So I made cards that were open ended.  

"I can't find ____."  

"Mommy, I need help with _____."  

"I am frustrated. I can't _____."

With a little practice he started filling in the blanks.


March 2013
Spelling
Mostly AL and I engage in pretend play with his favorite things: trains, cars, trucks and superheros.  During last week's session I brought in a game.  He doesn't really play games too well with me, so I wasn't expecting much.  

The funny thing is that I brought in a simple puzzle game that his own mother had given me, because it was too low level for him.  You match a color word with a picture of something of that color.  The brown bear and the word BROWN fit together like a puzzle.  There were 10 pairs.

I had him pick a picture piece.  He picked an apple.  I asked him what color the apple was.  He said, "red," and looked for the piece that said red.  I said, "No.  You can't get the other piece until you tell me how to spell red."

I took a piece of paper and waited.  He didn't answer.  I cued him, "Red begins with the letter ___."  He said, "r." "Spell red," I urged, "r ___?" He answered, "e, d," and I wrote it down, and left that paper visible on the table.

I said one last time, "Spell red." He answered, "r, e, d."  I gave him the piece that said red and he put the puzzle pieces together.  I said, "Ding, ding, ding," and told him, "You have 1 point."

We continued on. When he had 5 points I cued him to look at his mom and say, "Mommy, look! I have 5 points!"  We did that every time he earned a point up until 10 points.  He finished the entire game, spelled color words (with some help, at times), and called out for his mom's attention, so he could brag to her about how many points he had.  

Any way you slice it, that was an A+ day for him, his mom and I.  There was no Autism patchy fog that day.  Everything was crystal clear and the sun was shining!

I feel proud of my work with AL.

I feel proud of mom (and dad's) work with him. 

At school he blew through his IEP.  His parents showed the school staff videos of the kinds of things he does at home and is capable of doing.  His goals have been adjusted upward to higher levels.

As therapists we are taught to move slowly step by step, but sometimes reaching for higher levels in the same session is what's needed for us to peer inside and have a peak of what the child is really capable of doing.  If we work at too low a level, or with too much predictability it may become boring to the child and he will tune out more and more.  We need children with Autism to TUNE IN, not OUT.

*  Use a child's passion then add drawings or reading to cue speech.  

*  Learn about PICTO-CUES to begin the reading process with a young child. 

*  You can read my blog post on picto-cues

http://superbtherapy.blogspot.com/2013/03/picto-cues-take-detour-to-better-speech.html

*  You can listen to a short radio broadcast:  

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/superbtherapy/2013/03/10/picto-cues-technique-for-verbal-apraxia

Yesterday, I taught a Spanish-speaking student to correctly say ME GUSTO [meh-gu-s-toh] by showing her a picture of a GOOSE and a TOE.  She had been dropping the medial /t/.  She saw the pictures and we practiced. It worked to cue her to include the /t/ sound!

*  Move onto basic reading skillsA short radio show:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/superbtherapy/2013/01/27/teaching-reading-to-young-children

*  Increase reading (& writing) skills.  A short radio show:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/superbtherapy/2013/02/03/teaching-reading-to-young-children 

That's all for now!   

I am Noelle Michaels.  I'm a speech and learning specialist who enjoys helping families brainstorm new ways to help their children.  

Please reach out to me, if you would like any advice or information.  I'm always glad to connect, because I truly love my job! 

I am available for families in the North Jersey area to do a FREE 30-minute consultation

I am available via email or phone, and will speak to any parent or professional with questions or concerns.  Let's work together to help children speak and learn at higher levels! 

 
CLICK to SUBSCRIBE to This Blog by Email

(You will get an email ONLY when I publish a new post - approx 3 to 5 per month)

For more information from Noelle Michaels:

Check www.blogtalkradio.com/superbtherapy for my 15-minute radio shows on my Verbal Apraxia treatments: SPEECH STORIES and DOUGH SHOW (also PICTO-CUES).

Contact me if a parent or professional group wants any training on Verbal Apraxia or other topic, or if you would like to purchase a copy of my Verbal Apraxia book ($8 at a class; $10 by mail - see instructions below).

Check out my youtube channel:
www.youtube.com/superbtherapy

Follow me on Twitter:
@Noelle_Michaels

LIKE me on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Superb-Therapy-LLC/264601420235424?ref=hl
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To order any of Noelle's books:
- Verbal Apraxia
- SNACKademics
- The BEST Way To Teach A Child Colors (Or Anything)

By mail: $10 each; money order (inc. postage/shipping)
Made Out To: Noelle Michaels
Send To: 50 Summit Drive, Denville, NJ 07834
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you for all your support!

And...if you need help or advice, please contact me!

Noelle Michaels, MA, CCC-SLP, LDT-C
Bilingual Speech Language Pathologist
Special Educator & Learning Specialist
Email: noellemichaels@hotmail.com
Text: 201-919-4805