Santino was greeted in the prek classroom where he was finishing his lesson. He transitioned well to therapy. He was offered a small break to prepare for next session, which he said "break, yes". Santinos desired breaks consist of getting up from the table and walking over to the rug for a short period of time. I find this helps with attention and regulation. We started with a book activity to target usual goals. Attention was fleeting today. Verbal scripting from shows/videos was increased in today's session. Also, Santino has done well with our established routine. We targeted naming verbs (-ing) in a structured setting (7/16 trials independently correct). Santino is demonstrating the understanding of verbs such as eat, sleep, drink - we started to using present progressive verbs, eating, sleeping, drinking. Santino answered his name/address questions given visual and verbal cues only. We will continue to work toward fading multimodal cuing. We targeted commenting using 2-3 words, requesting, and protecting using verbal communication during undesired tasks. We went outside for a short time however Santino continued to look back at the door and appeared to be fearful. We took a walk along the fence line and sang songs however he continued to request "go inside". We went inside and he appeared more at ease. Santino used to enjoy the playground at the beginning of the school year however as of the last few weeks, he does not seem to enjoy being out there (alone with a teacher or with peers). We did some ADLs including changing diaper, putting on shoes, washing hands. Santino continues to require moderate cues and assistance. He did however put both shoes on independently given verbal assistance and time. I am proud of him! We will continue to work toward functional speech and language goals.
Santino was greeted at the front when he was dropped off. He reportedly ate a large meal just prior to coming to school. He was happy upon arrival with a great transition. He made nice eye contact with me and other teachers during greeting. Less prompting required to say hello. Santino followed directions to start the day, i.e. - setting up our table with chairs, putting his backpack away, getting his water for the desk, etc. Santino requested a book "I want book, yes". So he chose a book from the "library" section. We read the book together, targeting attention, answering questions, labeling, commenting and comprehension. Santino did quite well with this task. We followed with a game that targeted turn taking, following directions, commenting "my turn, your turn", requesting, and joint attention. Santino LOVED this activity. He requested for more when the game was over. We have been working on requesting for breaks with fading prompts. During the breaks, we jump and dance on the carpet - Santino laughs and requests for more. WE also targeted identifying verbs which he has significantly improved on. Santino answered the safety questions "what is your name" 1/4 independently and 3/4 with visual prompting, and his address 1/2 opportunities. Overall, it was a great session.
Chris was once again eager to initiate communication and share the new "plush " characters that he had brought with him today. Comment -Comment exchange was strong this session as allowance for reciprocity was supported within the nature of the context of the topics discussed. Chris was observed to pause and "wait" with brief anticipation for a response following an "exciting or surprise" comment that he shared over the course of the session. Chris demonstrated increased mindfulness regarding the dynamics of the nonverbal cues, gestures and facial expressions within communication cycles this session. Chris was observed to verbally state his intention to shift topic with appropriate timing. Strong session today.
Chris was eager to initiate conversation this session as he so often exudes strong enthusiasm each week. He shared topics with increased periods of allowance for expanded cycles of speaker -listener exchange. Speaker- speaker overlap was noted this session however, and supported with familiar scaffolding strategies, and cues highlighting the familiar aspects of self awareness and presupposition. Use of supports to facilitate use of cohesive ties and sequential links was successful. Topic shifting was supported with familiar strategies as well.
Santino was greeted in the classroom as he finished with his teacher. We discussed their lesson, stating he enjoys digital learning. We collected our items for the lesson including the books of interest, feeding therapy materials, and the few things we used for the ST session. Santino was happy and very vocal throughout session. He was scripting with repetition quite a bit from a video/show. During tasks, Santino required intermittent cues to maintain attention. We did the same book as yesterday; it has been noted Santino does well with comprehension, answering questions, and overall understanding when activities are presented with more than one exposure. He has been doing well answering yes/no questions. With simple "wh" questions, Santino requires verbal modeling. We did a few iPad language apps targeting identification of verbs and categories. We also did a following directions app that Santino enjoys that involves two-step commands and object function. We completed the session with ADL's including clean up, diaper change, washing hands, etc. Santino requested help independently 2x with appropriate eye contact! He also put on his shoes with minimal assistance! I am very proud of his gains with independent functioning. After his session, language enrichment goals were discussed with his music teacher as she requested what to work on in terms of speech and language and how it pertains to music (which is wonderful). Music can be implemented in language enrichment, we will continue to collaborate on goals for Santino and how we can help each other optimize our sessions with him.
Santino was greeted in the classroom very alert and happy. He reportedly ate a good meal around 10:30am. I had a call with mom earlier in the day regarding Santino's progress and short/long term goals. Santino was quite verbal this session, it was great. He greeted with eye contact with multiple teachers - requiring minimal prompting. We were standing across the room picking a book and Santino verbally requested "chair, yes. I want chair". The verbal intent was very clear and impressive. We did a book activity that targeted many goals of Santino including sustaining attention, following directions, answering questions, requesting and vocabulary. Working on safety questions, Santino was asked his name and home location, answering independently 0/5 trials however with prompting he answered 5/5. As discussed, our goal is for Santino to answer his personal safety questions independently in case there were to ever be a situation with an unfamiliar person that will not be able to provide prompting/cues. We targeted these questions with a visual cue rather than a verbal cue which appeared beneficial to reduce the prompt hierarchy. I wrote his name and home location on a paper and when asked, showed the paper rather than verbally cueing him. Additionally, we targeted many yes/no questions which he did GREAT with, requiring significantly less cues for this skill. Santino was happy throughout the session. We did sequencing/functional/activity of daily living tasks including opening our backpack, removing the lunch box, changing diaper, washing hands, cleaning work space, putting on shoes, etc. - Santino is making gains in this area as well. Overall, today was a great day with demonstration of improvement in speech and language. I'm glad Santino had a nice Thanksgiving break.
Chris initiated conversation with a flurry of topics. Familiar supports to provide cohesion and sequential links were provided to allow for increased linear topic transitions. Novel topic provision allowed for expanded cycles of exchange and increased instances of topic maintenance. Periods of distraction were strong this session, and use of familiar self reflection strategies was successful.
Aspects linguistic organization, intention and attention were a strong focus of the session today.
Spencer was excited to do our corn syrup vs honey experiment that he saw on YouTube. He was completely in charge of the sequencing and taking inventory of the ingredients. Corn Syrup proved to be a tricky word with all the Rs but after saying it about 40 times, he was proud of his mastery. He was organized and attentive for this fun lesson.
Tristan was happy in the fresh air coming off of a recess so we took our lesson to the basketball court. Tristan was on target with his /s/ sounds in short sentences with 70% accuracy with minimal cues. He shared that his brain works best when he's moving. He "feels better at everything." We talked about how their is science and research to support that.
In collaboration with Ms. Lynn, we made chart for Christopher to help him gauge his emotional regulation. Earlier that morning, he chose "How my engine runs" with a color chart corresponding to his different level of excitement. He was very much in the "green zone" ready to problem solve and learn. We shared this helpful tool with his teachers to inform them of how to help prompt him when he's in the different zones.
