From the Desk of Holly Reimann ...

Dear Reader,

Wow summer is here – finally! Many families utilize the summer as a time for their kids to get that little extra boost they need to help them when school starts in the fall with increased expectations. This is one area where there is no right or wrong way to do it; it can be therapeutic, academic, life skills, etc. However, I like to keep in the back of my mind that we should keep it fun and meaningful. Kids don’t have to learn from a book or worksheet in a classroom. Parents can facilitate generalization of skills they have been working on when they are doing everyday activities. For example, they can work on math skills, social communication, and language when they buy their own ice cream cone! There is a wide realm of skills that kids need to work on, but they always get the most out of it when it is fun and meaningful. Then, next time it may be a little easier to generalize to other situations. Summer will be gone in a flash so take a moment to SMILE – Special Memories Include Laughter & Enrichment!

Best,
Holly Reimann, MA CCC-SLP
Speech-language Pathologist

US Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings, recently proposed major regulatory changes to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB.) The proposal includes: setting one formula to calculate high school graduation rates and to improve parental notification for supplemental education services and public school choice. To review the proposed regulations, read

"The Federal Register".

The ASHA Leader 5/27/08

Families with children who have minimal to no speech often wonder when will my child talk or why won’t my child talk more. The lack of speech is often frustrating for the parents and child, in addition to causing increased anxiety. Research has identified specific foundational skills that predict language outcomes in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD.) There are 5 predictors of language outcome.

1. Child’s Diagnosis [if accurate]: children with ASD generally achieve lower levels of language compared to those with PDD-NOS (Anderson et al., 2007).



2. Early Language & Nonverbal Cognitive Skills: early language comprehension is a strong predictor of later verbal and nonverbal development for toddlers with ASD (Wetherby et al., 2007) and non-verbal cognitive ability of children with ASD at age 2 was a strong predictor of later language, measured at age 9 (Anderson et al., 2007).



3. Social & Joint Attention: the extent to which young child with ASD attends to child-directed speech is highly related to their concurrent and later language (Watson et al., 2007) and deficits in joint attention are one of the first signs of ASD and important predictors of later language outcomes of children with ASD (Anderson et al., 2007).



4. Imitation: the earlier imitation abilities of face & body movements and actions on objects of children with ASD are predictive of later language skills (Toth et al, 2006).



5. Play: children with ASD spend less time than their peers in functional or symbolic pretend play. Early pretend play skills are a predictor of later receptive and expressive language skills for children with ASD (Toth et al., 2006). Now that we know what to look for, what do we do? Intervention research has examined above predictors. A few of their findings conclude the that children who participated in joint attention or symbolic play interventions showed better expressive language skills then children who only participated in ABA after a 1-year period (Kasari et al., 2008). Joint attention intervention should be a priority for children with limited expressive language. Furthermore, parental involvement is one of the key elements of effective programs, in which the program emphasized caregiver responsiveness that resulted in the child’s improvement in language, cognition, and social-emotional skills.

http://www.asha.org/about/publications/leader-online/archives/2008/080527/f080527a.htm

This somewhat humorous and well written story teaches young children that everyone has unique abilities. You should play, learn and explore to find out what you like and are good at doing. I also like it because it rhymes. The characters include a girl “Lucy” and a brain “Fred.” Fred teaches Lucy that every child learns and thinks differently and everyone has special talents. It would be a good story to read with children ages 4-10.

Click here to find out more:

For more information visit:
A.D.D. Warehouse.

Featured Event: June 16, 2008 This conference is for you if you are a . . . special educator • inclusion teacher • classroom aide • speech therapist • occupational therapist • psychologist • social worker • nurse • music or art therapist • physical therapist • school counselor • parent or relative of individual with autism spectrum disorder • behavioral therapist Targeted workshops for parents and professionals working with young children, elementary, middle and high school, as well as adults with autism, Asperger’s or social communication challenges.

Learn techniques to implement right away at home, school, and in the community. HURRY SIGN UP NOW! Registration closes June 9th - Go to Registration or call 216-371-4765.

Featured Event: July 20, 2008 "Fashion Sense 2008" is a timely and much needed fundraiser, combining a 'true' New York fashion show experience with an unforgetable afternoon of fun, extravagance, and an opportunity to come together for children with Autism and Asperger Syndrome in Northeast Ohio." This Event will take place July 20, 2008. Come enjoy the show and help support this great event. Click on the about us link for complete information on this benefit.

Event Flyer (.jpg)     PRESS RELEASE (.pdf)     For more information, please visit Fashion Sense '08 or call 330-837-9309.

For registration & event details contact me!

Walk Now for Autism Cleveland 2008

Sunday, September 28th, 2008 Progressive Field

Join Holly Reimann, MA CCC-SLP & Autism Speaks as we tackle autism! Experience the power of thousands united by a single cause by donating to Walk Now for Autism.

As part of our contribution, we will commit to donating $25 for each new client that starts speech-language therapy services between May 1, 2008 and September 28, 2008.

Walk Now for Autism offers everyone a fun-filled experience with entertainment, refreshments, an autism community resource fair, and much, much more. We look forward to seeing you at the event!

Thank you in advance for your kind donation. Best, Holly Reimann, MA CCC-SLP Speech-language Pathologist