My Little Farm!

E-I-E-I-O! It's that time of year for a farm theme! One of my favorite themes to use in therapy is a farm theme. The books and the activities are so much fun. This year I added a new toy to my bag of farm themed tricks and I am so excited to share it with you!

My Little Farm is a felt farm house that my students have been having so much fun with. If you remember a blog post from a few years ago, I went on and on about how I loved using My Little House in therapy. (You can check that post out here.) My Little Farm is created by the same SLP and it is just as adorable. 

 You can use it as a flat lay activity or velcro it together as a 3 dimensional farm house! The farm is reversible. One side looks like a red barn and the other is an interactive farm scene. Part of the farm scene is purposely left open ended while the other allows for matching activities. There are over 30 people, animals, and farm equipment felt pieces to play with. This has been such a fun way to elicit expressive language with open, imaginative play. But the pieces are also fun to use for category sorting, vocabulary,  object function, and pronoun activities.

 Recently I have been using the farm to target answering WH-questions, specifically where and who. Last week we even created a whole story with characters, a setting, and a sequence of events with this farm. My older students got to work on their writing and retelling skills while creating their own story. Any time you can switch up activities to work on the same skills, it is a huge win in my eyes!

 As a traveling SLP, I love that this can be folded flat and easily carried in and out of therapy settings. It also takes up minimal room in my trunk which is important these days! My Little Farm comes in a box with a handle that makes it very convenient to carry in and out of homes and schools. This would be a perfect addition to a therapist's therapy tool collection, a classroom or birthday gift.  It would also be a great purchase by a parent so they could have some fun with language at home!  To learn more about My Little Farm or to purchase your own, click here to visit the SmartFelt Toys website.  Use code: SIMPLYSPEECH at checkout for free shipping!

Thank you My Little Farm for sponsoring this post!

Photos by: Erika Johnson Photography

How I Use FORBRAIN in Speech Therapy!

Auditory feedback is something I have always used in my speech sessions. I often record a student during their session so they can go back and listen to their own productions (some of my favorite apps have a recording feature!) But one of my favorite tools to use was always a whisper phone. You know, those pvc phones or Toobaloos that students can use to hear their own speech. The idea behind these tools is that a child's speech will be enhanced when they can hear their own speech. Once a child can discriminate if their own productions are correct, their speech can greatly improve. 

Recently I learned about a product called Forbrain. Forbrain is an auditory feedback headset that uses bone conduction to transmit the user's own voice with greater clarity than air conduction (like when using a whisper phone). The instant feedback encourages the student to make changes in their speech sound productions (voicing, placement, manner, etc.) When the student can clearly hear their own productions, they are more likely to discriminate right vs wrong productions in their own speech. 

The suggested use of this product is 15 minutes a day for 6-10 weeks. Of course, I don't see my students every day, so I am not able to follow this protocol exactly. But I do use it for the bulk of our therapy sessions, 2-3 times a week for each student. In my therapy sessions, I usually do an auditory bombardment activity for the first few minutes before we dive into the student’s productions. I have them put the headset on as they practice their target speech skills. We have constant dialogue throughout the session as the child and I both discuss what they’re hearing and how they feel their speech sounds are being produced.  I have been loving the results I am getting in my own therapy sessions. The kids are really responding to it and becoming more aware of their own speech. 

My students love using this! They don’t want to take it off when the session ends because they really do look super cool wearing the headset. Even my own children have been enjoying Forbrain. Kenzie loves putting it on and singing or reading. She says she feels like a rock star! 

There has been a lot of research done on Forbrain with more than just speech students- stroke patients, stuttering, auditory processing, memory, reading, and comprehension. You can check out all the studies, here. 
If you are interested in purchasing your own Forbrain headset, use this link to get 10% off your order!

This post was sponsored by FORBRAIN. While they did provide me with a headset in exchange for a review, all opinions expressed in this blog post are my own. 

Photo credit: Erika Johnson Photography

Shop by BECK

Happy Wednesday! How was your weekend? Ours was busy! Kenzie had her birthday and first dance competition. Followed by a weekend surprise to LegoLand! I wanted to share an adorable online shop with you all called By BECK. By BECK is run by 3 adorable sisters and moms, one is a fellow SLP! Their clothes are affordable and super cute. They have perfect work outfits and casual weekend wear. (Spoiler alert: there's a coupon code at the bottom of this post!)

My style is super casual, so I was immediately drawn to the tees! This 'Easy Like Sunday Morning' tee was just released yesterday! It's very soft and the color is gorgeous. You can grab it, here!

I love this 'Weekend Good Vibes' tee. It's a thick enough material for a white tee that you don't need to wear anything under it. 

Ok so this is for all my fellow moms loving the one piece bathing suits! I ordered this Sadie suit and I am obsessed! It's made with a very good, thick bathing suit material, so it's very slimming. I am very picky about the tops on bathing suits, I don't have much up there, but after kids, I am so conscious of bending over. This top is perfect. It's very fitting and has adjustable straps. I felt very confident in it- even chasing the kids around! The back has the most adorable detail! You can check it out here.

I am always happy to support fellow moms in their business adventures(especially if one is an SLP!), so make sure you check them out. From April 29-May 4, if you use the code: SIMPLYSPEECH you get 10% off your order (and always free shipping!)