Throughout the month of December we will be sharing our favorite gift ideas for kiddos. Please feel free to share. To kick off the month we have Amy’s pick! Happy Shopping!
Executive functioning is a term that describes our self-regulation and organization skills. This broad term includes self-awareness, impulse control, working memory, motivation, planning and problem-solving.
These skills are critical to successfully manage our life and its many demands. Impaired executive functioning affects the regulation and use of all areas of cognitive functioning, including self-monitoring, attention, inhibition, planning, remembering, and sequencing. These skills continue to develop through adulthood. Behaviors associated with executive functioning: · Getting started on tasks · Utilizing working memory (short-term memory) · Organizing · Making and keeping goals · Multitasking · Using feedback effectively · Regulating attention and behavior to match environmental demands · Demonstrating judgment and foresight · Shifting flexibly between competing activities/trains of thought · Generalizing learning to new situations · Working automatically and efficiently · Inhibiting impulsive responses · Planning ahead · Distinguishing relevant from irrelevant pieces of information Executive dysfunction adversely impacts life. Overall, children with executive functioning weaknesses have difficulty showing us what they know. Here is what executive functioning weakness looks like: · Easily distracted; Poor sustained attention · Disinhibited responses lead to poor choices · May forget one part of a problem while working on another segment · Difficulty adjusting/changing a problem-solving style when it is not working · Repeats mistakes · Absence of a plan to solve problems · Poor use of time (especially to prepare for upcoming exams or projects) · Difficulty paraphrasing or summarizing · Procrastination and lack of follow-through · Difficulties keeping several things in mind and keeping the information well-organized · Poor organization often impacts recall of previously learned material · Difficulty with sequenced, multi-step tasks · Inconsistencies in academic and memory skills · Poor test taking Executive functioning weakness can be identified by a speech-language pathologist. Speech-language pathologists can evaluate executive functioning skills by assessing areas such as flexible thinking, working memory, behavior, and overall communication. Please let us know if you have these concerns and would like to know if speech-language therapy could benefit your child. How to help with executive functioning weaknesses Organization · Email assignments to teacher and self · Keep a second set of textbooks at home · Label where items belong · Establish weekly time to organize desk, etc. · Color coding systems · At home, be sure to establish an organized study space, with all needed materials, dry erase board/calendar Planning/ Time Management · Use timers/ Alarms · Estimate amount of time needed for a task and then write down actual time · Use calendars/planners (build habit for checking them) · Help break down assignments, projects, and tasks into reasonable parts, and then set deadlines Working Memory · Use lists as reminders (words or pictures) · Use a voice recorder/voicemail messages to record tasks, assignments, reminders · Help develop mnemonics or other strategies to help remember a series of steps · Teach visualization strategies to enhance recall Impulse Control · Use visual cues (e.g. big stop sign on door) · Develop habits that interfere with impulsive behavior (e.g. put hands in pockets) · Use of a fidget toy (need rules—can’t grab someone else’s; can’t throw the toy) Initiation · For younger kids, use a song to guide them through morning routines. · Younger kids may need help getting started (e.g. when cleaning their room, go with them to their room and suggest what they should start with; be specific) · Before starting a seated task, engage in a gross motor activity Self-Monitoring · Visual rule boards · Visual timers · Highlight important details · Proofread aloud · Proofread by reading backwards · Double check assignments · Reread the directions after completing a task and go back to see if you followed them Cognitive Flexibility · Review upcoming changes to schedule or environment (e.g. substitute teacher) · Allow for a break/ place to calm down when child encounters frustration with change · Teach relaxation breathing · Provide warnings/signals prior to transitions Executive functioning weakness can be identified by a speech-language pathologist. Speech-language pathologists can evaluate executive functioning skills by assessing areas such as flexible thinking, working memory, behavior, and overall communication. Please let us know if you have these concerns and would like to know if speech-language therapy could benefit your child. Suggested reading
While playing with playdoh can give optimal time to address receptive language, expressive language, pragmatic language, sensory, fine motor, gross motor, and handwriting development not all kiddos are able to safely play with it. Sometimes kiddos eat the playdoh or they are gluten sensitivity. Well, we have the solution! Follow the recipe below for some EDIBLE GLUTEN FREE PLAYDOH! Edible Gluten Free Playdoh Recipe Ingredients: -Baby rice cereal -Vegetable oil -Cornstarch(or gluten-free cornflour if you are in the UK or Australia) -Unsweetened Applesauce (you can substitute water if you don't have applesauce) -Food coloring (optional) It's never too early to start tracking your baby's development. Although all children develop at different rates, there are development milestones widely accepted as a good benchmark for determining if your child is developing within generally accepted time frames. Our Clinic Director, Amy Grant, has taken the most credible and accepted lists and compiled our own checklists for parents to download for ages 6 months to 5 years old. If you are concerned about your child's development, early intervention is the key to getting them on track to developing their essential life skills for life. We offer free consultations - contact us today if you are concerned or uncertain if your child might benefit from Speech-Language or Occupational Therapy. We are here to help. Download Therapy Center of Buda's Developmental Checklists to track your child's progress at home. Bad behaviors such as hitting, spitting, kicking, and throwing toys or objects are among the most frequent concerns I have from parents. There is a staggering percentage of children with these behaviors who also have a communication disorder of some sort. I have found the following guidelines helpful for many of my families. I should specify that the following information is anecdotal and is to be viewed as such. Potty training is one of the most frequent struggles parents have. It starts with “When do I know my child is ready?” And “How do I start potty training?” “What do I do when they don’t seem to understand?” These are all common questions I get from my families. Some of you know that I previously worked exclusively with 0-3 year olds (in their homes), so as you can imagine potty training took up most of my day. The following are some “tips” and “tricks” I have acquired in my figurative bag over the years that my families tend to like (not to be confused with therapeutic recommendations). The development of sensory processing begins in the womb and continues throughout our lives. Every moment of every day, we are constantly experiencing sensory information from our environment whether we are aware of it or not. From the texture of the fabric in our clothing, to the sound of the cars driving past a window, to the brightness of the lights overhead, or a fan whirring in the background, our bodies are constantly taking in information from the world around us. Our brains take that sensory information and process it, allowing us to create thoughts and actions that influence how we live our daily lives. Speech-Language Therapy teaches children and adolescents how to communicate effectively, solve problems and make decisions independently. It provides the necessary tools for bright and motivated individuals to engage in meaningful social relationships and complete a fulfilling educational and life experience. Speech-language therapists are medical professionals who are trained to identify and treat issues with feeding and swallowing which often go undetected and can be a serious threat to an individual’s health. These issues can include a dislike of foods or food textures or inability to properly swallow food and drinks. Difficulties in one or more of these areas include risk of pneumonia, malnutrition and dehydration. Swallowing issues can also affect babies. Infants who have difficulty latching, breast feeding, drinking from a bottle, weak lip muscles, difficulty transitioning from a bottle to soft foods, difficulty chewing, and choking/coughing due to eating can also benefit from therapy. An occupational therapist is a medical professional who evaluates and treats children and adults who have difficulty participating in “occupations” or meaningful activities relevant to their daily lives. A common misconception is that occupational therapy is specifically for adults as children do not have “occupations,” but a child’s main job is playing and learning. An occupational therapist evaluates a child’s skills for playing, school performance, and daily activities and compares them with what is developmentally appropriate for that age group.
When doctors recommend occupational or speech therapy for school-aged patients, some parents may respond that their children already receive therapy through the public school system. However, a doctor’s medical goals or the family’s functional goals and the goals of the school’s therapist often differ. Understanding the difference between school-based therapy and clinic-based therapy will help families avoid the false impression that services are being duplicated. More importantly, understanding the difference will help families avoid the pitfall of refusing helpful, clinic-based therapy because of the false impression. I have parents coming to see me frequently asking me about two buzz words they were told by a friend, another parent, a therapist, a doctor, or a teacher. These words are Perseveration and Echolalia. Let’s simplify these terms. Perseveration (pronounced: per•sev•er•a•tion) is the repetition of a particular response such as a word, phrase, ritual, or gesture (The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition). An example of this would be if a child fears the vacuum and continually asks if it is put away. Another example, which I see regularly is someone having a special interest with cars and/or trains, specifically with television/movies and/or the actual toy. Perhaps a child will ONLY play with his train set and when he plays with it he is uninterested in anything else, playing with it for hours on end. Echolalia (pronounced: ech•o•lay•li•a) is the automatic repetition of vocalizations made by another person (The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition). There are two categories of echolalia: immediate and delayed.
Immediate echolalia is just that, immediate. For example, if I say “do you want to play with cars?” An immediate echolalic response would be, “do you want to play with cars?” Rather than answering the question, the child simply “echos” the question. Is is possible this response is due to lack of understanding, delayed processing, and/or an inability to formulate an appropriate response. Delayed echolalia… yep you guessed it… is delayed repetition of a word or phrase. Many times this is evident in the repetition of television commercials, movie lines, and/or parental reprimands. A couple of common examples are reciting entire scenes from Cars (the movie) or blurting out “you better not” randomly and/or when the context doesn't match. Perseveration and echolalia are common among children and adults with autism; however, many children and adults have these characteristics and are not autistic. If you have concerns about perseveratory behaviors or echolalic speech, talk to your speech-language pathologist today. - Amy Grant, M.S., CCC-SLP The prices for toys seems to be getting higher and higher by the month. It is important for parents to realize that all of these expensive toys are not necessary for your child to expand their language, speech, fine motor, gross motor, and sensory development. In most cases our friends enjoy playing with our homemade or inexpensive toys more than the expensive ones. Here are some effective ways to target your child’s developmental skills on a budget.
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AuthorAmy Grant is a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist, Certified Autism Specialist and Clinic Director of Therapy Center of Buda. Family Corner Blog
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March 2023
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