Need advice...any mommies of toddlers on this board?

[Ralphie]

If anyone here has any experience with toddlers, I need some advice! I'm a speech therapist and I recently made the switch from working with school aged kids to early intervention (five and under). When I worked with my older kids motivating them was easy enough...we got out a fun game or they worked for some candy and that was that!

Toddlers, though, that is a whole different ballgame! I feel like no matter how fun the activity is they still getted locked into the whole 'let me show you how independent I am' thing, by which I mean everything is "No...no...NOOOOO!" This is difficult because in a speech therapy session you pretty much have to be telling them what to do the entire time, as they're there to work on certain goals. Any mommies/experienced sitters here who have any thoughts?

 

[ava83]

I have a spirited 3 year old. Very spirited.

When we need her to do something we make it her idea. Example.

I don't know if doing whatever would be good or fun, what do you think?

Or give them a choice of two activities to do (that works too)

Also you may want to ask the parents to prepare the child for meeting. We HAVE to do that, if she has an idea of what to expect, life is much easier for us.

Good Luck!

 

[ShellBeThere]

I have a spirited 3 year old. Very spirited.

When we need her to do something we make it her idea. Example.

I don't know if doing whatever would be good or fun, what do you think?

Or give them a choice of two activities to do (that works too)

Also you may want to ask the parents to prepare the child for meeting. We HAVE to do that, if she has an idea of what to expect, life is much easier for us.

Good Luck!

All great ideas!
I have two children, youngest 6 now (wish I had a littler one; I miss it, as challenging as they can be!)...
giving choices ..."would you like to do X or Y" with both of them being activities of value can work, but with some kids does not, or does so only sometimes. My youngest was waaay quicker at answering "neither" than my oldest was!
Getting them to be the one with the idea is great...can work sometimes with above ("I don't know if that would be fun, what do you think?"), but can also sometimes backfire and then you're hard-pressed to get a new track!
Sometimes pretend-based games or role-play can work, if you can make your activities use those...
Also, in my life as a developmental psychologist studying language in children I have sometimes used a puppet. Young children are sometimes enthralled by the idea of speaking to a puppet, and you can have the puppet be an 'alien' who doesn't understand our language so the child has to be as complete, clear, etc as possible to help this alien learn.
My colleagues and I have used that to get children to utter fulll sentences (with direct and indirect objects, since we were interested in their choices and grammatical constructions there) when it was near impossible to get them to speak to an adult like that. I have no idea whether that would have session-after-session sucess, since we only had a one or two-shot chance with our "subjects", but it might be worth trying something like that...

for toddlers who don't get jaded quite so easily it might be fun for them!
cheers and good luck with your work!

 

[Ralphie]

Also, in my life as a developmental psychologist studying language in children I have sometimes used a puppet. Young children are sometimes enthralled by the idea of speaking to a puppet, and you can have the puppet be an 'alien' who doesn't understand our language so the child has to be as complete, clear, etc as possible to help this alien learn.

What a cute idea! I can see the kids responding to the active role of being the 'helper' instead of having to be the 'kid' who listens to grown-ups. And Ava, thanks for the input as well!

I find my trouble usually starts when I give a direct order, like "Alright, now we are going to-" and half the time I'm cut off by a "NOOOO!" before I even say what we're doing. I think it's just the idea that I'm telling them what they'll be doing. I like the idea of presenting a choice. I could be 'befuddled' as to what I want to do next and they can help me choose. Now here's hoping they don't find some lint on the floor that's more interesting than any of my activities. Darn that fascinating floor lint...

 

[Angela Harlem]

i wish these things worked in practice!

 

[Kristie]

no toddlers here, but I've never heard of speech therapy for children so young... what are the benefits of this? Are you trying to fix speech problems, or help them learn to talk (or something else)?

 

[JCOSTER]

how about good old fashion sticker rewards or let them pick out of a treasure box when they have completed their session or completed a goal. They take everything literally at this age...they have to be shown if you do abc, then you get this....it worked with my kids.....most of the time.

 

[4EVRU2]

Perhaps some sort of treasure hunt with only objects that start with the sound/letter you're trying to get them to say? And at the end some sort of prize?
I should know some of this since I did take a course in child development and special needs, but I haven't actually put any of it into practice since I'm now going another route.
Also, keep every activity short to match their attention spans! Try not to push it and maybe the child will lead the activity...
Good Luck!
JCoster, love the signature...

 

[Liesje]

how about good old fashion sticker rewards or let them pick out of a treasure box when they have completed their session or completed a goal. They take everything literally at this age...they have to be shown if you do abc, then you get this....it worked with my kids.....most of the time.

This is what they do at the gymnastics place where my fiance and I work. The little kids (like up to age 7) get two stamps on their hands at the end of each class if they are good. The stamps are used as rewards and for some reason, the kids will usually behave to get stamps. It also works because it's consistent - every time they have gymnastics, they know if the behave and try hard they will get stamps. I've gone to Gymco since I was in elementary school and they've always used the stamp system on the younger kids.

 

[Liesje]

no toddlers here, but I've never heard of speech therapy for children so young... what are the benefits of this? Are you trying to fix speech problems, or help them learn to talk (or something else)?

Kristie, I don't know the true answer since I know nothing about this field, but from a communications standpoint, exercising language is essential for social AND cognitive development. A child even as young as a toddler either refusing to speak or showing physical or mental difficulty with speaking is probably something that should be dealt with sooner rather than later because it will have implications farther than simply being able to communicate through speech. From my experience with babies and toddlers, I've seen kids very reluctant to speak and instead will keep on using nonverbal cues like when they hold their arms up and whine because they want to be held, or point and whine because they want something. By giving them any sort of reaction, they learn they can keep communicating this way instead of using speech.

 

[nbcrusader]

A number of great ideas have been suggested. I'll only add from my experience:

1. No open ended choices. Never "what do you want for lunch?" Instead, "do you want a PB&J or grilled cheese?"

2. Clear expectations and guidelines. I've never been one to create rewards for simple behavior.

3. Clear respect for authority. Don't expect they will follow if you try to be their friend. Kids actually crave loving, firm authority.

 

[yolland]

No open ended choices. Never "what do you want for lunch?" Instead, "do you want a PB&J or grilled cheese?"

To expand on that, sometimes it is helpful to use "choices" to directly link the continuation of an enjoyed activity to the behavior you want to see. For example, instead of just saying, "Look, you guys really need to share the toy, OK?!" try phrasing it as "You guys can share the toy, or I can take it away and find something else for you to do. Which will you choose?" It's a small difference, but it can really help them develop a sense of accountability for the consequences of their own behavior.

 

[Dismantled]

I have a 3 years old sister...if I want her to do something I "pretend" I need her help doing what ever it is I want her to do....she is always very excited and willing to help her older sis

 

[Kristie]

Kristie, I don't know the true answer since I know nothing about this field, but from a communications standpoint, exercising language is essential for social AND cognitive development. A child even as young as a toddler either refusing to speak or showing physical or mental difficulty with speaking is probably something that should be dealt with sooner rather than later because it will have implications farther than simply being able to communicate through speech. From my experience with babies and toddlers, I've seen kids very reluctant to speak and instead will keep on using nonverbal cues like when they hold their arms up and whine because they want to be held, or point and whine because they want something. By giving them any sort of reaction, they learn they can keep communicating this way instead of using speech.

Ok, I understand early therapy for children with more severe problems... I was thinking it was more for your average kid like me, who communicated verbally just fine but happened to sound a lot like Elmer Fudd.

 

[Ralphie]

Thanks for all of the ideas! I've been trying giving choices and, as 4evr noted, watching out for those short attention spans. I have the most difficulty with my 2 year olds and I've found it very helpful to double up on activities for them and switch from one to the next fairly quickly. I've also tried giving a reward...it seems like for the 2-year-olds, waiting until the end of an hour session is too long for them to really make the connection, so instead I'll give them a mini-M&M or a sticker at the end of one activity. This seems to work really well also. I have one very spirited little one and when all else fails with her I also had some luck with just removing all toys from the floor and telling her 'I'll wait until you're ready', then just sitting there in silence. That gets boring really fast!

In answer to some of the questions, speech therapy for children that young is usually for a language delay (the child isn't using words and/or doesn't seem to understand what people say), for apraxia (this is an articulation disorder but a more severe one...it's totally normal for toddlers to say 'wed' for 'red' and whatnot), or for a developmental disorder like autism or a syndromal condition where it's best to start services as early as possible.

 

[cell]

i took speech therapy when i was 4 years old. i didnt know how to talk at all. the therapist who worked with me had no experience working with someone like me. he winged it from there. he had me draw letters, paste glue, and put glitter on them so i could trace my finger on the letter, and had me sound out hte letters. we grew plants. painted pictures. basically, i was learning how to be a kid. the best memory i have is when we put together a picnic in class. because of that man, i learned how to talk. i was pretty hyper as a kid, i couldnt sit still so i had no idea how i even learned anything at all lol. im sorry i have no advice lol but i thought i'd share my story good luck!

 

[Ralphie]

Aaawww, I always like to hear happy speech therapy stories.