Tag Archives: language development

Pick of the Week: Clue Cards – 5 games in one to teach socioemotional skills

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Clue Cards teaches students how to interpret social situations, read facial expressions, and understand metaphorical forms of speech. This week, you can save 15%* on Clue Cards – just enter promo code CLUECARDS when you check out online! Play 5 different games to teach inferencing, faces and feelings, body language, exploring Wh- questions, and a variety of common idioms!

Therapists, teachers and parents can uses the cards and games included in this set to help students perceive and understand the details of social presentation. Because the cards are flexible and adaptable, they can be used with both younger and older children, with mild or sever socioemotional difficulties. There are instructions for 5 different games along with 100 reward chips, targeted for players ages 6–16.

  1. Get a Clue: Players find “clues” in social situations and make inferences based on those clues (15 Social Situation Cards).
  2. Faces and Feelings: Link expressions with associated emotions (20 Feeling Cards, 20 Faces Cards).
  3. Body Language: Matching photos and captions, children explore body language for clues about thoughts and feelings (24 Photo Cards, 24 Caption Cards).
  4. The 5 W’s: Analyze 10 social scenes by asking “who-what-where-when-why” questions (10 Social Scene Cards, 1 Spinner).
  5. In Other Words: Learn the idioms and proverbs that often pop up in social conversation (30 Idiom Cards, 30 Idiom Definition Cards, 26 Proverb Cards, 26 Proverb Definition Cards).

*Offer lasts through March 1, 2016 at 11:59 PM EST. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code CLUECARDS at check-out! Not valid on past purchases.

Pick of the Week: Wh- Question ConversaCards

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Encourage discussion and critical thinking in students with these decks of Wh- Question ConversaCards. This week, you can also save 15%* on your order of any or all of these sets. Just use promo code WHCARDS when you check out online or over the phone!

Covering 6 different topics – Where Does It Go, What Happened, What Comes Next, What Do You Do With It, What Do You Need, and What Do You Like – each set comes with 54 cards and a Resource Guide containing helpful strategies and suggestions for prompts. Learning to respond to “what” and “where” questions is the foundation of conversation and expressive language. These flashcards can be used to teach sequencing, storytelling and logical thinking for a wide range of ability levels!

Don’t forget to use our promo code WHCARDS to take 15% off* when you order your set(s) of Wh- Question ConversaCards this week!

*Offer is valid through February 16, 2016. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code WHCARDS at check-out! Call our customer service team at (800) 853-1057 with inquiries.

Pick of the Week: Rainbow Sorting Crayons

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These charming giant crayons contain 48 different manipulatives sorted by color that can be used to teach patterns, counting, colors, and more. This week, we’re also letting you save 15% on  your set of the Rainbow Sorting Crayons – just apply our promo code CRAYONS when you check out online!

There are 8 cardboard crayon-shaped tubes with plastic lids. Use the manipulatives for teaching patterning, counting, color identification, 2-D to 3-D matching, and language development to young learners. The best part is that the crayons serve as built-in storage so cleanup is a cinch!

Don’t forget to use our promo code CRAYONS at check-out this week to save 15% on your set of the Rainbow Sorting Crayons.

*Offer is valid for one-time use through February 9, 2016 at 11:59pm EST. Promotion does not apply to past purchases. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code CRAYONS at check-out. Call our friendly customer service team at (800) 853-1057 with any inquiries.

Pick of the Week: Save 15% on ALL of our Emotions Flashcards!

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Emotions language cards are great tools for teaching language and facial expressions in a variety of contexts to young learners. Promote discussion about a range of emotions, why people may feel a certain way, and possible responses to these feelings with our collection of emotions flash cards.

This week, you can also save 15% on any of these Emotions flashcards sets. Just enter our promo code EMOTIONS when you check out online.

>>> View our entire sale here. <<<

*Offer is valid for one-time use through February 2, 2016 at 11:59pm EST. Promotion does not apply to past purchases. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code EMOTIONS at check-out. Call our friendly customer service team at (800) 853-1057 with any inquiries.

“Increasing Articulation in Children with Autism” by Tracie Lindblad

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Following our last feature on guided playdates, we’ve partnered with the Association for Science in Autism Treatment (ASAT) again this week to bring you an article by Tracie Lindblad, Reg. CASLPO (SLP), MS, MEd, BCBA, on increasing speech intelligibility in children with autism. To learn more about ASAT, please visit their website at www.asatonline.org. You can also sign up for ASAT’s free newsletter, Science in Autism Treatment, and like them on Facebook!

How do you increase speech intelligibility (articulation skills) or the variability in the sounds produced by children with autism spectrum disorders?
Answered by Tracie L. Lindblad, Reg. CASLPO (SLP), MS, MEd, BCBA
Approximately 30–50% of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) remain minimally verbal throughout their lives, with little or no functional speech (National Institutes of Health & National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, 2010; Johnson, 2004; Mirenda, 2003). These individuals may rely on more effortful modes of communication such as reaching for desired items, taking another’s hand to gain access, or obtaining the item independent of communication. Attempts to communicate may also take the form of challenging behaviours such as aggression, self-injury, and tantrums.

Parents face a difficult task in choosing a treatment for minimally verbal children with ASD because a wide range of techniques are routinely used by speech-language pathologists and behaviour analysts with varying degrees of success and evidence.

The following table highlights some of the most-commonly implemented interventions to target speech skills and the current evidence base for each.

Increasing Articulation Table 1Increasing Articulation Table 2

Within the fields of behaviour analysis and speech pathology, evidence-based practice (EBP) should shape and guide our treatment decisions. EBP is the integration of:

  • external scientific evidence,
  • clinical expertise/expert opinion, and
  • client/patient/caregiver perspectives.

Principles of EBP can help any professional to provide high-quality services which reflect the interests, values, needs, and choices of the individuals, and promote the best outcomes possible with the current evidence to date. Continue reading →

Pick of the Week: 120 Pronoun Fill-In Sentence Cards

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I or me? We or us? He or him? Which pronoun should you use in this sentence? The 120 Pronoun Fill-In Sentence Cards present 120 fill-in-the-blank, illustrated sentence cards to help students learn the proper use of subjective, objective, possessive, and reflexive pronouns. This week, save 15%* on the 120 Pronoun Fill-In Sentence Cards. Just use promo code PRONOUN at check-out!

With this deck, players read the cards and then choose the pronouns that match the illustrations. Players can also use the pronoun cue cards to help them select the correct pronouns. The set includes: 30 Subjective Cards, 30 Objective Cards, 30 Possessive Cards, 30 Reflexive Cards, and 5 Cue Cards.

Each of the 125 cards measures 3″ x 4″ and the deck comes with game ideas and an answer key, all in a sturdy tin. Don’t forget to use our promo code PRONOUN to take 15% off* your order of the 120 Pronoun Fill-In Sentence Cards this week!

*Offer is valid until 11:59pm EST on October 27th, 2015. Not compatible with any other offers. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code at checkout!

Pick of the Week: Auditory Memory for Short Stories

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Listen to short, silly stories like “Aunt Pat’s Hat,” “Hannah’s Bananas,” or “Ollie the Octopus,” and then answer questions about each story. These 51 illustrated cards provide a novel and engaging approach to improving your students’ auditory memory skills. This week, save 15%* when you order Auditory Memory for Short Stories by applying our promo code STORIES at checkout!

One side of each card shows an illustration and title, while the reverse presents the story along with three questions. The deck also includes game ideas and 5 open-ended “Wh” topic picture cards to help learners make up their own stories and questions. Cards measure 2½” x 3½” and come in a sturdy tin.

Don’t forget to use our promo code STORIES at check-out this week to save 15%* on Auditory Memory for Short Stories!

*Offer is valid until 11:59pm EST on September 29th, 2015. Not compatible with any other offers. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code at checkout!

Pick of the Week: Special Savings on Hooray for Play! Activity Cards

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Pretend play offers children an opportunity for perspective taking, problem solving, cooperation, social emotional skill acquisition and language development. Children learn through their experiences and what better way to engage in the largest possible array of activities than through pretend play? For a special price of $12.95 only $4.95, you can get your set of Hooray for Play! and start off the school year with endless learning opportunities through play.

Hooray for Play! is a multi-use deck of 31 beautifully hand-drawn cards that can be implemented initially by parents and educators as an instructional tool and later used by learners independently. This week, we’re offering Hooray for Play! at a special price of only $4.95. No promo code necessary. Get your set of Hooray for Play! at a discounted price while stock lasts!

Hooray for Play! breaks down the components of the 31 individual play schema cards into the three organized sections that provide a memorable framework for sociodramatic play. The Do! Section explains the various roles, Say!! outlines possible scripted statements by the involved actors and Play!!! offers suggestions for props and set-up. An additional card in the set offers suggestions for use that guides users through creative steps in reinforcing learning and play skills.

Get your deck of Hooray for Play! at only $4.95 this week and start making playtime a rewarding and educational experience for your students! Have fun!

Pick of the Week: Who, What, When, Where, Why Wh- Question ColorCards

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Who works here? Why might they be laughing? When do you eat at the table? Use this set of 36 Wh- Question ColorCards and unlock opportunities to discover, understand, and practice Wh-questions. This week only, take 15%* off your set of the Wh- Question ColorCards; just use promo code WHCARDS at check-out!

The ColorCards feature vivid photos of scenarios that allow for multiple opportunities to develop this key skill. These cards can be used in group or one-to-one settings, and come with a booklet with sample Wh- questions to ask for each of the images depicted.

Don’t forget – you can save 15%* on your set of Wh- Question ColorCards this week only by using our promo code WHCARDS at check-out!

*Offer is valid until 11:59pm EST on August 4th, 2015. Not compatible with any other offers. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code at checkout!

Pick of the Week: Sequencing Verb Tenses Card Deck

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Help students identify and use the past, present, and future tenses of 48 action verbs with the Sequencing Verb Tenses card deck. And this week only, you can save 15%* on this set by using promo code SEQVERB at check-out!

This set contains 24 regular and 24 irregular three-step, illustrated sequences. Choose an action verb to teach, and then have students put the cards in order while filling in the blanks with the correct verb tenses. For example: She will paint the fence. She paints the fence. She painted the fence.

Each of the 144 cards measures 3¼” x 4¼” and comes with game ideas. Don’t forget – you can save 15%* this week on the Sequencing Verb Tenses card deck by using promo code SEQVERB at check-out!

*Offer is valid until 11:59pm EST on July 21st, 2015. Not compatible with any other offers. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code at checkout!