Buying Christmas Gifts for the Child with Little Speech

My daughter adores Christmas. She loves to help decorate the tree, make sugar cookies, and watch light shows in our area. Jaycee enjoys the occasional Santa spotting as well. Even though her speech is limited, she and Santa can share a hug that means more than 100 words.

Jaycee, who is our 13 year old sweetie with Down syndrome, looks forward to our Christmas gatherings with family. When she was little, she didn't have much interest in the present portion of the night. She often opened up a gift or two and was satisfied with what she received. I recall one year that Jaycee unwrapped a DVD. She was so excited! She went in the other room to watch it rather than opening up the pile of gifts that remained from grandma. Her attitude of contentment and appreciation was something we should all replicate. She eventually opened up the rest of the gifts after enjoying her movie.

Jaycee now unwraps presents until there are none left to open. The hard part has been figuring out what to put in those boxes. To her credit, Jaycee doesn't care much about what is in the present. She smiles and receives anything with love. She never dislikes anything. In that respect, Jaycee is easy to please. Of course, I want Jaycee to like her gifts, but it is almost impossible for Jaycee to let me know what she wants.

"What would you like for Christmas?" I ask Jaycee in hopes she will give an answer.

She replies with speech and sign language, "Christmas tree." I don't think she wants a tree. I think she is associating my question with the tree where the presents go.

Other times, she answers my question with, "Presents."

She isn't verbally able to answer the question that so many parents ask this time of year. My 10 year-old son, on the other hand, is able to give a long wish list and often pulls up the desired item on Amazon.

What is a mom to do for a child who can't say what they desire? I want her Christmas to be special, but I also know it's not that important to her. I try not to stress about her gifts, and simply go with what I know. 

There are some things I have found helpful over the years. Here are my three tips for buying gifts for the child who can't express what they want.

1. If public outings are an option, take the child shopping. 
As Jaycee has gotten older, it has been helpful to take her to a store to see what interests her in the toy, movie, and clothing aisles. For years, Jaycee only choose items in the store that she already had at home. She gravitated toward the familiar, so shopping wasn't helpful.

Now, she can pick out things she likes, which makes it easier for all of us. Generally, she chooses toys or items with familiar characters, but sometimes she surprises me. This year, she has chosen an Elsa doll and a Lion King shirt on our shopping trips.

2. Consider what the child watches. 
Jaycee had favorite movies and television shows starting at age two. We purchased movies and items for her based on shows she already liked. When Barney the dinosaur was a favorite, I bought a stuffed Barney, for example. 

Last year, I took this same principle and applied it to YouTube. Jaycee loves watching a plethora of YouTube videos. In particular, she loved watching people open LOL surprise dolls and makeup tutorials. I don't wear makeup, so this was completely her interest. For gifts, we decided to buy her the LOL dolls and makeup because she had neither. Jaycee loved them both. Jaycee has added to her makeup collection over the whole year, and it has been fun to see a new interest develop. It all started because of YouTube.

3. Décor for the win. 
Over the years, when I have struggled to find a gift, I purchased something for Jaycee's room. It is money well spent because she spends a good deal of time in her room. We have purchased a new dresser, a large Beauty and the Beast wall sticker, Beauty and the Beast bed sheets, and Disney wall hangings. It's something she can enjoy all year round. 

Christmas is a magical time of year. As parents, we want all of our children to enjoy the season and participate. Even if a child isn't able to verbalize what they want for Christmas, hopefully we can come up with ideas that they can enjoy. My best advice is this: Trust your instincts as a caregiver. You know your child best. I'm sure you will know how to make Christmas special for your child. Happy shopping! 

Therapy Tip: Felt Christmas Tree

It's Therapy Thursday! It's the day that I share a tip based upon my experience as a pediatric speech-language pathologist and a mother of a child with special needs. Today's tip is a simple one you can create at home:

The Felt Christmas Tree

I like doing simple activities in therapy that families can replicate at home. If a project is too complicated, a family will most likely not do it at home. They will not want to run to several stores to try to find several materials to create a great activity. They have enough to do already. Simple is best!

To make your own felt Christmas tree, all you need is felt material. I purchased a small 10 piece felt package from Wal-Mart to make mine. I didn't use a pattern, which explains why my tree isn't "perfect." I just cut out all the pieces you see above (tree, star, circles that I called lights, and squares for presents). After all your cutting is complete, you are ready to work on some language skills. 

Here are some things I target with toddlers/two year olds using this tree:

-Spatial concepts/following directions: Try giving your child these directions to check their understanding of spatial concepts: Put the star at the top of the tree. Put the presents under the tree. Put this light in the middle of the tree. 

-Colors: I made the circles/lights different colors so I could work on pink, orange, yellow, and purple. You can hold up two different lights and have the child get a certain color. (Get the pink one). This works on color identification. If that's too easy, you can hold up two lights and ask the child which one they want. This works on color naming. 

-Saying family names: Tell the child the presents are for someone in the family. "This one is for (child's name). This one is for mommy." To change it up, you can ask the child who they think a present is for. 

-Shapes: The star, squares, and circles can also be discussed for children who are ready to work on shapes as well. You can ask them to find a circle/square/star after it is all decorated. 

-Phrases: Hold all of the pieces for the tree in your possession. Make the child say what he/she wants in order to receive the pieces. "I want the star. More light. I want light please." 

Have fun decorating your tree and building your child's language skills!

Therapy Thursday is for educational purposes only and not intended as therapeutic advice. 

Joy to the...Special Caregivers

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

Well, it's suppose to be.

My attitude lately has, frankly, sucked. I don't want to sound like a broken record on this blog, but a hospital stay impacts a family for weeks afterward. Once Jaycee came home, I took over her intense care, which included nebulizer and vest therapy treatments every 6 hours around-the-clock for almost a week. Her oxygen saturation monitor beeped and alarmed multiple times a night for that first week home too. Basically, the tiredness I felt when I arrived home from the hospital with Jaycee grew exponentially.

Besides the zombie like state I was in, I didn't have time to process the whole situation until we were home when I had a second to think. This whole illness began with Jaycee turning blue at home. This has happened now more times than I can count. Years ago, Jaycee responded to her emergency medications, and her breathing would stabilize. This time, like the past few blue moments, the emergency medications were not completely working and she was ripping off her oxygen as I was trying to put it on. Can you say stressful?

I haven't even told you how my child hit and kicked me and the nurses in the hospital as she fought off the necessary activities that needed to be done while there. That was exhausting physically and emotionally. She was scared, so I wasn't upset with her. But, her resistance to touch continued when we came home, and I needed to touch her for one of her temporary but extremely necessary medications. I dreaded the two times a day I had to approach her with these medications at home because she would not calm down. Yep, that first week post the hospital was hard.

The combination of lack of sleep and the stress made for my less than desirable mood for the last few weeks. This season usually brings me joy. I love shopping for others, looking at Christmas lights, and the season of giving and kindness. I have had moments of happiness, but there's been lots of sadness, tears, and frustration with things that have happened lately.

Sometimes, it is hard to be a person of faith and stay joyful in times of trouble.
You want God to rescue you, and it's hard when it doesn't happen. It's harder when an illness (or problem) happens again and again. You want to make sense of something and find a way to have hope that things will be better.

There's something important that I need to keep reminding myself.

Heaven is perfect. The Earth is not.
Heaven is where my daughter will be free from sickness. Heaven is where I won't be stressing about her numbers on a monitor. Heaven is where we'll have perfect peace.

On Earth is where we are though. I want many years on Earth with my daughter too- don't get me wrong. But, the Earth is full of things that God neither wanted or planned for His people. I forget this sometimes. I forget that things aren't always going to perfect on this imperfect planet.

That's why the Lord's prayer is so powerful in moments when you feel God isn't in your situation. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

I'll keep reminding myself to pray. I'll keep telling myself that I can have hope for a better future for our family. I'll tell myself that things were hard for a bit, but those tough times don't have to ruin future times that bring opportunities for joy.

So my fellow moms of children with medical or developmental diagnoses, I hope that during this Christmas season, you are finding joy. I hope you can shut out the chaos in your life right now and find peace. I hope that recent trials aren't souring your mood, and you can enjoy the fun times with your family today. I'm certainly going to try to do this! A sugar cookie or two may just help. 😊

⁹ In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
¹⁰ Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread.
¹² And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
¹³ And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen

Matthew 6

Therapy Tip: Building Language with Your Christmas Tree

It's Therapy Thursday!

You know the drill...this is the day that I share a tip based upon my experience as a pediatric speech-language pathologist and the mother of a child with special needs. Today's tip is:

4 Ways to Build Language Using your Christmas Tree

I love incorporating language goals into natural things around the home during the holidays. If you have a Christmas tree in your home, then this tip will be of interest to you. Here are 4 things you can do with your early language learner (ages 2-4 depending on the child's abilities) utilizing your family's Christmas tree.

1. Colors:
If you have different colored ornaments, decorations, or lights, you can target colors with your child. You can point to a particular color and ask the child to find the same color on the tree. ("Here's a blue light. Can you find one?") You can ask your child to point to a specific color on the tree. ("Find a green light.") Finally, you can simply talk about the different colored items on the tree.

2. Spatial Concepts:
Use items on the tree to describe where they are. Use words like on top, middle, on, under to describe the location of the items. The presents are UNDER the tree. The star is ON TOP of the tree. The lights are all AROUND the tree. The tractor ornament is in the MIDDLE of the tree. To make it harder, ask your child to tell you where specific things are to see if they will use these spatial words too.

3. Vocabulary:
If you have a lot of different ornaments on the tree, use them to build vocabulary. My tree is full of Disney characters, super heroes, holiday items like a candy cane, and more. All of these different types of ornaments can be located to build vocabulary ("Can you find the fire truck ornament?"). But, you can also point out things to the child and discuss them ("Here's a candy cane ornament. It's red and white.")

4. Answering Questions:
Ask your child questions about things on or around the tree. Think about questions you can ask that start with where, who, what, why. Where's the star? What is this ornament? What is your favorite one? If your child is saying simple sentences, ask harder questions such as: How does the ornament stay on the tree? Why do you like this ornament? How many lights do you think are on the tree?

Now go enjoy some therapy time around your tree!

Therapy Thursday is for educational purposes only and not intended as therapeutic advice. 

Therapy Tip: Gift Guide for Early Speech-Language Learners

Welcome to Therapy Thursday! This is the day that I share a tip based upon my experience as a parent of a child with special needs and a pediatric speech-language pathologist.

Today's tip is:

Christmas Shopping? Early Speech-Language Learners Gift Guide

Christmas will be here in a few weeks. Oh the joy!!

About this time of year, parents often ask me about appropriate Christmas presents for their toddler who I am treating in speech therapy. Everyone wants their toy to be useful and help their child develop skills they are building in therapy.

Today, I am offering my ideas for gifts in case there are parents, friends, or grandparents who are buying toys for a child with speech or language delays and need help. I am hesitant to place an age on this gift guide because an older child with significant language delays may benefit from things on this post. Therefore, this is written for those children who may be working on saying single words up to 3-5 word phrases. 

In general, almost any toy can be used to build language (i.e. increase vocabulary or encourage words/phrases/sentences). When I am looking for a toy, I go by this rule of thumb in general: The more basic the toy, the better.

Toys that make noise or sounds or are motorized USUALLY result in less talking since the child is busy pushing buttons or watching the toy. So, I try to avoid most noise making toys or moving toys for children that have very little language. These types of toys have their uses, but if you are specifically looking for something that will help promote verbal speech, look for toys that do not have the extra bells and whistles. I want the child to make the noise and the sound effect, not the toy.

Another important thing to remember when purchasing a toy is the child's developmental age. The development age describes where the child is functioning versus their chronological age. Many toys have suggested ages on the box. If you have a child with large delays, these ages will not match up for what they child may need. For example, a box may say 24 months. Now, if you have a child with Down syndrome who is 24 months, their developmental age may be closer to 12 if they have just started walking. So choosing toys with a 12-18 month age listed on a toy's box may be more appropriate than the one with 24 month age listed.

Here's some more specific ideas: 

Toys for children developing vocabulary, working on phrases, or using verbal speech: 

-Any type of food related toy can work on basic words like eat/drink and naming foods. There are many pretend food sets and play kitchens that spark imagination and allow good vocabulary to be developed. 

-Any board book or flashcard set can be used to promote language. I especially love books and cards that have real photographs versus cartoon drawn pictures. If the child loves a particular character on tv, books with those familiar characters are often good to spark language or an interest in books in general. 

My First Words Available Here

 

I Can, Can You? Available Here

-Baby doll sets with a few accessories can be great for early language. A baby doll with a bottle, brush, or diaper can target action words (brush, drink, eat) and other basic words. Baby doll play also allows moments for imitation. For example, you can pat the doll's back and see if the child imitates you. 

-Car sets with a garage or ramp are great too. This allows you to work on action words (go, stop), descriptive words (fast, slow, green), and spatial/location words (up, down, in, out). 

-Non-motorized train sets are great too! Trains have been very popular with young toddlers and preschoolers, which is wonderful since they can target many of the same words as the car sets. Trains also give an opportunity to work on sound effects (choo-choo). I do not like the battery powered trains as young children in therapy tend to watch the train move rather than play with the train and engage with it.  

-Animal sets/toys in any form is another good gift. Basically, any toy that has animals on it can be used to work on naming animals or repeating animal sounds. Puzzles, puppets, small figures, books, etc. are all great to target this early developing skills. 

-In general, I like the Melissa & Doug wooden toys. There are a variety of these products that can be used to work on action words, spatial concepts (in/out), and basic vocabulary (go, up, more). Melissa and Doug toys are durable and cover a range of different topics. You can't go wrong with a Melissa and Doug toy. 

A puzzle made by Melissa & Doug. 

-Of course, I love bubbles. With bubbles, you can work on words like pop, more, dip, bubble, my turn, your turn. 

For children working on articulation/speech sound development:

-I love the Leap Frog Letter Factory DVD for teaching letters & sounds. I have had kids really pick up on sounds watching this DVD.

-Many Leap Frog toys in general are good for teaching letter/sound connections. The sooner the child with articulation errors can get this, the better off they will be for school.

-Bath foam letters allow for a way to work on producing the sounds of letters during bath time. I also like to squirt water on glass doors and stick the letters to the glass to use the foam letters in a different way.

-Bath paints or markers can be used to write words or letters with the sound your child is working on. You could also draw pictures of things with the sound your child is working on. For example, if your child is working on /b/, then you can draw a ball, boy, or boat to practice this sound.

-Alphabet puzzles allow for the sound/letter connection and a chance to practice your child's difficult sounds in isolation by themselves.

-Letter magnets again allow for the sound/letter connection or sound practice. Besides sticking them on a refrigerator, you can buy a small cookie sheet to stick the magnets on.

-Alphabet stamps or alphabet stickers again allow for sound play and letter/sound connections in a variety of ways.

Hope this gives you some ideas for Christmas. Remember, you can always ask your child's therapist if you need more specific ideas. Happy shopping! 

Therapy Thursday is for educational purposes only and not intended as therapeutic advice. 

The Good, Bad, and In-Between of Holiday Break

Happy New Year! I hope you had a great time over the holidays.

If you are like me, you make grandiose plans for breaks. "We'll have special family time," I declared with hope prior to break.

"We'll make great memories. We'll laugh. Nothing can stop our fun! Nothing!"

Then poof. A cough. Gasp!

If you have been a long time reader, you know that a cough and a cold is not simple with Jaycee's lung conditions and heart history.

Jaycee with her new doll

Jaycee's cough went to wet and junky sounding within the first 48 hours of break starting. That meant breathing treatments every few hours followed by airway clearance. Alarms from the monitor went off at night. Dirty sheets from unspeakable horrors were waiting for me several mornings. Two trips to the doctor were required, and one call to the pulmonary doctor was made. Christmas gatherings and plans had to be adjusted for the girl who needed to be close to her machines and emergency medicines. Everything during break was planned around her medicine schedule.

Yep, none of that was fun, but I'm thankful she recovered at home.


On the bright side, my husband and I did manage to go on a date since my mother volunteered to watch our children. We had a respectable grown-up dinner, but I did miss coloring while waiting for our food to arrive. We watched a movie and awkwardly sat next to each other. Usually, we sit Jaycee between us in case she gets scared during the movie. We hadn't sat next to each other in a theater in so long, but we had settled into each other's company before the 20 minutes of previews ended. A date night was exactly what we needed after the week we had. We enjoyed what was our 2nd or 3rd date of the year. (We aren't exactly role models for dating in marriage.)

I did love sleeping in past 6 am during break even if I was getting up in the middle of the night because Jaycee was alarming.

It was also great to watch a few movies at night with my husband after the kids went to bed. God bless you Sully and your awesome water landing skills!

Elijah playing his new tiny piano

Jaycee and I were thrilled to watch Beauty and the Beast three times. I helped Elijah with a Minecraft Lego set and received a great deal of information regarding Steve, Ender Dragons, and other things that I still can't comprehend.



So, everything didn't go as planned, but we still made memories. We still had quality family time. We had moments of fun and laughter amidst the illness and stress.



Several years ago, a pastor who is now in Heaven preached that he never had a bad day, but sometimes had bad things come up. Every day God gave him was good no matter what happened. He believed this even when he battled health issues that ultimately ended his life. His philosophy on life still challenges me.

Some not so great things happened over break, but I won't be calling it "bad."

The kids jamming with Jaycee's new tambourine

We are all still here and got to be together. That sounds great, doesn't it?

Therapy Tip: Building Language Functionally During Christmas

Welcome to Therapy Thursday! This is the day that I share a tip based upon my experience as a mother of a child with special needs and a pediatric speech-language pathologist.

I love using different holidays and the décor that goes with it to build language and change up typical therapy sessions. With Christmas coming up, today's tip is:

Building Early Language Functionally During Christmas

Christmas trees, stockings, Santa, snow, and lights are all signs of the holiday season. These seasonal items give us a chance to practice new words and target concepts in different ways.

But first....Note: If you are a speech-language pathologist or other professional, it's always best to know your audience. If you are working with a family who does not do a particular aspect of Christmas or has other religious preferences, then you need to consider those before jumping in to the activities.

If you are a parent, I think there is a big misconception that language must be built in a structured activity such as book time. But, there are opportunities around us all the time to build language functionally when it does not feel like "work" to yourself or the child.

Here's some ways that you can target different concepts during Christmas:

-Colors: Have a child working on colors? Have the child point to a particular colored light or ornament on the tree. You can simply say things like, "I see a green light," to reinforce colors they are struggling with. If you have some different colored ribbons or bows left, let the child play with them to reinforce colors too. You can have them match up or sort through red bows, blue bows, etc. if you have many bows laying around.


-Spatial concepts: If you have a young child learning spatial concepts like on/off, under, in front/behind, top/bottom, there are several ways you can target this as well. When talking to the child, use spatial concepts to describe where things are. The presents are "under" the tree. The lights are "on" the house. The star is "on top" of the tree. You can ask them questions to check their understanding. For example, "What is on top of the tree? What is in front of the Santa?"


-Vocabulary: Talk about the different holiday items around you to build vocabulary. This can be done in several ways, but there are many new opportunities to work on different words during the holidays. You can simply talk about things around you. "I see Santa." You can check their understanding by asking, "Do you see Santa? Show me." If they need help, show them.
                    I also like to find objects in the room/house that are in multiples like ornaments, stockings, etc. "I see a stocking. Here's one. Can you find another one?" If they can't find one, help them.
                    If your child has a vocabulary of 10 words or under, I like to target noises and sound effects as well as simple words to see if they will imitate anything that I say. For example, I often say "hohoho" for Santa, make clicking noises for a reindeer walking, and "ding-ding" for bells. When a child has under 10 words, getting them to imitate anything is a win!
                   I like going to Dollar stores and purchasing some inexpensive items like small stockings, rubber Santas, a plastic ornament, or light up snowmen to practice vocabulary with objects that are safe for children to play with under adult supervision. These too give opportunity to focus on vocabulary in play.


Look around! Language opportunities are everywhere!

Therapy Thursday is for educational purposes only and not intended for therapeutic advice.

The Jesus who Lives Beyond the Stable

Jesus is much more than a baby born in the humble beginnings of a stable.

Jesus is much more than a man who was crucified.

He was and is the Son of God.

As Christmas is nearing, it's important to reflect on the man who we celebrate.

Perhaps you aren't personally acquainted with Jesus, so let me tell you what I know.


It was in my relationship with Jesus that I learned the value of my daughter's life. While others made me feel that having a child with special needs was something that was sad, pitiful, and negative, Jesus reminded me that value is found in the soul of a person-no matter the abilities.

After struggling for months to get Jaycee to hold her own bottle as a baby, it was Jesus who gave me an idea to create an assistive device to help her by using a can hugger and masking tape. After months of struggling, the idea worked!

It was through Jesus that I came out of a difficult emotional space. Years of caring for a child who had multiple health problems (some serious), a miscarriage, and some other issues that life threw at us had really made my thinking very negative. It was Jesus who gave me hope for my life and our family's future.

It was Jesus who gave my husband and I peace when we looked at many medical bills wondering how we were going to pay them. (We have paid off over $40,000 in medical bills and quit totaling them up a few years ago due to the emotions it caused us.)

When Jaycee was in ICU in 2013, she was sick with pneumonia, respiratory failure, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and septic shock. While I was in prayer to this man, Jesus, I had a strong thought, "Jaycee will live," in my mind. That gave me hope during the shaky times while she recovered.

My son visiting his sister in the hospital

It was Jesus who put a line from a song in my heart during one of Jaycee's hospital admissions. I was feeling very down about Jaycee being in the hospital when these lyrics came to mind: God I look to You. I won't be overwhelmed....  (Yes, sometimes Jesus comes in the form of a song.)

It is Jesus whose name I say when I have found my daughter turning blue from respiratory distress at home as I try to get oxygen on her.

When Jaycee was sick another year in the ICU on the verge on needing a ventilator to keep her breathing safely, it was Jesus who sent word through a praying friend reminding me to trust God in all situations even when they seem to be going in directions that seem unplanned.


Jesus has not prevented sadness in my life nor heartache.
Jesus has not been a magical Santa figure granting every prayer and wish I had.

But, Jesus has been there working in my life making sure things came together for my good. He has been the peace in my life when things felt out of control.

Here's the good news for you--- He will do it for anyone who seeks him.


What's your personal story of Jesus?

Therapy Tip: Early Speech-Language Christmas Toy Guide

Welcome to Therapy Thursday! This is the day that I share a tip based upon my experience as a parent of a child with special needs and a pediatric speech-language pathologist.

Today's tip is:

Christmas Shopping: Early Speech-Language Toy Guide

Christmas will be here in a few weeks.

About this time of year, parents often ask me about appropriate Christmas presents for their toddler who I am treating in speech therapy. Today, I am offering my ideas for gifts in case there are parents, friends, or grandparents who are buying toys for a child with speech or language delays and need help.

In general, almost any toy can be used to build language (i.e. increase vocabulary or encourage words/phrases/sentences). When I am looking for a toy, I go by this rule of thumb in general: The more basic the toy, the better.

Toys that make noise or sounds or are motorized USUALLY result in less talking since the child is busy pushing buttons or watching the toy. So, I try to avoid most noise making toys or moving toys for children that have very little language. These types of toys have their uses, but if you are specifically looking for something that will help promote verbal speech, look for toys that do not have the extra bells and whistles. I want the child to make the noise and the sound effect, not the toy.

Another important thing to remember when purchasing a toy is the child's developmental age. The development age describes where the child is functioning versus their chronological age. Many toys have suggested ages on the box. If you have a child with large delays, these ages will not match up for what they child may need. For example, a box may say 24 months. Now, if you have a child with Down syndrome who is 24 months, their developmental age may be closer to 12 if they have just started walking. So choosing toys with a 12-18 month age listed on a toy's box may be more appropriate than the one with 24 month age listed.

Here's some more specific ideas:

Toys for children developing vocabulary, working on phrases, or using verbal speech: 

-Any type of food related toy can work on basic words like eat/drink and naming foods

-Any book or flashcard set…I especially love books and cards that have real photographs versus cartoon drawn pictures.

-Baby doll sets with a few accessories like a bottle or diapers to work on actions and basic words

-Car sets with a garage or ramp to work on words like in, up, go, stop, etc.

-Non-motorized train sets are great too for working on sound effects (choo-choo) and action words.

-Animal sets/toys in any form such as puzzles, puppets, or figures can allow you to work on naming animals or saying animal sounds.

-In general, I like the Melissa & Doug wooden toys. There are a variety of these that can be used to work on action words, spatial concepts (in/out), and basic vocabulary (go, up, more). 

-Of course, I love bubbles to work on words like pop, more, dip, bubble, etc.

For children working on articulation/speech sound development:

-I love the Leap Frog Letter Factory DVD for teaching letters & sounds. I have had kids really pick up on sounds watching this DVD.

-Many Leap Frog toys in general are good for teaching letter/sound connections. The sooner the child with articulation errors can get this, the better off they will be for school.

-Bath foam letters allow for a way to work on producing the sounds of letters during bath time. I also like to squirt water on glass doors and stick the letters to the glass to use the foam letters in a different way.

-Bath paints or markers can be used to write words or letters with the sound your child is working on. You could also draw pictures of things with the sound your child is working on. For example, if your child is working on /b/, then you can draw a ball, boy, or boat to practice this sound.

-Alphabet puzzles allow for the sound/letter connection and a chance to practice your child's difficult sounds in isolation by themselves.

-Letter magnets again allow for the sound/letter connection or sound practice. Besides sticking them on a refrigerator, you can buy a small cookie sheet to stick the magnets on.

-Alphabet stamps or alphabet stickers again allow for sound play and letter/sound connections in a variety of ways.

Hope this gives you some ideas for Christmas. Remember, you can always ask your child's therapist if you need more specific ideas. Happy shopping! 

Therapy Thursday is for educational purposes only and not intended as therapeutic advice.

My Son's Gift to His Sister

"I don't think Jaycee could ever play a musical instrument," my son declared as we drove home from his guitar lesson.

Rather than getting defensive, I decided to ask him for more information.

"Why do you say that?"

He responded, "Reading music is hard, and I don't think she could do it."

"You are right about reading music. That might be hard for your sister because of her Down syndrome and difficulty learning. But, there must be some musical instrument she could play. Can you think of one?"

A minute went by. My son could think of nothing.

I decided to help him with, "Well, I think she could play the triangle."

"What about the tambourine!" he exclaimed.

We both thought that was a good idea and came up with a few more instruments that might work for Jaycee's abilities.

Then Elijah decided that he would get Jaycee a tambourine for Christmas. He was so excited, and I thought it was a great idea.

A few weeks ago, we went to a music store to purchase that tambourine. Jaycee was with us since we had seen one of her doctors earlier in the day.

Elijah enthusiastically looked around the store trying out guitars and other instruments that made me nervous. We finally made our way to the tambourines to pick one out. At the same time, Jaycee made her way to a drum set.

She said down, took the drum sticks, and said, "Uh, oo, ee, ou!" (1, 2, 3, 4) Then she banged out a stellar drum solo for a novice. It was funny and eye opening.

With his sister's tambourine in his hand, Elijah asked, "Can we get Jaycee a drum set for her birthday? She seems to like it."

Well.....................

Elijah wrapping the present

All She Wants for Christmas

"What do you want for Christmas?"

It's a common question that children are asked this time of year. And it's a question that Jaycee can't really answer.

We use total communication with Jaycee. That means we encourage Jaycee to communicate in any method she can whether it be sign language, gestures, words, or using her communication device that we call her talker.

Here's how our Christmas conversations typically go.

Me: "Jaycee, what do you want for Christmas?"

Jaycee: "Merry Christmas!" (on talker)

Me: "Yes, what do you want for a present for Christmas?"

Jaycee: "gift" (on talker) "me" (pointing to self)

We rarely get an actual answer to the question except when I cue her to the button on her device that says, "I want a singing Elsa doll, Peppa pig movies, and time with my cousin Gabby for Christmas." But I programmed that on her talker button not her. Does that count?

What Jaycee really wants is a mystery. She cannot tell me. The best answer I get is when I take her to the store. She loves to browse the toy aisle. The toys with characters she recognizes grabs her attention. She picks up toys, usually ones that makes music or noises, and then puts it right back on the shelf.

"You can have that. Do you want it?"

I gesture that she can put it in the cart if she wants it. But she hardly does. What does she put in the cart instead? Things she already has. A stuffed animal, movie, or toy she already has at home is what she gravitates toward, things she's familiar with.

"You already have this! Pick something else," I say in exasperation.

Then eventually, she will add a new toy to the cart. Success!!

And now there's a conflicting thought. I wish that Jaycee could just answer a simple question. Well, I wish she could understand the question. I wish she wanted something, and I wish I knew what that was.

On the other hand, Jaycee has a better attitude about Christmas than anyone I know. She doesn't care about the things she's going to receive. She doesn't sit around and ask me for toys advertised on commercials. Jaycee would be happy with anything she gets. She also loves going to family parties and cries when we leave. Her eyes light up when she sees the dessert table and enjoys everything she eats. She enjoys every minute of Christmas from the lights to the family meals.

That attitude is something we should all want for Christmas!

A Christmas Moment to Remember

Today, I am happy to share that I have a devotion on A Woman Saved Mag website.

Click on the link to read!!
Evana



https://awomansaved.com/25-days-devotionals-when-a-child-finds-christ-by-evana-sandusky/

Teaching Christmas

"Mom, there's baby Jesus and an angel," my son exclaimed as we drove past an outdoor nativity scene.

"Yes, we need one of those for our house don't we," I said.

Elijah went on, "But, we need a nest for baby Jesus."

"A nest? Oh you mean a manger," I replied.

**********************************

 

I've made more of an effort this year to teach my children the meaning of Christmas for us as Christians. This season has so many opportunities to teach valuable messages but it's easy to let them slip by in the busyness of the holiday activities. It's also easy for Santa to steal the show from Jesus too.

  

So I've tried to talk to the kids about who the people in the nativity scenes are. We've read stories. We drew a picture of the nativity scene as we talked about who was there when Jesus was born. Although, Elijah had to draw himself in the picture too.

 

Sometimes it's hard for me to teach these religious beliefs to Jaycee. How do you talk about God with someone when there's no visual representation or thing to show them? There are some contrived pictures of Jesus but there isn't a Polaroid of him or some way to concretely describe that Jesus is God's son. I struggle with teaching my faith to her, especially because there isn't a good way to check her understanding of it.

 

I realized a few months ago that I talk about God and Jesus to Elijah more than Jaycee. I wasn't doing it on purpose, but I guess it was because I could discuss it with Elijah and only tell it to Jaycee. So I started to tell her things like, "Jesus loves you, Jaycee. God sent Jesus to the earth because he cares for you." Just simple statements like that to convey the fundamental message of what it means to be saved.

 

Does she understand? I don't know. Sometimes I will ask her if she loves Jesus. Sometimes she indicates yes and sometimes she doesn't say anything.

But, she has been pointing to the scenes of Christmas and signing: mom, dad, baby. It's a start. She's learning part of the Christmas story. Maybe next year, we'll make that nest for baby Jesus.

Simple Things

We survived another Christmas here! Christmas is all about celebrating the birth of Jesus but boy it's a busy couple of days here. There were a few things that happened this year that were really neat. Jaycee actually opened all her presents. Her fine motor skills really make it difficult for her to rip the paper open sometimes. I tried to start every present with a rip for her to follow. Almost every year, I end up begging her and assisting her to finish opening her presents. Not this year, she did great!  She opened every present. It was such a good feeling. It's a simple thing to see her do. She was just like a regular kid shredding paper.

Not only that, she was really excited about some of the things she got. She would babble and hold some things up investigating them. She showed an interest in what she was getting. This isn't typical. Always before, if she got the paper off, she chucked the toy while I tried to "sell" it to her. It was great to see her happy and interested in this part of Christmas. If you have a child who wasn't interested, you would totally appreciate these milestones I'm writing about.

The best thing was that Christmas night brought in a blizzard of snow. Winters are always rough on Jaycee's breathing but she's healthy right now. So she got to actually go outside for about 10 minutes and play in the snow like a regular kid. I didn't have to worry about her wheezing. It was just fun. Normally, we usually end up bring snow inside the house for Jaycee and not allow her in the cold air. But the snow came at a great time for health. She loved it. Dad was tired from pulling her up and down the driveway.

These simple things are great! They are marks of progress. Here's to more sled rides.

Preparing for Christmas

My three year old is so excited for Christmas. He has a long list of toys he wants. Most of them involve items that go on a railway. He can't wait to shred the wrapping paper on his presents to see what hidden treasure is beneath.

Jaycee is different. Call it contentment or indifference. She rarely gets excited about a present. In fact, by the end of Christmas I'll probably be opening her presents because she's lost interest. The present aspect of Christmas has always been a difficult time for her and me. She's never really been into much of anything besides music and movies. It makes it difficult for me to find that "special toy" that people talk about. Ya know, that toy that the parent is so excited to buy for their child because their child has talked and dreamed of it.

Over the years I have struggled with presents for Jaycee. For the first 4 years of her life, most of Jaycee's presents were therapy or educationally related. I chose toys that would help her fine motor skills. I got her signing movies. In general, I got things that I could use to help Jaycee develop skills. She doesn't typically play with toys so I didn't see the point in buying "fun" things with no purpose. Those type of toys seemed to sit around and collect dust. 

Last year, I didn't go totally educational but I did get many items that she might like that would help her (like a trampoline). I have been very proud of myself this year. For the first time, I got Jaycee only fun toys with no ulterior motive. There's no educational value to an oinking pig or a singing Barney doll. It's a good step for me to let go of getting her things based upon advancing her development. There is a small window of time left to get all the fun toys in before she's too old for them.

Next week, we will see if anything I got her will actually be used or enjoyed.