Signing Resources

How to Make Smart Media Choices for Your Child

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By Colleen Brunetti, M.Ed., C.H.C. Media is pervasive and prevalent in our society. Our job as parents and caregivers is to not only steer children away from topics and content that may not be age appropriate, but to also actively teach our children to be wise consumers of media. What your child can and should watch, and where they watch, depends a great deal on their age and maturity level, but there are some good guidelines you can follow at just about any age. WHAT TO AVOID No media in a child’s bedroom – keep media use to open family …

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Encouraging Interactive Play for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Tips for Parents

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by Loretta Gallo-Lopez, MA, LMHC The American Academy of Pediatrics has indicated that “… play is healthy and in fact essential for helping children reach important social, emotional, and cognitive developmental milestones as well as helping them manage stress and become resilient.” Interactive play has been shown to enhance social communication and connection. Many children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have difficulties spontaneously engaging in interactive or social play. The following tips will help to encourage and support this type of play for children with ASD. Make every effort to play with your child several times each day for 15 …

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Talking to Children About Traumatic Events

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By Colleen Brunetti, M.Ed. The events in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings on April 15th began to feel too familiar. A few posts about “something” on Facebook, a few minutes later the picture beginning to become clear. Knowing within such a short time that real horror had happened. Spending the rest of the day purposely shielding my six year old son from all available live media even while I scrolled frantically on my phone for updates, and to check in with loved ones who might be in harms way. Everyone in our nation has had to grapple with …

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Spring Craft Catalog

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Today is the first day of spring, so I picked out my favorite Hand-y Crafts for spring, Easter, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day to share with you! Click any of the images below to download these free educational crafts and activities. Want to show off your child’s work? Email me a photo that I can post on our blog!  – LeeAnn  leeann@twolittlehands.com

Bully-Proof your Preschooler – Part 2: EMPATHY

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Bully-Proof your Preschooler – Part 2: EMPATHY In our last article, Bully-Proof Your Preschooler, we featured tips and signs for helping young children deal with aggressors. Today we’ll take a look at empathy and its role in prevention.  Why empathy matters Empathy is the ability to understand and identify with another person’s feelings. It includes regulating one’s own emotions and is central to success in social relationships. Children who are empathic are less likely to use aggression. Empathy has to be taught  Although there is evidence that the human brain may be pre-wired for empathy, just ask a group of toddlers to share …

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3 Resources Every Speech and Language Therapist Needs

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Signing in Speech Therapy Signing helps children with speech and language disorders improve both their receptive and expressive language skills. Here are three can’t-live-without resources that every SLP needs: Signing Time Guide for Speech and Language Therapists Case Study Video: Using the Signing Time in a School Setting 101 Quality Hearing Loss Resources for Speech Therapists          Signing at Home If your child is in speech and language therapy, you may want to use signing at home. Here’s what one family experienced when their daughter with special needs began to sign: My daughter was born in 2007. …

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How to Bully-Proof Your Preschooler

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  “We used to think bullying started at around third grade, but now we know it starts in preschool,” says Joel Haber, Ph.D., psychologist and author of Bullyproof Your Child for Life: Protect Your Child from Teasing, Taunting and Bullying for Good. Bullying is a source of stress, fear, and anxiety in young children, but there are some simple and powerful things parents and teachers can do to help toddlers and preschoolers take charge. One of the best ways to prevent children from being bullied is to show them how to establish and control their own space with language: body language, …

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Three Things Your Child Needs To Hear You Say

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1. You did it!  Nurture your child’s confidence by celebrating everyday accomplishments. Give out hugs or do the happy dance together. Help your child track progress toward a goal over time with charts and stickers. Print a certificate for a big milestone such as potty training. Or tell your child how proud your are with a song. Our favorites are Let’s Celebrate or Proud to Be Me. 2. Accidents happen. When accidents happen, tell your child: “It’s all right. Keep trying because you will get it someday!” Use songs like Uh Oh! It’s an Accident and Itsy Bitsy Spider/Never Give Up to help you inspire your …

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All ASL episode of “Switched at Birth” airs March 4th

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We were really happy to see this press release from ABC Family! We’ll definitely be tuning in. ABC FAMILY ANNOUNCES GROUND-BREAKING TELEVISION EVENT WITH AN ALL-ASL EPISODE OF “SWITCHED AT BIRTH” TO AIR MONDAY, MARCH 4                            Burbank, CA (January 11, 2013) – ABC Family’s award-winning original series, “Switched At Birth,” will produce an episode told entirely in American Sign Language (ASL), a first for a scripted series on mainstream television, which will premiere Monday, March 4 at 8:00PM ET/PT. The special episode will be told from the perspective of the series’ multiple …

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