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What to focus on when teaching your child to read and write

When teaching your child how to read, there are so many things to focus on and it may seem like an overwhelming task if they have no awareness of any sounds or are constantly making mistakes. Below I will go through some good places to start and some key points to focus on.

Know the sounds not the names

Many parents start to teach the alphabet letters by their names. While the alphabet song is a nice way to start, knowing the names of each letter does not help us to read words. It is the sounds that each letter makes that help us to read. Therefore, when you introduce each letter, it is actually better to teach its sounds to give your child a head start. Better yet, get them to identify words with those sounds in them.

Focus on accuracy not speed

Many parents get caught up on pushing their child to read as quickly as possible. This often leads to guessing and sight word reading. The aim of reading, however, is not to be able to do it quickly but to access the meaning and information from written materials. Therefore, it is no good being able to read materials quickly if the meaning of the information is changes. Focus on getting your child to read at his or her own pace and ensuring that your child is sound out each word accurately.

Identify cluster sounds

Clustered letters such as ‘sh’, ‘ch’ and ‘th’ come together to form one sound. Work with your child to see if they can just find these letter groups first. Once your child is able to find these letter clusters, you can then work on practicing the sounds each cluster make.

Contact us for results focused speech therapy

This article was written by our Speech Pathologist Ashleigh Fattah who is a Speech Pathology Australia member. If you have questions about language activities, make an appointment. We‘ll provide you with simple and effective therapy targeted to your concerns. Contact us today.

The post What to focus on when teaching your child to read and write appeared first on ENT Wellbeing Sydney.

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Many parents fall into the trap of feeling as if they have to purchase an entire toy store to be able to administer the Lidcombe program well. Following on from my last blog, here are a few more activities that can be done while administering Lidcombe without breaking the bank.

Read Low cost activities to engage children in the Lidcombe Program to learn more about what Lidcombe is and to some other activities for your children.

Color me speech

The internet is full of great coloring in materials that can be printed and used as part of speech practice. Make sure to choose a theme that your child enjoys, whether it is Princesses, Star Wars, The Wiggles or Paw Patrol. This will add an extra incentive to the coloring fun. Add speech by getting your child to tell you what he or she is going to color next and which color they want to use.

Fishing

If you already have a wooden fishing set then this game is even easier to set up. Just write different numbers to signify points on the back of different wooden fish (e.g. 50, 25, 100). Play the game just as you would normally by trying to catch the wooden fish with the magnetised rod however as each player catches a fish, they have to read out the number of points they earned so a score keeper can keep track of how many they have earned. The winner is the player with the most earned points at the end. If you don’t have a wooden fishing set, an alternative would be to print out pictures of fish, cut them out and place a staple in the middle of each fish. Write the number of points on the back of each fish print out. You can make a fishing rod out of a magnet glued to a piece of string, which is tied onto the end of a pencil. The magnet will pick up the stapes so you can collect the fish just as you would with a wooden fishing set.

If none of these games appeals to your child, try using what you already have and add on a new twist. For example, you can throw a ball to each other and as each person catches the ball, they have to name something they can see around them. Get creative and you can turn any game into a conversation.

Contact us for results focused speech therapy

This article was written by our Speech Pathologist Ashleigh Fattah who is a Speech Pathology Australia member. If you have questions about language activities, make an appointment. We‘ll provide you with simple and effective therapy targeted to your concerns. Contact us today.

The post Activities to engage children in the Lidcombe Program – part two appeared first on ENT Wellbeing Sydney.

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What is the Lidcombe Program?

The Lidcombe program is an evidence based treatment method for preschool and early primary school aged children. The Program uses positive praise as behavioural reinforcement for smooth speech and is extremely effective when implemented correctly and with the right age group. Part of the treatment program involves engaging the child in different activities, many of which are play based. This can sometimes lead parents to feel like they need to live in a toy store in order to keep their child engaged to implement the program well. This is not necessarily the case and here I am going to list a few activities that can be done while administering Lidcombe without breaking the bank.

I spy

This game is played exactly as you would expect. One person decides on an object they can see and tells the other player what sound it starts with. The other player then has to guess what object the other person has in mind. As you play the game and elicit utterances, praise the child as per the Lidcombe program requirements.

You can so this activity at the simple word level by getting the child to give single word utterances when they guess, such as ‘ball’ or ‘hat’. Another option is to play the game at the ‘phrase’ stage and get your child to answer in phrases, such as ‘are you thinking of a hat’. Make sure to work at the level indicated by your child’s speech pathologist for best practice.

Match game

This game can be played entirely with two sets of printed pictures or if your child can recognise numbers, the game can also be played with a normal deck of cards. Place the sets of cards faced down and take turns flipping over two cards to try to find a match. As you flip the cards over, say aloud what are on the cards you have gotten. That way with each turn, you will get a chance to provide Lidcombe style praise and reinforcement.

You can also try a game you haven’t played in a while, with a fun reward at the end or reading books your child may not have seen by going to the local library. Whatever it is, it doesn’t have to be extravagant, just follow your child’s interests and you shouldn’t have trouble keeping them engaged.

Contact us for results focused speech therapy

This article was written by our Speech Pathologist Ashleigh Fattah who is a Speech Pathology Australia member. If you have questions about language activities, make an appointment. We‘ll provide you with simple and effective therapy targeted to your concerns. Contact us today.

The post Low cost activities to engage children in the Lidcombe Program appeared first on ENT Wellbeing Sydney.

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Comprehension difficulties have a significant impact on a child or adults school, home or work life. If an individual is unable to comprehend a passage or story this impacts their ability to learn from text books or manuals, process and retain stories told by colleagues or friends, complete simple instructions or follow along with a series or novel with long plot lines. This ability is required over a number of different tasks in life for both work and pleasure.

There are a number of programs that have been developed by speech pathologists and psychologist to assist with language comprehension.

One key skill in processing and remembering different elements within a story is visualization.

Visualizing and verbalizing in particular, as the name states focuses on the elements of visualization and verbalizing what an individual has heard or read to aid them in recalling key details required to comprehend language. The program teaches individuals to create a picture in their mind to help remember the key details within a story. For some this skill of visualization comes naturally however for others it is a part of the brain, which requires training to be able to utilize.

The program starts with simpler tasks such as just visualizing an object or character and works up to incorporate visualization of multiple paragraphs within a story. The more vivid the picture, the easier it is to recall the details which make up the object, scene or story. The verbalization element encourages individuals to say back what they have heard which engages multiple faculties of the brain to help with information retention.

These general principles can all help to assist an individual in improving their comprehension. For the most accurate and holistic approach it is important to seek advice from a speech pathologist that has completed a comprehensive assessment of the individuals, keeping in mind their strengths and weaknesses. This ensures that the individual is receiving a healthy amount of challenges without becoming overloaded.

Contact us for results focused speech therapy

This article was written by our Speech Pathologist Ashleigh Fattah who is a Speech Pathology Australia member. If you have questions about language activities, make an appointment. We‘ll provide you with simple and effective therapy targeted to your concerns. Contact us today.

The post Improving literacy comprehension through Visualization appeared first on ENT Wellbeing Sydney.

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Two of the most commonly asked questions in paediatric speech pathology are:

When or at what age is a good time to start speech therapy?
And how long does it normally take?

The answer to both these questions are as you may have guessed, dependent on the child, however many parents may be left wondering without any idea as to how long they may be coming for speech therapy. So to give a bit of an indication of how long therapy may be required, here is a rough guide.

Children with a mild speech or language delay would likely need speech therapy for a few months.

Children with moderate to severe delays may require speech therapy in some form such as suggested strategies put in place at school, weekly one to one or group therapy sessions.

To answer the question of when a child should start speech therapy, this again is difficult to answer without taking into consideration the child’s needs. The general rule is to start sooner rather than later however I will give a few examples which are commonly seen in a speech pathology clinic and when to be concerned and seek out a speech therapist.

Children who have not yet produced any words are a common case. The general rule is that children should produce their first word around 12 months of age.

If your child is over the age of 12 months it may be worth while visiting a speech pathologist to get a few tips and pointers to help boost your child’s language along.

Some parents like to wait and give their child a chance to catch up in the case of late starter. You generally don’t want to wait longer than a few months as toddlers around 18 months should be producing around 50 words so catching up is a big task if your child does not produce any words yet at this age. The same can be said about the first two-word sentence, which is expected around 24 months of age.

If your child is past the age of two years and is still only using a handful of single words, an assessment by a speech pathologist can give you an indication of whether your child looks as though they are about to start producing two word utterance. They may also be able to tell you if they don’t look to be producing sentences any time soon and give you tips on how to help them along.

One of the most important stages to be assessing and treating a child for speech or language delay is during late preschool when the child is preparing to enter into primary school.Early intervention is key at this stage as the child will soon require their speech and language skills as a foundation for learning literacy and absorbing academic information. Without sufficient speech and language skills, your child begins school with a handicap, which may set them behind for the rest of their continued education.

If you feel unsure about your child’s communication skills, book in for an assessment to get an idea if your child is on track to meet their communication requirement to start school.

Contact us for results focused speech therapy

This article was written by our Speech Pathologist Ashleigh Fattah who is a Speech Pathology Australia member. If you have questions about language activities, make an appointment. We‘ll provide you with simple and effective therapy targeted to your concerns. Contact us today.

The post When to start speech therapy and how long does it take? appeared first on ENT Wellbeing Sydney.

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