Speech delay in childs - tips and tricks

source - http://voices.yahoo.com/speech-delay-oral-exercises-help-childs-2320400.html?cat=25

When my two year old son was diagnosed with a speech delay, I did all I could to help his speech improve. However, I wasn't very educated on developmental delays in children and had no idea where to begin. All I knew was my son had a speech delay and he was getting increasingly frustrated when he tried to communicate and no one understood him.

I strongly believe the first step to dealing with a speech delay is t seek out professional assistance. There are wonderful, highly trained teachers and therapist able to help decode and work through a speech delay. It is recommended that you search and contact Early Intervention Services that are in your area if you suspect your child has a speech delay. My son has a wonderful team that has helped him along this journey and in one short year- the difference in his speech is incredibly different. Had it not been for the services he was offered through early intervention, he would not be where he is today in his speech. With that said, I have learned a lot from each one of his teachers. Who, by the way, come to the house and encourage me in finding new ways to help promote proper speech and sounds. I figured I would share some of these tips in case you have a child who has a speech delay.

One of the most prominent issues for a speech delay is simply because the muscles in the mouth are weak, and a child doesn't know how to form proper sounds of letters with his mouth. Because of this, it is often recommended to do oral excises with your child to encourage awareness of the mouth and positions of the lips, tongue and pallet in different scenarios.

Speech Delay Oral Exercise # 1

Blowing bubbles- Not only is blowing bubbles a great activity to keep children entertained, but it also increases the use of the facial and jaw muscles. Developing a strong "bubble blowing" oral position can help a child who has a speech delay make the "w" sound as is "what" or "ewww" and long "o" as in "book" or "food" as well as other sounds.

Speech Delay Oral Exercise # 2

Drink from a straw- this oral exercise is great with kids who have a speech delay because it uses the same muscles that blowing bubbles does, except also gets the tongue moving and raises awareness of the pallet. This oral exercise also offers a tighter grip than blowing bubbles, further developing the muscles in the moth, face and jaw. Try to encourage your child to drink from a straw as often as possible to help improve their speech delay.

Speech Delay Oral Exercise # 3

Chap stick and a mirror!- One of the best ways to get a child's attention to to have them look at themselves. This is a huge benefit to a child with a speech delay as the can actually watch and observe what their lips and tongue look like when the make sounds or speak. In addition to encouraging your child to look in the mirror more often comes a fun game! The kissing game. Have your child put in chap stick and encourage them to make the "mwah!" sound with their mouths. Show the how to pucker their lips, which helps again strengthen the oral muscles. Your child will have fun and be rewarded with getting to see the imprint of their lips on the mirror. You can also encourage other speech sounds the child may be having a hard time grasping and make different shaped "kiss marks" making them aware of how their lips can move.

Speech Delay Oral Exercise # 4

Use finger guides- Many children with a speech delay can not figure out what to do to make the words and sounds they need to make, come out. Helping your child with their speech is a continual effort of your part, but adding little "ques" and guides will help your child take notice to the position of YOUR lips when speaking to them. Simply point to your lips when you use letters like "p" as in "pop" "b" as in "ball "m" as in "mine" and so on. It also helps if your speech is semi-over exaggerated. say POP! instead of pop. make it exciting and repeat the sound "p" makes a few times before saying the word. For example say "Pa Pa Pa - POP!" while pointing to your lips while talking to your child. In time to can place your finger near their lips to encourage them to do the same.

Speech Delay Oral Exercise # 5

Make eye contact- This is not so much an exercise for speech delays, but is just as important in helping a child with a speech delay. The more your child sees you speaking, the more your child will learn about mouth movements. Take every opportunity you can to use words and make eye contact with your child. It can be as easy as stirring a cup of chocolate milk and saying "stir stir stir" while mixing the milk. By exaggerating some of the sounds heard in the beginning or end of the word. Such as "SSSSTIRRR"

Speech delays are very common in children and may or may not include other developmental delays. The most important thing to remember is a slow start does not mean speech won't come. Much like potty training, it is eventual and many kids work on a different time table. The most important thing is learning to work with your child and incorporating activities like the ones mentioned above to help the speech delay in your child subside. Don't be afraid to inquire for help from professionals. Many times these services are offered for free, since it ties in with education. The best thing to do is keep yourself well informed and be prepared to learn a lot!

10 Tips to Promote Speech and Language Skills in Your Child

Source - http://speechtherapyweb.com/10-tips-to-promote-speech-and-language-skills-in-your-child/

The communication skills of a newbon are astonishing. In fact, speech and language development visibly occurs immediately after birth. Moments after the birth of my daughter, I looked into her eyes and said "Welcome, Rebekah. We have all been waiting for you." Then, through body language, she communicated back to me. Searching with her little mouth she instantly and non-verbally expressed that she was hungry. As she began to nurse, I knew that we had begun to communicate.

Research in Speech and Hearing Sciences recognizes the communication skills of newborns and even the developing fetus during the last trimester of pregnancy. Nonetheless, parents tend to concentrate on the physical growth of their young child as he or she develops. While physical development is very important, communication skills are equally important. In fact, these two areas of development are interdependent for a healthy child.

The following are ten ways you can nurture the five different areas of speech and language development in typically developing infants and toddlers.

Social Language

1) Eye contact. When communicating with your child, look at his or her face and eyes as often as possible. This helps your child learn that it is appropriate to look at people during communication. Children learn a lot about you through facial expressions and acquire articulation skills by watching the movement of your mouth.

2) Taking turns. Talk to your child and then pause to give them a moment to verbalize. This teaches them the art of turn taking. This skill can also be accomplished during play, using objects and toys.

Expressive Language

3) Give your child space. When your child is trying to communicate with you and you know what they want, give them a few seconds before you instantly meet their needs. This will give them the opportunity to vocalize (coo and babble), point, or attempt a word.

4) Give your child choices and then let them express their choice by pointing, vocalizing, or attempting words. The feelings of confidence a child gains by expressing their own choice are building blocks for further exploration of expressive language.

Receptive Language

5) Get your child to follow instructions. Start with simple requests that only involve one element, such as "smile" or "kiss." Then increase to two elements when one element becomes easy for your child (i.e. "Hand up," or "Touch your nose," and so on).

6) Read simple books to your child with one or two pictures on each page. Ask them questions that can be answered verbally or by pointing to the correct picture. Try not to put too much pressure on them. If your child does not respond after about 10 or 15 seconds, model the answer for them with a positive tone of voice.

Vocabulary Development

7) Reinforce and demonstrate. If your child produces a verbal attempt that resembles a word, praise them with a pleasant tone of voice and then model the word that you think they attempted. For example, if the child says "ba" for ball, say "You said ball. Yes, it is a ball!"

 Explore. There are wonderful opportunities to model vocabulary out in the community. A simple trip to the market can be a great chance to name items for your child.

Articulation

9) Observe how often other people understand your child's speech. This will give you an idea of how clear his or her articulation really is (parents usually understand their children more than an outside listener). Don't worry if your toddler is not producing all the sounds in the English language. Many sounds may not develop until four years of age or later. However, you should consider consulting a speech pathologist if it is extremely hard to understand your child's speech at 3 years of age.

10) Articulate your words clearly when you communicate withh your child. Speak slowly and remember to look directly at your child's face.

While speech and language development varies with each child, there is no question that positive daily involvement from a parent and/or a loving caregiver makes the process much smoother. You, the parent, are the "super model" for your child's speech and language development. Taking time to put these tips into action can give you a thoughtful approach as you interact with your amazing little communicator.

Karin Howard is a practicing speech/language pathologist in Los Angeles. She has taught "Mommy and Me" classes that emphasize speech and language to aid parents of typically developing infants and toddlers. She is also the creator of "Exploring Language through Song and Play," a CD set with an accompanying lyric and activity book. You can learn more about this CD set here. There is also a Buy Now button on the upper right side bar of this website if you wish to purchase this CD set.

How to cut your own hair - Layer style

Now you don't need to spend bucks going to a hair dresser for your regular hair cuts. Follow these simple steps and voila you get layer style hair cut.

1. Shampoo your hair and dry
2. Tilt your head forward, bring all the hairs down
3. Brush your hair till they become smooth with no knots in between
2. With a sharp scissor, cut your hair till the length you want
3. Push your hair backwards, and brush
4. It's done

Note: Never cut your hair to near your scalp

10 Tips to Start Living in the Present

Choosing to live in the past or the future not only robs you of enjoyment today, it robs you of truly living. The only important moment is the present moment. With that goal in mind, consider this list of ten tips below to start living your life in the present:

• Remove unneeded possessions. Minimalism forces you to live in the present. Removing items associated with past memories or lives frees us up to stop living in the past and start living in the present. 
• Smile. Each day is full of endless possibilities! Start it with a smile. You are in control of your attitude every morning, keep it optimistic and expectant. 
• Fully appreciate the moments of today. Soak in as much of today as you possibly can – the sights, the sounds, the smells, the emotions, the triumph, and the sorrow. 
• Forgive past hurts. If you are harboring resentment towards another human being because of past hurts, choose to forgive and move on. The harm was their fault. But allowing it to impact your mood today is yours. 
• Love your job. If you just “survive” the workweek constantly waiting for the next weekend “to get here,” you are wasting 71% of your life (5 out of 7 days). there are two solutions: 1) find a new job that you actually enjoy (it’s out there), or 2) find something that you appreciate about your current career and focus on that rather than the negatives. 
• Dream about the future, but work hard today. Dream big. Set goals and plans for the future. But working hard today is always the first step towards realizing your dreams tomorrow. Don’t allow dreaming about tomorrow to replace living in today. 
• Don’t dwell on past accomplishments. If you are still talking about what you did yesterday, you haven’t done much today. 
• Stop worrying. You can’t fully appreciate today if you worry too much about tomorrow. Realize that tomorrow is going to happen whether you worry about it or not. And since worry has never accomplished anything for anybody, redirect your mental energy elsewhere. 
• Think beyond old solutions to problems. Our world is changing so fast that most of yesterday’s solutions are no longer the right answers today. Don’t get locked into a “but that’s how we’ve always done it” mentality. Yesterday’s solutions are not today’s solutions and they are certainly not tomorrow’s solutions.  
• Conquer addictions. Addictions in your life hold you hostage. They keep you from living a completely free life today. Find some help. Take the steps. And remove their influence over your life.

If you can only live one moment at a time, you might as well make it the present…

Taken from http://www.becomingminimalist.com/10-tips-to-start-living-in-the-present/

Ways to boost brain power

• Meditate — Meditation has been known to increase IQ, relieve stress, and promotes higher levels of brain functioning. Meditation also activates the “prefrontal cortex” of the brain, an area responsible for advanced thinking ability and performance.
• Draw A Picture — Drawing stimulates the right-hemisphere of the brain and inspires creativity. Get out the colored pencils and begin drawing your way to a powerful brain.
• Exercise — Long-term exercise has been proven to increase brain power and even create new neurons in the brain. Go out and get a natural high off of your own brain chemistry through exercise!
• Brainwave Entrainment — Brainwave entrainment is a safe, innovative way to stimulate and shape the brain and it’s functioning. You can literally build up more control over your life and harness your brain’s potential!
• Avoid Junk Food – Junk food has been proven to decrease energy in the body and promotes “brain fog.” Cut some junk food from your diet, and reap the benefits of a more calm, focused brain chemistry.
• Deep Breathing — Deep breathing actually increases oxygen levels and blood-flow to the brain. 10-15 minutes of daily deep breathing can make a huge difference in the quality of your life and brain’s functioning potential.
• Learn A New Language — Learning adds more structure to the brain and improves the brain’s speech centers. Hablas espanol? It may be time for you to take a class or program to supplement your job-skills and brain power!
• Take Fish Oil — Fish oil supplements are literally like membrane material for the brain. The 2 primary components of EPA and DHA each act to strengthen both the emotional center of the brain and boost focus. There is an increase in overall brain activity after taking fish oil for awhile.
• Laugh It Up — Laughter causes a natural release of the brain’s endorphins — chemicals that drown out pain and increase overall wellbeing. Laughter is a well known, natural stress reducer. Watch a comedy, crack a joke, and increase those endorphin levels!
• Engage In Debate — A good, healthy debate strengthens the brain’s ability to think quickly and apply intelligence to verbal situations. Work to build up your brain power by engaging in plenty of healthy debate. Just ask someone who they are voting for in the presidential election and you’ll definitely provoke a debate!
• Take A Multivitamin — Vitamins are great for the brain, and if it does not get enough of a certain vitamin through daily diet, consider a multivitamin. Multivitamins help facilitate the functioning of a healthy body and enriched brain. Start popping a vitamin each morning for awhile and chances are good that you’ll notice a difference!
• Eat Healthy — You know what ‘healthy’ is, so why not eat healthy and improve your brain? The brain requires a certain amount of energy to reach it’s maximum level of functioning. Eating chocolate cake and chips instead of fish and legumes, well maybe that’s why you cannot think clearly.
• Change Your Environment — To keep your brain properly stimulated, it is important to keep changing your environment. Drive a new route to work, eat at a new restaurant on Friday night. Changing the environment helps change the brain!
• Set Goals — Setting goals activates areas of the brain associated with positive thinking and action. Setting goals is great for achieving success and prosperity in life and boosting your brain.
• Listen To Music — Studies have proven that listening to music strengthens the right-hemisphere of the brain and literally changes the structure. Those same studies have found that people who listen to music are generally smarter and have more emotional intelligence than those who don’t.
• Be Empathetic — Being empathetic and trying to understand the emotions of others is a skill that your brain can learn. Being empathetic is definitely a powerful trait to have and allows your brain to relate to the emotions of others.
• Avoid Stress — A little bit of stress will never hurt anybody. Too much stress actually causes detrimental increases in the hormone “cortisol” which in high levels, kills brain cells and suppresses brain functioning.
• Think Positive — If you are currently very good at thinking positively, chances are good that you already have a more powerful brain than those “Negative Nellies.” Take 10 minutes daily to think more positive and start noticing an improvement in thinking abilities and problem solving skills.
• Brainstorm — A good brainstorming session to think of new, stimulating ideas is a great way to boost your brains ability to think creatively. Brainstorming is actually a different way of thinking that will equip your brain with a quick creative boost.
• Write An Article — Writing is linked to an improved memory and expression of thoughts. When you write, you are strengthening your brain’s natural ability to convey thoughts and feelings. Writing is a great way to exercise your ability to analyze and build a thought process with critical thinking. Journals, diaries, blog entries, and writing stories are phenomenal ways to fulfill your brain.
• Visualize — Visualization has been associated with focus at a deeper level. Many successful athletes that are able to play “in the zone” actually visualize their game at a deeper level. Visualization has been linked to lowered stress, increased creativity, and peak mind-body performance.
• Get Some Sleep — Be sure to always fulfill your brain’s need for sleep. Sleep clears out mental clutter and unimportant thoughts. Getting a good night’s sleep can also be the difference between a sharp memory and feeling forgetful. Everyone has different sleep requirements, be sure to fulfill yours! If you don’t get enough sleep — you may want to take a nap…
• Do Self-Hypnosis — The power of hypnotic suggestion is definitely real. You can change aspects of your thought process and learn to shift your focus by taking the time to do some self-hypnosis. Hypnosis research shows that by practicing hypnosis, an individual experiences lowered stress, increased pain tolerance, and clear thinking. Try it out for yourself if you haven’t already!
• Do Crossword Puzzles — Crossword puzzles bring out your brain’s ability to critically think and recall past memories. The challenge of completing crossword puzzles is definitely mentally invigorating and stimulating. If you enjoy reading the newspaper, be sure to check out the daily crossword puzzles section and build up that brain power!
• Eat Nuts — Brazil and South American University students swear by eating nuts before taking exams. They notice that eating them is correlated with an increase in test scores. New studies are beginning to prove nuts effectiveness at increasing brain power. If you do not eat a lot of nuts, try it sometime and reap the brain related benefits!
• Read Books — Reading books teaches your brain to adapt to absorb large amounts of information in shorter periods of time. Books challenge your thinking abilities and memorization skills, as well as boost vocabulary and critical thinking skills. Not only do you learn something from reading a book, but your brain power increases as you build up the book load.
• Listen To Classical Tunes — Listening to classical music activates the left hemisphere of the brain, which is why classical music usually helps students do better in mathematics and writing. If you haven’t yet tried listening to some Mozart, consider it! Mozart has been linked to an 80 % increase in spatial intelligence scores!
• Play “Brain Age” — New games like “Brain Age” for the nintendo DS and Big-Brain Academy help promote quick thinking and essential brain skills. These games work wonderful for improving thinking speed and natural problem solving skills. I’ve had a chance to play these games before and I can personally vouch for their effectiveness!
• Take A Nap – Taking a nap has been proven through research to significantly improve task-performance and thinking abilities. If you are feeling tired throughout the day and have time to take a quick nap, it is recommended. Naps are a wonderful refresher and quick little mental booster.
• Turn Off The T.V. – Watching T.V. may not be the only reason which rotting begins in the brain, but it is a key ingredient to the rotting process. A little T.V. will never hurt anybody, but it does definitely change brain functioning. The act of watching T.V. slows brainwaves and causes a decline in brain fitness.
• Paint A Picture — Being able to visualize where you want paint to go on paper sparks pure creativity from within. Painting is an exercise that gets the right-brain fully functioning and improves your creative side. If you haven’t tried painting a picture, give it a shot and notice that you’re likely to feel and be more creative.
• Start Crying — Don’t be afraid to cry when the time is right! Crying actually heals emotions and promotes healthy circulation within the brain. Those who are able to cry are actually cleansing the inside of their brain, which is another very healthy way to increase brain power.
• Eat Less — Eating too much food has the effect of decreasing blood-flow to the brain and increasing blood-flow to the digestive system. Therefore, if you are able to cut-back on the total amount of food you consume, you will have enhanced brain functioning. In several lab studies, rats on a calorie-restricted diet had increased blood flow to their brains.
• Eat Breakfast — When kids who hadn’t eating breakfast for awhile, began to eat breakfast, their math grades went up an entire letter grade (on average). Breakfast is probably the most important meal of the day — it provides your body with fuel for the rest of the day. If you don’t have time to eat an entire breakfast in the morning, at least have some sort of snack… It could give your brain a powerful edge!
• Go For A Walk — Exercise deifnitely benefits the brain, and walking is a great form of exercise that is easy and very effective for boosting brainpower. Walking puts your mind in a relaxed state of clear thought and brain function. Walking gives your brain a chance to wander and free itself from any troubling thoughts.
• Mimic Others — Being able to mimic other’s actions and talk activates several areas of the brain that are usually inactive. Mimicing others, if done in a fun, playful manner, can improve your brain power and the brain’s natural ability to adapt quickly when faced with new situations.
• Solve Puzzles — Solving puzzles is a great way to stimulate your brains ability to critically think and process information. Puzzles are thought provoking, challenging, and a fun activity. The great thing about puzzles is that they require activity in the left-hemisphere of the brain to work with, and transfer information to, the right hemisphere’s visual center of the brain. Want a more integrated brain? Solve a puzzle!
• Do Neurofeedback — Neurofeedback is a great way to learn to consciously control your brain wave patterns. Neurofeedback builds brain structure and helps promote flexibility within a brain’s neural network. Though neurofeedback is somewhat costly, if you’ve got enough money — it may very well be the best investment you can make for your brain!
• Cut Alcohol Consumption — Alcohol in moderation isn’t terrible for the brain, too much alcohol is damaging to brain health and function. If you want to boost brain power, cutting alcohol is a great way to do it. Alcohol can cause memory problems and encourage “foggy,” disorganized thinking.
• Live A Drug-Free Lifestyle — Everyone knows that drugs are bad for them. Drugs do not foster creativity, they kill creativity and deplete brain cells. Depending on the drug, effects can range from brain bleeding, to cell loss, to impairments in neural growth. Live drug free and keep your brain more powerful!
• Drink Fruit Juice — Drinking fruit juice revitalizes the brain and provides cells with a refreshing jolt of nutrients. Great juices to drink include: grape juice, orange juice, cranberry juice, and apple juice. Most juices provide your brain with vital nutrients which in turn, provide you with more mental energy and focus.
• Be Self-Aware — When you learn to let go of ego-driven and emotional aspects of life, rational thinking kicks in. Rational thinking will allow you to become self-aware, which in turn allows you to make better future decisions to achieve optimal brain health. Activities like meditation, self-hypnosis, and introspection allow us to increase our self-awareness
• Drink Caffeine — Research shows that students that drink coffee before exams, have higher scores. Why? Caffeine seems to stimulate activity in the brain, speed up thinking, and improve focus. Too much caffeine is never good as it can cause stress or trigger anger. A little bit, however, may be the ticket to an “A” on your test. Drink some and find out how it affects your focus and thinking abilities!
• Sniff Some Basil — I personally haven’t tried this method, but there seem to be many claims testifying for Basil’s effectiveness at improving overall brain function. Either way, certain fragrances actually change brain functioning. Taking a whiff of peppermint speeds up brain functioning, while other fragrances actually slow things down! Since scent is the strongest thing tied to memory, some good fragrances can definitely help out brain functioning.
• Stay In School — If you are in school, chances are good that you will boost your brain power more than the average dropout! Keeping up with school work, means giving your brain a good workout in areas of self-discipline, learning, and mental processing. Stay in school, or do something to always be learning something new!
• Ask Questions — Asking questions is a phenomenal way to keep your brain in shape. Get in the habit of questioning others and their thoughts. Questions can provoke new thoughts and ideas and asking them is a great way to build up brain power!
• Re-Read This List – Want to boost your brain power? Start by re-reading this list and highlighting several methods that you can apply to your life. As a matter of fact, print this list out and staple it up someplace that you will view everyday. That way, when walking past the list, you can take a glance and randomly choose an activity to boost your brain power!

Taken from http://4mind4life.com/blog/2008/02/06/50-ways-to-boost-your-brain-power/

Cake stand

Handmade Franciscan Earthenware Cake Stand in Turquoise

 

Handmade Franciscan Earthenware Cake Stand in Turquoise!

Franciscan Earthenware cake stand with a crystal hobnail base. Would be great for any special occasion. Weddings, showers, birthdays, ect. Also could be used as a large soap dish to display your specialty soaps, catch all, or display this in the kitchen.

This is a vintage plate in wonderful condition. No chips or cracks. There are a few scratches on the top of the plate.

Plate measures about 9 1/4" across, 6" inside rim, and 5 3/4" tall. 

Hand wash only!!

Please contact me if you have any questions or would like more then one.

The last picture shows this turquoise plate and the yellow plate is in another listing.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/72928904/handmade-franciscan-earthenware-cake?ref=sr_gallery_11&ga_search_query=cake+stand+cup&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade

Have any questions? Contact the shop owner.

Practical tips for every wife

Though it is a wide known fact that it is very difficult to live with in laws, but living apart is also not so rosy. This situation worsens when you stay in a foreign country or different city as your in laws keep a constant vigilant over you, thanks to all the technological inventions telephone, internet, video calls, etc. To add to all these, your better halves would be over excited to share little details of your everyday lives with your in laws. Thus it becomes a lifetime interference. Please read below some practical tips that you should follow:

1. Avoid regular calls - Many newly wed brides call their in laws everyday to show their affection for them. With this they set the expectations in the mind of the in laws and the day they dont call for whatever reasons, they have to give reasons for not calling. Or if you call everyday, there might be some topics where both of you will differ and lead to quarrels. Instead of this, you may call on random days and on festivals. This will not set any expectations in the mind of the inlaws. They may not like it in the beginning, but then they will get used to it.
2. Respect your in laws - Show excessive respect for your in laws in front of your husband. Be very polite and soft. For this you need not sacrifice anything, just be polite
3. Low expectations - Set a very low expectation right from the beginning. Dont involve yourself in showing what an ideal daughter in law you are, as you are sure to regret it later in life
4. Be independent financially - If you are a working woman, keep your own bank account. Don't mix it with your spouse's money because there will come a time when your husband will claim everything as his and no contribution from your end
5. Vacations - When you go on vaccations, stay with your family. If your husband says to stay at the in laws, just visit them for few hours now and again. If he insist you to stay equally at both places, just divide it equally, not a day extra
6. Don't comprise on quality life - Spend to have the best of life irrespective of any savings happening at the end of the day,  because money saved will be the extra money spent on your in laws apart from the regular paychecks.

Remember, never sacrifice for your in laws, because if you do you will only end up regretting and if you dont you will be treated better, and will have peace of mind.

This article particularly applies to the wives of the sub continent and I think its true in 80% of the cases, let me know your views. In laws here refers to the husbands brothers, sisters, their spouses and kids.