When students engage in challenging behaviors it can be frustrating, confusing, and elicit other unwanted feelings. At times these feelings may interfere with our ability to look at the behaviors with clear eyes and ask: Why is this behavior happening? To answer this question and understand the behavior, one must consider a few fundamental concepts …
What are milestones? Milestones are skills and behaviors that children gain as they grow up and continue to develop! Milestones are broken up into “stages” and/or “age ranges” because all children hit milestones at slightly different times. Language milestones include articulation, receptive language, expressive language, social communication, cognitive-communication, and literacy expectations. It’s important to remember …
Using visuals at home is an effective and costless way to improve children’s speech and language skills and abilities. Visual aids have been shown to help advance communication. Visual aids can be broken down into any object that is viewed – it could be an object, picture, or sign. Visual aids can fall under the …
Social communication is essential for everyday life to build social relationships and express unmet needs. For youth having difficulties with self-expression, it can be emotionally overwhelming, leading to frustrations, socially inappropriate behavior, and refusing or ignoring requests. Try Social Stories In Ghurair and Alnaqi (2020) research, they utilized a technique called Social Stories that uses …
Even though the start of a new school year is an exciting time for many students, there are several important habits to establish at home to promote success. By following these simple tips, students will maximize their chance to succeed both in school and during non-school-related activities. Nutrition Breakfast: Don’t let your kids skip breakfast in …
Ahh, the magical world of art– painting, drawing, music, coloring, the list goes on and on. The most magical part about art, though, is that it is good for the mind, body, and spirit. In middle school, I remember being most excited for art. I was, by no means, a “good” artist, but that did …
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the world as we knew it. Almost everything that was once done in person, in groups is now done remotely. There is no question that this was initially stressful for students, parents and educators. We want everyone to be safe, but how can teaching be effective through the computer? In order …
Many students, no matter their age, may be anxious about learning or associate it with boredom. For students of all ages, fun, productive stimulation should be involved in the classroom (Lucardie, 2014). It is easier by nature to add “fun” games to younger students’ classrooms. As children age, the less fun and fewer games there …
At iCan Dream Center’s Afterschool Program, we acknowledge the importance of allowing our students to take a break in a fun and interactive way. As our students begin to arrive at the program from a long and busy day at school, they enter our building ready to have some fun. Staff members rotate through a …
Every child has a unique way of understanding the world around them. Play allows children to learn, develop new skills and express their feelings in unique and fun ways. Did you know that play can also be a form of therapy? Therapy can be helpful throughout different stages of life for children, including for children …
