GiGi’s Playhouse for Down Syndrome Support Opens in the Twin Cities

by Holly F. State Resources
Families at GiGis Playhouse Twin Cities

Source: Facebook.com/gigisplayhousetc

While some dreaded the cold days of February, many cheered with celebration as GiGi’s Playhouse Twin Cities officially opened its doors on February 9. For families affected by Down syndrome in the Twin Cities, GiGi’s Playhouse is a welcome network of support, play groups and educational opportunities for children, siblings, adults and the community. They provide therapeutic activities to encourage speech- language development, fine motor skills, gross motor, math and literacy.

 

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5 Great Spring Break Activities for Children with Special Needs

by Holly F. Other Resources
Kids running outdoors

Source: sheisdallas.com

Spring break can be a great opportunity to engage your child in new activities, even you aren’t traveling to a luxurious locale. It is also a great time to work on generalizing speech and language skills. In speech-therapy, it’s important to remember that getting away from the environment in which we were taught a skill is the best way to generalize and reinforce the lesson. Take advantage of spring break and consider the following activities for your child:

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What you Need to Know about Assistive Technology

by Holly F. Speech Therapy Techniques

For people without disabilities, technology makes things easier. For people with disabilities, technology makes things possible–International Business Machines (IBM) 1991 training manual

 

k12 Education and Technology

Source: k12educationtechnology.com

 

Most of us use technology on a daily basis. Perhaps you use a cell phone calendar to remember your schedule. You might use Google maps to direct you to where you’re going, or you might adapt your e-reader with an increased font to make the text easier. If you use one of these, you use technology to make your life easier. For students with learning disabilities, whether cognitive or physical, assistive technology aims to enhance and improve educational opportunities with the use of the latest technology. They do this by bypassing, working around, or compensating for a child’s specific learning disabilities.  In speech-therapy, assisstive technology is used to provide access to communication tools that help a child read, write, express or comprehend language.

 

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Stuttering Treatment Can Improve Speech for Children with Down Syndrome

by Holly F. News

 

Boy with Down Sydrome in Speech Therapy

Source: thelancet.com

Down Syndrome is the most frequently occurring chromosomal disorder and impacts a child’s development with regards to language, cognition and motor skills. Children with Down Syndrome routinely receive and benefit from speech-therapy for improvement of articulation, development of syntax, grammar and semantics. What most people don’t know is that many children and adults with Down Syndrome struggle to communicate due to disfluency, or a stutter. Though the two terms, stuttering and Down Syndrome might not seem to go together often, it occurs is as many as 45% of adults and 50% of children. Though research regarding best practices for treatment have been largely limited, a new study from the University of Alberta aims to change that.

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Strategies for Teaching Yes and No in Speech Therapy

by Holly F. Speech Therapy Techniques

 

Saying Yes

Source: mommykatandkids.com

Though it might seem as though your child communicates “no” all the time (maybe he protests, maybe she runs away, he might sign “all done”), teaching children with language impairments to express the words, “yes” and “no” can sometimes be a challenge in speech therapy. These two simple words can carry a conversation. By being able to answer these questions a child can describe preferences, answer questions, and clearly express their wants and needs. It is an important part of development and often challenging in the toddler years when everything seems like a “nooo!” Being able to accurately answer “yes” and “no” questions can reduce communications frustration for children with language disorders, specifically autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy or developmental delays.

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