Language During Mealtime

A blog about my love for food, family and ways to encourage language through mealtime.

Terrific

by Filed Under: ADHD/ADD, Anxiety, Autism, Books and Mealtime, Building Self Esteem, Bullying, Love and Friendship, Social Skills, Social Skills Delay/Deficit, Special Needs, Speech and Communication, Using Your Imagination

Terrific by Jon Agee is a funny and entertaining book about the main character Eugene and his new friend, Lenny. This book opens up the topic of what sarcasm is and how an unlikely friendship gets established. It’s also a wonderful book about treating others with respect, whether they are a human or an animal. […]

Making Play Dough with EZ DOH

by Filed Under: ADHD/ADD, Anxiety, Autism, Baking, Physical Disabilities, Rare Syndromes/Epilepsy, Sensory Processing Disorder, Special Diets, Special Needs, Speech and Communication

I was contacted about a month ago by John Dmytriw, owner of the EZ DOH product, a manual dough mixer. He emailed me regarding his product and wanted to know how it would work with children and adults with special needs, specifically those with Autism. I agreed to review this product because I really like […]

Special People, Special Ways

by Filed Under: Academics, ADHD/ADD, Anxiety, Autism, Books and Mealtime, Building Self Esteem, Dyslexia, Love and Friendship, Physical Disabilities, Rare Syndromes/Epilepsy, Sensory Processing Disorder, Social Skills Delay/Deficit, Special Needs, Special Needs, Speech and Communication, Using Your Imagination

“Some see with a touch or shape fingers to talk. Others sit silent and many can’t walk” Arlene Maguire, 2000. I am thrilled to review this book, Special People, Special Ways for today’s review. During a recent staff training that I was conducting at a public school, a fellow speech language pathologist suggested this book […]

The Technology Tail

by Filed Under: ADHD/ADD, Anxiety, Books and Mealtime, Building Self Esteem, Love and Friendship, Manners, Mindfulness, Social Skills Delay/Deficit, Special Needs, Speech and Communication

Do you have an older child that is curious about social media? When you child reaches their tween years or even earlier, curiosity about social media begins. Being exposed to social media is inevitable as a child enters tween and teen years and teaching your child appropriate internet etiquette can be challenging. Where do you […]

5 Things you need to know about Social Skills Coaching

by Filed Under: ADHD/ADD, Anxiety, Autism, Books and Mealtime, Building Self Esteem, Dyslexia, Physical Disabilities, Recommended Books, Sensory Processing Disorder, Social Skills, Social Skills Delay/Deficit, Special Needs, Special Needs, Speech and Communication, Tips from Experts

“In a world that is ever changing, there is one constant. As human beings, we need to communicate with each other. We need to be around others for many many reasons, including support, learning and most importantly a sense of belonging” (Ostovar, R & DiVittore, K. 2017). 5 things you need to know about Social […]

The Difference Between a 504 and an IEP: Key Resources

by Filed Under: Academics, ADHD/ADD, Anxiety, Autism, Books and Mealtime, Dyslexia, Physical Disabilities, Rare Syndromes/Epilepsy, Sensory Processing Disorder, Social Skills Delay/Deficit, Special Needs, Special Needs

With school quickly approaching, I wanted to share some important resources about 504 plans and IEPs (Individualized Education Plans). As a speech language pathologist, many people ask me these questions and I wanted to share some valuable information on this topic. Why is this important? If your child is struggling in class and with their […]

I’m Scared

by Filed Under: ADHD/ADD, Anxiety, Autism, Books and Mealtime, Building Self Esteem, Graphic Novels, Love and Friendship, Special Needs, Special Needs, Using Your Imagination

I’m Scared by Jennifer L Holm and Matthew Holm is the newest book in the inventive series My First Comics. Chilly is a scared and fearful snowflake. He is scared of many things including the dark and sometimes he is scared for no reason at all! One day he sees Tizzy Tornado and Grumpy Cloud […]

Five Inspirational Picture Books

by Filed Under: ADHD/ADD, Anxiety, Books and Mealtime, Building Self Esteem, Love and Friendship, Mindfulness, Social Skills Delay/Deficit, Special Needs, Special Needs, Using Your Imagination

As a speech language pathologist and parent, I love to use storytelling as an opportunity to initiate meaningful conversations and encourage children to follow their dreams regardless of their disabilities and delays. Children with special needs face many challenges in their lives, and reading inspirational children’s literature can help improve their self-esteem and make them more […]

Reducing Stress with Contimusic

by Filed Under: ADHD/ADD, Anxiety, Apps and Toys, Autism, Mindfulness, Sensory Processing Disorder, Social Skills Delay/Deficit, Special Needs, Using Your Imagination

A couple of months ago, I was contacted by Tom and Christine Conti, the founders of Emotion Transitional Music Therapy. As a speech language pathologist who works with children and adults with varying disabilities, I have seen first hand the positive and calming effect of music on my clients, specifically those with Autism. Although Contimusic is […]

Picture A Conversation

by Filed Under: ADHD/ADD, Anxiety, Apps and Toys, Autism, Mindfulness, Social Skills, Social Skills Delay/Deficit, Special Needs, Speech and Communication, Suggestions to improve learning, Using Your Imagination

With the increase in technology, our face to face communication has decreased over time. We are communicating more and more via text messages, email and through social media than we are with face to face communication. As a result, our ability to converse with others and stay attentive to specific topics is becoming more challenging. At […]