Aidan’s speech therapy is mostly about extending vocabulary and discussing function right now. Most of the therapy games he plays are based on a deck of picture cards and then trying to name them and sometimes identify them by function. I would say that about 70% of the work he does is evaluative — ie he isn’t actively learning, but just reinforcing what he knows or letting the SLP know what he knows. There is also another component, in that he is getting practice in abstracting things — recognizing them in pictorial (usually stylized) form. And a further component is that his attention span and interactivity are built up. She says that his articulation is pretty normal for his developmental age so praxis (calling up the right word to mind and saying it on call) and fluency are targeted more than articulation.
I am thinking that we are going to work on some simple classification this summer. Also, his vocabulary is firmly embedded in the concrete things around him. Which is fine, but some exposure to books and pictures will probably help him learn to discuss things that aren’t part of everyday life.
He has a good memory for vocalizations — I found he knows almost all the prayers in the prayer bag just from asking me to say them, again and again, and listening.
The little ones both function at about a four year old level. They were difficult to deal with this morning. Paddy would lose his temper and shriek, and then Aidan would get terrified and run off shrieking too. I brought them out for a walk even though it was astonishingly cold today, because often that helps shake off the mood, but this time it didn’t help, at least not right away. They came back still emotional. They got a bit better as the day went on. Paddy is eating so much I think he must be starting a growth spurt.
I read him a Noddy book which occupied him for a long time and gave Aidan a break. Then Aidan got another break by the trip to the school for his therapy, so he’s feeling better now.
Sean finished his checklist for the day but I don’t think Kieron has, yet. Sean has finished Ben Hur and is looking for something else to read. I think it is time for Walter Scott who was on the list of books I planned for 8th grade. They watched the movie version of Ben Hur a couple of days ago, as well.
