Things That I Recommend

We've been in speech therapy for 8 months now, which is kind of crazy to me.  Not because I feel it's something negative - but because it makes me wonder where on earth the time went.  At any rate, I wanted to share a few of the things that have really helped with Lyric's speech and that help with sensory needs.  We're constantly finding new shows, toys, and tools - and if I can help someone with finding them, I've done a good thing.

1)  Hide and Seek First Words - One of the major things that they test on for speech evaluations is whether or not kids can identify words from pictures.  This book has actual photos, which makes it a bit nicer because kids can learn to associate words with real world objects.  I've not gotten this one out recently, but the times we have looked through it, Lyric has LOVED finding the items in the pictures, and it makes it easy to repeat words for them to learn.

2)  Melissa and Doug See and Spell puzzles - These things serve about a million development needs.  Fine motor with the puzzle, spelling, words - they're so handy to have around.  The letter pieces can be used to teach the alphabet without the puzzles, and being able to put the letters in the puzzle one at a time helps with sounding words out.  Lyric really likes these, and I actually have quite a bit of fun with them, too. (PS -  They're a great Montessori style tool, too!)

3)  Baby Babble (1 is pictured - there is also a 2, and a 3) - I cannot sing enough praises for Baby Babble.  Before we got Lyric evaluated, but when we suspected she was delayed, I was looking around for things we could use to help with teaching.  I stumbled across Baby Babble, and it was the best thing I could have found at the time.  The DVDs were developed by 2 pediatric speech and language pathologists.  They teach you how to use speech therapy tactics to encourage speech in the home.  They show you simple sign language, and they recommend toys that will help, and they have a tutorial at the end of the program for the kids that helps parents use the principles.  They're very quiet, relaxing, and Lyric was repeating after them and mimicking signs from the very first time that she saw them.  We're talking 45 minutes solid of repeating sounds, words, and signing.  It's always exciting to see the improvements with each time we watch it.

4)  Pocoyo - Brightly colored, computer animated, and SO much less annoying than American kids cartoons that are similar.  I hate, hate, HATE Dora the Explorer.  It's just plain irritating and too dumbed down for us. Pocoyo is an import from Spain - the English version is narrated by Stephen Fry, which just gives it extra cool points.  Lyric LOVES it, and repeats so many of the words and names on it.  The dialog of the actual characters is very limited, so it makes it easy for us to flesh it out with simple phrases, too.  Her birthday this year is actually going to be Pocoyo themed, because even I enjoy watching it.

5)  Anyone who has talked to me recently knows that I have developed a love affair with Dollar Tree.  So much so that my husband gave me a Dollar Tree gift card for Valentine's Day.  It is very, very easy for me to get carried away there, because everything is actually just a dollar.  They have so much stuff that I use for crafts, learning, and decorating.  If I need something for a project that involves Lyric, the first place I check is Dollar Tree.  You really can't go wrong with it.

6)  Hopla - Hopla is actually the show that our speech therapist is incorporating into our learning routine.  We found it, but it happened to be playing when she came over for a session.  There is no dialog on Hopla at all, other than a child occasionally saying "Hopla" at the end of a cartoon.  This makes it an awesome tool for teaching speech because the parent can do all the talking - so it's a familiar voice, and can be tailored to how the child learns.  She's seriously picked up 4 or 5 words from it just in the past 2 days.

7)  Step 2 Water Table (or any water table) - This thing is tops for sensory play.  Anything to do with water is right up her alley, and this keeps her entertained for hours. No joke. It might not work as well for older children because there really isn't much to it as far as bells and whistles go, but for summer play this is our #1 toy.

8)  Rody the Horse (Or Benny the Bull, or any other variety) - Lyric actually has a Benny the Bull, and it is a true "wear this kid out" toy.  We first encountered it when the Occupational Therapist did the first sensory panel on her.  She spent the entire 45 minute session bouncing on this horse.  She regularly pulls Benny around the house and bounces on him. It's EXCELLENT for sensory seeking play, and I think that's why she loves it so much.  I cannot recommend it enough if you have a young, sensory seeking child.