Author: Gabriella Perlongo MS CCC SLP

To promote better sleep for children, it’s important to create a calm bedtime environment and establish a consistent sleep routine. Use cues and routines to help your kiddos transition smoothly to bedtime. Additionally, allocate time for connection and conversation before sleep to foster a sense of security. Utilize these Donkey Hodie bedtime cards   to create a calm environment with your child before bedtime! Donkey Hodie Bedtime Cards Website: pbskids.org/donkeyhodie Produced By: Fred Rogers Productions

  Kindness is a skill that can be developed and nurtured, given a strong model. Here are steps for parents to follow when teaching their child about kindness and how to be a supportive friend. It may be beneficial to have this discussion with your child before the upcoming school year. 1. Modeling Kindness: Demonstrate respectful and kind behavior in your own interactions, as children often learn by example 2. Teaching Empathy: Help your child understand and recognize others’ feelings through discussions and role-playing scenarios 3. Encouraging Positive Interactions: Provide opportunities for children to practice kindness, such as helping others, sharing, and offering support 4.  Reinforcing Good Behavior: Praise and acknowledge acts of kindness to reinforce positive social behavior By integrating these practices into daily

  Summer is coming to an end and school is right around the corner! Here are some ideas to make the transition back to school smoother for your child: 1. Establishing Routines: Set consistent sleep schedules, morning routines, and homework times to ease the transition and reduce stress 2. Organizing Supplies: Ensure that school supplies, clothes, and backpacks are ready well before the first day to avoid last-minute scrambling 3. Open Communication: Encourage open dialogue about any concerns or anxieties regarding the new school year, fostering a supportive environment 4. Gradual Adjustment: Ease into the school routine by gradually adjusting bedtime and wake-up times a week or two before school starts 5. Positive Attitude: Model and maintain a positive attitude

Enhancing Your Child’s Speech and Language Skills During Summer Outings   Are you concerned that your child may lose his/her skills over the summer break? Fear no more – Summer break offers children endless opportunities to build memories with their family, experience new things, and engage in hands-on learning activities. Some activities that promote learning opportunities for children to develop their speech and language skills include: going to the pool or beach, museums, and parks, creating a checklist for vacation, reading books about animals at the zoo, etc. Wherever you plan to bring your child this summer, make sure you are engaging in conversations with your child about their surroundings. Asking your child open-ended questions about what they are seeing

  Favorite Family Road Trip Games (Activities That Will Elicit Language) Are you looking to keep your children occupied on a long road trip without relying on screen time to entertain them? Here is a list of simple and engaging games for all ages that are sure to liven up that long car ride: ISpy: Take turns choosing an object to describe. The player can fill-in-the-blank with any word that describes the object (I spy something blue and round). Players will guess the object based on the description provided 20 Questions: Take turns choosing a mystery item. Players will take turns asking yes and no questions to guess the mystery object (Is it something that is living?) The Alphabet Game:

Siblings, older or younger, can be an excellent peer model for kids receiving speech and language therapy and this can be very motivating Have siblings help with turn-taking activities. Choose a fun game and get siblings involved by taking turns appropriately while playing a game with their brother or sister. Learning to take turns appropriately can help siblings get along better outside of therapy Siblings can help set appropriate goals; have the siblings help create functional goals in the home setting. For example, you may ask your child “when is it hard for you to understand what your brother/sister is saying?” He or she may provide examples which is helpful to establish functional goals at home Siblings can be helpful

Prepare: As the new school year is right around the corner, you can help your child prepare for what to expect. How? Write a social story about your child’s new school schedule. Add pictures that reflect your child’s day at school (riding the bus, eating lunch, going to recess, speech therapy, etc.) Read numerous times before they begin school. If you don’t have materials to make a social story, talk about what to expect at school, who your child might see at school, etc. (Make it positive) Contact and Communicate: Contact the teacher and speech pathologist working with your child this year. If your child’s speech pathologist at school has not yet contacted you, reach out and ask for your child’s