My client, M. was recently diagnosed with learning disability and he has language and articulation problems. He is 6 years old and has been in speech therapy since 2005.
Previous clinicians mostly worked on M.’s articulation errors. He has problems with /l/ in all positions of words. I’ve been working on his /l/ in initial and medial positions of words during this semester using, the fishing game or picture cards.
I have been mostly focusing on M’s language this semester. We have been working on sentence- story comprehension, finding the main idea of the passage, and talking about a specific topic, to improve his language skills. We also work on following the directions, sequencing and the use of basic concepts. I read him a different book every session, and use picture cards for finding the main idea and talking about a topic. It’s sometimes hard for him to concentrate and comprehend the sentences, so, I always try to direct his attention toward the activity and trying to improve his listening skills. I also ask him questions about the stories or passages, to pressure him to listen and find the right answer and also explain if he can’t find the right answer and have him repeat it to help him comprehend the subject. For following sequential directions with basic concepts, we use worksheets and sometimes oriental directions for him to carry the information through his daily life. I basically give him sequential directions and make him do exactly what I said. Research support the widely use of following the sequential directions, asking questions and explaining facts about topics.
I believe M is improving in some ways. My supervisor supports the techniques and the activities I use with him and she believes we have a good interaction. M loves all kinds of activities and he’s such a great client to work with.
Bunce, B. Referential Communication Skills: Guidelines for Therapy. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 22, 296-301.
1 comment:
Oya,
Your therapy sounds like it's going very well! I am also using some of these same techniques with my client, such as teaching the spatial concepts and following directions. I use alot of worksheets to help with spatial concepts. I have found that playing Twister is a great way to elict responses for following two step directions AND spatial concepts!
I don't have any experience with artic yet or with the language component of sentence-story comprehension. It sounds like you are making alot of progress with your client though!
The article I found demonstrated the significant improvement that children with learning disabilities made while being taught referential communication tasks.
Bunce, B. H. (1989). Using a barrier game format to improve children's referential communication skills. The Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 54(1). 33-43. Retrieved April 13th, 2008 from EBSCOhost database.
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