Every summer, we at Lakeshore Speech Therapy work to provide our clients and families with programming that meets everyone’s needs. This year we are excited to offer programs for everyone from toddlers to teens. Please take a moment to see all that we have to offer. Share this information with friends and family that may benefit from these amazing programs. As always, please share your ideas for future programs.
Yours in Speech,
Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC
The end of March marks the start of the ‘testing’ season for student’s in the elementary, middle, and high schools. These high stakes tests are stressful for everyone, but imagine the stress your loved one might be experiencing knowing these tests are looming in the near future. Your loved one may appear more irritable or extremely giddy. Your loved one may want to sleep more or have more energy than you’ve ever seen. You may be eaten out of house and home or begging your loved one to eat just something. Stress looks different on everyone, but what is a parent or caregiver to do?
Breathe.
Helping your loved one cope with high stress situations is a life lesson that will span the ages. Helping your loved one not only cope with the stress, but providing much needed relief can make these days and weeks less ….. stressful.
You know your loved on the best and can probably tell their stress level just be the look in their eye. Unfortunately, being able to relieve that stress may take more convincing and patience on your part.
Create a ‘stress-less zone’. Make a special corner of a bedroom or living room the ‘stress-less zone’. A comfy pillow and cozy blanket may be the needed tools. Consider some music (some students prefer the louder the better rather than quiet music) and lighting (dim or bright) as the invisible walls of the ‘stress-less area’. Aromatherapy may be an option to add to the stress-less zone. Expensive oils may or may not be needed; consider an old t-shirt with familiar perfume or cologne on it or a stuffed animal with powder on it – any smell that is soothing to your loved one.
Create a ‘crash zone’ for your loved one. An old mattress or gym pads on the floor or a mini trampoline may provide just the place to for your loved one to ‘crash’ into at the end of the day. Old school blow up punching doll or an actual punching page may prove to be effective tools to de-stress. A few empty cardboard boxes that can be stomped and crushed may also be great additions to this area.
Create a ‘silent zone’ for your loved one. An area that is void of all stimuli. An area in the corner of a closet may be just the spot to recenter and decompress. Make the area as simple as possible with a mat or a single pillow. Remove as much visual and auditory clutter as possible. A place where silence is truly golden.
Create a ‘zone’ for your loved one that is combination of the few mentioned here and those that you know work best. Take the time to designate the space and materials to creating these ‘zones’. Your loved one may not be able to express how much it is appreciated or how they enjoy their special zone, but you will know by the look in their eye.
Yours in Speech,
Lakeshore Speech, LLC.
We are a quarter of the way through 2019 already! Hard to believe how fast time flies…..especially when you are having fun. March ushers in a month of leprechauns and basketball and the strange time of year when it’s still not warm enough to go outside but staying inside isn’t the best option either. It’s that time of year when ideas and creativity to keep our loved ones engaged and busy don’t come as easy as they did a few weeks ago.
We have your back and hope our ideas spark new life into your family’s March schedule.
Introduce basic S.T.E.M. activities like making your own bubbles or making your own robot. Spending time to create opens the door for imagination as well as language. You don’t need to be a computer programmer to build your collection of S.T.E.M. activities.
Your S.T.E.M. activities do not have to be complex or expensive. Play with some of these ideas and if you and your loved ones create a masterpiece, share it with us on Facebook!
Yours in Speech,
Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC
February – the month of love; loving and caring for our family, our friends, our significant other. Don’t keep the love only in the month of February. Life gets in the way of the best plans. Set a small goal for you and your loved ones to communicate how much you love and appreciate each other (and others) on a more regular basis.
The suggestions made for wishing others a Happy Valentine’s day can be incorporated throughout the year. Change the message (ie: Get well; Have a great day; etc) or just sending love, not only helps your loved one practice communication skills but strengthens the bond between the well wisher and the recipient.
Start the ‘Star of the Month’ in your house. Choose one person – start with YOURSELF – and share some information your family may (or may not) know. Pick a special time – after dinner, during dinner, before bed – for the ‘Star’ to communicate a special something. The ‘Star’ can share favorite foods, places, colors, animals. The ‘Star’ can share a favorite memory or story. For loved ones that communicate using alternative means, use a basic communication board or basic signs to share this information. Use a family picture to communicate a favorite story or memory. Use labels from favorites foods to communicate that information to the rest of the family. The ‘Star’ practices communicating effectively and everyone learns more reasons to love and appreciate the ‘Star’.
Communicate love and appreciation at lunch. Put a ‘love note’ to your loved ones lunch boxes, backpacks, or briefcases. A little reminder mid-day that someone is thinking of them and wanting their day to be special. These ‘love notes’ do not need to be complicated or even in written form for that matter. Search for and print out pictures of favorite cartoon characters or superheroes and just put them where your loved one will see them. Blot lipstick on a piece of paper and send a ‘kiss’ to your loved one – no words necessary. Cut a napkin in a heart and/or buy special character napkins to include in lunches every once in a while.
No matter your age, communicating a simple ‘I’m thinking about you’ message makes the day better and brighter.
Yours in Speech,
Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC.
February – the month of love; loving and caring for our family, our friends, our significant other. Everyone needs a little help now and then. Helping our loved ones express themselves is important in February and all year through. Expressing one’s self cannot be limited to talking. Expressions of love come in variety of shapes, colors, and sounds. Give your loved ones the opportunity to express and communicate with the world.
Opportunities to communicate happen every minute of the day, knowing the best or most effective way to communicate may take some practice. Give you and your loved the time to practice. This practice doesn’t have to take long or even have a lot of ‘moving parts’. Valentine’s day is only a few days away, what a wonderful reason to practice and share your loved one’s communication skills with the special people in their lives. Here are a few ideas to get your creative communication juices flowing.
Teach your loved one the sign for “I love you”. Remember to teach those in your lives the sign as well so when your love one signs “I love you”, the recipient will understand that wonderful message. 
Use a speech bubble and write a Valentine’s message in the bubble or a simple heart cut from paper. Have your loved one hold the speech bubble or heart and snap a picture. Whose day won’t be uplifted receiving that message via text or email?
Using pink or red lipstick/chapstick, have your loved one decorate a Valentine with lip prints by having them kiss the paper. Not only is this just adorable, but it’s a GREAT oral motor exercise for speech.Let the world hear your loved ones message loud and clear this Valentine’s Day!
Yours in Speech,
Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC
February – the month of love; loving and caring for our family, our friends, our significant other. February gives us the opportunity to show our loved ones what WE see when we look at them. When you look at your child, spouse, friend, what do you see? The unevenness of their eyebrows? The gray hairs? The blemishes? The love handles? No! You see the light that they give. You see the love in their eyes – the window to their soul. You see the kindness they share. You see how amazing they are, have been and will be.
So how does this relate to speech and language? Too often when a loved one experiences a speech-language deficit – regardless of the severity – we are quick to explain this deficit to others in front of them. This is not to say that we need to ‘hide’ this deficit or only speak of it in hushed whispers when our loved one is not in earshot. This is to say we need to be more aware of how we explain our loved one’s communication style.
Our loved ones tune into everything we say and do, especially when they know we are talking about them. Challenge yourself to first, listen to how you describe or explain your loved ones speech-language deficits; second, work to change this dialogue to create a more positive uplifting exchange.
When we first meet someone and they address your loved one who experiences a language deficit, consider using phrases that explain their style of communication versus their inability to talk.
These changes, while seemingly small, can make a significant difference in how your loved one perceives her/his ability and desire to communicate with others.
February – the month to show our love!
Yours in speech,
Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC
The weather stations are all predicting record cold in the next few days. Record cold means staying in the house. Staying in the house means lots of ‘together time’. Use that time to promote language use and development and have fun as well.
These frosty days are perfect for working together not only on language use and practice, but beginning to develop some independent functional skills that promote a sense of independence and pride. You have all you need to accomplish this in your kitchen. Cooking, baking, food prep….functional and filled with language.
Creating in the kitchen builds a sense of togetherness and promotes language development and use. For most, food is a motivating force to decrease inappropriate behaviors, increase language use as well as social skills. For loved ones that are not motivated by eating different foods, you may be surprised at their willingness to help in the kitchen and be around different smells, tastes and textures (all great ways to start introducing new foods to limited palates).
Below are links to wonderful resources that not only promote cooking and baking as therapeutic tools, but provide free materials for everyone (young and old and in between) to participate in together time in the kitchen.
Collect and print your favorite recipes to make a special recipe book.
But on your favorite chef’s apron, roll up your sleeves, and get to creating delicious foods and of course – memories!
Yours in Speech,
Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC.
It’s Okay! This week the message is short, but it comes with an assignment and that’s Okay.
The book “It’s Okay to be Different” by Todd Parr is a favorite in some homes (the author of this blog to be exact). The message is simple and speaks to everyone, young and old.
This week, go to your local library and take out a copy of “It’s Okay to be Different” and read it out loud every day. It’s guaranteed to make you and your loved ones smile.
Some families (again the author of this blog) adopted a specific line as a reminder that it’s OK; especially when a loved ones difference cause frustration or hurt feelings. “It’s Okay to eat macaroni and cheese in the bathtub.” was enough to calm those hurt feelings or frustration.
Go ahead, get the book. It’s Okay!
Yours in Speech,
Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC.
Practice – 8 little letters that require discipline and dedication. Practice – 8 little letters that can enrage and irritate the most patient of souls. Practice – 8 little letters that have a profound effect on a life.
Whether you yourself are learning a new skill or are helping a loved one learn a new skill, the time and dedication required can feel overwhelming and insurmountable. Practice provides the opportunity to try and fail and start again. Practice is part of the journey NOT the end goal.
Practicing speech and language skills may seem unnatural as these skills, for some, come naturally when communicating and engaging with the world. Without knowing it, children who are developing language are ‘practicing’ these skills every time they engage with a person, a friend, or a toy. Sometimes loved ones require practice on a very specific element of language, one that may easily be taken for granted. Be it eye contact, sharing, anticipating, or requesting, these skills may need practice toward mastery of communication.
Practicing communication skills should become a natural part of the day. Incorporating the practice of specific skills throughout the day may require a little planning, but eventually will become second nature. Clearly identify where and when the ‘practice’ could occur helps to create a less stressful and meaningful event. Start with a very manageable expectation, not only for your loved one, but yourself and eventually increase the expectation in small increments. You will amaze yourself at how quickly these skills improve.
While the saying goes, “Practice makes perfect.”, a preferred saying is “Practice makes permanent.”
Yours in Speech,
Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC
2019 is underway….OK – 2 weeks into the New Year. The rest of the holiday decorations are put away and celebrations are at an end. Although there are 256,894 new toys in the house, the children are ‘bored’. The question of the day is, are the children really bored and do they need to be taught how to play? For some of our loved ones, play is NOT as innate as it is for others. Play is definitely a skill that needs and should be taught from a very young age. Parents need to ‘teach’ and be part of the art of play.
Play is the ‘work’ of childhood. Play is the official format of therapy for the majority of children as well. The reasons are many but here are a few examples of how teaching to how play benefits a child’s language and overall development.
Play increases a child’s ability to process and practice emotions. Through imaginative play children can act out emotions of fear, anger, etc. as well as practice empathy and understanding. Play also provides children with a sense of accomplishment and self-satisfaction, which help to build confidence and self-esteem.
Play increases a child’s social skills. Through the art of play, a child learns to navigate turn-taking, sharing, and overall group dynamics. Play provides the opportunity to develop friendships and practice compromise.
Play increases a child’s cognitive ability and brain development. Through play a child gains reasoning, attention, and memory skills as well as problem solving skills – all important and crucial for success academically and socially.
Play increases a child’s communication skills. Plays provides a safe, unassuming venue to practice sentence structures, sound effects and overall listening skills. Plays helps to facilitate initiating, maintain and concluding conversations – with real or imaginative friends. Play also provides children with the opportunity to work on recognizing non-verbal cues and body language.
So much goes into playing. It can be exhausting for both child and adult, but worth every glorious moment. Now stop reading and get out there and PLAY!
Yours in Speech,
Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC