Questions Hunt {App Review}

Appy Monday! Today I have a new app to share with you from Virtual Speech Center! I am pretty excited about this one because I don't know one SLP that has a caseload void of a goal regarding asking or answering questions. This seems to be something we all work on. Speaking personally, I know I can always use a fun new way to target this goal. 

Disclaimer: VSC did provide me with a copy of this app, however, all opinions expressed in this review are my own.

When you first open the app, you are brought to the screen shown above. Here is where you can adjust the settings, get information on the app, access student reports, or simply start the app. To begin, click on start.You are then brought to a page where you can add/choose the students you will be working with. I really love apps that allow for multiple users at a time, and this app is one of them. After you choose your student(s), you are then prompted to choose what type of questions (yes/no, what, where, who, when, why, how) as well as well as the scene the questions will be presented at (beach, park, store, airport, school, camping) My students really enjoy choosing their own scenes!

The student who's turn it is will have his/her name presented at the top of the screen. In the picture above, the airport scene was chosen. The student is to click on the question marks. Each question mark will prompt the student with a question. Another thing I really like about this app is the option to change the questions from receptive to expressive by clicking on the green box at the top of the screen.

Example of a WHY question in the fishing scene. 

Example of a YES/NO question in the beach scene. 

Example of a WHEN question in the school scene. 

When you are finished, you can access the students' individual reports. There is an option to email the report. I like this option for quick and valuable communication with both parents and teachers.

My students and I have both really enjoyed this app. I love that there is a wide range of questions available- with both a receptive and expressive option. I have used this app for both practice on answering questions as well as an assessment tool to see progress with answering different types of questions. The graphics are colorful and inviting and price is very fair. If you are looking for a new fun way to target answering questions, I would absolutely recommend this app!

You can learn more about this app and download a copy in the iTunes store, here!

Hanging out with the News Crew!

If you follow me on Instagram (@simply_speech) you probably have seen several pictures of me getting crafty with some friends at my favorite place, Aerie Lane. Last week, I headed over to Aerie Lane to help film a segment called, Gayle's Guide to Pinterest. Gayle Guyardo is a local news broadcaster here in Florida. For a few months now she has been featuring fun Pinterest crafts, recipes, and ideas once a week. I was more than excited to participate in this feature and make a burlap wreath for one of her segments. While there, I was asked if I wanted to film a few segments myself. Well, sure I would! I love Pinterest!! Actually my nerves were freaking out, but I agreed anyway. So on Tuesday, she came over and we filmed 2 segments. One of them was on DIY Baby Wipes and aired on Wednesday and the second was on Crock Pot Cheeseburgers and will air in 2 weeks. 

If you have a little one, you have probably heard about the concern a lot of parents have right now with Huggies wipes. Some parents have found what they think is fiberglass in their wipes. Huggies insists that it is not fiberglass but the way their fibers form when making the wipes. Either way, sharp particles in a wipe is not ok. When I had Kenzie a few years ago, I came across a pin for DIY baby wipes. When I checked it out, I realized I had all of the ingredients in my house already, so I gave it a try!

To make the wipes, here is what you need:

• 1 roll of paper towels (use the good ones, the cheap wipes will disintegrate)
• 1 cup of water
• 1 tablespoon baby wash
• 1/2 tablespoon baby oil
• knife (big one, like scary big!)
• container
• measuring cup
• cutting board

Making your own wipes will save you a ton of money and give you the peace of mind knowing exactly what is in the wipes you use on your little one. Plus, they smell amazing.

You can check out the Channel 8 News Segment below!

Helping Your Child with Extreme Picky Eating {A Book Review}

If I were in charge of deciding what classes graduate students had to take, I would make a few changes. Feeding therapy is a part of our job description- as well as possibly the most dangerous if not done correctly. The need for feeding therapists seems to be growing, however, there are hardly any classes available for students on this topic. Over the past year I have worked with more children with feeding aversions than ever before. Even in my "mommy circles" I hear parents all the time talk about how picky their children are about food, how dinner time is a constant struggle, and the stress that it brings on their families. I was thrilled when I met fellow SLP, Jenny McGlothlin in a Facebook group and heard about her book, Helping Your Child with Extreme Picky Eating. Written by a medical doctor and an SLP, this is a step-by-step guide for overcoming selective eating, food aversion, and feeding disorders. 

I was provided a copy of this book for the review; however, all opinions expressed are my own. 

This book is an incredible tool for both parents and therapists. As I was reading it, I pictured many of my clients as well as my own daughter as specific scenarios were described. Jenny and Katja do a great job using parent friendly language as they describe the 5 steps to helping your child- from decreasing anxiety at meal times to how to serve meals to your child. 

One of my most favorite parts of the book is that they provide suggestions for exercises you as a parent or therapist should do to put your self in the child's shoes. You don't always realize how stressful having someone feed you can be until you try it. 

I could relate to so many scenarios described in the book and absolutely loved the suggestions that came along with them. One that I literally said "Yes!" out loud  to was: the more you say, the more your child will argue. Amen! I have seen so many parents, and I am definitely guilty of this as well, try to convince their child to eat by persuading, bargaining, and telling them how yummy the food is. Sometimes if you just put the food on the plate and don't say anything about it, your child may try it on their own. Bringing too much attention to a food can backfire. 

I would highly recommend this book to parents of children that are extremely picky eaters. It provides so much information, in a step-by-step format for parents without being overwhelming. Kudos to Katja Rowell and Jenny McGlothlin on creating a wonderful tool! 

You can purchase a copy of the book from Amazon!

Check out their website at: www.extremepickyeating.com 

Back-2-Speech Parent Letters!

Hey there! Guess what? Today is Simply Speech's 4th Bloggy Birthday. I can't believe I have been blogging, networking, making friends, and sharing ideas for 4 years now. As a thank you for all of the support I am hosting a giveaway on Instagram today and tomorrow. Nothing fancy, just a few of my favorite things that will help you get ready to go back to school: pens, binder clips, chalkboard speech bubble labels, eos lip balm, hand sanitizer, binder rings (for all those flash cards!), and a zip drive FULL of TpT products from some of my favorite SLP TpTers!

To enter, follow me on Instagram @Simply_Speech

Speaking of getting back to school… are you yet? I left the school system 3 year ago and I continue to miss the first few days of school every year. It was always fun setting up my room, seeing co-workers again, and call me a nerd all you want, I actually enjoy staff meetings. A few years ago I posed about a back to school parent letter I liked to send home to my students' families. I have gotten so many re-pins on Pinterest and emails requesting an updated version of the letter. I was thrilled to know that you all were interested in it, so I created 4 new letter templates and they are editable! You can download this freebie from my Teachers Pay Teachers store, here!