Anxiety and Autism: Helpful Tools

Posted on May 21, 2021 by OMazing Kids

Unfortunately anxiety is common with Autism. It’s the main reason that I went through training for kids yoga and mindfulness. I needed tools as an SLP to be able to help my patients learn self regulation and self affirmation skills.

Here are several helpful tools:

Two Amazing “Must Have” Books for Teaching Kids Self-Regulation Skills: https://bit.ly/2T36tiR.

Calming Kit Visual Support and Calming Corner:

A self-regulation visual support from the archives on my blog. See the whole thing and instructions in this PDF: https://omazingkidsyoga.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/behavior-thermometer-i-am-feeling-i-will-with-feelings-and-self-calming-choices-with-kids-yoga-bumpidoodle-cushion.pdf

An editable version is out on Boardmaker Share: https://www.myboardmaker.com/Activity/1817562

Visual Supports with Voice Output for the “Win”! – Incredible 5 Point Scale and the GoTalk Now app: https://bit.ly/3v3eq5M

Fingertip Sphere Breathing for Self Regulation & Calming: https://bit.ly/3bHXLNC

https://www.facebook.com/174264525957894/posts/pfbid02aDf9ymGeTPKNi3kBsCchQfa4DuhggcSfpBmG7RWhfSzAZGp2wuVxmBg521FABLj4l/?d=n

Breathing Zone app (like a virtual Hoberman Sphere). https://apps.apple.com/us/app/breathing-zone/id369838631. I post every time I see this app is free for a short time but it’s definitely worth the regular price:

Visual Timers can be very helpful to reduce anxiety.

I just checked and the app versions of the Time Timer are all still currently FREE (7:45am CDT 7/5/22):

iOS – iPhone and Apple Watch: Time Timer by Time Timer LLC, https://apps.apple.com/us/app/time-timer/id332520417

iOS – iPad: Time Timer: iPad Edition by Time Timer LLC, https://apps.apple.com/us/app/time-timer-ipad-edition/id434081367

Android & Google Chromebooks: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.timetimer.android

Another great free option is the MultiTimer app that can be adjusted directly on an Apple Watch as well as an iPhone. See details on this post: https://omazingkidsllc.com/2017/05/30/free-visual-timer-app-adjustable-directly-on-apple-watch/.

Owl & Star plush characters from Super Simple Learning + free printable affirmation coloring pages: https://bit.ly/3fykyfZ. Any stuffed animal or doll can be used with belly breathing. See this video: https://youtu.be/cx9vMHnjpbA

Five Count Breathing Stars visual support: https://bit.ly/2RCD8eT

Smell the Icing – Blow out the Candle visual support: https://bit.ly/2SfCjbD.

Several great apps in this resource guide: https://bit.ly/UltimateAppDigitalResourceGuideSLP

And handouts from a training “Therapeutic Yoga For Kids and Teens with Autism” that I did at the Oklahoma Autism Conference in 2011: https://bit.ly/3402Hci

I’ll update this post to add additional resources as I create or find them.

Disclaimer: Anxiety is very real and can be severe. Please seek the care of an appropriate mental health professional as needed. Any tools shared here may not work for everyone. They are shared as examples and may need to be customized to meet individual needs.

The best way to reach me with any questions is via private messaging on the OMazing Kids Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/OMazingKidsAAC/. That way important messages don’t get lost among the spam in my e-mail

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

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

Posted on October 17, 2020 by OMazing Kids

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
Facebook: https://bit.ly/2Si6k7Y
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(Please ignore any ads that may pop up. This is a free blog and I don’t have any control over ads nor do I profit from them)

FREE Visual Timer App – adjustable directly on Apple Watch

Posted on May 30, 2017 by OMazing Kids

FREE Visual Timer App – adjustable directly on Apple Watch

Most of the timer apps that can be used on an Apple Watch require you to first set a and activate the timer on the paired iPhone and only work when the phone is within range of the Bluetooth connection with that phone. Although I love the Time Timer app it is not that helpful to me since I work in a facility that prohibits taking your phone into patient areas. The timer app native to the Apple Watch can be adjusted directly on the watch but is not a visual timer.

So I was very excited to discover that one of my other visual timer apps can be used totally independently on the Apple Watch. The key is to customize it on your phone, sync it with your watch and then the timer time can be set, timer activated, paused & reset all directly from the watch WITHOUT it having to be paired with your phone.

Video:

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App Store:

MultiTimer: Visual timer with multiple timers by Sergey Astakhov
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/multitimer-multiple-timers/id973421278, FREE, you don’t need to purchase the IAP and no ads were seen
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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
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.

{Review} Smarty Symbols Image Club

Posted on December 14, 2016 by OMazing Kids

{Review} Smarty Symbols Image Club

I have several patients who use the Speak For Yourself AAC app. That app uses Smarty Symbols. So I was especially thrilled to have the opportunity to try out the online Smarty Symbols Image Club (https://smartysymbols.com).

I already had the Custom Boards – Premium app (https://appsto.re/us/1hHNB.i) with access to over 10,000 symbols.

I was excited to see the Smarty Symbol Image Club has over 19,000 symbols. They even add hundreds of new images to their portal on a monthly basis. Many of these images are created in response to the requests by subscribers. If you search for a word and you don’t find it, they will create it for you!

I was able to quickly create a CV web mat to use in conjunction with the fabulous free speech sound cue cards from Speechy Musings also featuring Smarty Symbols (https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Speech-Sound-Cue-Cards-Freebie-2196455). The website was easy to use. I can’t wait to make more materials featuring Smarty Symbols!

Here are some of the key features in the Smarty Symbol Image Club:

Access over 19,000 symbols
Ability to request a specific symbol be created
New symbols added monthly
Symbols representing a variety of genders, ages & ethnicities
All symbols are offered in full color or gray scale
You can download images in two formats: .png (transparent background – great for layering) or .jpg (white background). You can easily insert them onto your materials.
Images are organized into over 140 educationally relevant categories
You can search images by speech sound & position in a word making it very easy for SLPs to create materials to target particular articulation goals.
Activity Library where users can share activities they have created with other subscribers.
Printing Center with 40 templates. You can also create your own custom grids with 1-8 columns and 1-8 rows, specify the border color and adjust the border thickness. This portion of the website can only be accessed via a computer (not iPad-compatible).
Several video tutorials to help you get up to speed quickly on using the website: https://smartysymbols.com/videos/
Subscribers Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/447191572097599
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/smartysymbols/?ref=ts&fref=ts

Pricing Options: https://smartysymbols.com/our-plans-pricing/. For personal use, they currently offer rates of $45 per year or $9 per month. They also offer group licenses at a discounted rate to school districts and educational agencies (contact them for that pricing).

If you have an online store such as a store on websites like Teachers Pay Teachers, you will want a commercial license which gives you the rights to post your creations for sale while your subscription is active. The commercial license gives users the same access as a personal license. The key difference is that you will be sharing whatever you created with others online or by selling the material to others. They currently offer commercial rates of $200 per year or $29.99 per month.

If you are needing an option that is totally iPad compatible and templates for common AAC mid-tech devices, then their Custom Boards app will be a better fit for your needs (http://smartyearsapps.com/service/custom-boards/)

On the other hand, if you would rather create items on the computer, have access to more symbols (including .png format that can be layered and used in other projects) and those representing a wider variety of ages and ethnic backgrounds, have access to the activity library where other subscribers have shared materials and don’t anticipate needing AAC templates, then the online subscription to the Smarty Symbols Image Club would be a great option.

Or get the best of both worlds by getting both the app & the online subscription. Both the app and the online subscription offer the option to search for images by speech sound & position in a word making it very easy for SLPs to create materials to target particular articulation goals. Both also offer the option to search for symbols in the “Speak For Yourself (SFY) Core”.

The cool thing is all of these options are significantly more affordable than a Boardmaker CD or a subscription to Boardmaker Online.

I was blessed to win a copy of a Boardmaker CD many years ago and it’s definitely gotten LOTS of use. You’ve also seen me post about the Tools 2 Talk app with PCS symbols, the iESLp app with SymbolStix, the GoTalk Now Plus app with PCS and SymbolStix, the Custom Boards app with Smarty Symbols and now the Smarty Symbols Image Club. Each of these tools is unique and I pick the one best suited to the need in that moment.

In the era of working with patients using AAC devices with varying symbol sets I’m glad to have a way to make materials and visual supports with the symbols that each patient is accustomed to. If I’m making visual supports or therapy materials that will be used across lots of different patients, then I often pick symbols from a variety of symbol sets going with whatever best depicts the concept.

Disclaimer: I received a free subscription to this website to facilitate my review. Opinions expressed are my own.

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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
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/OMazingKidsYoga
AppPeeps Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/OMazingKidsAppPeeps/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/amoorad
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/amoorad1
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/OMazingKids/
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/110305433538768736741
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 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.
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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}

50% off the amazing iESLp app (create your own interactive and printable activities & visual supports)

Posted on November 24, 2016 by OMazing Kids

{Big App Sale} The iESLp app allows you to make interactive activities for use on the iPad or printable activities and visual supports for use off the iPad. This app is a great bargain on sale for only $9.99 considering that you could easily spend that amount on one or two items on Teachers Pay Teachers. This app is packed full of amazing features:

24,000 Symbolstix symbols and pictures built in
In-app purchase of 3,800+ Scrapin Doodle clip art images
Import photos from albums and use existing clip art from your favorite graphic designer
Build activities to meet your needs from an assortment of grids, boards, game board, visual tools and templates or design your own
Attach voice recording to text or symbols
Create activity sheets, handouts and more
Make two-dimensional assignment sheets come alive with the interactive and manipulative features
Depict action by moving the symbols around
Create movable activities like matching, sorting, counting, story-writing activities and more
Easily create goal content or curriculum-related material, articulation sets, minimal pairs sets, etc.
Students and clients can make their own boards, activity sheets, games, etc.
Create goal-targeted vocabulary or sound cards with voice-recording features
Visual strategy boards come alive using the built-in features
Share assignment and activity sheets through air drop, text messaging, email and social media
Print from within the program using an air printer

App Store link:

iESLp by Irmgard Raubenheimer
https://appsto.re/us/NiPA2.i, iPad only, usually $19.99 -> currently $9.99 (50% off) (price in USA App Store. Prices in other areas vary depending on the exchange rate)

According to the app developer’s Facebook page, the app will only be offered at the sale price for a couple of days so grab it quickly and double check prices before purchasing

The in app purchases are for extra clip art. The SymbolStix symbols are all already included in the app. See this post for details about why they included both:

See tutorials & tons of ideas for items you can create with this app on their website & Facebook page:

Website: https://ieslp.wordpress.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ieslpapp

Ideas:

Tips:

These are just a few of the endless possibilities. I’m in the process of trying out the app and will be posting pics of my creations in the future. Be watching my Facebook page 😃

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
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/OMazingKidsYoga
AppPeeps Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/OMazingKidsAppPeeps/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/amoorad
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/amoorad1
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/OMazingKids/
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/110305433538768736741
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 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.
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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}

Symbol Supported Language Stimulation: visual supports to expand verbal utterances

Posted on September 28, 2016 by OMazing Kids

Symbol Supported Language Stimulation: visual supports to expand verbal utterances

You are a “vintage” SLP if you remember using the Fokes Sentence Builder as a visual means of teaching kids how words go together to form sentences. For the past 27 years, I’ve infused that concept into how I model language. The pictures in the old Fokes were very outdated plus the copy of it at the facility where I work was very musty. So I use Boardmaker, the Custom Boards app by Smarty Ears, the GoTalk Now Plus AAC app with SymbolStix and PCS library add-ons (can export as PDF) or the Tools2Talk+ app to make my own customized visual supports. I’m “old school” and am still using a Boardmaker CD on a computer. I’ve considered using one of the many online options but haven’t so far since I didn’t want to have to pay for an ongoing subscription.

Most of the kids on my caseload have Autism or similar diagnoses and respond well to use of visual supports. For kids who are verbal, I use a variety of visual supports to show them how to create sentences. The picture at the top of this post is an example of my latest creation to go with my vintage Illco Sesame Street House (circa 1988) and wooden Fisher Price Mini Bus and Little People (circa 1969). It’s always cool to see how well my patients respond with use of these visual supports. Instead of imitating a word or maybe two, they are much more likely to imitate a whole utterance and then often use that utterance again spontaneously within that session.

For kids who are AAC users, I use aided language stimulation in activities that are interesting and highly motivating for them to model creation of sentences either directly on their device or on a companion device with the same vocabulary.
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I also use several great sentence building apps (yeah… I’m a cool mix of vintage & modern 😉 ):

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I use and love the Storyteller Writing Box from Lakeshore. I use it both to create sentences and as a visual support for answering Wh-questions:

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If you have Boardmaker, check out these free printable symbols and frames for the vocabulary in the Fokes Sentence Builder:

(Update: 6/1/20 – That website has disappeared. Thankfully I had these saved a modified version of the Boardmaker Fokes Sentence Builder on my computer and just uploaded them to my blog as three PDF files:
1) https://omazingkidsyoga.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/fokes-sentence-frames-prints-on-fewer-pages.pdf
2) https://omazingkidsyoga.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/fokes-sentence-builder-who-what-doing-modified.pdf
3) https://omazingkidsyoga.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/fokes-sentence-builder-which-where-modified.pdf

Subscription-based symbol site where you can easily make your own visual supports:

* http://www.boardmakeronline.com (has free 30-day trial)
* https://www.n2y.com/store/n2y-Products/SSX
* https://smartysymbols.com/our-plans-pricing/
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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.

{Power of Visuals}

Posted on July 29, 2016 by OMazing Kids

{Power of Visuals} Gotta LOVE the power of visual supports when working with kids with special needs! I have a patient who has had the hardest time understanding and using pronouns (he/she) and prepositions/spatial concepts. He doesn’t have Autism but most of the strategies that I use with that population are helpful for him. The use of visual support cue cards with a picture of a boy or girl, the rule for when to use the pronoun and a picture and description of the mouth shape for “he” vs. “she” in every session for several weeks finally paid off today! So cool to witness the moment it finally clicked for this child. I was able to fade the cue cards today and he had a solid ability to both understand and use these two pronouns correctly. I’m tackling the prepositions/spatial concepts using a similar concept but instead of printed cue cards I’m using the GoTalk Now AAC app as a visual support. Today was the first session where I finally saw the first signs of it clicking for him too. I’m sure for this child it’s the consistent visual + auditory feedback from the AAC app combined with placing a high interest object in/on/under a mini trashcan from the dollar store. I have other prepositions programmed but have them hidden until he masters these first three.

The he/she cue cards are available as part of a free printable in this post: https://omazingkidsllc.com/2016/05/25/free-printable-puppys-pronouns-sentence-building-cards/.

I used the GoTalk NOW PLUS AAC app by Attainment Company (https://appsto.re/us/LlfpS.i). They also have a free lite version of the app (https://appsto.re/us/Yic04.i).
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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/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/amoorad
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/amoorad1
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/OMazingKids/
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/110305433538768736741
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}

{Teaching Prepositions & Spatial Concepts} Free Printable Preposition and Spatial Concept Activity Cards for the Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Puppy’s Activity Home and GoTalk Now Plus AAC Template

Posted on May 18, 2016 by OMazing Kids

{Teaching Prepositions & Spatial Concepts} Most of the kids on my caseload have Autism or other special needs that tend to make understanding spatial concepts and using prepositions very challenging. I use a combination of visual supports, real objects, movement, AAC and apps when tackling these goals.

I uploaded a template to the Attainment Company, Inc.‘s GoTalk Now AAC Online Gallery for “Prepositions & Spatial Concepts for the Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Puppy’s Activity Home”. Includes front, back, side, in front, behind, beside, through, in & out. Search for “puppy” in the public gallery from within the app to find it.

free printable preposition and spatial concept cards - OMazing Kids

I made a set of 30 two-sided printable activity cards for the Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Puppy’s Activity Home inspired by ones in the Positional Words Resource Box by Lakeshore Learning and the Hello Sunshine Game by Think Fun (both are fabulous visual ways to teach kids about prepositions & spatial concepts). The cards are color coded (10 brown for the puppy, 10 purple for the monkey, 5 orange for the car & 5 green for the frog) and the preposition is in that same color to make it stand out from the rest of the text.

Boardmaker version: http://br.boardmakershare.com/Activity/1913675/Puppys-Home-Prepositions-and-Spatial-Concepts-O
PDF version: Puppy’s Home Prepositions and Spatial Concepts – made by Angela Moorad, MS, CCC-SLP, OMazing Kids

Tip: Leave the cards attached in the middle, fold on the line, put a tiny dab of glue stick under the edge and then laminate the cards.

I bought my Puppy’s Activity Home during a recent online sale at Toys ‘R Us: http://t.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=30499426 and bought the monkey & car set on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Laugh-Learn-Monkeys-Learning/dp/B00FNMNLD8

I am continuing to share FREE printable resources like this on my blog in the hopes that I inspire other speechies to do the same. There are tons of SLP blogs now but most are primarily geared towards selling their TPT products.

A peek at the apps currently in the “prepositions” folder on my iPad.

I love the Hello Sunshine game. Unfortunately it appears that it is no longer readily available …. definitely worth adding to your list of things to look for at garage sales or thrift shops.

The Positional Words Resource Box is a “must have” for any SLP working with kids. It briefly went off the market so I grabbed mine as soon as I saw it was back.

UPDATE: Head over to this new post for free printable Puppy’s Pronouns & Sentence Building Cards.

‪#‎SLPbloggers‬ ‪#‎BHSM‬ ‪#‎BHSM2016‬

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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/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/amoorad
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/amoorad1
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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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Five Count Breathing Foam Stars Craft

Posted on October 19, 2013 by OMazing Kids

How to make:

1. Print the star (1 page PDF) & cut it out leaving a small border of white.

2. Laminate & cut it out again leaving a small border of lamination to help it stay sealed.

3. Attach to foam star with permanent glue runner tape.

(I tried Superglue, Zots adhesive dots & glue runner tape. Superglue did not work well at all. Zots were difficult to position. The permanent glue runner tape worked well. I outlined the back of the laminated star and then put some in the middle before rubbing it down onto the foam star)

4. Kids can decorate the back of their foam star by drawing a picture of something that is calming to them.

Thanks to Edna Reinhardt at Yoga Education Resources for sparking the idea of mounting them on something so the kids can run their finger along the edges of the star as they practice the breathing. I went with foam stars since they are soft, colorful & precut.

I reconfigured and resized the printable to fit the 6.75” foam stars from Creatology at Michaels. I have seen similar stars at Walmart.

This is a wonderful self-calming breathing activity for kids with Autism Spectrum Disorders, anxiety, stuttering & other special needs.

Looking for the full page breathing star printable? See the original post: Five Count Breathing Visual Support

Concept inspired by this handout I found online about “Worry Wars: An Anxiety Workbook for Kids and Their Helpful Adults!” by Paris Goodyear-Brown: http://bookwhen.s3.amazonaws.com/assets/documents/4140/original.pdf?1360464416.

#pranayama #breathing #anxiety #autism #kidsyoga #yogaforkids

More ideas in these albums on the OMazing Kids Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.344029728981372.95741.174264525957894&type=3

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.343461705704841.95556.174264525957894&type=3

Angela Moorad, MS, CCC-SLP, IAYT, RCYP-2

Speech-Language Pathologist

Founder of OMazing Kids, LLC – inclusive wellness activities for kids of all abilities

Radiant Child Yoga Certified – Levels 1 & 2

E-Mail: amoorad1@juno.com

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Blog: http://omazingkidsllc.com

OMazing Kids LLC is an organization that promotes inclusive wellness activities for kids of all abilities. The blog and social media pages share information about books, DVD’s, CD’s, games and other products specifically designed for kids wellness, mindfulness and relaxation, product reviews & giveaways, lesson plan & activity ideas, research, kids wellness in the news and a connection corner with listings of individuals doing adapted yoga and those offering trainings.

NOTE: Please ignore any ads that appear below the crayons divider bar or any ads or unusual hyperlinks that may appear above. This is a free blog site & I have no control over ads appearing here. I have attempted to remove the CouponDropDown but no luck so far…. DO NOT click on any hyperlinks unless you hover above them first to insure they are valid. Ones I included should appear in blue font.

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Five Count Breathing Visual Support

Posted on October 5, 2013 by OMazing Kids

The kids I work with at the J.D McCarty Center needed a little more support to understand the steps in Five Count Breathing. So I made this visual support using a combination of Boardmaker & MS Word.

The free printable 1-page PDF is saved on my OMazing Kids blog at: https://omazingkidsyoga.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/five-count-breathing-visual-support.pdf.

It’s a wonderful self-calming activity for kids with Autism Spectrum Disorders, anxiety, stuttering & other special needs.

Inspired by this handout I found online about “Worry Wars: An Anxiety Workbook for Kids and Their Helpful Adults!” by Paris Goodyear-Brown: http://bookwhen.s3.amazonaws.com/assets/documents/4140/original.pdf?1360464416.