My Little House

When was the last time you discovered a therapy material that could target a variety goals? For me, that therapy material is My Little House.  From the time I learned about My Little House, I had so many ideas on ways to use it.

This AMAZING product was created by Speech Language Pathologist, Yvonne Johansen. My Little House was born after many years of using felt boards in therapy. Not only does the house have 8 different rooms with various different furnishings for each room, but the house can be laid flat or velcroed to create a 3D stand up display. The reversible house has a house exterior on one side and the individual rooms with shape outlines on the other side and can be made to face each way. Since this product was created by an SLP, each piece and detail was designed with education in mind.

My first thought, like I’m sure many of yours, was to use it for early intervention. Using the house to teach functional vocabulary, prepositions, and allows for play based therapy as well as eliciting spontaneous language. Since the outlines of the shapes are also printed on the house itself, matching, same and different, requesting, and formulating questions can also be targeted.

The 36 felt pieces included with the house can be used separately for school age children working on categorizing, following directions, describing, narrative skills, and vocabulary. I also discovered that the house and its pieces can be used for similar targets with adult and elderly clients.

The exterior house side of My Little House is a great discussion piece. The vocabulary with this product is endless. It can be paired with a story for longer therapy sessions. Therapists can have clients decorate the outside of the house for different holidays, allowing for more specific or themed vocabulary and lesson plans.

As a SLPA and graduate student I sometimes work in multiple locations or share my space with other professionals. This amazing house folds flat and stores with all of its pieces in a similarly shaped box, making it easy to transport or store. This product is a great addition to any therapists’ collection of materials, no matter what setting they work in. Parents can also buy this toy for hours of family play and to elicit language outside of speech.

Keep your eyes open for new products by Smart Felt Toys. 

Visit and purchase My Little House during ASHA by visiting booth 438. Not going to ASHA? Buy My Little House online at www.smartfelttoys.com and use promo code ASHA17 for 10% discount.

Breana

The End of Another Year and a GIVEAWAY!

Wow! I can't believe we are ending yet another year. I am finishing my second year of grad school, I have been a licensed SLPA for more than four years, and it seems like nothing has changed.

This year got so busy, I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted anything for you. I apologize, next year WILL be better. I am going to give you some quick life updates and then I am going to share a SURPRISE!!!

This year:
- I started clinics for grad school. Since my program is online I don't have an on campus clinic, instead I spend a few mornings a week with an AMAZING SLP in my local school district. I am learning so much from my cases and doing lots of amazing activities. (I NEED TO WRITE A POST!)

- I started dating a new guy about 2 1/2 months ago. We are great together and the puzzle pieces seem to fit together perfectly! Once we take some nice pictures I will make sure to share some with you!

- I have been working with a placement coordinator at Nova Southeastern University to get my externship placements set. Graduation is within reach at this point and I am so excited!

-My Thirty-One Gifts business started to take off!! Let me know if you are looking for holiday gifts, wedding party gifts, baby gifts, teacher tools, or just something cute for yourself or your family! Take a look at www.mythirtyone.com/breanaorland

Now for your SURPRISE!!
Complete the entries below for a chance to win a $10 TPT gift card just in time for the cyber Monday sale! The gift card will be emailed to the winner on Monday night with plenty of time to spend it!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Holidays!!
Breana

Speech & Language Warm-Ups: A New App

Did you happen to notice Super Duper Inc. released a new app last week?

Do you do any oral motor exercises with your clients?

This app is going to make doing oral motor exercises so much fun and much easier. Since I got my SLPA license, I have been using photo copies of stained, ripped, faded pictures that were cute little rhymes to help kids practice oral motor skills. I was very excited to find out that my picture were trash as i now had them in app form. Why you ask? Well, instead of having to carry around a binder of the different activity sheets, you now have them at the touch of your finger. Also, the app uses the camera in your device to allow the client to watch a demonstration of the exercise and then watch themself complete the exercise.

When you first open the app, this is the screen you are going to see...

-Selecting quick play takes you directly to the first exercise screen.
-Selecting sequences takes you to this screen which allows the therapist to select and sequence the exercises the client is to complete. Sequences can also be saved for later use.

This photo shows the example of the screen during an exercise. The images in the exercise are also animated and move to show the exercise.

The lower left corner is a video of the exercise being completed while the lower right corner is the image of the camera on the device. By selecting the button in the upper right hand corner, the images of the client and either the exercise or the video become full screen.

I am very excited to have this app in my library!

This app is available for purchase in the iTunes store for $3.99.

Multiple Conference Frenzy

This past weekend was crazy for me. I attended both the California Speech and Hearing Association Conference and the Celiac Disease Foundation Gluten Free Expo. I am still trying to recover from my exhausting weekend three days later.

Going to CSHA this year felt different than past years. Looking at the class availability, I felt like I actually understood the purpose of some of the classes. My selection criteria was different as I find myself about to start my clinical placements. I attended a really great session on using Legos for social skills. I see myself being able to use the information from that session in the future. I also focused my time in the exhibit hall to connect with exhibitors that could be possible future employeers or had products that could be beneficial to my current caseload or any future clients. I may have found myself some possible clinical placements, which is AMAZING!!! I am also really excited for some great product and app reviews that will be published soon.

The gluten free expo on the other hand was just as amazing as in past years. Tons of new companies were pedaling new products and providing samples of everything. I left the first day so full of samples, I didn't know what to do with myself. Everything from bakeries from all over California to the newest cereal to hit the market, GF LUCKY CHARMS!!! I know right! I am so excited for the sample box I got to take home. In the next few weeks keep an eye out for some great new gluten free product reviews and recipes. I am even going to take a field trip to one company's factory and get you a behind the scenes look.

Interested in learning about a new app or product speech or gluten free related, let me know and I will do my best to connect with the company. I don't know if I can get my hands on a product until I try!!

Breana

B.E.A.R.R.

I know what you are thinking right now, what is B.E.A.R.R.?

It stands for:
Building
Early
Articulation
and
Reading
Readiness

The B.E.A.R.R. Track Game is a new card game associated with the amazing Teddy Talker Program. This card game is a fun and multisensory approach to help children learn and recognize letter sounds. Using pictures of Teddy, players identify the sounds Teddy is making and its corresponding letter. This game makes phonemic awareness activities more fun and provides another level of difficulty.

The NEWEST product to the Teddy Talker family is the Build and Say B.E.A.R.R. Pack. This add-on is a 40 page booklet/digital download that includes a reproducible picture of Teddy and his articulators, offering a more tactile approach. This introductory kit is a great way to introduce yourself and your clients to Teddy.

Don't forget that these products are just a few in the line of Teddy Talker products. There is a felt board with manipulatives, mouth position cards, multiple lessons for each sound, poems, and even a super cute bear puppet (Baby Bear, Teddy's cousin), which can all be purchased.

I was lucky enough to spend three days during ASHA 2015 with Teddy's creator Linda Siciliano and her husband Ray. Linda is so passionate about Teddy. She spent the entire three days explaining and teaching about Teddy and answering questions. Did you know that not only is Teddy helpful for helping kids with Apraxia and Speech Sound Disorders, he is also helpful for working with children with varying diagnoses. His auditory poems and felt board manipulatives make Teddy the perfect tool for children as young as early intervention and as old as high school.

Check out Creative Speech Products for more information on how to purchase Teddy Products or visit Teddy's Teachers Pay Teachers to buy digital products.

Grad School Update!!

Hey everyone,

I know you won't be surprised when I say that the reason I haven't posted anything in a few months has to do with the craziness of grad school. I have now started my second year and can't wait to see what this year has in store. By the end of this year I will have started my internships (clinical hours)!!! I am really excited to see where I get placed!!!

Another new thing in my life is my NEW business. I recently started selling Thirty-One Gifts as a way to help pay my tuition. The theme for January is Let's Get Organized! Below are a variety of different bundles of products at discounted prices. They can help with organizing you classroom, speech room, home office, and even your kids room/playroom!

I am currently hosting an amazing giveaway for you!! If you purchase one of the bundles below (in any color combination) before 1/19/16 at MIDNIGHT PST!! I will add an EXTRA special gift to your order.

How to order:
-Go to my business website! (www.mythirtyone.com/breanaorland)
-Click on "scheduled parties" at the top of the page
- Place your order under the "end of season" party.

To earn a second FREE gift, join my VIP facebook group by searching for "Breana's Boutique" and request to join. You must contact me about scheduling a party before the above deadline to get the second gift.

Breana

Gluten Free in Denver!

I knew long before I left for ASHA i was going to have no problems eating in Denver. First of all, I should mention that my sister has lived in Denver for around 4 years and she is Gluten Free by association (both our parents are gene carriers). I of course, took a bunch of snacks and oatmeal with me just in case I didn't get to leave my booth, but was hoping they weren't going to be necessary.

In the convention center, I was told if I had purchased a ticketed lunch, I could have eaten a gluten free turkey sandwich. I didn't get a ticketed lunch, but was able to get the chef to make me a lettuce wrapped hamburger after an hour of running around the convention center.

For dinner one night after the convention my sister too me out to meet some of her friends. We went to this amazing restaurant called Angelo's (http://angelosdenver.com) on 6th street. They had amazing cooked and raw oysters and all of the pastas could be made with gluten free pasta. I had Gorganzola Steak Fettucine. It is a dish i would come back for.

The next night we went to a cute little Morrocan restaurant called Cafe Paprika (http://www.cafepaprika.com). I had lamb shank with basmati rice and it was amazing. I did learn the soup ha flour in it, but the salad was just as good.

My last morning in town, my sister took me to brunch at a top rated new brunch spot. Owned by a celiac, this place can make anything on the menu gluten free. Revelry Kitchen (http://www.revelrydenver.com) has a seasonal menu. Here are just a few pictures of the amazing food we ate!!! My sister and I both had roasted pumpkin cinnamon rolls with bacon to start. She had biscuits and gravy while I had a lobster BLT with fries. I also got a muffin trio to go. I was also in love with my coffee cup!!

Have any favorite gluten free spots of your own in Denver? Share them in the comments!!

Breana