 As 2010 comes to a close tomorrow and 2011 approaches, I think it is important to set goals for 2011! I am making a conscious effort to really take the time to write down my goals for 2011 and create a program that will be easy for me to really see achievements in my life. In previous years, I wrote down my goals in a book and then never really went back to look at them, although I may have achieved many I did not track them. I am a visual learner and that is why I created this quick and easy guide below for goal writing, so I thought I would share it with all of my readers. In addition I want to take the time to thank all of my Twitter followers, Facebook Fans, anyone who reads my blog and views my website. All of your emails, comments, Twitter retweets & mentions, Facebook comments and any support that you have provided this year, it means so much to me! I started this website and blog back in September of this year and I really had no idea what kind of doors that it would open. The networking, new friends, students and professionals that I have connected with over the past 3 months has truly been phenomenal! Special Thanks to Speech Language Pathologist and Accent Reduction Specialist, Lisa Scott (Founder of Accentuate Communication) for providing some feedback regarding having "monthly interviews with Speech Language Pathologists in various settings, so that students can see how the classroom information that they are learning translates into a real world job." So if you or anyone you know is a Speech Language Pathologist and is interested in being interviewed, please email me at [email protected] or let me know in the comments box. Thank you again for your support in 2010 and looking forward to more networking, new opportunities and whatever 2011 has in store. Wishing each of you a prosperous New Year! Be sure to tell a friend about futureslps.com!
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Website: http://www.autismgames.org
“Play is important throughout life but in childhood, it is nature's unparalleled way of teaching a child about body, mind, and spirit.” ~Tahirih Bushey~ Play is a valuable element of a child’s life, it involves a different type of creative learning which is distant from the academic environment of school. Autism Games is an incredible website because it provides ideas and visuals for parents/caregivers of ways to promote and develop play skills by taking the child into a positive, fun, and imaginative world where anything is possible. Autism Games serves as a resource of games that young children with Autism Spectrum Disorders can play, video models of games that parents/caregivers can view and learn from, tips and strategies for making games more educational and fun and so much more! The blog serves as a companion to Autism Games at autismgames.org where you will find more games and parent tips. Some important posts that are recommended to read prior to choosing a game on autismgames.org are the following posts below: ► Why Games? is a discussion about why playing with your child is important and how structured games can make your play times more successful. ► Creating Common Ground is a discussion of how to get started with children who are not yet talking and often move away, ignore you, or protest when you try to play. ► Not Too Easy, Not Too Hard is a discussion about how to find games that are at the right level of difficulty for your child. Some of the sections that you will find as you explore the website, Autism Games are listed below: ► Blog: Lots of great information and it serves as a companion for Autism Games ► Game Collections: The core of this site where you can explore, learn about and see demonstrations of different kinds of social play for children with Autism. All of the games included on this website have been pre-tested. The games are organized by difficulty (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced) and the collections are arranged so that you can see how similar games can be modified according to level of play. ► Parent Tips: Included in this section is an assortment of articles on strategies, concepts, and even toys or tools that Tahirih frequently tells parents about in her professional work as a Speech Language Pathologist. ► Learning Objectives: The list on this page represents the kinds of goals and objectives that were in mind when the games were initially played in a clinic setting. ► Video Index: This allows you to quickly find a video model of a game that you want to show your child and/or so you can review the game demonstrated before you start to play the game. Tahirih stated that, “The blog and the companion web site, Autism Games are dedicated to inspiring you, fellow lover of a child with autism, to play in a thousand different ways and for a thousand different reasons with your child.” Special thanks to Tahirih for providing innovative games for play for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Website: http://www.do2learn.com: Do2Learn
I. Background Information: For over ten years Do2Learn has, through funding from numerous sources including the National Institutes of Health, used technology and the web to supply special learning resources for individuals with disabilities and the professionals and caregivers who serve them. They have collaborated with teachers, parents, and clinicians to develop serious games and learning material targeting specific deficits of individuals with neurological disorders including autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, fetal alcohol effects, OCD, attention disorders, learning and communication disorders and others. The deficits that they address include risky and disruptive behavior as well as lack of appropriate social, communication and daily living skills. II. Overview of the Website: The Internet offers a lot of great resources for educators, parents, caregivers, clinicians, students, and any individual looking to find more information regarding specific topics. However, sometimes it is hard to find time to find fabulous websites like Do2Learn. This website is filled with innovative activities, great advice to families, versatile lessons, and so much more to individuals with disabilities, and the professionals and caregivers that serve them. Do2Learn provides a one of a kind, one stop learning experience that creates an environment where the individual does not have to look any further, because it targets so many audiences and highlights a variety of topics. The end result is more time is allotted to learning instead of spending time trying to search multiple websites for different topics. III. Topics Covered on the Website: Do2Learn’s website is easiest to navigate with the use of the site map, which has all of the topics covered on the website in a format that is organized and easy to use. Since this site has so much great information, I will highlight on a few areas and then the rest is left for you to explore and have fun. ► Disabilities: Advice (Advice to different questions), Books (Covering a variety of different topics), Diagnosis (Different diagnosis including the definition, diagnosis/characteristics, characteristics and strategies) Family Advocacy (Legal Rights, Handout & Autism Card, Abbreviations), Teacher Toolbox. ► Activities: § Art Projects (Dot Art, How to Draw, Marble Art, Rubbing Art, String Art, Veggie Art), § Card Games (Computation, Sequencing, Number Recognition, Categorizing, Visual Scanning), § Fine Motor Skills (Bubble Activity, Fine Motor Recycling, Golf Peg Push In, Macaroni Put In, Wiffle Ball Snatch & Drop) § Learn (Clock, Door Signs, Phone Number Helper) § Math Helpers (Grid Paper, Numbers, Addition/Subtraction Table, Multiplication Table, Vertical Number Line) § Reading & Writing (Alphabet, Alphabet Guide, Read Order, Writing Paper) § Shape Recognition (Activity Sheets, Shape Bingo, Shape Book, Shape Matching, Shape People, Shape Tracing) § Social Emotional Skills (Classroom Activities, Worksheets) § Sorting & Matching (Baby Food Jars, Clothes Pin Colors, Color Matching) ► Songs & Games: For all of the songs and games listed below it is organized § Songs: Bus Safety, Mall Safety, Parts of Me, Street Safety, Fire Safety. All of the songs have an animated video that is colorful and engaging. Some of the songs have accompanying activities and downloadable pictures that correspond to each verse. § Games: Color/Number Games (How Many?, What Color?, Math Mahjong), Emotion Games (Facial Expressions, Feelings Game), Sequence Game (Time Sequence Game), and Word Games (Create a Room, Synonyms & Antonyms, Word Pairs, What’s Different?). All of the games have colorful graphics, great visuals, and a lot of positive reinforcement. § Sounds Sing-A-Long: Videos that add a new creative twist to assist children with pronnounciation difficulties with consonants and/or vowels. ► Get Organized: The categories that are included under this section include the following: § Classroom: different ways to build a classroom, behavior management, games and activities, educational resources. § Daily Organizers: various organization charts § Emotions Color Wheel (one of my favorites): this wheel helps individuals to visually group feelings and to learn more about each feeling you can click on the word. § Teacher Toolbox: collection of classroom management techniques, learning strategies and educational resources. § Set up: activity choice board, communication folder, home teaching kit, leisure games, schoolwork communication folder, weekend schedules, work system. § Social Skills Toolbox: improving communication skills, improving social behavior, graphic organizers and tools, social skills for younger kids. ► Picture Cards: Ready to use picture cards (i.e. safety, home & school, social) for communication. If you do not see the category that you are looking for then feel free to print your own on blank image grids. An overview is provided regarding the different ways you can use the picture cards and various ways of implementing them in daily activities. ► Products: I found that the products offered on the website were reasonably priced. Some of the categories of the products that are offered on Do2Learn include: learning (i.e. color bingo, site words, prepositions), books (i.e. Fine Motor Skills, Feelings Journal, Handbook for New Teachers), picture cards (i.e. food, therapy, doctors), make a schedule subscription, and software (i.e. name that object, letter match, fantastic faces). Do2Learn provides many opportunities for growth in learning, new ideas, and exploration of a variety of free resources. This all-inclusive website provides a community for individuals ready and willing to explore new ways to learn. Thank you to the creators of Do2Learn for investing the time in creating a website full of remarkable resources! Website: http://www.dinocavekids.com/ Dino Cave Kids is a group of early childhood professionals- speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, parents, and teachers with decades of experience in various settings. Their mission is to create fun learning tools that help give voice to all young children who want to be heard. Dino Cave Kids is a wonderful resource that aids children in learning early speech, language, pre-reading, and vocabulary in the home environment. Children are fascinated by dinosaurs and what better approach to use than to incorporate colorful dinosaurs into the child's learning environment. Dino Cave Kids introduced Sounds From the DinoCave recently which is a new video series created in response to parents' desire to practice early developmental skills at home. The video series focuses on articulating sounds, phonemic awareness (pre-reading) and early concepts, the videos are geared for ages six months to six years. Miss Kylie introduces sounds with visual, tactile and verbal cues. The children follow the models, they practice hearing and producing sounds in new ways. The dinosaurs serve as a model for the children regarding "tuning in" to the sensory aspects of sounds. A multi-sensory approach is used in the Dino Cave Kids video series which enhances the child's learning environment and allows each child to learn skills through more than one of their five senses. You will not be disappointed with such an in-depth website that provides resources for Parents, Teachers,Speech Language Pathologists, and fun for Kids. ~Parents find out the answers to you’re frequently asked questions. ~Teachers, explore the three direct teaching segments (i.e.Lights Out, How Many Beats, and Words that Rhyme). ~Speech Language Pathologists discover the powerful impact of multi-sensory teaching. ~Kids can journey into dinosaur land and use their imagination to choose from an assortment of pictures on the online coloring book. Also there are some wonderful ABC videos that illustrate all the letters of the alphabet. Venture inside the World of Dino Cave Kids, stop by the Store and don’t forget to come back for more multimedia resources by visiting Dino Cave Kids Blog. Be sure to follow Dino Cave Kids on Twitter, become a Fan on Facebook , and subscribe to their YouTube videos. Special Thanks to the Creators of Dino Cave Kids for providing some wonderful resources! |