Specialneeds Homeschooling
Piecing language for a gestalt language learner has been quite an interesting and exhaustive task. While you have to retain your focus on core words one has to teach them as practically as possible. Do you find yourself in a scenario where you are stuck with therapists doing random words that are hard to generalize?
In this post, I elaborate on how to extend time concepts to understand the passage of a day. Follow-up post in continuation to my earlier post on – “passage of time” concepts. My son is who is speech delayed(on the spectrum) loves structure and has shown a strong preference for written schedules. I have always used such schedules to curate his day and make it predictable. However, I did experience issues as my son would keep requesting an activity on the schedule, while it was not the time for that yet! I had taught him elapsed time concepts using visual timers,
Continue readingTime concepts-“Understanding” passage of day.
The Power of Core Vocabulary Core vocabulary refers to the small number of words that make up >70-90% of what we say daily. These words are relevant across contexts and can have many meanings. They are a specific set of pronouns, words, descriptors, prepositions and very few nouns that apply across settings. Some examples of core vocabulary include: stop, go, get, more, turn, mine, on, off, up, down, that. They are classified as:- Tier 1- Most basic words. Tier 2- High-frequency words. Tier 3- Low-frequency words. They are also the words that are on the AAC device(Augmentative and Alternative Communication)
Do you have a toddler who isn’t talking, has trouble with eye contact or participating in an activity with you? Have you noticed that your toddler is able to label many items but is unable to tell you what they want in a meaningful way? As a parent to a child like that I understand how overwhelmed, frustrated and helpless you may feel having tried everything. I remember feeling isolated and hopeless listening to the rhymes my child sang repeatedly, throughout the day and communicated nothing!
Teaching time concepts becomes the key to several aspects when you have a child with special needs. I am not referring to telling time alone, however subtle concepts like waiting, turn-taking tie-up closely with “elapsed time”. Elapsed time is the amount of time that passes from the start of an event to its finish. In simplest terms, the elapsed time is how much time goes by from one time to another. An important tool that goes hand and hand with elapsed time is the timer. Consider teaching elapsed time as a concept consistently in various scenarios. Waiting for preferred items, nonpreferred items, offering a choice of minutes to wait. Please
Continue reading“Understanding” the passage of time- Time concepts.
Teaching a special needs child is a completely different art that can get complex and demanding, needing a lot of patience. That is when one will realize that the right tools can lend you a hand. I am talking about materials and resources to target a specific skill! I want to touch a bit on the theory of mind and its relevance to autism. Theory of mind is impaired in people with autism. One of the earliest tests for the theory of mind is the false-belief test developed by Simon Baron-Cohen and Uta Frith1. In the classic version of the test, a
Fine motor skills are the abilities to regulate precise motions of the hands, wrists, feet, toes, lips, and tongue with the help of tiny muscles in the body. Handwriting abilities are mostly developed through the tiny muscles of the hands and fingers. Continue reading to find out more about what tools may help you.