Briannas First Trip To The Speech Therapist

Brianna started speech therapy a few days ago ( after being on a waiting list for awhile ). The lady that is doing the therapy seems really great with kids and even though Brianna ( now 3 and a half ) is very shy around new people, it only took her about 15 minutes to warm up to the therapist and start talking to her. After a few minutes of playing house and naming some pictures on cue cards the therapist told me she is pretty sure Brianna is suffering from Verbal Apraxia . She is fairly certain that with extensive therapy she will be able to speak clearly. Brianna has quite the little language started - I understand every word she says but it is difficult for new people to figure out at times. She mixes up a lot of her letters so instead of for example : like , she will say 'yike' , instead of 'Faith' ( her sister ), she say 'Bay' ( she is unable to pronounce certain letter combinations like 'th', 'sh', 'ch' etc.), instead of 'that' she will say 'dat', etc. She is a very intelligent, funny & sweet little girl though - I am hoping that therapy will be able to help her acheive clearer speech so that everyone else can understand her and see how great she really is!

So our first therapy session consisted of some play time , including blowing bubbles and drinking from a straw ( to build up her muscles ), playing with a doll house ( naming all of the people in the house, talking about what they were doing etc. ), and doing some letter sounds with actions ( for lack of a better description ). The therapist said that starting with sounds she can do at first is always best so we are doing ' P, B & T' this week ( each one has its own little action ). All in all - even though it cost $100 for a one hour session - I think that it went well. We have to go back every week at least once - so it will be a costly recovery but at least Brianna likes the therapist which will help immensely ! I liked her too - it was great that she got down on Briannas level and really played with her, she also made a great effort to listen closely to what Brianna was telling her ( I had to translate a lot of it ) - but I am so thankful that we found a therapist everyone is happy with.

Here is a copy of the report that I received ( for those of you who may have a child with similar speech problems );
28.05.08

Brianna was accompanied by both Shasta and Brian for this initial session (as well as her toy dog, Casey). Although quite shy and initially quiet, Brianna cooperated quite well during the session but would not permit hands-on oral-motor intervention. As she felt more at ease, she used language more readily, sharing information related to her family and friends. Intelligibility of speech is compromised and Shasta’s reformulation was invaluable, both in providing an interpretation for an unfamiliar listener and in rephrasing for Brianna. A speech-language assessment had recently been completed at NPCC by Dorota Parafianowicz, SLP and similar observations were noted today in terms of expressive language skills and articulation patterns. Use of me/I pronominal substitution appeared consistent.
Phonological processes:
- deletion or stopping of all fricatives and affricates: Shasta noted that bite position to lower lip has been difficult to establish, even with practice in front of the mirror. Brianna typically places the lower lip over the upper lip during /f/ attempts. She also noted that /s/ can be elicited in isolation but not in combination with a vowel.
- fronting or deletion of all velars: backing could not be elicited today when a kinaesthetic cue for /k/ was tried (elbows moving backward as /k/ + vowel is modelled);
- reduction of many words to CV, deletion of final consonant;
- use of glide “y”, often in initial position before a vowel, as well as in medial position;
- Vowel variation was difficult to assess since Brianna was reluctant to repeat words on request. She was reported to use /jaI/ for “I”; /bε/ for her sister, Faith; and was noted to use “oo” in the context two; /bæ/ (black); /j۸/ for “up”
- some vowel variation was noted in her use of /tIk tIk/ (cat) and baby;
- inconsistent voicing of /t/ to /d/ and /p/ to /b/ e.g. “You bick” (pick) was also noted e.g. “doo” for “two”

I also received instructions on our 'homework' for the week which I made into a simpler version and printed out to hang on the fridge ( I also made up a little chart with a space to mark down each days progress - which activities we did , and how well it went ) One of the activities was to work with a harmonica ( for building up the muscles ), and Brianna has dragged that little harmonica everywhere with her for the entire week !!! She loves that little thing - and actually is good at it - even has a little sense of rythym ~ which she does not get from me !! This is the first weeks homework :


SPEECH THERAPY WEEK 1 ACTIVITIES

Bubble blowing: Model lip rounding and try to elicit a whispered “hoo” blow

Horn Blowing: Encourage blows of increasing length and remove horn after each blow in order to encourage repositioning of the lips

P/B & T Sounds: use kinaesthetic cues to elicit bilabials /p/, /b/ and /t/, always accompanied by a vowel; track any difficulty with vowel variation
Final Consonant Placement: Focus on eliciting final consonant placement in one-syllable words, as well as two-syllable marking of easier words e.g. those containing m, p. b, t (mommy, puppy, baby, tummy); focus on words targeting vowel shifts

Look For Backing: Focus on eliciting final consonant placement in one-syllable words, as well as two-syllable marking of easier words e.g. those containing m, p. b, t (mommy, puppy, baby, tummy); focus on words tar
geting vowel shifts.

Oral Motor Work: Introduce some oral-motor intervention at home (horn #2; bubble blowing; use of straws for all liquids and for fruit sauces/yogourts (without fruit pieces). Also suggested was the retrieval of a Cheerio placed on the lower lip (using her “bunny teeth”), as well as the use of pudding placed on the lower lip to encourage scraping of the lip with the upper teeth, both to encourage bite placement for /f/

We have been working on these things each day - and have another appointment on Monday. Hopefully progress with start soon - its a lot of work & money but will be so worth it !

NEW Bob The Builder Stuff...Just for Josh :)

Well, sorry for not posting in such a long time. Life is just so busy around here with my two girls, my website and life in general. Even though I haven't posted many notes in my blog lately I have been busy adding new things to my website. This week I have added a bunch of new BOB THE BUILDER stuff. Lots of free coloring pages as well as an entire section on Bob the Builder birthday parties ( lots of great ideas for games, decorating, cakes, free printables etc. ) I made the Bob section as a special request from my 2 year old nephew - he is Bob the Builder crazy so I had to add it just for him :)

I have really been working hard to improve/add to my birthday party section and hope that you all enjoy the changes. I have added some new themes recently including the Pirates of the Caribbean ( which I am considering as my oldest daughters next party )

Oh, and also, I have added some Horton Hears a Who coloring pages - which were REALLY hard to find I might add ! We just went and saw the movie a few weeks ago in theatre with my two girls ( age 9 and 3 ) and it was really great. Lots of laughs from the kids, as well as myself ! The only thing my youngest didn't like was that mean purple kangaroo, and that crazy looking bird - she got really upset whenever he was on.

And last but not least I wanted to add a little side note - I have just had my younger daughter diagnosed with having speech delays ( she replaces a lot of her letters, cuts multi-syllable words down to shorter versions, and uses a lot of 'D's in her words - and although I understand everything she is saying most people do not ) So she will be having speech therapy starting very shortly ( she has to start school in the Fall and hopefully she will have a bit of improvement before then - it is always so hard for children when they are different ). She is such a little sweetheart though, and very eager to learn so I think she will do ok with it. In any case I am going to be posting notes about her progress, and some ideas / therapy plans etc. that hopefully some other parent out there will be able to use. I know there are a lot of other kids out there with speech delays so hopefully some good will come from all of this and I will be able to help some of you out there through my blog and website. If you have any ideas/links you would like to pass on please feel free to contact me
Thanks for reading - and I will be posting again soon
Shasta

Easter Crafts, New Coloring Pages & More !

It has been a very busy month around here and I can't believe it but another holiday is about to pass us by. Easter is nearly here, so I have added a whole bunch of new Easter Crafts ideas to the site, including some SUPER ADORABLE little egg creatures made from hard boiled eggs, some pipe cleaners & a few other odds and ends. I was also able to add some new Easter coloring pages that I created myself - I hope they are enjoyed :) My kids have already printed them out and colored them a few times now.

In addition to the new Easter stuff I have also been busy trying to keep up to date with the newest kids movie releases. I was able to find some great coloring pages for THE BEE MOVIE & HORTON HEARS A WHO. You can find them here on my cartoon coloring page. If you have anymore that I can add please feel free to post them to my blog ( a link is best ), I will also add them to my website www.4kraftykidz.com if they are good ones. I am trying to find some good coloring pages for The Spiderwick Chronicles as well if you know of any.

I also added a few other coloring pages including Horseland which my oldest daughter is crazy over !! I hope you like them - I will be adding more soon.

My birthday section is coming along slowly but surely - I have a tonne of categories now - some new ones added this month include a Pirates of the Caribbean Birthday , a Wizard / Harry Potter Party , Circus / Clown Birthday and a bunch of others with Hundreds More In The Works.

I really hope everyone is enjoying my site, I have a lot of fun finding new things to add and will keep adding to it as often as I can.

Happy Easter All !

Back From DisneyLand & Adding New VALENTINES DAY Crafts

Well, we got back from Disneyland on the weekend. It was a great time - lots of things to see and do there and we will go back again sometime. I absolutely loved it ! I have to say I couldn't have done the trip without this site I found on the net called www.allears.net , it had hundreds of very helpful hints for getting around Disneyland, what restaurants to eat at - and more. I just love it.

So the next upcoming holiday is Valentine's Day - I don't know about your house but around here it is more about the kids making me & their dad cute little crafts than it is about romance ( who has time for that with kids !! ) So I have come up with a bunch of new crafts for kids to do this Valentine's Day as well as some new printables too. I created some new printable crafts for the site as well - including an adorable Valentine's Day Elephant Mail Box which my kids thought was really cute. I will be coming up with a whole bunch of other ones when I have the time, as well as some new toilet paper roll crafts. If you have any ideas you think kids would enjoy making for Valentine's Day please feel free to email them to me, I would be happy to post them on my site.

In the meantime - I hope you are enjoying the last couple of days of January ( I can tell you that here in Ontario Canada it is bitterly cold today and the wind is blowing like crazy - I sure do miss being in Florida ;)

Off To Disneyland

I am so very excited !! Our little family is off to Disneyland this week !! None of us have ever gone and we are all really looking forward to it. I just wanted to post a quick little note for all of my readers so that you are aware that I will be away from the computer until January 25th. So any e-book purchases made on my site will not be sent out to you until then. All craft kits and other items sold through affiliate sites will ship as usual.

Wish me luck - this will be my first time on an airplane !!

Thanks again for visiting & I will be posting new items shortly after my return
Shasta

The best parenting idea I have ever come across..

Here's the thing...I LOVE my kids. They are the best part of my life and perfect in my eyes of course. BUT, and it's a big but - being a mom is by no means easy and both of my girls like to test me in different ways. My youngest ( who just turned 3 ) loves to stick her tongue out at me and go 'na-na-na-na' , or when I am telling her not to do something she will say ' blah-blah-blah ' and shake her little bum ( it is so cute that its hard not to laugh - but its her way of giving me attitude I guess ). My older daughter ( now 9 ) is the one who tests most often ( because of her age I guess ), she will scream, throw hissy fits over nothing ( a few days ago it was because of her hallowe'en costume - it was itching her so that caused a nuclear meltdown in the behaviour department ). Anyways, her behaviour had gotten out of hand lately and I found myself correcting her constantly, nagging, getting angry and doing all the things a 'good' mom shouldn't be doing. So I decided to take a look in the mirror and see if I was contributing to the problem - and ( obviously ) I was. I noticed that I didn't praise her good behaviour nearly enough and was constantly noticing the bad rather than the good. I wasn't doing it on purpose by any means - but for some reason I was doing it. So I came across this idea on the net called ' behaviour bucks ', I modified the idea to best suit me & my household. It is such a simple concept though. First I printed out a list for the fridge of our 'house rules' - they were ' Be Respectful ' ( no 'backtalk' , no attitude, no yelling, no rolling of the eyes, no door slamming, no feet stomping, no violence etc. ) ' Be Responsible ' ( Do the chores you are asked to do without being grouchy, do your homework & keep your room tidy ) & ' Be Kind ' ( use kind words & actions with your family & friends ). Then I got two glass mason jars and labelled one ' Mom's Jar ' and the other ' Good Job Faith '. After that I made some fake $1 bills on my computer, labeled them ' Faith's Behavior Bucks ' and put a picture of her face in middle of it ( a really funny one of her - she loved it ). Next I made a list of ways she good earn the fake money ( which included earning $1 for feeding the dog, $5 for a big room tidy, $1 for helping with the dishes, $1 for being extra nice to her little sister, $1 for being extra polite, $1 for watering the plants and so on and so forth. The behaviour bucks that she earns can be used to buy television , computer, video game or phone time ( $1 for every 15 minutes ). She loses $1 every time I have to go to three warnings as far as bad behaviour ( just f.y.i. she has not lost a single dollar so far ) I cannot believe how much this has changed our house ! I started doing it about 2 weeks ago and it's great. She has been able to cool down much quicker when she starts a 'meltdown' , she is much cheerier, kinder to her little sister & helping out around the house more. It has also really shown me that she does so many great things in a day that I had been kind of taking for granted . Not only that but she is so proud when she earns her money - and she spends it very wisely ( she's not cheap - but thrifty like her mom ). It has also really cut back on the amount of screen time she has. Anyways, I know for sure I am no 'super mom' , but I am really glad I came across this idea. It has worked for me - I don't know if it will be useful to any of my readers - but heh you never know. It has made a difference for me so maybe it will for someone else.

If you haven't been to my site yet for some free coloring , crafts , birthday party ideas etc. you should check it out - it's lots of fun and I add stuff constantly.

Forgot to Introduce Someone

I just thought I should introduce a very important member of my family - he's such a cutie ! His name is Max - we got him about a year ago and the kids just adore him. He is a Pug - Schnauzer mix ( I am not sure if that is any kind of designer breed - but my daughter calls him a Snug-A-Pug ). He is quite the boy - he has a bit of a devilish personality and does quite a bit of barking but overall he is a great little family dog. He's really good with the kids and never growls or snaps ( even when my three year old trys to pull him around by the collar ). He also loves to run !! Oh my goodness when that front door opens - if he can - he will race right straight to the road and run like some kind of crazed creature right up the centre of the street ( I am trying to figure out to train him that although this is hilarious to see, it is very dangerous !! ) He also runs in circles around my house chasing our cat Tippy ( who he does not ever actual hurt - he likes to just pin her down and lick her - she hates it !! ) He loves people ( sometimes a little too much ) and tends to pee on new visitors !! Gotta love that - it's a little embarassing , but what the heck - no one is perfect !! He needs a hair cut in this picture but this is our boy Max.