Hanen have recently released a revised (5th) edition of their It Takes Two To Talk handbook. I got my first copy 9 years ago, when I trained to lead the program, and I’ve been referring to it regularly ever since.

Parents who are worried about their child’s communication skills want to know what they can do to help, and this book is filled with practical suggestions. It guides parents. The authors state clearly, and multiple times, that they recommend parents consult with a speech and language therapist: this book is not designed to replace having speech and language therapy. However, it provides strategies and techniques that can be used in the meantime, or alongside attending therapy.

I’ve happily recommended this book to friends, whose children have delayed language skills. It is clearly written, with delightful illustrations that add clarity to the text. The tone is supportive, and not at all judgemental.

Changes in this new edition include:

• An updated Stages of Communication Development checklist,
• A section on supporting children who are learning more that one language,
• More ideas about how to integrate communication goals in play.

In the bilingualism section, the authors explain different types of bilingualism and state:

The important thing about choosing home languages is that you should be able to communicate effortlessly with your child. That means being able to talk, sing, read and express love to your child in the language you are most comfortable with.

What a lovely way to say it!

This book shows parents how to use the strategies as they go about their daily lives. During daily routines, such as mealtimes, while playing, reading and singing. Parents aren’t being told that to support their child they need to find more time, instead they are shown how to make the most of what they already do.

It’s an inspiring book; after nearly a decade of using this approach, I know the strategies well. And yet when I flick through the book, a picture always jumps out at me, and I’m inspired to try the game or activity with my own kids.

Thanks to the Hanen Centre for sending me a complimentary copy of the new edition, so I could write about it here. These views are my own.

Speechmark asked me if I’d like to have a look at the new Word Aware vocabulary resource, by Stephen Parsons and Anna Branagan. I was keen to check it out and said I’d write about it here, on the blog, if it was something I thought I’d use, and it is. So thanks Speechmark, for the complimentary copy.

The blurb on the back of the book says it’s: “a practical comprehensive resource designed to support…effective vocabulary development in pre-school children of all abilities.” The core audience is Early Years practioners, but it would also be useful for SLTs and parents. The approach is described clearly, with multiple examples and suggestions for how to implement it in the classroom. If a practioner was able to set aside the time needed to read the book, I think they’d be able to get started. However, if you wanted more support and ideas, Stephen and Anna regularly run workshops on how to set up and run the program.

This resource comes with access to a website, where you can print out supporting materials, which I much prefer to CD-ROMs.

An inclusive, whole class approach

The book starts with a detailed, interesting and clearly referenced introduction, which would be very useful for teaching staff and is a great refresher for SLTs. I like the fact that the approach is designed for the whole class, so it’s inclusive and that there is a strong emphasis on the importance of Adult Child Interaction. The reader is directed to Keena Cummins’ work for more information about this.  While reading the intro, I noted down the phrase: “enthralled rather than overwhelmed” (by new words) what a lovely reminder.

The book describes four strands to the teaching approach:

• Make words count
• Teach vocabulary
• Fun with words
• Word detective

Practioners are encouraged to provide an enriched word learning environment, teach vocabulary using the STAR method (see below), enjoy, celebrate and reinforce vocabulary, and finally teach children how to learn new words.

The STAR process teaches words in a structured and specific way, it is adapted from Blachowicz and Fisher, 2010. STAR stands for:

• Select – the most useful vocabulary
• Teach – the selected vocabulary in a meaningful way
• Activate – the meaning by using the words in context
• Review – the taught words to ensure they are retained.

The resource contains detailed directions with comprehensive examples for how to select vocabulary. In terms of how many words to teach, the authors suggest one topic word, one text based word (from a book), and one concept, per week. And just one word, per teaching session.

How do I teach a new word?

The book describes a teaching sequence, so adults can teach new words in the same (effective) way each time. The 6 step sequence includes selecting a picture or symbol to represent the word, and singing the Word Aware song!

To activate the word the child needs to hear it used in different ways, by different people, over a period of time. The book provides lots of suggestions for this stage, for example, treasure hunts are a great way to “activate” adjectives. Finally, we need to review words. This can be done with word bags, and there are several word bag activities described in the book.

Extra resources included in the book

The teaching concepts chapter includes plans for introducing and teaching over 80 concepts. These describe specific activities for each concept, and are a great time saver when planning.

The book also includes chapters about supporting children with higher needs, developing word learning strategies and involving families.

Ways of using the book

I plan to use the STAR process in my individual therapy sessions with children who are working on their vocabulary. I found the guidance about how to select target words, and the ideas for activating and reviewing them useful. I will share the practical activities with parents and teaching staff. I’ll definitely use the concept plans, I don’t think they’d need much adapting to use in a one to one session with a child. And I’ll also recommend this resource, and way of working, to Nursery and Reception class teachers.

This is quite a hefty book, there are 250 pages, and I think to get the most out of it, and the approach, people would need to set aside the time to read it through. Although you could skip over some of the concept plans, you’d still need 2 or 3 hours, if you’re new to the approach, as I was.

I’m excited to try these concrete ideas for teaching vocabulary, in my therapy sessions. Perhaps I can write a follow up blog post when I’ve had a go!

I took my first Hanen eSeminar a couple of months ago, and I’ve been able to apply what I learnt, straight away. I think this is the first eSeminar or online training, that I’ve paid for. It was easy to log in and I could watch the 2 hour video whenever I wanted with 30 days of unlimited access. There was also a handout to download. It was recorded live, so there were some parts when the presenter asked the people watching live to answer questions or vote. It looked like fun! I used this time to make notes and jot down questions.

Definitions of Late Talkers

The eSeminar was titled: Choosing Initial Vocabulary Targets for Children Who Are Late Talkers. I was interested in the topic because I’ve been seeing more and more children under 2 years old, a good proportion of whom are Late Talkers. Some of the information presented was from Hanen’s Target Word program. Cindy Earle who presented the eSeminar began by describing Hanen’s clinical definition of Late Talkers (as opposed to the research definition.) She said that children with less than 24 words at between 18 and 20 months, 40 words at between 21 and 24 months, and 100 words, with no or limited word combinations at between 24 and 30 months, (and no other major concerns in other areas), require therapy.

Communication Goals and Vocabulary Targets

The eSeminar covered risk factors and predictors of change, and then we started thinking about communication goals. I had previously worked on imitation as a goal, but never being noisy! Cindy talked about the importance of learning to vocalise with every communicative turn or “being noisy” and it’s something I’ve incorporated into my work. Cindy moved on to discussing vocabulary targets, providing a useful checklist, including: target words should be motivating for the child to say and starts with a sound in the child’s repertoire. There was also some interesting information about gestures and a discussion about having the word ‘more’ as a target. I hadn’t really considered before that ‘more’ isn’t useful for initiation. I’ve been focussing on verbs and motivating items since watching the eSeminar.

The eSeminar concluded with some video case studies so we could apply what we’d learnt. I really enjoyed the format, the information presented was relevant to my work, and Cindy easily kept my attention for the 2 hours.

Discount on Hanen’s eSeminars about Autism

April is Autism Awareness Month. Or as the folks over at Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism prefer: Autism Acceptance Month. And Hanen are offering 40% off their Autism eSeminars with the code: AAMSEM16. Check out the eSeminars available and remember the offer expires on 30th April.

Win a free eSeminar

The team at Hanen have kindly offered me a free Autism eSeminar to give away! Leave a comment on this post telling me the vocabulary targets you’ve had most success with (“Thomas?” “Up?” “Cake?”) and I’ll randomly select a winner in a weeks time.

I’ve been meaning to write about the 2016 Hanen Preschool Language and Literacy Calendar for several months, but the days and weeks fly by in a blur and it’s almost the end of the year. If you want to help your child (clients or pupils) to develop creative solutions to problems but your days are already full, and it’s hard to find the time, this resource might help.

The 2016 calendar focuses on critical thinking. Each month describes a different strategy, with an academic reference if you’d like more detail. Then there are four tips for parents and four tips for educators, divided into play types: Daily Activities, Pretend Play, Book reading, On the Go. The tips are really specific (“while washing hands together…”) So you don’t need to try and work out when you could practise them.

The calendar encourages parents and educators to notice what their children are naturally curious about. And to verbalise their own thinking: “I’m wondering why those big birds stay together in a group instead of travelling alone.” Or start the interaction by offering their own opinion followed by an explanation. Adults are reminded to introduce new vocabulary when it’s relevant, for example ‘float’ and ‘sink’ at bath time. And of how non-fiction books can be used to practise discussing similarities and differences.

The calendar is clear, easy to read and visually appealing. My one concern is the focus on asking questions. If people aren’t familiar with the Hanen Centre’s more general advice on avoiding asking too many questions, the activities recommended could become rather adult led and feel like a test, to the children.

I think the advice in this calendar is best suited for use with children aged between 3 and 8 years old. Critical thinking is a crucial skill, if you’re interested in supporting children to develop it, consider this resource (even if you no longer use a paper based calendar!)

The Hanen Centre kindly sent me a copy of the calendar to review, and a couple to give away, I’ll be bringing them to the next Therapy Ideas Live event.

In the conclusion to their book, Jane Stokes and Marian McCormick wrote that they hope it makes you think “Hmmm…” – it certainly does.

As Jane and Marion designed the curriculum for a new postgraduate course in speech and language therapy they collected stories, and then wrote this book to add to the conversation about issues that underlie the SLT profession. The book has 10 chapters, 5 written by Jane and Marian, and 5 contributed by other people. It raises challenging questions and explicitly invites the reader to examine their professional beliefs.

There are a number of chapters I’m looking forward to re-reading and think I’ll review regularly. Marian’s chapter about reflective practice inspired me, and reminded me that one outcome of reflection needs to be a goal for the future. Aoife Gallagher’s chapter “To intervene or not to intervene” had me nodding with agreement. I’ve been considering the role of parental expectations, fear and anxieties in my own clinical work so was interested to read Aoife’s ideas about how to make services transparent and responsive.

In her chapter about supervision Jane introduces models from related fields, that we in speech and language therapy can learn from. Keena Cummins’ chapter on using video clarified issues I’d been struggling with in my therapy sessions. Her analysis of the value of face watching and mirroring between adults made me reflect on some recent interactions with parents. I hadn’t considered the link between spirituality and speech and language therapy. I enjoyed Sophie MacKenzie’s chapter on this topic, which discussed the narratives clients use at different points in the therapeutic journey and person-centred care.

I was scribbling down thoughts and questions as I read this book and enjoyed how it encouraged me to consider why I do what I do. If you’re a therapist who enjoys asking why and getting stuck in to some interesting discussions, I think you’ll enjoy this book. 

The book includes quote from students of Jane and Marian’s course, I was stunned by how insightful they were. If you’re looking to hire a new grad keep your eye out for therapists from the University of Greenwich!

The team at Little Bee Speech kindly gave me their new Articulation Test Center to try out and review. I haven’t used an app to assess a child before, so I was intrigued to see how it would go. 

I used the Test Center with a 4 and a half year old girl, who I know well. I watched the comprehensive video tutorial of how the app works before I began. Read this post on the Little Bee Speech Blog for a detailed description of how to use the app and all its features.

Useful features

I found it straight forward to get started and record how my client produced each word. She enjoyed completing the assessment, was keen to swipe on to the next picture and motivated to finish it in one sitting (which is not always the case with traditional, paper based assessments.) The prompt questions worked well to elicit words she didn’t know and the clear photographs were easily recognisable.

When you’re finished testing, the report the app produces is very detailed and I used parts of it in my clinical case notes. I really like how easy it is to compare a child’s performance over time, and therefore monitor progress in therapy. It’s wonderful to have everything you need in the one app so no schlepping of heavy test materials or hunting through papers to find past tests.

Feedback for the authors

My client and I both accidentally set off the voice prompt while swiping on to the next picture. And there are a few words that British young children are unlikely to know (for example ‘skunk’ and ‘pretzel.’) However, my worry with this app is the way that sounds are marked as incorrect – they are changed from green to red. Young children are amazingly switched on to this right / wrong distinction and I felt uncomfortable marking this so clearly for my client to see. As she is beginning to read, she was confused when I dragged her error sound on to the word in place of the correct sound. 

I wonder if there’s a way to make this scoring more subtle. Would it be feasible to pair an iPad and iPhone, and have the pictures on the iPad and the scoring on the iPhone? If you have any clever ways of scoring this type of assessment discretely, please let me know!

Overall I was impressed by this app, it would be a useful addition to a speech and language therapy toolkit, and from Tuesday 12th August until Thursday 14th August it’s on sale, at 30% off (details on the Little Bee Speech Facebook page.)

The folks at The Hanen Centre kindly sent me a copy of I’m Ready – How to Prepare Your Child for Reading Success and asked me what I thought. Here in the UK advice about how to support literacy skills seems to change frequently, so I was interested to see what Janice Greenberg and Elaine Weitzman suggest.

The book has 6 chapters: Early Literacy, Conversation, Vocabulary, Story Comprehension, Print Knowledge and Sound Awareness. It’s visually appealing; the text is broken up by photographs and drawings. I read it over several days and found it easy to pick up where I’d left off. There’s a comprehensive list of recommended children’s books, coded in terms of how they can be used to support literacy. I think the ‘Try it out!’ checklists and reflection questions look useful.

The book is full of practical examples from real families, so it’s both straight forward to apply and realistic, in terms of what parents can fit into their lives. There are plenty of Hanen’s trademark memory aids, some familiar like OWLing (observe, wait, and listen) and some new (to me) like POP – point out print.

My favourite thing about the book is how clear the authors are about the importance of making reading fun by following the child’s lead. I often worry that parents go in too heavy with the flashcards approach, which can put kids off, so I was relieved that the book stresses reading needs to be fun.

The blurb on the back of the book states that the authors have taken the most current research and broken it down into fun strategies for promoting early literacy. The only thing that frustrated me is that although they’ve provided references for each chapter, these aren’t clearly identified in the text. It simply says: “studies have found….” – so it’s not clear which study they are referring to. I think some parents (and professionals) would like to read more detail from the original research paper, and the format of the book doesn’t support this.

If you’re looking for ideas about how to use books (and conversation!) to prepare a child for reading and writing I’m Ready is packed full of them. It’s easy to read, practical and fun.

If you’re in the UK, the book is currently only available directly from Hanen. Hanen hope their UK distributor will be stocking it soon.

I came across LessonPix, it’s an online product, there’s no software to install or CD to lose, and I can use it on any computer that has an internet connection. The cost is $36 (USD) per year for an individual subscription, which converted to £22.62 when I paid online with my credit card. It’s less than £2 a month, and as there’s no CD to receive by post you can get started straight away.

I’ve used this resource every week since I bought it, and I recently renewed my subscription for a second year. I’ve made all the usual things, such as symbols for visual timetables using the picture cards template. I’ve also tried out new materials, my clients have enjoyed the games like dominos and board games. I even made a bingo game with s cluster words for a client’s birthday!

To make a resource you simply search for the pictures you want to use and drag each one into your “tray.” You then choose what materials (picture cards, now and next board etc) you want to make, and the site produces a PDF. You can save your trays to easily make different resources with the same pictures later on. As the finished resource is a PDF you can print it from any computer, you don’t need to be signed into the site. I store all my resources in Dropbox, so if I forget to print them, I can always pull them up during sessions on my iPad.

It is so quick to use that it’s easy to personalise the resources for each child, simply putting their name in the title is a detail they appreciate. You can upload your own pictures and photos to the site and then use them to make resources in the same way. If you’re using words with the pictures, you can replace any of the existing labels with your own words – which means the USA / UK English differences aren’t a problem; just search for ‘faucet,’ choose which picture of a ‘tap’ you want, and change the label!

The only thing I’d advise you to watch out for is getting signed out of the site. If I sign in and start filling my tray to build a resource, then get distracted and come back later, the site sometimes automatically signs me out. If I don’t notice I’ve been signed out and finish making the resource, and produce the PDF (when I’m not signed in) the PDF has large watermarks on it and I have to re-do it.

The service was designed and built by Lori and Bill Binko, a husband and wife team in Florida. Bill is an active Twitter user, where he responds to therapists’ queries and lets people know about special offers. It appeals to me that they promote their service by providing useful information and responding to feedback. The gorgeous pictures of Florida sunshine (on Twitter) can be hard to take during winter here in London though! The site has a friendly feel, for example, if you can’t find the picture you need, simply click ‘request an image’ and let them know what you think is missing.

I wasn’t asked to write about LessonPix, (I paid for both of my annual subscriptions) I’m choosing to spread the word about a product I find useful. My subscription to LessonPix has met my needs; I can produce engaging, personalised, visual materials quickly and easily. It’s so affordable and easy to use that I feel happy recommending it to parents. Check it out!

A friend has published a practical resource for developing play and communication skills in children on the Autism Spectrum. Ruth Harris, along with two colleagues, has written Teach Me with Pictures. It’s a book of picture scripts that are ready to use – you can photocopy them or print them from a CD-ROM. Ruth has been working on the book for a while; she spoke about it at the initial Therapy Ideas Live event back in July 2011. Congratulations Ruth, Simone and Linda, it’s wonderful!

The book begins with an introductory chapter, explaining what picture scripts are, their benefits and how to use them.

So what are picture scripts?

You know the picture instructions that come with flat-pack furniture from places like Ikea? They’re picture scripts. You follow the pictures step-by-step, breaking up a complex task into manageable pieces.

Next the book explains why picture scripts work so well for children with Autism. Get the book and read this chapter, it’s insightful, easy to follow and will help you explain the approach to parents and teachers. Many children with Autism are visual learners, who respond well to predictable and achievable activities – picture scripts are perfect. After discussing the skills picture scripts can promote, the book describes in detail how to use the scripts, so you’re ready to get started.

What activities do the scripts target?

The 40 picture scripts are divided into categories:

• Pretend play
• Drawing pictures
• Building and construction games
• Cooking
• Arts and Crafts
• Everyday living

You can see an example of some of the scripts on the publisher’s blog. I can’t wait to try making sandwiches and drawing monsters in therapy, I think the kids will love it!

This book could be used by SLTs, teachers, parents and anyone supporting children with language, learning or social communication difficulties. The activities have been designed to reflect what typically developing children of around 6 years old do, so we can teach our clients the skills they need to take part in the same activities as their peers. That said, a couple of the scripts are a little American, making nachos and ice-cream soda? Still, a good communication opportunity – talk about cultural differences!

This book is an inspiring starting point, use these scripts and then make your own. What does your client or child need to learn how to do? Write your own script and help teach them!

When the team at London Speech Therapy tweeted a request for bloggers to review their Colourful Semantics app I volunteered. I was given a complimentary copy of the app in order to review it.

The principle of Colourful Semantics appeals to me, as I’m a fan of clear structure, but the hundreds of small pieces of coloured paper always put me off! Watch Helen Blatchford explain how Colourful Semantics works.

This app removes the need for lots of printing, cutting and laminating, it’s all there ready to go. The app is loaded with a set of photos and the corresponding sentences. You can work at various levels: who, what doing, what, where and describe – which are all colour coded. When you start the game, a photo is presented and the child is asked a set of questions, for example: “who is in the picture?” The child responds by selecting the correct symbol from a choice of four and is given feedback as well as an opportunity to practise saying the sentence after the model.

What I like about the app

• It can collect data about a child’s performance, the app tracks how a child is doing – what a time saver.
• The app is visually motivating for children, and I think they’d find it fun and engaging.
• There is a clear structure, so children would quickly learn what they’re expected to do.
• The voice that says each sentence is a lovely clear British accent!
• The app is customisable; you can turn the music off (I’m easily distracted,) turn the praise off (see my view on praise here) and mute the rather directive: “your turn to say it.”

Things I think could be improved

• It seems to present the pictures in the same order each time you play, which becomes repetitive.
• The app presents the whole sentence (the cat is eating food outside) when you’re on the simplest level and the child is practising ‘who’ – which is confusing.
• It’s wonderful that you can add your own photos to the app, however the procedure is currently time consuming and some of the options (e.g. symbols) I required when I tried to add a picture of myself eating a bowl of soup weren’t available.

Mirla Gaz uses this helpful heuristic when reviewing apps:

“In order for me to recommend a therapy app, I need to feel that it can simplify the life of the therapist and will be a fun learning experience for children.”

This app will be a fun learning experience for children. When I compare this version of colourful semantics to the paper based one, it absolutely simplifies life for the SLT. However, in its current form, adding your own photos is not yet simple enough for me to justify the £27.99 price tag.