Tristan was in an excellent mood after art and wanted to share his creations. The "artist" wasn't quite ready to leave his art project so we practiced our /s/ and /s/ blends while thinking of artists, famous works of art and discussing things that inspire us. When Tristan is excited about his work, he puts in a great effort and it is noticed in his speech production and communication as well.
Christopher was frustrated about some of the social interactions at lunch and at recess. During the pow-wow in his room, Christopher was reminded of things in his control when things aren't going his way. He liked the idea of looking at a list to remind him of things he can do to cheer himself up. Using his artistic skills, we doodled a list and he was reminded that creative outlets like that help to feel better and problem solve with a clearer head.
Spencer was a bit worn out from the academic morning. With the nicer weather, we took our session outside and talked about healthy ways to energize our body and mind when we are tired. He enjoyed kicking the soccer ball while we told jokes using our strong /r/ and speech habits. He is getting better at self correcting his sound. Great session! Proud of his effort and problem solving skills.
Tristan was excited to talk sports and play basketball. We had a successful session with using strong speech, considerate communication, and amazing sportsmanship.
Richard was a little sluggish and we discussed how many of us feel that way on a Monday morning. We discussed ways to energize our body and mind for learning. Fresh air outside, deep breaths, stretching/yoga, tell a joke/laugh, take a break from learning, go for a walk or to the bathroom, drink water and have a healthy snack. He chose to have a healthy snack but did not like his snack options. Using our problem solving skills and planning, we made a smoothie with leftover ingredients from past projects. Richard regrouped and was on target for speech and language goals after a healthy snack and sense of accomplishment.
Santino was greeted in the pre k classroom while he finished with another teacher. Santino was happy throughout the session. He was very attentive and giggly with improved joint attention and eye contact. The school was doing a Thanksgiving lunch and Santino helped me prepare a plate for feeding therapy with assistance. We targeted commenting, sequencing, yes/no, answering questions and following directions. Santino was hesitant with preparing the plate as he does have food aversions however did quite well overall. Santino chose a book to target the same goals we have been working on the last few weeks. Santino was attentive during this task. We completed a following directions app on the iPad that Santino. requested verbally. This is a 2 step direction with object function. He did great with this. Also, Santino was answering yes/no questions with improvement today. He had some echolalia yet still answered yes/no most of the time, for example - "do you want to play?" response: "play, yes". Santino continues to respond well to a multimodal ST approach. We will continue targeting all of his speech/langauge goals. I hope he has a nice Thanksgiving.
Santino was greeted and walked back to the pre k classroom where he transitioned well. He followed the daily routine of bringing a chair to the table and sat down nicely with minimal directives. Santino was given a choice of books and he verbally chose which book he wanted. With the book activity, this focuses on attention, vocabulary enrichment, wh questions, yes/no questions, and verbs. This is a great umbrella activity that covers many of Santinos goals. Santino did produce increase scripting of shows today during session. He was yawning throughout session, appearing tired. When we went outside to "wake up" and play while implementing speech goals, Santino quickly became upset and tried to go inside, requesting "go inside". We sat on the picnic table and sang abc's then went back inside. I asked the other teachers if there was a reason for Santino not wanting to go outside recently. Ms. Dorothy reported increased verbal output for requesting. We discussed carrying over providing helpful prompting for answering questions as well. Lastly, before we started feeding therapy - Santino assisted with changing his pull up. We have been working on this for not only gaining independence however following directions and asking for help when needed. Santino did independently request help 1/6 opportunities, and 5/6 with verbal cues. It is important to continue to provide Santino the skills to become more independent at school. When asked his name today, he did not answer until a phonemic cue was provided - we will continue to work on fading that cue.
Richard was greeted in his room for ST. His desk/room was unorganized and we again discussed the importance of organizing our space to help with keeping our brain organized. We quickly organized and tidied up his room and he said "this is so much better". He responds well to feedback. His attention was good today. His eye contact during lessons is evident of this as he often repeats information back to me during the session and interprets it in his own way as well. We did the calendar which Richard quickly covered with minimal assistance followed by a book activity covering the Thanksgiving theme. This is a great book for vocabulary enrichment which Richard does well with using context clues to determine the meaning of more advanced words. This was also helpful with comprehension and literacy skills. Overall, Richard's speech errors have decreased. The most common error noted recently is /th/ which we started to target in the beginning of the school year however was temporarily discontinued because of the lingual placement being opposite of the /s/ placement. We covered past tense verbs and possessives. Overall it was a good session.
Chris initiated the session with excited enthusiasm, as he quickly inquired if I had waited to watch the new Spiderman movie trailer with him as I had promised during Monday's session. He was very glad that I had waited as I had promised. Watching the trailer together allowed for expanded conversational reciprocity as the topic focus was placed on character choices, actors, story line, and potential outcomes. Further discussion centered on the "how does your engine run?" chart placed in his room, with the provision of positive support as self awareness and reflection related to varied social scenarios and social relationships encountered the past 2 days was strong.
Chris happily shared details regarding his recent YouTube video "upload," and was pleased once more that I continue to "watch" his videos. Conversational expansion was strong this session as allowance for more frequent cycles of exchange was noted. Time was also allocated to sharing with him three poster options of the "Zones of Regulation-How does your engine run?" visual. He had indicted at the close of a recent session as we discussed self awareness, (often citing the ALERT program engine analogy) that he liked the posters( visual references) that we've used together. He selected his favorite and was hoping to hang it in his room at school. The image was forwarded to Andrea and she and Chris subsequently placed the poster in his room, and as per his request, made 2 additional copies (one to bring home, and one to keep "as an extra"). Strong session today.
