Please visit my original post here to learn the basics about therapy dogs and animal-assisted intervention in speech-language pathology. Expressive langauge skills are the easiest to address with AAI. You simply have the animal do things (or wait until they do things) then use common techniques such as communication temptations to get the child to …
Here’s my video tutorial on how I’ve been using Toca Pet Doctor with more details on the least-to-most cueing hierarchy I use when I’m targeting these skills. A special note: When inferencing the cause of emotions I prefer to ask “what made him feel sad?” rather than “why does he feel sad?” I find if I use …
Toca Kitchen Monsters is another FREE app from Toca Boca. In this one we get to choose a monster, choose different ingredients, and try to prepare food that the monsters will eat. While my patients are playing it (or I’m playing it for them online) I can target the following irregular past-tense verbs: Here are …
Please visit my original post here to learn the basics about using a therapy dog in speech & language treatment. Once you have the basics you can start thinking about using AAI for social skills. Most kids start greeting Zooey before they start greeting me. It’s an interesting example of dogs being helpful for kids …
Before COVID-19 I kept a sensory tub. I would change the filling every month and my patients would use it to help their regulation as we worked. Now that I’m more concerned about the kids sharing germs (which was already a concern since some kids inevitably put parts of the sensory bin into their mouth …
Toca Kitchen Monsters is another FREE app from Toca Boca. In this one, kids get to choose from 2 monsters and then they get to choose which food items and how to prepare them. This app can be really fun for learning about likes and dislikes when talking about social skills! When using this app …
For patients who are working on articulation/phonology I use mini objects from Speech Tree Company (you have to get on the waiting list to be able to order them). For word-level I’ll tell the child the critters are going to a store and then pretend to be a baby critter and ask about each item …
As a part of Mental Wellness Month I wanted to share my favorite self-care ideas. “Self-care” is a hot topic these days, but I often find myself debating about what it really is. Sometimes I relate it to regulation so that I think of self-care as “doing things that keep me at my most regulated, …
Please read about the basics about therapy dogs and animal-assisted intervention in speech-language pathology on my original post here. AAI receptive langauge activities are as varied as receptive langauge goals. When working on single-step directions I set out color sorting bowls and tell the patient which bowl to put each treat into. When working on …
Following directions is a common goal for my patients of all ages. I try to keep these activities fun and play-based, but for the older kids that’s an especially challenging endeavor. Here are some of my favorite activities for working on following directions… Here are some more ideas for using Toca Kitchen Monsters in speech …
