Party Time Bingo won a PAL Award!

Party Time Bingo won a PAL Award!

We are honoured that Party Animals! has joined prestigious toy manufacturers such as Ravensburger and Blue Orange Games in receiving a PAL award!  ...

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Kickstarter Words!

Kickstarter Words!

If you are not familiar with Kickstarter, it's a bit of a new world! To that end, I'm compiling a list of Kickstarter Words to help navigate and de...

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What is Kickstarter?

What is Kickstarter?

Our social media and website has been abuzz with Kickstarter talk over the past few months, and all the excitement is really revving up as we are l...

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A raccoon is holding a balloon with the  letter R beside a cartoon of a tongue with a knot. The text reads: Can my student with a tongue tie learn to say their R sound?

Do tongue ties affect acquisition of the R sound?

I wondered whether the tongue tie could affect the R production. To answer this question, I reached out to Dr. Jonathan Preston,  Associate Professor at Syracuse University whose team had published an outstanding tutorial on treating R. 

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We did it! ASHA 2022

We did it! ASHA 2022

I am still literally and figuratively unpacking the exhilarating blur that was the 2022 ASHA convention! Hands down - as per my last blog post - ...

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Principles of Motor Learning: Massed vs. Distributed Practice

Principles of Motor Learning: Massed vs. Distributed Practice

This post is part of a series on Principles of Motor Learning, and will highlight the Practice Conditions: Massed vs. Distributed Practice.

Principles of Motor Learning (PMLs) refers to patterns of learning that have emerged from research into human movement. The bulk of this research has evolved from disciplines outside of Speech-Language Pathology (e.g. exercise and sport), and the research within our field though growing, is still in its very early stages. Nevertheless, PMLs are increasingly being investigated as they apply to speech therapy in the hopes that a solid understanding of PMLs can help Speech-Language Pathologists optimize their work with patients/clients struggling with motor speech challenges, such as Childhood Apraxia of Speech. Dr. Edwin Maas has been at the forefront of synthesizing the applications of PML research to Speech-Language Pathology. He has an excellent video on the Apraxia Kids On-Demand Webinars library, and his team's tutorial on Principles of Motor Learning in the Treatment of Motor Speech Disorders is published in Volume 17 of the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. This blog post series will summarize some of the key PMLs has outlined in those sources.

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Top Ten Books To Help Kids Learn To Say The "F" Sound

Top Ten Books To Help Kids Learn To Say The "F" Sound

Books are an incredible tool for speech practice. They inherently add a literacy component, create context and help make sessions novel and motivating week to week. Here are my TOP TEN favorite books for working on the lips-to-teeth movement (aka labiodental control) for F (/f/).

 

When introducing a new movement, my mantra is fewer targets and more repetitions. This means initially I am looking for books with opportunities for a LOT of repetition of a few target words. I am also very mindful of the vowel context - particularly with children who have childhood apraxia of speech. I consider what I call a "speech compass" as I'm selecting targets.

 

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