When Joey turned four I reviewed the developmental stages of typical four-year-olds, and was reminded of how much this age group loves physical activity. Gross motor movement is not always easy to incorporate into my work with Joey because we spend so much time with him in his chair reading books and using his AAC device. I made a mental note to remind myself to plan activities that could be done down on the floor with Joey so that I could meet his four-year-old need for physical activity, while also working on some of our other goals. [Read more…]
Model, Model, Model! The importance of strategic modeling with the AAC device
As we were reading Curious George and the Fire Fighters, Joey asked for a fire engine by saying “Fire engine” on his device and pointing to the box where I had small fire engine toys. I handed him one but he looked perturbed. “Different fire engine” he said. OK, got it, you want a different one. “Do you want big fire engine or little fire engine?” I asked in a mix of oral language and on his AAC device. He immediately looked around the room for the big fire engine, answering my question with his eye gaze. [Read more…]
Mad Like He
When I arrived at Joey’s house on Monday he was just waking up from a nap, and not too happy about it. We got him into his chair but he looked unimpressed as I presented him with our typical activities he normally enjoys. We started reading books, but he interrupted to tell me “mad like he.” [Read more…]
Incorporating Math Skills into Storybook Read Alouds
“What’s today?” I ask Joey, after we’ve counted all the numbers already posted on his wall calendar. “What comes next?” I hold up two possible choices, and every time – every time – Joey grins, stares, and then carefully moves his arm so he can clutch the card with the correct answer. It never gets old watching him proudly select the right number to put on his calendar. Although he is always correct, as his teacher I try to stay fully aware that being able to recognize what number comes next in a pattern is different than a full development of age-appropriate number sense. There are so many facets to developing mathematical thinking, and I want to be sure Joey is getting a well-rounded foundation, despite his limitations. [Read more…]
How important is reciprocal communication?
On Monday, Joey said “Dog Firetruck” on his AAC device, looked at me, and then carefully used one finger to point to the box on the floor that contained Dot the Fire Dog book and the props we use while we read aloud. Although it seemed like a small thing – two words together paired with a gesture, in turns of language development, this is a big deal. Seeing him pair language with his gestures shows that he is building an understanding of communication, and how we interact together. He can use gestures and words to communicate with me and expect that I’ll respond. [Read more…]
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