In case you don’t know: Toca Boca World is a FREE app that many of the children I work with love. Here’s the link for the android version of Toca Life World and here’s the link for the iPad version. When I use it for following directions I give my in-person patients one of my …
In the fall of 2020, after 6 months of completing all 25 of my weekly appointments through telepractice/telehealth/video calls with my patients’ highest attendance rates recorded, I experienced my first ocular migraine. It was extremely unpleasant and I hoped it was just a fluke. When I had another a couple months later I immediately made …
I met my first therapy dog when I was volunteering at the New Mexico Preschool for the Deaf – the dog was named Jackson and he belonged to one of the audiologists at the preschool. This started my interest in using a therapy dog in my future treatment. The first thing to know about therapy …
A “weighted lap buddy” is like a small weighted blanket in the form of a stuffed animal. These help kids who have trouble sitting in their seats, kids who feel nervous, or even just kids who love stuffed animals! You can find weighted lap buddies for $40 – $50 on Amazon, but I wanted to …
I’m constantly looking for new and fun naturalistic activities. One of my favorite apps is Toca Pet Doctor. This app isn’t one of the free ones from Toca Boca – it costs $3.99, but my patients love it (many request it for their reward activity) and it’s quite versatile! Here are some more naturalistic activities for …
“If you listen to your body whisper you won’t have to hear it scream.” Self-care is one of those terms that’s thrown around a lot with a variety of meanings. I can’t say if any meaning is really “wrong,” but to me self-care is less about self-indulgence and more about self-nurturing or even self-regulation. Just …
I’m constantly looking for new and fun ways to work on following directions; especially for my patients who have Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, which is best treated by varying activities and tasks. One of my favorite apps to use for any and all speech and language treatment is Toca Pet Doctor. This app isn’t one of the …
I love the part of Terminator 3 when Claire Danes is making as much noise as possible in the back of her vet rescue truck (where she’s been imprisoned by the newest Arnold Schwarzenegger robot from the future) as a robot-battery-turned-bomb explodes outside and Arnold yells at Claire, “RELAX!” as he looks intensely towards the …
With this Zones of Regulation tool the child either uses 2 pillows and hits them together or hits a pillow against a bed, chair, or sofa. This tool is great for the red zone, which I’ve found is particularly challenging for kids who have witnessed domestic violence. These kids often fear their own anger, but …
Toca Kitchen Monsters is another FREE app from Toca Boca. It’s another fun way to address following directions during a naturalistic/play-based activity. In this game you pull the left side of the screen over to get various foods and the right side of the screen to find ways to prepare the foods. You can use …
