Therapy Thursday: Deaf Culture

Yet again, this week's Therapy Thursday is brought to you by the letter H.
Aka, "House".
Aka, Professor X's alter-ego.



In this week's episode, a young teenager (who is deaf), his mother (who is hearing), and the medical team (who are all hearing) debate the validity and importance of deaf culture.

There can be a very strong sense of deaf pride amongst those who live, school, and work with others using American Sign Language. Deafculture.com states, "Deaf people who claim a culturally “Deaf” identity compare themselves to members of other ethnic communities. “We have a language; we have a culture,” they say. Opponents of this view don’t see deaf people as members of an ethnic minority but simply as handicapped persons, people with a hearing loss, people with a hearing disability, audiological patients."

I have always felt strongly that there is a deaf community and culture. In the ninth grade, I even wrote a report entitled, "Deaf Culture", defining and explaining what this culture is and trying to describe the large deaf population and school close to where I lived. (As a side note, "deaf" and "death" are easily misinterpreted words. It made for an interesting conversation between adults and myself when they thought I was studying Gothic death ceremonies.") My tween and young teen career aspiration was to become a teacher for deaf students. Obviously, I did not think my college choice through thoroughly when I enrolled in a school lacking in ASL classes.

In graduate school, one of my professors claimed that culture was defined by language. If you do not know a person's language, you cannot experience their culture. For example, the Inuit Eskimos may have had many different words for snow, thus shaping their concept of what "snow" is. Some words in Chinese are inauspicious; for example, "four" sounds like "death" so when choosing dates for events, the 4th month and 4th days are avoided. Other words, such as "fish" have special symbolism because it sounds like "fortune". On special occasions (such as teh New Year), fish is eaten to represent good fortune.

Any person who is deaf and uses American Sign Language as a primary language, is making and shaping his/her culture.

Where this gets interesting, however, is with today's medical advances to help many gain or restore hearing through surgery, hearing aids, and cochlear implants.

Are medical advances helping or hurting quality of life?

I found it interesting that the ASL class in which my daughter attends is not the only preschool class for children who are hard of hearing. The city also has a class that is taught exclusively verbally. No ASL. That really ticks me off. It denies the child any choice into entering the culture. That child may never become fully verbal, but they have lost precious initial years in learning a language.

These issues weigh on my heart as I think of not only those who strongly identify with their Deaf Culture and ASL first language, but also of my student(s) who have gained a language thanks to hearing technology.

In Honor and Memory

of my Assitive Technology Consultant. She and her 11 year old daughter were tragically killed this last weekend when a car failed to stop at a red light. She leaves behind a husband and young son.

Because of her amazing knowledge and dedication to children with disabilities, many children now have a voice. And a Super Power.

Two Lips

What flowers are also on your face?





And, The Flash's "up close and personal" picture:



I can't grow zucchini, pumpkins, or strawberries. But as for dandelions, moss, and tulips....
I'm your gal!

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Therapy Thursday: Signing the ABCs, working on articulation

There are a variety of prompts to help children learn speech sounds through tactile cues. One method, PROMPT, requires training and certification. I have never had this training.

I have however, developed some of my own visual and tactile cues to teach placement for speech sounds.

Every day I sign and sing the alphabet with my self-contained classes. Recently, I began bringing the signs up to my lips in order to emphasize my mouth movements for each sign.

This is what I've developed (movie is only 23 seconds long):



I'm sure it's not perfect, but at this point it works very well for me. Notice the hand movement for sounds that are longer (such as /s/) and the bounces for multi-syllabic letters (/w/). I lower my hand for the /k/ and /g/ sounds, because these sounds are made in the back of the tongue and touch my lips for the lip sounds (/m/, /p/, /b/, etc.).

Have fun signing and speaking. And don't be afraid to learn some new things!

Auctionable Cookies. Month 1.

To save countless parents, such as myself, tears of frustration, my son's school decided to nix traditional school fundraisers.

No candy sales. Sweet!

No wrapping paper sales. Wrappin' it up!

No ridiculous do-dads. Boo yah!

However, this is a public school in an under-funded urban school district.

So the school puts on an annual auction. Which is an awesome idea, except that I can't afford to attend my son's auction. Possibly because I have to pay for all day Kindergarten for him (and there is no half day option)? Or possibly because the $75/couple charge includes drinks (which I will not drink) and dancing (which Professor X will not partake in)?

I did, however, contribute an auctionable item. Other than Speech services, I am good for about one thing. Baking. So I volunteered to make a batch of cookies per month for one school year to the winning bid.

I'm really curious what it went for...

Here is month #1: Peanutbuttery-kissy Cookies. Hope they taste as good as they look!



Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies

Cream these ingredients together
1 cup butter (softened)
1 cup natural peanut butter
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Add:
2 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda

Bake at 375 until just barely tan colored (almost under-cooked). I never figured out how many minutes this was, thus the many tan and brown colors you see in the above picture.
Add kiss to the top and push down gently. Literal kiss is optional.
Let cool completely.

Teaching Tuesday: Earth Day the Super Powered Way

I kicked off our Earth Day celebration with my kiddos by making Rice Krispie earth balls.



Marvel Girl learned that the earth's surface is made of water and land.
And lots of yummy goo.

At school, I am subjecting my older students to learning the history of Earth Day. They are finding and underlining the most important information and concepts then answering questions verbally.

Meanwhile, younger students are creating Litter Bugs.



The kids are working on following directions, describing the steps, retelling the steps, and explaining how we can re-use our trash for other purposes.

And everyone gets to experience the joys of our water-colored earth.



Again, we are working on following and retelling directions. Plus, this activity gives ample opportunities to talk about the ocean and continents.

Need an annoying little Earth Day jingle to run through your head until next year's Earth Day? This Starfall computer activity will be a hit with your kids. Maybe less so for you.



Enjoy teaching about this gorgeous planet and some of the (many) ways that we can make a difference. Today and everyday!

Learning to Fly

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

When you have come to the edge of all the light you have
And step into the darkness of the unknown
Believe that one of the two will happen to you
Either you'll find something solid to stand on
Or you'll be taught how to fly!

Richard Bach

Therapy Thursday: Beautiful Minds. Living Camera.

I found this 5 minute video at another Speech Pathology website.

"Beautiful Minds: Stephen Wiltshire"

Stephen Wiltshire from London is a star among savants. Stephen is autistic. He did not speak his first words "pencil" and "paper" until he was 5. Yet, when he was 11 he drew a perfect aerial view of London after only one helicopter ride. For this film we're testing the "Living camera" in Rome. (ColourField production)

In honor of Autism Awareness month, please educate yourself. Some research says that as many as 1 in 150 children falls on the Autism Spectrum. Be aware.

Links to mainstream magazines describing the surge in Autism:
The Secrets of Autism (Time Magazine article)
The Geek Syndrome (Wired Magazine)

Marvelous Monday Children's Books: Fancy Nancy

(I realize that it is not Monday. But I started this post on Monday, so that's gotta be worth something. Right?)

Don't tell Marvel Girl, but I think I've pre-chosen a theme for her 4 year old birthday next fall: Fancy Nancy. So far, my daughter could take or leave this adorable "sophisticated" pre-debutante. But me? Not so much.

This might surprise you based on Marvel Girl's posh picture last week. Like most preschoolers, she enjoys herself a nice dress up. But she usually just wants to wear the same red pants and shirt as always. And don't even bother trying to put a comb to her hair.

I was first introduced to Fancy Nancy on Christmas Day, when eating dinner at our friend's home. Their two youngest girls had received Fancy Nancy tutus, purses and sunglasses for dinner. They let Marvel Girl wear a tutu throughout Christmas dinner. They let me read a new Fancy Nancy book-- a book about vocabulary words! By the end of the meal, I was smitten.

Fancy Nancy


Meet Nancy. A girl who likes to dress fancy, talk fancy, act fancy. She cannot comprehend her family's lack of "poshness" and decides to educate them how they too can be tres fancy. The pictures are adorable and full of details. The vocabulary is exquisite. You should also check out Fancy Nancy dictionary (Fancy Nancy's Favorite Fancy Dictionary), which is currently on my wishlist.


Speech Therapy Ideas:
1. Define "fancy". What do you think is fancy? What fancy things do you like? Use complete sentences.

2. Compare and contrast the "fancy" and the "plain" words and items in the book. This is a great language activities for higher level thinking and vocabulary.

3. Ask more difficult "wh" questions. Where do you think Nancy is when she gets her brilliant idea (you can see a shopping cart, and must extrapolate that she is in a store). Why does Nancy trip and fall? Why do you think Nancy wants her family to be fancy?

4. Articulation practice: This story is perfect for children working on /s/ in the middle sounds. Make sure that tongue doesn't poke out.

5. Practice /f/ sounds. /f/ is one of the easiest sounds to teach a child because it is so visual. I say, "gently bite your lip and blow". Use a mirror if necessary. Poof!

(how do you like my fancy scarf?)

6. Practice acting fancy with your language skills. Use new fancy vocabulary to reinforce learning.

Other ideas:
1. Check out these great ideas for throwing a Fancy Nancy party (at the end of the short article are several great links).

2. See the Fancy Nancy online games including a "fancy style" hangman game (nope, I'm not going to explain!)

3. A few Fancy Nancy printables and coloring pages can be found here.

You can't make me say "Howdy!"

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

It's all foot-stompin' and do-ci-doein' until the camera comes out.

Therapy Thursday: Language Based Communication Boards

A little speech talk here.

Wait! Don't go! You just might learn something awesome. ;)

Language development of a typical child includes expressing:

• 5-20 words at 18 months of age
• 150-300 words at 24 months
• 900-1000 words at 36 months

Although the vocabulary expansion throughout early childhood is tremendous, about 80% of everything that is expressed is within a core vocabulary. This means that with only a limited number of words, a person can express anything they want to say, albeit in a round-about way.

This information is incredibly powerful for individuals who are non-verbal and rely upon Augmentative Communication. It would be impossible for them to carry about a dictionary to point to every vocabulary word they need to communicate (and that assumes the individual is literate). But, if that person can learn a core set of vocabulary words and how to combine those words in unique ways, they can express themselves clearly and creatively. They can generate novel messages about anything that they want to say.

How does one learn these vocabulary words? A typical child hears spoken language and after 12+ months of being bombarded with verbal words, begins to use spoken language. A non-verbal individual also needs to be bombarded, but not just with verbal words. They need to have thousands of models of augmented communication.

Take a look at the fabulous free boards created by Gail Van Tatenhove.

Initially, you might introduce a child to 30 core vocabulary words:


Your modeled speech while playing blocks might include you saying and pointing to pictures like this:
Ready?
Get it.
I go.
It big.
I want it.
You go.
I finished.

As the child expands his understanding of vocabulary, abstract language, and word combinations, their core vocabulary will grow as well.

Here is a 112 word core vocabulary board:


Now the block activity might include both parent and child pointing to pictures to express:
I go now up.
I like big stuff.
Up, up, up, big.
You not go. My turn.
I want big this on be careful.
Put on here not there.
Go up not down.
You trouble. You down. I sad.

Okay, so it's not all that grammatically correct. But WOW! Think of all the ideas you can express with these words.

Watch this video clip of a man using core vocabulary on his Augmentative Communication device to talk about a difficulty he was having:


Learning key vocabulary and combining words is one of the hallmarks of language. It paves the path for high technology Augmentative Communication. It allows kids like Micah to actively make decisions about their own lives.


Van Tatenhove's Pixon Project Kit will be hopefully released later this spring. It will focus on a systematic way to teach language concepts with communication boards. I am giddy at the thought of having this material in my classroom.

Send chocolate. Coconut chocolate.

It's been one of those fabulous weeks.

You know, the ones when I've been dodging attacks from young men who would rather claw my eyes out than practice speech, leaping from room to room to start complete a video project for a professional development meeting on Thursday, ducking past shoes as a student screamingly de-clothes (are those real words?), jumping back from thrown talking devices (luckily, this was a cheaper one: $350!), begging teachers for email responses, avoiding files which await their April lesson plans (Who me? Retroactively writing down lesson plans for the month because I don't get around to it until the 3rd week?), testing more students that I can think about without getting nauseous, testing more students in Spanish than I typically do in an entire year, testing more kids with high needs and severe diagnoses than I can rationally think about, in Spanish, while they yell "BUS! BUS! BUS!" to every response and then bang on the table and cackle.

Is it Friday yet?

Only one thing has gotten me through the last two days.

My new chocolate boyfriend.

Hershey Coconut Kisses. I'm pretty sure that I've eaten 2013 of them.



Things are getting worse. Please send chocolate.

Seriously.

Therapy Thursday: Eye Communication

Meet my husband's alter-ego.


You know, the television personality that he most resembles? The cane-wielding, grouchy, chronically-pained, egotistical, pill-popping, power-hungry, brainiac Gregory House (on Fox's same named tv show).

Except that Professor X isn't very power-hungry (usually shies away from it), nor is he especially egotistical. And I admit that he hides his grouchy-side quite well.

So, I guess they do not have a lot in common. But as a hat-tip to my husband's love, I make a point of watching this one show every week. It is my only regular television.

This week's episode, Locked In, gave me true inspiration for a blog post. I was going to link to some clips from the episode and talk about eye communication. I was going to link back to all my former posts on Augmentative and Alternative Communication. The post was going to rock.

But I discovered that youtube does not instantaneously put episodes up. And apparently people don't put up pictures of eye communication either. Truthfully, other than a few journal articles (which are not especially easy to read for the public) there wasn't much I could find on the internet.

For those who did not watch this week's awesome episode, Locked In syndrome occurs when a person's entire body is paralyzed (including mouth, facial movements, etc) but thinking and language processes remain intact. The person's brain is literally locked-into their barely functioning body.

I spent 9 months studying Alternative Communication methods (AAC) and like House, I found the patient's condition "fascinating". A person with severe physical paralysis has a variety of ways to communicate, but most are unfortunately very laborious. These include:

• blinking once for "yes" and twice for "no" (as in the House Episode)
• using a Morse code blinking system
• using a traditional alphabet with a communication partner ("Is it an A? Is it a B?...")
• using an adapted alphabet with a communication partner ("Is the letter in the 1st row? Is the letter in the 2nd row?") where the vowels (most used in English) are the first letter of each row:

Photo from Univ. of Washington

Spoiler alert: the patient recovers. But Locked In Syndrome is usually considered to be permanent. One amazing individual who suffered this condition was Jean-Dominique Bauby, former editor of Elle magazine. In 1995, at the age of 43, he suffered a massive stroke and found himself to be paralyzed and speechless. In spite of extraordinary odds, he spent the next two years writing a book, The Diving Bell and The Butterfly. He used an adapted alphabet system and laboriously communicated, letter by letter, to a communication partner.

Apparently, I was a bad intern in my AAC internship, because I never did read his book. And I never saw the movie, based on the book, that came out in 2005. But, this oversight will be rectified. Both the book and movie are now on my library hold list. And if either are as amazing as the reviews claim, I will surely blog about them one day.

Did you see House this week? What did you think? Have you ever thought about how to communicate with only your eye lids?