Author: Laura Drower MS CCC SLP CNDT

The American Speech Language Hearing Association and Read Aloud 15 Minutes have collaborated on a series of handouts for parents that discuss speech and language development.  The handouts are grouped by age and offer a bounty of useful information on communication and literacy skills.  Check them out here.

Wee Speech is proud to partner with SpeechBytes to develop a brand new speech homework app! At-home practice is a critical element in an overall speech therapy plan, helping your child make progress more quickly and consistently. But it can be hard to get your child excited to practice at home and even more difficult to find time in your busy day to make it happen.  Here’s how it will work: Log in to the app on your mobile device or tablet – the app is free to families.   Enter your Wee Speech therapist’s private access code As your child plays the game, each repetition is recorded and saved to a private and secure platform. This allows your therapist

A new study from the University of Oslo has suggested the use of an Oxytocin nasal spray could benefit persons with Autism Spectrum disorders.  The spray was used on adult men with ASD in a controlled study.  Results indicated that subjects who were given a low dose nasal spray rated faces as happier.  Oxytocin has been linked with improved social information processing.  This study was published in Translational Psychiatry.

The school year is nearly over.  These next few weeks will be filled with activities.  For some students it is an exciting time with parties, clean out and special events.  For other students, it is a stressful end to their structured school days.  One great way to handle the upheaval is to implement a family calendar.  Print out a calendar sheet and use markers and stickers to fill in the upcoming events.  This is a great activity to do with your child and then review the calendar on a daily basis so that there is a sense of what is coming!

Asperger’s Are Us is a new documentary film that looks at the lives and comedy sketch troupe of 4 young men who have Asperger syndrome. Check it out on Netflix!

Ford Motor Company has just expanded their hiring initiative for people with autism. FordInclusiveWorks is a program that provides individuals with autism work experience and the possibility of competitive employment.  This program is in partnership with The Autism Alliance of Michigan.  

Winter vacations can be a great time to spend time together as a family.  They are also full of opportunities to grow vocabulary and language!  We all have phones that take pictures now.  When you are out and about during winter vacation, be sure to snap some shots of the places you go and things that you do.  These can be used to retell events using sequencing and event specific vocabulary.  Don’t forget to take pictures of relatives that you visit – these are great for WH question practice!  Who did we see? Where do they live? When were we there? Print your pictures and glue them into books so that you can use them over and over, retelling events and solidifying vocabulary retention.

Wondering what to do for fun this fall?  Check out Chicago Kids.  From Apple picking to trail riding it’s all here!  Sign up for a free membership and use their convenient online planner so you won’t miss a thing!

Looking for some fun back to school events/activities?  Eventbrite has a great list of kid related fun!  Check it out!