Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Getting Your Baby to Communicate

There's lots you can do early on to help your baby to communicate. Speech is one thing and communication is another. Here are some great video clips from James D. MacDonald with tips to help your baby express him or herself.

Free video clips to get you started right away:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEduhGjFQCM

jamesdmacdonald.org watch the videos: http://jamesdmacdonald.org/Articles/youtube.html



Helpful Posts

In this blog, you'll find a variety of informative links to tackle the full range of communciation issues.

First, your child's senses need to be addressed. Is she hearing, breathing and seeing okay? Physical solutions from the posts below will be useful.
Protecting Your Child's Hearing
Improve Your Child's Vision
Keeping Nasal Passages Clear & Mouths Closed

And neurodevelopmental exercises will help with sensory issues as well.
Get Your Own Neurodevelopmentalist
Post coming soon (email me to ask me to finish it sooner!) about Oral Motor Stimulation.

Reading to your child in order for them to hear a variety of words in a variety of ways along with pictures will aid your child in learning new words to communicate with.
Books to Read to Your Baby

Feeding your baby correctly will help with tongue thrust as well as to prevent ear infections.
How to Spoon Feed
Proper Breastfeeding for Down Syndrome

Avoiding unhealthy foods and those that often cause allergies will help to keep nasal and ear passages clear.
Toxin Free Babies
Healthy Meal Planning Blogs

There's also a variety of electronic support that you can use.
My TV/Video Strategy
BrillKids is offering discounts for Special Needs
Readeez: Songs Supporting Reading Free Download
Readeez Sale!
Free iPads ITouches for Special Needs

Helpful Books

Play To Talk: A Practical Guide to Help Your Late-Talking Child Join the Conversation by James MacDonald Ph.D. and Pam Stoika Ph.D

Early Communication Skills for Children with Down syndrome by Libby Kumin

Helpful DVDs

Parent Kit: Using Oral Placement Therapy With Your Child - TalkTools®

This is a great parent DVD for quality, at-home speech therapy. You can purchase the entire parent kit which includes all the tools necessary including a 3 hour DVD where Sara demonstrates how to use each of the tools at home. This is a link to just the dvd http://www.talktools.net/s.nl/it.A/id.1669/.f?sc=23&category=3356 . Talk tools works on building oral motor skills (muscles in the mouth) to build a foundation for speech production.

Communicating Partners DVDs: ECO I and ECO II and Shortcuts are great companions to or replacement for the Play To Talk books because they show you exactly what to do and how to do it. I'm a big fan of James D. MacDonald's techniques!

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