Nichols, Michele - Speech

Learning language is all around us! Fall is my favorite season of the year. It's a perfect time to get outside and talk about what you see, hear, smell, taste, and touch! Describing colors, textures, and feelings help us to expand vocabulary and understand the world around us at a very early age. Talk with your children about what you are doing while you are doing it. You will feel a little silly at first but this opens the world of language up to your child and gets brain connections going! Happy FALL y'all!!! ~Mrs. Nichols, SLP

Be sure to check out speech games, language activities, and better hearing tips on the speech-language school fusion page. Make this the best year yet!

Show off your hard work by using your great speech skills in public. Practice by asking for items at the grocery store, singing in church, or playing games with friends!

When taking an assessment of comprehension and/or reading skills, it really helps to read the questions first (if possible). Reading the questions first allows you to get familiar with the content of the reading passage. It also allows you to have a guide as you read the passage- highlight what seems familiar to you from the questions. You'll be amazed how much more comfortable you feel by just reading the questions first!

Did you know reading is a great way to practice speech and language skills? Get lost in a book, read a magazine, or just read words you see in your environment every day. Target your speech sounds as you read out loud! You can learn descriptive words by reading new vocabulary in context. Make it fun and read items of interest!

With the start of "holiday season," remember this is a great time to learn new vocabulary and talk with people you haven't seen regularly. Ask questions, help make new recipes, and taste new and interesting foods you might not have tried before! Use the upcoming events and holidays as a time to build life experiences and share them with others-  compare!

Try using a new word each day! When you are giving details about a story or event, try adding an extra describing word so your audience can "paint" a picture in their head! Words and language can be fun!

Starting a new school year can be exciting! Deep breathing exercises and following an agenda can help with anxiety and all the new experiences you will have. Take time to reflect on your goals for the year and enjoy the ride!

Language is developing at a rapid rate between the ages of 2 and 7! Be sure to challenge your children by encouraging them to explain the world around them.

Remember to check my site on snow days! You can play brain games, create silly stories using your target speech sounds, and even have stories read to you!

TBI may result in speech, language, hearing, and swallowing issues. More and more research is now going into TBI therapies given the number of soldiers coming back from war with this condition. Although this accounts for a large number of people with TBI, there are other things we can do to prevent this condition in our daily lives. Always wear a seat belt. Helmets need to be REQUIRED to ride 4 wheelers, motorcycles, dirt bikes, and bicycles...or anything that might involve a fall in any way...REQUIRED! Take charge of your own brain health!!! 88% of all head or brain injuries could be avoided if cyclists wore a bicycle helmet. 85% of all accidents occur within 5 blocks of home. 47% of all bicycle accidents occur off-road, in driveways and on sidewalks. More statistics can be found on the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute website (www.helmets.org). It's your BRAIN and you have it your whole LIFE...TAKE CARE OF IT!

Auditory Processing Disorders (APD) involve difficulty processing auditory information in the brain. Many of the behaviors of APD may be symptomatic of other conditions such as ADHD and other learning disabilities. Students with APD may have difficulty with: paying attention, remembering oral directions, following multi-step directions, listening skills, reading, spelling, speech-language skills, vocabulary, syllable sequences, comprehension, following conversations, distractibility. A quiet environment, multi-modal teaching approaches (incorporating auditory, visual, tactile, and kinesthetic), and chunking information into smaller bits may help support students with APD (and let's face it, ALL of us!).

*Always respond to your child in the same way - whether they stutter or not.
*Don't make suggestions on how your child should speak - this can make it more frustrating.
*Simplify by using shorter sentences and age-appropriate vocabulary.
*Minimize putting the child "on the spot."
*Create an environment that is supportive - take turns and NO teasing!
*Listen for content rather than presentation of content.
*Allow pauses after you speak to establish a pattern of regular pausing and response times.
*Reduce your rate of speech to model a slow, easy rate.

Hearing loss is on the rise in the adolescent population! It now affects nearly 20% of U.S. adolescents ages 12-19. This is a 5% rise over the last 15 years. Many reasons are given for this increase but more research is needed to specify the main contributing factor. One might conclude that the increase is caused by loud volume. Some MP3 players can reach levels as high as 120 dB! Most settings should be set between 1/2 and 2/3 the total volume. You'll hear me say this over and over again...nobody should be able to hear the words to the song you are listening to...Turn it down-don't frown! You'll appreciate it 10 years from now!

Each year bilingual students are misdiagnosed with language disorders when really all they face is a language difference. Proper time in an English language learning environment, with peer interaction, is essential! We want to provide help if needed while allowing students to learn in a language-rich environment. Next time you question disorder vs. difference, try to imagine yourself transported to a different country with no previous experience learning the language or social customs...Eye opening, isn't it?

Getting back into the "spirit" of a new school year can be difficult if a regular schedule was not maintained during the summer break. Developing and following a daily schedule may help with organization, homework, and social activities. You'll be amazed how time can fly without one!