Schools Therapy Resource Pack

Transcription

Acknowledgements
The Schools Therapy Resource Pack has been compiled and written by the Solent Children’s Therapy Team
with significant input from OT School Action produced by the Winchester and Eastleigh Paediatric
Occupational Therapy Team, the Language Resource Pack for Schools produced by the Basingstoke Speech
& Language Therapy Team and the Yr R Screening Pack produced by the Winchester and Eastleigh Speech
and Language Therapy Team. Special thanks go to Jo Johnson for pulling together the initial draft.
Many thanks go to everyone who has contributed information, suggestions and content and to the schools
who provided invaluable feedback
November 2014
2
Page
Section 1 - Purpose of the Pack
5
Purpose of the Pack
Introduction
Working together with Schools
Definitions of the service
Link Therapist information and Photo
Information on Telephone advisory service
Universal, Targeted, Specialist (UTS) model
How to use this pack
6
7
7
10
12
13
14
15
Section 2 - Developmental Information
18
Developing Children’s Skills
Expected skill level
Identifying Functional Difficulties
Intervention Record Form
19
23
31
40
Section 3 - Motor Skill Development
45
3a Gross Motor Skills
Achieving Body Control (ABC)
Clever Bodies
46
65
3b Fine Motor Skills
Reception Fine Motor Skills Programme (FMS)
Clever Hands
105
116
Section 4 - Speech Language and Communication
130
Contents
Listening and Attention
Understanding Language
Auditory Memory
Descriptive Language Skills and Vocabulary
Grammar
Concepts
Sequencing
Process of Hypothesis
Pragmatic Skills
Stammering
Voice
Phonological Awareness/Working on Speech Sounds
DevelopmentalTh Verbal Dyspraxia
131
133
140
152
162
188
225
244
253
266
297
300
301
313
3
Section 5 - Skills for living and learning
318
5a Managing sensory processing difficulties
5b Improving visual perceptual skills
5c Developing better attention and organisation
5d Developing handwriting
5e Developing self-care skills
319
322
327
336
349
Section 6 – Glossary
365
Speech, Language and Communication definitions
Physical skills, Posture and Movement
Assessment Terms
Conditions
366
368
377
378
Section 7 - Equipment /Resources
379
Items a school might be advised to purchase
Specialist Equipment which may be used at school
382
384
Section 8 – Training
386
Free Generic Training
Targeted Workshops
387
388
Section 9 – How to refer
391
Referral Checklist
Integrated Referral Form
393
397
Section 10 – References
403
Section 11 – Appendix
407
4
Section 1 – Purpose of the Pack
Section 1
Purpose of the Pack
Education staff receive general training from Children’s Therapy
Services
Universal
Develop or create an environment conducive to learning and developing
skills
Child identified by school and parent as needing additional support
Screening tool used to identify which support is required
Use of School Therapy
Pack by school / parent
Parent takes
child to drop in
clinic
(Availability
dependent)
Review of skills by
school / parent
Difficulties
have
resolved
Targeted
Additional Training
available from Therapy
Services
Contact Telephone
Advisory Service to
discuss
Unresolved
difficulties
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Specialist
Refer to Therapy Service
using integrated therapy
referral form
Include information of
strategies used and outcome
Continue Strategies
Introduction
As part of the package of support that the Solent Children’s Therapy service gives to children we have
developed this resource pack for schools
The aim is to help schools provide appropriate and immediate support for children experiencing
difficulties. Where a child improves, a referral to the Children’s Therapy Service may not be required.
However, the activities are not intended to take the place of direct therapy where it is needed and children
should still be referred appropriately to the Children’s Therapy Service. [See ‘How to refer’, section 9]
If after using the advice provided in the pack the child still continues to find tasks hard it may be
appropriate for the child to be referred to the therapy service. The strategies you try can then be used as
part of the referral. We have also included a suggested format of how to log the strategies that have been
tried. Please see Section 2, page 42.
A suggested list of equipment with suppliers may be found in Section 7, page 361.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions, comments or suggestions about the pack.
Working together with schools
Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists and Speech and Language Therapists are concerned with
developing children’s functional skills in all areas of their daily lives. A major part of their day is spent in
school and the curriculum and environment can create many challenges. The main focus for most
children’s therapists is working in schools, providing support to education staff and parents.
The need for partnership working is highlighted in the ‘The (0-25) Special Educational Needs Code of
Practice (Children and Families Bill 2014)’.
‘Many children with special educational needs have a range of difficulties and the achievement of
educational objectives is likely to be delayed without partnership in the child’s education between all
concerned’ (5.27).
All services should aim to provide an integrated seamless service, keep each other fully informed and help
each other in various ways.
Alongside other services, ‘support for children with special educational needs requires a concerted
approach from healthcare professionals’ (5.27).
The Children’s National Service Framework 2004 reiterates the importance of ‘good collaborative
arrangements’ between therapists and other professionals.
For children with special educational needs, ‘taking part fully in school life, whether in mainstream or
special schools, requires good communication between health, social care and education services so that
the child’s needs are understood and met. The right school policy or approach can transform the life of
these children’ (NSF Standard 8: 3.14, 5.12).
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With improvements in newborn survival rates, greater recognition of developmental disorders and
increasing inclusion, the resources of children’s therapy teams are becoming increasingly stretched.
Early identification of difficulties and appropriate provision cannot be over emphasised. ‘The earlier action
is taken the more responsive the child is likely to be’ (SEN Code of Practice, 5.11).
‘It is vital to identify quickly and accurately where children and young people have SEN that requires
additional support so that this can be put in place.’ (SEN code of Practice, 2014; 5.1)
‘The benefits of early identification are widely recognised; identifying need at the earliest point that a
physical, sensory, learning or mental health need presents itself, and then providing good interventions,
improves long-term outcomes for the child.’ (SEN code of Practice, 2014; 5.4)
‘Improving partnership across different services for children and young people with SEN or disabilities.
(SEN code of Practice, 2014; 3.1)
‘All teachers need to be equipped to teach children and young people with a diverse range of need. Early
years providers, schools and colleges should plan their staff training, development and support to ensure
all teachers are able to do this.’ (SEN code of Practice, 2014; 5.1)
‘The educational setting should have a clear approach to assessing SEN which is known by all staff. This
should include the use of effective tools and early assessment materials, as well as arrangements to draw
on more specialised assessments from external agencies and professionals.’ (SEN code of Practice, 2014;
5.6)
Children with the most severe difficulties are usually identified and receive therapy at pre-school but the
needs of others may not become evident until they start school.
When a child is identified as not making adequate progress ‘the school should provide interventions that
are additional to or different from those provided as part of the school’s usual differentiated curriculum
and offer strategies’ (5.43).
With this in mind, the Children’s Therapy Service has developed this pack to help meet children’s needs
more effectively in the context of partnership working.
The need to support children with speech and language difficulties
Speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) are the most common type of special educational need
in primary-aged children. On average, in each primary school class, there are two or three children who
have SLCN.
Providing effective intervention to support children with SLCN is essential, as having a speech, language
and communication need can have a significant impact on a child’s future: 60% of young offenders have a
SLCN, only 25% of children with SLCN reach the expected levels for their age in both English and Maths at
the end of key stage 1 and only 10% get five good GCSEs including English and Maths. Early intervention for
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these children is key. Children whose language difficulties were resolved by 5½ are more likely to catch up
with their peers and pass as many GCSEs as children without a history of language difficulties.1
The benefits of school-based management
Key bodies interested in speech, language and communication needs (SLCN), including the UK government
have conducted much research into best practice for supporting children with SLCN. It has been concluded
that collaboration between speech and language therapy services and education is essential and ‘in best
practice settings the main responsibility for supporting the children’s needs rested at the school and class
level’.
Effective intervention for SLCN provides support in the most relevant environment for the child and is
managed by those ‘most relevant to the child’. This is true of all areas of child development. Intervention
should happen in the environment that is most functionally and socially appropriate for effecting change. It
is therefore really important that teachers and therapists work together to provide support for the child at
school; an environment that the child encounters every day.
There are many benefits to providing interventions in school. School based provision allows intervention to
be embedded within the curriculum, which should support children’s access to learning. School based
intervention also allows children to practice new skills in small group settings within a naturalistic
environment. Setting up effective language learning environments can also impact on literacy learning.
Ofsted have commented that ‘a common feature of the most successful schools ....was the attention they
gave to developing speaking and listening’
The effectiveness of school based management
It has been found that staff who have received appropriate training in speech, language and
communication needs are as effective as speech and language therapists in carrying out specified
intervention programmes to develop expressive language. This was found to be the most cost-effective
form of management.2’3
Providing children with opportunities to develop their language and movement skills at school is an
effective method of intervention. In cases where children have very complex difficulties or who are not
progressing despite effective input at school, specialist, clinic-based provision by the Children’s therapy
service can be provided.
1
Bishop D.V.M & Adams (1990) A prospective study of the relationship between specific language impairment, phonological
disorders and reading retardation. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 31, cited in ‘The cost to the nation of children’s
poor communication’ ICAN Talk Series – Issue 2
2
Boyle JM, McCartney E, O’Hare A & Forbes J (2009) Direct versus indirect and individual versus group modes of language
therapy for children with primary language impairment: principle outcomes from a randomised controlled trial and economic
evaluation. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 44, (6), 826-846.
3
Dickson K, Marshall M, Boyle J, McCartney E, O’Hare A & Forbes J (2009) Cost analysis of direct versus indirect and individual
versus group modes of manual-based speech and language therapy for primary school age children with primary language
impairment. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 44, (3), 369-381
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Definitions of the service:
The Therapists
Children’s therapists work closely with other professionals, parents/carers, teaching and welfare staff at
school and nursery to ensure that the children’s abilities are maximised and prevention strategies
implemented to reduce harmful effects of abnormal movement, postures, and techniques. Therapy advice
should be incorporated within the daily routine of their life at home and school.
All therapists hold a recognised qualification and are regulated by the Health and Professions Council
(www.hcpc-uk.org). They are autonomous practitioners, responsible for the assessment and interpretation
of investigations to provide expert, holistic intervention.
The therapists work in teams to maximise the skills available to support children which may mean that
more than one therapist will see a child to enable the most appropriate therapy to be provided. All
therapist are supervised and undergo regular training and development.
Occupational therapy
Occupational therapy is the use of purposeful activity and play to help a child attain maximum levels of
functional performance, thus gaining self-esteem and independence. Motor, sensory, perceptual, social,
behavioural and self-care skills are assessed. Occupational therapists use a combination of approaches and
therapeutic techniques, advising on equipment and environmental adaptations where appropriate, to
improve the child’s ability to access the physical and learning curriculum.
Physiotherapy
Children’s Physiotherapy aims to help maximise movement and function when children are affected by
injury, illness, developmental delay or other disability. Physiotherapists will use a combination of
approaches to develop gross motor skills and provide intervention programmes, including equipment,
which may be carried out by non-professionals if taught how to do so.
Speech and Language Therapy
A Speech and Language Therapist works with children with speech, language, communication, feeding and
swallowing difficulties. They may assess a child by observing them in the classroom, playing some games
and engaging them in a range of structured activities (which may include formal assessments). Following
assessment, the therapist will work with school staff and the child’s family to set and monitor specific
targets that will aim to maximise the child’s communicative potential.
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Therapist’s Roles & Responsibilities
To support staff in providing a developmentally rich environment for all children with SLCN, motor
and functional difficulties.
To signpost education staff to resources, training and appropriate strategies which can maximise a
child’s potential.
To assess children highlighted by the school as not responding to targeted strategies identified on
the screening tool.
To review the progress of children on the caseload and to update advice and targets as appropriate.
To discuss the needs and progress of each child on the caseload on a regular basis until the child’s
needs can be met in the classroom environment through a differentiated curriculum or by school
staff.
To provide general advice, as appropriate, for all children for whom the school have concerns about
their development.
To signpost education staff to resources or appropriate strategies as the child is approaching
discharge.
Schools Roles & Responsibilities
To provide a stimulating environment to allow the development and generalisation of gross, fine
motor and communication skills
To follow the guidelines laid out in this pack to identify children who need greater support with the
development of skills, to implement appropriate strategies and to record progress and then to refer
to the service if required.
To implement activities and strategies in the classroom and in small group work as directed by
therapists.
To identify a skilled member of staff, or someone who is willing to learn through observation and
joint working to carry out programmes with individual children.
To organise time for therapists to meet with the SENCO after each visit to provide feedback and
advice about individual children.
To provide an opportunity for the therapist to discuss children with their class teacher and provide
advice where appropriate.
To keep the therapist informed about changes to children’s contacts details, changes in parental
responsibility and social situation.
To keep parents informed of the therapist’s visits and provide contact details to arrange a visit to
discuss their child’s needs/progress.
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Your Link Therapist is:
Name
Photo of Therapist
Profession
Contact Details
I am a qualified Speech and Language Therapist /
IPhysiotherapist
amabout
a qualified
and Language
Blurb
link therapist
/ Speech
Occupational
TherapistTherapist
who is/
Physiotherapist
/ Occupational
who is
registered with HCPC
(Health andTherapist
Care Professions
registered
with
HCPC
(Health
and
Care
Professions
Council) and a member of RCSLT (Royal College of
Council)
andLanguage
a member
of RCSLT
(Royal
College of
Speech and
Therapy)
/ ACPC
(Association
of
Speech
and
Language
Therapy)
/
ACPC
(Association
of
Paediatric Chartered Physiotherapists) / COT (College
Paediatric
Chartered
Physiotherapists)
/
COT
(College
of Occupational Therapist).
of Occupational Therapist).
I am here to support you with children with a variety of
Iadditional
am here needs
to support
you and
your education.
pupils with a variety
impacting
on their
of additional needs impacting on their education.
I have a special interest in __________
I have a special interest in __________
Please contact me to discuss any issues about therapy provision within school or any training required.
I work closely with my colleagues from the other therapy professions as part of the team supporting
children in your school. Other therapists that you might see in the school are:
Physiotherapist
Photo
Occupational Therapist
Speech and Language
Therapist
Photo
Photo
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What can your link therapist do to support you and the children in your school?
Come and talk to me about your concerns regarding a child’s speech, language, communication and
feeding needs; fine motor, visual perceptual, handwriting and dressing skills; gross motor skills and motor
co-ordination needs.
Without the need to refer a child to the service I can offer:
Universal training – via an inset day (see section 8)
Verbal suggestions for strategies to try based on your assessment of the pupil
Standard advice sheets for identified difficulties (included in this pack)
Suggestions for other places / people from whom to seek support
Another therapist to contact you to provide advice
If you want more support you can
Access standard or bespoke training (see section 8)
Buy in additional time from our Service (contact SPA)
Contact your link therapist to discuss your requirements
Telephone Advisory Service
The Children’s Therapy Service offers a telephone advice service Monday to Friday from 8am to 6 pm.
Contact the Single point of Access (SPA) on 0300 300 2019 and speak to the operator who will log your call.
A therapist will contact you within 24 hours or on the following working day to discuss your call. The
therapist will be able to provide general advice and information on any child not currently seen by the
service. This service is available to school staff, parents and health professionals.
What happens when I refer?
When a child has been referred to the service an assessment appointment will be offered. This may be at
school or within a local clinic.
The child’s skills will be compared to the pupil’s chronological age AND to their general level of learning.
Following assessment, the therapist will discuss their findings and may offer:
Training
General advice regarding strategies to support difficulties
Help to set up a group e.g. narrative skills, social skills group, motor skills, handwriting
Help in developing visual support e.g. visual timetable
Individual or group intervention either provided by the therapist or therapy assistant or by school
staff trained by the therapist.
If needed, a one-off review and advice can also be provided at any time. For instance, this may be helpful
at transition, i.e. Jan – July of Year 6 or Sept – December of Year 7.
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Secondary-age pupils with a statement of special educational need for speech, language and
communication needs who attend schools within Hampshire LEA will be eligible for support from the CAL
team.
For pupils with long term difficulties such as: physical disability, neurological conditions, arthritis, speech
difficulties, voice disorders, stammering/stuttering, feeding/swallowing difficulties and those who use
communication aids, therapy will continue until difficulties have resolved, are being successfully managed
or until the child’s ability is functional for their everyday needs.
Universal, Targeted and Specialist support model
The Children’s Therapy Service are using the Universal, Targeted and Specialist support model to ensure
that children and families receive the support they need when they need it. To enable us to do this we will
be offering training and resources to develop skills within schools and other settings.
Population
Role of Children’s
Therapy Service
Universal services
All children’s needs are
met by families, carers and
the general children’s
workforce
Training provided on
‘normal’ development of
skills e.g. communication,
gross and fine motor skills
Health promotion e.g.
‘Tummy time’ talks to new
parents. Use of Schools
Therapy Pack in schools.
Development of
supporting information for
Health Visitors use of Ages
and Stages questionnaire
(ASQ)
Targeted service
Children where there are
concerns about motor and
language development.
Needs are met by families,
carers and the general
children’s workforce with
support from Children’s
Therapy
Specialist services
Children and young
people requiring
specialist assessment of
their abilities and areas
of difficulty.
Needs are met by
parents, carers and
specially trained
workforce.
Training and advice given Individual assessment of
on specific areas of
need.
difficulty e.g. classroom
Targeted therapeutic
strategies to promote
advice, requiring regular
communication or
review and measurement
maximise attention.
of outcomes together
Specific activities to
with those involved in
promote development
child’s care.
which may be reviewed by Individual training of
a therapist
parents and staff
14
How to Use the Pack
Identifying Areas of Functional Difficulty – complete the Preliminary Checklists (Page 32) which is
useful to help pinpoint a child’s difficulties and which sections to implement.
Section 3a includes two gross motor programmes:
Achieving Body Control (ABC), focuses on core stability and postural control and is likely to benefit
all children starting school as well as being used individually with children experiencing difficulties.
Clever Bodies further develops balance, motor planning, body awareness, coordination and ball
skills.
If you are using the BEAM programme already this can be used instead.
Section 3b contains General Suggestions to Improve Hand Function and Clever Hands, a hand
function programme. If you are using the Reception Fine Motor Skills Programme for reception
age pupils this can be used instead.
Section 4 contains activities to develop speech, language and communication skills
Sections 5 provides guidance on skills for learning and living
-
managing sensory processing difficulties (5a)
-
improving visual perceptual skills (5b)
-
developing better attention and organisation (5c)
-
developing handwriting (5d)
-
developing self-care skills (5e)
Note: Sections 3 to 5 follow an approximate developmental sequence but stages of development overlap
and skills need to mesh together and enhance one another.
‘Handwriting ‘and ‘Self-Care’ which require particular combinations of skills are therefore found in the later
Section 5
Where relevant, it may be helpful to share information with parents.
15
Record child’s performance
Consider including targets in Individual Education Plan (IEP)
Complete:
-
Achieving Body Control (ABC) Individual Progress Sheets
Identified activities
Intervention Record Forms (see Section 2)
If difficulties do not resolve, initiate referral to the Solent Children’s Therapy Service
Referral for a Therapy Assessment
See ‘How to refer’ Section 9.
Complete additional checklists according to the child’s age and the referral form detailing strategies
used and outcomes (see ‘How to refer’; Section 9)
Send with any additional evidence to the Children’s Therapy Service
See Section 9 – How to refer
Complete DCDQ or
infant checklist (Motor
skill difficulties)
Complete SLCN checklist
Discuss with
parents/carers
Complete Referral Form and send to
Children’s Therapy Service
Figure 1 Requirements and Process
16
Training and support
Training for school staff to support implementation of this pack is available from the Solent Children’s
Therapy Service: see Section 8 for course details.
See Using This Pack Figure 2, page 44, for full summary of the process involved.
If questions arise about this pack or further information and help is needed, please contact:
Stoneham Centre,
Moorgreen Hospital Site
Botley Road
West End
Southampton
SO30 3JB
Tel: 0300 300 2019
17
Section 2 – Developmental Information
Section 2
Developmental Information
Developing Children’s Skills
Children enter school at different stages of development and there can be considerable variation between
children in an ordinary reception class. Many will not have developed the underlying communication,
postural control, attention or organisational ability needed for more complex skills.
Babies and young children are driven to move and they use movement to learn about the world.
Movement allows exploration, which in turn stimulates the senses of touch, taste, smell, vision and
hearing. Efficient body movement is one of the primary tasks of childhood.
These underlying abilities are the essential foundation for more complex skills.
Balance and coordination rely on core stability (the body’s central muscles working together to maintain
posture) and are prerequisite for classroom skills such as the ability to sit still, eye contact and tracking,
listening, concentration and hand-eye coordination. Such skills can be significantly affected if there is a
delay in the acquisition of core stability and the child cannot sustain upright postures or stabilise the
shoulder muscles to enable smooth, coordinated hand and arm movements.
Development follows a recognised sequence from postural control and coordination towards ‘higher’ skills
which include making sense of the world around and being able to plan and carry out complex activities
such as handwriting. Perceiving, understanding and using sensory information plays an important role in
this process. As well as learning classroom skills, children also need to be able to rely on these abilities to
develop practical, everyday skills such as self-care.
Concentration, attention, behaviour
Ability to sit and maintain position,
preferred hand dominance, endurance,
tool use
Bilateral coordination, fine motor manipulation,
eye hand coordination, balance, motor planning
Postural and joint stability, muscle strength, body awareness,
mid-line crossing, dominance, perception
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HAND SKILL DEVELOPMENT
Daily Living Skills
Handwriting, dressing, eating
Dexterity
Stability
Bilateral
Coordination
Body
Awareness
What Are the Building Blocks of Fine Motor Skills?
Stability
Bilateral
Coordination
Body
Awareness
Stability
Stability is a combination of strength and balance that enables us to keep one part of our body still while
another part moves.
Bilateral Coordination
Bilateral coordination refers to the efficient use of both hands during an activity. Most daily activities
require the coordinated use of both hands, one as the “doer” and the other as the “helper”. Bilateral
coordination leads eventually to the development of a dominant hand (becoming right or left handed).
Body Awareness/sensation
We all know the five senses: vision, hearing, smell, taste and touch. We also have three other senses;
Kinethesia – the sense of where our body and limbs are in space
Proprioception – the sense of joint position and movement, perceived by sensors in the joints
Vestibular system – the sense that tells us our head position in relation to gravity
20
The Second Level in the Hand Skills House: Dexterity/Fine Motor Manipulation
Dexterity/Fine Motor
Manipulation
Stability
Bilateral
Coordination
Body
Awareness
Dexterity/Fine Motor Manipulation
This ability enables us to make small, precise, accurate and efficient movements with our hands without
tremendous effort. When your child has established some of the foundations and is developing dexterity,
he/she is able to use these abilities in her daily living skills.
Sensory Processing
Is the ability to take in, sort out, process and make use of information from the world around us.
Concentration, Attention & Behaviour
Children need to be able to respond to sensory information in order to behave in a consistent way and plan
what they need to do.
21
Speech Language and Communication Skills
Adapted from Wood, 2001, TalkingPoint and consensus of opinion of Solent NHS Trust Speech and Language Therapists
Speech sound
development
Understanding of a range of
instructions and linking of
2-3 words
Use of
single words
Understanding of simple
instructions
Understanding of
single words
Play Skills
Use of
noises
Attention & Listening
Use of
gesture
Turn-taking
……………..Motivation, Confidence & Self-Esteem……………….
22
Eye Contact
Expected skill level
The following tables suggest skills we would usually expect children to have at school entry and at the end
of the school year indicated.
School Entry
Gross motor Skills/ Stability
o Stable in sitting on a small chair at a
table
o Can walk, run and stand on tiptoe
o Can stand on one leg for 3-5 seconds
o Can hop on preferred foot
o Can stand/walk on heels when shown
o Throws ball overhand and catches
o with more skill
o Kicks ball forcibly with skill
o
o
o
o
o
o
Climbs ladders in the playground
Can use a bat
Threads medium beads
Supports the paper when ‘drawing’
Has developed hand preference
Knows how to hold scissors and uses
them to cut a piece of paper in half
o Use fork and spoon together
Body Awareness
Fine Motor Skills
o Draws a person with three different
body parts
o
o
o
o
Activities of Daily Living
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Builds tower of 10+ bricks
Holds pencil using a static ( still ) tripod
grasp on the pencil
Engaging in messy play
Visual Perception
o Copies a cross ( + ), with a pencil
/crayon.
o Places 5 rings on a post in order / 3
shapes into inset puzzle / 4 part nesting
toy
Drinking from open cup,
Stabbing with a fork and scoops
Washes and dries hands and face.
Unbuttons large buttons.
Toilet trained
Can get on / off the toilet unaided
Puts on garments such as a t-shirt
with some help,
Shoes put on (possibly the wrong way
round),
Pulls up trousers
Uses knife & fork competently
Child knows what he does & doesn't
like to eat
23
Attention and Listening
Play Skills
o The child has single channelled
attention, alternating his full
attention between the task and the
speaker (looking and listening), but
can now switch between them
independently.
o Able to concentrate on 2 speakers.
o Can attend to an adult's choice of
activities for increasing periods.
o Can imagine things that are not present,
e.g. play includes make believe
characters.
o Early symbolic play, e.g. using a banana
as a phone.
o Can hold simple pretend conversations.
Understanding of Language
Spoken Language
o Follows more complex sentences
though may not understand every
word.
o Follows 3 key words in a sentence,
e.g. ‘shall we wash big teddy?’
o Understands concept of size
(big/little), numbers 1-5 & colour.
o Understands simple positional
language, in/on/under.
o Understands past tense verbs.
o Answers ‘Why?’ questions.
o Begins to make inferences and can
predict what will happen next.
o Puts 3-5 words together to form simple
sentences.
o Uses positional language, e.g. in, on,
under.
o Uses words which represent people,
e.g. I, you, me, yours, he, she.
o Talks about past, present and future.
o Asks a lot of questions, what? where?
who?
o Still makes grammatical errors, e.g.
mouses, sleeped.
o Uses comparatives.
Speech sounds
Social use of language
o Vowels and syllable structure
established.
o Becoming more intelligible.
o May use sounds in some words but
not others.
o ‘c’/’k’, ‘g’ may be replaced by ‘t’, ‘d’
respectively.
o Beginning to use sounds sh, ch, j, z, v
and l.
o ‘s’, ‘z’ may be lisped.
o ‘th will be replaced by ‘f’ or ‘v’
o ‘r’ will be replaced by ‘w’
o Beginning to use blends, e.g., bl, pl otherwise reduces them to a single
sound.
o Chooses own friends
o Generally cooperative with playmates
o Enjoys playing with peers and will argue
if they disagree
o Able to plan construction and make
believe activities
o Initiates conversations
o Takes turns in longer conversations
o Uses language to gain information,
negotiate, discuss feelings/ideas and
give opinions
o Talk freely about their home and
community
o Beginning to accept the needs of others
with support.
24
End of Early Years / Foundation Stage
Gross motor Skills/ Stability
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o Starts to show preferred hand
o Uses one hand to steady while other
manipulates
o Uses scissors to snip
o Threads large beads
o Skips, alternating feet
o Uses knife and fork competently
Uses arms for climbing
Shovels and pours with control
Can carry large objects
Balance on either leg for 5 seconds
Jumps forwards and backwards
Hops on either leg
Throws a ball to hit a target
Body Awareness
Fine Motor Skills
o Knows body parts
o Draws a person with head, legs and
trunk
o Places small pegs in pegboard
o Can move things from palm of hand to
fingertips
o Uses thumb and fingertips to grasp, turn
small knobs, etc
Visual Perception
o Draws a circle and other shapes
independently
o Draws house with windows and a
door
o Can dress/undress with some
assistance
o Uses a spoon and fork
o Copies square and cross
o Matches and names 4 primary colours
Play Skills
o Is now two channelled, i.e.
understands verbal instructions
without having to interrupt their
activity to look at the speaker.
o Concentration may still be short, but
can be taught as part of a group, e.g.
to follow a story or join in a
discussion.
o Organising and co-operative play with
other children, e.g., sharing a toy/game
and negotiating.
o Imaginary play includes other children
e.g., pretending to be doctors and
nurses.
o Can follow rules of a game, e.g. Snap.
25
Understanding of Language
Spoken Language
o Follows 4 key words in a sentence,
e.g. ‘put the big doll behind the
cupboard’.
o Understands increasingly complex
grammar and concepts, e.g. between,
above; future tense; simple
opposites; same/different; time (e.g.
night/day).
o Understands 2500-3000 words.
o Asks meaning of new words.
o Can give 3 objects on request.
o Can identify the odd-one-out.
o Can understand stories.
o Beginning to use language to think,
problem-solve and understand
simple humour.
o Talks in more detail about everything
and asks endless questions, e.g. Why?
When?
o Grammar is increasingly correct, e.g.
uses he/she correctly and a range of
prepositions.
o Names categories.
o Can explain meaning of simple words.
o Makes longer sentences using ‘and’,
‘but’ and ‘because’ to link ideas
(coordination and subordination).
o Tells/retells familiar short stories,
sequences of events and jokes.
o Correctly sequences 2 – 4 pictures.
o Uses ‘yesterday’ and ‘tomorrow’.
Speech sounds
Social Use of Language
o Mature use of most sounds including
blends.
o Possible exceptions include ‘th’, ‘r’
and 3-consonant blends such as ‘spl-‘.
o ‘s, ’z’ may be lisped.
o Intelligible to strangers.
o More skilful at initiating, holding and
ending conversations.
o Will take turns with 8 – 9 other children.
o Adapts conversation content to a
variety of partners, but not yet fully
aware of the listener’s needs.
o Contributes to adult conversation.
o Begins to understand indirect requests,
e.g. “Dinner’s ready” could mean ‘Wash
your hands’.
o Uses and understands a range of
communicative functions, e.g.
To gain attention
Ask for help
Request things
Reject
Greet
Name/label
Comment
Express feelings
Plan – future events
Report – recent activity
Seek or give information
Give instructions
26
Key Stage 1
Gross Motor Skills/ Stability
o Throws, bounce and catches a tennis
ball
o Turns a skipping rope
o Performs a running kick
o Balances on one foot for 15 seconds
o Rides a bike (with or without
stabilisers)
o
o
o
o
Body Awareness
Threads small beads
Hand dominance evident
Folds paper
Cuts out simple shapes with scissors
Fine Motor Skills
o Draws a person with head, trunk,
legs, arms and features
o Use a computer mouse
o Uses appropriate force for grasp and
play
o Negotiates obstacles
o Controls pencil to draw between 2
straight lines
o Can touch each finger end in turn
o Plays with small construction toys
o Holds pencil in a tripod grasp
Visual Perception
o Beginning to use a knife
o Uses toilet independently
o
o
o
o
Recognises 10 colours
Copies a triangle
Accurately throws ball at target
Completes simple interlocking jigsaw
Grammar
o Attention is well established and child
can concentrate for longer without
being reminded to do so.
o Listens with sustained concentration
to others in the class and to an adult
speaking.
o Understanding and use of more
complex constructions, e.g. passives
(‘The book was read by the teacher’),
relative clauses (‘Tell the girl that is
drawing a picture to come and see me’)
and constructions which reverse the
sequence of events (‘Before you line
up, put all your books in a pile on my
desk’).
o Awareness of the grammatical function
of prefixes/suffixes, e.g. past tense
endings.
27
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Meaning
Understanding and use of an
increasingly broad vocabulary.
Less reliant on pictures and objects to
learn new language and, although
these still help, they can learn just by
hearing/reading new words.
Understand increasingly abstract
ideas, such as feelings and descriptive
words, e.g. ‘carefully’, ‘slowly’ or
‘clever’.
Understanding that some words have
multiple meanings, e.g. ‘orange’ = a
fruit/a colour.
Understand that different words can
mean the same thing, e.g. ‘minus’
and ‘take away’.
Follows instructions.
Remembers main points.
Asks relevant questions.
Speech sounds
o Accurate use of all speech sounds (as
appropriate to the child’s accent).
o Phonological awareness at the
individual sound level, enabling
segmentation and blending of the
individual sounds in words.
o Ability to adjust the form of language for a range of contexts, e.g. talking to the
headteacher, other children and family members.
o Shows awareness of what the listener needs to know.
o Speaks clearly and audibly to a large group.
o Varies voice and intonation with purpose.
o Takes turns when talking.
o Understanding and use of idiomatic language.
o Using language for an increasing range of functions, e.g.
Initiating conversation with familiar adults and children
Awareness of feelings – anticipating and describing feelings that might be
experienced by others in familiar, emotive situations
o Use of questions – to gain information about the present, past and future, e.g. ‘What’s
he doing?’; ‘Where’s he gone?’; ‘What happened?’; ‘What will happen if..?’
o Give descriptions
o Reasoning/Explaining, e.g. comparing/classifying, understanding cause and effect
o Prediction of events
o Drawing conclusions
o Imagining
o Argue/Debate
o State rules
o Evaluate
o Persuasion
o Negotiate
o Beliefs/Opinions
o Entertain
o Tease
28
Key Stage 2
Gross Motor Skills/ Stability
o Uses PE equipment well
o Increased refinement of complex
gross motor tasks
o Ties a knot
o Shuffles and deals cards
o Uses scissors well
Body Awareness
Fine Motor Skills
o Plays computer games without
looking at hands
o Consistent identifying right and left
o Writes right to left
o Opens packets
o Mature pencil grip
o Handwriting becoming fluent
Visual Perception
o Does up buttons, zips, etc
o Visual memory developed
o Copies diamond and triangle
Grammar
o Listens attentively, following up
points, agreeing or disagreeing with
others and making their own notes.
o Consistent use of grammar across
longer sections of discourse/narrative.
o Understanding of how some words can
change the relationship between other
words in a sentence, e.g. ‘John is easy
to see’ vs. ‘John is eager to see’.
Meaning
Speech sounds
o Further expansion of vocabulary,
including words for items outside the
pupil’s personal experience.
o Increasing ability to select the most
appropriate word for use in a
particular context.
o Ability to manipulate individual
phonemes in words, e.g. in order to
perform spoonerism tasks.
29
o Ability to produce cohesive narrative in which different characters and events are
clearly marked.
o Understanding more complex humour, e.g. sarcasm.
o Using language for an increasing range of functions, e.g.
Initiating conversation with unfamiliar adults and children
Projection of thoughts or feelings – what might be felt by self and others in a
range of situations, familiar and less familiar
Giving a sequence of instructions
Explaining clearly and concisely
Imaginative use of language – drama, puppetry, etc.
o
o
o
o
o
o
Extended use of questions – a set of questions to pursue a line of enquiry
Hypothesising
Inferring and deducing
Reflecting on and exploring language – puns, etc.
Presenting a sequenced oral account – in clear, concise chronological order
Giving opinions – a reasoned opinion on a range of issues; will consider and discuss
alternative opinions
o Planning and organising work in a group
o Negotiates, taking account of alternatives and consequences
30
IDENTIFYING
FUNCTIONAL
DIFFICULTIES
31
PRELIMINARY CHECKLIST
You may wish to complete this checklist in conjunction with parents. For a younger child, it may also be
useful to draw on information from the Foundation Stage Profile.
For children with suspected speech, language and communication difficulties the Yr R Screening
Assessment (See Appendix page 389) maybe used to provide a more comprehensive assessment of the
child’s abilities and will help inform completion of this checklist.
The dated columns allow a child’s progress to be reviewed once interventions have been tried. If
difficulties do not appear to be resolving, this checklist can be used as additional evidence when referring a
child to the Children’s Therapy Service.
NOTE: when answering each question, consider the child’s abilities in relation to same age peers - to be
considered a difficulty, performance needs to be significantly different.
Gross Motor Skills
Date
The child:Appears to be weaker than peers and lacks endurance
Demonstrates good posture when sitting or standing
Can stand on one leg in a stable position
Can hop in a controlled manner on either foot
Can jump across / over obstacles that might be found in the
play environment
Can use fixed playground / gym apparatus
Y/N
Date
Y/N
If child has difficulties with the above skills, s/he may have poor core stability, balance, body awareness or
coordination.
PLAN: work through first gross motor programme Achieving Body Control (ABC), Section 3a, or BEAM
programme.
Date
The child:Can follow a movement sequence e.g. keep time to a musical
beat by clapping hands or tapping feet
Can throw a ball / beanbag into a container
Can catch a ball using two hands
Can catch a small ball using one hand
Can hit / strike a moving ball using a bat, racquet or stick
Can continually bounce a football sized ball while standing
still
Can kick a ball rolling towards him/her
32
Y/N
Date
Y/N
If child has difficulties, s/he may still have immature balance or poor motor
planning/coordination.
PLAN: work through second gross motor programme Clever Bodies
(balance, motor planning and coordination, and ball skills), Section 3a
Fine Motor Skills
Date
The child can:Pick up small objects using blocks, beads, puzzle pieces
Use blocks, beads, puzzle pieces to complete an activity
Turn pages of a book singly
Hand out sheets from a stack of paper
Hold tools using appropriate tension and grasp (scissors /
pencil)
Cut / draw / trace with precision and accuracy
Do up buttons and zips
Y/N
Date
Y/N
If the child has difficulties, s/he may have weak grasp, poor hand/eye coordination or manipulative skills.
PLAN: carry out General Activities to Improve Hand Function and Clever Hands’ programme, Section 3b, Or
Reception Fine Motor Skills Programme.
Sensory Processing
Date
The child appears to:Withdraw from touch
Prefer only certain types of clothing
Need to touch everything
Chew on clothing or objects
Avoid being too close to others
Avoid playground equipment or some apparatus (fearful of
being off the ground)
Be constantly moving
Be sensitive to noise
Y/N
Date
Y/N
PLAN: if child has difficulties, carry out suggestions in Section 5a, Sensory Processing
33
Attention and Organisation
Date
The child appears to:Lack energy
Have difficulty staying on task
Be unable to remain seated
Have difficulty following instructions
Have difficulty organising self for activities
Have difficulty completing activities on time
Copy others rather than follow instructions
Y/N
Date
Y/N
PLAN: if child has difficulties, carry out suggestions in Attention and Organisation, Section 5c
Perceptual Skills
Date
Body and Spatial Awareness
The child can:Recognise own body parts and point to them
Differentiate between left and right
Demonstrate understanding of directional commands by
moving forwards / backwards, over / under, in / out
Walk / run in the environment without bumping into objects
/ people
Y/N
Date
Y/N
PLAN: if child has difficulties, carry out Clever Bodies programme, Section 3a
Date
Visual Perception
The child can:Discriminate shapes, letters and numbers
Copy basic shapes, letters and numbers
Organise shapes, letters and numbers on a page
Copy accurately from a distance or nearby source
Y/N
Date
Y/N
PLAN: If the child has difficulties, carry out suggestions in Section 5b, Visual Perceptual Function
34
Handwriting
Date
The child:Has problems holding a pen / pencil
Produces writing that appears very dark or very light
Presses heavily onto the writing surface
Has poor sitting posture
Writes slowly and with effort or rushes
Writing lack fluency and is illegible
Y/N
Date
Y/N
PLAN: if child has difficulties, carry out suggestions in Section 5d Handwriting
Self Care
The child has difficulty managing independently with




Date
Date
Y/N
Y/N
Eating/drinking
Washing hands
Dressing/undressing
Toileting
PLAN: if child has difficulties, carry out suggestions in Section 5e, Self-care.
Auditory Memory & Processing
Date
Y/N
Date
Y/N
Does the child find it difficult to remember what they have
heard
e.g. cars, stories and discussions?
Does the child have difficulty following instructions?
Does the child have difficulty remembering/doing things in the
right order?
Does the child lose concentration when listening?
Does the child find it difficult to remember what has been
taught previously?
PLAN: If the child has difficulties carry out suggestions in Section 4 “Auditory Memory & Processing”
NB
If the child has difficulties in both of these areas also consider information in Section 5 “Sensory Processing”
35
Understanding Spoken Language
Date
Date
Y/N
Y/N
Does the child look blank when spoken to?
Does the child not realise instructions include them when they
are given to a whole group?
Does the child have difficulty answering questions e.g. repeats
parts of questions or gives an answer which doesn’t match what
they have been asked?
Is the child hesitant to start a task after an instruction has been
given?
PLAN: If the child has difficulties carry out suggestions in Section 4 “Comprehension”
Spoken Language & Vocabulary
Date
Date
Y/N
Y/N
Does the child only use a few words joined together?
Does the child use simplistic or immature sounding sentences
e.g. leaves out words?
Does the child use words in the wrong order?
Does the child use empty speech with lots of non-specific
vocabulary e.g. ‘it’, ‘thing’, ‘there’, ‘makes’
Does the child have problems reporting events or retelling
stories
PLAN: If the child has difficulties carry out suggestions in Section 4 “Expressive Language & Vocabulary”
36
Sequencing
Date
Date
Y/N
Y/N
Does the child have poor organisational skills?
Does the child have difficulty remembering the order of familiar
activities?
Does the child have difficulty remembering how to approach an
activity?
Does the child have difficulty remembering time concepts e.g.
days of the week, when their birthday is, yesterday, today,
tomorrow, etc?
PLAN: If the child has difficulties carry out suggestions in Section 4 “Sequencing” and section 5c Attention
and Organisation
NB: Consider whether the child has more general organisational difficulties. See Section 5 “Sensory
Processing” and ensure that child has completed Clever Bodies Section 3a
Concepts
Date
Date
Y/N
Y/N
Does the child use concept words incorrectly e.g. ‘up’ for on or
‘in’ for all word positions?
Does the child have difficulty using adjectives (‘wow words’) to
describe things?
Does the child understand first/last/in front/behind/when lining
up to leave or enter the classroom?
PLAN: If the child has difficulties carry out suggestions in Section 4 “Concepts” ensure that child has
completed Clever Bodies, Section 3a.
37
Word Finding
Date
Date
Y/N
Y/N
Does the child have difficulty remembering or finding the word
they want to say?
Does the child know and understand a word, but find it hard to
use it?
Does the child use an incorrect word that may be, in some way,
linked to the word they wish to say e.g. ‘cat’ for ‘dog’ or ‘arm’
for ‘wing’ or ‘hap’ for ‘cap’?
Does the child describe a word instead of using it e.g. ‘bouncing
thing’ for ball?
PLAN: If the child has difficulties carry out suggestions in Section 4 “Word Finding”
Sound Awareness
Date
Date
Y/N
Y/N
Does the child have difficulty pronouncing words clearly?
Is the child struggling with phonics, literacy or spelling?
Is the child difficult to understand?
PLAN: If the child has difficulties carry out suggestions in Section 4 “Phonological Awareness”
Social Communication
Date
Date
Y/N
Y/N
Does the child find it difficult to use appropriate eye contact?
Does the child find it difficult to take turns in conversations or
group discussions?
Does the child talk too quickly/slowly/loudly/quietly for the
situation?
Does the child find it hard to interpret gestures, facial
expressions and tone of voices?
Does the child find it difficult to approach other children to talk
to or play with?
Does the child have favourite topics or interests which they try
to include in all interactions?
PLAN: If the child has difficulties carry out suggestions in Section 4 “Social Communication”. If the child has
been diagnosed with an Autism spectrum condition we would expect them to have difficulties in these areas
38
Stammering
Date
Date
Y/N
Y/N
Does the child repeat whole or parts of words e.g. when, when,
when or c-c-coz?
Does the child stretch sounds out e.g. s_____unny?
Does the child get completely stuck on a word and have trouble
getting any sound out?
Does this happen every day?
PLAN: If this happens every day refer to the Children’s Therapy Service for Speech & Language Therapy
advice.
If the child has difficulties carry out suggestions in Section 4 “Stammering”
Voice
Date
Date
Y/N
Y/N
Does the child have a hoarse/breathy/rough or croaky voice all
the time?
Does the child often lose their voice?
Does the child have times when their voice “cuts out” for a
second?
Does the child speak in an effortful or strained way?
PLAN: If the child has difficulties carry out suggestions in Section 4 “Voice”
NB: Please also refer child to their GP, who will contact the Children’s Therapy Service and the E.N.T.
department as appropriate.
39
INTERVENTION RECORD FORM
Use the form to record evidence of a child’s response to intervention.
This helps track progress and where Children’s Therapy is needed, contributes to evidence to support
referral.
It will be useful to share this information with the therapist/s when the child is seen.
A sample form follows, together with a blank form (which can be photocopied).
Note: Achieving Body Control incorporates ‘Individual Progress Sheets’ and these should be completed for
each ABC Block.
40
Sample Intervention Record Form
Name:
Date of birth:
Date of assessment:
Chronological age:
Year:
Toby Smith
6 February 2003
9July 2007
4yrs 5 mths
R
List identified difficulties from Preliminary Checklist
Gross Motor
Fine Motor
Dressing (putting on T-shirt, doing up buttons)
List interventions used to address identified difficulties
Clever Hands
‘Backward chaining’ method for t-shirt
Button practice (method from Self-care Section)
Date
11/7/07
18/7/07
11/7/07
18/7/07
Activity / Strategy
Clever Hands
Level 1
Playdough, pegs,
tongs
As above
Performance
Weak grasp, could
barely squeeze pegs
enough to open.
Sign
A Davis
Can now place pegs A Davis
on edge of box.
Next: peg the pegs
onto paper plate,
pick up cotton wool
balls with tongs
For PE, Put one
Toby struggled to
arm in T-shirt
locate the hole.
A Davis
sleeve, (other arm
With some
and head already in prompting he
t-shirt)
successfully put his
arm in.
Putting one arm in Completed task
t-shirt sleeve (as
without prompting. A Davis
above)
Next stage: put both
arms through
sleeves (head
already in T-shirt).
41
Intervention Record Form
Name:
Date of birth:
Date checklist completed:
Chronological age:
Year:
List identified difficulties from Preliminary Checklist
List interventions to be used to address identified difficulties
Date
Activity / Strategy
Performance
42
Signed
Date
Activity / Strategy
Performance
43
Signed
Figure 2
Concerns about child’s functional ability in school
S
Implement
C
H
Check
environment
Learning
Complete Preliminary Checklist to identify
areas of functional difficulty
Refer to appropriate section and carry out suggested activities / strategies.
Include in IEP
O
O
L
A
Gross
Motor
Fine
Motor
Speech
Language and
Communication
Visual
Perceptual
Function
Sensory
Processing
Attention
and
Organisation
Handwriting
C
S
T
C
Difficulties continue despite intervention
Difficulties resolve
Follow Process and Requirements for Children’s
Therapy Referral
Referral to Children’s Therapy not required
I
H
O
O
N
O
L
A
4-5 Years
Complete Developmental
and additional Checklists
5 – 15 Years
DCD-Q
(see page 376)
Complete Case History
C
T
I
Continue activities / strategies while awaiting
assessment
Send referral with evidence of Schools Pack
intervention to Children’s Therapy

O
N
44
SelfCare
Section 3 – Motor Skill Development
Section 3
Motor Skill Development
Section 3a
GROSS
MOTOR
SKILLS
46
Many children entering school will not yet have fully developed their gross motor skills.
We recommend that all Year R children complete Achieving Body Control (ABC) to develop the postural
control needed for school activities. The programme can be readily incorporated into PE lessons
(approximately over a six week period).
Children with identified difficulties should also be given opportunities to practise the activities individually
or in a small group.
Implementing the ABC
Training which supports implementing the ABC in school can be requested from the Children’s Therapy
Service (see Training Section)
Equipment required for each block
Block A
-
PE mats
PE bench
Balls (football sized)
Block B
-
As above, plus:
Large hoops
Bean bags
Block C
-
As above, plus:
Balloons
Chiffon scarves
Review
Children’s responses will be monitored through observation of each session and then by completing the
Individual Progress Sheets at the end of each block.
NOTE: children with identified physical / learning difficulties who are known to children’s therapists
should not be included prior to consultation with relevant therapist.
47
ABC
ACHIEVING BODY CONTROL
BLOCK A
48
Children will need a mat
Children should remove shoes and socks for these activities
1.
Warm up beans
Beans on Toast
(Spread wide on the floor)
Jumping Bean
(Jump on the spot)
Runner Bean
(Running on the
spot)
Jelly Bean (Shake all over)
Group jog between the mats and stop when instructed. Pretend to be specific ‘bean’.
2.
Total flexion. As well as practising a
total body curl, listening skills can
be worked on, as the children gain
understanding and have fewer cues
from group leader. Language of
movement, position and body parts
should be emphasised.
49
3.
Total extension. Lying flat on their backs the children should attempt to be as
straight and symmetrical as possible.
4.
Arm lift from static crawling. The children should attempt to lift one arm at a
time. The forward movement should occur only at the shoulders shoulder and
their backs should not twist. Once achieved it can be a paired activity.
5.
Table. Sitting on the mat the children should lean back onto straight arms then
lift their hips off the floor to form a straight line from shoulders to knees. Ears
should be clear of shoulders.
6.
Bridge. Lying on their back with knees bent, the children should flatten their
backs to the mat to initiate hip lift, rather than lift by straightening their knees.
This will prevent their feet sliding away. A straight line, stable, symmetrical
posture should be attempted for a count of 10. Breath holding should be
avoided.
50
7.
Roly Poly. This should be practised along a line of mats to encourage movement
in a straight line, not an arc. Repeat in both directions.
8.
Sit kneeling to high kneeling. The children should initially place their hands on a
bench if very unstable. Controlled lifting from pelvis is required.
9.
Side Sitting. The children should
attempt side sitting to either side with
their hands off the floor if possible.
10.
Half kneeling. The children should
attempt half kneeling without sitting
back on their heels. Practise with
alternate knees forward.
51
11.
One leg balance. Initially a group of children can stand with one leg forward
on a bench. Their shoulders should remain relaxed. They should attempt to
look around, bend and reach. They can try lifting or tapping the foot on the
bench to increase their balance time. Progression: control one leg balance
without a bench.
12.
Jumping. The children should jump on
their ‘home’ mat lightly with knees
bending.
13. Ball skills. Ball skills are an ideal way to acquire hand-eye coordination, a skill which is required for
every day life and for many classroom activities. Judgement of speed and movement are necessary
for many activities including road safety.
Many children are fearful of balls coming towards them. They gain confidence by practising nonthreatening activities in which the ball is not travelling directly towards them.
Initial ball skills should be two dimensional rolling activities with the child remaining still so that the
child can begin to understand the balls’ movement without needing to balance simultaneously.
Movement can then be added as a progression.
When learning to catch, emphasis should be placed on trapping the item in the children’s hands (not
against their bodies), and on aiming and control when learning to throw.
52
Suggested activities
a.
Sitting on floor, hands on top of a
large ball, rock ball forward and
backwards and side to side keeping
whole hands in contact with the
ball. Progress to rolling from hand
to hand under knees.
b.
Kneeling on floor – roll ball against upturned P.E. bench or wall. Trap rebound
in hands.
c.
A group of 3 children – sit in a circle on the floor, feet touching. Roll ball to
named person and then trap ball in hands.
d.
Roll a ball along a track formed by 2 P.E. benches – run to far end and let ball
drop into hands.
53
GROSS MOTOR ACTIVITIES
Individual Progress Sheet
Block A
Child’s Name …………………………………………….
2)
Activity
Total flexion
3)
Total extension on
back
5)
Table sitting, forming a
straight line from
shoulders to knees
7)
Rolling in a straight
line
10)
Half kneeling. Practise
with alternate knees
forward
11)
One leg balance on a
bench. Shoulders
should remain relaxed.
Date achieved
54
ABC
BLOCK B
55
If possible each child should have an individual ‘home’ mat facing the group leader.
All children should work in bare feet.
All postures can initially be demonstrated or a child helped to achieve them.
There may be some overlap from Block 1 in some activities. These activities should be persevered with as
more advanced activities are reliant on them being secure.
More of the activities consist of holding positions against gravity. The children should be encouraged to
count out loud or say a rhyme to prevent them attempting to stabilise themselves by holding their breath.
1.
Warm up activities as in Weeks 1 and 2. Try adding new ‘beans’ (String bean – stretch
up tall, Chilli Bean – shake arms and legs, French Bean – do the CanCan, Broad Bean –
wide stretch).
2.
Total flexion. Lying on the mat the children
roll from side to side maintaining a curled
position. They should attempt to balance
midway on their backs. Avoid breath
holding.
3.
Extension. Lying on fronts the children should lift their heads to look straight ahead.
Their legs may also rise. Avoid breath holding.
4.
Happy Cat / Angry Cat. The children should adopt a crawling position on the mat:
look up, hollow their backs and “purr”, then look through their arms, arch their backs
and “hiss”.
5.
Crab. Maintaining the ‘table’ position (see
Weeks 1 and 2) the children should
initially attempt to move one leg or arm
before progressing to moving along.
56
6.
Bridge. Several children adopt a bridge position side by side and attempt to maintain
it as a ball is rolled underneath the bridge.
7.
Roly Poly. Place 2 mats an increasing distance apart. The children should attempt to
roll from one to the other in a straight line.
8.
Kneel walking. The children should
practise kneel walking on mats without
sitting back. Follow the leader.
9.
Side sitting. From side sitting on the mat
the children should swing their feet round
so as to side sit the other way, without
using their hands for balance.
10. Half kneeling and turning. From a half
kneeling position the children should turn
their heads to watch the group leader
walking around their mats. Change legs.
57
11. Hopping. Hop on alternate legs for those
who have achieved standing on one leg.
12.
Jumping. Jumping towards a target area
(lightly, bending knees).
13. Ball skills.
a.
Roll ball a short distance – run past it – turn to face it and gather it into hands.
b.
Aim a bean bag onto a marked area.
c.
Dribble ball with hand around inside of hoop – progress to using a bat and moving along a marked
course.
58
Block B
Child’s Name …………………………………………….
2)
Activity
Total flexion,
maintaining curled
position
3)
Extension. Lying on
front, child should lift
head to look straight
ahead. (Legs may also
rise).
5)
Maintaining a table
position: crab
7)
Half kneeling and
turning. Child should
be able to turn to
watch leader walking
around the group.
10)
Hopping, first on one
leg and then on the
other.
Date achieved
59
ABC
BLOCK C
60
1.
Warm up activities as in Blocks A and B.
2.
Total flexion. Lying on their backs, the
children should actively curl, rather
then hang on their knees. Avoid
holding breath.
3.
Total extension. Lying on their front the children should look forward
lifting their heads and reaching lifted arms forward with straight elbows.
Once achieved it can be a paired activity.
4.
Crab. Maintaining the ‘table’ position,
the children should attempt to move
along, dribbling a bean bag with their
feet. This can be developed into a
group activity.
5.
Bottom lifts. Sitting on the mat with
straight legs and hands beside upper
thighs, the children should push their
hands into the mat to lift their bottom
up and balance. They should not
bump down.
6.
Bottom walking. Sitting on the
mat with straight legs and hands
off the floor, the children should
attempt to ‘walk’ forward with
the movement coming from their
trunk.
61
7.
Crossing midline. Sitting on a P.E.
bench the children should touch
opposite knee to elbow attempting to
keep up a rhythm.
8.
Kneel walking backwards. While
kneel walking along a course of
mats, the children should remain
vertical, not sitting back on their
heels.
9.
Alternate side sitting. From side
sitting (preferably with hands off
the mat) the children should move
up into high kneeling, then go
down into side sitting on the other
side in a controlled way.
10.
Half kneeling and turning. Half
kneeling in a line the children pass a
bean bag down the line. Repeat with
the other leg forward. Progress from
being beside each other to behind
each other.
11.
Hopping / skipping. Skipping on
alternate legs for those children who
have achieved hopping on either leg.
62
12.
Jumping over a line. Use painted lines
on the floor (or chalk). The children
should jump over the line with two
feet simultaneously. Progress to a
series of lines.
Ball skills.
13.
a.
Repeat dribbling a bean bag as
Weeks 2 and 3 and then
progress to a ball.
b.
Balance on one leg and roll a
ball to partner.
c.
Catching should first be attempted with slow moving items such as chiffon
scarves or balloons. It is easier to catch knotted socks with plenty of ends to
grab. Later, progress to bean bag and gradually smaller balls.
63
Block C
Child’s Name …………………………………………….
2)
3)
5)
Activity
Lying on their backs,
children should
actively curl rather
than hold onto their
knees
Total extension:
children should lie on
front and look forward
lifting their hands and
arms off the floor and
reaching arms forward
with straight elbows.
Bottom lift. Sitting on
the mat with straight
legs and hands beside
upper thighs, children
push bottom up and
balance.
10)
Half kneeling in a line,
(one behind the other)
the children turn to
pass the bean bag back
down the line.
11)
Skipping i.e. hop/ step
on alternate legs (for
children who have
already mastered
hopping)
Date achieved
64
CLEVER BODIES
PROGRAMME
65
CLEVER BODIES PROGRAMME
This programme consists of activities which build on Achieving Body Control (ABC) to further develop
balance, motor planning, coordination and ball skills.. The activities are suitable for individual or small
group practice, although some could be included in whole class warm-ups or PE lessons.
Note: as before, children with identified physical or learning disabilities who are known to paediatric
therapists should not be included prior to consultation with the relevant therapist.
Balance
Level 1 Page 67
Level 2 Page 70
Level 3 Page 74
Motor Planning and Coordination
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Page 78
Page 82
Page 86
Ball Skills
Level 1
Page 90
Level 2
Page 93
Level 3
Page 96
Fizzy Training Games (adapted and used with permission)
Paediatric Occupational Therapy Service,
East Kent Community NHS Trust
66
CLEVER BODIES
Balance
(Level 1)
67
Fizzy Training Games
Balance
Level 1 (page 1)
Activity
Description
Stand with your foot
on a box and throw
and catch a ball or
beanbag with your
partner.
Target
Can you do 20 catches
at
1 metre
2 metres
3 metres
Play statues
Keep very still while
your partner gently
tries to move you. Try
these positions.
Starting position
Hands and knees
Walk along a 5 metre,
then a 10 metre line,
marked on the floor.
68
Can you keep your
feet on the line?
Balance
Level 1 (page 2)
Activity
Description
Throw and catch a ball
with your partner
from a half kneeling
position. Try 10
throws without
dropping them, then
try 20 throws.
Target
Can you do it from
1 metre
2 metres
3 metres
Stepping stones
Walk along a route
placing your feet onto
coloured shapes or
into hoops or quoits.
Vary the distances and
directions of the
stepping targets.
Step into, onto or over
different types of PE
equipment. Use any
of these to make up a
small obstacle course.
Balance on one leg
How long can you do
it for?
5 seconds
10 seconds
What is your record?
Child needs to be competent at all tasks before moving on to the next level.
69
CLEVER BODIES
Balance
(Level 2)
70
Balance
Level 2 (page 1)
Activity
Description
Stand with one foot
on a small soft ball
and try to throw and
catch a ball with your
partner.
Target
How many can you do
in a row
10 20
2 metres
10 metres
Try to stop a rolling
ball coming towards
you by placing your
foot on the top.
How many can you do
5
10
15
Keep very still while
your partner gently
tries to move you.
Try these positions
Balance on different
parts of your body.
Start with kneeling
and then try raising
one arm and the
opposite leg.
How many seconds
can you hold it
Kneeling
Arm and leg
Raised
71
Balance
Level 2 (page 2)
Activity
Description
Reach for a beanbag in
a kneeling position.
Target
Gradually increase the
distance.
Then try half kneeling
Walk along a bench
Can you do it
Forwards
Backwards
Sideways
Walk along a bench
balancing a beanbag
on a bat
How far can you get
Half the
bench
All the
bench
72
Balance
Level 2 (page 3)
Activity
Description
Try walking along with
a beanbag on your
head
Target
How far can you walk
4 metres
6 metres
8 metres
Walk in a line, as
straight as possible,
heel to toe – eyes
closed, or wear a
blindfold
How many steps
3
7
10
Hop on either leg
How many hops can
you do?
Left leg
Right leg
3
3
5
5
8
8
73
CLEVER BODIES
Balance
(Level 3)
74
Balance
Level 3 (page 1)
Activity
Description
Statues
Stand very still on one
leg while your partner
gently pushes you
Target
How many seconds
can you keep still for?
3
5
10
Walk toe to heel
backwards in a line as
straight as possible.
How many steps can
you take
5
7
10
Walk backwards toe to
heel in a straight line
without looking
behind you. Then try
with a beanbag on
your head.
How many steps can
you take
5
7
10
Walk backwards on a
bench
How many steps can
you take
5
7
10
Stand on one leg with
your arms folded
How long can you
stay up for
Left leg
Right leg
75
Balance
Level 3 (page 2)
Activity
Description
Now close your eyes
or use a blindfold
Target
Now try on a squashy
mat
Hop into 5 squares
marked out on the
floor
How many squares
can you hop into?
Left leg
Right leg
2
2
3
3
5
5
Now try hop and stop,
hop and stop. Keep
going for as long as
you can.
Hopping
How far can you hop?
Metres
Forwards
Backwards
Sideways
76
Balance
Level 3 (page 3)
Activity
Forward
Left …
Description
Now try hopping in
different directions
called out by your
partner
Target
How long can you hop
for
Seconds
Left leg
Right leg
Play Twister
How long can you
play for before you
fall over
Minutes
Seconds
Play Hopscotch
77
What number can you
reach?
CLEVER BODIES
Level 1
78
Body Awareness and Coordination
Level 1 (Page 1)
Activity
Description
Lie on stomach on a
bench – pull yourself
forward to the end
using both hands, and
then push back again.
This is counted as one
movement pattern.
Target
How many can you
do?
Draw shapes in the air
using a pole with a
ribbon tied on the
end. Use both hands.
Can you do
Shapes
Letters
Your name
Draw shapes in the air
without using the pole
Can you do it holding
on with
2 hands
1 hand
Bounce on a
trampette holding
hands with an adult
How many can you
do?
Jump along the floor
keeping both feet
together.
How many can you
do?
79
Level 1 (Page 2)
Activity
Description
Jump off a low box or
bench holding hands
with an adult.
Keep feet together
Target
Can you do it holding
on to
2 hands
1 hand
no hands
Throw and catch a
beanbag with an
adult. Then try a large
ball.
How far can you do it
from?
Throw a beanbag into
a box or hoop
How far can you do it
from?
Turn Turtle
How long can you
stay still for?
Lie down on your
stomach and try to
stop someone turning
you over
Log Rolling
Lie down with your
arms stretched above
your head. Roll over
and over. Start with an
adult holding your
hands, then try
holding a ball
80
Level 1 (page 3)
Activity
Description
Sit on a large ball with
feet on floor: Throw
and catch beanbags or
balls, from 1 metre
Target
Can you do
5 catches
10 catches
Hold paper in one
hand and cut with
other.
Draw around your
hand, with your
fingers spread
81
CLEVER BODIES
(Level 2)
82
Level 2 (Page 1)
Activity
Description
Lie on your stomach on
an inclined bench. Pull
yourself along using both
hands
Remember, don’t use
your feet.
Bounce on a trampette
without holding on. Can
you jump off onto a mat,
with feet together
without falling over?
Lift your head up
Lie on your stomach and
lift your arms above your
head. Throw a large ball
at some skittles, 2 metres
away
Target
How many can you
do?
How many jumps
can you do?
How many can you
do?
Keeping both feet
together, jump into hoops
on the floor.
Do bunny jumps over a
line keeping your hands
placed on the floor.
83
How many can you
do?
Level 2 (page 2)
Activity
Description
Throw a beanbag
into a box or hoop
Target
How many can
you do?
Holding a bat with
both hands, hit a ball
thrown by an adult
How many can
you do?
Star Jumps
How many can
you do?
From a standing
position, jump into
star shapes
Sticky Toffee
Crawl along the floor
while someone
gently holds you back
by holding on to your
hips or pushing on
your shoulders
Statues
While kneeling or
half-kneeling, try not
to be moved by
someone else
84
How far can you
crawl?
Level 2 (page 3)
Activity
Description
Log Rolling
Target
How many can you
do?
Lie down with your arms
stretched above your
head holding a ball. Roll
over and over to the right
and then the left. Try to
keep in a straight line.
Sit on a large ball with feet
on floor. Throw and catch
a ball from varying
distances.
Play Dough
Using play dough can
you
Roll out a sausage
Make a long sausage
Make a pot
Simon-Says
In a sitting or standing
position, copy ‘Simon’s’
actions
How many can you
copy?
1 arm
2 arms
1 leg and 1 arm
3 limbs
85
CLEVER BODIES
(Level 3)
86
Level 3 (page 1)
Activity
Description
Statues
Target
How long can
you keep still?
While standing with your
eyes closed, try not to be
moved by someone else
Resisted Pushing
Walk with your arms
outstretched while someone
gently holds you back by
pushing on the palms
Jumping Jacks
How far can
you push?
2 metres
3 metres
5 metres
How many can
you do?
Jump from a crouched
position up into a star
position
Log Rolling
Lie down with arms
stretched above head and
holding a ball. Roll over and
over with changes in
direction trying to keep in a
straight line
Sit on a large ball with feet
on floor. Throw and catch
balls of various sizes from
varying distances and
directions.
87
How many can
you do?
How many
catches can
you do?
Level 3 (page 2)
Activity
Description
Keeping both feet
together, jump forwards,
backwards and sideways in
a given sequence.
Target
How many jumps
can you remember?
Bounce and catch a large
ball.
Can you do 10
bounces in a row
with
Both hands
Left hand
Right hand
Alternate hands
Hold a bat with both hands How many can you
and hit a ball thrown from hit?
a long distance.
Make a paper or card
shape such as a paperplane or an origami object.
Can you
Copy someone else
Follow someone’s
instructions
Read the instructions
Bunny Jumps
With your hands on the
bench, jump your feet
from one side to the other
over the bench.
88
Level 3 (page 3)
Activity
Description
Skipping
With your feet together,
jump over a slowly moving
rope.
Can you jump over the rope
after it has been turned over
your head?
89
Target
How many
jumps can you
do?
How many
jumps can you
do?
CLEVER BODIES
Ball Skills
(Level 1)
90
Ball Skills
Level 1 (page 1)
Activity
Description
Can you throw a bean bag
into a box or hoop placed 1
metre away?
Target
How many can you do
in a row?
Can you roll a ball between
goal posts placed half a
metre apart, from a
distance of 2 metres?
How many goals can
you score?
Can you throw beanbags
into 2 hoops placed to the
right and left in front of
you, 2 metres away?
How many can you do
without missing the
hoops?
Can you kick a ball between How many goals can
2 goal posts, placed 1 metre you score?
apart, 2 metres away?
Throw and catch with your
partner. Stand 1 metre
apart. Use a ball or
beanbag.
91
How many catches
can you do in a row?
Ball Skills
Level 1 (page 2)
Activity
Description
Throw and catch from 2
metres using a ball or
beanbag
Target
How many catches
can you do without
dropping?
Stand in a circle with a few
other people 1 metre apart
and throw a ball to the
person next to you.
Can you use
a ball?
a beanbag?
Try throwing the ball in
different directions. Can
you bounce the ball to the
person next to you?
92
CLEVER BODIES
Ball Skills
(Level 2)
93
Ball Skills
Level 2 (page 1)
Activity
Description
Throw and catch a ball
between 2 people.
Start at 2.5 metres,
then try 3 metres
Target
How many catches
can you do?
Stand close to your
partner. Throw and
catch between you.
Take a small step
backwards each time
you catch the ball.
How far can you go
back?
What is your record?
Can you beat your
record?
With a partner,
How many times can
bounce a ball between you do this?
you. Start at 1 metre,
then try 2 metres. Can
you do 3 metres?
Practice throwing balls How far can you
over-head to your
throw?
partner. Can you
judge how hard to
throw the ball?
94
Ball Skills
Level 2 (page 2)
Activity
Description
By yourself, practice
bouncing and catching
a large, bouncy ball
with both hands.
Target
How many bounces
and catches can you
do?
Stand in a circle with a
few other people.
Throw 2 balls around
the circle. Try
throwing in both
directions around the
circle. Vary the size of
the circle.
How big a circle can
you make without
dropping the ball?
Kick a ball between
you and your partner
or around a large
circle. Can you stop
the ball with your
foot? Kick carefully
back to your partner.
How far apart can you
stand?
Kick a ball between
or around a large
circle.
Can you stop the ball
with your foot?
95
CLEVER BODIES
Ball Skills
(Level 3)
96
Ball Skills
Level 3 (page 1)
Activity
Description
Throw and catch a
tennis ball between
you and your partner.
Target
How many catches
can you do without
dropping the ball?
Throw and catch a
bouncy football off a
wall. Let the ball
bounce once on the
floor. Then try
catching the ball
before it bounces.
How many catches
can you do
Throw and catch a
tennis ball off the wall
How many catches
can you do
with a bounce?
without a bounce?
with a bounce?
without a bounce?
97
Ball Skills
Level 3 (page 2)
Activity
Description
Throw and catch a
tennis ball between
you and your partner.
Walk slowly opposite
each other, 2 metres
apart, in the same
direction
Throw and catch a
tennis ball with your
partner while one of
you moves around
slowly.
Now speed up!
Stand in a circle with a
few others, throw a
beanbag, ball and
quoit around the circle
in the same direction.
Then try throwing in
the opposite direction
98
Target
How many catches
can you do in a row?
Ball Skills
Level 3 (page 3)
Activity
Description
Throw a ball, beanbag
and quoit around a
circle. This time when
the leader calls
“change”, start
throwing in the
opposite direction.
Kick a ball between
while one of you
moves around slowly.
Now speed up.
99
Target
How many kicks can
you return?
Section 3b
FINE
MOTOR
FUNCTION
100
Contents
Page
Correct sitting posture
102
Possible causes of difficulties identified in
Preliminary Checklist
103
General activities to improve hand function/ hand-eye
coordination
104
Reception pupils programme
105
Hand function programme: CLEVER HANDS
116
101
FINE MOTOR SKILLS
Introduction
Fine motor skills include movements made by all the smaller muscles of the body. They include:eye fixation and tracking
chewing and speaking
hand / finger strength and coordination
Hand Function
Hand function is particularly relevant for classroom learning. Once gross motor core stability is
established, small movements become more precise: children are able to coordinate both hands, using one
to lead and the other to support in two-handed activities (although complete dominance may not develop
for some time). They also develop the ability to hold objects steady while adjusting fine movements for
tasks such as cutting out and handwriting. Most hand activities also require hand / eye coordination.
The possible causes of difficulties highlighted by the Preliminary Checklist are tabled overleaf.
The development of these skills can be helped by the General activities to improve hand function and
eye/hand coordination, page 104, the FMS programme, page 105, and the Clever Hands programme,
page 116. These activities are also suitable for giving to parents.
Check correct sitting posture
102
Possible causes of difficulties identified in Preliminary Checklist
Difficulty
Unable to pick up objects using a pincer
grasp
Possible Causes
Poor hand-eye coordination
Poor hand strength
Poor tactile awareness
Difficulty using blocks, beads, puzzle
pieces to complete an activity
Poor manipulation skills
Difficulty using both hands
together
Unable to turn pages of a book singly
Difficulty handing out sheets from a stack
of paper
together (undecided preferred
hand)
Difficulty using tools (scissors, pencils
etc)
Limited hand strength
hand)
Unable to cut, draw, trace with precision
and accuracy
hand)
Difficulty with buttons and zips
hand)
NB Many of these difficulties may also be associated with visual perception difficulties.
103
General activities to improve hand function and hand/eye coordination
Typical problems
Activities
Poor hand strength, weak
grasp
Activities which require squeezing, pulling, pushing.
Construction toys, crumpling paper, wringing out
cloths, clothes pegs.
For more ideas see activities in ‘Clever Hands’
Gather a strip of material into the palm of the hand
using fingers.
Using one hand collect counters or marbles one at a
time into the palm of the hand and then using thumb
bring them out to post into container one at a time.
Grade the difficulty of tasks presented e.g. use large
pegs and board before moving on to small ones: start
with activities where one part of the activity is stable
e.g. placing stickers onto circles on paper masking
taped to table.
Move on to activities where both parts are moving e.g.
threading beads, hitting a moving ball with racquet.
Always encourage the child to use non-dominant hand
to support paper, puzzle board etc.
Practise threading beads, using large beads and firm
lace, gradually working towards small beads and thin
lace;
wind wool onto cards;
tear paper.
Lots of practice at two-handed activities as above.
Encourage crossing mid-line of body when painting on
easel, using white board, playing trains or drawing on
large paper on the floor etc..
Poor dexterity and
manipulation skills
Poor hand-eye
coordination
Difficulty coordinating
use of both hands
together
(bilateral coordination)
Hand preference not
decided
104
Fine Motor Programme for Reception Pupils.
Many children entering school will not yet have fully developed their fine motor skills.
We recommend that all Year R children complete Fine Motor Skills Programme (FMS) in addition to the
Achieving Body Control (ABC) Programme. This will develop the postural control and then develop fine
motor control needed for school activities. The programme can be readily incorporated into lessons (over
an approximate six week period).
Children with identified difficulties should also be given opportunities to practice the activities individually
or in a small group.
Implementing the FMS
Training which supports implementing the FMS in school can be requested from the Children’s Therapy
Service (see Training Section)
Equipment
Weeks 1/2
-
Weeks 3/4 -
Weeks 5/6
Chalk board or large pieces of paper on the wall
Chalk, markers
Play-dough, newspaper, card, pegs, tweezers,
cottonwool,
-
Play-dough, beads, paper clips, rubberbands
Review
Children’s responses are monitored through observation and the FMS Individual Progress Sheets can be
completed after each Block
NOTE: children with identified physical / learning difficulties who are known to children’s therapists
should not be included prior to consultation with relevant therapist.
105
106
107
108
109
WEEK 1
110
WEEK 2
111
WEEK 3
112
WEEK 4
113
WEEK 5
114
WEEK 6
115
CLEVER HANDS
Level 1 Page 117
Level 2 Page 122
Level 3 Page 126
116
Clever Hands
Level 1
PLAYDOUGH
Skill: hand strength, use of two hands
together, applying appropriate pressure
Can you roll out a sausage?
Make sure you use two hands.
Now can you turn your sausage into a
dinosaur by using your thumb and first
finger to pinch along the top to make
spines?
Roll it flat and make shapes using
cutters.
Roll a sausage again, can you cut it
into pieces with a play knife?
Try to keep your first finger on the top
of the knife and your thumb and the
other fingers either side. Hold your
playdough still with your other hand.
Can you roll it flat again and make
a face out of the playdough?
PEGS
Skill: hand strength
(For “graded” pegs see Resource List)
Look at the picture, hold the peg this
way.
Peg pegs onto the edge of a box
Peg pegs onto a rag doll / teddy
Peg pegs onto a T-shirt on a teddy
117
Clever Hands
Level 1
TONGS
Skill: hand strength, applying
appropriate pressure
Use one hand on the tongs. You need
to hold the tongs with your thumb on
one side and your fingers on the other.
Snap the tongs like a crocodile
Can your crocodile bite the paper?
Tear and scrunch up paper and
pick it up with your tongs
Pick up cotton wool balls
Now try little bricks
POSTING
Skill: manipulation, hand-eye
coordination, use of two hands
together, hand dominance
Pick up and post coins into a
money box
Post dried peas / pasta / sugar
decorations into a bottle and
screw up the lid.
NOTE
If you are working with a child who still
puts objects into his / her mouth use
edible items, e.g. raisins, dried banana
chips, ‘holey’ cereals etc.
PASTRY MAKING
Skill: hand strength, applying appropriate pressure
Roll the pastry into a ball. Flatten it with your hands. Cut it into shapes using pastry cutters and
shape cutters
DUPLO
Skill: hand strength, applying appropriate pressure, using both hands together, developing preferred hand
What can you make?
118
Clever Hands
Level 1
HAMMERING
Skill: hand-eye coordination, hand
dominance, dissociate hand from
forearm movement, applying
Find toys with which you can use a
hammer
THREADING
Skill: hand-eye coordination using two
hands together, fine manipulation
Thread large beads onto dowels /
sticks
HAND AND FINGER RHYMES AND GAMES
e.g.
Two Little Dicky Birds
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Tommy Thumb
Play games with finger puppets
FEELY GAMES - Skill: tactile awareness
Hide everyday objects in a box of sand / rice / pasta / flour etc e.g. teaspoon, cotton wool balls, large
beads, little bricks, toothbrush etc.
What can you find? Try this game again placing objects into a bag.
FEELY PICTURES
Skill: fine manipulation
Tear up tissue paper.
Scrunch up the paper using your
fingers (as in the picture) and glue
onto the paper.
You can also use cotton wool, glitter,
string, sand and oddments of different
textures.
What else can you use for your picture?
119
Clever Hands
Level 1 : more ideas to practise:SLIME (see page 125 for recipe)
Skill: tactile awareness, grasp and release
Play and enjoy ! It is messy ! Keep clothes covered !
INSET PUZZLES
Skill: hand dominance, manipulation
Try large and easy to manipulate inset puzzles
PUZZLES
Skill: pincer grasp, use of two hands together, hand dominance
Wooden inset puzzles with chunky hand grips.
Wooden inset puzzles with small hand grips.
2 – 4 piece puzzle within a framed border. Large chunky 2 piece interlocking puzzles.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Castanets / maracas
Toy trumpets / saxophone
Keyboards
FINGER CYMBALS
Place a cymbal on each index finger and clap together
Now place a cymbal on your thumb and index finger of one hand.
Play and enjoy!
MORE IDEAS
Patting and tapping a balloon into the air
You may need to use both hands:Squeeze a plastic bottle or bath toy in water to make bubbles
Blowing bubbles. Can you pop them with one finger?
Squeeze squeaky toys – see pictures below
120
SLIME
1 cup Cornflour
Add enough water to make a firm, yet pliable, slightly runny consistency
Use food colouring or paint to add colour
Shape into a ball then watch as the slime ‘melts’ and runs through your fingers!
121
Clever Hands
Level 2
PLAYDOUGH
Skill - use of two hands together, hand
strength, applying appropriate
pressure
Can you make a snake?
Make sure you use two hands when
rolling out the playdough
Now can you roll it into a snail
like the picture?
Can you make a hedgehog and
give him lots of spines?
You can use wooden dowels or little
sticks.
PEGS
(For ‘graded’ pegs see resource list).
Look at the picture. Hold the peg this
way.
Peg flash cards onto the edge of
a box.
Peg doll’s clothes or small
clothes onto a washing line.
Peg pegs onto a paper plate to
make a sunshine
TONGS
Use one hand on the tongs. Hold
them with your thumb on one side
and your fingers on the other like the
picture.
122
Clever Hands
Level 2
Snap the tongs like a crocodile.
How many items can your crocodile
collect?
Now pretend the tongs are a crane.
What can you pick up? e.g. polystyrene
balls, little bricks, little cars
POSTING
coordination, use of two hands
together, hand dominance
Pick up 2 large coins, one at a time
and keep them in the palm of your
hand.
Now try posting one while the other
one remains in your hand. Now post
the other one.
Can you use your other hand?
Now try with smaller coins.
PASTRY MAKING / SALTDOUGH
Skill:– hand strength, applying appropriate pressure
Roll the pastry / dough into a ball.
Flatten it with your hands.
Cut it into shapes using pastry cutters and shape cutters.
STICKLE BRICKS
What can you make?
123
Clever Hands
Level 2
HAMMERING
Can you find games with which you can use a hammer.
THREADING
Thread ‘holey’ cereal / sweets onto pipe cleaners / straws.
Thread medium beads / pasta pieces onto a sturdy tipped lace.
Try lacing cards / boards
HAND AND FINGER RHYMES
e.g. ‘Here’s the church; here’s the steeple’.
Can you think of any more?
FINGER CYMBALS
Place a cymbal on your thumb and index finger
Change the fingers they are used on.
Try using your other hand.
FEELY GAMES
Skill: tactile awareness
Hide medium items in a box of sand / rice / pasta / flour etc e.g. 10p, 50p, 2p,
20p coins, medium sized bricks / beads / toys / cars / dolls furniture etc. Have
a duplicate set ready on a tray.
Now close your eyes. What can you find? Describe them. NO PEEPING!
Now can you point to the same object on the tray?
Try this game again, placing objects into a bag instead.
124
Clever Hands
Level 2
FEELY PICTURES
Make a picture sticking pasta,
lentils, sand, tissue paper.
How tightly can you scrunch the paper?
Make sure you use your fingertips as in
the picture.
SLIME (see page 124 for recipe)
Play and enjoy ! It is messy ! Keep clothes covered !
PUZZLES
4 – 8 piece puzzle within a framed border.
Large chunky 2 – 6 piece interlocking puzzle.
What other puzzles can you do?
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Toy trumpets / saxophone / flute
Keyboards / toy piano
Drums. Try with and without sticks.
Xylophone.
Castanets / maracas (one in each hand).
Play and enjoy!
MORE IDEAS
Squeeze a plastic bottle with one hand only to make bubbles in water.
Using a spray bottle to spray water onto plants; or try to hit a target.
Squeeze squeaky toys – see pictures below.
125
Clever Hands
Level 3
PLAYDOUGH
Skill: use of two hands together, hand strength, applying appropriate pressure
Make a nest and some little eggs to go in it.
Roll out the playdough into a long sausage shape and then coil it round to
make a nest. Pinch off some more playdough and roll it between your fingers
to make the eggs.
Here’s how to make it.
How many eggs can you make?
Now try an Easter basket!
I’m hungry, can you make me a pizza?
Think of all the things you have done. Can you make a pot?
PEGS
(For ‘graded’ pegs see Resource List).
Look at the picture. Hold the peg this
way.
Start with the easier pegs. See
how fast you can peg 10 pegs onto
a box.
Can you beat your own time?
Now try this again using your other hand.
Try one peg in each hand and alternate.
Ready for a challenge? What can you find to pick up using the peg.
126
Clever Hands
Level 3
TONGS
Use one hand on the tongs. Hold them
with your thumb on one side and your
fingers on the other like the picture.
How many things can you find to pick up with tongs?
Did you find anything difficult? Why do you think that was?
Try different tongs. Which tongs were the most difficult to use? Why?
Can you try picking up raisons /
plastic buttons with tweezers?
Try this again now putting them
into a bottle.
POSTING
coordination, use of two hands together,
hand dominance
Pick up 5 large coins one at a time;
keep them in your palm. Post
them one at a time.
Can you use your other hand?
Now try using smaller coins.
Now post the coins with your right hand,
then your left hand alternately.
How easy is this game when using 2
boxes?
Can you pick up a coin in each hand and post them into each box at the same time?
127
Clever Hands
Level 3
PASTRY MAKING / SALTDOUGH Skill: hand strength, applying appropriate pressure
Roll the pastry using a rolling pin and cut it out using pastry cutters or shape
cutters or with a play knife.
What else can you make?
LEGO
Can you build a tower of 10 Lego bricks one brick at a time? How fast can you
do this? Can you pull them apart one at a time?
What can you make?
HAMMERING
Which toys can you use a hammer
with?
THREADING
Thread small beads and / or small pasta pieces onto a lace.
Try lacing cards / boards.
Cut up straws and thread these onto a lace.
HAND AND FINGER RHYMES
e.g. ‘Here’s the church; here’s the steeple.
‘Incy Wincy Spider’.
Can you think of any more?
FINGER CYMBALS
Place a cymbal on your thumb and index finger.
Change the fingers they are used on.
Try using your other hand.
Now put a set on each hand.
What rhythms can you make?
128
Clever Hands
Level 3
FEELY GAMES Skill: tactile awareness
Hide small items in a box of sand / rice / pasta / flour etc e.g. 1p and 5p coins,
paper clips, small beads / marbles / cubes, miniature cars / toys / dolls
furniture etc.
Have a duplicate set ready.
Now close your eyes. What can you find? Describe the items. NO PEEPING!
Now can you point to the same item on the tray?
Try this game again placing the items in a bag instead.
FEELY PICTURES
Make a picture sticking pasta,
lentils, sand, tissue paper.
How tightly can you scrunch the paper?
Make sure you use your fingertips as in
the picture.
SLIME (see page 124 for recipe)
Play and enjoy!
Warning: It is messy! Keep clothes covered!
PUZZLES
2 – 6 medium piece puzzles.
6 – 12 medium piece puzzles.
4 – 12 smaller piece puzzles.
What other puzzles can you do?
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Toy trumpets / saxophone / flute.
Keyboards / toy piano.
Drums. Use two sticks and alternate left and right tapping.
Castanets. Use in both hands, alternate left and right clicks.
Recorder. How many different notes can you play?
129
Section 4 – Speech, Language and Communication
Section 4
Speech, Language and
Communication
CONTENTS
1 Listening and Attention
1.1 Strategies – Listening and Attention
133
1.2 Activities – Listening and Attention
135
2 Understanding Language
2.1 Strategies – Understanding Language
140
2.2 Activities – Understanding Language
142
2.3 Complex Structures
148
3 Auditory Memory
3.1 Strategies – Auditory Memory
152
3.2 Activities – Auditory Memory
156
4 Descriptive Language Skills and Vocabulary
4.1 Strategies – Accessing Vocabulary from Memory
162
4.2 Activities – Expressive Language
163
Activities – “Odd One Out” Games
169
Activities – DIY Semantic Links
170
5 Grammar
5.1 Strategies – Grammar
188
5.2 Activities – Verbs
189






Activities – Working With Sentences
Activities – Tenses
Activities – Auxiliaries
Activities – Questions
Activities – Plurals
Activities – Plurals – Cats – Master Card – Page 433
Activities – Plurals – Cats – Small Cards – Page 434
Activities – Pronouns
131
191
193
201
202
217
220
6 Concepts
6.1 Strategies – Acquiring Vocabulary or Concepts
225
6.2 Activities – Concepts
226
7.1 Strategies – Sequencing
244
7.2 Activities – Sequencing, Retelling and Explaining
246
7 Sequencing
8 Process of Hypothesis
8.1 Strategies – The Process of Hypothesis
253
8.2 Activities – The Process of Hypothesis
257
9 Pragmatic Skills
9.1 Strategies – Pragmatic Skills
266
9.2 Activities – Pragmatic Skills
271
10.1 Strategies – Stammering
297
11.1
300
10 Stammering
11 Voice
12 Phonological Awareness/Working on Speech Sounds
12.1 Sounds Work
301
12.2 Auditory Discrimination Programme
303
12.3 Working with Sounds
305
12.4 Games for Sound Work
306
12.5 Speech and Language Tasks – Advice for Parents
308
12.6 Consonant Clusters
310
12.7 Picture Sheets for Consonants
312
13 Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia
313
132
LISTENING AND ATTENTION
1.1 Strategies:
1.
Gain the child’s attention
Use his name or “cue” words, e.g., “Look”, “Listen”.
2.
Gain eye contact
Get down to the child’s level, so you can get eye contact.
Say the child’s name.
You may need to refocus the child’s attention on many occasions.
You may need to stop the child from what he is doing to ensure full listening and attention.
3.
Break down the instructions into small steps
Children with language difficulties often cannot remember or process more than one item of
information at a time.
4.
Use visual clues
Whenever possible, use visual clues to assist the child’s understanding and recall. This is
particularly important because the child’s memory and sequencing skills may well be impaired.
Clues might include demonstration, gesture, pictures, symbols and writing.
It is often useful to display any visual clues where pupils can refer back to it as necessary.
5.
Check Understanding
Check if the child has understood your question | instruction.
Encourage him to indicate to you when he has not understood. Think about why he might have
failed to understand, for example :
Sentence too long or grammatically complex
New vocabulary
Words used have more than one meaning
Too many concepts in one sentence
133
6.
Highlight important words for the child to listen for
Reduce the amount of redundant language you use
Ask the child to run errands with a short message to remember
Encourage the child to repeat an instruction to a peer
7.
Use flowcharts
Flowcharts help the child remember each part of an instruction and therefore complete tasks
more independently
8.
Moderate your own Speaking
Be aware of the speed of your own speech – rapid speech is harder to process
9.
Seating
Think about where the child is sitting in relation to you when you are talking. His
attention will be better if he can see and hear you easily.
Think about who the child is sitting with - are they going to be distracted by that person?
Have the right size of chair for the child is sitting on – physical restlessness can affect the
ability to attend
10. Eliminate Distractions
Remove distracting materials which may be cluttering the child’s table
11. Placing
Ensure consistent placing for keeping classroom resources, using clear labels (symbols,
pictures or words).
12. Encourage, praise and reward the child’s efforts
134
1.2 Activities:
Following Instructions
1.
2.
Traffic Lights
Let the children run around freely. When you shout :
“red”
the children must stop,
“amber”
they must sit down,
“green”
they must resume their running.
“Who Can Go?”
At the “dismissal” times of the day, the children must listen to an instruction and be able to fit the
requirement before acting. For example, the children are lined up, waiting to get their coats for
playtime and the teacher says :
“Anyone wearing blue may put their coat on”.
3.
“I Spy …”
Play “I Spy …” using descriptions of objects, instead of first sounds of the word. For example :
“I spy with my little eye, something that we sit on.”
“I spy with my little eye, something that is under the window.”
This can concentrate on different aspects of language on different occasions or depending on the
children’s needs, for example : verbs, adjectives, prepositions, functions, etc.
4.
“Simon Says …”
Play this game, firstly so that the children respond to all your commands, but, later, so they have to
discriminate between responding to :
“Simon says touch your toes.”
and not responding when you say :
“Touch your toes.”
5.
Listening Story
Ask the children to draw a “listening story”, so that they listen to your instructions to complete a
drawing : for example :
“Draw a big circle in the middle of your page.
… Colour it pink.”
6.
“Who Am I?”
Think of a person/character you and the children all know and describe him or her, with one piece of
information at a time. Let the children guess who it is, for example :
135
“I’m thinking of an animal
… He has very big, floppy ears
… He is grey, with a bit of pink
… He can use his ears to fly …” (Dumbo)
7.
Riddles
Make up some riddles for the children to solve, for example :
“I gallop, I trot, my hooves go clip, clop.
… Who am I?”
“I am green. I grow in gardens and parks.
… You cut me with a lawnmower
… What am I?”
8.
Story Noises
When reading a story, ask the children to make some response every time they hear a character
name.
9.
Silly Sentences
Start a sentence, for example :
“I saw a cow sitting …”
Ask the children to take it in turns to finish the sentence :
“… in the middle of our kitchen.
She was eating
… a piece of apple pie.”
The children can later be encouraged to repeat the first part of the story before adding their own
contribution.
10. Nursery Rhymes
One child starts off and another finishes a well-known nursery rhyme.
11. Nursery Rhymes
Read or recite nursery rhymes to the children. When they are familiar with one, recite it again, but
miss out the last rhyming word of a line and encourage the children to help you fill in the missing
word.
Later you can miss out several words at the end of a rhyming line, and then try missing a word from
a non-rhyming line.
Eventually, when reading a well-known story, replace a word with its opposite and see if the
children can correct you. (Most children find “mistakes” quite hilarious, and are very proud of their
ability to catch you out!)
136
12. How do we look
Seat the group in a circle. The leader describes a situation and asks members to adopt an
appropriate posture to sit – listening to music, cheering football, etc.
Classroom discussion can then take place around posture, facial expression and gesture.
13. Draw a Picture
Give the child an outline of a picture to colour in.
Give him simple instructions such as to colour in the nose, hair, etc.
He is only allowed to colour in one part at a time.
Get him used to words such as “wait” and “go”.
You could make this into a barrier game where you have a picture with different parts coloured in.
Give the child instructions on what to colour in, for example :
“Colour the hat red”
When he has completed each stage, let him check his work against your drawing.
14. Draw A House
Work in pairs. One member instructs his partner to draw a house. The person drawing should do
exactly what his partner says.
Classroom discussion can focus on giving and receiving verbal instructions.
15. “What am I thinking of?”
Gradually build up a verbal picture of an object. Start with three clues. Can the child guess after
two clues, three clues, etc. For example :
a)
“four feet, fur”
discuss that it could be any
furry animal,
b)
“whiskers”
cat / lion
c)
“drinks milk and is a pet”
cat.
16. The Microphone
The group sits in a circle. Members discuss a topic, e.g. TV, pets, holidays. You can only talk if you
are holding the magic microphone.
Discuss turn taking with the group.
137
17. Listen and Jump
In a group, the child has to listen for his name. When he hears it he has to jump into the circle.
The leader then prompts :
“What was Fiona’s favourite [ food | pet | …]?”
18. Favourites
Everyone says their favourite for a list of items, e.g. food, pet, TV programme, etc.
19. Shakers
Fill shakers (using “Pringles” packets, cardboard boxes or jars) with different sound makers (such as
beads, dried peas, Ping-Pong ball, keys, etc).
Shake two that are the same, letting the child listen. Then shake two that are different. See if he
can tell you whether the sounds he hears are the same or different. If he is having difficulty telling
you, try introducing symbols or signs for “same” and “different” and encouraging him to point to the
appropriate one.
You could have three shakers at a time, with two the same, see if the child can identify the two that
sound the same.
Similarly you could shake one and give the child two to shake. See if he can show you which one
sounds the same as yours.
20. Other Activities
Build simple “junk models”.
Provide the child with objects of different size, shape and colour. Tell the child what to do
step by step. For example :
“Pick up four toilet rolls and stick them on the red box.”
Give instructions by oral direction for activities that can be done with pencil and paper. For
example :
“Write your name on the back of the paper.
Put a cross in one corner of the paper. …”
This can be made increasingly difficult by introducing different colours, etc.
Negatives
A game for the whole class - for example :
“Please, Mr Crocodile, may we cross your river?”
“Only those not wearing a [ dress | shoes | … etc ].”
Variations of “Simon says” - for example :
“Simon says ‘don’t touch your nose”
138
It is good to help a child to be as independent as possible by giving them strategies for informing the
speaker why they didn’t follow a question or instruction. Have a set of [ instructions | statements ] that
are :
too long
“Go and get your reading book out of the yellow bag in the library. It’s next to the little
desk by the window. Then can you go and see Mr ____ and tell him “_____””
too complex
“Have you hurt your patella (knee)?”
too jumbled
“Erm, … can you get me the red car? No, erm, I’ve changed my mind – can you get me
the blue car?”
too short
“Can you get me the blue one.”
…etc.
Can the child tell what was wrong with each sentence?
139
UNDERSTANDING LANGUAGE
2.1 Strategies:
1.
Gain eye contact by saying the child’s name.
You may need to refocus the child’s attention on many occasions.
You may need to stop the child from what he is doing to ensure full listening and attention.
2.
Break down the instructions into small steps
Children with language difficulties often cannot remember or process more than one item of
information at a time.
3.
Use visual clues to assist the child’s understanding and recall
This is particularly important because the child’s memory and sequencing skills may well be impaired.
Clues might include demonstration, gesture, pictures, symbols and writing. It is often useful to
display any visual clues which pupils can refer back to as necessary.
4.
Check if the child has understood your question | instruction.
Encourage him to indicate to you when he has not understood. Think about why he might have
failed to understand, for example :
Sentence too long or grammatically complex
New vocabulary
Words used have more than one meaning
Too many concepts in one sentence
5.
Create opportunities
Reinforce [ learning | language ] in everyday classroom activities.
It is essential that new language is generalised to lots of different situations and doesn’t just remain
in the [ taught | learnt ] context.
6.
Be repetitive in your teaching of new [ concepts | vocabulary ].
7.
Be prepared to simplify your own language.
8.
Use Pauses to help the child to process your language to him.
9.
Be aware of the speed of your own speech.
Rapid speech is harder to process.
140
10.
Give choice to the child
For example, if working on his understanding of “behind” you might ask him :
“Is the car behind or on top of the lorry”.
11. Encourage, praise and reward the child for his efforts
141
2.2 Activities:
In the following pages you will find activities for working with children who have difficulties following
instructions / understanding certain language structures.
Acknowledgement
The following information is based on aspects of the
Derbyshire Language Scheme
What Is An Information -carrying Word?
Information-carrying words (ICW’s) are the words which have to be understood in order for the child to :
… follow a conversation
… follow an instruction
… answer a question
… understand a story
For example : “Put teddy on the table”
This is a one information-carrying word phrase if the child has a choice of a teddy and a rabbit
with a table; or a teddy with a table and a bed.
This is a two information-carrying word phrase if the child has a choice of a teddy and a rabbit
with a table and a bed.
This is a three information-carrying word phrase if the child has a choice of a teddy and a rabbit
with a table and a bed knowing that he can put it on or under.
An ICW, therefore, has important information (not a little word like “the”, “put”, “a”, etc).
You need to be aware that children are often very good at working out what you are saying from the
context as well as from the language. For example, if you are putting on your coat ready for playtime and
say :
“Go and get your coat, we’re going out to play”
the child has probably already followed and anticipated the command from the situation. In order to
teach language, bear in mind the need to take away clues so the child has to understand the language.
142
Develop Understanding at a Two ICW Level
Two Nouns Together
A.
Toys : baby, teddy, chair, table
Ask : “Put baby on the chair”, “put bear on the table”, … etc.
B.
Toys : baby, teddy, some objects (for example, spoon, car, brick)
Ask : “Give the brick to baby”, “give the car to Teddy”, … etc.
C.
Toys : Po (Teletubby), dolly, sponge
Ask : “Wash Po’s hair”, “wash dolly’s nose”, … etc.
D.
Toys : Baby, Teddy, toothbrush, hairbrush
Ask : “Brush baby’s teeth”, “brush teddy’s hair”, … etc.
E.
Toys : Po with his cup and plate, baby with her cup and plate.
Ask : “Where’s Po’s cup?”, “Where’s baby’s plate?” …etc.
F.
Toys : Picture of a man, lady, teddy, dolly or dog
Ask : “Where’s the dogs ears?”, “Where’s the man’s foot?” …etc.
G.
Toys : animals, shed “box” and field
Ask : “Put the cow in the field”, “the horse in the box” … etc.
H.
Toys : dolly, teddy, clothes for each
Ask : “Where are dolly’s socks?”, “Where’s teddy’s jumper?” …etc.
Noun and Action Word Together
A.
Toys : Po and baby
Ask : “Make Po run”, “make baby sleep”, … etc”
B.
Toys : dolly, teddy, “doing” objects, for example, comb, pen, flannel, book
Ask : “Make dolly read”, “make teddy draw”, … etc.
or : “comb teddy”, “wash dolly”, … etc.
C.
Toys : dolly, table, chair
Ask : “Make dolly jump on the chair”, “Make dolly sit on the table”, … etc.
143
Negative and a Noun
There are several stages a child goes through in learning the negative.
First he learns the meaning of “no” and later “not” before he will understand “don’t” or “can’t”
A.
Toys : Draw pictures of trees - one with apples and another with no apples.
Ask : “Show me the tree with no apples”
Try with other pictures at the one word level, for example :
“Show me the face with no nose” … etc.
B.
Toys : Draw pictures of faces - one complete, others with things missing, for
example, “nose”
Now you can move to two words together.
Ask : Who has no nose?” “Who has no eyes?” … etc.
C.
Toys : Pictures of cars, one complete and another one with no wheels, etc.
Ask : “Show me the car with no wheels.” … etc.
D.
Toys : Baby, Po, some objects. Give different objects to the toys.
Ask : “Who has no spoon?”, “Who has no plate?” … etc.
E.
Toys : Pictures of houses, one complete, others with an item missing, for
example, a door, a window, … etc.
Ask : “Show me the house with no door.” … etc.
Size
Once a child is fairly confident at a two word level, start on concepts, beginning with the size concepts
“big” and “little”.
A.
Toys : Bricks in two different sizes.
The first stage is to make sure that your child can size match.
Sort the bricks into two piles, the big ones in one pile and the small ones
into another.
Give a brick to your child and see if he can put the brick in the right pile.
If this is difficult, spend some more time doing this with other toys and
objects, for example, big and little animals, Teletubbies, spoons, cars,
… etc.
When he is confident at this, see if he can sort all the bricks into two piles
by himself.
144
B.
Toys : A big brick and a little brick.
Now you can move on to teaching your child the size words “big” and
“little”.
Ask : “Where’s the big brick?”
You can do this with any big and little toys or objects, for example,
Teletubbies, animals, … etc.
The next stage is to move on to two words together - use any big and little
toys | objects. Don’t forget to use a bridging activity (that is, give a
“clue”) if he finds it hard.
Ask : “Where’s the big Tinky Winky?”, “Where’s the little baby?” … etc.
Prepositions
Now you can move on to the place concepts : “in”, “on” “under”.
A.
Toys : a large cardboard box.
First see if the child can go where you say.
Ask : “Go on the box”, “go under the box.” … etc.
You can also do this with a table or chair, … etc.
B.
Toys : baby doll, box
Now see if your child can put the baby in the correct place.
Ask : “Put dolly on the box.” “Put Teddy under the box.” … etc.
You can do this with different toys and use a bridging activity if necessary.
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Develop Understanding at a Three ICW Level
These activities are the same as for two information-carrying words but this time the child has to choose
between three sets of items rather than two.
Prepositions
1.
Use a doll and a teddy and ask the child to put them in, on or under the table or the bag.
Make this into a game so that one animal might be hiding from another; for example :
“Let’s hide [ teddy under the bag | rabbit in the box ].”
2.
“Put the [ pencil | car ] [ under | on ] the [ books | desk ],
Put the [ book | apple ] in [ teddy’s | dog’s ] [ bag | box ].”
Big / Little
1.
“Find the [ big car | little spoon ] and post them down a tube.”
2.
When tidying-up ask the child to –
“put teddy or dolly in the [ big | little ] box”.
3.
“Colour in the [ big house | little door, etc ].”
4.
Dressing up
“Put on the [ big | little ] [ gloves | hat, etc ].”
Actions
1.
Make up an obstacle course
“Make [ teddy | dolly | rabbit ] [ jump | hop | walk ] to the [ table | box ].”
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Develop Understanding at a Four ICW Level
1.
Shopping game – “I would like a … … and a ……”
2.
“Give me the … … and the … … - post them [down a tube | in a box | … etc ]”
Have identical sets of objects / pictures. Take turns to choose two objects / pictures, looking
at them secretively and hiding them behind a screen. Ask the other person to find them and
when they have chosen two objects take the screen away – have you got the same?
3.
You can use colours, words like “big” and “little”, “one” and “two” to extend the number of
words that the child has to understand. An example at this level would be :
“Put the [ apple | orange ] in [ big | little ] [ teddy’s | rabbit’s ] [ box | bag ].”
“Put one sock in teddy’s box.”
Remember that for every word in bold there must be a second choice, so in the second
example, there must be :
at least two socks
at least two of something other than socks
at least one other cuddly toy
at least one container as well as the box.
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2.3 Complex Structures
Why Do Children Have Ongoing Difficulties Following Instructions With Complex Structures?
Children with language difficulties have trouble making sense of “passages of speech”. These require an
understanding of a series of linked sentences and how they are related, for example :
“If you have finished drinking your milk you can go and play in the Wendy House or go in the sandpit.
In a few minutes it will be time for television. Before that we have to tidy up the classroom; so hurry
up or you won’t have time to choose.”
In order to understand the example above, children first need to remember all the pieces of information
given. Children with a short memory may find this particularly hard.
Spoken language often contains a lot of information that is not essential. Part of effective listening
involves knowing what is important and what is “extra”. The most important part of the above example
is the first sentence. Often in school explanations are given to a large group of children. Children must
pick out which parts are relevant to them. Children with language problems are often unable to do this.
Understanding linked sentences involves interpreting each part of the message in relation to the other
parts for example :
“Jessica has won her 25 metre swimming badge.
She is going to collect it at assembly tomorrow.
We will all go there to clap her.”
In order to understand the second and third sentences children must realise what the words “she”, “it”,
“her” and “there” refer to.
All these aspects of understanding interact. For example, auditory memory affects children’s ability to
select information that is important and word order and grammatical understanding are interrelated.
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Children with language difficulties may fail to understand or misunderstand what is said to them for a
number of reasons. They may have difficulties with :
1.
Complex grammar
2.
Understanding several linked sentences
remembering all the information
picking out the important parts
references within a paragraph | conversation
3.
Auditory memory
4.
Understanding the subtleties of language especially when the meaning goes beyond what is
actually said. For example :
“Those sweets look nice”
meaning “Please may I have one?”
“I’m feeling down”
5.
Note:
meaning
“I feel unhappy”
Non-explicit and non-literal language.
Some children’s understanding will be significantly affected by a difficulty in coping with fast
speech.
Grammatical Words and Word -Endings
Some children with severe language difficulties have problems understanding certain grammatical words
and word endings, for example :
Negatives –
“hasn’t”
“isn’t”
… etc.
Word endings conveying different meanings –
plural “s”
possessive “s”
Past or future tense
Possessive pronouns –
“yours”
“mine”
“theirs”
… etc.
Children who usually do understand these may “miss” them on occasions if they are concentrating hard on
something else.
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Word Order
Children can be confused by sentences that have unusual or unexpected word order; for example :
“The boy was smacked by the girls.”
“The pencil on my table is broken.”
“The man who was sitting on the bench was old.”
All these could be misinterpreted because children are influenced by the word order they expect. For
example, in the second sentence they might interpret this as “my table is broken”.
Links Between Sentences
Words such as :
“but”, “if”, “so”, “because”, … etc.
all convey slightly different meanings. These are particularly difficult for children with language problems;
for example :
“John was cross so Mary was upset.”
“John was cross because Mary was upset.”
The differences in meaning here may not be very apparent to children with language difficulties.
Later Developing Grammatical Words
Many grammatical words that we use in conversation with older children have very specific and
sometimes subtle meanings. Language disordered children are late to develop an understanding of
these and this can put them at a disadvantage in conversation, for example, in the classroom.
Examples of these are :
“unless”,
“except”,
“although”,
“not only”,
“however”,
“but also”,
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“therefore”,
“neither | nor”
Difficulties With Complex Instructions / Language Structures
Follow this progression for longer instructions containing two parts :
a)
one similar element – use one verb
“Close the book and the box.”
b)
two related commands
“Put the pencil in the box and close it.”
c)
two unrelated commands
“Put the bear on the chair and give me the apple.”
d)
two unrelated commands that contain more information
“Put the dog and the bear on the bed and point to the door.”
To make these type of instructions easier :
point to where you want things to go
give the child one of the objects
repeat the second half of the instruction as the child completes the first part
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AUDITORY MEMORY
3.1 Strategies:
When a child has difficulty with auditory memory, the problem is often deep rooted and slow to change.
It is often, therefore, useful to consider slight adaptations to classroom activities and environment, to
allow the child to succeed. Some examples are :
a)
Consider the use of visual information –
i.
to explain new learning tasks
ii.
to give additional clues to the spoken words being used
iii. to help recall past events
iv. to help word retrieval
Visual aids may include :
Books, pictures, photographs, souvenirs, gestures and signs, everyday symbols.
Written materials where appropriate, for example : daily diaries, instructions, home /
school books, calendar.
b)
Consider the child sitting in the classroom. The teacher and the child need to have a good view
of each other in order for his attention to be maintained.
The process of memory can be divided into :
ACQUISITION How you take the information in
e.g. paying attention, senses

RETENTION
What you do with the information to remember it, i.e. processing

RETRIEVAL
Recalling the information
Difficulties can occur at any or all of the above.
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Child’s Strategies
The child will need to be taught and encouraged to use these in different situations :
1.
Acquisition
Teach the child to :
Be aware of distractions and take responsibility for these, e.g. noise in/out of the classroom
Look at the person talking
Admit when he has not listened
(teaching staff need to try not to react negatively!)
Ask for repetition – (teaching staff need to try not to react negatively!)
2.
Retention
Check back after he has been asked to do something “So you mean I have to …”
Rehearse, i.e. say instruction to himself
Visualise, i.e. convert spoken words into pictures in his head.
He can even draw simple pictures to help him.
Remember as the teacher is talking
Ask for time to think when needed, e.g. say “I’m just thinking …”
Ask when he does not understand or needs someone to speak louder or more slowly
3.
Retrieval
Remember word finding strategies, i.e. when he cannot remember the name of something, think
about :
a)
meaning – what group does it belong to or what does it go with?
Think of another word for it or what is it like?
Where do you find it or what do you do with it?
b)
sound structure – “what does it begin with?
How many syllables has it got?
What does it rhyme with?
If he still cannot remember it – can he draw it?
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Teacher Strategies
1. Acquisition
Gain the child’s attention before giving an instruction, e.g. say name, make eye contact, touch
Sustain attention : give clear expectations to the child so he knows the aim, e.g. framework on
board
Refocus attention on the most important information
Use a variety of input modes, e.g. visual (pictures, posters, cartoons, key words, colour coding,
gesture); kinaesthetic (movement, role play), smell, taste (when possible!), rhythm, music
Use flowcharts to help the child remember each part of an instruction and therefore complete
tasks more independently
We remember bizarre or outstanding things – try to think how you could use this when teaching
(e.g. dress up!)
Encourage the child to repeat an instruction to a peer
Motivation : reward at the end of the session; keep reminding during the session, e.g.
Game/Quiz at end
2.
Retention
Modify your language :

repeat important phrases, information, words

“chunk” language, i.e. short phrases with gaps

speak slowly

avoid unnecessarily complex sentences

avoid idiomatic language and sarcasm. If you use these explain what you really mean
(e.g. “Hold your horses!”)
Introduce new words/concepts gradually, check understanding before putting in a teaching
context
Revise and recall after each “break”, e.g. What was liked/disliked, summarising, word definition
(quiz) especially at the beginning of lessons
Focus on key words : check and explain meaning by giving the “group” it belongs to and a simple
example, e.g. ‘frustrated’ – it’s a feeling, a bit like cross, when you can’t do something – like “I
felt frustrated when I couldn’t play football.”
Also focus on the sound structure of a new word, i.e. what sound it begins with, how many
syllables, rhyming words
Primacy/Recency effect : we remember things taught first and last most easily, therefore have
exciting / outstanding feature of the lesson in the middle of the lesson and have learning breaks
Organise information given to the child in a hierarchy, i.e. start with easy and familiar then
progress to difficult and unfamiliar
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3.
Retrieval
If the child cannot retrieve specific words try to accept his explanation which demonstrates
understanding
Use a variety of recall modes : spoken, written, pictures
Allow time for the child to use his strategies
(count to 10 before expecting a response)
Encourage the child to use his strategies (see previous)
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3.2 Activities:
Auditory Memory is the ability to recognise, store and recall information. The efficiency and span of
auditory memory varies from child to child.
Children with language difficulties very often experience problems with different aspects of auditory
memory. For example :
a)
slow processing of spoken language
b)
difficulty storing information
c)
difficulty in organising information in their mind
d)
slow or poor recall of information
Recognising Auditory Memory Problems
The child may :
1)
have difficulty in concentrating on what is said in class
2)
simply follow what others are doing
3)
carry out an instruction slightly later than others in the class
4)
often carry out only part of a spoken instruction
5)
not be able to re-tell a past experience that he recently heard in class
6)
find it hard to recall specific words even though he knows what he wants to say
have difficulty overall learning new ideas
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Activities
1
Copying Sounds
You will need two sets of objects that make a sound, for example, rice in an empty margarine tub,
two spoons to bang together, a wooden spoon to bang in a saucepan, two empty crisp bags to
rustle together, … etc.
Note
If the child has musical instruments, use these instead.
Give the child one set of sound makers and keep the other for yourself. Position your sound makers
so that the child can’t see them, for example, behind a cardboard box.
Play one of your sound makers and see if the child can find his same one and make the sound. If the
child can’t find it, play yours again and give him a clue.
If the child finds this very easy, make two sounds, one after the other. Can the child find both of
the sound makers and play them back to you in the correct order?
Gradually build up the number of sounds you make.
2
Actions
This is a “Simon Says …” type of game. It is a good idea to make a list of actions that the child can
do, as it is sometimes difficult to keep thinking of new things while you are playing the game; for
example :
“close your eyes”
“clap your hands”
“stand up”
“stamp your feet”
“wave your hand”
“sit down”
“… etc.”
Begin by asking the child to do one thing. If he can, then ask him to do two things; for example :
“wave your hand and close your eyes”
Stress that he must do one then the other, and in the order that you said them.
Increase the number of instructions when the child is ready for more.
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3
Shopping (1)
Pictures of food or real food items can be used for this game. It will be more fun if you also have a
shopping bag, purse and some money.
Ask the child to fetch you something from the “shop”. Just ask for one item to begin with.
Once he has the idea of the game, ask for two food items; for example : “cake and bread.”
If the child can remember two items, ask him to give you them in the correct order; for example :
“bread then cake.”
If the child is successful, then ask for three items, and so on.
4
Shopping (2)
This game encourages the child to listen, remember and repeat what you have said (without any
toys or objects to remind him).
Introduce the game by saying :
“I went shopping and bought … … …”
and say the name of something, for example : “eggs”.
The child then has to remember what you bought and add something of his own, for example :
“eggs and milk”
You then repeat the items and add one of your own; for example : “eggs, milk and meat”, and so
on.
5
I went to …
This is a similar game to the second shopping activity. Begin by stating the name of the place you
have been to, for example :
“I went to the zoo and saw …”
Say an animal and then gradually increase the number; for example :
“I went to the zoo and saw an elephant”
“… … … … … … and saw an elephant and a lion.”
“… … … … … … and saw an elephant, a lion and a tiger.”
“… etc.”
Other ideas of places to go are :
nursery / school
the farm
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on holiday
Try to use a place that the child is familiar with.
6
Find the Toys
Choose a selection of toys and place them, within sight, around the room; for example :
“ball, car, teddy, doll, book, … etc.”
Ask the child to fetch one of these toys for you. If he can do this, gradually increase the number of
toys that the child has to remember.
7
Drawing Game
You will need to divide a table in half with a screen (books or a cardboard box).
Seat the child on one side of the screen with yourself on the other, each having to hand paper and
crayons or pencils.
Take it in turns to tell each other what to draw; for example :
“Draw a house”
“Put a red door on it”
“Draw three windows”
“… etc.”
Gradually increase the length of the instruction that you give to the child.
8
Grandmother’s St eps
This is an activity for a group of children to play.
One person is “grandmother” (it is usually a good idea if you take this role the first time the game is
played.)
The children stand in a line around and at the same distance away from “grandmother” and take it in
turns to ask “her” if they can move closer. “Grandmother” replies by giving instructions such as :
“Take one big step and two tiny steps”
“Take three steps forward and one back”
The children must remember the instructions they have been given and carry them out carefully.
The winner is the first child to be able to touch “grandmother”.
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9
Colour Towers
You will need two sets of five different coloured bricks, one set for you and the other for the child.
Use a large book or cardboard box as a screen so that neither can see the other’s bricks.
Tell the child what colour bricks you are using as you make a tower on your side of the screen; for
example :
“red, blue, yellow, blue, … etc.”
The child has to listen to and remember your instructions so that he can build a tower to match
yours, remembering the colours in the correct order as the tower is built.
Once the child has built the tower, take the screen away and compare the two towers.
Note
Another way to play this game is to use cardboard tubes standing on the table.
Say the colours of the bricks as you post them down the tube and then let the child do the
same.
When the child has finished, lift the tube and compare the result.
10 “I went to market …”, type of games
Play games such as “I went to market and I bought …”.
Make the game more complex by adding in details, for example :
“1 dozen brown eggs, 2 litre bottles of coke”
Either take it in turns to draw what was said or let the child draw them.
Once drawn, turn the card over. When recalling what is said, point to the card but only turn it over
if the child can’t remember what is on it. At the end, can you go through them all without turning
them over?
Talk about the strategies the child used to remember and encourage the use of them in other games.
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11 Making signposts
For example, saying how much information, or how many items must be remembered, for
example :
“I want you to go upstairs and get three things …, … and …”
Ask the child to repeat them to you and then go and get them.
You can practise this in :
•
Taking messages
•
Getting items
•
Recalling what other people have done, for example, at meal time everyone say three
things they have done, then get another person to say what they have just said.
As the child gets good at this increase the number of items.
12
Messages
Play in a small group.
Teacher and one child stay in the classroom, the others wait outside (with an assistant if necessary).
The teacher gives the child a message, for example :
“Please buy 3 currant buns, 2 doughnuts and a pint of milk.”
The child calls in one other child and relays the message.
The second child calls in the next and relays the message, and so on.
The last child relays the message to the first, who says whether it has been changed.
Skills
Listening
Auditory memory
Sequencing
Giving accurate information
12.1
Variation on “Messages”
Mime a message or everyday scene, for example, washing up. The last person guesses what the message
was and checks with the first person whether he was correct.
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DESCRIPTIVE LANGUAGE SKILLS AND VOCABULARY
4.1 Strategies
Accessing Vocabulary from Memory
1.
General Organisation
Help the child :
Teach him routines
Encourage tidying up in set places
This helps him to understand that things belong in sets and is crucial for learning new words and
storing them.
2.
Reinforcing Learning | Language
Create opportunities for reinforcing learning | language in everyday classroom activities.
in the taught | learnt context.
3.
Use Repetition
Be repetitive in your teaching of new concepts | vocabulary.
Try to link new vocabulary / concepts with what the child already knows.
4.
Plan, Do and Review
Help the child with a task | activity by encouraging him :
Plan - talk about what you are going to do, your aims, the resources you need, … etc.
Do - whilst carrying out the activity, name the resource and describe what the child is
doing, going to do next, … etc., in short sentences.
Review - after the activity is completed, encourage the child to think and talk about what
he has done. Help him to structure this by using words like “first …”, “then …”, “last …”.
5.
Encourage, praise and reward the child for his eff orts
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4.2 Activities:
(Activity Set A):
Expressive Language
The following activities can be used for a number of different aims :
Increasing vocabulary development
Strengthening word retrieval abilities (when a child has difficulty accessing the right word at the
right time)
Strengthening descriptive language skills
Strengthening reasoning skills
Strengthening categorising abilities
Look through them to determine which activities suit the child you are working with best.
Speech and Language Therapist for advice.
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Ask your
Expressive Language – Description, Explanation, Reasoning and Sequencing Skills
These activities will help children with a wide range of difficulties. Use them to target giving accurate
descriptions, strengthening vocabulary knowledge (and therefore word retrieval), giving explanations,
strengthening reasoning skills and improving sequencing skills.
1.
Can the child tell a brief story from several pictures or from one composite picture?
If this is very difficult can they recall a story using pictures to help them?
2.
Using a series of pictures that tell a story, see if the child can place them in the correct order and
relate the story.
3.
See if the child can select either an object or picture after hearing its description.
a)
You can give the description in single words, phrases or sentences; for example, a ball can be
described as “black, round, bouncy” or “It’s made of rubber, and you play sports with it.”
b)
Play “What am I thinking of?”
Gradually build up a verbal picture of an object.
Start with three clues. Can the child guess after two clues, or three, etc. For example :
i.
ii.
“it has four feet and fur”,
“… whiskers”,
iii. “… drinks milk”
… a cat.
c)
Play a “Guessing Game”
Each player has some pictures of objects.
Take it in turns to turn one over and describe it.
Try not to guess the right answer unless the description is very accurate – make some other
guesses.
d)
A game similar to this, which requires the child to select key information (i.e. the most
important information to relay) is “Chicken feed”.
Place a set of topic related pictures on a table. Ask a group of children to sit around the table
with their little fingers on the edge of the table. One pupil silently selects a picture and tells
the group the two most important features about it and then says, “go”.
The other pupils place their little finger on the picture they think it is. The first child with their
finger on the correct picture is “it” next time.
Note
The activity can be made harder by providing pictures that have close semantic links,
for example, all drinks.
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4.
Try and describe the functions of a familiar object; for example, pencil, vacuum, brush.
5.
Describe a familiar object according to its shape, location and size; for example, a chair in a room.
6.
Describe an item after it has been removed from sight, therefore combining visual memory with oral
language.
7.
Identify an item from touch – describing as you feel the object.
8.
Sort out a group of objects or pictures according to use, size, shape, colour or what they are made
of.
Activities 3 through 8 all involve giving accurate and relevant descriptions of objects/pictures. If this is
particularly difficult for the child you may find the following table useful as a memory aid for the child – it
will give them a structure from which to base their descriptions.
Describing Objects
When we describe something, we can use different features. Try using these headings to describe :
a ball
a fork
a cup
an apple
a hat
a cooker
Collect together some common objects. Ask the child to choose one and see how much you can say about
that one object, for example :
shape
size
colour
texture
“It is used for …”
“It is made from …”
“You can can buy it from …”
“It is stored in …”
“You can find one at …”
“It is used by …”
“The category it belongs to is …”
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weight
Object = sock
Category
Clothing
Its function or use
Wear it
What it looks like
Has a hole at one end
What it does
Keeps us warm
Where you find it
Wear it on our feet
Keep it in a drawer
What it is made of
Wool
Object
Some features will have more than one idea beside them.
Which features describe the item best?
Which features are not relevant?
When the person you are working with is good at this, progress to the games where you describe an
object for each other to guess which are listed above, or “20 questions” type games – ask the child to
select an object. Take turns to ask specific questions in order to find out what it is; for example :
“What colour is it?”
“What shape is it?”
“What size is it?”
“What is it made of?”
“What is it used for?”
“Where would you find it?”
… etc.
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9.
Using a spoken or written list of objects, select an odd one out and explain the reason for your
choice.
If this is proving too hard, use actual objects or pictures of objects.
To make this even easier when introducing the activity, use the pictures/objects, e.g. an ice-lolly,
an ice cream and a sausage and talk about what the child might know about the first one. For
example, you might begin with “You eat it!”. Decide if you can eat the other two. Move on to
another attribute – “Is it sweet?” or “Is it hot?”
Given this information, decide which is the odd one out.
For ideas, refer to the “Odd One Out” list (page 169).
10.
Describe the similarities and differences between two objects; for example :
a bird and an aeroplane
an apple and an orange
honey and glue
1p and 10p
a cricket ball and orange
a river and the ocean
a pen and pencil
… etc.
See also the “DIY Semantic Links Sheets” enclosed.
11.
Describe an emotion after hearing a story.
Encourage more than just “happy” and “sad”.
12.
Describe the emotion portrayed in a picture and suggest a cause; for example, a child crying beside
a broken toy.
13.
Describe how the child feels about an imaginary situation; for example, watching a peer hurt an
animal.
This is also aimed at increasing social awareness.
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14.
Identify statements or pictures as fact or fantasy; for example, “a tree can shout.”
A game that you can play is the “Silly – Sensible board game”. Provide a board such as that for
“snakes and ladders”.
Develop topic related cue cards such as :
“When you want to talk to the teacher in class you shout.”
“When you want to send a message to another country you can use a fax machine.”
Make sure some of the statements are silly and some sensible.
Play in a small group with one adult or able leader.
When a child lands on a snake or ladder he takes a cue card and says whether the cue is silly or
sensible. The whole group discusses whether they think he is correct and why and if they can think
of any alternatives.
If the child is correct he goes up the snake or ladder, if not, he goes down.
15.
Silly Sentences
“The man ate the shoe.”
“Why is it silly – can you make it not silly?”
16.
Complete a statement relating to the child’s wishes and find out the reasons for the child’s choice;
for example :
“If I could go anywhere, I would go to…”
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“Odd One Out” Games
You will need to be selective and choose items suitable for the age, interests and experience of the child.
Make up similar ones of your own, if they find certain ones hard. Can they make up ones for you?
Easier choices
bus
bus
bird
plane
bee
ticket
dog
helicopter
car
car
ice cream
star
chair
grass
book
sheep
worm
giraffe
ladybird
swan
snail
lion
caterpillar
duck
whisper
jump
radio
chips
biscuit
run
fridge
ice cream
talk
ball
TV
burger
happy
star
cup
mountain
scared
rain
tree
hill
day
snow
glass
sea
10p
skipping rope
kite
3
pound
shoes
bus
8
bike
skates
taxi
TV
sun
clapping
nose
seaside
flower
jumper
eyebrow
playground
moon
waving
shoe
bathroom
jumper
big
orange
tulip
train
tiny
tea
sun
car
small
coffee
rose
Weetabix
pig
apple
freezer
sausages
fish
coffee
sandwich
rice crispies
cow
banana
bread
dog
fridge
read
Tuesday
cat
coat
write
October
fire
cooker
boat
Monday
jumper
coat
house
scarf
sock
pyjamas
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DIY Semantic Links Sheets
Take it in turns to make one up for each other. Draw the item or write the word. See the enclosed sheet.
The item in the big circle should go with an item in one of the small circles.
Talk about what they are :
“Which goes with the one in the big circle?”
“Why do they go together?”
“What else would go with them?”
“How are they similar?”
“How are they different?”
“What else goes with the one/ones in the other circle?”
DIY Semantic Links - Sep-2000
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Activity Set B:
Word Retrieval Difficulties
To communicate effectively through speaking and writing, objects, people, actions, events and ideas need to
be labelled by words.
In order to build a system of words (vocabulary) a child must be able to associate words with things from the
environment.
Young children first learn words related to things that are important to them. Words associated with
immediate and concrete events and ideas are easier to understand and use.
A person’s vocabulary continues to expand throughout life. It is individual to each person and reflects
personal experiences.
Words are stored in an organised way within memory. Words that represent closely related objects and ideas
are grouped together. For example, “table” and “chair”, “soft” and “hard”. Properties in words themselves
may lead to them being stored together according to, for example, their first sound or the fact that they
rhyme.
The organisation of words within memory means that they can be retrieved as needed.
Children with language difficulties may have problems in storing, organising or retrieving words, as they want
to. They may :
1.
Pause and appear to be searching for the right word.
2.
Say a word that is similar in sound or related in meaning, which may appear inappropriate.
Some children may :
1.
Have a general problem in learning new words, and need constant repetition to build on other
vocabulary.
2.
Use “empty” words or phrases like “that one” and “there”.
3.
Use phrases like “you know the one”, “like that one” … etc. in order to replace the words they are
unable to find.
4.
Use gestures like finger clicking and hand waving to help them in their search for the target word.
5.
Use meaningful signs to replace the missing word.
Techniques for pupils with word-finding difficulties are based on giving children a number of pegs on which to
hang a word. A good analogy is that of a magnetic fishing game – the more paper clips on the fish the easier
it is to catch it.
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Different strategies help children who have word finding difficulties recall words. You could try the following
and see which work best for your child.
Create different situations in which pupils can hear and use vocabulary, for example : real life;
acting, (for example, role-play); technology (for example, model making); discussion.
Highlight the flexibility of language, for example, the same word can have different meanings, as
in :
“park the car”
“play in the park”
“car park”.
Different words can have the same meaning, for example : far, distant.
Discuss the real meaning of ‘colourful’ phrases such as :
“Hit the roof”
“You drive me up the wall”
For pupils with word-finding difficulties :
a) For a known word :
give the initial sound
give a sentence to complete (e.g. “shoes and …”)
give its function
provide a closely associated word
use a sign | gesture
Talk about the structure of a word –
how many syllables it has
what it rhymes with
b) For an unknown word ask :
“What kind of thing is it?”
“Can you think of a word that goes with it?”
“Show me one with your hands.”
“What do you do with it?”
“Can you put it into a sentence?”
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When teaching new vocabulary :
talk about the word structure, (syllables, initial sound, rhymes)
draw the word
talk about what it means
make up sentences using it
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As well as working on any of the activities listed in Activity Set A, if you have a child with a specific word
retrieval difficulty you may also like to draw on the following activities for further ideas.
1.
Using tapes of environmental sounds, for example, animal noises, clocks, noises around the home,
etc, play them and ask the child to name the object / person / animal that goes with the sound.
If the child finds this difficult, you can provide pictures to give visual clues.
2.
Using objects and pictures, ask the child to think of as many actions that can be done with that
object; for example :
Spoon
Stir with it
wash it
scoop with it
… etc.
3.
Place a collection of objects in a bag. Ask the child to choose one item. The child must then
describe it without naming it.
This can be done as a group activity – timing how long it takes the children to guess the object.
4.
Choose words that all begin with a particular sound, for example, “b”.
One child is told the mystery word. He gives the other children a clue to what the word is –
preferably using one word, for example :
“animal”
“brown”
“hairy”
Other children guess the word described – “BEAR”.
The classroom can be divided into teams to make it more interesting.
You may have to take the first turn at providing the clues to give the children a good model.
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5.
Collect together some objects and keep these out of sight of the children.
In a small group nominate one person to leave the room.
While he is gone, show one of the objects to the other children. Each child has to think of
something different to say about the object. The object is then removed from sight.
The other child returns and each child gives their clue, so he has to guess what the object is.
6.
A simple lotto can be adapted to encourage your child to think around the objects. Instead of
naming the picture that is chosen, describe it without letting anyone see the picture. As in an
ordinary lotto game, take it in turns to choose the pictures.
7.
Make a list of adjectives, such as :
tiny
funny
cool
round
slippery
… etc.
Tell the child that each word can be used to describe something. Ask them to think of something
that goes with each word. You may have to define some of the adjectives in order to prompt a
response.
8.
Make word games out of vocabulary, for example, word searches and simple crosswords.
9.
Carry out sentence completion tasks or making sentences around the core vocabulary.
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10.
Classification games
Vocabulary can be sorted into different groups, for example :
Places
outside
inside
buildings
shopping
living in
… etc
park
river
…
picnicking swimming
playing
boating
… etc
fishing
… etc
… etc.
or, alternatively, the same vocabulary could be sorted, for example :
Places
rural
urban
public
private
public
private
shop
library
… etc.
house
flat
footpath
… etc.
farm
… etc.
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Activity Set C:
Categorisation Difficulties
Categorisation is the ability to group and classify different words or objects according to their distinctive
features, concepts or qualities, for example, animals, opposites, initial letter/sound and rhyme.
It is the way that basic vocabulary is organised and stored for recall and use at a later point in time. Thus
some words may belong to several different categories or be classified in more than one way.
Initially children organise their vocabulary store using the more concrete or obvious features, for example,
visual similarities, use, etc.
As children develop they use their increasing knowledge of the world to classify objects by means of more
abstract properties. It is at this level that children with language problems may have significant
difficulties.
The child in the classroom may :
1.
have problems choosing or carrying out simple instructions, for example, “Go and find me all the
soft balls.”
2.
substitute a word with one that has a similar meaning.
3.
have difficulties using verbal reasoning.
4.
be rigid in his learning, show little flexibility and a poor ability to generalise.
5.
find it difficult to sort out by more than one category at a time.
This may have implications for working in maths sets.
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Categorisation
When working with categories use ones with which the child is already familiar and/or categories that tie
in with the class topic.
Let the child experience categories by visiting places; for example : the playground, the hall, a shop, etc.
Talk about different things that you have seen. When you get back to the classroom or to home, draw or
write a list of what you can both remember. At a later date, can the child recall what was seen or can
they predict what they might see when they go somewhere. You can use similar strategies whilst looking
at different topic books.
1.
Collect together pictures of objects belonging to categories such as :
food
furniture
buildings
transport
toys
plants
clothes
animals
It would also be useful to have pictures that are grouped together in less obvious ways, for example :
a)

things that you cut with

things that are made out of wood

things you clean with

things found in the kitchen

things found at the seaside
Choose four pictures from three of the categories you have collected (so that you have twelve
pictures in all) and mix them up. See if the child can sort the pictures into three category piles,
and label the category of each pile.
They may need prompts, such as :
“which ones go together?”
“What do you do with it?”
Or “Is there another one you do that with?”
b)
Choose three pictures from one pile and one from another. Mix the pictures up and see if your
child can tell you which one is the odd one out and why.
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c)
This can be made difficult by subdividing a category further (i.e.
finer categories), for example,

things we wear on our hands / feet

things we wear inside / outside

things we wear when it’s hot / cold

things boys / girls wear
Other categories might include :
farm and zoo animals
hot and cold food
summer and winter clothes
birds that can fly and birds that can’t fly
… etc.
d)
These types of activity can be extended for older children to include; for example :
opposite relationships
far and near
up and down
borrow and lend
success and failure
cruel and kind
slow and fast
cry and laugh
before and after
rough and smooth
spatial relationships
far and near
before and after
ahead and front
away and distant
car and garage
connected and joined
beside and below
temporal relationships
seed and tree
seconds and minutes
sleep and night
before and after
smoke and fire
early and morning
Write down the words on pieces of paper and see if the child can pair them up. Make it
easier/more difficult by altering the number of alternatives for them to choose from, e.g. you
could put out three words and ask him to find the two that go together/that are linked.
2.
Make a dice from a square box, but instead of numbers put a category on each side, for example :
food / transport / clothes.
Play in a small group and take it in turns to throw the dice. When the dice lands whose ever turn it is
needs to name one, two or three items (depending upon their age and ability) from the category
that is shown by the dice.
3.
Give the child an outline drawing and see how many appropriate items they can draw on it and
name.
The outline could be a toy shop, a fruit shop, the zoo, a park, a farm, a hospital, a kitchen or any
other location that has specific items associated with it.
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4.
Place several cards of different categories on a table. Give the child an object or picture card and ask
him to choose which of the cards on the table it belongs to. This game can also be played using the
written word.
5.
Give the child a magazine containing a variety of pictures. Have the child search for items of a given
category, for example, food, clothing, and furniture.
6.
Give the child a category heading, for example, “things rhyming with ‘PAN’”. How many items can
the child name or write down?
7.
Play a word-chain association game. Think of a word, the next person must say a word which is
associated in some way with the previous one; for example :
up
down
town
city
traffic
car
(opposite)
(rhyming)
(hierarchy) (world knowledge) (hierarchy)
8.
Give the child two objects that have some characteristics in common and some that are different;
for example : Lego Blocks or Lego People. The child must state as many differences and similarities
as possible. It will probably help initially to talk with the child about the things the objects have in
common and to note them down in a simple way. Go on to talk about the differences in the same
way. For example, an orange and a grape : “Both are round, fruit, juicy, edible.
However the orange is bigger, has a thicker skin; you must peel the skin before you can eat it and it
is a different colour.”
9.
Ask the child to generate rules of association by saying :
“Glove is to hand as sock is to …”
Give probable and improbable alternatives for the child to select from, for example : television,
scarf, foot, and ankle.
10.
Category Bingo
Provide each child with a bingo card on which you have placed pictures or words from certain
categories. Present a category heading out loud.
The child is allowed to place a counter / marker on any item that is a member of that category.
When a diagonal or horizontal line is filled, the game is over.
11.
They belong together
Ask the pupils to collect one object each. Display the objects clearly. The pupils take turns to
choose 2 things that go together according to their own criteria. The other pupils guess why the
objects were paired.
General discussion can take place about each pupil’s reasons for pairing the selected objects.
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12.
Scrapbooks
Put related pictures on the same page. Link to new vocabulary being learnt in class.
13.
Comparing word pairs.
Make a list of word pairs and ask the child :
“Which of these are the [ same | different ] ?”
e.g. pillow and cushion,
insect and fly
Sunday and week
sweet and sour
push and pull
unlock and open
… etc.
14.
“Which of these is softer?”
e.g. apple or grape
bed or pillow
gravel or snow
… etc.
“Which of these is thicker?”
e.g. rope or string
“Which of these is smaller?”
… etc.
“I went shopping and I bought … “
You can use lots of variations of this game, for example :
“I went to the seaside and I saw …”
“I went out to dinner and I ate …”, etc.
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Category List
15.
Naming Categories
Write some of the following words onto separate sheets. Take it in turns to choose a word and then take it
in turns to name items in that category.
You will need to be selective and choose categories suitable for the age, interests and experience of the
child.
Animals
Clothes
Birds
Cars
Insects
Plants
Places
Vegetables
Buildings
Songs
Games
Transport
Sports
Weather
Countries
Boys names
Food
Tools
Drink
Lessons
Colours
Actions – clapping, jumping
Flowers
Towns
Fruit
Work people do
Parts of the body
TV programmes
Football players
Farm animals
Furniture
Wild animals
Girls names
Time
Names of books
Famous people
Toys
Footwear
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Resources
Bigland and Speake (19) Semantic Links
“Where’s Wally?” book / poster of a scene, for example : sport, seaside, park, etc. to discuss
items that are linked in meaning. You can get fun “Where’s Wally” posters of different scenes to
work with the child.
Practical Language Activities (1992) JoAnn Jeffries and Roger Jeffries
ECL Publications
187
GRAMMAR
5.1 Strategies:
Using Appropriate Grammatical Forms
1.
Plan, Do and Review
Help the child with a task | activity by encouraging him to :
Talk about what you are going to do, your aims, the resources you need, … etc.
Whilst carrying out the activity, name the resource and describe what the child is doing, going
to do next, … etc., in short sentences.
After the activity is completed, encourage the child to think and talk about what he has done.
Help him to structure this by using words like “first …”, “then …”, “last …”.
2.
Expand utterances the child uses
For example :
Child :
“Look – fire engine.”
Teacher :
“Yes, it’s a fire engine – a big, noisy fire engine.”
3.
Model and Extend the child’s language
When a pupil uses incorrect grammatical structures provide the correct one for him and, where possible,
extend his response.
Child :
“I water it and it grewed.”
Teacher :
“Yes, you watered it and it grew. Now its taller than mine.”
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5.2 Activities
Verbs
1.
Verb Lotto
This can be used to encourage varying lengths of sentence; for example :
“brushing”
“brushing hair”
“boy brushing hair”
“boy is brushing hair”
“boy is brushing his hair”
“the boy is brushing his hair”
If the child uses, for example, two-word sentences, then try to encourage three-word sentences.
Play the game as for normal lotto, but as either you or the child picks up a card, say the appropriate
sentence (at the chosen level, for example, three-word). Match the picture to the board.
If you colour the pictures on the board and the matching cards, so that they are same, you can
extend some of the sentences further; for example :
“The yellow duck is sleeping.”
“The little boy is crying.”
“The brown teddy is jumping over the wall.”
189
2.
Other Activities
You can also use verb pictures either to play games of “snap”, “pairs”, or for the child to colour the
one you say.
Ask the child to act out the verbs on teddy/dolly, for example :
“make teddy hop”.
Take turns to pick up a verb picture and act it out for each other to guess. Make it easier by
giving the child a choice of two pictures and ask :
“Which one am I doing?”
Use the verbs in lots of different contexts, e.g. washing face, washing clothes, washing car.
“Hide” pictures around the room and ask the child to find “cutting”, etc.
Gather together some objects that you can wrap, kick, throw, drive, eat, drink, etc. and ask
:
“which one do you cuddle?”
Reverse the task by asking :
“what do I do with a ball?”
“What do I do with a pencil?”
“What does a fish do?”
“What does a bird do?”
… etc.
190
Working With Sentences
Sometimes children will forget to include important parts of a sentence. These might be :
the subject of the sentence
the verb
or the object
– who is involved
– the action
– what is involved.
For example, in a sentence such as :
“The lady is looking at the dog”
then :
“The lady” is the subject,
“is looking” is the verb and
“the dog” is the object.
The following activities can be carried out when the child is omitting the subject of the sentence.
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1.
Using Picture Pairs
Use picture pairs where the same event is pictured but different people are carrying it out; for
example, use a picture of a man washing a car and a picture of a woman washing a car.
Instruct the child to listen to what you say and point to the correct picture.
Say “washing the car” – then, whichever picture they point to, tell them that you have made a
mistake because you wanted them to point to the other picture. Tell them that you have
forgotten to say something and talk about what you would need to say to specify which picture
you really meant.
Repeat this activity with different pictures encouraging the child to help you with what to say
to specify who is carrying out an action. Use pictures such as :
The [ man | lady ] is walking the dog.
The [ boy | girl ] is climbing the tree.
The [ cat | dog ] is eating.
The [ boy | girl ] is kicking a ball.
The [ man | boy ] is eating.
The [ girl | boy ] is sleeping.
The [ cat | boy ] is sitting on a chair
… etc.
2.
Using a Barrier Game
You can make this into a barrier game where you each have the same pair of pictures.
Take it in turns to choose one of the pair in front of you and tell the other one which you have
chosen. They then have to look at their pictures and choose the correct one.
You can see whether you have got it right by comparing pictures to see if they match. This also
provides a form of visual feedback for the child so that they can see how they are getting on.
Make sure the child has a go both at:
listening to what you say and
telling you which picture they have chosen.
192
Tenses
Regular Past Tense:
Read a story to the children.
Ask them to recall what happened. This should result in the past tense being used, but if the
present tense is used, or an incorrect form of the past tense, repeat the sentence for the child,
using the correct form and expanding the sentence a little. For example :
Teacher :
“Do you remember what happened at the beginning of the story?”
Child :
“The three pigs leaved their mummy.”
Teacher :
“Yes, that’s right – the three little pigs left their mummy. They went to build their
own houses. What happened next?”
At a time when all the children are gathered together, ask them what you all did together (and in
their groups) yesterday (or earlier in the day, if this is done at the end of a session).
Again, this should encourage the use of the past tense. Make sure the child hears the correct form,
by repeating the child’s sentence correctly (and expanded), as described above.
“Simon Says …” game
If possible this needs to be played in a group. Choose an action from the list below and encourage
the children in the group to do the actions. For example :
“Simon says ‘hop’!”
You can then ask :
“What did you do?”
You are aiming to elicit, “I hopped!”
Actions : jumped, walked, opened the door, closed the door, laughed, hopped, kicked the ball,
clapped.
Look at some simple action pictures using some of the actions described above.
Turn the pictures over when your child has looked at it and say :
“What happened?”
encouraging use of the past tense. For example :
“The man laughed”
“The girl opened the door”
193
Play charades with another child, miming an activity, for example, brushing hair. The child must
guess what you did when you have finished, for example :
“You brushed your hair”.
Use pictures of actions to help with this activity.
Other examples may include :
“You cleaned your teeth”
cleaning teeth
“You washed your face”
washing face
“You cried”
crying
Talk about the first picture, for example :
“Look, here’s a boy - let’s see what he did yesterday”
The child lifts the flap. You are aiming to elicit :
“The boy kicked the ball”
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Irregular Past Tense:
As certain past tense verbs do not follow the normal rules of putting “ed” on the end, activities involving
use of irregular past tense may have to be repeated many times for the child to learn these verbs.
Role-play activities for working on “ate”, “drank” and “bought” are fun.
Set up a restaurant scene - the child could be a customer choosing various items from the menu with
you being the waiter / waitress. When the child has finished the pretend meal, he can be asked :
“What did you eat?”
(to elicit “I ate …”)
“What did you drink?”
(to elicit “I drank …”)
Shopping - the child has to buy various food items from a pretend shop, (empty food packets could
be used). Afterwards ask the child what he has bought, for example :
“What did you buy?”
(to elicit “I bought …”).
You and the child can instruct each other to draw a picture. For example, you say :
“Draw a house!”
then you say :
“What did you draw?”
aiming to elicit “I drew …”
Robber Game
This is a role-play activity that can be played in a small group with the children taking it in turns to be
a robber and a policeman.
The robber takes some objects from a shop, (for example, watch, toys, etc.).
The policeman tries to catch the robber.
At the end, the robber is asked to reveal what he took, for example :
“I took a watch”.
“What’s Gone?”
This can be played in either a small group or with you and the child on your own.
Four or five objects are placed on the table.
Ask the child to look at the objects for a few minutes. Then, when the child’s eyes are closed,
something is taken from the table. The child has to guess what’s gone, saying “you took …”
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More on Regular and Irregular Past Tense:
Tell Stories
Puppets can be used. Act out a sequence using the puppets and encourage the child to re-tell the story in
the past tense.
Look at a story with your child and encourage him to re-tell the story, perhaps after just a few pages.
Collect a few noise-making instruments behind a screen, for example, a drum, a trumpet, a bell.
(Homemade instruments can be made from dried peas, etc., in yoghurt cartons.) One child
disappears behind the screen and plays an instrument. The other members of the group have to guess
what he did; for example :
“He rang the bell.”
“She banged the drum.” etc.
Place a few objects in front of your child, for example, a purse, a pencil, a box, paper, scissors.
While the child watches, perform an activity, for example, put the pencil in the box. The child must
tell you what you did :
“You put the pencil in the box.”
Open the purse 
“You opened the purse!”
Close the box 
“You closed the box!”
Talk about :
“going to do things”
“doing something”
“done it”
Sorting stories
“Will it happen?”
“Is it happening?”
“Did it happen?”
Use words like :
“now”
“yesterday”
197
“tomorrow”
“late”
to help, give a clue as well as the tense.
If you have a “days of the week wheel” then have “past, now, will happen” section on the outside which
can be moved around - “yesterday, today, tomorrow”
Sort time words into :
“Happened”, “is happening”, “will happen”
for example :
“yesterday”, “now”, “tomorrow”, “last week”, “next week”
Using words, do “odd one out” activities; for example :
Monday
Tuesday
slowly
next week
tomorrow
yesterday
April
Monday
night evening
Wednesday
morning
Which is the odd one out and why?
Draw pictures of a sentence or make toys do what you say, for example :
“he is jumping”
“he will eat his dinner”
“he ate his dinner”
Which sentence is correct?
“Yesterday I will go to school”
“Yesterday I went to school”
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Passive Tense:
Say a sentence using the passive tense, for example :
“The horse was pushed by the man.”
Talk about what it means. Ask the child to act it out using toys.
When they can carry this out consistently, mix up active and passive tense structures and ask them either
to act out what they mean or to draw them.
Passive Tense Structures
The horse was pushed by the man.
The man was pushed by the horse.
The cat was pushed by the dog.
The dog was pushed by the cat.
The cow was followed by the dog.
The horse was watched by the man.
The sheep was chased by the cow.
Active Sentences
The man pushed the horse.
The horse pushed the man.
The dog pushed the cat.
The cat pushed the dog.
The dog followed the cow.
The man watched the horse.
The cow chased the sheep.
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Resources
Rippon (1996)
Worksheets on Past Tense and Irregular Past Tense
Black Sheep Press
Semel and Wiig (1990)
Clinical Language Intervention Program Syntax Worksheets
The Psychological Corporation
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Inc.
Semel and Wiig (1990)
Clinical Language Intervention Program Morphology Worksheets
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Inc.
200
Auxiliaries
Some children have difficulty remembering to use “is”, “am” and “are” before a verb - for example, using
“it raining” instead of “it is raining”.
The difficulty may be because in everyday speech we frequently use a shortened form, for example, “It’s
raining”, which is harder to hear. Try to emphasise the sound (for example, “’s”) in your speech to help
the child hear it.
The games are easy to play, and you may know some of them already. Choose the ones that you think
the child will like best and have fun playing them together. (You do not need to do every activity
suggested.)
Try to set aside a short amount of time each day to play the games. If the child finds them difficult to
begin with, don’t give them up - it can take time to learn how to develop the use of auxiliaries.
1.
Miming
This is suited to group activities. The children take it in turns to mime an action suggested by an
adult. One member of the group at a time guesses. For example :
“He’s eating.”
If they are correct, the child miming is then encouraged to say “I am eating” by asking him “What
are you doing?”.
More than one child could mime at the same time to provide practice for “They’re eating” and
“We’re eating”.
2.
Descriptions
Using pictures, such as the ones provided, encourage the child to describe the pictures, for
example :
“The baby’s sleeping.”
Give the child a “reward” if they describe the picture well, for example, a Lego brick towards
building a toy, a sticker for a picture, etc. You could also describe what people are wearing as a
guessing game, for example :
“He’s wearing trousers.”
3.
Emphasis in an Argument
Puppet stories can be set up where arguments take place along the lines of Punch and Judy, for
example :
“The baby’s crying.”
“Oh no, he isn’t.”
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“Oh yes, he is.”
Questions
There are many types of questions and there is a normal developmental order in which children learn to
understand and answer them.
Generally, young children first learn to respond to questions about their immediate environment. These
usually require simple short answers. Examples include :
“What is it?”
“Who is that?”
“Is it mummy?”
Later, children are able to deal with simple questions – things outside their immediate situation, like
those related to past events, for example :
“Did you go to the park?”
“Where have you been?”
“What did daddy give you?”
As children’s’ memory, vocabulary, reasoning skills and knowledge of the world develop so does their
ability to deal with questions that draw on these skills. For example :
“Why did you do that?”
“Where do we go to see…”
“What is the opposite of hot?”
“First hand” experience will always make the question easier to answer.
Overall, questions beginning with “How…” are the most difficult to answer. This is because they require
both reasoning and explanatory skills.
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Children also learn to reply to routine type questions such as :
“How old are you?”
“Where do you live?”
“When is your birthday?”
This is because they hear them repeatedly and they learn how to reply.
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Recognising Difficulties in Responding to Questions
Children with language difficulties may have problems in both understanding and responding to questions.
Their development of these skills may not follow the usual pattern. However they are likely to find it
easier to deal with simple questions related to immediate events and concrete ideas.
The child may :
1.
need questions to be rephrased before he can answer them;
2.
find choice difficult, for example :
“Do you want to go on the computer or finish the maths?”
3.
not respond appropriately in conversation even though the answer may be predictable;
4.
repeat the question or respond by opting out and saying :
“I don’t know”
5.
Confuse the type of question asked, for example : give a “who” response to a “where…”
question or tell “how” instead of “why”?
6.
Take a greater than average time to understand and reply to questions generally (this
becoming more obvious as the questions and required responses become harder).
Children have to answer many questions throughout their day. It is important that they learn to cope with
the hard questions as well as the easy ones.
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Question types can be broken into four groups moving from easy, concrete types to more difficult abstract
ones :
Level 1 Questions
Involving naming and recalling; for example:
“What’s that?”
“What did you see?”
Level 2 Questions
Requiring more information from the child; for example:
“What’s he doing”
“Where is the dog?”
“Who’s got the book?”
“Which one is an animal?”
“Which one is big and blue?”
Level 3 Questions
Involving even more thinking; for example:
“What could we use?”
“How are these different?”
“Which one is not a cup?”
Level 4 Questions
Requiring prediction, formulating solutions, explaining problem
solving; for example:
“Why is he crying?”
“What would happen if…”
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Activities for Level 2 Questions
Ask about things that you really want to know; for example :
“What-doing”
Dad is working outside, so say :
“What’s dad doing?”
to which the child might respond :
“He’s working on the …”
“Where?”
When tidying away, say :
“Where will I put the pens?”
to which the child’s response might be :
“in the drawer”.
(If the response is just “There”, you could say something like : “Where?
On the floor?”)
“Who?”
You are at the child’s table and say :
“Who’s got the glue?”
and the child would say :
“Me” or “Sarah” … etc.
Remember, if you ask the child a question and he does not respond, simplify the task so he experiences
some success and doesn’t become frustrated. Work through the following simplification techniques until
the child can respond; for example : when asking the question :
“What is he doing?”
1.
Wait
Give the child time to process the
question and respond.
2.
Gain the child’s attention
If the child is not concentrating on the
task, say : “Look!”
and gain his attention.
3.
Repeat the question
4.
Wait
5.
Give an alternative choice
For example :
“Is he watching television or sleeping?”
6.
Give a model
For example :
“Oh! He’s sleeping”
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Remember that children will be more likely to answer questions if you really need to know the answers,
so :
Do ask questions about people or things that are not in the room. For example :
“What’s Mr.. doing?”
“Where are my scissors?”
Ask questions when you know the answers will have an effect; for example :
“Where will I put the pictures?”.
Say absurd things to get a response; for example :
“Where will I put the pictures?”
“On the floor?”
Don’t ask redundant questions. For example :
or
“What am I doing?”
“Where’s my shoe?”
when it is perfectly obvious that you know. However, do ask :
“What will I do?”
and “Where will I put it?”
as long as the items you are talking about are actually there.
You need to create interest within the child in order to get the most out of him. Here is a list of further
games and everyday activities you may like to use :
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Puzzles and Barrier Games
You are doing a puzzle and need to find all the pieces (“set in” puzzles are best). Put a barrier between
you and the other players. Split the puzzle pieces between other players and say, for example :
“Who’s got the dog?”
The child must tell you, for example :
or
“I’ve got it.”
“Charlie’s got it”.
Have pairs of action pictures, for example : someone running, someone jumping, … etc. Give one of the
pictures to each player (a maximum of two pictures given to any individual).
You have to find the picture the child is looking at (you might get another person to help). You ask :
“What’s he doing?”
The child tells you, for example :
“Running.”
You hold up the picture and see if it’s the same one.
Cutting and Gluing
Make paper hats, collages, and picture scrapbooks. Ask the child to give you directions, for example :
or
“I’ve got the scissors. What will I do?”
“Where will I put the glue?”
Before you start you put the things you need in different places and ask the child, for example :
“Where are the scissors?” … etc.
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Outdoor Games / PE
Have turns telling the other person what you will do together. You say :
“Let’s run!”
and both of you run.
Ask the child :
“What will we do now?”
The child could say :
“[ Jump | skip | hop | throw | … etc ]”
Remember, if the child does not respond, to give alternative choices initially, for example :
“Shall we run or jump?”
Reading Books
You can read books with the child and ask questions intermittently, for example :
“What’s the boy doing?”
“Where’s the dog?”
“Who’s got the dog now?”
Don’t ask too many questions, though, as it may become boring. Remember to comment yourself about
the pictures as well, for example :
“Look! He’s pushing the car!”.
Tidying Away Activities
Ask for instructions; for example :
“Where’s the …?”
“Where will I put it?”
Comment about dirty hands, dirty tables, etc., saying :
“What will we do?”.
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Cooking
Make easy things (for example : sandwiches, coloured drinks, popcorn, pancakes, iced biscuits, etc.,
asking questions such as :
“What am I doing?”
(when you have the spoon in the glass,
ready to stir.)
“Where will I put the … ?”
(you have finished the cooking and are looking for a place to put
it.)
Guess Who
“Who has blue eyes and blonde hair?”
Where’s the Spider?
“Hunt the spider”
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Moving on to Other Level 2 Question Types
These include :
Identifying By Function
“Which one can run?”, “What can I cut with?”
Activities
Barrier games – using pictures or objects; for example :
“Who’s got one you cut with?”
“Who’s got one you sit on?”
Cooking
“What can I stir with?”
“Which one can I eat?”
Identifying Two Attributes
“Who’s got something big and blue?”
Activities
Barrier games
“Who’s got something big and blue?”
You need big and little things in various colours so that the child has to make a choice.
Cooking
Have everything you need lined up on a worktop. Say :
“I need something round and green” (for example : apple)
Reading books
Look at the pictures and ask questions and saying, for example :
“What has four legs and horns?”
Identifying Parts of Objects
“Which one has wheels?”
Activities
Cooking – “Show me the handle of the cup”
Books – Look at the pictures saying, for example : “Which one has got legs?”, “Where’s
the lid?”
Dolls and toys – Ask where parts of dolls and toys are, for example : Where’s teddy’s
tummy?”
Level 3 and 4 type questions are covered in the “Process of Hypothesis” Resource.
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Asking questions is a vital way of obtaining information. The skills involved vary according to the type of
question asked. They include :
1.
An ability to use the rise in intonation at the end of a sentence or word
2.
The ability to use question words
3.
The ability to change the order of the subject and verb so that a statement becomes a
question. For example :
“That hat is mine.”
“Is that hat mine?”
Having the underlying motivation to ask questions is a very important part of communication. It relies on
the ability to recognise that there is a gap in our knowledge and knowing how and where to seek out the
relevant information.
Recognising Difficulties in Asking Questions
Children with language difficulties often do not appreciate the function of questions. They may therefore :
1.
not seek information
2.
not ask for help
3.
ask the same question repeatedly (even though the answer has been given) as a younger child might
4.
use a question form without a real intent to seek an answer; not waiting for, or listening to, the
reply
5.
ask questions which are inappropriate to a topic of conversation
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Asking Questions
It is important that the child asks questions so that he is able to find out about things that he does not
know or things that he is interested in.
a)
“What doing”
for example :
“What is he doing?”
b)
“Who?”
for example :
“Who’s got the ball?”
“Who’s running?”
c)
“Where?”
for example :
“Where is the book?”
It is important that your child really needs to ask the questions. Some games and activities that will
encourage question asking are :
1.
Puzzles / Barrier Games
1)
Use “set in” puzzles. Set up barriers so that no one can see what pieces of the puzzles the
other places have. Give the puzzle board to your child.
They must ask “Who’s got the … ?” (so it is really important that the child can’t see who’s got
it!). An adult may have to sit with the child and model the questions at first.
Don’t pressure the child to ask the question absolutely correctly. These are hard and take time
to master, so keep giving clear models.
2)
2.
Barrier games. Two players sit opposite each other with a barrier between them. One player
selects a picture and the other player asks questions to find the same picture on their own side
of the barrier. Use pairs of pictures of people doing things :
a)
The child picks a picture.
b)
You say “What’s she doing?”
c)
The child says, for example “She’s sitting on chair”.
d)
You find that picture.
e)
You pick a picture.
f)
The child says “What’s she doing?”
g)
You say “She’s eating an apple.”
h)
The child finds the picture.
Again, someone may need to sit with the child to model the question for him.
Shopping
Put all the groceries in different places, for example : in the fridge, in a cupboard, on a shelf, …
etc. The child must ask, for example :
“Where’s the butter?”
Take turns at being the shopper and the shopkeeper.
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3.
Puppets
Have a puppet show (puppets can easily be made from socks). Have conversations with the child
pretending that the puppets are talking. Say, for example :
“What’s your name?”
“What are you doing today?”
“Where’s your mummy?”
“Have you got any friends?”
“Who are they?”
Then encourage the child to get his puppet to ask questions about yours. Say “You ask me
something.”
You could get the people in the family to play and model two-way conversations with the puppets.
Remember – asking questions is difficult for the child, so :
a)
Do lots of modelling and provide support, for example : have someone to help during the
barrier games.
b)
Make sure the child really needs to ask a question, that is, make effective barriers :
ask questions about people who are not in the room.
get the child to ask things of other people.
Be patient. If the child is having difficulty – don’t push, accept a good attempt and model the correct
question.
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Further Activities
1. Twenty Questions
Put an object or a picture unseen into a large envelope / bag. Working round a small group of
children, each child must ask questions to find out what the object may be.
The teacher models this first by allowing someone else to choose the object.
Encourage questions that proceed according to a hierarchy, that is, that become specific, for
example :
a)
b)
c)
is it something to eat?
is it a fruit?
is it an apple?
2. Exploring Interesting Objects
Encourage the children to bring in unusual objects or photographs. Be a good model by asking
questions about them yourself.
Bring in an object that the children have never seen before, for example : a souvenir from a
holiday, something from a hobby, … etc.
Discuss the object – where it was bought, how it was made, … etc. Next time encourage the
children to ask questions.
3. Guess Who?
A popular game available commercially.
4. Happy Families.
A popular game available commercially.
5. Bingo
Make a bingo game with shapes of different colours and sizes. Each child has a board. As the caller,
you have a set of corresponding cards. As you turn over the cards, ask each child, for example :
“Have you got a red square?”
Each child in the group should then have a turn to be the caller.
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6. Make a Man.
Cut out from sticky paper, circles for heads, rectangles for legs and arms, squares for bodies. Have
enough for each child to make three different men, each a different colour, for example : red,
yellow and blue.
Also cut 24 cards and colour the centres (using felt tip pens) such that there are eight cards of each
colour.
Shuffle the cards and place them face down on the table. Each child is given a large piece of paper
and then turns over a card and asks for a part of the body in that colour.
The game proceeds round the group with the idea being to make three men. When the first child
has his next turn, if a red card is turned again, he asks for a red body, but if a green card is turned
he begins a new man asking for a green head – each man must have the same colour body parts.
7. Beetle Drives
This can be played in the same way as above but using body parts for a beetle.
8. Jigsaws
The teacher or another child holds the pieces of the jigsaw. The child must ask for the next piece he
needs.
9. Interviews
The children work in pairs. They ask questions to find out information about each other. Give the
children a topic to help them, for example :
“Find out about each others’ families.”
and if necessary give them some written vocabulary to help them, for example :
“sister”, “cousins”, “uncle”
Make a topic of the interviews. You could try producing a newssheet or articles for a newspaper.
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Plurals
To start with, use real objects or pictures which have regular plural endings, for example :
brick(s)
square(s)
shoe(s)
book(s)
doll(s)
car(s)
key(s)
truck(s)
bead(s)
sock(s)
At story-time, in the home corner, working on shapes or colours all offer opportunities to let the children
hear the plural form of a noun.
For example, after sorting shapes in a small group situation, encourage each child to count how many of a
particular shape he has :
Teacher :
“John, how many big circles do you have?”
Child :
“One … …” (he pauses as he thinks).
Teacher :
“One, two, three … .. you’ve got three big circles, haven’t you?”
Later, start to introduce nouns which sound an “-es” at the end, for example :
horse(s)
badge(s)
match(es)
box(es)
dress(es)
nose(s)
Later still, introduce nouns with irregular plural endings, for example :
child(ren)
foot (feet)
sheep (sheep)
goose (geese)
man (men)
woman (women)
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However, don’t worry if you use all of these types in the course of your day’s natural conversation with
the children. The exposure to different vocabulary will also be beneficial. To start with, use real objects or
pictures which have regular plural endings, for example :
brick(s)
square(s)
shoe(s)
book(s)
doll(s)
car(s)
key(s)
truck(s)
bead(s)
sock(s)
At story-time, in the home corner, working on shapes or colours all offer opportunities to let the children
hear the plural form of a noun.
For example, after sorting shapes in a small group situation, encourage each child to count how many of a
particular shape he has :
Teacher :
“John, how many big circles do you have?”
Child :
“One … …” (he pauses as he thinks).
Teacher :
“One, two, three … .. you’ve got three big circles, haven’t you?”
Later, start to introduce nouns which sound an “-es” at the end, for example :
horse(s)
badge(s)
match(es)
box(es)
dress(es)
nose(s)
Later still, introduce nouns with irregular plural endings, for example :
child(ren)
sheep (seep)
man (men)
foot (feet)
goose (geese)
woman (women)
However, don’t worry if you use all of these types in the course of your day’s natural conversation with the
children. The exposure to different vocabulary will also be beneficial.
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Understanding “a” and plural “s”
Some children find it hard understanding that “a” means “one” and an “s” at the end means “more than
one”. Usually these children require this to be taught in a structured way.
1 Listening Game
Place the large card (See Appendix page 433) depicting a single cat in one half and many cats in the other
half in front of the child.
Count the cats on the card with the child. Explain to the child that when we say “a” before a word it means
there is just one item, and when we say “s” at the end of the word it means there are more than one of
the item.
Have the smaller separate cards of “A Cat” and “The Cats” cut out and shuffled (so that they are in random
order) and placed in a pile, face down in front of the adult.
The adult takes the top card from the deck and names it (e.g. “A Cat” or “The Cats”). Encourage the child
to point to the correct side of the large card.
Show the card to the child so that he has visual feedback of the correct answer.
Encourage and reward the child by showing you are pleased if he was right.
1.1 Variations on the Game
Use the large card showing “A Cat” and “The Cats” again, as a visual feedback for the correct answer.
Use a variety of toys or objects on the table and ask the child to :
Pick up a particular toy using “a …”, or a set of toys using “the …s”
Post a particular toy using “a …”, or a set of toys using “the …s” down a tube
Stamp “a stamp” or “the stamps” on a sheet
Point to “a …”, or a set of “the …s” in a complex picture, or in a book
Play “Simon says …” type listening games (e.g. “point to the windows” or “point to a door”)
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Developing the Use of Pronouns
The following activities will give you some ideas for helping your child to developing the child’s the use of
pronouns, for example :
“he”, “she”, “they”, “his”, “him”, “her”
The games are easy to play, and you may know some of them already.
Choose the ones that you think your child will like best, and have fun playing them together. (You do not
need to do every activity suggested.)
Try to set aside a short amount of time each day to play the games. If the child finds them difficult to
begin with, don’t give them up. It can take time to learn to listen and remember.
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Using “He and “She”:
1.
Place the enclosed oval pictures of a girl and boy (See Appendix page 422) on the table and place
action pictures involving boys and girls face down in a pile.
Encourage the child to turn over a picture and say whether it is a boy or a girl. If it is a boy say :
“We say he for a boy.”
and encourage him to put it in the right oval and then the child can tell you about the picture, for
example :
“He is swimming.”
Repeat with the remaining pictures, taking it in turns to turn one of the cards over.
2.
Look at action pictures of people doing different things, for example :
“She is running.”
“He is jumping.” … etc.
This activity can be made more fun by turning the pictures face-down in a pile. The child must turn
the first picture over and describe what’s happening, using the correct pronoun. If he is correct,
reward him with a turn in a game, for example, snakes and ladders.
3.
Within a group, a child is given an action picture and must mime what is happening, for example, a
picture of a girl swimming.
The other children must guess what is happening, for example :
“She is swimming.”
This game can be played in a group at school, or at home with brothers and sisters, etc.
4.
Pick out a boy and a girl from a group. A third child must look at them and try to remember what
they are wearing. The teacher makes the third child turn his back on the children and then says, for
example :
“Who’s wearing a red jumper?”
Encourage the use of pronouns; if the child says, for example :
“John is wearing a red jumper.”
say
“Yes, so we say he is wearing a red jumper.”
The game can be adapted for hair colour, eye colour, … etc.
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5.
Draw two blank faces. Explain to the child that one will be a girl and one will be a boy. Give the
picture of the girl some hair and then say :
“Now he needs some hair!”
“She needs a nose.”
… etc.
Encourage the child to join in.
This game can also be adapted using cut out pictures to represent monster-type facial features.
6.
Discuss pictures of well-known people with the child, for example, a member of the royal family, a
well known pop-star, etc. Talk about what they do, for example :
“She sometimes entertains important people” … etc.
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Using “His”, “Him” and “Her”:
1.
Using a picture of a girl and a boy, encourage your child to colour parts of one of the pictures, or to
add certain features, using sentences such as :
“Let’s give him black trousers”
“Let’s give her a big nose”, … etc.
2.
This next activity needs to be played in a group.
Choose a boy and girl from the group and give each a shopping bag.
Make up a story about a naughty baby brother who goes shopping with them and keeps taking things
from the shop and putting toys, etc, in their bags. This can be acted out.
The remaining children have to guess where the missing toys are :
“It’s in her bag”
“It’s in his bag”
etc. …
3.
Place a girl doll against a drawing of a house with a garden; do the same with a boy doll.
You could also use a selection of farm animals which have “escaped from a nearby field”. Say :
“Put the boy in his garden.”
“Put the horse in her field.”
… etc.
Reverse the roles.
4.
Play lotto games, etc. in a small group with another boy and girl.
The child can be encouraged to say whose turn it is; for example :
“It’s his go.”
“It’s her go.”
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Using “They”:
1.
Within a group, a couple of children are given an action picture and must mime what is happening,
for example, a picture of a girl swimming.
The other children must guess what is happening, for example :
“They are swimming.”
This game can be played in a group at school, or at home with brothers and sisters, etc.
2.
The child is given two boy manikins and sets of clothes. Say :
“He’s going to wear shoes.”
The child gives shoes to one of the manikins only. Then say :
“They are going to wear jumpers.”
The child gives jumpers to both of the manikins.
Give the child a turn in telling you what to do.
3.
Use enclosed oval pictures of a boy, a girl and a group of people as well as action pictures which
include some with two or more people doing actions to elicit “they” (are running, … etc.)
Place the pictures on the table face down in a pile.
Encourage the child to turn over a picture and say whether it is a boy or a girl or (a group of) people.
When it is a group say :
“We say they for more than one person.”
and encourage him to put it in the right oval and then the child can tell you about the picture, for
example :
“They are swimming.”
Repeat with the remaining pictures, taking it in turns to turn one of the cards over
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CONCEPTS
6.1 Strategies:
Acquiring Vocabulary or Concepts
1.
General Organisation
Help the child :
Teach him routines
Encourage tidying up in set places
This helps him to understand that things belong in sets and is crucial for learning new words and
storing them.
2.
Reinforcing Learning | Language
Create opportunities for reinforcing [ learning | language ] in everyday classroom activities.
in the [ taught | learnt ] context.
3.
Use Repetition
Be repetitive in your teaching of new [ concepts | vocabulary ].
4.
Plan, Do and Review
Help the child with a [ task | activity ] by encouraging him :
Plan - talk about what you are going to do, your aims, the resources you need, … etc.
Do - whilst carrying out the activity, name the resource and describe what the child is
doing, going to do next, … etc., in short sentences.
Review - after the activity is completed, encourage the child to think and talk about what
he has done. Help him to structure this by using words like “first …”, “then …”, “last …”.
5.
Encourage, praise and reward the child for his efforts
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6.2 Activities:
Concepts
Note
These activities are not ordered in a developmental progression.
Work on one concept at a time
When teaching concepts ensure that the child is given plenty of opportunities to learn them in lots of
different situations. Make them as concrete as possible so that they are more easily remembered.
While you are working on a particular concept try and bring the words into what you are doing in
everyday situations, for example :
“We’re going to the shops first”
“Can you get me either the red socks or the blue ones”
… etc.
Work on each concept should be carried out in stages :
1)
Experiencing the word
2)
Isolating the word / phrase and working on it in a structured game
3)
Adding more information
4)
Generalising the understanding to different situations.
Work with objects first, moving to understanding in pictures.
Specific Examples
In the following pages are some activities to develop understanding of some commonly used concepts in
the classroom.
In / On / Under
And then
Some
Big / Little
Long / Short
When I – you
Behind / In front
Next to
Except
Or, or vs and
First / Last / Middle
Not
Before / After
Other concepts you might choose to work on in similar ways include :
Full / Empty
Happy / Sad
Wet / Dry
Slow / Fast
Few / Many
Up / Down
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1.
“In”, “On” and “Under”
Check whether the child understands the meanings of “in”, “on” and “under”.
Put a bag on the table and ask him to put an object in different positions in relation to the bag.
For example, give him a toy car and tell him you want him to listen carefully and do what you ask.
Ask the child to put the car in the bag. It is quite natural to put things into bags so you can’t be
absolutely sure that he has understood the meaning of the word “in”. However, if you now ask
him to put the car on the bag and he is able to, you know he understands both “in” and “on”.
If he succeeds with both “in” and “on”, you can check that he understands “under”, by asking
him to put the car under the bag.
If the child understands “in”, “on” and “under”, give him some more practice with all three
prepositions, making a game of putting different things in different positions, pointing out where
objects are in pictures (for example, the cat is under the table, etc.).
If the child does not understand all of the prepositions, teach the one he doesn’t understand by
giving him lots of examples of the meaning in everyday situations.
For example, if he doesn’t understand “under”, make lots of opportunities throughout the day to
point out things which are under other things (for example, you can’t find his socks, because they
are under his jumper).
Or, for example, engineer the putting of objects under other objects (for example, “please put
my bag under the chair”), or point out the position when looking in books (for example, “Look at
Spot, he’s under the tree”).
If the child doesn’t understand any of the prepositions, work on one at a time (as described
above)
When you are confident that he understands one of them, introduce another one.
When he has had lots of exposure to the preposition you are working on, you can begin to play
games with him where he has to understand only the one key-word, i.e. “in”, “on” or “under”;
for example :
“Put it on”, “Put it under”
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Once the child can consistently follow instructions at this level move on to two key-words in an
instruction.
Have two items that objects can be placed in / on / under. Give the child an object and ask him to
:
“Put it [ on the chair | under the chair | on the table | under the table ]”
The next step is understanding at a three key-word level.
Have a selection of small toys and dolls house chair, table and bed. Give instructions such as :
“Put the shoe on the chair”
“Put the brush under the bed”
It is often helpful to have some pictures that match the objects you are using, e.g. a picture of a [
mouse, spider and snake ] on or under a [ bed, chair or table ]. You can then look at the picture
secretively, saying, for example “Put the mouse under the table”. Once the child has carried out
the command, show him the picture – cheer if it’s correct!
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Choose from the following set of activities whilst taking into account the child’s level of ability.
Make an obstacle course for some teddies (or the child) round the room (going under or on chairs,
tables, etc).
If several children are playing, they can take turns to be the leader and call out.
Play a “hide and seek” game where the child leaves the room while you hide a favourite toy in, on
or under something. When he returns, tell him where the toy is (for example, “it’s under the
table”) and the child finds it.
Draw a picture with the child and suggest putting things in, on or under other things, for
example, “a cup on the table”, “a teddy under a car, with just his head poking out”.
Put out some coloured bricks and give the child a collection of farm animals – “Put the cow on the
red brick”
Make up clues for a treasure hunt and then hide them round the room.
Make sure the clues follow one another logically so that if Clue 1 says “Look under the table”,
Clue 2 must be hidden under the table.
Put a small prize in the last hiding place.
“Simon says – Put your hands on your head”, “… sit under the table”
Hunt the thimble / using toys to hide – “where’s teddy hiding?”
Looking at books – for example : “Where’s Spot?”
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2.
“Big” / “Little”
To begin with, it is important to check that a child can recognise the physical difference
between “big” and “little”, before learning the label for it. So, give lots of practice in sorting
big and little samples of the same objects - big and little [ bricks | spoons | pencils | toy cars |
etc ].
The next stage is to help the child choose between a big and a little object.
Start with just two objects (for example, a big and a little cup) ask your child to give you either
the big one or the little one. The child has to understand the words “big” and “little” only.
Slowly add more big and little pairs of objects so the child has to choose between “big and
little” and “teddy and duck” for example.
Gradually make the request even more difficult. So, you might ask him to “Give the big cup to
the dolly” or the “Give the little cup to the teddy”, or alternatively, “Put the big teddy in the
car”, etc.
At the same time, use big and little in your everyday conversation with the child. Expand what
he says, if appropriate, with a word that describes what he is talking about. For example, if
he says :
“bus”
when looking at a picture, you could say to him :
“Yes, it’s a big bus, isn’t it!”
When looking at books with the child you can also point out big and little things.
Other activities to choose from :
One-word level
Find a range of toys, for example : one big cup and one little cup, one big plate and one little
plate, or spoon, or car, etc.
Ask the child :
“Find the big car.”
“Find the little spoon.”
and then post them in a cardboard box.
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Two word level
Move on to teaching two key-words together, using any big and little toys or objects, but making sure
that the child now has to understand two words to carry out requests.
Find a big and a little doll, a big and a little teddy. Ask :
“Where’s big teddy?”
“Where’s little dolly?” … etc.
If it is too hard, give a “clue”; for example, if he points to big dolly instead of little dolly, pick
up big dolly, saying :
“This is big dolly – where’s little dolly?”
using your free hand to point out the remaining toys.
Find two cardboard boxes for holding toys of the same shape but different sizes. When tidying
up toys, ask the child, for example :
“Put teddy in the big box.”
“Put the car in the little box.”
Draw a big house and a little house. Then ask the child to colour in the big window or the little
door. You can do the same with big and little faces, for example :
“Colour in the big nose.”
“Colour the little ear.”
Play a dressing-up game with different sized articles of clothing. Comment on what the child is
wearing; for example :
“Look at the big hat.”
“Try on the little T-shirt.”
Then try giving the child instructions :
“Put on the big shoes”
Ask him what he is wearing.
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Three word level
Resources :
Ask :
a big and a little dolly
a big and a little teddy
a chair
a table
“Put the big dolly on the chair.”
“Put the little teddy on the table.”
… etc.
Resources :
Ask :
“Make the big teddy jump.”
“Make the little dolly sit.”
… etc.
Resources :
objects
“Give the brick to little teddy.”
“Give the spoon to the big dolly.”
… etc.
Ask :
Resources :
Ask :
Resources :
Ask :
Resources :
Ask :
Resources :
Ask :
dolly
teddy
a big and a little chair
a big and a little table
“Put teddy on the little chair.”
“Put dolly on the big table.”
… etc.
teddy
a big and a little chair
a big and a little table
“Make teddy stand on the little chair.”
“Make teddy jump on the big table.”
… etc.
dolly
teddy
big and little bricks
big and little spoons
“Give the little brick to dolly.”
“Give the big spoon to teddy.”
… etc.
big and little cups
big and little plates
a spoon
a fork
“Put the spoon in the little cup.”
“Put the fork on the big plate.”
… etc.
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3.
“Behind” / “in front”
Once a child can understand the basic prepositions “in”, “on” and “under” you might like to start
working on other position words such as “behind” and “in front”.
As well as adapting the activities listed above you could also try the following :
Play “follow my leader” type activities – stress that “… … must stay behind … … …”
Roll the ball behind you.
Number all the children. Then call out a number and everyone has to run and line up behind
that person.
If there are a lot of children (i.e. too high memory load) ask the children to put their hands up
if their number is called so that everyone knows who to line up behind.
For younger children, set out chairs to make a pretend bus and saying, for example :
“John, you sit behind Kate.
Matthew sit behind … … and … …,”
… etc.
Then ask :
“Where’s John?”
“He’s behind … …”
Use farm animals or Playmobil.
“Put the car behind the bus”
“Put the cow behind the hedge”
… etc
Look at pictures in books and ask :
“Who is behind the chair?
Where is the baby?”
… etc.
Drawing to instructions. For example :
“Draw a ball behind the chair”.
Once the child consistently understands “behind”, you can introduce similar activities to work on “in
front”.
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4.
“Or” - “Give me the red one or the green one”
1.
Experiencing the word in everyday situations. In as many situations as possible offer choices,
for example, at breakfast time :
“Do you want Weetabix or Shreddies?”
“Do you want to watch x or y video?”
“Shall we read x or y book?”
When you offer a choice emphasise the word “or”. It may be helpful if you hold the two
choices for him.
2.
Isolating the word / phrase and working on it in a structured game – explain that “or” means
we have to choose one.
3.
4.
Activities
Putting items away
Posting items down a tube
Pointing to pictures in a book
Once the child understands the concept individually you can begin to work on contrasting it.
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5.
“Or” vs “and”
Explain that “or” means we have to choose one, “and” means we can do both.
The following worksheet might be useful.
Understanding “or” vs “and”
“Or” means we have to choose one, “and” means we can have more than one.
Work through the examples with the child. Ask him to identify how many items are offered in
each example below. Circle the right answers.
1.
Tim can have an apple or an orange
1
2
2.
Ben can have a chocolate biscuit and a plain one
1
2
3.
Ann has a cat and a dog
1
2
4.
Andy can have a biscuit or a drink
1
2
5.
Tom’s going to draw a house or a man
1
2
6.
Bob drew a plane and a train
1
2
7.
Mum is going to have a sandwich or a cup of tea
1
2
8.
Dad is going to have an apple and some crisps
1
2
9.
Joe is going to have coke or orange
1
2
10.
Holly is going to go on the train and the bus
1
2
11.
Robert will go by car or by bus
1
2
Make up some ideas of your own.
Listening game – Use “and” or “or” in instructions for the child to follow.
Putting away game – “Put away a brick or pencil”, “Put away a book and a rubber”
Building towers – “Use a red and blue brick”, “Use a big or little brick”
Colouring in – “Colour in a tree or a house”, “Colour in the trousers and the jumper”
Stamping shapes – “Stamp a bus and a car”, “Stamp a man or a dog”
Simon says … – “Touch your nose and your chin”, “Touch your ears or your cheeks”
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6.
“Not” - “Point to a dog but not the one that is eating”
1.
You will probably have to set up situations to allow the child to experience “not”; for example :
“Why is the tape recorder not working?” – It has no batteries in.
“Why is the drink not coming out?” - The cap is still on.
“Who has not got a book?”
2.
Talk about what “not” means. Work through pictures. Draw two faces but miss a part on one,
for example, the eyes. Then ask :
“Which one has not got eyes?”
The child can then draw on the eyes. This activity works with faces, houses and stick people
holding items (such as balloons and ice creams). You can extend it to colouring in clothes on
people; for example :
“Who has not got red trousers?”
Children usually enjoy this activity and learn “not” in this situation quite quickly. It then needs
to be generalised to other situations.
3.
4.
Generalising the understanding to different situations
Emphasise “not” by adding additional cues, e.g. shaking your head.
Activities
Use toys
Have two toys and two sets of items for them, e.g. two cups, two plates, two spoons, etc. Put
the toys on the table.
Let the child have one set of items in a bag, take them out and give them to the toy of their
choice. You can then use the other set and say :
“Who has not got a [ cup | plate | spoon ]?”
Similar games can be played when drawing or colouring pictures, putting clothes on toys, etc.
Using reasoning skills
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At small group time you can talk about different items that the children
have or do not have, for example :
“Who has not got blue shoes?”
It can be made fun by the child needing to do actions :
“Stand up if you have not got long hair.”
At first, use body language clues and emphasise the “not”, then decrease the additional clues,
encouraging the children to listen carefully so as not to be caught out.
7.
“And then” - “Point to the cat and then to the bird”
Talk about the order the actions need to be done in.
Activities
8.
Body parts
“Touch your nose and then your elbow”
Putting away game
“Put away the cars and then put away the man”
Building game
“Find the red bricks and then the blue ones”
Looking at pictures
“Touch the tree and then the dog”
“Long” and “Short”
Begin by collecting pairs of objects, differing only in their size, for example, a long and a short
sock, a long and a short pencil, etc.
Put the pairs of items next to one another (for example, the two socks).
Talk about them to the child, saying :
“Here’s a long sock, here’s a short sock.”
Encourage the child to sort the long items into one pile and the short ones into another pile,
talking about it as it is done, for example :
“Let’s put this short pencil with this short sock.”
Other Resources :
Long and short strands of wool
ribbons
scarves
elastic
rulers
… etc.
During constructional or creative play, talk about what the child has made. For example, if a
train has been made out of Lego, you can say :
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“That’s a long train! I’m going to make one too.”
(Make your train shorter.)
Draw the child’s attention to the two trains :
“Look, yours is a long train, mine is a short train.”
Draw some long and short snakes (or trains, etc.) for the child to colour in, for example :
“Colour the long snake.”
Draw two faces and cut some long and short strands of wool for hair. Using glue, stick a strand
of wool to one of the faces, saying :
“Look, she’s got long hair!”
Stick a short strand onto the other face, commenting as it is done :
“This one’s got short hair!”
Lay out the different sizes of wool in front of the child, asking him :
“Find a long piece”
and helping to stick it onto the face.
Give the requests in random order so that the child cannot predict what he is going to be asked
to do.
Use musical instruments, such as whistles or recorders for playing long and short notes with
lots of examples.
After giving examples, ask the child to play :
“a long note”
“a short note”
at random.
Long and short roads
You need a selection of cars, vehicles, etc.
Draw a long road and a short road. With your finger, show the child the long and short road,
labelling them as you do so.
Ask the child to take the cars along the roads in random order so that he cannot guess what
you are going to ask next.
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9.
“Next to” - “Point to the elephant next to the giraffe”
Activities
Animal Game
Line up a selection of farm animals and Playmobil characters.
Get one of the children to shout instructions such as :
“the man next to the pig go into the box”
“the cow next to the dog go into the box”
etc.
Looking at pictures
Ask the child to point to people or objects that are next to things.
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10.
“First” / “Last” / “Middle”
“Point to the first elephant in line”
“Point to the last bird”
“Point to the animal in the middle”
Work on one at a time. When understanding of one is established move to the next. Children usually
develop understanding of “first” before “last”.
1.
Experiencing the word – Bring the words into what you are doing in everyday situations, e.g.
at “lining up” time, choose who should line up by saying :
“Who can be first to touch their toes?”
“Who can be first to put their hands on their heads”
… etc.
As the children are lined up, talk about “the first” in line and “the last” in line.
2.
Isolating the word / phrase and working on it in a structured game – Talk about what “first” and
“last” mean.
3.
4.
You can use similar activities to those detailed for “before” and “after”. You may also like to
use some of the following :
During PE, spend a few minutes playing a game where the last person to reach one
side of the room is “out”.
Play “Simon Says” games where the last person to act correctly is out. Use the
games to use the words “first” and “last”.
Point out the first word on a new page to be read aloud. Ask the child to point to
the first word and the last word on the page.
In picture storybooks, point out the “first” and “last” in any pictures of “line ups”,
for example, at a race finish (“The Hare and the Tortoise”).
Line up toys and ask who is first, last, in the middle?
Putting away game
“Put away the horse first.
Put away the one in the middle”
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11.
“Before” / “After”
These concepts are hard because the order we need to do things in is affected by the sentence structure
we use. For example in the sentence :
“point to the cat before you point to the fish”
(Type 1)
the child is expected to point to the items in the order said. However, in the sentence :
“before you point to the fish, point to the cat”
(Type 2)
you still have to point to the cat first – i.e. not in the order in which the items were said.
When a child doesn’t understand the concepts “before” and “after”, he will usually follow an instruction in
the order in which it is given. (So, given the direction :
“Before you sit down, give me the egg”
a child will ignore the meaning of “before”, and carry out the commands in the order given, i.e., “sit
down”, then “give the egg”.)
Use this to advantage by working on the Type 1 sentences first, so that the child is carrying out an activity
in the right order, before he is completely aware that order is an important part of the direction.
For example, ask the child to :
“Point to the cup, before you point to the spoon.”
Later, when the child is happy with instructions like these, progress to the second type of structure.
Explain that he will have to listen hard and change the order of “before” in the sentence, for example :
“Before you point to the cup, point to the spoon.”
When he understands these consistently give him instructions using both sentence types 1 and 2.
Following this pattern, teach “before” first, moving on to “after” when understanding of “before” is
consistent at every level.
As with “before” it is important to take care with how you teach “after”. First use instructions which begin
with “after”; for example :
“After you point to the pencil, point to the rubber.”
Later, place “after” in the middle of the instruction; for example :
“Point to the doll after you point to the teddy.”
When the child is understanding all the sentence types outlined, mix up “before” and “after”.
Following the structure for teaching concepts detailed previously you might like to use some of the
following activities in working with the child.
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1.
Bring the words into what you are doing in everyday situations,, for example :
“we’re going to the shops before we go to the park”
“we’re going to feed the ducks after we’ve posted the letters”.
2.
Talk about what “before” / “after” mean.
3.
4.
You can work on “before” and “after” when :
Playing instruction games
Giving instructions to build a Lego model
Pointing to pictures
Tidying away
For example,
Put out rows of items, this could be linked to a particular topic or subject that you are working
on in class. For example, during science with an older child, put out science equipment or
chemicals you might be using in a particular class. After the experiment has been completed /
equipment used you could ask :
“Which item did you use before the …?”
and
“Which did you use after the … ?”.
Similarly in English, talk about what came before the body of the text (i.e. an introduction)
and what came after (i.e. conclusion), etc.
When lined up, talk about who is “before” / “after” particular children.
During discussion of [ historical | geographical events | stories ], talk about :
“what happened before …”
“what next …”
“what happened after …”
Anything that grows or develops can be used to discuss “before” and “after”, e.g. plants, life
of a frog, child-adulthood.
Use sequences to talk about what happens “before” and “after”, e.g. recipes - what do you
need to do before you put the flour in? Planting a bulb, decorating your bedroom, making
tea, etc.
Events in the day –Does breakfast come before lunch? Do you go to school after breakfast?
Touching parts of the body – Touch your nose before you touch your elbow
Putting away game – put away the cars before you put away the man
Building game – Build a tower with the yellow bricks before you build with the green ones
Looking at pictures – Touch the tree before you touch the dog
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12.
“Some” - “Give me some of the bricks”
Discuss what this means, i.e. when we ask for “some” we mean “more than one but less than all of
the items”.
Practice understanding of this on its own, i.e. only use instructions containing “some”. When the
child is confident at this level, add other concepts. Choose between the following words – “a”,
“all”, “a few”, “most”, “one of”, “two of”, etc. explaining what each one means, and then use
them randomly. For example :
“Put away a blue brick” – meaning just one item
“Put away all the red bricks”
“Put away some of the yellow bricks”
“Put away one of the green bricks”
Activities
Putting away items
Posting items down a tube
Colouring in pictures
Putting stickers on a picture
Pointing to pictures in a book
13.
“When I …, you … ” - “When I point to the elephant you point to the giraffe”
Activities
Putting away game “When I say go, put a brick in the box”
“When I clap my hands put a red one away”
“When I put away a car you put away a man”
14.
Looking at pictures
“When I touch a tree you touch a flower”
Dressing up
“When I put on the hat you take off the shoes”
“Except” - “Touch all the animals except the bird”
Activities
Putting away game
“Put away all the cars except the blue ones”
Farm game
“Put all the cows in the field except the black ones”
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SEQUENCING
7.1 Strategies:
Sequencing Language
1. Plan, Do and Review
Help the child with a task | activity by encouraging him to :
Talk about what you are going to do, your aims, the resources you need, … etc.
Whilst carrying out the activity, name the resource and describe what the child is doing, going
to do next, … etc., in short sentences.
After the activity is completed, encourage the child to think and talk about what he has done.
Help him to structure this by using words like “first …”, “then …”, “last …”.
2.
Spidergrams (Mind maps)
Spidergrams are a useful method for planning a story, experiment, and essay and for reviewing and
summarising work.
Idea 1
Idea 2
Idea 3
Introduction
Conclusion
Idea 4
It is useful for a child with language difficulties because it encourages the child to plan more visually.
Memory recall is assisted, sequential organisation is supported and maintenance of a topic is made easier.
Example - A Story Plan
The story title must be in the body of the spider and referred to constantly. Each leg represents a
paragraph or section of the story. Key words, pictures, symbols should be noted on the legs, in order,
during the child’s brainstorming. The use of different colours is also helpful. As the story is transferred to
paper, computer, … etc, the legs can be cut off, crossed out, … etc.
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3.
Mind Maps
The same principle can be used to give an overview or summary of things taught, for example, a review of
a topic covered over the week. This method is called a mind map (Tony Buzan).
Example
Word-finding
Difficulties
Normal
Developmen
Language
Disorder
Sequencing
Social Skills, etc.
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7.2 Activities
Sequencing, Retelling and Explaining
Early Stage
The first stage is being able to order pictures into a story by being shown the pictures one at a time, and
being able to predict what will happen next.
Cut story strips up into individual pictures. Talk about each picture and ask what might happen next. If
the child doesn’t know or says something that is unusual or unexpected; for example :
a boy peeling a banana – what will happen next? “play football”
give him some alternatives, e.g. “Will he eat the banana or throw it away?”
You can also encourage these skills when reading a story and talking about what will happen next.
Talk about what you are going to do next during everyday routines. Sometimes you could draw a story of
something that you have done during the day – see if the child can put the pictures in the right order and
tell you what happened.
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Retelling and explaining are important features of human communication. They enable us to share
experience and pass on information when removed from the actual event.
At their highest level, these tasks are dependent upon :
a)
Remembering the episode
b)
Thinking of ideas
c)
Being aware of the listener’s prior state of knowledge
d)
Having an adequate vocabulary and ability to recall words
e)
Being able to put words into sentences
f)
Sequencing sentences and ideas to form a logical structure (that is, beginning, middle and
end)
g)
Being precise
h)
Adjusting your language to suit the listener
i)
Checking your listener is understanding
j)
Having the ability to keep the interest of your audience
(using, for example, facial expression, gesture, body language, different voices and accents).
k)
Acknowledging the value of environmental props.
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Retelling
1.
Recalling and retelling of events that happened earlier in the day, or the day before, for example,
outings, visits, special assemblies, … etc.
The use of photographs to help recall past outings, plays, … etc. is useful. The children can be
helped by someone asking questions.
2.
Watching a video and retelling the story.
You could try stopping the action on a second run through and asking the child to tell you what
happened just before.
3.
Use of classroom story books.
Short stories that are read by individuals could then be retold to the other members of the group.
The child could use the pictures in the book to help recall the story.
4.
Picture sequencing.
Either published material (LDA, … etc.) can be used, or you can draw a story sequence with the
child, as you tell the story. Cut it up for him to order and retell the story.
Make the language simple at first and then go on to use longer utterances and more detailed
descriptions of the picture. Eventually use language that is imaginative and also abstract to link the
pictures.
5.
Using a “Magnetic Way to Language” act out a story telling it as you move the people, … etc.
around the board.
Encourage the child to :
tell your story to another adult or child who has not heard it before.
using the board to make up a story and have the child act out the story for you.
6.
Use sound lotto stories.
Listen to the story and link the sounds heard to the pictures.
When the story is over, use the picture boards to help recall what has happened.
Listen to the story again to check if the answer was right. Make mistakes occasionally.
Can the child you are working with spot errors and tell you the correct sequence?
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7.
“Chinese story”.
Make up a story and use a tape recorder to record it.
Play it to one child who then has to make his own tape retelling the original story.
The next child listens to the first child’s story and retells it.
Continue until everyone in the group has had a turn.
Listen to the stories from the beginning.
The children can talk about what they missed out or got wrong on their retelling.
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Explaining
In all of these activities, it would be useful for you to demonstrate how to explain things first.
1.
The child can behave as a teacher explaining to the class | group how to do something he has done
before, for example, laying a table.
2.
The child has a picture of a model which he keeps secret. He explains to another child or a small
group how to make it using the materials available.
At the end of the session, the children compare the picture and model and discuss where they have
gone wrong (or got it right!).
3.
As above using Lego or other building bricks.
4.
Working behind a screen, the child explains to another child how to make or draw something that is
in front of him.
5.
The child can explain to someone else how to carry out a simple daily task, for example, making a cup
of tea.
He can be helped by using resources (including a teapot, cups and saucers,… etc.) as suggested to
him by you.
6.
The child can be asked to explain how to do something, for example, how to get to the hall, to a
younger child.
7.
Using science activities (for example: cooking, broad bean growth, … etc.) the child can explain to
others how to do an activity or what happened after it is completed.
8.
Using a large scale map, the child can explain how to get to a specified place; for example :
“We are outside the library - tell me how to get to the cinema.”
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Extending Sequencing Activities
Use a set of pictures for the following activities that make up a story sequence. You can use as many
pictures as you feel the child is able to cope with. Preferably start with three picture sequences, gradually
building up the demands of the task.
The pictures can depict any story you like, e.g. a boy getting up, having his breakfast and then going to
school, or a balloon slowly being blown up and then popping, etc.
Mix up the pictures and ask the child to put them in the right order to tell the story.
Note the order the child puts the pictures in and whether they are using left-right orientation.
Ask the child to tell the story, noting vocabulary used along with the grammatical structures
employed.
Ask what might happen next – this targets prediction skills.
Ask the child “wh” questions, for example: who / what / where / why.
Ask the child how they know something, for example :
“How do you know he is scared?”
Similarly ask how they would feel in that situation – this targets the child’s ability to recognise
and understand emotions and to empathise.
Ask the child to demonstrate understanding of language concepts, for example: first / last,
before / after.
Ask the child to give a title for the story.
This shows an understanding of the “big picture”.
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Resources
Helen Rippon (1996) Black Sheep Press
Sequencing Pictures, Tel 01507 358 669
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PROCESS OF HYPOTHESIS
8.1 Strategies
Prediction and Reasoning
Just as some children have problems in early language development so others experience difficulties with
higher language development. In some cases the problem is an extension of an earlier one; in other
cases the child has no history of early language problems but begins to struggle, as language becomes
more complex. Higher Level Language problems present a barrier to learning.
In English we often use words and phrases that have a meaning other than the literal one. Speakers also
sometimes express their meaning by implication rather than explicitly. For example we might say :
“Those look like new shoes.” meaning “Have you just bought them?”
“Those sweets look nice.”
meaning “Please may I have one?”
“Your bedroom looks like a pigsty.”
meaning
“Tidy it up!”
Some children have to put so much effort into interpreting words that they find it difficult to use other
information such as context (for example, the speaker’s tone of voice, … etc.) in order to interpret what
is said.
Some children with language difficulties have a poor appreciation of the speaker’s point of view and may,
for this reason, miss the real meaning.
There are many metaphors and non-literal words and phrases in English; for example :
“Pull your socks up!”
“It’s raining cats and dogs.”
“You’re so sharp you’ll cut yourself.”
“You’re a bright spark.”
It is at around seven years of age that children begin to understand this sort of sentence, but children with
language difficulties will be much slower to do so, and may interpret such things literally in their teens.
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Problem Solving Skills
Problem solving is another essential higher-level language skill for learning in the infant and junior
classroom. It is required throughout the curriculum. For example, in number work, the child is required
to “make predictions based on experience” and in PE the child must use rules and know how to apply these
in a team game.
Problem solving is a skill used not only in the classroom but in all areas of the child’s life. The child who
knows from past experience that the boxes on top of the wardrobe contain his Christmas presents and gets
the chair from his room to climb up and reach them has used the skill of problem solving.
Problem solving is a complex skill which involves :
selecting the relevant information
organising and sequencing
making inferences
and predicting outcomes
The child uses verbal reasoning to carry out these different processes. He may talk through these either
audibly or using internal language. At a later stage he may use written language.
Selecting Relevant Information
To begin to think through a problem, the child needs to select the information relevant to the task from
the general information available.
Some children with language problems find selecting the appropriate information difficult; since they
cannot make this selection the whole situation can be overwhelming.
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Organising and Sequencing Information
Having selected the relevant information, the child must organise this material, and then sequence it
appropriately.
Sequencing and organisation can break down at every level in a child with a language problem. You may
notice this in his physical ability with difficulties in dressing and, in general, in activities involving gross and
fine motor skills.
Number work may also be affected.
In language work, he may find it hard to organise ideas and sentences; words and phrases within a
sentence may also be ordered incorrectly.
Making Inferences
After organising and sequencing the information, the child will need to draw conclusions from the evidence
he has collected. This will involve memory to recall past information.
In order to do this, the child needs to be able to classify and categorise and then make links between these
categories.
Predicting
This is closely linked with making inferences and again involves cross-referencing. The child needs to know
that he can predict the outcome of one situation because of his knowledge of similar, related situations.
In order to predict the child will also need the ability to plan ahead.
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Problem Solving
1.
Visual Presentation Modelling
For example, demonstrate a science “experiment”.
Encourage pupils to ask questions and make predictions about the experiment using language forms
such as :
“What happened when …?”
“What do you think will happen …?”
“What if …?”
“How …?”
“Why …?”
“Which will be the best …?”
2.
Visual Representation of Results
Record on a chart or clear table what happened, use symbols rather than written material.
3.
Hands-on Experience
Allow pupils to repeat the “experiment” themselves or set up a similar experimental situation.
Encourage them to ask the questions and fill in a similar chart.
Examples of “experiments” :
a)
Demonstrate what happens to pastry :
at room temperature
in the freezer
in a hot oven
Pupils could repeat the experiment with ice cream and frozen fruit.
b)
4.
Supermarket test comparing different washing-up liquids on dirty plates – grade from worst
to best.
Encourage, praise and reward the child for his efforts
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8.2 Activities
Problem Solving
1.
Organisation
1.
Any sorting activity will be helpful. The child will need to sort according to concrete
properties, for example, weight, wet | dry, and more abstract properties, for example,
things that roll.
2.
“Odd One Out”
Use pictures or objects to decide which belong together and which are the odd ones out.
2.
3.
Cross categorising, to show that any one object is a member of a variety of different
categories.
4.
Collecting things up for the teacher at the end of the lesson, for example, all the scissors.
Sequencing
1.
Let the child copy a sequence of shapes set out by the teacher.
2.
The teacher sits behind a screen, makes a pattern, tells the child what the pattern is and he
makes it. Remove the screen and compare the patterns.
3.
Help the child to talk through a familiar sequence, for example, dressing, going to school,
dinnertime at school, by drawing each stage. Make a personalised set of cards or a book.
4.
Cooking is a very useful way to help develop the child’s sequencing skills. Talk about what you
need to collect before you begin. Ask the child “What are we going to do next?” … etc.
5.
Make up simple stories.
6.
Act out well known stories, or the stories in the reading scheme.
7.
Songs and rhymes. Sing the first line – can the child sing the next?
8.
Let the child be a joint leader of a small group where the activity involves organising other
members of the group, for example, in P.E.
9.
Take the opportunity during festive times to let the child organise parts of the decorations, for
example, where to put the Christmas tree.
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3.
Making Inferences and Predictions
1.
Ask the child to anticipate what may happen next at key points during the day, for example,
just before P.E can he say what will happen, for example : “… get PE bag, change, go into the
hall …”. Draw picture sequence stories of these activities.
2.
Answer a quiz; for example :
“… the children have their P.E bags; they’re wearing shorts. What will happen next?”
Children are lining up with their full lunch boxes :
“what are they going to do?”
The children are lining up with empty lunch boxes, coats and reading folders :
“what is happening?”
Similarly, find some pictures of people in different clothing or situations, for example, in a
swimsuit, or with a suitcase. See if the child can tell you where they are going or what they
are going to do.
3.
Sequence picture cards and say what may occur next.
4.
Predict what may occur next in a story.
5.
Ask the child to give you instructions in a familiar daily routine, for example : washing hands.
Carry this out for real.
Only do what the child says, for example, if he says “dry hands” without saying “turn the taps
off” first – don’t turn the taps off. Help the child to see the omissions
6.
Make “prediction” pairs of cards with cause and effect, for example :
a house on fire and a fire engine
a boy climbing a tree and a boy eating apples
a man running and a bus about to drive away
The child must find the things that go together. Ask questions to prompt the child to think
about cause-effect relationships, for example :
“Why is the man running?”  “Because his bus is leaving”
“How did the boy get those apples?”  “by climbing the tree”
7.
Using weather pictures and pictures of people in different clothes, see if the child can match
the person with a weather picture (for example, shorts  summer, umbrella  rain).
8.
If you make a calendar in the classroom, see if the child can select the appropriate weather
picture for the day.
Use this opportunity to make predictions, for example, if it is raining what will happen at
playtime (that is, indoor play).
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9.
Using sequence cards, see if the child can tell you what would have happened before the
sequence begins and what will happen after the sequence ends.
10.
For older children only – use a story that is currently in the news and see if the child can predict
the outcome based on the information they have been given.
For example, there has been an earthquake – what are the consequences? Talk about people
being homeless. Ask the child :
“What will they need?”
… etc.
11.
Science experiment
Encourage pupils to ask questions and make predictions about the experiment using language
forms such as :
“What happened when …?”
“What do you think will happen …?”
“What if …?”
“How …?”
“Why …?”
“Which will be the best …?”
Use pictures of “problems” to consolidate all the above skills. For example :
a girl in bed, blowing her nose, with a box of tissues next to her
a scene of a kitchen with mum looking cross and some muddy footprints all over the floor
… etc.
You could give verbal descriptions of “problems” if the child is at a higher level, rather than use pictures,
for example :
“A little girl is in the playground at the end of the day and he isn’t very happy because all the other
children have gone home and he is still there”
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Note
The following activities are drawn from “Think It Say It”
Inferential Reasoning
Can the child tell you what the problem is? – for example, the kitchen floor is all muddy and
mum is cross because he has just mopped it.
Can he then tell you how he made that inference? – for example, there is a mop bucket
pictured and mum looks angry.
Problem Solving
Can the child determine a solution via visual analysis or auditory? – What can the boy do to
make his mum happy again? – mop the floor, say sorry
Can the child suggest how the problem could have been prevented? – the boy could have
taken his shoes off.
Determining Causality
Why did something happen? – the boy had been playing football and came in the house
without taking off his shoes.
Generalising
What will … do next? (lower level)
What will happen next? (higher level)
What was …. doing before …. (lower level)
What was happening before …? (higher level)
Assuming A Role
What will .. say to ….?
Applying General Knowledge
How can you tell … is in a kitchen?
What will the boy use to clean the floor?
Relating Personal Experiences
Do you have to mop the floor in your kitchen?
Where is it kept?
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Verbal Reasoning Skills
4.
Describing items by their use (Function of items)
Discussion Of The Use Of Objects
During the day talk about what you are about to do and what you will need :
It’s time to get dressed – we need our …… (clothes)
It’s time to eat lunch – we need our ……(lunch box)
It’s time to do reading – we need our …..(books)
Describing Items
Have a pile of object pictures and a pile of description cards
Keep the description cards in this order.
What do we do with it?
What is it? (category)
Where do we find it?
What does it look like? (key feature)
Turn over the top description card and take it in turns to turn over an object picture and say what we do
with it. Only accept the main function, for example, bed – “sleep in it” not “put duvets on it”.
This can be reinforced in description games like “I Spy …” and action rhymes like “Here we go round the
mulberry brush” – use an array of pictures or items in a box. Turn over one at a time or take one out of a
feely bag and sing the appropriate verse.
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Describing Objects
To describe something we can use different features of the object. Try using these headings to describe:
a ball
a fork
a cup
an apple
a cooker
a hat
Object = sock
Category
Clothing
Its function or use
Wear it
What it looks like
Has a hole at one end
What it does
Keeps us warm
Where you find it
Wear it on our feet
Keep it in a drawer
What it is made of
Wool
Object
Some features will have more than one idea beside them.
Which feature describes the item best?
Which features are relevant?
When the person you are working with is good at this, progress to games where you describe an object for
each other to guess, or “20 Questions” type of games.
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Language Choices
These ideas are best carried out in a small group.
Explain that you are going to work on activities that will help the children to talk about their ideas more
easily. Encourage them to think about times when they have had problems getting their ideas out (e.g.
explaining to a friend about how to use a computer game).
Choice
You will need to think up some choice (i.e. a definite “yes”) and no-choice (i.e. a definite “no”) scenarios
to read aloud to the group in turn. They then decide if there is a choice or not. The others can agree or
disagree. For example :
Your teacher says “The whole class has a detention” – No choice
Your parent(s) say(s) “We need to think about our next holiday” – Choice
Collect pictures (for example : from magazines or catalogues) to make categories, for example, food,
holidays, hairstyles, fashion clothes. For each category show a selection of examples and ask the
students to choose one they like, emphasising they are making choices.
Link the concept of choice to language choices – explain that you have been thinking about choices and
that you also have to choose words to use when you talk. Write on a board or piece of paper “HAPPY” and
ask the students to think of all the words you might use to tell someone you feel “happy” (Repeat with
other examples, for example, “getting around”, “friend”.)
Importance
The students need to become aware of this to help them to be more relevant in their communication.
Write out multiple choice questions on card with the answer covered or on the back. Explain that you
have talked about choices but you can’t choose everything, you have to think about the best choices, i.e.
the most important things. Read out the multiple-choice examples and ask each student which choice
they think is the most important and discuss why. For example :
“When you eat a meal the most important thing to have would be …”
a) knife and fork
b) Plate
c) Food (Answer!)
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Silly Sentences
You will need to be selective and choose items suitable for the age, interests and experience of the child.
Make up similar ones of your own, if they find certain ones hard. Can they make up ones for you?
“What’s Wrong” cards can also be used.
Which sentences are silly? Can the child make them sensible?
The man sat on the TV
They made sandcastles at the seaside
The boy had long hair
They fed the lion at the farm
The snail sandwich was delicious
The cooker was in the kitchen
The hot drink had ice in it
He cooked his tea in the fridge
The coffee was hot
The man took his coat off because he was cold
You wear pyjamas when you go swimming
The bus had two people on it
The dog paid for the ticket
The cat slept in the garden
The duck swam in the bathroom
The boy cried because he was happy
Trains go on the road
The orange had lots of pips
He bought three blue bananas
Chocolate is pink
A fireman works in a hospital
We speak with our mouth
We use our ears to see
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Resources
Ideas for much of this area of work are taken from :
Dr. Wendy Rinaldi
“Language Choices – Selecting and Organising Ideas for Communication”
published by Wendy Rinaldi
18 Dorking Road
Chilworth
Surrey GU4 8NR
Practical Language Activities
Martin (1990)
“Think It - Say it : Improving Reasoning and Organisation Skills”
Communication Skill Builders,
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PRAGMATIC SKILLS
9.1 Strategies
Acknowledgement
The information in sections marked “*” has been taken from the NAS website.
1.
Only Use Necessary Words *
Try to remove any language that is not providing key information. For example :
Don’t say …
“Would you mind coming over here and sitting down there on the chair?”
Do say…
“John, sit here”
(and indicate with your arm which chair you mean)
2.
Provide As Much Information As You Can *
Although the child may be distressed by change, he will cope better if told in advance so he can anticipate
and prepare for it. For example :
Don’t …
neglect to tell the child that his normal teacher is away.
Don’t let him find out when he walks into the classroom and sees that another teacher is
there when he is expecting his normal form teacher. This may seem like an easy option,
and you may feel that by doing this you are minimising his stress by delaying the bad
news. However, it is better to manage things before they happen, rather than waiting
for the (unpredictable) response. It is sometimes only when routines are broken that we
see how much children rely on them.
Do …
prepare him.
“John, tomorrow, when you come to school, Mrs White will not be there. She is …
Mr Simon usually teaches you maths. Tomorrow Mr Simon will be your form teacher for
the day.”
Provide as much information as you feel the child needs. Be prepared to answer questions. Be honest, if
you are not sure the teacher will be back the next day, say that. Explain what will happen in that
eventuality. As long as the child is informed, he will feel more secure. Monitor any changes in the child’s
behaviour – if he is more aggressive or obsessional, it may be that he needs you to reassure him about the
change in routine and how it will affect him
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3.
Be Positive *
Don’t just tell the child what he shouldn’t be doing, tell him what he should be doing. For example :
Don’t say …
“I don’t want you to throw the books all over the floor”
Do say …
“John, pick the books off the floor. Put them into the library shelves”
4.
Avoid Sarcasm *
The child may have a very literal understanding of language. If you indicate that you want the child to do
something, use a direct style. For example :
Don’t say …
“My, what a tidy desk you have!”
(in a sarcastic tone of voice, which you use to indicate that the desk is a real mess.)
The child may well take your words genuinely. This may seem infuriating – as though the child is being
cheeky, or perhaps even using sarcasm back. However, this reaction is almost always because of a
misunderstanding by the child. Sarcasm is a complex form of language, which some children with
social communication difficulties cannot understand, or use themselves.
Do say …
“What a mess. Put these books in the library.”
5.
Use Concrete Terms Wherever Possible *
The child will have a better understanding of this sort of language. This point also ties in with providing
enough information to reassure the child. For example :
Don’t say …
“We can’t do that now, we’ll do it later.”
Do say …
“John, I know you want to go to lunch. We will have our lunch at one o’clock.”
If more questions are asked, try to respond (within reason). Obviously a balance needs to be drawn
between being informative and concise :
“We can’t go to lunch now. We still have some work to do. The ladies who put the tables and chairs out
aren’t here yet. When the tables and chairs have been put out and when we have finished our work, we’ll
go for lunch”.
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6.
Tell The Child Why You Are Pleased With Him *
Provide enough information when you are praising the child – so it is clear to him why you are happy with
his behaviour. This will encourage him to repeat this behaviour in the future. For example :
Rather than say …
“Good boy”.
Say instead …
“You’ve tidied the home area, that’s brilliant!”
7.
Provide Extra Thinking Time *
The child may need slightly longer to process the information you give him. Acknowledge this. If
necessary, come back to him a few minutes later for the answer to a question. If you know he has
understood the first time, try not to repeat yourself. This can be frustrating to a child who is trying to
respond but needs more time to formulate his reply.
8.
Use A Home-School Book
For a few children with more severe communication difficulties, it can be helpful to discuss the idea of a
home-school book with the parents. In this book messages can be written, pictures can be drawn and
interesting events described.
Knowledge of things said or done during the day at school or home :
gives parents and teachers topics for conversation,
helps a child talk about what they have done and
makes it easier for adults to identify what a child might be saying when speech is of poor
intelligibility.
9.
Encourage the Maintenance of a Topic of Conversation
If the child tends to talk “off topic”, acknowledge what he is saying but tell him you will talk about it later,
for example :
“That’s nice - but we were talking about this story weren’t we?
We’ll talk about your birthday later.”
10.
Encourage Turn-Taking In Conversation
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11. Encourage The Child To Be An Active Listener
Play games where you either give him information that is too long, too jumbled, too hard, too sparse (on
information). For example, information that is too long might be :
“Before you pick up the large blue pencil, move it towards the box.”
Jumbled information might be :
“Put them all on the shelf by the sink.”
while you rustle paper as you talk.
Information that is too hard might be :
“The herbivores were walking into the field.”
Sparse information might be :
“Point to the small blue one.”
when there are several small blue items.
By playing these games it is hoped that the child will learn to identify listening problems and request
further help / information. Discuss what was difficult about each instruction. Pictures or symbols of
potential problem areas (i.e. symbols for “too long”, “too jumbled”, too hard” “too sparse”) may help
him to identify the problem - for example :
“It was too long.”
“You didn’t tell me enough.”
etc.
12. Check That You Have Understood The Child’s Meaning
Don’t assume that you have understood, particularly if you have received an unusual or unexpected
answer. For example :
Teacher :
“What did you do last night?”
Child :
“Trains”
Teacher :
“What did you do? Did you play with your train set?”
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13. Use Star Charts as a Self -Monitoring and Reward System
Choose the headings to be worked on, for example :
Good Looking
Good Listening
Good Turn Taking
At the end of each session, talk to the child about how he has done with each one. Encourage him to
monitor his own performance :
How does he feel he has done?
Where should he get a star?
What should he concentrate on tomorrow / next week?
You may need to help him judge his evaluation more accurately. In the next session remind him of all the
“rules” and the one he really has to try hard with for the current session. Decide when he will get a
reward, for example, after 10 stars for a particular heading, and let him know this is what you are
working towards.
14. Encourage, Praise And Reward the child’s efforts
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9.2 Activities
Social Communication Disorder, Pragmatic Difficulties/Disorder, Difficulties With The Social Use of
Language
“Social Communication Disorder”, “Pragmatic Difficulties / Disorder” and “Difficulties with the Social Use
of Language” are all terms used to describe the difficulties some people experience with pragmatic skills
These pragmatic skills help us to get on with one another. In terms of communication, these are the rules
of interaction which allow is to achieve our desired outcome in an acceptable way. They are appropriate
to our background and culture.
For most children, these skills continue to develop certainly beyond five years of age.
Some children with pragmatic difficulties may have problems in knowing how and when to start and finish
a conversation and how to react when spoken to. Some fail to appreciate the subtle and mixed messages
shown by facial expression, body language and tone of voice and may therefore take things said to them
literally. They could also be unable to use these forms of communication successfully. Children with this
difficulty may “hog” the conversation or launch in at the wrong moment.
These children often use inappropriate language because of a lack of awareness of other peoples’ feelings.
As a two-way exchange of information, conversation is important for learning. Some children have
difficulty in initiating and maintaining conversation at an appropriate level for their age. This may be
because they have problems in organising their thoughts, finding the right words or putting words
together to make sentences. They sometimes wrongly assume you share the same background of
information and may strike up a conversation or make a comment accordingly. They may not know what
language to use to greet somebody or to make a request.
These children often have difficulty in developing a topic. In a group they will frequently copy somebody
else’s sentence structure or use closely associated ideas. On the other hand they may go off at a tangent
talking about something completely different. They may talk a lot without giving much information.
Children with these difficulties sometimes find maintaining a conversation easier if they’ve chosen the
topic themselves, and if the ideas are concrete rather than abstract. They benefit from contextual
support (for example, objects, pictures, … etc.).
As proficient users of language, we understand that different situations call for different codes of conduct.
For example, a formal approach is necessary when attending a job interview but when talking about work
with friends a formal approach would be very peculiar.
271
Further, when we speak and listen, we allow our conversational partners to contribute and influence our
responses. Often we do so assuming that what is being said is relevant and true, using inference and a
shared base of knowledge to maintain interest and add a certain richness, and using only enough words to
convey our meaning adequately.
Using such skills we negotiate our way through conversation and verbal exchanges. These are pragmatic
skills, for we use language in a range of contexts, which vary in terms of people, places and functions as a
tool for communication.
A child is said to have a pragmatic disorder when he is unable to use appropriate pragmatic skills.
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Behaviours Displayed By Children With A Pragmatic Disorder
There are three main groups of inappropriate behaviour :
1.
When responding, the child may …
change the topic completely, or pick up on an insignificant piece of information and elaborate
upon it.
respond with an answer that the person could assume, for example, the child may give
superfluous information :
Question
“Where do you live?”
Answer
“61 High Street, Bletchley. It’s a house with a red door and it’s next to
John’s house that has a red door and … … etc.”
Or they may give too little information, assuming that the listener has the same knowledge as
they do on a particular topic.
2.
During conversation the child may …
interrupt by introducing an unrelated topic.
not understand the implications of what has been said, for example, the topic may have been
about how wet it is outside because it is raining so heavily and then the child asks if he can go
out and play.
3.
The message is not conveyed as the child may …
overuse pronouns with the result that the listener is confused as to who or what the child is
talking about.
have a mismatch in the understanding of the meaning of some words, for example, “listening”
vs “understanding”.
use incorrect words where the child has selected the correct group of words but has chosen the
wrong one, for example, he correctly selects prepositions but uses “on” instead of “under”.
Children with pragmatic difficulties may have difficulties in making friends, and coping with peer group
interactions. Their problems may be overlooked because the symptoms are common in everyday
conversation and defined as confusions or simple misunderstandings. The important factor is the number
of times the behaviours are observed and the degree of confusion that follows, for often the listener will
try to make sense of the conversation but will get even more confused as the child may be inconsistent.
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Helping Children with a Pragmatic Disorder
1.
Don’t be side-tracked in conversation if the child changes the subject inappropriately, instead say :
“we’ll talk about that next but just now we are talking about … …”
2.
Don’t over apply your skill as a good communicator by struggling to make sense of the child’s
communication, instead say :
“I don’t understand what you are saying.”
“Do you mean … … … or do you mean … … …?”
3.
As far as possible, use only questions meaningfully ; do not ask questions that the child knows you
already know the answer to.
4.
Encourage the child to monitor his understanding, so that he can identify when he hasn’t
understood and what he can do about it.
Encourage him to be an active listener. Play games where you either give him information that is
too long, too jumbled, too hard, too little (information). For example :
too long
“Before you pick up the large blue pencil move it towards the box”
too jumbled
“Put them all on the shelf by the sink”
(make a noise, e.g. rustle paper as you talk)
too hard
“The herbivores were walking into the field.”
too little
“Point to the small blue one”
(when there are several small blue items).
By playing these games it is hoped that the child will learn to identify listening problems and request
further help / information. Discuss what was difficult about each instruction.
Visual pictures / symbols of too [ long | jumbled | hard | … etc. ] may help the child to identify the
problem, for example :
“It was too long, You didn’t tell me enough, I didn’t understand the word …”
During naturally occurring situations, the child can be set up so that he has to make some sort of request
based upon context, for example, the child is asked to draw a picture but given blunt pencils.
5.
Use procedures such as barrier games, for example, where the child has to give information to the
listener to enable the listener to make an identical picture. Then swap roles so that the child
becomes the listener and has to follow the instructions.
6.
Give him feedback about the adequacy of the message conveyed. For example :
“You didn’t tell me where this happened”.
“I came to the zoo yesterday so I know we went on the coach.”
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7.
Role-play and video record to encourage monitoring, for example, the adult models rules of
interaction and then discusses these rules explicitly.
8.
Explore emotion and discuss how these are expressed, for example, using stories.
9.
Set out clear group rules (and possibly use a star chart) with a social skills group, with targets such as
“Good sitting”, “Good looking” and “Good listening”.
Encourage the children to monitor themselves, i.e. ask them during or at the end of a group :
“[ Are you doing | Did you do ] good listening?”
… etc.
It may be useful to model [ poor | good ] [ looking | listening ] skills with another adult.
For example, one can talk whilst the other looks at the ceiling, floor, their watch, etc. Ask the
children what was wrong. Ask the speaker how they felt, for example : cross, upset. See if the
children can identify when you are doing it well and when you aren’t.
In discussion with the class, develop a list of
“Things we should do when listening”
For example : “be quiet”
“sit still”
“use our ears”
“think”
and
for example :
Note
“Things we should do when we want to speak”,
“put up our hand”
“wait for our turn”
“wait until someone has finished speaking”
“wait until someone has finished what they are doing”
“say ‘excuse me’”
… etc.
Many of the ideas for the games in this section come from Dr Wendy Rinaldi’s “Social Use of
Language Programme”.
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Working on Pragmatic Skills
Role reversal and barrier games are useful for working on pragmatic skills, particularly for focussing on
topic maintenance and repair strategies.
Role Reversal
There are many types of these games. The aim of the game is for the child or children and adults to take it
in turns to be the teacher.
Some games lend themselves to this readily; for example :
Shops, Schools, Doctors and Nurses, etc.
Also :
“Simon Says …” games
Directing how to set up an obstacle course and then which way to go round.
Directing a car or person around a road or town map.
Having two identical pictures and telling each other how to colour them in, which part and
what colour.
Telling each other which stickers to put on a picture - you could have identical ones.
Making identical pictures or patterns using shapes, etc.
Arranging rooms in a house.
Arranging animals in a farm or zoo.
Helping someone through a maze.
How to play a particular game on the computer.
Barrier Games
These are similar to role-reversal games. Each person has an identical set of resources with a barrier in
between them and takes it in turn to place the items in a set place and tell the other person how to do the
same. The complexity can be increased by changing the resources. For example :
Putting items in set places
“Put the cup on the plate”.
Making a person do an action
“Make the man stand on the chair”
“Make the boy sit on the table”
Resources : Choice of people and furniture.
Adding prepositions : “Put the brick under the book”
“Put the dog on the table”
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Resources : Choice of items and places.
Two part instructions :
“Open the book and put the pen on it”
“Turn the cup over and put the brick
under it”
Resources : Choice of items and places.
If the child doesn’t do as you direct, do tell him how to do it correctly.
When you have to follow what the child says, do exactly what he says. For example, if the child says “put
it in the cup” meaning “put the bear in the cup”, either ask “what should go in the cup?”, or put the wrong
thing in.
Barrier games can be useful for teaching a child strategies to “repair” a conversation. We use these
strategies when we don’t know what to do in different situations; for example, we can’t remember or
don’t understand. These are very important for the classroom. A child with language disorders often fails
to comment if he hasn’t understood. For example :
Absence
Have a piece missing when you give the instruction.
Target, for example : “I haven’t got the …”
Volume
Say part of the instruction in a whisper.
Target, for example : “what did I do? I didn’t hear”
Incomplete information
Sneeze or cough when giving an important part of the instruction.
Target, for example : “What do I do?”
Vocabulary
Use a word that you know he would not understand, for example,
perambulator.
Target : “What is it? I don’t understand.”
Too much information
Give a too long list.
Target : “I can’t remember. What do I have to do?” … etc.
The following sheets can be used to target different pragmatic skills. Some of the activities can be used on
a one-to-one basis with the child; others are better used in a small group situation.
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Eye Contact/Looking
Talk about eye contact – we use it to :
find out what a person is feeling
show we are listening
show we are interested
When we are looking at someone it is all right to look away at times
Wink “Go” playing “Ready, … steady, … go!” games
When you say “go”, wink or blink at the same time.
Gradually take away the verbal prompt so you are saying “Ready … steady … (wink)” – so the child
has to look at you to know when they can go.
Magic Box
A chair is set aside. When the adult makes eye contact, the child comes to sit in the chair and is
shown something inside a secret magic box. Each child has a turn (later, children can be in charge of
the magic box).
Copy Me
Children watch the leader and follow their actions.
Chinese Gestures
The group sits in a circle. Members close their eyes. The leader initiates a [ gesture | mime | facial ]
expression, for example : cleaning your teeth. They tap the member to the right of them who then
observes the gesture being made and passes it on.
Skills involved
observation
posture
touch
turn taking.
eye contact
facial expression
memory
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gelling
proximity
co-operation
Observations
Get into pairs, making two lines facing your partner.
Line A holds a posture for 30 seconds and line B observes.
Line B must now turn away.
Line A change one thing to do with posture, one to do with clothing and one to do with facial
expression (to make this simpler, change only one aspect). Line B then turns back and identifies the
changes.
Classroom discussion can focus around observation and what it is like / how it feels to be observed or
to be the observer.
Skills involved
gelling
gesture
proximity
social perception
observation
facial expression
memory
problem solving
eye contact
posture
turn taking
Eye Swap Chairs
Sit in a half-circle with one member left standing in the middle.
All those seated silently seek eye contact with another member. Once established, the two must
swap places. The person in the centre has to try and reach an empty chair.
Skills involved
eye contact
proximity
observation
touch
gelling
co-operation
Tangle
Two members of the group leave the room. The rest stand in a circle and hold hands.
The group is then instructed to get into a tangle by going over and under arches formed. They must
not break contact with one another.
The two members of the group are then asked back in and told to untangle people using verbal and
physical means – but they must not break the links.
Skills involved
observation
proximity
problem solving
gelling
touch
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posture
co-operation
Discussions
Talk about looking to show we’re ready for the next instruction.
Practice it in a task – for example :
- answering quiz questions
- carrying out instructions
- playing “Simon Says …”
Talk about sending messages with our eyes – sometimes we don’t use someone’s name when
giving them an instruction, but we look at them instead.
Practice this in these games :
Throw a pretend ball to someone in a circle
Look at someone to [ stand up | go first | go next ]
Who can sit down and which chair should they sit on
Hidden letters
Have an array of envelopes, only one has the magic letter in (or treasure map).
By your facial expression, can the children find out which one it is? Let them take turns to
send the messages.
Surprise presents
Take it in turns to open a pretend present and mime what it is.
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Listening and Attention
Note
Use this resource in conjunction with that on “Listening and Attention” skills found elsewhere
in this resource pack.
Draw A House
Work in pairs. One member instructs his partner to draw a house. The person drawing should do exactly
what his partner says.
Classroom discussion can focus on giving and receiving verbal instructions.
Skills involved
gelling
proximity
memory
responding
problem solving
negotiating
eye contact
listening
asking questions
co operating
self-instruction
gesture
volume
listening
turn taking
self-monitoring
“Who Is This?”
The group is seated in a circle. The leader gives a physical description of a group member, for example :
“brown hair, wearing a red jumper”. The group has to guess who it is.
Skills involved
gelling
gesture
proximity
memory
problem solving
observation
facial expression
presentation
turn taking
self-monitoring
eye contact
posture
listening
social perception
assertion
“What Am I Thinking Of?”
Gradually build up a verbal picture of an object. Start with three clues. Can Christy guess after two clues,
three clues, etc. For example :
a)
4 feet, fur
– discuss that it could be any furry animal
b)
whiskers
– discuss that it could be a [ cat | lion ]
c)
drinks milk
d)
and is a pet
– therefore it is a cat.
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Play Sound Lotto or Ordinary Lotto
The child must listen carefully to instructions individually or as part of a small group (i.e. two or three
children). He must wait his turn and match items appropriately.
Give the child an outline of a picture to colour in.
Give him simple instructions to colour in the nose, hair, etc. He is only allowed to colour in
one part at a time.
Get him used to words such as ‘wait’ and ‘go’.
Keep these activities short (no longer than five minutes at first). If this is too long try one
minute, then this can be slowly increased.
You could make this into a barrier game so that you have a picture with different parts
coloured in. Give the child instructions on what to colour in, for example : “Colour the hat
red.”
When they have completed each stage, let them check their work against your drawing.
Construction could be built in to the tasks, so the child could listen for the correct item in a
lotto game and cover it up with a brick or build a brick tower beside each item every time he
hears it. Similarly he could listen out for a target word in a story and build a tower every time
he hears it.
Listen And Jump
In a group, the child has to listen for his name. When he hears it he has to jump into the circle.
Favourite Things
Everyone says his favourite food, pet, TV programme and then the leader prompts : “What was Fiona’s
favourite pet?”
Same and Different
Fill shakers, for example : Pringles packets or jars with different sound makers, for example : beads,
dried peas, Ping-Pong ball, keys, etc.
Shake two that are the same. Allow the child to listen and then introduce the vocabulary – “they’re the
same”. Then shake two that are different – “they’re different”.
See if he can tell you whether the sounds he hears are the same or different. If he is having difficulty
telling you, try introducing symbols or signs for same and different and encouraging him to point to the
appropriate one.
You could have three shakers at a time, with two the same, see if the child can identify the two that
sound the same. Similarly you could shake one and give him two to shake. See if he can show you which
one sounds the same as yours
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Turn-Taking
Traffic
It is first explained to the children that they will pretend to be cars but they will stay sitting down. In turn,
each child must say “Brm!” as the car moves along. This is practised once around the circle, so that
everyone has one go at saying “Brm!” The teacher then explains that each car is allowed to stop once, and
to do this it must say “screech” (or “stop”). When this happens, the “Brm” sequence must change
direction.
It is important that only one child is talking at one time and that the children get used to the idea of turn
taking.
If the game fails, because someone has a go out of turn, talk about why the game failed (someone didn’t
remember to take turns) and start again.
The Wave
The teacher begins the “wave” by making a non-verbal gesture, for example, clapping hands, stretching
arms, raising one thumb in a “thumbs up” sign, putting a hand on one knee etc. The group has to repeat
the action, in turn, so that the gesture moves like a wave round the circle. The teacher then changes the
gesture on the second turn and the cycle starts again with the new action.
Sound Wave
This is played like the Wave above, but a sound or a word is repeated. Examples include animal sounds,
noises of household objects, words in a category (for example, food).
Story Share
The first and last lines of a story (a well known fairy story is good) are written up on the board and read
aloud. The teacher explains that she will begin the story with the first sentence and that the last member
will end the story with the last sentence. The rest of the group must “share” the story, by saying just
enough to allow the last person to say the last sentence.
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The Microphone
The group sits in a circle. Members discuss a topic, for example : TV, pets, holidays.
You can only talk if you are holding the magic microphone.
Discuss turn taking with the group.
Skills involved
eye contact
proximity
memory
turn taking
co-operation
facial expression
gesture
listening
volume
initiation
responding
answering questions
topic maintenance / repair
Other Games
Use a ball of wool while children are talking.
Unravel it and give the thread to the child who is talking, who must keep hold.
Continue until the discussion has come to an end.
Discuss with the class who has [ most | no ] wool and why this has happened.
Use any game to talk about taking turns.
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Emotions
What emotions can children think of? Ask questions like :
“What feelings do you have?”
Talk about how you all feel when a particular thing happens, for example :
a)
When you’re told off.
b)
When someone gives you a present.
c)
When you are invited to a party.
d)
When you argue with your friends.
e)
When somebody gets a prize and you don’t.
f)
When somebody pushes in front of you in a queue.
g)
When somebody doesn’t understand you.
h)
When you go on an outing unexpectedly.
i)
When you’ve got a part in an assembly | play.
j)
When you see somebody you haven’t seen for a long time.
k)
When you’ve won | lost a race.
Talk about what makes you happy, sad, upset, frightened, … etc.
Make facial expressions and body postures.
The other members of the group have to guess what emotion you’re showing.
Give everybody in the group a turn.
Take photographs of the group members making different facial expressions.
Try to match up the emotions, for example, find two people who look happy.
Facial expressions plaques and body language cards from E. J. Arnold may be useful.
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Expressing Emotions / Working Together
Play a game called “Who feels the same?”
Write different emotions on cards – happy, sad, tired, bored, angry (use pictures, if you like,
to support the written word). Each emotion is written on two cards.
The cards are shuffled and then given to the children in the group. They must then move
around the room miming the emotion that they have on their card. The aim is to find the
other person miming the same emotion.
Classroom discussion can then focus on non-verbal ways of expressing emotions.
Skills involved
group gelling
observation
posture
facial expression
proximity
touch
turn taking
problem solving
identification of own and others’ feelings
assertion
eye contact
gesture
co operation
self-monitoring
“How do we look”
Seat the group in a circle. The leader describes a situation and asks members to adopt an
appropriate posture to sit – listening to music, cheering football, etc. Classroom discussion of
posture, facial expression, gesture.
Skills involved
posture
observation
gesture
listening
identification of feelings
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facial expression
proximity
Emotional nursery rhymes
Use the emotion cards described earlier – happy, sad, bored, etc. Sit in pairs. Each takes a
turn to say a nursery rhyme in a manner that depicts the emotion written on their card – use
facial expression, intonation. Their partner has to guess the emotion.
This can be made as easy or as hard as you feel appropriate; for example : you could just have
happy vs sad cards.
Classroom discussion could focus on how emotions are shown both verbally and non-verbally.
With younger age groups, the adult can read out a story / nursery rhyme for the children to
guess how they felt – [ happy | sad ].
Skills involved
eye contact
observation
posture
facial expression
gesture
volume
prosody
turn taking
self-monitoring
responding
identification of feelings
proximity
listening
memory
self-perception
co-operation
Reading Facial Expression
Talk about how our faces can give messages and show how we are feeling.
Play the “Surprise Present” game. Put out pictures or objects that would be :
-
something nasty to have, e.g. a snake
-
something really nice to have, e.g. a new bike
-
something that would be alright to have, e.g. a plain rubber
- something that would be disappointing to have, e.g. a broken car
Have an identical set of pictures or objects for you to pick. Secretly open a present / envelope.
Can the children guess what it is from the look on your face?
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Emotions (Younger Child)
Expressing Emotions / Working Together
Play a game called “Who feels the same?”
Draw different emotions on cards – happy, sad, tired, bored, angry.
Sit the children in groups of three or have one child and two adults with younger age groups.
Each emotion should be drawn twice to make a pair. Take a pair of cards and pick one other card. Deal
one of the pair to one member (A) of the group, and then give the other two members the remaining
cards without showing member A. The two group members (B and C) must then mime the emotion that
they have on their card.
The aim is for member A to find which person is miming the matching emotion to the one that they have [
written down | drawn ].
Classroom discussion can then focus on non-verbal ways of expressing emotions. Member A could also be
asked to mime their emotion.
You could use a mirror to demonstrate how their mime looks compared to the other two.
Skills involved
group gelling
observation
posture
facial expression
proximity
touch
turn taking
problem solving
identification of own and others’ feelings
assertion
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eye contact
gesture
co operation
self-monitoring
Awareness of Self/Others
Try to work through these ideas in turn. It is helpful (sometimes necessary) to carry out the work in a
group setting. It could be part of an English lesson.
The Concept of “Same” and “Different”
Start by focussing the children’s awareness on the basic notion that people have some things the same and
some things different.
This can be done by asking the children to observe one another to see what is the same (for example, two
eyes, two legs, one nose, etc.) and what is different (for example, hair length and colour, eye colour,
etc.).
This can also be done around the topic of interests, so that the children think about the things they like to
do; those that are shared and those that are different.
Matching Games
Ask the children to match aspects of themselves to stimuli presented by the teacher. For example,
around the topic of physical appearance, children can match their hair type (wavy, straight, curly) with
strips of paper cut into the appropriate shapes, their hair or eye colour to colour cards, etc.
Jumping Game
The teacher calls out an appropriate attribute (for example, hair / eye colour, an interest, etc) and all the
children who have that attribute or interest jump into the middle of the circle. The teacher or a second
member of staff gives feedback to the children on the accuracy of their self-awareness.
Self-Portraits
The children are asked to make a self-portrait of themselves. They can be supplied with a ready made
black and white picture of a face, or they can draw their own. They may be encouraged to think about
specific attributes for example, shape of face, colour of eyes, colour, length, type of hair, etc. Around
the topic of “Hobbies / Interests” they could write or draw a favourite animal, food, sport and TV
programme. The children are then asked to describe their self-portraits and explain (if they can) why they
have included particular items.
Right or Wrong?
The teacher makes a statement about each member of the group. After hearing each statement, the
children decide whether it is right or wrong. For example, around the topic of appearance, the teacher
might say “Jane, you have blond hair”. Jane would then say “Right” or “Wrong” (or “Yes” or “No”).
Around the topic of interests, the teacher might say “John, your favourite sport is football”.
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Throwing Game
The first stage of this game is to throw a beanbag or ball amongst the group. As each member receives
the beanbag/ball, they share with the group one piece of information about their appearance or their
interests, depending on which topic is being covered.
The second part of the activity is to remember one piece of information and identify who said it.
A Pat on the Back
We deserve a “pat on the back” if we do something we don’t want to do, or find hard. Different people
like different things or find different things hard.
In the examples below, which ones should get “a pat on the back”?
You tidied your bedroom without being told to.
Mum said you couldn’t go out till your room was tidy and you moaned.
You helped your little [ brother | sister ] get dressed.
You ignored your little [ brother | sister ].
You did your homework before being nagged.
Mum told you 5 times to do your homework.
You waited for mum to finish talking to her friend even though you were bored.
You moaned while mum was talking to her friend.
You let your little [ brother | sister ] watch Teletubbies even though you wanted to watch “The
Simpsons”.
You made your little [ brother | sister ] cry because you wouldn’t let them watch Teletubbies.
Think about something your [ mum | dad | brother | sister | friend ] doesn’t like doing or finds
hard :
“My … … … … … finds … … … … … … … … … … … … hard”
“My … … … … … doesn’t like … … … … … … … … … … … “
When could you give them a pat on the back?
What do you not like doing?
What do you find hard?
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Think of a situation where you would deserve a pat on the back.
Which ones of the following deserve a “pat on the back”
You helped wash up when you didn’t want to.
You did your homework without being reminded.
You helped Grandad.
You helped your little [ brother’s | sister’s ] homework.
You would not give your friend a crisp.
You shared your crisps.
You let someone have the last biscuit even though you wanted it.
You helped tidy up without being asked.
You helped make tea.
You helped put away the shopping.
You did something you didn’t want to.
You let your [ brother | sister ] choose where to go.
You let your [ brother | sister ] choose the video to watch.
You lent your friend your football boots.
You waited till [ Mum | Dad ] was ready without moaning.
You did not tidy your bedroom even though mum asked.
You sent your friend a birthday card.
You would not help your Mum.
You did not help Mum to put away the shopping.
You watched your programme when you knew your friend wanted to watch a different one.
You ate the biscuit you knew your [ brother | sister ] wanted.
You sat in the front of the car even though your friend wanted to.
How could you change the ones that didn’t deserve a “pat on the back” so they could get one?
Talk about why the “pat on the back” examples got a “pat on the back”. What special thing was done?
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When to say “sorry”, When to say “it’s alright”
Somebody bumped into you accidentally.
Someone said they would meet you at 6 but they were 15 minutes late.
You said you would ring but you forgot.
You knocked over someone’s coke can and spilt it.
Somebody nudged you on his way past and made you spill your drink.
You picked up someone else’s book thinking it was yours and wrote in it.
Someone tripped and bumped into you.
You told someone they could have the last cake – but it got eaten.
You said you would buy a pen for someone at the shops but you forgot.
You accuse someone of having your rubber (they haven’t – yours fell on the floor).
Someone lent you his or her ruler but you snapped it hitting a fly.
Someone accidentally tripped you up.
You borrowed someone’s boots and got them muddy.
You said you would help someone but you had to do something else.
You promised someone you would take his books back to the library – but you forgot.
Someone accidentally tore your work.
Your dog chewed a book someone lent you.
You ripped a top someone lent you.
Think of two different occasions when you should say “sorry”.
Think of two different occasions when you should say “it’s alright”.
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About Me
We are all good at different things.
Where would you rate yourself?
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
I’m last at sport
I’m good at sport
I find reading hard
I’m a good reader
I find maths hard
I’m good at maths
I find spelling hard
I’m a good speller
My writing is untidy
My writing is neat
I can’t swim
I’m good at swimming
I can’t sew
I’m good at sewing
My drawings are poor
I’m good at drawing
I can’t play music
I’m good at music
I don’t like helping
I’m good at helping
I’m not good at
I’m good at
We are good at some things, we find some things hard and we are OK at other things.
Sometimes we’d like to be better at something, for example, spelling; other things we don’t want to
change.
Mark the ones you’d like to change.
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Opinions
The following games are devised to encourage children to recognise the difference between fact and
opinion and to begin to recognise and acknowledge that other people may hold differing opinions but that
this is acceptable.
The games should be worked through in order.
Fact versus Opinion
Ensure the children understand the meanings of the words “fact” and “opinion”.
Prepare a number of statements and read them one by one to a small group of children. Let the children
decide whether the statement is fact or opinion. This will lead to discussion which can be used to make
the point that some things are indisputable, whereas other statement’s truth depends on a person’s
viewpoint. It is also important at this stage to emphasise that this is normal and inevitable.
Agreeing versus Disagreeing
Leading on from the first discussion, the children should be introduced to the idea of agreeing and
disagreeing. Play a game where an opinion is read out (for example, “Manchester United is the best
football team in the world”) and each child moves in one direction if he agrees and in the other direction if
he disagrees. Alternatively, children can give a “Thumbs up” or “Thumbs down” sign, depending on their
view.
Follow this with discussion about the disparate views of the group and the importance of accepting
different opinions.
“I Think” and “What do you Think?”
Allow the children a turn each at giving their opinions (on an unrestricted subject or a specific area) by
starting a sentence with “I think..”
When the first child has given one sentence, move the game on by asking that child to ask his neighbour
“What do you think?”
Review this exercise with the group by asking them to remember in turn each opinion as stated earlier in
the game.
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Missing Person
Allow each child to express two or three things which they enjoy doing. Explain what will happen next.
Ask one child to leave the room for a few minutes and, while he is absent, take it in turns to suggest one
possible treat for the absent person (vary this later with, for example, birthday treats, best meal, best
toy or book to buy etc). Write the ideas down.
Allow the chosen child to return to the room and share with him the ideas suggested. Let the chosen child
give feedback on how much or how little he would have liked that treat and how good it feels to have
people valuing your feelings.
Children often find it difficult to suggest a treat that they personally would not enjoy, although the absent
person would. This is a helpful lesson in learning to value others’ opinions.
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Resources
Semel and Wiig (1990) Clinical Language Intervention Program Pragmatic Worksheets The Psychological
Corporation, Harcourt Brace and Company
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STAMMERING
10.1 Strategies
Making It Worse?
Things that make stammering worse are closely related to the demands being made on a child and include
the following examples :
1.
Speaking to adults who speak very quickly.
2.
Speaking when having to look high up into someone’s face.
3.
Speaking when you think you will be interrupted.
4.
Speaking to someone who is not listening (or not looking at you).
5.
Speaking when you are frightened that what you say will make someone angry.
6.
Being told to speak when you do not want to.
7.
Being told to speak when you have nothing to say.
8.
Speaking when tired, unwell, excited.
9.
Speaking when you have a complicated idea to express.
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Strategies
1.
Be encouraging. Stammering can undermine children’s confidence so that they don’t notice their
achivements.
2.
Do anything that makes talking and listening enjoyable.
3.
If the child seems aware of the stammer, then talk to him gently about it.
4.
Try to be consistent in your handling of all the children – being clear about rules helps children to
feel secure.
5.
Ensure the child has the opportunity to join in conversations, particularly if he finds it difficult to
interrupt more fluent peers.
6.
Listen attentively : look at the child and get your face on the same level.
7.
Speak in language that can be easily understood.
8.
Talk about what is going on now and about things that can be seen.
9.
Reduce the number of questions you ask – allow the child to choose when to tell you something.
10.
Slow down your own speech and allow him time to answer.
11.
Help him to feel valued by replying uncritically and kindly.
12.
If he goes through a period of greater dysfluency, then reduce the demands made on speech.
13.
Find time when the child can do things that do not require much talking and where the activity is
more important than speaking.
Spontaneous, easy talking may occur as a result of this shared experience.
14.
Help others to understand the child.
Avoid encouraging the child from using tricks, that is, things one does not normally do in relaxed
conversation, but which may improve fluency for a short while; for example : taking a deep breath,
shutting eyes, or speaking with an accent.
15.
If something helps, then continue. If not, then stop and think again. For example, you may find
that telling the child to slow down has no effect at all, whereas slowing your own rate of speech
helps.
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16.
Do not correct mispronunciations or grammar – just say the correct version for the child to hear.
So, for example, if he says :
“I rided on my bike today”
you can respond with :
“You rode your bike did you? Where did you go?”
Resource
For further information look at www.stammering.org
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VOICE
11.1
What are voice disorders?
A voice disorder is when the quality of a person’s voice is significantly different from what you would
expect given their age and gender. Poor voice quality may affect communication with others and a child’s
self esteem.
If you have ongoing concerns about a child’s voice, you should speak to your link speech and language
therapist.
Children with voice problems may:
Have a hoarse, breathy, rough or croaky voice
Temporarily lose their voice, especially at the beginning or end of the day or after specific events e.g.
sports day
Have instances of their voice ‘cutting out’ for a second
Speak in an effortful or strained way.
How to help:
Encourage the child to drink plenty of water throughout the day (drinks such as fruit juices can dry out
the throat)
If the child coughs a lot encourage them to have a sip of water or to swallow the irritation away rather
than coughing.
Discourage shouting or loud talking in the playground or classroom and encourage children to speak to
people when they are next to them.
Encourage quiet talking rather than whispering.
Provide opportunities for the child to ‘rest’ their voice e.g. encourage times of quiet play (puzzles,
looking at books)
Try to reduce background noise where possible so that the child doesn’t have to raise their voice talk
over it.
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PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS/WORKING ON SPEECH SOUNDS
12.1 Sounds Work:
The following are some ideas for work with your child that will help with improving sounds.
1.
Play “I Spy …” with your child.
Make sure you use the sound at the beginning of the word, and not the letter.
Beware of words like “photograph” where the clue will be /f/ not /p/.
2.
Collect objects with your child from around the house, which begin with the same sound. Lay them
out onto a tray or table and leave them there for a few days.
Go through them each day with your child. Tell him that they all begin with the same sound, tell
him what that sound is, and then name all the objects for him.
See if he can find some other things, which begin with that sound.
Don’t expect your child to repeat the words correctly, but if he wants to have a go, praise him for
his efforts (even if not entirely accurate).
After a few days, try a different sound.
3.
Make a snake out of a circle of paper. Draw a spiral of circles within the circle and then cut it out.
Draw 2 eyes and a tongue where the lines end, in the middle of the circle. Draw a pointy tail where
the lines end at the edge of the circle. You can now hold the “head” of the snake and lift it up.
Practise saying /s/ as you pretend to make the snake say “hello” to your child. Let him have a go.
4.
Link other sounds with objects to encourage practising the sounds in a playful, non-threatening way.
For example, try the following :
/v/ for the noise of the hoover
/n/ for the noise of an aeroplane
/t/ for a dripping tap
/g/ for water going down the plug
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5.
Recite nursery rhymes and action rhymes to your child. These are very important for language
development and also help your child’s reading skills.
Say a line and then pause before the last word and see if your child will fill in the space.
6.
Make up rhymes with your child.
Supply him with a word and see if he can think of a rhyming word. This will probably need some
patient work on your part, as this often doesn’t come easily to children with delayed speech
development.
Help by providing the words yourself to begin with and letting him “play” with the sounds of them,
repeating them after you.
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12.2 Auditory Discrimination Programme:
This programme is to help the child listen more carefully to some of the sounds we use in speech.
Listening and hearing the difference in sounds will help the child to develop his own speech.
1.
Understanding the Concepts “Same” and “Different”
Use pictures of the same fruits (e.g. two bananas) and different fruits (one banana and one
apple).Talk about same and different.
Write two words which are visually very different (in length and shape), for example, crocodile, pig,
and two words which are the same.
Ensure the child understands the concepts same and different before moving on.
2.
Minimal Pairs
A minimal pair is two words that sound very similar – with only one sound different between them,
for example :
key, tea ; paw, four ; bee, bead ; car, cart
Before a child will say words differently he needs to hear the difference between them – the
following games are to develop these discrimination skills.
It is important that this work consists of you doing the speaking and the child doing the listening. He
should not be expected to say the words himself.
Make the games fun and make up your own as well – spend five minutes a day doing them.
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3.
Games
You will need to prepare sets of minimal pairs written on separate pieces of paper, or use pictures.
Your Therapist will advise you on suitable words to use.
If, during these games, the child tries to say the word himself, accept his version uncritically.
Using the words (or pictures), put them in front of the child and see if he can point to the one
you say or place a counter on it.
Alternatively, he can run and touch the right picture on the back of the door or jump on the
right picture on the floor.
Make a “hungry man” by drawing a face on a shoebox and cutting the mouth out. See if the
child can “feed” the picture you say to the man.
Photocopy several copies of some minimal pairs. See if the child can colour in the picture that
you say.
Take one of the pictures and see if the child can tell if you are saying it right or wrongly, for
example, for the key picture, ask :
“Is it a tea?”
“Is it a key?”
“Is it a sea?”
… etc.
Say two of the words together and see if the child can hear if they are the same or different,
for example :
“key – key”
“key – tea”
“key – sea”
… etc.
Instead of just saying the word, put it in a sentence and see if the child can still point to the
right picture, for example :
“I like my tea”
“I like my key”
… etc.
When you have carried out these games and the child is successful at discriminating the correct
sounds, you can swap roles, so that the child is “the teacher”.
Listen carefully to the word he says and respond to that word, even though you may think he meant
the other word. Give him feedback about his mistake, for example :
“That sounded like bee to me.
This one says bee and this one says bead”.
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12.3 Working with Sounds:
Always work in the following set order :
Repeating the sound on its own
Repeating the sound and a single vowel sound (e.g. see, sew, sow)
Repeating the sound in a word
Saying the sound in a word when someone points to a picture
Saying the sound in a word in a short phrase
Saying the word in a longer sentence
All these stages need to be worked through before the child will use them correctly in his speech.
Note
Work only on a single consonant, followed by a vowel (e.g. “sack”)
Blends (two consonants together) develop later (e.g. “ski”).
Generally, work begins on sounds at the beginnings of words first, then with the sound at the
end and then in the middle of the word.
Do’s and Don’ts
Practise for a short time (3 to 5 minutes), and often
Try practising before school homework time
Make practice time fun
Praise correct attempts
Ignore any incorrect sounds which are not the target sound (e.g. if working on /s/, do not
correct the child when his attempt at “chair” sounds like “care”)
Have a treat after practice time
Repeat a word back to the child, when this sound has been pronounced incorrectly,
emphasising the correct pronunciation
Don’t tell the child “that’s wrong”. Rather, tell the child what sound you heard the child make
and tell him how you say the sound
Be imaginative and use opportunities as they occur. With practice, you can add extra practice
sessions on the way to school, waiting for a bus, etc.
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12.4 Games for Sound Work:
1.
Use a “reward” game where the child carries out an activity every time the word is said.
For example, have a piece of an inset puzzle or a bead to thread onto a necklace, take a turn to play
with “hopping frogs” or to throw a dart at a dartboard, colour in the picture, or add another brick to
a tower.
2.
Place dots (from one to six) on the backs of target pictures.
Take it in turns to throw a die and turn over the corresponding picture.
3.
Make a dice game, using pictures of the words.
When you land on a square, name the picture.
At the sentence level, the child can repeat or make up a sentence.
4.
Using two copies of target pictures, make up a “pairs game”.
Take it in turns to turn over two pictures to find a matching pair.
5.
Make a rod with a magnet and some string, put paper clips on the target pictures and play a “fishing
game”.
Take it in turns to catch a “fish”.
6.
Place the pictures on the floor and say the one stepped on in a “stepping stones” or hopscotch game.
7.
Play “Kim’s game” with 4-5 pictures or objects with the target sound.
Take it in turns to close your eyes while the other person takes away one away.
which is missing.
Name the one,
8.
Take it in turns to hide something around the room for the other person to find.
You could use a treasure hunt clue; for example :
“Its under something we read”
The searcher then has to say what they have found.
9.
Take it in turns to describe something with the target sound in it for the other person to guess.
For example, if working on the sound /k/, the clues could be :
“It goes on the road, has 4 wheels and you drive it.”
10.
Play a “treasure game” by hiding pretend coins under the target pictures.
Take it in turns to turn over a picture, say the word and collect the treasure.
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Games for Saying Words in Sentences
Make up a story, with the child “reading” the pictures of the target words. For example, if
working on /k/, use pictures of a car and a cat and a cake. The story might be :
“I went in the car”
“I saw a cat”
“It ate a cake”
Have some pictures or objects with the target sound in and take it in turns to give each other
instructions and carry them out. For example, when working on /s/, the instructions might
be :
“Put the sock under your chair”
“Hide the sun under the book”
Make up tongue twisters.
Can the child remember them to tell Mum or Dad
and then bring a new one to school to tell you?
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12.5 Speech and Language Tasks – Advice for Parents:
Practising the Games
Only correct the sound or structure that is being worked on at the moment – trying to correct
everything at once only leads to confusion and slows down progress.
When working on sounds at the beginning of words, use words that have a consonant followed
by a vowel (e.g. cat). Words that begin with two consonants (blends, or consonant clusters,
e.g. crate) develop at a later stage.
Avoid a time of day when the child wants to do something else (like watch a favourite
television programme – this applies equally well to you!)
Work in a room with as few distractions as possible (e.g. no television, radio, other people).
Children cannot concentrate for very long periods, so try to practice the tasks little and often.
Stop playing the game while it is still being enjoyed – that way you will both come back to the
game with good memories.
The Programme
When working on speech sounds, work in a set order. This order can be used when working on sounds at
the beginning of words, in the middle of words and at the end of words. When working on sounds at the
ends of words you may not need to work on stages 1 or 2.
The examples given below are for the production of /k/ at the beginning of words.
Stage 1 – Repeating the sound on its own
Use any tips the Speech and Language Therapist has shown you. For example, for /k/, open your
mouth very wide. When the child can make the sound easily, move on to the next stage.
Stage 2 – Repeating the Sound with a vowel
For the example of /k/, practise the production of “kee”, “kah”, “koo”, “kor”. To begin with, it
may be helpful to say the /k/ sound, pause and then say the vowel sound. As the child becomes
more able, reduce the pause. Move on to the next stage when the child can say the consonant and
vowel without a pause.
Stage 3 – Repeating the Sound in a Word
To begin with, choose words with one syllable (e.g. comb, can, cat, cave). When these words are
pronounced successfully, move on to longer words (e.g. caravan, castle, kangaroo).
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Stage 4 – Saying the Sound in a Word
Up until now the child has repeated the sound after an adult. This next stage is for the child to
remember to say the sounds correctly without this adult model. Use the pictures on the worksheets
for the child to name.
Stage 5 – Saying the Sound in a Phrase
When the child is able to name the target words accurately, help him to repeat the sound in short
phrases. For example, a key, a fat cat, Kim’s hopping. At first it will be easier for the child to say
the target sound correctly when the word containing that sound is the first word of the sentence. As
he becomes more able, you can use more than one word with the target sound (e.g. king cat, a key
for the castle).
Stage 6 – Saying the Target Sound in a Sentence
When the child is able to say short phrases accurately, make up longer sentences for him to copy.
Take turns, so the child makes up sentences that you copy. You can make up nonsense or silly
sentences with lots of words containing the target sound.
If you have any queries about this programme, please contact your local Speech and Language
Therapist.
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12.6 Consonant Clusters:
Carry out this work for five minutes, 3 to 4 times a week.
Concentrate on one blend (for example, /sm/, /sp/, /br/, /pl/, /dr/, or /kl/) to begin with
When the child is using that blend correctly in his conversational speech, move on to another
blend.
Draw representations of the main part of the word, e.g. rain, pot, or lay in a column down
the middle of the page, 4 or 5 times.
Tell the child what the word says and ask him to name it.
Then write the blending consonant in front of this word. For example :
rain could become brain (if working on /br/ clusters)
pot could become spot (if working on /sp/ clusters)
lay could become play (if working on /pl/ clusters)
Help the child to say the new word by saying the first sound, pausing and then saying the main
part of the word.
Now spend some time reducing the pause until the two parts become one smooth word
without a pause.
Try to make it fun (for example, colour the sheet, tick the words and play games such as
skittles, pairs, lotto, fishing game, hiding the pictures).
The child will need to say the target word before each turn at the game.
When the child is able to pronounce the words correctly, encourage the use of the words in
short phrases.
Again, make it fun with games.
When the child is successful in using the sound in short phrases, you need to encourage the
remembering of the use of the new sound in real life. Warn the child that you :
are going to “Practise your Sounds” and
want the child to think about their sounds
Spend 5 minutes in conversation and remind the child of any instances where the sound
worked on is pronounced incorrectly.
Do not correct any other errors.
Do this exercise every day until the sound has been integrated into the child’s sound system.
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Word Lists
/r/ blends
red
becomes
Fred, bread, tread
rain

brain, train, drain, crane, grain
ray

grey, pray, tray, bray
Lou
becomes
love
/l/ blends
blue, clue, glue
lay
becomes
play, clay

glove
lane

plane
litter

glitter
lad

glad
law

floor
lie

fly
lock

flock, block, clock
low

blow
last

blast
loud

cloud
lap

flap, clap
lime

climb
late

plate
pot
becomes
spot
paid
becomes
spade
tear

stair
tar

star
mile

smile
no

snow
wheat

sweet
low

slow
leave

sleeve
ledge

sledge
lip

slip
Kate

skate
/s/ blends
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12.7 Picture Sheets for Consonants:
Pictures for working on sounds can be downloaded from the following websites:
www.mommyspeechtherapy.com
www.speech-language-therapy.com
www.speechlink.co.uk
www.speechteach.co.uk
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DEVELOPMENTAL VERBAL DYSPRAXIA
Information for schools
Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia, DVD, is a speech disorder which affects voluntary movements of the
mouth. Children with this, have specific difficulty speaking clearly as they find it hard (in some cases
making, and ) sequencing sounds accurately and swiftly to make words.
Some children will have difficulty in copying mouth movements. Children with DVD often have difficulties
with sounds which are only subtly different e.g. p and b (one is whispered and the other has voice). They
may also find it difficult to use final consonants so that ‘bee’ and ‘beat’ will both be said as ‘bee’. Systems
such as Jolly Phonics are very helpful as the children can cue themselves into the sound they want by using
the appropriate action.
Children with DVD usually have poor phonological awareness skills, which of course impacts on literacy
development. Those of you who have Literacy Hour will need to be extra vigilant during this aspect of
literacy work, and aware that these children will need extra help. Those of you who work differently will
still need to work on phonological awareness.
As with a lot of problems DVD is different for different children. Different children will have different levels
of severity. How they cope with it will depend on their personality and their experiences. It is therefore
important to build up the child’s confidence.
There are almost more unanswered questions than answered about DVD. At present we do not know a
cause. Some children may have an associated difficulty with all motor movements, and would benefit from
the advice of an Occupational Therapist.
Some facts about DVD
This affects speech only, the child can understand as well as their peers.
It is helped by a programme being implemented for 5 minutes a day
Being able to say a sound or word clearly one moment and then being unable to repeat it is part of
DVD. The child is not being lazy
Children may be helped by being given an alternative method of communicating e.g. gesture or signing.
[provided that they do not have associated difficulties with general motor skills]
How may it affect a child ?
Children may be able to say words correctly one day and not on another, or even in the next sentence.
Some children may have difficulty regulating the volume of their voice, and may seem very loud.
A child with a DVD needs to use more effort in speaking clearly so his/her speech may be less clear when
they are excited, tired or unwell.
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Most children will be very aware of their difficulties and reluctant to repeat
words, or depending on their personality, speak.
If they have phonological awareness difficulties these will impact on how easy they find it to learn to read
and spell.
Some children will develop expressive language with no difficulty, others will go on to have difficulties with
expressive language. The later the child is in developing clear speech and awareness the more likely he is
to have word finding difficulties later on.
Some children may be clearer when they are reading, this is because they will do this more slowly and have
the letters to clue them in to how to say a word. They will not be able to speak this clearly in conversation
and should not be expected to.
How can school help?
Be aware that a child with a DVD may have difficulty with phonological awareness skills and monitor these
carefully during the literacy hour.
Approaches which involve different senses such as the Jolly Phonics approach are useful.
It is important that the child develops the correct letter sound links. If a child cannot make a sound tasks
may need to be subtly adjusted to prevent this. Ways of doing this could be
The adult saying a sound and letting the child select the appropriate letter.
Saying a sound and letting the child choose the object that begins with that sound.
What should we do?
Refer to the Speech and Language Therapist. He/she will assess the child and implement a programme of
activities. Children will differ in the rate they progress through the programme. It is not possible to predict
how quickly they will move through the programme, or which stages they will find more difficult. As with
developing other skills a child tends to learn then have a time when the skills are being consolidated a
plateau. It is important that the child with DVD does not practice incorrect letter sounds, so if you are in
doubt if the sound is correct do not practice it.
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Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia Programme
Some children have difficulty sequencing speech sounds accurately. This programme has been devised to
help this difficulty. Sounds that the child can make are included as well as sounds that he/she finds
difficult. It is important that all sounds are practised. Children will progress at different rates. It is
important that the programme that the therapist has written is followed exactly. The child will be moved
onto later stages of the programme when the therapist feels s/he is confident with these stages.
Sometimes the child will be working at different stages at the same time.
Practice must:Take place for about 5 minutes daily. Making it part of the every day routine is helpful e.g. at the same
time as doing reading for school can work well.
Be in the order listed. Do not be tempted to do more.
Be fun. Praise your child’s attempts and have a small treat afterwards.
It is important how you say the letter sound, do not add a vowel to the sound. Saying the consonants s, t, p
should be very quiet. This is important when you go on to blending the consonants. An easy way to tell if
you are doing it correctly is to try this, add p to pie, if it sounds like pipe you were right, if it sounds more
like piper you were probably adding the vowel so check with someone!
STAGE 1: Maintaining the production of the sound
The first stage is being able to maintain the production of a sound, this is achieved by practising the sheets
where the consonant is written down 8 times (By 8 sheets). Younger children may need to start with only 4
and then build up to the 8.
To begin with label the sheet as you hand it to them, e.g. “this is the “t” sheet”. The aim is for the child to
be able to say the sound when they see the letter. (As they become familiar with the sheets do not label it
first.) Either you or the child should point to each letter as s/he makes the appropriate sound.
If the child has difficulty producing the sound when s/he points to the letter, try
1. Letting the child grope for the sound
2. Cue him/her, e.g. “The letter P (pee) says…….”
3. Model the sound for the child to copy.
Use 3 as a last resort as the aim is for the child to be able to say the sound on their own.
If the child cannot produce a sound even when repeating it STOP. It is not helpful to practice saying the
wrong sound.
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STAGE 2: Sequencing sounds
The next stage is to practice alternating consonants, e.g. pb, td. Place one sheet on top of the other so the
child says one sound then the other sound 4 times, e.g. pbpbpbpb. When they are good at this try the
other way round as well, e.g. bpbpbpbp.
You or the child should point to the sounds in order. (As they get confident you can change the speed of
your point.)
If the child has difficulty changing the sound, try:
1. Letting the child grope for the sound
2. Model the sound for the child to copy, the aim is to reduce the help you give them.
3. Using the different order.
STAGE 3: Saying sounds randomly
Sounds are organized in a different order to make different words. This stage helps the child to say sounds
in an unpredictable pattern. You will need separate cards of the letters for this stage. It is fun and allows
the child to have an element of control. Have up to 4 cards of each of the sounds. Choose a sound pair as
directed in the programme. Take it in turns to make a pattern for the child to say, e.g. bbpbppbp. (You may
find that the child realizes that it is easier if the sounds are in a predictable order, e.g. bpbpbpbp, you then
have the opportunity to make a random pattern). This task can be made easier by giving them fewer cards
to sequence. When the child is good at this you can progress to patterns with 3 sounds.
If the child has difficulty. Try
Reducing the number of cards.
Letting the child grope for the sound.
Say the sound for them (use this as a last resort).
Later stages
The stages of
maintaining the sounds
contrasting them
saying them randomly
will be worked through for all the stages. As the child progresses through the stages he/she may need to
spend little time on the maintaining stage and more time on the other stages. For different sounds the
child may be working at different stages. For all the stages the principals of leaving a sound if the child
can’t make it accurately and giving him/her prompts and praise apply.
Consonant Vowel Pairs CV and VC
Once the child can say target consonants randomly the next stage is to progress to consonant vowel, CV
pairs. The child learns to blend a consonant with a vowel. In the early stages some children find it easier to
start with the vowel and blend the consonant finally (VC), others are happier with CV. Start with which
ever the child finds easier.
Consonant Vowel Consonant Words CVC
The next stage is to blend a consonant to form CVC words. Initially this can be done by either keeping the
CV constant and adding a final C, or keeping the VC constant and adding an initial C. The consonants that
are added will change. Words and non-words can be used.
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The majority of children will need to work through the stages outlined above. Some children will also need
to work through the stages below.
Combining two CV pairs to form a word e.g. bay + bee = baby, pea + ping =peeping
Multi syllabic words, e.g. peeping, barbecue, caterpillar
Combining words into phrases, e.g. baby peeping, puppy eating paper,
Consonant Consonant Blends, e.g. s + top = stop or lamb +p = lamp.
If in doubt contact the Speech and Language Therapist
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Section 5 – Skills for Living and Learning
Section 5
Skills for Living and Learning
Section 5a
SENSORY
PROCESSING
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Introduction
Children may respond to sensations (sensory information) in different ways.
Information is registered through the different senses: sight
hearing
touch
taste
smell
position in space (proprioception)
balance (vestibular sense).
The child needs to be able to process this information in order to respond appropriately. The nervous
system operates through a system of ‘excitation’ and ‘inhibition’. Excitation results in an active response
while inhibition lessens or blocks a response. When a balance between the two is achieved, it can be
described as ‘modulation’ and it is this regulation which enables children to respond appropriately to their
environment. It allows children to get used to regular, everyday sensory inputs, so they can get on with
activities.
Some children who have difficulties with modulation may appear to over-react to sensory stimuli which
other children can usually ignore e.g. loud sounds, bright lights, the touch of clothing, particular tastes and
smells.
Other children may seem unaware of ordinary sensory inputs and appear to under-react and be
unresponsive.
A range of strategies can be tried to help children respond more appropriately to sensory inputs in the
school environment.
Strategies to help with Sensory Processing
Children who over-react:Children who have difficulty processing sensory information are more
likely to become overloaded by some environments or circumstances.
When this overload occurs, children benefit from a change in sensory
environment. It may help to gradually grade exposure to more
challenging situations.
Consider placement of the child within the classroom e.g. do not seat him/her in areas with lots of
‘traffic’ (which may provide too much visual or tactile stimulation, causing discomfort and
interrupting concentration).
It is important to acknowledge the feelings of children who react aggressively to touch (e.g. lashing
out when standing in line). It may help to place them at the end of the line. Ensure that time in
crowded areas is minimised e.g. consider how to help them deal with coming through a doorway
with the rest of the school after play time.
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Provide ‘time out’ opportunities.
If an older child appears to overreact to a situation e.g. is upset or buries head when the fire alarm
goes off, it may help to review the event subsequently with them and discuss that it is normal to
experience strong emotions, possibly by sharing some of your own experiences. Encourage them to
think through different ways of responding.
Children who under-react:For children who have difficulty ‘tuning in’:
Place them at the front of the class, close to the teacher to improve focus.
Provide clear visual contrasts e.g. place white paper for drawing/writing on a larger piece of dark
paper
Reinforce verbal instructions with visual demonstration
Provide movement breaks to improve arousal (see Attention Section).
Be aware that a child who has a fear of movement or heights may find it hard to carry out activities
such as climbing on apparatus off the ground, particularly in a busy, overwhelming environment.
Encourage him/her to take small steps towards e.g. climbing the wall bars, perhaps choosing own
goal:
-
Side stepping, hand held if needed, along the narrow side of a gym bench
-
Forward stepping, hand held if needed, along the narrow side of a gym bench
-
Walking up a gym bench that has one end hooked onto chosen rung of the wall-bars
… and so on.
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Section 5b
VISUAL
PERCEPTUAL
FUNCTION
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Check for correct sitting posture
(see Handwriting Section for detailed description)
323
VISUAL PERCEPTION
Introduction
Visual perception enables a child to recognise and understand a visual stimulus e.g. a shape or colour; it
gives meaning to what is seen. It therefore forms a link between sensory processing (see Section 4 ) and
aspects of cognitive skills.
This can be thought of in three stages, for example:sight (good visual acuity)

visual perception

reading
Visual perception can be broken down into a number of skills which are important in the classroom but
also in everyday life:ability to spot details in a complex background (figure-ground skill) helps to pick out the right number
in a number square but also to spot the ‘green man’ lit up at the crossing
recognising which way round a figure is placed (position in space) helps avoid letter reversals but also
to follow direction signs
being able to relate figures to each other (spatial relations) helps learn about shapes and patterns
but also to move around without bumping into things
All visual perceptual skills rely on visual acuity and to some extent on motor skills (whether postural
control, eye fixation/tracking or hand/eye coordination). It is therefore helpful to consider whether
underlying difficulties may be contributing to problems with visual perception. (Refer to other Sections as
appropriate).
Activities to improve visual perception for the younger child (see also Pre-writing Activities in
Handwriting Section (5d, page 163):Copying games (Follow my Leader, Simon Says)
Inset puzzles, simple jig-saws and construction
Identify objects/shapes by feel as well as sight
Match and sort objects, colours, shapes
Join the dots to make an object/shape
Looking games : I-Spy, ‘Find one that’s the same/different’
Copy simple shapes/patterns
Follow simple mazes
For learning to recognise and copy shapes, letters and numbers, use a multi-sensory approach:
combine looking, movement, touch, speech and music (singing)
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For the older child, strategies for visual perception link to different aspects of learning:Reading, writing
Make sure the child sits facing the board
Enlarge worksheets, thereby enlarging print
Colour or highlight key information on the board or on a page
Use a ruler or finger to highlight text (see Resource List for ‘line tracker’)
Exclude unnecessary detail on worksheets
Provide partially completed worksheets
Provide a paper copy of work that is on the board
Trace shapes, numbers and letters with a finger before drawing
Use lined paper for writing (try raised lines – see Resource List)
Spatial organisation and copying
Use a grid method to copy drawings (place an acetate grid over the drawing to be copied)
Provide pre-drawn tables, graphs and pie charts to fill in
Reinforce spatial concepts e.g. under, over, in front, behind, left, right,
Colour margins: green for ‘start’ and red for ‘stop’
Use stickers to indicate where to start on the paper
Trial spacers between words: index finger, penny, ice lolly stick
Provide a cue sheet with sample layout
Plan picture content before drawing
Use stencils to draw shapes
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Construction
Help child recognise the relationship between 2D and 3D by placing an actual cube with a picture of a
cube
Show child a completed sample to demonstrate finished object and use as model
Provide partially completed object for completion
Work in ‘parallel’ with LSA / teacher / a buddy when constructing object
Practise following simple visual/verbal instructions to make an object
Use tick list for steps in process
Numeracy
Use graph paper for setting out maths calculations
Use coloured columns for tens/ones(units)
Fold paper to indicate columns
Provide a cue sheet with example of calculation required
Use concrete examples to demonstrate length, depth, height etc.
Continue to use visual / concrete representation to teach concepts e.g. fractions
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Section 5c
ATTENTION
AND
ORGANISATION
327
ATTENTION and ORGANISATION
Children who find concentration difficult may be either very active or more passive and unresponsive. It
may be because a child has had limited opportunities to develop sustained attention or finds school
activities more challenging than peers.
Attention deficits may result in a child appearing not to listen, impulsivity and poor organisational skills. It
is helpful check whether such behaviours happen in all settings - in school, at home and during other play
activities.
However, there is now increasing awareness that some children have underdeveloped or inefficient ways
of organising sensory inputs. They can be over or under-responsive to inputs such as touch, visual stimuli
and sound; they may find it hard to sustain upright postures and may seek out or be readily distracted by
body movements. They may find it hard to integrate sensory information so as to respond in an organised
way.
See also Sensory Processing Section.
It seems that by providing the right amount and type of sensory input, children can be helped to function
at a more optimal arousal level and this can often make them feel more comfortable and begin to learn
strategies which help to regulate attention.
This approach can be thought of as helping an engine to run at the right speed, not too fast and not too
slowly.
‘How does your engine run?’ training may be available from the Children’s Therapy Service (see Training,
section 9).
‘The Out-of-Sync Child: Recognising and Coping with Sensory Integrative Dysfunction’ is another helpful
information source (see Resource List, Section 7).
The following general strategies can be tried before referral to Occupational Therapy or while awaiting
Occupational Therapy assessment:-
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ATTENTION
Strategies
Provide opportunities for movement e.g. cleaning the whiteboard, running errands, giving out
equipment to peers, collecting equipment after an activity has finished etc
Provide a movement breaks outside the classroom e.g. walking or running around the playground,
jumping up to touch a high point on the wall. (Do not take away outdoor play opportunities as a
sanction).
Do a whole class ‘wake up stretch’. Demonstrate stretching the body and tensing the muscles,
followed by relaxing and ‘flopping’; letting out a big sigh may also help) - exaggerate the
movement!
Child helps the teacher to move large pieces of gym equipment e.g. gym benches and mats (be
mindful of correct lifting procedure)
May help to place the child at the front of the class, directly in front of the board if possible or in
line with the teacher when floor sitting
Use a carpet square on the floor to create a defined space for circle time
If child has poor postural control on the floor, encourage stable sitting position (e.g. cross-legged)
or leaning against back support
Try using a move ‘n’ sit cushion – see details in Resource List
Consider if the child has had breakfast. Would a small, healthy snack (e.g. banana) put them back
on track?
Allow frequent access to water bottle, kept on the desk or readily accessible
Remove all materials that are not required for completion of a task from the child’s desk
Try timers which allow the child to see how long he/she needs to concentrate on a task and set
targets
Give the child a ‘fidget toy’ to use when you want him / her to listen for any length of time
Use frequent, positive encouragement e.g. “That was good, now let’s see if we can …”
Encourage effort rather than performance.
Grade activities to guarantee initial success
Have a calming (low distraction) area of the classroom (with e.g. bean bag to sit on).
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LISTENING
Think about the classroom environment
Position children with attention difficulties close to the teacher
Be aware of any competing sounds and visual distractions, which may make it harder for children to
know what they should be attending to e.g. shut the classroom door
Sit children with attention difficulties away from distractions
Provide short breaks between activities to allow time to refocus
Use visual support
Use visual rules as reminders to sit well, look and listen
Give specific praise to encourage active listening e.g. “good looking!”, “good listening!”, and “good
sitting!”
Use visual clues e.g. pictures, gestures, objects, writing alongside spoken language
Use timers to provide visual cues about the length of an activity which can help maintain attention
Use verbal cues and support
Make sure that you have the child’s attention before giving an instruction. Say the child’s name and
make sure that they are looking at you.
Focus the children by telling them ‘It’s time to listen’
Highlight what you want them to listen out for, e.g. “At the end I want you to tell me three things about
elephants” or “I want you to touch your nose every time I say ‘Goldilocks’”.
Encourage the pupil to repeat the instruction back to you before they start a task
330
ORGANISATIONAL SKILLS
Children need to be able to establish a degree of concentration, sequencing, memory and self-awareness
in order to be able to develop their organisational skills. The following strategies may useful:-
Strategies
Working Space
Help child to work in an uncluttered area.
Use a clear plastic pencil case to aid easy location of pens / pencils etc
Get child into the habit of having a place for everything: after an item is used, make sure the child
puts it back where it belongs so that s/he knows where to find it next time.
Schoolwork
With younger children:Reinforce regular routines, prompt child to tell you what’s next
Use a simple, visual timetable; colour code days or activities (this can be replicated at home)
Put pictures on school books to indicate the subject. For easy location, pictures could also be put on
the trays/drawers where the books are kept (if all in one place).
Consider a ‘home/school’ book to help keep track of child’s activities
With older children:Especially in preparation for secondary school, the child should be involved in deciding what strategies may
be helpful.
A useful source of further strategies is ‘Occupational Therapy Approaches for Secondary Special Needs’
(see Resource List).
Use a different coloured exercise book for each class and coloured folders to match the exercise
books. Keep all papers and homework for a class in the matching folder, so that the child always
knows where it is.
Where tools/apparatus are kept out of sight, mark cupboards/drawers with labels.
If using just one notebook / ring binder file, use tabbed dividers for each class/subject with a
different colour for each.
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Keep pens, pencils, pencil grips, erasers, a small ruler and other things
needed for each class in separate(colour-coded) zipped, plastic pockets
Keep a supply of post-it notes in each file to write brief notes and stick on to provide cues for followup work.
Keep a memo book to write down important things.
Encourage making lists to help remember things and keep track of what needs to be done (cross off
list when completed).
The same technique could be applied to completing a task / project i.e.
tick off each step as it is achieved.
Try mind mapping approaches.
Put a copy of the school timetable in the notebook / ring binder file for reference (can be colour
coded to match subject lessons).
Homework and preparing for school
Make a ‘master’ timetable that shows the usual weekly schedule, e.g. lessons, homework, after
school activities.
Put the timetable in a plastic wallet to keep it clean, or get it laminated.
Provide a wall calendar with large blank spaces on which child can write important dates or events
e.g. exams, when projects are due in. Use a pencil in case need to make changes. (Check dates with
school).
Use a ‘plan’ book to keep track of daily homework assignments.
The plan book will also help with tracking assignments that are due later in the week or month.
If child has trouble writing down homework assignments, check to make sure that what is written is
accurate (can also ask a classmate to do this):Date:
Subject
Numeracy
Literacy
Science
History
Is there homework?
Yes / No
Yes / No
Yes / No
Yes / No
What is it?
When is it due?
Teachers and parents discuss a routine to prevent child losing things and rushing e.g. place all school
items in the same place every day - perhaps a large box by the front door at home
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Written tasks
Keep printed/ written alphabet and number lines nearby and refer to them if s/he forgets how to
write a letter or a number.
When copying information from another book or sheet of paper use a ruler or blank sheet of paper
under each line of print (or line-tracker - see Resource List).
Get child into the habit of making a brief outline before writing (e.g. list key words) to help prompt
what s/he wants to write. Could try a dictaphone/tape recorder if writing is difficult.
Keep a diary of words the child has trouble spelling so that it can be referred to easily when writing.
Try saying written work out loud; this may help child notice and correct mistakes.
Seek advice from Teacher Adviser for Information Technology
alternative methods of recording.
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regarding equipment available for
Techniques to try in the Classroom
Refer also to section on ‘Attention’ (page 2)
If the child has difficulty:Listening
Position the child in front of the teacher
Work individually or in small group
Provide a quieter environment
Following instructions
Repeat instructions
Give one instruction at a time
Use key words, short phrases, concrete language
Break the task down into small steps - work on one step at a time
Ask the child to demonstrate and review how to play a game before starting.
Tick off tasks as they are completed
Provide examples (use visual, auditory and tactile prompts)
Ask the child to repeat and explain the instructions before beginning
Team up with a peer in the class who understands the task instructions and can help
Starting an activity
Explain the purpose of the assignment and make sure the child understands the expectations
Present work in small amounts
Give a signal to begin working
Give immediate feedback and encouragement
Use a digital timer and help the child estimate how long the work will take
Discourage rushing
Provide individual attention to support routine
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Staying on task
Seat child away from window/door and/or in front of teacher
Place a child next to a peer who provides a good model and can help immediately
Consider which time of day is better for demanding tasks so the child will be at his/her ‘best’
Start the child on short tasks which require concentration - gradually increase this
Provide frequent reinforcement - lots of praise!
Ask questions to help prompt child focus on next step
Use a timer to indicate when the task is to be finished
Working independently
Provide activities appropriate for the child’s development level
Alternate short, independent tasks with those which require some assistance. Grade tasks so that the
child is gradually required to increase the amount of independent work
Coping with change
Provide structure and routine; visual timetable may help.
Encourage flexibility and acceptance of change using a symbol for change or surprise (? or !),
introducing change into the timetable from time to time
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Section 5d
HANDWRITING
336
HANDWRITING
The expectation of the National Literacy Strategy is that most children will write consistently with neat,
legible, joined handwriting by the end of Year 4. However, handwriting is a complex task which relies on
many underlying motor and perceptual skills including:Balance and postural control
Ability to move rhythmically
Eye-motor control
Arm/hand stability and finger dexterity
Body/spatial awareness and directionality
Visual attention and listening
Combining spatial and language concepts (‘up’, ‘down’, ‘round’)
Bilateral coordination (both sides of the body working together)
Individual finger awareness
Hand dominance
Linking letter sounds and shapes
Visual discrimination and recognition
Motor planning
Children need to develop the mechanical skills of writing before they can start to concentrate on factual or
imaginative content and achieve the later stages of writing in the Foundation Stage Profile. It is important
to focus on quality before quantity and for children to have fun with developing such a complex skill!
Your school will have a handwriting policy; some handwriting schemes are more helpful particularly for
children who find writing difficult - you may wish to discuss this with the occupational therapist.
Readiness for Writing
With early school entry now in place in the United Kingdom for over a decade, reports suggest that that
many children coming into reception classes exhibit variations in maturity and have not fully developed the
foundation skills for more formal learning. Pilot occupational therapy/education research in a Hampshire
infant school (2006) identified that during their first term, over two thirds of reception children were not
developmentally ‘ready to write’.
When children come to school, experience of letter shapes and writing varies. Some may know how to
hold a pencil and form certain letters; others may have been encouraged to write before they are ready.
Most children will benefit from practicing the foundation skills needed for writing.
Foundation skills can be improved through the programmes provided in this Schools Pack, particularly
Achieving Body Control, Clever Bodies, FMS, Clever Hands and the activities in the Visual Perception
Section. You may also want to draw on approaches such as Write Dance, hand gym etc. which promote
movement, rhythm and coordination. (see resource section)
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Developing pre-writing skills
The following are examples of the type of activities which could be included in a pre-writing programme
and why they are useful:Balance and postural control
Lie on tummy and pull along with forearms - move like a seal with appropriate noises! - extension
posture, shoulder stability, strengthening arm muscles
Kneel up tall, roll ball to named child in circle - eye tracking, balance
Actions to Grand Old Duke of York, Hickory Dickory Dock - coordination, body and spatial
awareness, rhythm
Hand function
Hold onto large piece of Lycra, lift up and down keeping ball/bean bag on surface - eye tracking,
shoulder stability, hand grasp
On all fours, rub chalk/chunky wax crayon to cover large sheet of paper with colour - shoulder and
arm stability, developing pencil grasp
Motor planning/sequencing, visual perception
Make (anti-clockwise) wheels in the air (tractor, bus, bicycle) in time to music - movement, rhythm
and letter shape
As children begin to consolidate foundation skills, other factors need to be considered
Guidance on sitting position (stable, upright posture)
child sits on chair with hips, knees, ankles at right angles
feet are supported e.g. flat on the floor or a foot rest
seat depth allows child to be well supported by back of chair (without
front edge of seat pressing into back of legs)
chair is pulled into the table/desk, providing good forearm support on
table
table height is at level of child’s bent elbow (when sitting upright) or 2-3cms below
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Check for correct sitting posture
Good posture when writing (or for other table
top activities and using a computer)
Hips, knees and ankles at 90º, feet flat on the
floor, good back support, chair well pulled in
Table at resting elbow height or just below
Strategies for Pre-writers
Practise making shapes and patterns in the air with big arm movements to reinforce motor
memory, then with smaller hand or finger movements (in sand, playdough, finger paint etc.)
Repeat the above with letters/numbers.
Encourage good posture for writing: it is important to reinforce this early, so children do not have
to unlearn habits later on.
Pencil grasp
Observe children’s grasps on crayons and paint brushes. Practise correct pencil grasp as soon as children
are developmentally ready, for drawing and patterns. (You may wish to divide the class into groups,
working on this as children are ready).
Normal development of pencil grasp:
whole hand (cylindrical grasp)
pencil pointing downwards in direction of finger tips
pencil held between thumb and several finger tips (rounded web space between thumb and index
finger developing)
tripod grasp between thumb and index finger, resting against middle finger
339
To develop pencil grasp:
Colour on sugar paper with very short, chunky wax crayon
Identify thumb/fingers needed: place writing hand palm down on table.
Lift named finger in turn: Tommy Thumb (1), Peter Pointer (2), Toby
Tall (3), then tap each separately on table
Pick up pencil and practise where the fingers go
Reinforce with rhyme/song (tune as in ‘Here we go round the mulberry bush’ or ‘Twinkle, twinkle’ repeat last two lines)
On my pencil, can you see?
Thumb and fingers, one two three
Hold your pencil just like me
Thumb and fingers, one two three
Children with extra stretch in finger joints may hold a pencil with an excessive dip in fingers (usually
index), see also ‘Pressure’, below.
A suitable pencil grip can reduce this dip
Letter formation
Practise letter sounds and names (e.g. point to alphabet cards, naming ‘t’ for teddy)
Sing alphabet to reinforce sequence
Check school’s handwriting scheme: encourage correct letter formation from the start - check
frequently and reinforce; practise for short period every day
Think of writing a letter as a sequence of movement, emphasising correct starting point
Use multi-sensory techniques for learning shapes, letters, and numbers e.g. talk through sequences
(‘I go round, up and down’) and illustrations (‘b’ is ‘big stick down and circle away from body’).
Letters can be practised in similar ‘families’ but they may be easier to learn in alphabet sequence
(easily reinforced by singing) where each succeeding letter has a contrasting shape
Share information on how pencil grasp and letter formation are being taught with parents so they
can reinforce in play activities at home
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Strategies for Early Writers
Warm up exercises
These can be done as a class or individually
Rub hands together - fronts and backs
Hands flat on table, tap thumbs and fingers in sequence.
Tap specific fingers, e.g. “tap your index finger (Peter Pointer) twice”.
Press palms, fingers and thumbs together, keeping fingers straight.
Touch thumb to each fingertip in sequence, both hands at the same time, then right hand, then left.
Try and do it without looking at hands.
‘Flash lights’ (fingers opening and closing quickly); again specify both hands, then left, then right.
Then
Stand up, stay on the spot and wriggle your whole body.
Stamp your feet on the spot.
Stretch arms up above your head, let arms flop down.
‘Now you are ready to sit down and write’!
Print or cursive?
Most children find single (i.e. printed) letters an easier motor and perceptual task to start with (but always
include exit stroke/flick on appropriate letters to prepare for later joining).
341
Materials/equipment
Provide suitable pencil grips for children who need more help with correct pencil grasp (see
Resource List)
Provide a selection of pencils (pens), so children can choose what feels comfortable
Children can experiment on blank paper but then move on to lined paper (wide space between
single lines)
Raised line paper is available (see Resource List)
As letter formation develops, double (tram) lines often help (set at width approximating to child’s
average mid-zone letter size when written freely)
Use exercise books rather than loose paper
Try large graph paper for sums to keep columns and rows organised.
Consistent, preferred hand for writing?
Some children may not have developed a leading hand or clear hand dominance by the time they start
school. (Even those who always hold a pencil in the same hand may alternate the leading hand in twohanded activities).
Picking up a pencil alternately with either hand can sometimes be linked to coordination problems or
difficulty crossing the mid-line of the body and/or directional confusion.
Strategy/review
Give child time to experiment
Does child generally use both hands together efficiently (or tend to ignore one?)
Check whether there are immediate left-handers in the family (especially mother) which may
suggest a left preference
Observe whether one hand is preferred for throwing a ball, pointing, picking up food, threading a
lace into a bead etc.
Where there is no reason to predict left-handedness and child appears to function at the same level
of skill with either hand, encourage using pencil in right hand (in liaison with parents)
Note : a child could be genuinely ambidextrous i.e. equally skilled with either hand but this is rare.
Paper position
The position of the paper can affect the fluency and speed of writing.
-
right-handed children should angle the paper to the left
left-handed children should angle the paper to the right
342
Younger children will need guidance; older children can check for themselves:
sit straight at the table
-
clasp hands together in line with both head and midline of the body, place forearms on table to make
a triangle
place paper inside the triangle, parallel to writing arm
Left and Right Hand Paper Position
Advice for left handers
In order to see text as they write and prevent smudging, they should hold the pen/pencil further from the
point. The preferred position can be marked with a small elastic band or by using a pencil grip or pen with
an integral grip. Left-handed children have to push the pen/pencil across the paper which can be more
tiring. Ballpoint, Berol or fibre tip pens create less friction and left-handed nibs are available from
commercial stationers.
Position left-handers at the end of a table (not next to a right-hander) to provide adequate space for
forearm support.
Correct grasp for left-handed child
343
A hooked grasp may result in:
-
restricted arm and finger movements - having to move the whole arm when writing letters, which
becomes tiring
-
continual re-adjustment of hand position with jerky movements which reduce fluency and speed
-
ache in wrist and fingers with extended periods of writing
-
smudging of work and difficulty achieving neat writing and presentation
Hooked grasp
Strategies to avoid a hooked grasp
-
practise drawing /writing on vertical or sloping board to develop wrist
extension
check paper position - angled correctly for left-hander
try an angled surface on table
experiment with softer pencils or alternative pens
use relaxation techniques regularly (see below)
Useful resources for left handers
The following resources are available from Anything Left-Handed (see Resource List):
-
Writing Left Handed
Helping Left Handed Children to Enjoy
Left Handed Children - A Guide for Teachers and Parents
The Left Hander’s Handbook
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Relaxation techniques for the writing hand
Most children will tire at some stage when writing and exercises can be incorporated into classroom
activities:Position hands under thighs, flat on chair seat, palms down, rock from side to side
Place hands palms down, grasp edge of chair seat, straighten elbows, push down through hands to
lift bottom off chair.
Place palms together and interlock fingers, turn fingers towards body and push away with elbows
straight.
With arms down by sides, make a tight fist in both hands and then straighten and spread fingers
Place palms of hands together in ‘praying’ position with fingers stretched then lower forearms onto
table, keeping fingers pointing upwards and wrists extended.
Shake arms and hands down by sides.
Pressure
Children may press either too hard or too lightly.
Contributory factors may be
-
poor shoulder stability (and attempt to compensate by tightening muscles in the arm or hand)
-
weak arm or hand muscles
-
poor sensory feedback
-
extra stretch (hyper-extension) of thumb/finger joints (where children try to achieve a more stable
position by using position of maximum stretch, causing an excessively dipped appearance)
Tripod grasp with hyper-extension of index finger
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Heavy pressure may result in:
-
increased tension (aching) in forearm and wrist
-
loss of fluency
-
difficulty writing for a sustained length of time
-
indentations or holes made in paper
Strategies
-
check sitting posture (see page 321 )
-
see hand relaxation techniques (see above)
-
implement Clever Bodies – Motor Planning and Coordination and (Section 3a page 66) and Clever
Hands (Section 3b page 117)
-
practice writing on sheet(s) of paper over carbon paper to provide visual feedback on degree of
pressure
-
write in exercise book rather than on a single sheet of paper on desk
-
place card under the paper to prevent imprint of text onto the next page
-
try an angled surface (see Resource List)
-
use larger diameter pencil/pen to reduce strain on finger joints
-
use commercially available pens with cushioned grip incorporated into the barrel, which may reduce
tension
-
try pen (nib) with easier ink flow on paper e.g., fibre tip, roller ball, fountain pen
Light pressure may result in:
-
inability to make consistent marks on paper
-
poor pencil control
-
illegible, spidery script
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Strategies
-
check sitting posture (see page 321)
-
implement ‘Clever Hands’ (Section 3b page 117)
-
try angled surface (see Resource List)
-
try different pencils /pens which require less pressure e.g. soft pencils, fibre tip, roller ball
-
a weighted pen can help dampen a tremor (shakiness); a light weight
pen can help children with muscle weakness (see Resource
List)
Strategies for Older Children
For older children, specific programmes may be helpful:‘Write from the Start’ Books 1&2 (Teodorescu, Addy ) : perceptuo-motor approach
‘Speed-up’ (Addy) : kinaesthetic approach (from 8 years)
See Resource List
To type or not to type?
Writing continues to be important to schools and employers; word processing is not an automatic
alternative to handwriting since it also requires fine motor and perceptual skills. However, for some
children, typing becomes a useful adjunct or occasionally the sole recording method. In these cases, it is
particularly important to introduce a useful method from the start (preferably touch-typing), usually not
until about 7 years old. Various children’s programmes are available for keyboard familiarisation (e.g.
Speedy Keys) and typing (e.g. BBC Dance-Mat, see Resource List). Daily practice with adult support is
strongly recommended.
Even if word processing is introduced early, try to maintain limited handwriting e.g. confidence in signing
name.
Encourage practice and praise effort - becoming a good writer can take time!
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Strategies for children approaching or attending secondary school
-
Allow extra time for writing assignments.
-
Begin writing assignments creatively with drawing, or speaking ideas into a dictaphone writing down
key words.
-
Vary focus of writing assignments - clear requirement for grammar, neatness and spelling or for
organisation of ideas.
-
Explicitly teach different styles of writing (provide templates) - personal essays, short stories, letters,
poems, etc.
-
Do not judge timed assessments on neatness and spelling.
-
Get students to proof-read work after a delay - easier to see mistakes after a break.
-
Help students create a checklist for editing work - spelling, neatness, grammar, syntax, clear
progression of ideas, etc.
-
Encourage use of a computer spell checker (or speaking spell checkers which can be used for hand
written work).
-
Reduce amount of copying;
worksheets where possible
-
Consider alternative ways of assessing knowledge, such as oral reports or visual projects.
-
Encourage practice through less pressured opportunities for writing such as letters, diary, making
household lists or keeping track of sports teams.
focus on writing original answers and ideas and use prepared
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Section 5e
SELF-CARE
349
SELF-CARE
Introduction
Self-care includes those skills children require for meeting their personal needs with an increasing degree
of independence:Drinking and eating
Washing
Dressing
Managing the toilet
For older children, self-care includes tasks such as shopping and using local community facilities.
The development of self-care skills is a part of children’s learning where partnership between home and
school is particularly important. Consistent approaches shared with parents are more effective and they
often appreciate support to improve their child’s independence.
Although self-care may appear task-focused, a combination of underlying skills is needed for success e.g.
Immature balance may make it difficult to sustain steady postures for dressing
A child who leaves face and hands messy after eating may have poor tactile awareness
Putting clothes on back to front or in the wrong order may result from reduced spatial awareness or
planning
Working on motor and perceptual skills may therefore also help to improve self-care.
However, this Section includes strategies for the different aspects of self-care, together with some specific
techniques e.g. for dressing and doing up shoe laces.
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Strategies for drinking and eating
Drinking
Tends to cough when swallowing or spills drink:Sit at table, with both elbows supported, hold cup/bottle with both
hands, encourage to drink slowly
Eating
Check sitting posture and chair/table height (see Handwriting, Section 5d)
If cannot hold and use knife and fork (encourage using spoon and fork for the time being), practise
grasps as below; try cutting playdough/plasticene first in classroom activities (simple cooking
activities provide further practice)
Use ‘hand over hand’ help to cut up food at start of meal or to open lunch boxes and containers (sit
slightly behind or beside child)
Identify dinner lady to supervise particular children
Prompt child to check (in mirror if possible ) when face/hands are messy (and wash/wipe)
To encourage children who are reluctant to try eating/drinking in school, provide a range tastes,
smells, cooking experiences etc. in classroom activities
(See also Sensory Strategies, Section 5a)
For the child who lacks confidence or gets lost easily in a busy environment, use a buddy system to
encourage.
Packed lunches may be easier to manage but school dinners (with adult support) can provide useful
practice.
For packed lunches, consider
-
can the child open packets? If not, putting the food in a zip lock plastic bag may help.
-
can the child manage drinks cartons independently? If not, a sports bottle is an alternative.
Steps involved in using a knife and fork
Stab with fork
Hold food still with fork, cut with sawing motion with knife
Stab food or use knife to guide food onto fork
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Encourage child not to grasp cutlery too tightly (keep arms relaxed)
Practise first with softer foods (potatoes, fish fingers, sausages, well cooked vegetables)
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Strategies for washing
Opportunities for washing occur mainly after using the toilet or clearing up after messy activities.
Check
Can child
reach sink, taps, soap, towels?
provide step (can be a hazard in communal toilet area, providing lower sink, towels etc. may be
an option)
turn taps on/off?
practise hand function
reach and use soap?
practise hand function
Does he/she remember to wash hands after using toilet and before meals?
-
give prompts (a picture sequence on the wall beside the basin may help)
Practice sequence: turn tap on, rinse hands, apply soap, rinse, turn tap off, dry hands
Reinforce verbal prompts with ‘hand over hand’ support as necessary
Reinforce with action songs: ‘This is the way we wash our hands…’
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Strategies for dressing
Children coming into school may still rely on adult help with dressing:Provide extra time specifically for dressing/undressing and treat as a skill some children need to learn
(by practising, watching others, learning specific methods) - encourage parents to reinforce
(especially in the evening or at week-ends when there’s more time)
Prompt child to do as much as possible e.g. fetch coat from peg, put one arm into sleeve, then
provide ‘hand over hand’ support as required e.g. standing behind, help child slot zip into place and
pull up
If slow dressing/undressing for PE:-
Is child easily distracted? Take to a quieter area of the room.
-
If making the first move to get dressed / undressed is difficult, give clear verbal (and/or visual)
prompt to start and try a timer
-
If child has difficulty putting on clothes in the correct order help child to lay them out in the
sequence required and/or make a picture card sequence for child to follow (see ‘do 2 learn’,
Resource List)
-
If child seems to have immature balance and coordination, improve postural stability by sitting
on floor to dress, e.g. leaning against back support to put on socks
If a child continues to have difficulty, consider more intensive adult support. A useful approach is
‘backward chaining’ where the child initially completes only the last step (thus gaining success and praise)
and then gradually achieves each preceding step:Putting on socks
This example specifies the adult help required (helps to sit on floor behind or next to child - encourage
child to use both hands)
Step 1
Adult puts child’s socks on up to just below the ankle, child pulls socks up.
Step 2
Adult puts child’s socks on, the top of the sock just over the heel of the foot, child pulls
socks up from the heel of the foot.
Step 3
Adult places child’s socks just below the heel, child pulls socks up.
Step 4
Adult places child’s sock on toes, child pulls socks up.
Step 5
Child puts toes into socks and puts on independently.
In the following examples, adult provides ‘hand over hand’ help as required:354
Putting on trousers (elasticated waist)
Start all steps sitting on a chair unless child has sufficient balance to do in standing (see balance activities
earlier on in the programme)
Step 1
Child stands up and pulls trousers up from thighs to waist with both
hands, adult having assisted with first part
Step 2
Child pulls trousers up to thighs from ankles and then up around waist having been assisted
by adult to place both feet into the correct trouser legs
Step 3
Whilst adult holds trousers child is guided to place one foot at a time into correct trouser leg
Step 4
Repeat step 3 with child holding trousers
Step 5
Child manages to place both feet through correct trouser leg and pull up round waist with
verbal prompting from adult
Step 6
Child puts trousers on independently
Putting on a T-shirt
Step 1
Child pushes one arm through sleeve (other arm and head are already through T-shirt)
Step 2
Child pushes both arms through sleeves (head already through T-shirt)
Step 3
Adult positions T-shirt head hole on head and child pulls T-shirt down over head
Step 4
Child places T-shirt on head and pulls down over head with both hands with verbal
prompting from adult
Step 4
Child puts on T-shirt independently.
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Fastenings
Buttons, hooks and zips can be the main difficulty when dressing. The following strategies may help:Buttons
Play games that involve pincer grip (thumb and index finger tips) e.g. “Pick
up Sticks”, Lego, squeezy toys, water pistols, sand play, making shapes with
pipe cleaners, also use games that increase sensory awareness of thumb and
index fingers e.g. finger puppets, finger painting, using playdough.
Try first with a shirt on child’s lap so he/she can easily see what to do, then
practise with the shirt on. When he can do buttons with the shirt on,
practice with eyes shut. Do the same with trouser buttons, hooks/ clasps, i.e.
first practise first with them off, then with them on.
Use bigger buttons in a different colour to the fabric. Plain coloured fabric is
easier than checks or stripes which can be tiring for the eyes and make
buttonholes difficult to see. Patterns can be re-introduced when the child is
able to do up buttons.
To avoid confusion, take off any spare buttons on the inside of shirts.
Encourage the child to start buttoning from the bottom of the shirt so he can
see what he is doing. To do top buttons, help him check in a mirror (at the
right level) in the changing area.
To ensure that buttons do not come off easily, put some nail polish on the
thread at the back of the button to secure it for longer.
To ensure that the button can fit through the buttonhole easily, try snipping
the edges of the hole to make it slightly bigger. To ensure buttonholes do
not fray and to provide a little sensory feedback and stability, you can use
clear nail polish to seal the ends (it will feel like the end of sealed rope).
Use shirts that are slightly bigger but resist the temptation to use Dad’s shirts
(except for fun!) as they are often too big, with long sleeves and make it
difficult to see.
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Normal method for doing up buttons (practise yourself before helping child
who may need to follow sequence a step at a time)
1.
Line up the correct buttonhole and corresponding button.
2.
Helps to put index finger through the buttonhole so that it is sticking through on the underside of the
material. This hand is then in the right place to grasp the button and pull it through. Keep that hand
there!
3.
With the other hand grasp the button with the thumb and index finger (usually index finger on the
top flat surface of the button and the thumb underneath - keeping free the edge of the button going
into the hole .
4.
Push the button through the hole. As the button gets halfway through, the index finger and thumb
of the other hand grasps the button and pulls it through.
5.
The other hand will be pushing it through with the thumb while the index finger pulls the material
over the button.
Adapted from guidance devised by Clare Reabow and Mary Hodson
Paediatric Occupational Therapy service Swindon Primary Care Trust
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Zips
Make sure that you are practising with a zip that is easy to do up.
First make sure child can pull up zips that are already engaged, for
example trouser zips.
‘Hand-over-hand’ support can help child to feel the movement that is
needed.
Make sure that your child can see what s/he is doing
Practise with the garment laid flat on a stable surface first – it may be
easier than looking down to fasten it
Bigger zips are usually easier to see and grip initially.
Zips without flaps of material around them are easier as they do not get
in the way.
Practice with an old zip can be useful. You could also colour one side of
an old zip with nail polish for clarity.
Attaching a small loop of string or metal ring to the zip can help to make
grasping and pulling the zip easier
Replace zip with Velcro
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Method for coats etc.
Practise first with the garment off. Once child can do this easily, practise zipping up with the garment on –
the method will be the same – just seen from the other side.
1.
Lay out the garment so that it is flat and you can see which sides need to be put together.
2.
Make sure that the zipper is right at the bottom.
3.
The end of the zipper should be flush with the metal / plastic end (on the same side). Where there’s
a tab or overlapping fabric, move it away and out of the way and hold it back with the thumb of the
hand on the same side. Do not let this side go.
4.
With the other hand, take the flat metal / plastic side (that slips into the zipper) and hold it about
1cm away from the edge between the tip of the thumb and index finger.
5.
Now slip the flat side into the groove of the zipper. It is really important that the other hand is still
holding tightly onto the zipper.
6.
Slide the flat side down to the very edge of the garment. (Sometimes you can hear a soft click when
it slots into the bottom properly).
TIP: help child pause here – children tend to get excited when they have
reached this step, rush and undo all their hard work.
7.
Make sure that one hand is holding both sides of the fabric AND the slotted base of the zip VERY
tightly.
8.
Keep holding on and pull up zipper with thumb and fingers of the other hand.
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Tying Shoelaces
Younger children usually have shoes fastened with Velcro but older child may need laces for football boots
and other shoes.
The following method simplifies the tying process.
If this still proves difficult, alternatives to standard laces are available (see Resource List).
Right Handed Method (the positions can be reversed for a left-hander)
In each hand, hold up one end of the lace so that there is roughly 10cm sticking out.
The hands should be in a position so that thumbs are uppermost.
Cross the ends of the lace, but still with an end in each hand.
Put the left end over and then under, the right end. (It may help to draw L and R on
the child’s thumbs). Now pull the end to make the knot tight.
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Tip: by doing this twice the knot will be more secure.
Make a loop or ‘bunny ear’ with the right lace and ensure that there is a ‘tail’. The
loop should be flush with the knot made in the previous step. This loop should be
held tightly at the base (so that the ‘bunny doesn’t escape’).
Keep holding this loop with the right hand. Now, with your left hand, make a loop as
in the previous step.
Cross the loops over, right loop on top of left loop, but keep holding the loops
tightly. Ask your child to STOP and tell you which hole the loop / ‘bunny ear’ needs
to come through.
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Now push the top loop / ‘bunny ear’ over the other loop and through the hole –
catch hold of this loop whilst still holding onto the other loop.
Pull both loops slowly to tighten, making sure that the ‘tails’ do not slip through!
Congratulations !
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Strategies for managing the toilet
Younger children are sometimes just delayed in establishing independent toileting. This seems more common in
children with lower muscle tone - it may be that their sensory feedback is less pronounced and they are not so aware
of urgency. (If difficulties persist, discuss with parents whether there is a need for medical referral to exclude any
other cause).
Such children may need help to reinforce toileting skills in school (in conjunction with similar approaches at home):Emphasise expectation for whole class of going to the toilet routinely (social motivation)
Specifically prompt child to go to the toilet regularly e.g. at the beginning of break time
Check whether child seems anxious about going to the toilet or whether any aspect is physically difficult (e.g.
does small child feel secure on the toilet?)
Provide adult supervision to reinforce sequence e.g. may need ‘hand over hand’ help with managing
clothing, reaching toilet paper, flushing toilet, washing hands
Provide ‘big wipes’ which can be easier than toilet paper
Check ability to shift weight onto one side, balance and reach: play games on floor and chair e.g. passing
bean bag under each thigh in turn
Parents to supply change of clothes to be kept in school (and may reassure child to be aware of this)
If incontinent, treat as not a problem but involve child as appropriate in washing/changing (helping to
manage)
Keep a record of times when wet or soiled - is there a pattern? Use Toileting Record Sheet (page 16)
If there seems to be a behavioural element, consider child going to toilet prior to a rewarding activity /
alongside other children (peer reinforcement) or on his/her own (with adult support) if needs less busy
environment
Lots of praise for success can be reinforced with specific rewards or star charts.
Children with complex needs may benefit from a very structured approach such as that devised within the TEACCH
approach (see Resource List).
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Toileting Record Sheet
Name:-
Time
Date:-
Drinks
Wet/Dry/Soiled
8.00am
8.30am
9.00am
9.30am
10.00am
10.30am
11.00am
11.30am
12 noon
12.30pm
1.00pm
1.30pm
2.00pm
2.30 pm
3.00pm
3.30 pm
4.00pm
4.30 pm
5.00pm
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Used WC?
Section 6
Glossary
Glossary of Terms
Speech, Language and Communication definitions
Articulation
difficulty
A sound is made differently to normal, sometimes due to a structural deficit. An
articulation difficulty can cause unintelligible speech, or may not cause any loss in
clarity. A lisp (tongue touching teeth when producing ‘s’ and ‘z’ sounds) is a typical
example.
Cleft Lip and/or
Palate
A cleft lip and/or palate occurs when the two sides of the lip, soft palate or hard
palate, do not join and fuse during development in the womb. A cleft lip can occur
with or without a cleft palate, and likewise a cleft palate can occur with or without a
cleft lip, and may involve the soft palate, hard palate or both. A cleft lip and palate
can result in speech and feeding difficulties.
Dysarthria
An impairment of movement and coordination of the muscles required for speech,
due to abnormal muscle tone. Muscles do not move as far, as accurately or as quickly
as normal, similar to the slurring that occurs when someone is drunk or following a
stroke, head injury or neurological disease. In children, it is usually associated with a
condition such as cerebral palsy or muscular dystrophy.
Language delay
The child’s language skills are developing according to normal patterns but slowly, so
that they are at the level of a younger child. A child with a language delay is likely to
continue to develop language skills naturally with general support within his normal
communicative environment.
Language
disorder
The child’s language skills are not developing according to normal patterns, e.g. they
may be able to use more complicated language than they can understand; have
difficulty in learning new words; make word-order errors; or have word-finding
difficulties. Alternatively, different components of the child’s language abilities may
be developing unevenly or his language may be developing at a significantly slower
rate than his non-verbal abilities. A child with a language disorder is unlikely to
develop new language skills without specific support.
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Oral Dyspraxia
This is a motor speech disorder that can be either oral – affecting all movements of
the muscles of the mouth – or verbal – only affecting these muscles when the child is
speaking, but not when eating, whistling, or using facial expressions, etc. It consists of
difficulties in organising and sequencing the rapid oral movements required, despite
the intention to make the correct sound. Production of sounds may, therefore, be
inconsistent and become worse when the child is tired or unwell.
Phonological
delay
The child’s system/organisation of speech sounds is developing according to normal
patterns, but slowly so that it is at the level of a younger child. A child with a
phonological delay may catch up without specialist help.
Phonological
disorder
The child’s system/organisation of speech sounds is not developing according to
normal patterns. They may be able to use harder, later developing sounds, but not
simpler, early developing ones; they may replace sounds they cannot yet say by
unusual, or even non-English sounds, and may distort vowel sounds. A child with a
phonological disorder may require specialist support to develop their speech.
Selective Mutism
Selective Mutism (formally known as Elective Mutism) is a disorder that usually
occurs during childhood. It is when the child chooses not to speak in at least one
social setting; however, the child can speak in other situations. Selective Mutism
typically occurs before a child is 5 years old and is usually first noticed when the child
starts nursery, pre-school or school.
Specific Language
Impairment (SLI)
A language disorder that is not associated with any other learning difficulty.
Word-finding
difficulties
Difficulty in retrieving specific vocabulary from memory even though the word is
known. This is similar to the ‘tip of the tongue’ phenomenon. Children may use nonspecific words, such as ‘thing’/’doing’; pauses or fillers, such as ‘um’/’er’; related
words, e.g. ‘apple’ for ‘orange’; neologisms; or circumlocution.
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Physical skills, Posture and Movement
Abduction
Movement of a limb away from the midline of the body.
Active Movement
When a person moves a body part on his own without any help or support.
Active Assisted
Movement
A movement of a body part assisted either by the physiotherapist,
Activities of Daily
Living
Refers to daily self care activities we need and want to do, such as bathing, dressing,
toileting, feeding and meal preparation. Also includes tasks such as school work,
home work and leisure.
Adaptive
Response
An action that is appropriate and successful in meeting some environmental demand.
Adaptive responses demonstrate adequate sensory integration and drive all learning
and social interactions.
Asymmetrical
When one side of the body does not reflect the other eg. It may appear unequal.
Ataxia
A term used to describe quality of movement; it is poorly timed, graded and directed.
Resulting in poor balance and coordination, with jerky and unsteady movements.
Atrophy
Wasting of muscles or nerve cells.
Bilateral
Coordination
The ability to use both sides of the body together in a smooth, simultaneous, and
coordinated manner.
Bilateral
Integration
The neurological process of integrating sensations from both body sides; the
foundation for bilateral coordination.
Body Awareness
The mental picture of one’s own body parts, where they are, how they interrelate,
and how they move.
or by the patient using another limb to assist the weaker limb.
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Clonus
Shaking movements caused by spastic muscles (tight muscles) after they have been
suddenly stretched.
Co-ordination
The joint working of several muscles or muscle groups in the execution of
complicated movements eg. for posture, balance and limb movements
Contracture
Permanently tight muscles and joints, occurring when a joint loses motion due to
structural changes in the muscle, ligaments or tendons.
Core stability
This refers to muscles whose strength is the base of support for efficient and effective
limb movements through the maintenance of good posture, balance etc. Most
commonly this refers to the pelvic floor, deep abdominals and deep spinal muscles.
Depth Perception
The ability to see objects in three dimensions and to judge relative distances between
objects, or between oneself and objects.
Deformities
Body or limb fixed in an abnormal position.
Diplegia
A type of Cerebral Palsy where the legs are most affected, but often with some
involvement of the arms.
Dorsiflexion
Movement at the ankle of pulling the toes up towards the body.
Dynamic Balance
The ability to anticipate and react to changes in balance as the body moves through
space.
Dyskinesia
A term used to describe impaired movement. An impairment in the ability to control
movements, characterized by spasmodic or repetitive motions with a lack of
coordination.
Dyspraxia
A partial loss of the ability to perform skilled, coordinated movements caused by
deficient motor planning that is often related to a decrease in sensory processing.
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Eversion
Movement at the ankle of turning the foot out.
Extension
A straightening action of a joint (neck, back, arms, legs).
Eye-Hand
Coordination
The efficient teamwork of the eyes and hands, necessary for activities such as playing
with toys, dressing, and writing.
Facilitation
Assistance given to the child to move the limb.
Fine Motor Skills
The skilled use of one’s hands. It is the ability to move the hands and fingers in a
smooth, precise and controlled manner. Fine motor control is essential for efficient
handling of classroom tools and materials. It may also be referred to as manual
dexterity.
Flexion
A bending action of a joint or a pulling in of a body part.
Form Constancy
Recognition of a shape regardless of its size, position, or texture.
Gait
Manner of walking, characterized by rhythm, cadence, step length, stride length, and
velocity.
Gross Motor
Skills
Coordinated body movements involving the large muscle groups to make large motor
patterns eg. running, walking, hopping, climbing, throwing and jumping
Hand Preference
Right – or left handedness, which becomes established in a child as lateralization of
the cerebral hemispheres develops.
Hemiplegia
A type of Cerebral Palsy in which only one side of the body is affected
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Hydrotherapy
Rehabilitation exercises performed in a appropriately designed heated pool.
Hyperextension
Active or passive force which takes the joint into extension past the ‘normal’
accepted range.
Hypermobility
An increase in the normal range of joint movement. This may lead to instability and is
caused by lax ligaments and tendons.
Hypersensitivity
Over sensitivity to sensory stimuli, characterized by a tendency to be either fearful
and cautious, or negative and defiant.
Hypertonia
Increased muscle tone causing stiffness and potentially decreased range of
movement at a joint. Also called spasticity.
Hyposensitivity
Under sensitivity to sensory stimuli, characterized by a tendency either to crave
intense sensations or to withdraw and be difficult to engage.
Hypotonia
The lack of supportive muscle tone, usually with increased mobility at the joints,
causing the limb to appear loose and floppy.
Integration
The combination of many parts into a unified, harmonious whole.
Inversion
Movement at the ankle of pulling the ankle in towards the body
Intoeing
Term used to describe gait when a child walks/stands with the toes pointing inward.
Kinaesthesia
The conscious awareness of joint position and body movement in space eg. knowing
where to place one’s feet when climbing stairs without visual cues.
Kyphosis
Exaggerated posterior curvature of the spine to cause a ‘hump back’ appearance.
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Lordosis
Exaggerated forward curvature of the spine, whereby there is hollowing.
Midline
A median line dividing the two halves of the body. Crossing the midline is the ability
to use one side or part of the body (hand, foot, or eye) in the space of the other side
or part. i/e crossing the right hand to the left knee and vice versa.
Mobilisation
Passive movement technique performed on a child to move a joint.
OR
To describe walking.
Modulation
The brain's ability to regulate its own activity.
Motor Control
The ability to regulate and monitor the motions of one’s muscle group to work
together to perform movements.
Motor Planning
The ability to organize, sequence, and carry out an unfamiliar and complex body
movement in a coordinated manner.
Muscle Tone
The degree of tension within muscles at rest and during movement. This is regulated
sub-consciously.
Myopathy
A condition used to describe the musculoskeletal system characterized by muscle
wasting, weakness, and histological changes.
Orthosis
Splints and appliance to maintain/improve/facilitate function and joint position.
Paresis
Partial paralysis of voluntary and involuntary muscles.
Passive
Movement
Movement performed for a child, which they are usually able to do themselves.
372
Perception
The meaning the brain puts to internal and external sensory stimuli.
Plasticity
The ability of the brain to change as a result of repetitive activity or stimuli.
Planter Flexion
Movement at the ankle of pointing the toes away from the body.
Position in Space
Awareness of the spatial orientation of letters, words, numbers, or drawings on a
page, or of an object in the environment.
Postural Stability
Being able to maintain one's body in a position to efficiently complete a task or
demand, using large muscle groups at the shoulders and hips.
Praxis
The ability to interact successfully with the physical environment; to plan, organize,
and carry out a sequence of unfamiliar actions; and to do what one needs and wants
to do.
Often referred to as motor planning.
Pronation
The act of assuming the prone position eg. if applied to the hand this is turning the
palm backward (posterior) or downward.
Prone
A horizontal position of the body where the face is positioned downward.
Proprioception
The unconscious awareness from the sensory feedback of the child’s joints, muscles,
tendons, and ligaments. Allowing the body to be aware of where it is in space.
Quadriplegia
A type of Cerebral Palsy where the whole body is affected eg. all 4 limbs, head and
trunk.
Reflexes
Movement in response to stimuli not consciously controlled.
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Rigidity
Inflexibility and stiffness in a joint or muscle.
Scoliosis
An abnormal curvature of the spinal column causing an ‘s’ or ‘c’ shape.
Self-Help Skills
Competence in taking care of one's personal needs and activities of daily living, such
as bathing, dressing, eating, grooming, and studying.
Self-Regulation
The ability to control one’s activity level and state of alertness, as well as one’s
emotional, mental or physical responses to senses; self-organisation.
Sensorimotor
Pertaining to the brain-behaviour of taking in sensory messages and reacting with a
physical response.
Sensory Diet
The multisensory experiences that one normally seeks on a daily basis to satisfy one’s
sensory appetite; a planned and scheduled activity program that an occupational
therapist develops to help a person become more self-regulated.
Sensory Input
The constant flow of information from sensory receptors in the body to the brain and
spinal cord.
Sensory
Integration
The normal neurological process taking in information from one’s body and
environment through the senses, of organizing and unifying this information, and
using it to plan and execute adaptive responses to different challenges in order to
learn and function smoothly in daily life.
Sensory
Modulation
Increasing or reducing neural activity to keep that activity in harmony with all other
functions of the nervous system. Maintenance of the arousal state to generate
emotional responses, sustain attention, develop appropriate activity level and move
skilfully.
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Sensory
Processing Skills
The ability to receive and process information from one’s sensory systems including
touch (tactile), visual, auditory (hearing), proprioceptive (body position) and
vestibular (balance). Behaviour, attention and peer interactions are greatly influenced
by the child’s ability to process sensory stimuli.
Spasm
Sudden tightening of muscles.
Spasticity
Stiffness due to increased muscle tone.
Spatial
Awareness
The perception of a child’s proximity to, or distance from, an object, as well as the
perception of the relationship of one's body parts.
Static Balance
The body's ability to maintain stable and upright whilst still.
Supination
The act of assuming the supine position eg. if applied to the hand this is turning the
palm forward (anterior) or upward.
Supine
A horizontal body position where the face is positioned upward.
Tactile
Refers to the sense of touch and various qualities attributed to touch: to include
detecting pressure, temperature, light touch, pain, discriminative touch.
Tracking
Following a moving object or a line of print with the eyes.
Vestibular
Refers to our sense of movement and the pull of gravity, related to our body.
Visual
Discrimination
Differentiating among symbols and forms, such as matching or separating colours,
shapes, numbers, letters, and words.
Visual Motor
Integration
The ability to control hand movement guided by vision. A child who is challenged in
this area has difficulty coordinating body movements in response to what he/she is
seeing.
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Visual Motor
Skills
The ability to visually take in information, process it and be able to coordinate your
physical movement in relation to what has been viewed. It involves the combination
of visual perception and motor coordination.
Difficulty with visual motor skills can result in inaccurate reaching, pointing and
grasping of objects, as well as difficulty with copying, drawing, tracing and cutting.
Visual Perceptual
Skills
These skills are needed to understand, interpret and analyze what we see for reading
and writing. It is the ability to interpret and use what is seen in the environment.
Difficulties in this area can interfere with a child’s ability to learn self-help skills like
tying shoelaces and academic tasks like copying from the blackboard or finding items
in a busy background.
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Assessment Terms
Age-equivalent
This is the age for which the raw score achieved is average for a child who is
developing in the expected manner.
Chronological age The child’s age in years and months since birth at the time of the assessment.
Developmental
level
The level of development that the child has achieved in general, e.g. motor skills,
learning and language. If the child has other learning difficulties or general
developmental delay, we would expect all elements to be be similarly delayed.
Percentile
This relates to how many children out of 100 of the same age as the pupil would have
achieved the same or a lower score.
Raw score
This is the number of correct responses achieved by the child on the assessment.
Standard or
Scaled score
This compares the pupil’s raw score with other children of the same age. The
average/normal range will depend on the particular test, e.g. average may be 10,
with 7-13 considered to be within normal limits, or average could be 100, with scores
85-115 being considered to represent the normal range.
Within normal
limits/within the
age-appropriate
range
The child has achieved a standard/scaled or percentile score within the expected
average range for their chronological age.
377
Conditions or diagnoses
Cerebral Palsy
(CP)
www.nhs.uk/conditions/Cerebral-palsy/Pages/Introduction.aspx
Developmental
Coordination
Disorder (DCD) /
Motor Dyspraxia
www.nhs.co.uk/conditions/Dyspraxia-(childhood)/Pages/Introduction.aspx
Muscular
Dystrophy
www.nhs.co.uk/conditions/Muscular-dystrophy/Pages/Introduction.aspx
Autistic Spectrum
Conditions (ASC)
www.nhs.uk/conditions/Autistic-spectrum-disorder/Pages/Introduction.aspx
Chromosomal
Abnormalities
www.genome.gov/11508982
Down’s
Syndrome
www.nhs.uk/conditions/Downs-syndrome/Pages/Introduction.aspx
Sensory
Processing
Difficulties
www.sensoryintegration.org.uk
Parental Support
www.cafamily.org.uk
www.scope.org.uk
www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk
www.dfsg.org.uk
www.autism.org.uk
www.downs-syndrome.org.uk
www.sinetwork.org
www.parentpartnership.org.uk
378
Section 7 – Equipment and Resources
Section 7
Equipment and Resources
Resources
Language
Colorcards (pictures)
E.g. “What’s wrong?” Emotions
LDA
Winslow Press
What’s different? Sequences, Verb tenses
Yesterday’s Verbs
Winslow Press
And then? / And then? 2
LDA
(sequencing cards)
Semantic Links
Winslow Press
Emotions and Facial Expressions
Black Sheep Press
Speaking and Listening Through Narrative
Black Sheep Press
Story Starters
Black Sheep Press
Fun with Narrative
Black Sheep Press
Understanding and Using Spoken Language (7-9
LDA
Speechmark
years)
Speaking, Listening and Understanding
LDA
Speechmark
Rhodes to Language (7-16 years)
STASS/Winslow Press
Listening
Following Auditory Directions
Winslow Press
Auditory Memory
Black Sheep Press
Lip and Tongue Exercises
Oral motor Fun and Games
Winslow Press
Mighty Mouth Game
Winslow Press
Phonology
Phonological Awareness Procedure (for 6+
years
STASS
The Big Book of Blends and Diagraghs
Winslow Press
Consonant Worksheets
Black Sheep Press
The Late Eight (th, s, z, l, r, sh, ch)
Plural Publishing
Activities for Developing Phonological
Awareness
Winslow Press
380
Verbal Reasoning
Practical Language Activities
Winslow Press
Think it – Say it
Winslow Press
Why?Because
Black Sheep Press
Speech Bubbles
Black Sheep Press
Talk About series
Talk About school
Talk About friends
Talk About Secondary School
Winslow Press
120 Idioms at Your Fingertips
Winslow Press
Social Skills (Group Work)
Talkabout
Speechmark
Talkabout Activities
Speechmark
Talkabout Relationships
Speechmark
Skills for Daily Living – Social Behaviour
Winslow Press
101 Games for Self-Esteem
Winslow Press
Socially Speaking
Winslow Press
Social Use of Language Programme
Wendy Rinaldi
Classroom Support
Social Communication Difficulties Resource
Pack
Speechmark
Visual Cue Cards
Black Sheep Press
Writing and Developing Social Stories
Speechmark
Teaching Children with Autism to Mind-Read
Winslow Press
Boardmaker for Windows
Winslow Press
Makaton Resources
Winslow Press
Handwriting
Handwriting without Tears by Janice Z. Olsen
Handwriting without Tears
Write from the Start by Ion Teodorescu and Lois www.LDAlearning.com :0115 907 4001
Addy
Loops and other groups by Mary D Benbow
Pro-Ed
Write Dance by Ragnhild Oussoren
Sage Publications
Speed Up! By Lois Addy
www.LDAlearning.com :0115 907 4001
Roll ‘n’ Write
www.LDAlearning.com :0115 907 4001
381
Recommended equipment
Suppliers
Cutlery
Junior Caring Cutlery
www.benefitsnowshop.co.uk
Caring Cutlery
0845 459 6006
Ultra-light cutlery
www.nrs-uk.co.uk
Weighted cutlery
0845 120 4522
Easigrip cutlery
Angled cutlery
Scissors
Easi-grip (mini and standard)
www.peta-uk.com
Long loop Easi-grip
01376 573476
Long loop
Self- opening
Dual control training scissors
www.specialdirect.com
Self-opening Long Loop Scissors
0800 318 686
Pencil grips
Ultra Pencil Grip
www.taskmasteronline.co.uk
Ultra Pencil Grip Large
0116 270 4286
Cross-guard Ultra Pencil Grip
Comfort
www.tts-shopping.com
Stubbi
0800 318 686
Air grip
Jumbo (triangular for pens)
Grotto
0800 318 686
382
Therapeutic putty
www.oneclickpharmacy.co.uk
Yellow (soft)
0844 44 11 800
Red (medium soft)
or
Green (medium)
www.homecraft-rolyan.com
Blue- (Firm)
08444 124 330
Other
www.backinaction.co.uk
Posture pack
01494 434343
Movinsit- junior (JPM code- ECCMSJ)
www.fledglings.org.uk
Movinsit- senior (JPM code-ECCMS)
0845 458 1124
Wobble cushion
www.jpmproducts.co.uk
Writing slopes
01920 468 380
Teenage writing slope
Writing slant-wooden (JPM code-JPMCCWS)
0800 318 686
Privacy board
www.jpmproducts.co.uk
Weighted lap cushion
www.ldalearning.com
Neoprene wrap/waistcoat
0845 120 4776
Southpaw Bear Hug
www.rompa.com
01246 211 777
383
Specialist Seating which may be used at school.
This equipment will be assessed, prescribed, advised, arranged and reviewed by the individual child’s
therapist/s. The equipment is to be used only by the child it is prescribed for. Please contact your
therapist immediately if you have any concerns about safety.
Leckey
Chairs such as the Easy Seat and the Everyday Activity Chair. All equipment can be viewed online at http://www.leckey.com/
Jenx
Chairs such as Jenx Junior or Jenx Bee. All chairs and equipment can be viewed online at http://www.jenx.com/
384
Smirthwaite
Chairs such as the Heathfield, Brookfield and Samba. Tables such as activity tables and study table. Full
range of equipment can be viewed online at - http://www.smirthwaite.co.uk/
Joncare
Most commonly provided is the Teezi Breezi and Breezi chairs. Full range of equipment can be viewed
online at - http://www.joncare.co.uk/
385
Section 8
Training
Introduction
The Solent Children’s Therapy service has highly trained therapists who are able to provide a variety of
training programmes to suit your needs.
Our core offer to you is a free one day, all staff training package. We are then able to offer targeted
workshops and resource sessions to enable you to be confident that you have a trained and confident
workforce able to meet children’s needs.
Please contact the Single Point of Access (SPA) to book training or receive a copy of the latest training
catalogue.
Essential
A1 Whole school one day integrated training
Designed to complement this schools pack, this training day fits into a school inset day. It is presented by
the therapists working in your school and enables you to ask questions about how to support the children
in your school. This training is free and is the essential training provided by the service.
Objectives
 Understand how children develop and use speech, language and communication
 Recognise how children develop and use fine and gross motor skills
 Understand the links between language, motor skills and learning, behaviour and social/ emotional
development
 Will recognise what features to look out for to help identify whether a child is having difficulties
with their development
 Be able to use positive approaches and strategies to support development of speech, language,
communication and motor skills
 Will be able to use the schools pack and programmes to support children’s development
 Be able to access specialist services appropriately
When you book the Children’s Therapy Service Integrated Therapies Universal Inset training full day
package, you will receive a number of documents, including the power point presentations and a Self
Evaluation Audit.
We ask that PRIOR to your inset day,
ALL staff complete the self evaluation audit (which is based on national level universal
competencies), as honestly as possible, thinking carefully about the evidence they provide to
support how confident they feel about specific topics.
Completed audits should be handed to the SENCo in school – hopefully it will be possible to collate
the results (in percentages) and this information shared with the therapy team.
The Power point presentations are printed and circulated to your staff.
387
DURING your inset day
The Universal level Integrated Therapies package will be delivered by 3 members of the Children’s
Therapies team: a Speech & Language Therapist, an Occupational Therapist and a Physiotherapist.
It is anticipated that 1 of these 3 will be your school link therapist, as identified in your School Pack.
You will be asked to complete a training evaluation form to help us to continue to develop our
training packages.
AFTER the inset day (at the end of the academic year; either the year in which the training was delivered or
the following year)
The Self Evaluation audit should be completed AGAIN by all members of staff allowing time for
aspects of change to embed. This will enable both the senior management team in school and the
Integrated Therapies trainers to evaluate the outcomes of the training package on staff practice; it
would also enable the SENCo to identify ongoing training needs within the staff group.
Targeted Workshops
These workshops can be run either within your school for a group of staff or at an external site which you
can send staff to. Please contact the Children’s Therapy Service to discuss your requirements. The costs
will be based on duration of the training and the support that you are able to provide for running the
session. The team at the SPA will be able to give further details.
Below is a selection of targeted workshops which we have delivered or we can tailor a session to your
needs specifically.
T22 Development of Gross Motor Skills
Aim
To develop an understanding of how gross motor skills develop and activities/strategies to help gain and
improve these skills.
Objectives
a)
b)
c)
Identify different stages of gross motor development
Empathise with children who have gross motor difficulties
Gain knowledge of strategies that can be used to improve gross motor skills
T 14 Development of Fine Motor Skills
Aim
To develop an understanding of how fine motor skills develop and activities/ strategies to help gain and
improve these skills.
388
Objectives
a)
b)
c)
Identify different stages of fine motor development
Empathise with children who have fine motor difficulties
Gain knowledge of strategies that can be used to improve fine motor skills
An extension of essential training with more practical activities. (OT)
T 18 Development of Writing Skills
Aim
To gain an understanding of difficulties that children can experience when learning to read and write and
strategies to encourage them to gain the necessary skills.
Objectives
a)
b)
c)
Begin to identify areas that could be causing difficulty
Empathise with children who have difficulty with writing
Gain knowledge of activities and strategies that can be used to improve these skills
A 22 Development of Organisational Skills
Aim
To gain an understanding of how organisational skills develop and strategies to help gain and improve
these skills
Objectives
a)
b)
c)
To understand the essential components of organisation
To gain knowledge of how a lack of organisational skills can have an impact on daily living
To identify strategies that can be used to improve organisation
T1 Supporting young people in Key Stage 3 setting (SLT/PT/OT)
T2 Supporting Children with attention and listening difficulties in the Foundation stage, Key Stage 1 and
Key Stage 2 within school settings (SLT/PT/OT)
T3 Classroom strategies to support Quality First Teaching in the Foundation stage, Key Stage 1 and Key
Stage 2 within school settings (SLT/PT/OT)
T4 Using visual support in the Foundation stage, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 within school settings
(SLT/OT)
T5 Supporting Children with social communication difficulties (including Autistic Spectrum Conditions) in
the Foundation stage, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 within school setting (SLT/PT/OT)
389
T6 Supporting Children with sensory impairments in the Foundation stage, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2
within school settings (SLT/PT/OT and Teacher Advisors)
T7 Supporting Children who stammer in the Foundation stage, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 within school
settings (SLT)
T8 Supporting Children with speech sound difficulties in the Foundation stage, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2
within school settings (SLT)
T9 Developing Adult-Child Interaction Styles in the Foundation stage, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 within
school settings (SLT)
T10 How to provide Development Rich Environments in the Foundation stage, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2
within school settings (SLT/PT/OT)
T11 Supporting Children with Emotional and Behavioural difficulties in the Foundation stage, Key Stage 1
and Key Stage 2 within school settings (via MABS – Harbour School)
T12 Supporting Children using the Derbyshire Language Scheme in the Foundation stage, Key Stage 1 and
Key Stage 2 within school settings (SLT)
T13 Supporting the development of vocabulary in children in the Foundation stage, Key Stage 1 and Key
Stage 2 within school settings (SLT)
T15 Supporting Children in Phonics, Literacy and Expressive Language (through Narrative Therapy) in the
Foundation stage, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 within school settings (SLT/PT/OT in conjunction with
INSPIRE)
T16 Supporting Children who require Alternative and Augmentative Communication strategies (including
PECS) in the Foundation stage, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 within school settings (SLT/PT/OT)
T17 Supporting Postural Management for children with physical disabilities in the Foundation stage, Key
Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 within school settings (PT/OT)
T19 Developing Core Stability in the Foundation stage, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 within school settings
(PT/OT)
T20 Supporting Children with Sensory Processing difficulties in the Foundation stage, Key Stage 1 and Key
T21 Supporting Children develop through Makaton Signing in the Foundation stage, Key Stage 1 and Key
390
Section 9
How to refer
Introduction
All referrals should be sent to the Children’s Therapy Service at the address below.
All referrals will need to have the following:
Integrated referral form: The referral form can be found within this section and is available
electronically from the website www.solent.nhs.uk/childrenstherapies.
For children with motor difficulties, please also send either the Early Years Motor Skills Checklist
(Yr R) or DCDQ Checklist (Yr 1 onwards) : Found on following pages
For children with speech, language and communication difficulties please send the Referral
Information Form on page 429.
Evidence of strategies used from the schools pack: see section 2, page 42 for suggested format
All referrals must have parental consent. The letter on page 430 may be used (adapted according to which
therapy the child needs) to request parental consent. The parental questionnaire on page 431 may be
used to gain information on the child’s developmental history.
Once completed the referral should be posted, faxed or emailed via a secure nhs.net account to the
address below.
Stoneham Centre
Moorgreen Hospital
Botley Road
West End
Hampshire, SO30 3JB
Tel: 0300 300 2019
Fax: 023 8047 5378
Email: [email protected]
392
Early Years Motor Skills Checklist
All Sections Must be Completed and accompany the integrated referral form
Please attach copies of record of intervention form for Achieving Body Control (ABC) and Clever Hands /
FMS programme.
N.B. referrals will not be accepted until at least one block of both programmes have been completed
Yes/No
Motor Skills
Please provide examples of the child’s writing/drawing
Reliably uses one hand as dominant
Colours within boundary lines
Can copy a
(a) vertical cross
Yes/No
(b) oblique
cross
Holds pencil/scissors using appropriate grasp
Can cut along a straight line with accuracy
Can draw a recognisable person
Picks up and uses small objects efficiently (blocks, beads)
Can fasten buttons
Able to catch a
(a) large ball
Yes/No
(b) bean bag
Yes/No
(b) playground
Able to kick a stationary ball
Balances on one leg for 5 seconds
Can jump two feet together
Fluent movements when running
Moves around avoiding
objects
(a) classroom
Please indicate whether the child is known to have a
generalised learning difficulty □
and/or difficulty with attention/concentration
speech and language
□
literacy
social skills
□
self esteem
Main Concerns:
Form completed by:
Name:
Designation:
Date:
393
□
□
□
Comment
For children in year one onwards please complete the DCDQ checklist for motor skill referrals and attach to
the integrated referral form with evidence of strategies/programmes tried.
394
395
396
Children’s Therapy Service Referral Form
Please return the completed form to: Children’s Therapy Service, Stoneham Centre, Moorgreen Hospital,
Botley Road, West End, Southampton, SO30 3JB.
Email: [email protected], ensuring the referral form is sent from an nhs.net
email account. Fax: 023 8047 5378
Service referred to:
Speech & Language Therapy 
Occupational Therapy

Physiotherapy

Client details:
First Name
NHS No:
Date of birth:
Male  / Female 
Surname
Previous names:
Address:
Postcode:
Name of parent/guardian
First name
Surname
Daytime tel:
Home tel:
Mobile tel:
Ethnicity:
Languages spoken at home:
Interpreter/Signer required: Yes  / No 
Language:
GP name:
Health Visitor/School Nurse Name:
Surgery:
Base address:
Tel:
Tel:
Preschool / School name:
Days/Times attended:
Address:
Tel:
Postcode:
Details:
Transport difficulties: Yes  / No 
397
Referral information (Please attach appropriate supporting evidence from Early Years Developmental
Checklist, Schools pack, Feeding Questionnaire or Child Monitoring tool as well as any audiology or recent
paediatrician reports)
Diagnosis (if known):
Statemented: Yes  / No 
Statement designation:
Are there any Safeguarding issues?
Is the child a Looked After Child? Yes  / No 
Social services involvement: Yes  / No 
Social worker’s name:
Contact number:
Are there any concerns about;
hearing? Yes  / No 
vision? Yes  / No 
Reasons for referral:
Has hearing been tested? Yes  / No 
Date:
What is the functional impact? Give details:
What support has already been provided?
Please attach supporting information 
Has it made a difference? Yes  / No 
Other professionals/services currently involved (e.g. Paediatrician, Portage, Audiology, Educational
Psychologist. Please provide names where known)
398
Referral and background information
Please complete as fully as possible at referral stage, to avoid the family having to repeat
family history
Developmental and medical history information
Were there any complications in pregnancy or birth?
General health/Childhood illnesses
Are the child’s immunisations up to date? Yes  / No 
Does the child have any allergies? Yes If ‘yes’ please state:
 / No 
Is there any family history of medical diagnoses? (e.g. autism, specific learning difficulties,
developmental delay)? Please give details:
Current treatment/Medication:
Has the child
had any of the
following
(please
circle)?:
Frequent
colds
Frequent
ear
infections
Has the child had any visits to hospital?
If ‘Yes’ please give details:
Frequent
chest
infections
Tonsillitis
Yes  / No 
399
Asthma
Hearing/Vision
Does anyone in the family have a hearing
impairment/loss/deafness?
Has the child had middle ear infections/glue ear?
Does anyone in the family have visual impairment?
Feeding
Can the child eat foods that need chewing e.g.
meat, sandwiches, raw fruit or vegetables?
Did the child have any problems weaning/taking
lumps?
Do they use a bottle, beaker, inverted lid or open
cup to drink?
Has the child ever had fluid or food escape through
their nose?
Motor skills
Does the child (please also indicate from what age):
Roll
Age:
Sit
Age:
Run
Age:
Do you have any concerns about their movements?
Does the child complain of pain?
Do you have concerns about the child’s hand skills?
(e.g. Handwriting/scissors/using construction
toys/throwing and catching a ball)
Personal care
Is the child toilet trained?
Can the child dress
themselves?
Manage buttons/shoelaces
Can they use a knife and
fork?
Emotional
What time does the
child…
Does the child stay in
their own bed?
Do they use a: (please
circle any that apply)
Yes  / No 
Yes  / No 
Yes  / No 
Yes  / No 
Yes  / No 
Yes  / No 
Crawl
Walk
Age:
Age:
Yes  / No 
Yes  / No 
Yes  / No 
Please describe
Yes  / No 
Yes  / No 
If yes, at what age?:
If no, please describe difficulties
Yes  / No 
Yes  / No 
If no, please describe difficulties
Go to sleep:
Yes  /
No 
Dummy
Wake up:
Bottle
400
Security
blanket
Other comforter
Play and attention
What types of games/toys/activities does the
child enjoy?
Does the child like to play with others (adults or
Yes  / No 
children)?
Roughly how many hours of TV/DVD/Computer
time a day does the child watch?
How would you describe the child’s attention span for:
Activities of their own choice:
Activities that the parent chooses:
Speech and Language
Is there a family history of speech and language difficulties? e.g. late talking, unclear talking,
stammering (please give details of who and what)?
If the family uses more than one language at home, when is each language spoken and to
whom?
Yes  / No 
Begin to put 2
Talk in
words
sentences:
together:
Does the child dribble excessively for their age?
Yes  / No 
Does the child have any problems with their teeth?
Yes  / No 
Does the child have any problems with their lip or tongue
Yes  / No 
movements?
Did the child babble as a baby?
At what age did
Say their 1st
the child:
word:
Referrer details:
Date of referral:
Name of referrer (please print name):
Profession (e.g. Hospital/GP/HV/Preschool):
Would you like a copy of the appointment date? Yes  / No 
Address:
Tel:
Signature:
401
Parent / Guardian consent
This referral has been discussed with me, and I agree to take my child to the clinic for
assessment and ongoing therapy intervention as required, which may take place in school,
clinic or nursery setting.
I understand that if I do not attend the assessment, my child will be discharged and no
further appointments will be offered. I am aware that for training purposes, a student may
be present.
I agree to the sharing of information with services relevant to my child’s treatment / care
Name of parent/guardian (PRINT Signature:
Date:
NAME):
If unsigned, verbal consent
given:

We constantly aim to improve our services and we value your feedback. Please tick box if
you would be happy for us to contact you in the future

Therapist use only
Signature:
Date:
Location:
402
Section 10
References
REFERENCES
Asher, A.V., (2006). Handwriting instruction in elementary schools. American Journal of Occupational
Therapy, (60) 461-471
Boyle J, McCartney E, Forbes J, O’Hare A (2007). An RCT and economic evaluation of direct versus indirect
and individual versus group modes of speech and language therapy for children with primary language
impairment. Health Technology Assessment 2007, 11 (25). [WWW Document] retrieved on 06/05/11 from
http://www.hta.nhsweb.nhs.uk/fullmono/mon1125.pdf
Case-Smith, J., Heaphy, T., Marr, D., et al (1998). Fine motor and functional performance outcomes in
preschool children. American Journal of Occupational Therapy (52) 788-796
Conti-Ramsden GM, Durkin K, Simkin Z, Knox E. (2009). Specific language impairment and school outcomes.
I: identifying and explaining variability at the end of compulsory education. International Journal of
Language and Communication Disorders, 44( 1), 15-35.
Chu, S., (1997). Occupational therapy for children with handwriting difficulties: a framework for evaluation
and treatment. British Journal of Occupational Therapy 60 (12) 514-520
Department of Health, Department for Education and Skills (2004) National Service Framework for
Children, Young People and Maternity Services. The Stationary Office
Department for Education and Skills (2001) Special Educational Needs Code of Practice. The Stationary
Office
Dunn, W., Bennett, D., (2002). Patterns of sensory processing in children with attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder. Occupational Therapy Journal of Research (22) 1
Erhardt, R., (1989). Developmental Hand Dysfunction. Tucson: Therapy Skill Builders
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Feder, K. P., Majnemer, A., (2007). Handwriting development, competency and intervention.
Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology (49) 312-317
Gascoigne M. (2006). Supporting children with speech, language and communication needs within
integrated children’s services. RCSLT Position Paper, RCSLT: London
Gross, J (2011). Speech, language and communication – issues, impacts and actions. Office of the
Communication Champion
Hartas, D (2004) Teacher and speech-language therapist collaboration: being equal and achieving a
common goal? Child Language Teaching and Therapy 20: 33 [WWW Document] retrieved on 30/04/10
from http://clt.sagepub.com/content/20/1/33.full.pdf
ICAN (2006). The cost to the nation of children’s poor communication. Talk Series 2. [WWW Document]
retrieved on 26/08/13 from
http://www.ican.org.uk/~/media/Ican2/Whats%20the%20Issue/Evidence/2%20The%20Cost%20to%20the
%20Nation%20of%20Children%20s%20Poor%20Communication%20pdf.ashx
Jenkinson, J., Hyde, T., Ahmad, S., (2002). Occupational therapy approaches for secondary special needs:
practical classroom strategies. London: Whurr Publishers
Lindsay G, Desforges M, Dockrell J, Law J, Peacey N, Beecham J (2008). Effective and Efficient Use of
Resources in Services for Children and Young People with Speech, Language and Communication Needs.
Department for education, Research Report DCSF-RW053. [WWW Document] retrieved on 26/08/13 from
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/effective-and-efficient-use-of-resources-in-services-forchildren-and-young-people-with-speech-language-and-communication-needs
Marr, D., Windsor, M., Cermak, S., (2001). Hand writing readiness: locatives and visuomotor skills in the
kindergarten year. Early Childhood Research and Practice 3 (1) 1-15
Moore, B., (2003). Providing occupational therapy input in mainstream schools for children with specific
developmental disorders. National Association of Paediatric Occupational Therapists Journal 7 (1) 10-13
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Roulstone S, Wren Y, Bakapoulou I, Goodlad S and Lindsay G (2010). Exploring interventions for children
and young people with speech, language and communication needs: A study of practice. Department for
Education, Research Report DFE-RR247-BCRP13. [WWW Document] retrieved on 27/08/13 from
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/219627/DFE-RR247BCRP13.pdf
Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) (2005). Clinical Guidelines. Speechmark
Publications.
Snowling M and Hulme C (2011). Evidence-based interventions for reading and language difficulties:
Creating a virtuous circle. British Journal of Educational Psychology 81 (1) 1-23[WWW Document]
retrieved on 06/05/11 from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.20448279.2010.02014.x/abstract
Volman, M., van Schendel, B., Jongmans, M., (2006). Handwriting difficulties in primary school children: a
search for underlying mechanisms. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, (60) 451-560
Wright, H., Sugden., D., (1998). A School Based Intervention Programme for Children with Developmental
Coordination Disorder. European Journal of Physical Education (3) 35-50
407
Section 11 - Appendix
Section 11
Appendix
Stoneham Centre
Moorgreen Hospital
Botley Road
West End
Southampton
S030 3JB
Tel: 0300 300 2019
Fax: 023 80475378
www.solent.nhs.uk/childrenstherapies
Speech and Language Therapy Action
and
Year R Screen
408
Speech and Language Therapy Action
If staff express concerns regarding children’s speech and language development, please take the following
steps to address their needs. Some children will have very obvious speech and language needs and should
be referred to our Service. In that case, the following steps should be taken in the interval between referral
and assessment.
Listening and attention
If the child’s listening and attention skills are poor relative to the other children of his or her age and it is
difficult for him or her to focus in whole group setting, please follow the Letters and Sounds programme
Phase 1 with the child in a 1:1 setting or in a small group. This focuses on eg: listening for sounds in the
environment, matching and identifying musical instruments and thinking about loud and quiet sounds.
Delayed language development
If the child appears to be finding it difficult to follow instructions, has a poorly developed vocabulary or
sentences tend to be short, it will be helpful to work with the child in a small group (of up to four children)
using the YR Narrative programme. This should be delivered in a twice weekly session for half a term. Each
child’s language should be tape recorded pre-group and then post-group to evaluate any changes that
have taken place. The Narrative programmes are available from www.blacksheeppress.co.uk
Delayed speech sound development
Again, the child may benefit from working on the Letters and Sounds programme Phase 1 in a 1:1 or small
group setting. Also, if staff can identify a sound that the child is finding difficult, it will be helpful to ask the
child if s/he can imitate the sound after an adult. If so, it is appropriate to work on a programme for this
sound in the same way as speech programmes have previously been delivered for other children in your
setting. Also, please follow instructions for working on speech sounds contained in the Phonology
Resource Pack for schools (all schools should have a copy). Please refer to attached developmental stages
for speech sounds to ensure it is appropriate to focus on this sound, eg: if a child in YR says ‘t’ for ‘ch’, it is
likely that he or she will develop the sound naturally, but it is expected that children should be at least
beginning to develop ‘k’ and ‘g’ at this stage.
Social interaction
If the child is finding it difficult to interact, play and take turns with the other children, it will be helpful to
begin working on the ‘Time to Talk’ programme in a small group with other children (no more than four in
total). This should be delivered twice a week for half a term. There is a pre- and post-assessment in this
programme together with forty lesson plans that are ready to be delivered. The ‘Time to Talk’ programme
is in book form, written by Alison Schroeder and is inexpensive to buy.
Next steps…
If staff are still worried about the child’s speech and language development, please deliver the new YR
Screen. The SENCo will then evaluate the outcome of this and refer to the Speech and Language Therapy
Service as appropriate.
If at any time staff are unsure how to proceed, please ask the SALT attached to the school for advice.
409
Year R Screening Test (Revised 2012)
The purpose of this test is to support SENCos to decide if a child has a speech and language difficulty over
and above an overall delay in developmental skills. This assessment should be viewed alongside
information regarding progress gained through teacher assessment, FSP and P-levels.
This assessment should be conducted by an adult who is familiar to the child in the Spring term or the term
that s/he turns 5 years of age whichever is later. It should be conducted in a quiet environment that is
familiar to the child. A referral should be made by the SENCo if the child does not achieve the scores
expected in a typically developing YR child as detailed in the front page of the assessment pages.
Contents
The assessment comprises four sections: listening and understanding, vocabulary, sentence use and
speech sounds at the beginning of words. Please print all forms and information and colour print the
picture resources. It will be helpful to cut up the laminated pictures.
Description
Listening and understanding.
A black and white picture is provided for your use and you should provide the child with coloured pencils,
red, blue, green, yellow and orange. A question sheet with space for scoring is also provided This will give
an indication of the quality of his/her listening skills and assess how accurately the child follows spoken
instructions at the level expected for a child aged 5 years. The child should score a minimum of 8 out of 10.
Vocabulary
A set of colour pictures is provided as well as a scoring sheet.
This assesses how well a child names a series of pictures. It is not an assessment of speech sound use so a
word that is recognisable as the key word is scored as accurate. The child should score a minimum of 21
out of 24.
Sentence use
Three set of picture sequences are provided and a score sheet. The child is asked to describe a picture
scene and the adult writes verbatim what the child has said. Please omit words that the child does not say
and write grammatical errors as the child says them. Again, this does not assess speech sound use. Please
refer to examples of typically developing children’s sentences provided, and compare your child’s
sentences with these.
Speech sounds
A set of pictures is provided with a score form. This assesses how the child uses initial sounds only. The
adult should write the initial sound of the word as the child says it if it is not accurate, if possible. If it is
difficult to identify which sound the child has substituted, it should simply be marked as incorrect. The
child should score a minimum of 10 out of 15. The last five sounds assessed are generally developed by the
end of YR.
410
Child’s name:
Age:
Date of Birth:
Year R Screening Test (revised 2012)
Score form
Test
Score
Comment
/10
Listening and Understanding
Vocabulary
Sentences
/24
Not scored,
comments
only
required.
Initial sounds
/15
Summary:
Meets criteria for referral: Yes / No (Please circle) The results of this screen should be signed and
referral made, if appropriate, by the SENCo.
Signed:
(SENCo)
Date:
411
Child’s name:
Date:
Age:
Listening and Understanding
Provide the picture and coloured pencils red, blue, yellow, green and orange for the child and ask him/her
to look over the picture to become familiar with it.
Read the instructions and ask the child to do as you have asked. Repeat the instruction if necessary and
note that the repetition was given. The child should score a minimum of 8 out of 10.
Correct
√/x
Instruction
1. Find the bear on the bed, colour him yellow.
2. Find the book on the bed, colour it red.
3. Find the doll, draw yellow flowers on her
dress.
4. Find the little chair, colour it blue.
5. Find the cat under the bed, colour it orange.
6. Find the teddy in the box, colour it yellow or
orange.
7. Draw a teddy on the big chair.
8. Find the ball in the box, colour it blue or
green.
9. Find the clock on the wall, colour it red and
yellow.
10. Draw a cartoon on the TV.
Comments:
Score
412
out of 10
Repetition
required?
√/x
LS2 Barrier Game Worksheets - ©Black Sheep Press 2003, Helen Rippon
It is permitted for the licensee to photocopy this sheet for use in their clinic / school.
Black Sheep Press, 67, Middleton, Cowling, Keighley, W. Yorks. BD22 0DQ, England Tel. +44(0)1535 631346
Email: [email protected]; web www/backsleep-epress.com
413
Child’s name:
Age:
Date:
Vocabulary
Ask the child to name these pictures.
Mark correct if the child uses an appropriate word.
The word is considered correct if you know what the child is saying regardless of how it is said.
Write what the child says if an incorrect word is used or NR for ‘no response’ if the child does not
know the word.
Picture
number
Target Word
Correct Picture Target Word
√ / x number
1.
Tractor
13.
Money
2.
Slide
14.
Arrow
3.
King
15.
Dragon
4.
Fish
16.
Shell
5.
Elephant
17.
Ladder
6.
Bike
18.
Fireman
7.
Bag
19.
Lion
8.
Toothbrush
20.
Dentist
9.
Owl
21.
Fridge
10.
Tree
22.
Motorbike
11.
Flag
23.
Octopus
12.
Sink/basin
24.
Drawers
Comments:
Score:
414
out of 24
Correct
√/x
Vocabulary Set
415
Vocabulary Set
416
Vocabulary Set
417
Vocabulary Set
418
Child’s name:
Age:
Date:
Sentence Use
Show the child the first picture in the first sequence and say ‘What’s happening in the picture?’ Then show
the second and ask again. Prompt by repeating what the child said with a rising intonation to indicate you
would like him/her to say a little more. Another permissible prompt is ‘Well done, can you tell me some
more, please?’ Repeat with the other two sequences.
Please write verbatim what the child says. Examples of typical responses are given in italics.
Sequence 1: ‘Football accident’
‘A football. It smashed and it broke.’
‘He was doing it very well and then he accidentally kicked it through the glass’.
‘A boy’s playing football in the house. It smash the window.’
Sequence 2: ‘The cake mishap’
‘The Grandma put it on the table and he jumped on the table and he licked it for a little taste and she took
it away.’
‘The lady’s making a cake and the lady turning round and the dog eating a cake.’
‘The lady make a cake and the dog licking it.’
419
Sequence 3: ‘The Park’
‘He’s sliding down and a person walking through and he bumped into her.’
‘He crashed into that little girl. She sad and she crying for her Mum.’
‘That boy sliding down the slide and crashed into her.’
Please look at the sentences used with the examples of typically developing YR children. Make a
judgement whether the child’s sentences stand out as less well developed than the examples given.
Comments:
420
Sequence 1: ‘Football accident’
421
Sequence 2: ‘The cake mishap’
422
Sequence 3: ‘The Park’
423
Child’s name:
Age:
Date:
Initial Sounds
Ask the child to name the picture and note the initial sound used.
Write the sound the child says if incorrect if possible.
Say the word for the child if s/he cannot think of the word and ask him/her to say it after you. Note
that the word was imitated and write what the child said if possible.
Mark as an error if the initial sound is incorrect but you are unsure what sound the child used.
The child should score 10 out of 15.
Picture
number
Target Word √ / x
or initial
sound
used
Picture
number
Target Word
1.
pig
9.
sun
2.
bus
10.
sheep
3.
teddy
11.
chips
4.
dog
12.
giraffe
5.
car
13.
spider
6.
girl
14.
stop
7.
football
15.
lady
8.
van
√/x
or initial
sound
used
YR children generally acquire these sounds, which are set out in order of development, by the end of YR.
Please see the summary form for referral guidance.
Comments:
Score:
424
out of 15
Initial Sounds
425
Initial Sounds
426
Initial Sounds
427
Request for Speech and/or Language Assessment (to be sent with Solent Referral form)
With the child’s Parent/Guardian’s permission to make this request, the school’s SENCo should complete
this form.
Name:
DOB:
Reasons for referral
Please indicate with a tick the area/s of concern or give a brief description
Difficulty understanding instructions:
Difficulty speaking in sentences:
Poor vocabulary:
Difficulty using speech sounds accurately:
Difficulty using language to interact:
Any other comments:
In order to make an effective assessment, we require a copy of the following:
The child’s FSP, or NC levels.
The SLT Service’s YrR screening test score forms, if appropriate.
The child’s IEP.
Please attach any information from other professionals, e.g: Paediatrician, EP
Date:
Signed:
SENCo:
428
Dear Parent/Guardian
Your child’s teachers are concerned about his/her development of speech sounds, understanding or use of
language, general communication skills, and would like him/her to be seen by a Speech and Language
Therapist. This letter is requesting your permission for the referral to be made.
With your permission the Speech and Language Therapist will visit your child in school to carry out an
assessment. If your child needs some extra help the Therapist will write a programme which will be
worked on by the school staff on an individual or small group basis and monitored and adjusted by the
Therapist when needed.
Any written report will be sent to you and those professionals involved in your child’s care, e.g. school, GP.
Once your child has achieved most of the speech/language aims he/she will be discharged from the service
and you will be notified of this. Please let us know if you change your address or GP.
Please complete and sign the enclosed questionnaire, in doing so you are agreeing for your child to be
seen. Please return the completed form to the Special Needs Co-ordinator at school or class teacher as
soon as possible.
If you would like further information or wish to discuss your child’s speech or language skills please contact
us using the above details.
Yours sincerely
The Speech and Language Therapy Service
Please fill in the questionnaire and return to school.
429
This sheet to be filled in and signed by Parent/Guardian and returned to school:
QUESTIONNAIRE
Name of Child:.............................. ..............................
Date of Birth: .............................. ..............................
School:
.............................. ..............................
1. Are you concerned about your child’s speech and language skills?
2. If you feel there is a problem with his/her speech and language, what do you feel it is?
3. Is there a family history of slowness in speaking, learning difficulties requiring special help at school,
reading and writing problems, cleft palate, non-fluency (stammering), hearing problems, difficulty
pronouncing sounds, any other relevant medical details you think we should know?
4. Did he/she have any problems at birth/during/after?
5. Has he/she had any major accidents, illness, periods of hospitalisation?
6. Has he/she had a hearing test recently? If yes, what was the result?
I have received the enclosed information and permit my child to be assessed by the Speech and Language
Therapist.
I am happy/not happy for any reports to be sent to other professions involved with my child. (delete as
appropriate)
Parent/Guardian’s full name:……….……….……….……….……….……….
Parent/Guardian’s signature:……….……….……….……….……….………. Date:……….……….……….
430
Typical speech and language development in YR children
Listening and attention
Children develop integrated attention so are able to ‘listen and do’ at the same time.
Understanding spoken language
Children can increasingly understand:
instructions of four key words.
a range of prepositions such as ‘behind’, ‘in front’, between’, ‘next to’.
comparatives such as ‘bigger’ and superlatives such as ‘biggest’.
Using spoken language
Children can increasingly:
use longer sentences, linking ideas with ‘and’ and ‘because’.
apply features of grammar such as ‘the, is, a’.
recount a short story or event using the regular past tense.
Speech sounds
Children are increasingly clear and are understood by most people most of the time. Sounds still to
develop may be:
‘s’ blends such as ‘sp, st, sc/k, sm’.
‘sh’, ‘ch’, ‘j’
‘l’, ‘th’, ‘r’.
Social communication
Children increasingly:
take turns to speak and listen.
play rules-led games, winning and losing with appropriate behaviours.
maintain topic in carpet-time discussions.
Comment
It is important to bear in mind that children with summer birthdays, or immature development or poor
language models at home are likely to make progress with all aspects of speech and language development
with exposure to the language-rich environment of the classroom.
431
Section 4
Grammar - Activities
432

Schools Therapy Resource Pack

Transcription

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