4.12.2010
Reading Together
I just thought I'd show a few photos of how we read together and sign. It's been difficult to come up with a method that allows for use of our hands while not having to hold the book! We use a bean bag and a small tray table to give us space to put our books. I always keep my Signing Exact English dictionary near me to look up words that I don't know. I've found this to be the best way for me to remember vocabulary...putting words into the context of a book is so helpful! Burke also enjoys looking at the dictionary and is very patient with me as I learn!
3.31.2010
A Wagon of Choices
We played a fun game today that I wanted to share with you all! Burke loves his wagon and enjoys putting toys in and pulling it around the house. Today, I stashed different animals around the house. One by one we "found" each animal and in total communication (speaking and signing) we said,
Mama:"Oh Look, I see a horse".
Burke: (with prompting) I see a horse
Mama:"Horse, do you want to go for a ride in the wagon, yes or no?"
Burke: (with prompting) Yes, I want the horse
Mama: Oh, that was a good choice!
...none of the animals said no and during this game, none of the choices were bad!
He was having so much fun that I doubt he had any idea that our fun game was really packed with lots of learning and hard work!
My learning goals for this game were this:
1.) To practice using one of his "goal" sentences for school- I see a________
2) To practice answering yes and no questions-Yes or No, I want/don't want
3.) To introduce the concept of choices-"Oh, that was a good choice"
My plan is to build on his vocabulary as well as really emphasize the use of full sentences. Also, I want him to learn about making choices. He is really pushing the limits with his behavior and I feel that introducing the concept of making good and bad choices will help with our discipline techniques!
Mama:"Oh Look, I see a horse".
Burke: (with prompting) I see a horse
Mama:"Horse, do you want to go for a ride in the wagon, yes or no?"
Burke: (with prompting) Yes, I want the horse
Mama: Oh, that was a good choice!
...none of the animals said no and during this game, none of the choices were bad!
He was having so much fun that I doubt he had any idea that our fun game was really packed with lots of learning and hard work!
My learning goals for this game were this:
1.) To practice using one of his "goal" sentences for school- I see a________
2) To practice answering yes and no questions-Yes or No, I want/don't want
3.) To introduce the concept of choices-"Oh, that was a good choice"
My plan is to build on his vocabulary as well as really emphasize the use of full sentences. Also, I want him to learn about making choices. He is really pushing the limits with his behavior and I feel that introducing the concept of making good and bad choices will help with our discipline techniques!
3.29.2010
Yes and No...is that a question?
It's been an interesting challenge to teach Burke about "questions". A question can be very abstract for him and difficult to understand. I don't think he realizes how in the world to respond when I sit with my head tilted to one side, eyes focused on him and a questioning look in my eyes. Either he changes to a different topic, runs away or just stares back at me until...
Below is an example of our typical morning conversation...
Mama: Burke, do you want milk or juice?
Burke: milk
Mama: Okay, do you want it in a blue or yellow cup?
Burke: yellow (he says this beautifully and I love it when he chooses yellow!)
Mama: Okay, here is your milk
This week:
Mama: Do you want juice? Yes or No
Burke: No
Mama: Do you want milk? Yes or No
Burke: Yes
Mama repeats to help Burke form full sentence: Yes, I want milk please
Burke repeats: Yes, I want milk please (using total communication)
Today:
Mama: Do you want milk?
Burke: Yes, I want milk please
Mama: Wow!
The yes or no response has overflowed to other areas of his communication. If I ask him to answer with a yes or no at the end of a question he now understands (most of the time) that a question requires him to respond. I also realize that he needs about a 10 second wait time to respond...I've known this for a long time but it's very hard to wait! :)
We'll be continuing to work on yes and no answers to questions. Our therapist Katie at Seattle Childrens gave me a few helpful tips:
1.) Use different body positioning when signing yes or no to differentiate that there is a choice. For example, Yes is signed toward the right side of the body while No is signed toward the left.
2.) Ask yes and no questions throughout the day and give a lot of choices. Not only does this help him learn about answering questions, it gives him power and control and reduced temper tantrums! yeah, we like that!
Below is an example of our typical morning conversation...
Mama: Burke, do you want milk or juice?
Burke: milk
Mama: Okay, do you want it in a blue or yellow cup?
Burke: yellow (he says this beautifully and I love it when he chooses yellow!)
Mama: Okay, here is your milk
This week:
Mama: Do you want juice? Yes or No
Burke: No
Mama: Do you want milk? Yes or No
Burke: Yes
Mama repeats to help Burke form full sentence: Yes, I want milk please
Burke repeats: Yes, I want milk please (using total communication)
Today:
Mama: Do you want milk?
Burke: Yes, I want milk please
Mama: Wow!
The yes or no response has overflowed to other areas of his communication. If I ask him to answer with a yes or no at the end of a question he now understands (most of the time) that a question requires him to respond. I also realize that he needs about a 10 second wait time to respond...I've known this for a long time but it's very hard to wait! :)
We'll be continuing to work on yes and no answers to questions. Our therapist Katie at Seattle Childrens gave me a few helpful tips:
1.) Use different body positioning when signing yes or no to differentiate that there is a choice. For example, Yes is signed toward the right side of the body while No is signed toward the left.
2.) Ask yes and no questions throughout the day and give a lot of choices. Not only does this help him learn about answering questions, it gives him power and control and reduced temper tantrums! yeah, we like that!
3.23.2010
How do we get everyone to communicate?
OK, so here's the scoop! Burke has 4 therapy appointments per week. Speech 2x, Aural Rehab, and Physical Therapy. In addition to his main preschool teacher, he has three other professionals working with him. How do we get everyone communicating. Burke is a whole person and all of his needs go "hand in hand" so I feel like each therapist should make an effort to communicate with each other so that they're sharing information and getting the best approach for their time with Burke. We send a backpack with a notebook to each of his appointments...everyone is supposed to write notes in it to each other...well, this happened about three times and that's it. I'm debating on how to encourage communication...I send emails to them with cc'd to all therapist but it's not that efficient. I wish I didn't have to be the middle man!
3.17.2010
Ways to use SEE in your home
We're in the early learning stages of SEE Sign and it's been discouraging trying to find SEE materials and resources. With that said, one of the best investments I've made is the purchase of the Modern Signs Press SEE CD-ROM that allows you to print any illustrated sign, phrase or sentence. Here are some examples of how I've used this in my home to try and learn SEE and teach it to my son.
Labeling toy bins
Helps with sorting toys. For example-we just learned the sign for magnets and I asked my son to pick up his magnet toys and put them in the bin and then showed him the manual sign and visual printed sign and he was able to learn it and follow my directions
Labeling books
This has been a really great way to learn vocabulary and read books with my son. He loves to point out the signs and pictures and I think it's helping him recognize written text.
3.14.2010
Parent Course for Preschoolers
This is Awesome! We're just checking it out and have heard great things!
John Tracy Clinic is an educational center for preschool children with a hearing loss and their parents. The Clinic offers a Distance Education Program to parents whose very young children (birth to approximately two years) have a hearing loss. We offer another Distance Education Program for those whose children are near two through five years. All materials are free of charge. As families participate in the course, they also receive individualized support and guidance from trained parent educators for free.
John Tracy Clinic Distance Education course for Parents of Preschoolers
John Tracy Clinic Home Page
John Tracy Clinic is an educational center for preschool children with a hearing loss and their parents. The Clinic offers a Distance Education Program to parents whose very young children (birth to approximately two years) have a hearing loss. We offer another Distance Education Program for those whose children are near two through five years. All materials are free of charge. As families participate in the course, they also receive individualized support and guidance from trained parent educators for free.
John Tracy Clinic Distance Education course for Parents of Preschoolers
John Tracy Clinic Home Page
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