Category Archives: challenging behaviors

Visual Supports with Voice Output for the “Win”! – Incredible 5 Point Scale and the GoTalk Now app

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Visual supports with voice output for the “win”! I attended a presentation by Kari Dunn Buron, coauthor of The Incredible 5 Point Scale, at the Oklahoma Autism Conference offered by the Oklahoma Autism Network in 2017 and was inspired to make this for a patient who had been having a particularly difficult time and exhibiting a significant increase in aggressive behaviors. I watched for very subtle signs of increased agitation and modeled use of this to both talk about emotional states and offered choices to help calm before he got beyond a “Level 3”. He showed understanding of it the very first day and smiled when I acknowledged that he was struggling. He chose “go for a walk outside” and “go back to the house and rest”. The next day he spontaneously tapped “go for a walk outside” before he got beyond a “Level 2” and a huge smile washed over his face as we exited the sensory overload inside the building into the brisk air and total peace outside. I was often totally overstimulated by all the “Christmassy” stuff at our facility too so we ended up taking lots of walks outside 😉.

A video showing several boards including this one:

Thanks again Attainment Company, Inc. for making such a versatile app and giving me access to the most full featured version as well as several extras within it to help the patients at the nonprofit facility where I worked for the last half of my career. I was able to show this to his mother and she was very impressed with how easy this app is to program and to use for AAC and visual supports.

This app is definitely in the top 5 most used apps on my iPad. I saved this to the Online Gallery. Those who have either the GoTalk Now or GoTalk Now Plus versions of the app should be able to find everything that I have uploaded to the public Online Gallery by searching by my last name (Moorad) or a word in the title. See page 23 in the in-app Users Guide for info on how to find it.

There are several versions of the app with varying levels of features:

GoTalk NOW PLUS by Attainment Company, https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gotalk-now-plus/id742150885?mt=8 (most full featured, includes SymbolStix, offers PCS symbols (High Contrast, original and thinline) as in-app purchases, etc…)

GoTalk Now by Attainment Company, https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gotalk-now/id454176457?mt=8

Updated 4/3/22 to add: Encouraging Emotional Conversations in Children With Complex Communication Needs: An Observational Case Study (free access to the full research article & supplementary materials): https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.674755/full. The AAC app in the article is TD Snap but the concepts could be used when adding this type of vocabulary to any AAC system. If you have access to Grid for iPad / Grid 3, take a look at some nice preprogrammed content in the Voco Chat grid set.

GoTalk NOW LITE by Attainment Company, https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gotalk-now-lite/id953164338?mt=8 (FREE lite version, limited to 1 book with up to 5 pages, cannot backup, share or access the Online Gallery)

See this post about the current sale on their apps from 10/16 – 10/31/20: https://omazingkidsllc.com/2020/10/17/rare-sale-on-gotalk-now-gotalk-now-plus-aac-apps/

(Note: Most of the content in this post originally appeared on my Facebook page on 12/12/17.

I updated some info from that to create this blog post.

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Angela Moorad, MS, CCC-SLP, Founder of OMazing Kids, LLC
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Fingertip Sphere Breathing for Self Regulation & Calming

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Fingertip Sphere Breathing for Self Regulation & Calming

I learned this technique during one of the webinars in the Preschool Mindfulness Summit in January. It was amazing to see how well it worked with one of my patients who has Autism (and possibly OCD and Explosive Disorder). This child has a very short fuse and when he explodes it is painful for everyone including him. We had tried several different strategies to help him learn self regulation and self calming skills with little success. The issue was in that explosive moment he was too out of control to use any strategies.

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During our last session he became obsessed over a particular page in a board book, insisting that he had to “see the page in the middle” and then exploding when I removed the book to prevent it from being damaged. I then closed my eyes, placed my fingertips together and slowly expanded them (like a Hoberman Sphere) as I took a deep breath in through my nose and gently pressed them back together as I blew the breath slowly out of my mouth. After about 3 breaths I heard him calming down and he asked “What you doing?”. As I continued my slow breathing process with my eyes closed, I softly said “Ms. Angela is taking a break. ________ (child’s name) yelling scared Ms. Angela. When I get scared I take deep breaths.”. Then I continued doing the fingertip breathing with my eyes closed. Within a second or two I heard him breathing, peeked and saw him imitating what I was doing. Once he was calm I gently placed a new activity in front of him. He started to re-escalate and obsess over wanting the book again so I closed my eyes and started the breathing again. He again imitated and this time calmed down and was able to maintain that state of calm for the rest of our session. I cannot express what a HUGE moment this was for him. As he took a play break after the session I talked with his mother to make sure she understood what I had done and how powerful it would be for her son to experience the ability to self regulate and calm.

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It is important to note that I did not tell this child to “calm down” or to “take a deep breath”. When I calmed and centered myself and modeled this breathing technique he began to imitate what I was doing and then got to experience the power of self calming.

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Moments like this are exactly why I sought out training in kids yoga and mindfulness seven years ago. When a child is totally disregulated they are not going to learn anything I had planned for that session. So I needed tools in the speechie toolbox to help my patients.

Of course I also make referrals as needed to good pediatric psychological services in our area.

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I have shared several resources for “breathing”, “self regulation”, “calming”, “mindfulness” and “social emotional learning” over the years on my blog. You can find those posts easily by doing a search for those terms. I have also shared additional resources out on my OMazing Kids Facebook page. Many of those posts are saved in the photos/albums area…. so feel free to look through those as well.

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This gif shows a Hoberman Sphere in action for those that may not be familiar with it:

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Angela Moorad, MS, CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Founder of OMazing Kids, LLC – inclusive wellness & educational activities for kids of all abilities
Facebook Messaging for OMazing Kids: http://m.me/OMazingKidsYoga (note: Facebook frequently changes the link to messaging so if this one doesn’t work head over to my page and click on the “Send Message” button)
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Blog: http://omazingkidsllc.com
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Angela Moorad is the founder of OMazing Kids, LLC and is an ASHA certified & licensed pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist and Kids Yoga Teacher with 28 years experience working in a variety of settings (early intervention, schools, teletherapy & a nonprofit pediatric rehab hospital for children with developmental disabilities). She is an app beta tester for educational & therapeutic app developers and loves sharing info about great apps, products, books & toys to use with kids of all abilities.

Social Story for Learning Appropriate Use of Video Games: Minecraft

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Over my 27+ career as a SLP I’ve worked with several kids & teens with Autism, ADHD and other special needs who became obsessed with a particular video game. The typical culprits are Pokemon, Mario, Angry Birds & Minecraft. When played in moderation video games can provide a stress relief outlet for kids with special needs. But for some kids it can become an obsession or even an addiction. When a kid or teen only wants to play, think about or talk about a particular game, then you know you have a problem. Well Minecraft Steve and his pals have attempted to take over another one of my patients. Minecraft has messed with the wrong speechie. This particular child and his family hold a very special place in my heart so I was determined to help.  Since this is a fairly common issue, I was shocked that I could not find any social stories online regarding appropriate use of video games. So I wrote one today using the Social Stories Creator for Educators app by Touch Autism. This particular child has an amazing knowledge of anatomy and chemistry well beyond what would be typically expected for his age so I used a few anatomy and brain chemistry terms to tie into that high interest area and help him see for himself why unlimited game play would not be a healthy choice for his brain. I even recorded voice overs for each page. I then sent it to myself in an e-mail both as a printable PDF and as a story that can be used within the app. Super excited that the voice overs were included when I imported the story onto my other iPad and that they could be edited on that second device (so anyone importing the story that I created will be able to edit the pictures, text and voice overs to fit that child’s unique needs).

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Download the free printable 10-page PDF at: Social Story – Learning Appropriate Use of Video Games – Minecraft

Image credits:

• Minecraft: https://www.wikihow.com/Break-a-Minecraft-Addiction

• The Neurology of Gaming (infographic): https://www.thefyi.org/the-neurology-of-gaming-infographic/

• Brain: https://azkurs.org/addiction-is-a-brain-disease.html

• Screaming child: clip art in Microsoft Word

• Good job smiley: clip art in Adobe

• Smart choice: clip art in Microsoft Word

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Follow these steps to access the story and view it within the Social Story Creator app:

  1. If you don’t already have the full paid version of this app, then download the free version of the app on your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch: https://itunes.apple.com/app/id588180598
  2. While on that iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch, tap on this link: http://socialstorylibrary.touchautism.com/b48879a1-b082-4982-866f-a5c37c65db02 (Update 6/26/21, updated again 1/17/23. I created a new download link since the old was was no longer working. The share links must be time-limited so feel free to send me a message on my OMazing Kids Facebook page if this link no longer works. I’ll be glad to create a new one as needed)

To download this story you must have the Social Story Creator app installed and then you must click on the link from your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.

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This social story app is very easy/intuitive to use and many of my patients are highly motivated by anything presented on the iPad (seriously I could show them the same story in printed format, read it to them and might not get much of a response but somehow recording my voice and presenting the same social story via the iPad got a very different response…. Shhhhh….. don’t tell the kids that it’s Mrs. Angela inside the iPad…. lol!).

See my full review for this fabulous social story making app at:  https://omazingkidsllc.com/2017/07/12/app-review-social-stories-creator-for-educators-by-touch-autism/

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Angela Moorad, MS, CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Founder of OMazing Kids, LLC – inclusive wellness & educational activities for kids of all abilities
Facebook Messaging for OMazing Kids: https://www.facebook.com/messages/174264525957894
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/OMazingKidsYoga
AppPeeps Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/OMazingKidsAppPeeps/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/amoorad
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Boardmaker Share: http://www.boardmakershare.com/Community/FriendsProfile/10916/Angela-Moorad
Blog: http://omazingkidsllc.com
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Angela Moorad is the founder of OMazing Kids, LLC and is an ASHA certified & licensed pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist and Kids Yoga Teacher with over 27 years experience working in a variety of settings (early intervention, schools, teletherapy & a nonprofit pediatric rehab hospital for children with developmental disabilities). She is an app beta tester for educational & therapeutic app developers and loves sharing info about great apps, products, books & toys to use with kids of all abilities.

Frozen Snowflake themed breathing & relaxation – free printable from OMazing Kids (updated 12/13/22)

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frozen-snowflake-themed-breathing-and-relaxation

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I work with Autistic kids who often have great difficulty with self-regulation. This is one of the main things that caused me to be drawn to kids yoga & other relaxation techniques to help them. It was heartbreaking to witness one of my six year old patients have a total meltdown last week. She often has these episodes of total disregulation the day after an evening field trip or event. Like many girls her age she is highly interested in the movie Frozen. So I made the following visual supports to help teach her breathing and relaxation techniques that should help with self-regulation.

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I’m sharing it here as a free printable so others can benefit from it as well. The small blue arrow indicates where to start on each visual.

Free 1-page PDF:

frozen-snowflake-themed-breathing-and-relaxation-free-printable-from-omazing-kids

For more resources see: Anxiety and Autism: Helpful Tools: https://omazingkidsllc.com/2021/05/21/anxiety-and-autism-helpful-tools/

 

Have questions? The best way to reach me is via Facebook messaging over on my OMazing Kids page: https://www.facebook.com/OMazingKidsAAC/

Angela Moorad, MS, CCC-SLP, Founder of OMazing Kids, LLC, OMazing Kids AAC Consulting

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{No! No! No! ~ Dealing with Challenging Behaviors: SLP Hacks}

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{No! No! No! ~ Dealing with Challenging Behaviors: SLP Hacks} I work in a setting where a large percentage of the patients have challenging behaviors. It’s often a huge undertaking just to get them to engage in any meaningful way. I have lots of strategies in my speechie toolbox including visual schedules, various methods of reinforcement, using techniques from the Hanen & DIR Floortime programs, etc.

I currently have one particular kiddo whose favorite word is “no” and is very tough to engage. Seriously…. as in having whole sessions initially where he would hide like a turtle in his hoodie or plop to the ground and refuse to move. Fast forward several months and he’s a little more willing but still very challenging. Elmo is his BFF who comes to every session. We are usually okay long as the primary focus is on helping Elmo learn to say his speech sounds more clearly (not a lie right? Elmo definitely could use some therapy… lol). What’s funny is that this kiddo almost always answers on behalf of Elmo.

Yesterday in a blended Hanen / DIR Floortime focused session I discovered that this patient thought it was hilarious to take turns playing hide and seek with Elmo & me. I usually alternate sessions between his goals targeting play skills and those focusing on articulation. The problem is even with Elmo incorporated into the artic therapy this patient often immediately responds with a very melodramatic “no! no! no”. But I was prepared for that today. I had the Speech Stickers app ready to work on some CV combinations with him. I quickly changed the target to “no”. Every time he said “no” (to refuse to participate) I added a speech sticker to the screen and imitated his melodramatic production. He immediately was caught off guard, started to giggle and we were eventually able to move on to some other CV combinations. He was highly motivated to finish the stickers to get to the reward animation at the end but to keep him producing the sounds to get there I had to convince him that the characters in the iPad had to “hear” him before they would appear on the screen (had to be sneaky in tapping the scoring at the top so he didn’t catch on that I was actually in charge of it). We ended the session with a highly reinforcing game of Elmo hide and seek.

The reason I share this is that they don’t typically teach SLP students hacks/creative strategies like this in grad school. When you get out in the real world and especially if you work in a setting that has kids with challenging behaviors you will need to develop some creative SLP hacks to engage these kiddos in therapy.

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What are some of your most creative hacks / strategies to keep kids engaged? Join the conversation over on the OMazing Kids Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/OMazingKidsAAC/). Unfortunately I had to toggle off commenting here on my blog a couple of years ago due to huge amounts of spam.

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In case you don’t have the SpeechStickers app by Seriously Sticky LLC, I highly recommend it (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/speechstickers/id436101181?mt=8, iPad only, iOS 7.0 or later)!

FYI… They have a second app, Sticky Words, in the works (https://www.facebook.com/OMazingKidsYoga/photos/a.1039368119447526.1073741892.174264525957894/1187059944678342/?type=3&theater)…. can’t wait 🙂

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Angela Moorad, MS, CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Founder of OMazing Kids, LLC – inclusive wellness & educational activities for kids of all abilities
Home E-Mail: amoorad1@juno.com
Facebook Messaging for OMazing Kids: https://www.facebook.com/messages/17426452595789
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/OMazingKidsYoga
AppPeeps Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/OMazingKidsAppPeeps/
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Boardmaker Share: http://www.boardmakershare.com/Community/FriendsProfile/10916/Angela-Moorad
Blog: http://omazingkidsllc.com
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Angela Moorad is the founder of OMazing Kids, LLC and is an ASHA certified & licensed pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist and Kids Yoga Teacher with over 26 years experience working in a variety of settings (early intervention, schools, teletherapy & a nonprofit pediatric rehab hospital for children with developmental disabilities). She is an app beta tester for educational & therapeutic app developers and loves sharing info about great apps, products, books & toys to use with kids of all abilities.
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{please ignore any ads that may appear below. This is a free blog and I don’t have any control over ads nor do I profit from them}