Mr. Prickles: A Quill Fated Love Story  written by Kara LaReau; illustrations Scott Magoon

Poor Mr. Prickles! This charming little porcupine only wants to find a friend but “by their very nature porcupines are very hard to get close to.” After failing to fit in with the other woodland creatures, Mr. Prickles finds his perfect match and discovers porcupines do hug….very carefully! Great book for children 3 to 8 years old. Younger children will enjoy this story on its fundamental level  - someone looking for a friend. Older children will enjoy the puns, subtle humor and may identify with being teased, left out and struggling to find a true friend.  Language: This book is packed with powerful adjectives. Help your child find the picture that illustrates the adjective. This is also a great story to practice making predictions. The author and illustrator beautifully build the story. Before turning the page, ask, “what do you think happens next?” Another favorite language exercise is to look at the pictures and explain what is funny. Kids love this game! My favorite, is the picture of Mr. Prickles using his quills to make shish-kabobs! For kids with more sophisticated language skills, have them look for and explain the plays on words. Articulation:  Loads of words with consonant clusters (i.e., “Prickles,” “close,” “fruitless”) allow for plenty of practice pronouncing consonant blends!  Social Skills: Parents, teachers and SLPs, there are enough social skills lessons here to keep you busy for weeks! At the most basic level, talk about emotions (lonely, angry/”prickly”, bored, happy) presented throughout the story. Work on buidling empathy skills. “How does Mr. Prickles feel when the other animals are unfriendly to him?” “Have you ever been teased?” “Have you ever teased someone?” At an even higher level, talk about how to handle bullying and what makes a true friend! Activity:  Check out Kara LaReau’s website for her ready-to-make Mr. Prickles Valentines and have a Prickly Party!

Zombie in Love written by Kelly DiPucchio illustrated by Scott Campbell

I LOVE this book and so will kids 4 and older! Your kids will laugh at this hysterical and wonderfully illustrated story about “Tall, dead and handsome,” Mortimer, as he looks for his soulmate. All of the girls seem immune to his charms.  In a last gasp effort to find his dream ghoul, misunderstood, yet sincere Mortimer, places an ad on Stalemate.com: “If you like taking walks in the graveyard and falling down in the rain. If you are not into cooking, if you have half a brain…”  (SING ALONG! Enhance your reading enjoyment by playing this in the background!)  Language: SO many opportunities to play the “what is funny about this game”! Provide a model for your responses such as, “this funny because ______” or “this makes me laugh because ________.”  Social Skills:  Mortimer is the poster zombie for being misunderstood. Talk with your child about how they might be misunderstood by others. What can your child do to make friends?  What kind qualities does he look for in a friend? Discuss how shared interests create a foundation for great friendships.  Activity:  Have your child (or speech therapy group or classroom) write his/her own personal ad in search of a friend. Start by having your child list his or her best characteristics. Next, list the qualities they think make a good friend. Then, take a Mortimer-esque picture of your little zombie (wouldn’t the personal ads and pictures make a fabulous display for a bulletin board, classroom or refrigerator!) Finally, throw a Zombie Party!!!  I would serve dirt cakes and of course BRAINS! So. Much. FUN! (I would actually do this with my grown up friends who have come to expect just such quirky festivities from me!) (If anyone has a GFCF recipe for dirt cake, post it in the comments and share the love!)

Plant a Kiss written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrations Peter H. Reynolds

Lest you think I have a truly warped sense of love, here is a more traditional (but no less magical) book for you! This sweet book is appropriate for toddlers up through adults who are kids at heart! “Little Miss” plants a kiss. What do you think happens when you plant a kiss? LOVE GROWS! And in this book, love grows in sparkly, glittery grandeur!  Little Miss’ friends are in such awe of the love that they warn her to keep this beautiful love to herself for fear that it “go bare” if she plucks any off and gives it away. Little Miss ignores her friends’ well meant advice and gives and gives of her love! So what do you suppose happens then?! Grab at least two copies of this book (one for yourself and one to give away) and find out what happens! Language: Focus on the great verbs in this book. Model them in sentences for your child to repeat. Also, try reading the book once in present progressive tense (verb+ing….”Little Miss is watering the kiss”). After you read the book, close it and announce “all done!” Then ask, “what happened?” and go back and read it in the past tense (“Little Miss watered the kiss”). Another great lesson in Social Skills. Discuss how it feels when we are kind and loving to other people! Activity: I found this picture for centerpieces at a wedding while perusing the web and thought it would make for a great sequencing activity. Have your child plant a seed in small pot (bonus activity…decorate the pot making sure to have your child make requests for all the craft supplies). Add a little paper grass or moss to the top and top with a chocolate kiss or two. Even better – personalize the message coming out of the chocolate kiss! Before starting this activity, have your child sequence the steps involved (e.g., decorate the pot; fill with some soil; add a seed; add more dirt; top with moss; plant your kiss!). What a fantastic gift for your child to give to someone he or she loves – a plant AND a kiss! I am betting you will see the love grow!

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY! I think this year I will plant a kiss and head over to my brother’s house, snuggle up my little niece and nephew, read them a story or three and watch some love grow!

In a previous blog, I was writing about the features I look for in an app (perhaps you should refresh your memory since it has been a while).  After my initial downloading frenzy when I first started using the iPad, I came up for air only to find that I many apps were not as useful or captivating as I had hoped.  Since then, I have developed better criteria when considering purchasing an app. Here are some additional features I look for in an app.

Data Collection.  As an SLP, I am a data collecting maniac.  Data tells me if the task is too easy or too tough for my client and whether or not the client is making progress.  Even if you are not a clinician or an educator, the ability to analyze your child’s performance is very important.  If an app is too difficult for your child, they will quickly become frustrated; too easy and they will lose interest.  Here are some loose guidelines for data interpretation, keeping in mind that each child is different!  The trick is to find an app or level that is challenging but not frustrating!

• 40% accuracy (calculated by number correct divided by the number of opportunities presented) or lower means the task is either too difficult or needs significant teaching and support by the adult.  You can provide support by working along side the child and modeling and providing examples for each trial.  (Watch your data over time.  If your child’s performance is not improving or remains below 40% accuracy over 3 consecutive uses of the app, this app/task is too difficult and should be set aside for later).
• Initial scores of 85% or higher would suggest that this is an emerging skill for your child and they will likely master this app very quickly.  If there is an opportunity to work at a higher level of difficulty, your child is probably ready for the next level.
• Mastery of a skill usually occurs when a child is able to perform at 85% accuracy or higher over 3 or more consecutive uses of the app.  Congratulations!  This means your work with the app is really paying off and your child has gained a new skill that they are likely to carryover to other learning opportunities!

Of course you can take data informally (I highly recommend this if there is not a data

Data collection screen for Pocket SLP articulation

collection option on the app), but I sure do love apps that have this feature!  Even better are apps that allow me to collect and store data for multiple kids.  I love the Pocket SLP  Articulation app for all its data collecting goodness!  (If you are an SLP or a parent of a child with multiple articulation errors, this app is a great buy!)

Ample Stimulus Set.  This may sound technical, but basically, I am looking for apps that provide plenty of opportunities for my clients to practice a target set of skills.  Practice, practice and more practice leads to learning!  You also need a decent set of trials to derive adequate data.  (My college students used to ask me why my exams were so long.  I told them, “if I only gave you 10 questions and you missed one, the best you could get would be a 90.”  This was enough to induce grade related tremors from students who never complained about lengthy exams again!).  Early on, I bought an app to work on simple wh-questions.  The first time I used the app was with a client (Big mistake! I always “play” with the app myself before using it in therapy!) There were only 12 questions!  At the end of the app, my client looked at me and

Screen shot of "Receptive Combined" app. Requires children to identify objects by function, feature or class.

asked, “is that it?”  Yup. Into the “eh” folder for that app!  The apps from Kindergarten.com  provide robust stimulus sets and have apps that target many great language concepts such as receptive/expressive nouns, verbs, associations, and emotions.

Facilitates Motivation and Reinforces Behavior! Simply using the iPad with your child is a motivating activity!  As parents and clinicians, I often feel we are sales people – constantly pitching ideas to our kids.  ”You LOVE broccoli!  It is like eating tiny trees!”  Make sure to promote iPad time as a reward, “I love your good listening!  Now we can play on the iPad together!”  ”Once we are done in the grocery store, we can play with your favorite app.”  If you routinely hand your iPhone, iPad or other handheld device over to your child to simply entertain him/her or occupy your child when you are busy, the device will lose it’s magic. Anything can be a reward or reinforcer – the secret is to keep it special!  (If you were sent flowers everyday, the thrill of receiving them would dwindle over time.)

I “sell” each app that I use with my kids.  ”Oh goodie!  Now we get to make a movie with Milo!” (Speech with Milo – Sequencing) or “If you are a good listener, next we get to play the spelling game!” (FirstWords: Deluxe).  My clients routinely ask to “play” with particular learning apps that have become favorites.  I also have apps that I use strictly for reinforcement.  Some of the apps I use for reinforcement are simply games, like Angry Birds and Racing Penguin.  I have one client, who will “work” for a solid 55 minutes in therapy so that she can play Angry Birds for the last 5 minutes of our session while I talk to her mother.  In fact, she greets me with, “3:55, Angry Birds!”  (She also lets me know when there is a new update!).  I would argue that most games have some therapeutic advantage: fine motor development, eye-hand coordination, attention, planning and following directions.

My favorite reinforcer apps to use are those that are highly motivating, very quick to play AND sneak in a little learning!  I incorporate just a few minutes of use of these apps throughout the session; sandwiching therapeutic apps and just straight up therapy with a little play time.  Two of my favorites are Go Go Mongo and Monkey Preschool Lunchbox. Go Go Mongo is a ridiculously simply game in which you have to tilt the device to position Mongo to catch the specified food (ex: apples, bananas, oranges) that falls from the sky. Be careful, occasionally other foods like cookies and cake fall that will make Mongo sick! My kids always crack up when I shout, “ACK!! Not the cake!!!!”  One round of Go Go Mongo takes less than 1 minute and it is just long enough to get the child motivated and ready for more “work.”  While playing, the kids are working on attention, following directions and developing visual-spatial skills!

My current favorite super fast, highly motivating AND educational app to use for reinforcement is Bugs and Buttons.  I have yet to find a kid who doesn’t love it (I have to confess, I enjoy playing it too!).  Great for kids 4 and up. Once you press start, a random

Just two of the eighteen games in Bugs and Buttons!

sequence of games begins.  Each game is played for approximately 1-3 minutes.  Each game incorporates a learning component in the task which gradually increases in difficulty (matching, sequencing, sorting, fine motor, visual-motor, following directions).  One of my favorites is a game that requires you to use a  superior pincer grasp to pick up bugs and put them in jar or cardboard and cans for recycling bins.  The graphics, music and creativity are fantastic!  Once we have finished one game, I wait a second to see what game is coming up next, “Oh, ROACH RACE!!!!”, then I hit the pause button.  ”Let’s work on our sentences and THEN we can come back and play Roach Race!”.  The anticipation of the reward to come makes even the most wiggly and non-compliant of my kids eager to work diligently on the next task!

As the New Year has dawned, I have been contemplating words.  Guilt is a word…. I have been behind on my blogging, internet exploration, projects and to-do lists.  December was a crazy month… my father had hip replacement surgery; my son, “Hurricane Jimmie” was home from college and I felt like “Tropical Storm Chaser Elizabeth”; HOLIDAYS (plus, THREE December birthdays!); and the chest cold that has been pursuing me since Thanksgiving finally landed!  But GUILT is not a productive word.  I am intimately acquainted with this word but feel it is time to let this one go…it is over used and worn out! Buh-bye!

My friend, Alessandra, author of Tribal Times, embraces her word, SHINE, as she dances in the snow!

I kicked off the year very differently!  No RESOLUTIONS! Instead, I took a lovely yoga workshop New Year’s Day.  During the workshop, we were encouraged to choose a few powerful WORDS to define ourselves for the New Year.  Wordsmith that I am, I loved  this idea!  I chose COURAGE, ACTION and VULNERABILITY.  The first two are pretty self-explanatory.  When I get to vulnerability, people tend to squinch up their nose and ask, “really, that is how you want to define yourself??”  Dictionaries do not paint a kind picture of the word vulnerability – using terms such as “weakness,” “open to damage,” “susceptible to injury.”  Ick, doesn’t sound too powerful!  However, in defining vulnerability, I am not reading from printed dictionaries, instead I am consulting my internal dictionary… the semantics based from experience which is how we truly define words.  To me, vulnerability means being open to new ideas and new things; surrendering control; not having to be superwoman, right, or flawless.  It means asking for help when I need it; looking to the experience of others; and fully experiencing failures along with successes.  Hmmm… a little scary… but that is where courage and action come into play!

For the many parents, educators, and speech pathologists who read this blog, we think so carefully about the words we teach and use around our children with communication impairments.  I encourage you to take a minute and think about the words that you want to define yourself as you move forward into 2012!  While you are at it, determine which words are no longer serving you and bid them farewell!  I would love to hear your powerful words!

Need a little inspiration????  Here are some strong words to consider!

Abundance, Acceptance, Action, Adventure, Attention, Awareness, Awe, Change, Choice, Clarity, Commitment, Compassion, Confidence, Courage, Creativity, Deliberateness, Delight, Discipline, Energy, Focus, Forgiveness, Freedom, Friendship, Fun, Expansion, Exploration, Generosity, Gentleness, Grace, Gratitude, Growth, Health, Integrity, Joy, Kindness, Knowing, Laughter, Love, Mastery, Openness, Patience, Peace, Perseverance, Playfulness, Presence, Risk, Self-love, Shine, Spirit, Trust, Wealth, Willingness….

For more inspiration, check out Alessandra’s blog, Tribal Times, and watch her SHINE!

I am constantly looking at, evaluating and buying apps. I do shop for apps developed for speech and language purposes and have most of those.  However, the majority of apps I use to address speech, language and communication skills were not developed for that purpose.  Most are apps that fall under the category of “education” and were created for children.   (I also use lots of apps like You Tube, dictionaries, thesauruses, Wikapedia, organizers, and weather apps…but that is a topic for another blog!) Some of my purchases become instant favorites and I can use them with a variety of kiddos with differing needs. Some are a complete bust – they don’t interest my kids, are cumbersome to use, or lack sound theoretical and developmentally appropriate content. These apps go into a folder I have labeled, “eh”, on my iPad.  I can’t bring myself to delete them but I hardly ever use them.  When I am considering an app purchase, I am wearing my speech-language pathologist hat – looking for apps that will help stimulate language development, communication and encourage functional skills.  So, what are the features that decrease the likelihood of an app going into the “eh” folder?

Strong visual appeal.  I like apps that are visually engaging.  This means clear, uncluttered, consistent, colorful graphics.  Some programs are bright and colorful but have WAY too much going on!  My kids (and I) get overwhelmed – it is too hard to focus on the important details.  The items in apps should clearly depict the subject. Yesterday, I was using a spelling app with a child.  The objective was to spell the pictured item – in this case a yam (really???  This is not a high frequency word for any early elementary student…see developmentally appropriate below) and we could not figure out what the rusty colored, oval-ish picture was supposed to be (my client’s father thought it was a rock)!  Some apps are visually inconsistent – they use a variety of visual stimuli from line drawings, illustrations and photographs -for some children this leads to confusion. When apps use a consistent look and feel, kids

"Itsy Bitsy Spider" from Duck Duck Moose

begin to recognize characters, features and patterns.  This predictability is great for language development and I find the kids begin to develop a comfort, attachment and “relationship”with the characters and app.  Take a look at the sample items in the app description to see if the app you are considering meets this criteria.  The apps from Duck Duck Moose are great exemplars of strong visual appeal!

Theoretically and Developmentally Appropriate.  When I purchase an app designed for a specific population (e.g., preschoolers, elementary, high school) or for a specific task (early nouns, verbs, wh-questions) my expectation is that the language and stimuli will clearly address the targets as specified in the app description.  My expectations are particularly high when the app is targeting language development.  I have encountered some disappointment in this arena – poor choice of vocabulary, confusing stimuli, and ambiguous pictures.  Very rarely does this apply to the entire app (but there are a few in the “eh” folder) – usually it is just a few items.  I can generally adjust for this if the app has built in some user controls that allow me to select the stimuli to use (keep reading for more details!).  To avoid this issue, I look for apps that were developed by or with consultation

"Verbs with Milo" from Doonan Speech Therapy

from a speech-language pathologist, educator or developmental specialist.  The “Speech with Milo” apps from Doonan Speech Therapy are excellent theoretically and developmental appropriate apps!  (They also pass my criteria for strong visual interest!)

Flexibility.  I tend to look for apps that allow for some degree of customization.  Some children are sensitive to or distracted by sounds (background music, reinforcers) – can I turn on and off the audio? Can I control the stimuli?  For instance, if I am using an app to work on verbs, can I select the set of verbs that I want to work on?  This is can be a important feature!  Children generally do best with repeated exposure to a set of stimuli so that they can practice with that material until they achieve a degree of accuracy (85% or better accuracy generally means that the child is mastering the information and will begin to carry over and generalize that information to other environments).  If different material is presented randomly every time you use the app you can end up in a “spray and pray” situation (randomly bombard the child with information and hope that something sticks!).  Can I delete or hide items that are above/below the child’s language level or are confusing/non-functional items (like the ambiguous yam)? Is there a receptive (comprehension) and expressive (production) mode?  This is a feature in some apps produced for language, spelling and reading development.  If so, be sure to work on the receptive skills first, then expressive (we can’t talk well about things we don’t understand!).  In some apps this feature is designated as “learn” (receptive) and “practice” (expressive)modes.  Can I turn on and off text?  I often like words that accompany pictures because it is a nice boost to literacy skills, but for some children this can be distracting, limits how I can work with the app (for example, I might be working on past tense, but the

Customizable features for "My First Words" by Alligator Apps

text only labels the picture in present tense). In some cases, the child’s reading skills are better than language skills.  I was recently working with a child who was whipping through the items that I knew should be a bit more challenging.  I finally realized he was reading the words!  (I hate when I am outsmarted by a 5 year old!). When I covered the text with a piece of paper, the items were much more challenging and we were able to focus on really learning the material!  I also love it when I can create my own items to insure that the stimulus is meaningful and just the right fit for my client!  Read through the developer’s descriptions of the app to determine if the app has the flexibility you need. The Alligator Apps flashcards are great for early vocabulary development and provide a lot of flexibility!

Stay tuned for more information to help you become an app savvy shopper in our next blog!

If you’re looking for one of the best applications of the iPad for students, you may find that it’s not an “app” at all! Need a social story with video modeling embedded? Easy! Want to put a recording  of a student reading his or her writing? No problem. Interactive and engaging eBooks are easy to create on your own by using the ePub function of Pages (the word processing software for Mac). It’s incredibly motivating for students to produce written work that looks like a professionally-made eBook and can be shared with peers and others.

Some great uses for ePubs include:

-Student-written stories

-Research papers/presentations

-Social Stories (with embedded video modeling)

-Review of content area units

-Journaling

All of the tools and options that are available through iBooks and other eBook readers can be used with ePubs, including interactive Table of Contents, text readers, bookmarks, chapter links and linked notes. Using Apple’s ePub template, it’s easy to create your own interactive iBooks. It’s available at http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4168.

Just type over the formatted text and the hard work is already done for you–the chapter  links and other formatting are already set up! Write your text, drag and drop your photos and video, and export as an ePub (Share>Export>ePub). Then just move the file to your iPad, iPhone or other device, and you’ll find it in your iBooks or other eBook reader.

After you’ve put it on the iPad, it’s there to read as often as you like, and since you’re the author, it can be shared with anyone you’d like.

Josh Taylor  is a second year SpEd teacher (fourth year in the classroom) at the Stratford Program (Arlington Public Schools) who loves finding creative ways to use technology to enable students to show their knowledge and ability. He is currently a graduate student at the University of Virginia, where he is pursuing a Master’s in Special Education.

I had the pleasure of hearing Michelle Garcia Winner speak at the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) convention in November 2010.  After years of wading through tons of “social skills” protocols, here was a person who really gets it!  She described social thinking as, “the process through which we think about people, their thoughts, intentions, point of view and emotions.”  In a nutshell, our social thinking skills drive our behaviors (social skills)! To develop effective social skills, one must first develop social thinking skills. I became a convert! Right after her presentation, I bought an armful of her literature and started using her Social Thinking curriculum with my clients with Aspergers, high functioning autism, ADHD, learning disabilities, and weaknesses in executive functioning. The results are impressive!

Back to Nathan…. We had already finished reading and discussing, “You Are a Social Detective“, over a series of sessions.  Written in engaging, cartoon and prose format, this book introduces some basic Social Thinking concepts:  social smarts (social thinking skills); having your “brain in the group” (shows you are paying attention); “thinking with your eyes” (where you are looking tells a lot about what you are thinking) and “expected/unexpected behaviors” (expected behaviors lead others to have good thoughts about us!). We were in the midst of the “Superflex curriculum“, where our favorite hero, Superflex, (who doesn’t love a hero?) uses his awesome social thinking skills to defeat the villainous team of “Unthinkables”…dun..dun..DUN!  The “Unthinkables” are my favorite part of the whole program! Dastardly characters like: “Rock Brain” (makes your brain stuck on one thought), “Glassman” (causes huge overreactions), “Mean Jean” (makes you a little snarky), “Grumpy Grumpaniny” (well, I bet you can guess what he does!) and a host of other foes sneak into your brain and interfere with your good social thinking! So, I pulled out our Superflex book to get down to business as usual.  As we were reviewing the cast of Unthinkables (we do this each time to make sure they are fresh in our brains), Nathan turned to me and said, “I think the Unthinkables got in my head today!” (*fake surprise from me*) “REAALLLY??” I responded, “Which ones?” This started a great dialogue in which Nathan told me that something bothered him at school (at this point neither of us can remember just what that something was) and now he was being attacked by Rock Brain, Glassman and Grumpy Grumpaniny!  Just talking about it solved half the problem. Nathan took care of the rest of the problem by pretending to escort this trio of evil-doers over to the shredder, thus ending their campaign to take over his brain! Lo and Behold – a smile returned to my sweet Nathan’s face!

This is just one (but one of the BEST) examples of putting Social Thinking into action. There are so many reasons I love the Social Thinking approach! The books are created to capture a child’s interest visually and conceptually. Kids can relate to the characters and find a comfortable way to talk about themselves and their behavior (“Glassman invaded my head and I really got mad.”). The program is flexible! Garcia Winner has a range of products tailored for children 4 years old through high school.  For middle and high schoolers, we read “Socially Curious and Curiously Social” out loud and discuss how the Social Thinking concepts apply to family, school and friends. Targeting social behaviors without good social thinking often leads to developing behaviors that are odd (I have encountered several kids over the years who have been prompted to “greet” unfamiliar people with an intro such as, “Hi.  My name is _________ and I like______.” Call me crazy, but that comes off as a little strange. (Would you introduce yourself that way?). But, the best part of using Social Thinking is turning funghi faces into faces like this!

Besides the cool factor – this app offers tons of language opportunities!

• Start your child’s day with a quick check of the weather forecast – stress weather vocabulary (For little guys: “rainy, sunny, cold, warm, wet, cloudy.” For your budding meteorologist, emphasize terms like “temperature, forecast, advisory”).  Great material for practicing adjectives!
• Build comprehension of temporal concepts (time related concepts such as before, after, now, soon, earlier, later, tonight, tomorrow).  ”Now it is sunny, later it will be raining”  The ability to scroll from screen to screen is a nice visual aid to help teach these concepts (start on the “current” weather tab, as you move from left to right, you are moving into the future – today, tonight, tomorrow).
• While using temporal terms, don’t forget to review verb tense!  ”Right now, it IS raining!”  Tonight it WILL be sunny!”  ”Yesterday WAS cloudy!”
• Avoid those clothing choice confrontations!  (Even the youngest of my clients seem to have very definite fashion opinions!)  Together, check the forecast and help your child pick out their clothes.  Be sure to offer choices, “It is going to be cold today, you need a sweater – do want to wear the blue or the green sweater?”
• Develop categorizing skills – what kinds of clothes/activities go with a sunny/cold/rainy day?
• Work on those essential planning skills (so important for children with Executive Functioning weaknesses).  ”Today is Tuesday.  Let’s check the weather for the weekend.  It is going rain.  What are some rainy day activities we could plan?”
• Throw in a little Occupational Therapy!  Clothes are great for developing those fine motor skills.  While donning and doffing (Oh, how I love those words!) clothes have your child work the snaps, buttons and zippers.  Bonus – while your child is dressing emphasize prepositions!  ”The shirt goes under your sweater.”  ”Your hat is on your head.”
• Use this app in Circle Time when discussing the weather.  Sing the weather song: (to the tune of My Darling Clementine) “What’s the weather?  What’s the weather?  What’s the weather like today?  Is it sunny?  Is it cloudy?  Is it rainy out today?”

  Skeleton Hiccups by Margery Cuyler.

Appropriate for ages 2-6.  This funny, little story is about a skeleton who gets the hiccups.  He tries to get through his daily activities but those darn hiccups keep getting in the way!  He tries everything to get rid of them and finally does with the help of his friend, Ghost!

Language:  Practice verbs!  Ask your little one, ”What is Skeleton doing?”  Model responses appropriate for your child’s language level.  That may be a single word, “raking” or a full sentence, “Skeleton is carving a pumpkin!”   Articulation:  This book is loaded with /k/ and /g/ sounds!   Pragmatics:  Pragmatics refers to the social use of language.  Explaining absurdities is a great pragmatic skill.  The clever drawings in this book depict tons of absurd situations. Ask your child, “What is silly in this picture?”

  Goodnight Goon by Micheal Rex.

For all of you who are enchanted by the classic, Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown, you are going to love this spooky parody!  Playing off the artwork and story line of the original – a hairy, old werewolf helps his young werewolf cub say good night to the tomb!  (If you don’t have Goodnight Moon, make sure to pick that up too – it is a must-have for any child’s library).  I think this book is fun for all ages, but particularly appropriate for brave 2 year olds up through playful 8 year olds.

Language:  I love this book for practicing adjectives. Have your child point to the pictures the adjectives are describing. “Where is the loud, screechy bat?”  Read a line, “and a hairy old werewolf who was hollering Boo,” and explain what the adjectives mean. “Hairy means that the werewolf is covered in fur.  See the fur all over his body?”  This is another action packed book with great illustrations for verb practice.  Oh, and don’t forget prepositions!  Ask your child to “find” objects in the picture and use their “finding words” (prepositions) to tell you where they are.  ”The goon is under the bed!”   Articulation: /g/ words galore for your little goblin to practice!

  Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson

This is delightful book, written in rhyme, tells the tale of a witch who keeps losing her belongings (hat, wand, bow) but finds them with the help animal friends who join her on her flight – but how will she make room for them on her broom?  Guaranteed to delight children 3-9 years old!

Language:  Loads of adjectives and powerful verbs (shrieked, clutched, tumbling) to stimulate vocabulary growth!  Talk about the meaning of these words and encourage your child to come up with synonyms – “What is another word for shrieked?”  Phonemic Awareness:  Phonemic awareness is the ability to manipulate sounds and is an important pre-reading skill.  Rhyming is an early phonemic awareness skill and this book provides ample opportunities for rhyming practice.  After reading the story a few times, read a line from the story, leaving off the final word and encourage your child to guess the missing word (familiarity with the story and picture clues will help with this task!).  ”Over the fields and forest they flew.  The dog wagged his tail and the stormy wind ____ (blew)”.  Play with the rhymes and have your child come up with additional rhyming words (shoe, new, glue).  Pragmatics:  This book is ideal for discussing feelings, social skills and problem solving!  The witch finds her belongings with the help of her friends.  Discuss how your child can be helpful and a good friend.  Help your child identify the emotions in the story.  ”How did the witch feel when she lost her hat?” “How did she feel when the animals helped her?” Our poor friend, Witch, has lots of problems – she keeps losing her belongings, the animals all want to ride along on the broom, her broom broke AND she is confronted by a dragon! Discuss how she solved her problems?  Encourage your child to talk about what he/she would do to solve the problems.

  The Little Old Lady Who Wasn’t Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams

This is my sister-in-law’s (also an SLP!) favorite Halloween book for preschoolers and elementary school kids. This brave lady marches her way home despite the fact that she is being followed by a pair of clomping shoes, shaking pants, a wiggling shirt and more!  What do you suppose she will do with these items?

Language:  The repetitive refrain in this story is perfect for having your child join in the “reading” as they say the refrain with you.  Also a great way to model and practice syntax (grammatical word order).  I use this book for sequencing and retelling a story – perfect for the child who is learning to put sentences together to relate ideas and stories!  Have your child retell the story in sequence, offering prompts such as, “FIRST what followed her home?  THEN, what followed her next?”  If you are really creative, cut out a pair of shoes, pants, shirt and pumpkin from construction paper and have your child assemble their own scarecrow as they retell the story!  Articulation: Great opportunities to practice /l/, /r/, and /s/!

  Undead Mad Libs

I am mad about Mad Libs for elementary and middle school children!  Work with your child to fill-in-the-blanks to create some serious silliness. This is always a kid pleaser and if you haven’t done a Mad Lib in a while, you will be surprised at just how much fun it is!  For younger elementary children, look for the Mad Libs Junior additions which provide a word bank of silly nouns, verbs and adjectives.

Language:  Mad Libs are a fun and motivating resource for teaching and practicing parts of speech!  Remind your student or child of the grammatical categories – a noun is a person, place or thing; a verb is an action word; an adjective describes a noun; an adverb describes a verb or adjective!  Also fantastic for vocabulary development.  When a child gives me simple words – we work to make them a bit more interesting.  ”What is another word for run?” Nice opportunity to put research skills to work and use a thesaurus to beef up vocabulary – why use “run” when “sprint,” “race,” or “jog” is more interesting?  Articulation:  I use Mad Libs all the time for articulation practice.  After we fill in the words, the child or I read the Mad Lib so we can appreciate the ridiculous story we have created.  Then, using a highlighter, we go back through the story and highlight all of the sounds we are practicing.  Depending on the child’s reading skills, the child repeats target words after me or reads the sentences out loud.  I generally make a copy of the story for the child to take home for more practice.

I hope your Halloween is spooktacular and  that you curl up with your little goblin to  share one of these fantastic books!  Do you want some ideas to turn your favorite Halloween book into a language rich experience?  Leave a comment and I will be happy to provide some suggestions!

YOU are the most important feature of the iPad!  To improve communication skills, you must be a part of  your child’s interactions with the iPad, otherwise the iPad becomes just another form of media and entertainment.  There is nothing wrong with using the iPad as a form of entertainment – playing games, reading, surfing the web is great fun – but when you want to use the device as a communication tool your child/student/client needs an adult to guide their communication.

• Require your child to ask to use the iPad.  First, this establishes communicative intention – making a request.  Second, if your child has free reign with the iPad, it quickly loses it’s allure.  (Ex:  Parent: “Let’s sit down together and read that cool story on the iPad *secret parent intention – practice using verbs in full sentences*; Child thinks: “eh, I just played Angry Birds for an hour.”) (Please note:  the child who is using the iPad as a speech generating device with apps such as Proloquo as a means of communication is an exception to the “free reign rule”.)
• Establish the attitude that time with Mom/Dad/therapist/teacher and the iPad is fun!  Make this special time together – you want the the child to look forward to these interaction.  The crux of communication is that communicating is its own reward – I express my needs to have my needs are met!  (I often ask parents, “If your spouse met ALL your needs without you saying a word – how much would you really have to say to him/her?”)
• Create folders for “therapeutic” and “recreational”  apps.  Name the therapeutic folder something enticing!  Even the youngest kids quickly get the terms like “homework” and “speech practice” are not synonymous with fun!
• With toddlers and pre-schoolers, I physically hold and control the iPad.  Shoving my hand into the case, I wield it like a puppet – pulling it in and out of touch range.  Depending on what I am targeting, the child has to say a word (“Say cow”), answer a question (“Where is the cow?)  or follow a command (“Touch the cow that is in front of the barn”).  I had one little guy who’s first word was “touch”!
• With elementary school and older children, I sit beside them with the iPad in front of us.  I generally keep one hand gently on their hand to keep them focused and limit impulsive and random touching of images (the iPad can be the ultimate “ooooh shiny” distraction!).

Explore apps!  There some incredibly appealing and well produced apps out there that can be used to improve speech, language and communication.  Searching the app store under the search terms, “speech,” “language,” “ABA,” “autism,” “communication,” and “education” yields some nice finds.  There are also some real clunkers out there.  Read about the app features and reviews.  Price does not predict quality – I have some great apps that I purchased from $1 to $20.  Some of the inexpensive apps are pretty flimsy and some of the expensive apps miss the mark.  I try to make an informed purchase and keep things in perspective – so I spent, $5 on a disappointing app….I also just spent $5 on a latte from my favorite coffee shop!  (Look for desired app features in an upcoming blog).

Think outside the app.  You don’t have to use the app the way it was intended.  What do you want the child to achieve?  Say a single word, use a full sentence, answer wh- questions, clearly articulate /r/, follow a two-step direction, use descriptive terms, retell a story???  With your goal in mind, see how you can make the app work for you.  Multi-task!  If you are targeting use full sentences and the sounds /k/ and /g/, read an interactive story.  Have the child tell you what the character is doing (in a full sentence) before touching the character.  Encourage your child to repeat vocabulary items containing /k/ and /g/ (“now you say, King” – then the child is rewarded by touching the king).  If you are using an app that targets single word vocabulary items, add a descriptive term in your model (Adult, “What is that?”  Child, “elephant”, Adult, “yes, it is a BIG elephant!”).  Give feedback!  If you are using an app to improve comprehension of nouns by function, the stimulus might be “touch the one that is big.”  If the child touches the incorrect item (give them a chance to be “wrong” – perfect opportunity for feedback!), say, “the cat is SMALL”, *point at correct item*, “the ELEPHANT is BIG.”  Praise the heck out of correct responses and provide encouragement for attempting the task, “you are sooo close!”  and “I love the way you are listening, keep trying!”

Keep data!  All therapy and most of education uses principles of the scientific method.  You have a hypothesis of what might work to address a need, you try it out, look at the data, and tweak!  Many of the apps targeting speech and language skills have data keeping functions.  I LOVE these!  For those that don’t or apps that you are adapting to suit communication needs – keep a count in your head, a tally, or calculate a rough percentage of accuracy.  Generally, low accuracy (40% or less) means the task is too difficult for current skills – take a step back to a simpler task.  Super high accuracy (90% or better) means the task is not challenging enough – up the ante a bit!  For most kids, 85% accuracy over 3-4 consecutive attempts means the child is mastering the skill.  (For children in the autism spectrum, I usually aim for 90% or better over 5-6 consecutive attempts to make sure the skill is fully mastered).

Be creative!  The possibilities are endless which is why I love the iPad!  Don’t limit yourself to educational or therapeutic apps.  Try using the notepad feature as a journal – email the entries to teachers, friends, and grandparents.  Let your child record himself – great feedback for articulation, volume and voice.  Take pictures of your child in daily activities and use iPhoto to sequence the pictures to make a story or chronicle an event (Sally’s birthday) or use the pictures to create a visual schedule (waking up, getting dressed, getting on the bus, going to ballet, eating dinner).  Use the iPad as a behavior management tool! (Behavior management with the iPad is limitless and will require a separate blog.)  ”Finish your homework and you can play Angry Birds!”  ”While Mommy makes dinner, you can watch a video.”  ”After dinner, you and Daddy are going to have special time (interactive communication) on the iPad!”

Let your imagination run wild and be willing to TRY ANYTHING!  Please share how you are using your iPad to improve communication skills!

Last November, I borrowed a friend’s iPad for a little test-drive.  Within hours, I was sold!  The next day, I shuffled my way over to the Apple Store – prepared for a HUGE ordeal – like getting a new cell phone or a car – to purchase an iPad.  What a surprise, the friendly and knowledgable staff member listened to my needs, shlooked my credit card through his nifty little hand-held money taker and the next thing I knew, I had an iPad and my first Apple product in my hands!  Immediately, I started surfing the App store for apps to use in therapy.  Now the iPad has become an essential tool in every therapy session (I will write more on how and what specific apps I use in future blogs).  If you are parent, educator, or speech-language pathologist who is considering taking the plunge, here are some of the many BENEFITS of using the iPad to facilitate communication.  

1.  ENGAGING - The iPad engages children through all learning modalities – visual, auditory, and tactile!  (Ok – smell and taste are not represented, but I did have a child lick my iPad once!!). The opportunities to touch and swipe keep little hands from being destructive hands!  Most importantly, because I control the iPad, it requires the child to engage with me – enticing them into social and linguistic interaction.

2.  MOTIVATING - My clients of all ages (toddlers through teens) love using the iPad.  Apps provide a platform that invites kids to participate and engage in social communication.  I brought my iPad with me to a preschool screening and the teachers were surprised to see even the most shy children were willing to “use their words” and interact with me for a chance to touch images on a hands-on story app.

3.  BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT - Not only do I use my iPad for learning, I use it as a reinforcer.  ”Good listening,” cooperation (ex: “5 minutes of _______ and then we can play Old MacDonald on the iPad”),  and accuracy (ex: “I’m listening for good /l/’s”) are rewarded with time on favorite apps.

4.  ACCESSIBILITY – All of my clients – regardless of age or ability, are able to participate at some level with the iPad through touch or voice.  Because the device is so small, I am able to position it within the child’s reach and visual field.  I often hold the iPad close to my face so that the child can see both the iPad and my face (helps draws their attention to my expressions, articulatory placement cues and increases social interactions).

5.  PORTABILITY – Although I have been using the computer and various programs for some time, it is much harder for me to control the access and manipulate my client’s interactions on the computer, even a small laptop.  The ability to “control” the stimuli is what allows for good therapeutic/learning outcomes.  I can wield the iPad like a puppet – positioning it where I need it for maximum effectiveness or placing the device in or out of the child’s range until I get the targeted response (ex: *holding iPad out of range* “What do you want?”  desired response from child: “I want spider please”, result: *moving iPad in touching range*, child gets to touch the spider and it goes up the water spout!).  Voila!  Natural reinforcement for using language to have needs met!  The other benefit of portability, is that the iPad fits neatly in my hands or purse (a very cute one I picked with iPad dimension in mind) and my therapy materials and I are ready to go.

6. FLEXIBILITY -  I think of my iPad as a giant toolbox in a small case!  Of course,  I have a bevy of apps designed for speech-language therapy and education to work with clients of all ages and needs, but I also use other iPad features throughout my sessions.

• Instant access to the web allows clients to research information on the spot.
• Several grade school and adolescent clients use the “notepad” feature to journal about our therapy session which we then email to their parents. (This also provides opportunities to practice sequencing, grammar and spelling skills).
• The record function allows clients to hear how they sound, which is an invaluable feedback tool!
•  Skype and FaceTime lets me connect with parents, teachers and clients who can’t make it into the office.
• I play Words with Friends with two of my clients to improve spelling and vocabulary (must look up all unfamiliar words in the dictionary).
•  Access to my online clinic management system lets me record data during the session.  By the end the session, the note is complete, sent to the wireless printer and parents go home with a treatment note in hand.

ALL this access in one device has revolutionized my clinical practice!  I now understand why Eve tempted Adam with the Apple… one bite and I was hooked!  Please share how you are using the iPad in therapy or at home!

(*For the record, I do not work for Apple, nor am I a paid endorser.  There are many platforms from which to use apps and stimulate language development, but since I have been using the iPad, I am writing specifically about its use.  My comments and observations can be generalized to other hand-held devices).