The past couple of weeks I have been having fun finding ways to teach the concept of time to kids with Developmental Language Disorder and also Autism. The language of time is commonplace but often abstract and can be challenging for working memory. Learning sequences of months and days along with songs is a good… Continue reading Creative ways to learn time concepts – part 1
The Lego Movie 2 and growing Social Thinking skills
As a parent, realising that your child is experiencingdifficulties is an emotional experience. Feelings of worry, concern, helplessness and often frustration arecommon. When difficulties are subtle,complex or multi-faceted it can be difficult to articulate these concerns andfor others to understand the impact that they are having on your child and onthe whole family. A recent testimonialfrom… Continue reading Stepping stones to the right path
One thing I love about our assessment work at Grow Communication is the opportunity that we have to get to know so many phenomenal individuals. And the chance to create an assessment space that is right for each one of those individuals. On this occasion it involved my very lovely puppy Paddy (I think he… Continue reading Puppies, PDA profiling and positives!
Reflecting on a recent testimonial from a recent diagnostic Autism and ADHD assessment below got me thinking about journeys and the journey that is diagnostic assessment! In the testimonial that popped through my inbox this week, one quote struck me most - "Their diagnosis of our daughter was far more than her receiving a mere… Continue reading “More than receiving a mere label”
"I put the lid on and press it down till it clicks" This wasn't a description of closing a holiday suitcase or the lid on the biscuit tin - these were the words of an autistic young person describing how they held in their feelings of anxiety and stress and overwhelm at school. The phenomenon… Continue reading “I put the lid on and press it down till it clicks” – Masking and Autism
Today was one of those days where it just wasn't happening. It was hot, sunny and I arrived for our session only a few minutes after the young person had arrived home from an after school sports session. My plan: a bit of assessment, a bit of focused language work. It quickly became clear that… Continue reading When it doesn’t quite go to plan, it’s time to head out into the sunshine. The tale of a dizzy horse and a sliding giraffe”
Today, as I met another lovely family looking for support to develop their child's expressive language, I fought back my frustration. Why is more not being done to enable young people to express themselves? Support in schools seems to focus on "message in" strategies; putting in place visuals to help children understand what is expected… Continue reading Communication is a human right
When I talk about AAC systems I talk about robust language systems. By that I mean a Communication system which will enable you to have access to all the words that you might need, and to communicate for all the reasons that human beings communicate. That might, just might, include being told something really cheeky. And at Christmas we need access not only to words that let us say "happy Christmas" and "thank you", but also to grumble, nag and bicker.
"His/her communication is in line with their cognitive development..." That is a phrase that I once wrote in discharge reports myself. It is what is termed cognitive referencing. It made sense at the time but it's now one that I have deleted from my clinical phrase book. As my journey into complex needs, and into… Continue reading Asking the questions
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