Bloghttp://www.kidzspeechllc.com/imported-20101008192516/2010-10-21T15:15:33ZSquarespacehttp://www.kidzspeechllc.com/imported-20101008192516/2010/1/22/playing-pirates-with-my-daughter-my-lesson-in-mindfulness.htmlKirsten Cerroni2010-01-22T04:01:47Z2010-01-22T04:01:47Z

mindful. To be more present in my life.  So I say outloud, "I am playing pirates with my daughter." And I start to cry. And I am the best pirate I can be.  And 4 year-old daughter loved it.  And it only lasted for about 3 minutes, before she wanted to go home. Thank God I was able to enjoy it. And guess what? The to-do list never got done. And it was OK. I got to play pirates with my daughter.  How lucky am I?]]>

http://www.kidzspeechllc.com/imported-20101008192516/2009/10/5/1-in-91-children-now-diagnosed-with-autism.htmlKirsten Cerroni2009-10-05T16:13:31Z2009-10-05T16:13:31Z

http://www.autism-society.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=20686.0&printer_friendly=1]]>

http://www.kidzspeechllc.com/imported-20101008192516/2009/9/19/momlogic-drcara.htmlKirsten Cerroni2009-09-19T19:43:42Z2009-09-19T19:43:42Z

http://www.momlogic.com/my_momlogic/dr_cara/]]>

http://www.kidzspeechllc.com/imported-20101008192516/2009/9/4/specs-for-us-home.htmlKirsten Cerroni2009-09-04T21:54:15Z2009-09-04T21:54:15Z

Specs For Us]]>

http://www.kidzspeechllc.com/imported-20101008192516/2009/9/3/saras-feeding-and-speech-thoughts-the-sippy-cup-issue.htmlKirsten Cerroni2009-09-03T03:08:09Z2009-09-03T03:08:09Z

Sara's Feeding and Speech Thoughts: The Sippy Cup Issue]]>

http://www.kidzspeechllc.com/imported-20101008192516/2009/9/3/get-your-kids-to-say-what-they-want-part-2.htmlKirsten Cerroni2009-09-03T03:05:08Z2009-09-03T03:05:08Z

http://www.kidzspeechllc.com/imported-20101008192516/2009/8/31/give-kids-the-tools-to-say-what-they-want.htmlKirsten Cerroni2009-08-31T00:01:22Z2009-08-31T00:01:22Z

"Ohhh! You want a cookie! 'Tell me 'cookie please!'"

"If you want a turn, ask 'Can I have a turn now?"

"Uhuh, we don't take toys. If you want it, say 'can I see your toy please?' And you have to wait for her to give it to you"

"If you want to stay, you can tell me 'Can I please stay?'"

These are just a few examples. But learning to use language (i.e. pragmatic language), is such an important part of our children's development. Very often we as parents expect our children to behave a certain way, and we are shocked when they don't. But children can't do what they haven't been taught.  We can't expect our children to know how to ask for a toy if we've never told them how.  When a child is able to appropriately communicate, frustration decreases, parents are happier, and the child feels good about themselves. Sounds good to me!]]>

http://www.kidzspeechllc.com/imported-20101008192516/2009/8/27/my-new-favorite-gadgets.htmlKirsten Cerroni2009-08-27T03:27:43Z2009-08-27T03:27:43Z

flip video camera. I use this EVERY SINGLE DAY, both in therapy, and on the golf course! It's very small, and you can keep it in your purse.  Here are some not-so-typical ideas on how to use your Flip! 1. Use as video models for your clients with autism (many children with autism learn so much more from watching a video) 2. You can use your Flip camera with your articulation clients:

• Make video CD's of practice words for your clients
• Use for immediate feedback and self-assessment

3. You can use your Flip camera to videotape language samples during your assessments 4. Oh yes, the golf course :) I've used it to review my swing to see what the @*% I am doing wrong before I ruin my whole round!]]>

http://www.kidzspeechllc.com/imported-20101008192516/2009/8/26/the-remark-abilities-of-people-with-autism.htmlKirsten Cerroni2009-08-26T22:37:43Z2009-08-26T22:37:43Z

Autism Therapy and Speech Delays Shared via AddThis]]>

http://www.kidzspeechllc.com/imported-20101008192516/2009/7/20/10-tips-to-raise-good-eaters.htmlKirsten Cerroni2009-07-20T03:42:32Z2009-07-20T03:42:32Z

Ellyn Satter talks about  the "division of responsibility: Parents ...are responsible for preparing and providing a balanced meal at an appropriate schedule and setting. The child is solely responsible for whether they eat and how much they eat."  Children are born with the awareness of what they need to eat. Forcing your child to finish what is on his plate teaches the child to overeat when he is full. 4. Do not bribe a child with dessert. This teaches him that the dessert is a desirable food and what is on his plate is undesirable.              5. Do not remove a new food that is on his plate.  This reinforces to him that the food is “yucky” and shouldn’t be on his plate.  6. Eliminate food grazing.  Set up a timer and schedule if necessary to establish regular meal times. If your child doesn't eat much for lunch for example, the next "meal" is snack time at 2:00. This avoids having the child ask  for a "snack" immediately after a meal in which he didn't eat very much. If necessary, a "time timer" may be useful to provide a visual representation of how much time they have to wait. TimeTimer  7. Make sure child has a comfortable chair to sit in which supports the feet. Most high chairs and boosters do not support a child's feet.  How comfortable are you sitting on a stool with your feet dangling? If your child has proper seating at the table, he is more willing to stay at the table. 8. Have another "rule" that if children are finished, they must still sit at the table until the rest of the children (or adults, if you  prefer) are done.  This allows the food to remain in front of the child for a longer time as he waits for the other people to be finished. If the food is still there, he may eat more instead of rushing off to play. (Some children are in the habit of eating as little as possible as fast as possible so they can return to playing.  This "rule" helps to avoid this).  9.  Expose the child to food as much as possible.  If we cater to child’s pickiness, we keep them from being exposed to different foods, thus making the child even pickier. It may take up to 10-15 presentations of a food before the child will accept it. 10. Don't stress.  Mealtimes should be a pleasant experience for you and your child. If they don't eat much at this meal, the next one is not far off.  For more information, please visit the following resources: Just Take A Bite: Easy, Effective Answers to Food Aversions and Eating Challenges!(2004). Lori Ernsperger, Ph.D. and Tania Stegen-Hanson, OTR/L,  Future Horizons. How to Get Your Kids to Eat, But Not Too Much, (1987). E. Satter, Bull Publishing. Secrets of Feeding a Healthy Family, (1999). E. Satter, Kelcy Press. Happy Meals!]]>