Welcome to our April Newsletter! It has been another busy month at Eastside Speech Solutions. This month, we ran our Language and Social skills holiday groups, which were lots of fun! We hope you all had a great break over the school holidays and are feeling rested for term 2.
In this months newsletter, learn about the differences between intentional and unintentional communication in our blog post. Find out about how cooking can be used as therapy in our āResource of the Monthā segment.
Plus, meet our Practice Manager, Anna!
Understanding Intentional and Unintentional Communication in Children with Disabilities
Effective communication goes beyond words; it encompasses a spectrum of expressions, gestures, and interactions. For children with disabilities, navigating the complexities of communication can pose unique challenges. In this blog post, we delve into the concepts of intentional and unintentional communication, exploring their significance in the development of children with disabilities and offering insights for parents and caregivers.
Defining Intentional and Unintentional Communication: Intentional communication refers to instances where a child communicates with a clear purpose or goal in mind. This could involve using words, signs, gestures, or other means to express needs, wants, feelings, or thoughts. For example, a child may point to a desired toy and make eye contact to indicate their interest in playing with it, or they may say āmoreā to request additional food during mealtimeā¦
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Resource of the Month: Cooking
Did you know that cooking can be a fantastic tool for developing speech and language skills? Not only does it make learning fun, but it also provides numerous opportunities for communication and learning!
You can work on:
- Vocabulary: colours, cooking utensils, ingredients
- Prepositions: on the cookie, in the tub
- Following directions: Before you put the red smartie, put the blue smartie
- Asking questions: Can I have X
- Sounds (e.g. ātā in āheartā, āwhiteā; ākā in āpinkā, ācookieā
Cooking encourages social interaction as participants collaborate, ask questions, and share their thoughts and experiences. It’s a wonderful way to promote conversation skills and build confidence in communication.
Meet a team member: Anna
Anna has a speech pathology background and has worked in customer service and administration for many years. She loves helping our clients and is a favourite with the children who visit our clinic!
Why do you like working at Eastside Speech Solutions?
I get to interact with excellent people everyday. We have a great team of therapists who are caring, friendly, and know their stuff! It’s a pleasure to work alongside them, and to be able to greet our clients, young and old, as they walk through the door.
Where is your favourite place in the world?
Somewhere in New Zealand (too many spots to choose from!). It’s where I’m from, and where my heart lies š
Fun fact:
I find puns hilarious š