SPEAK Week 1

We made it to the Kaufman Children's Center!!!  I've been waiting for this for years (seriously!) and FINALLY, Kiddo and I are in Michigan for two weeks of intensive therapy with the amazing Nancy Kaufman in her SPEAK program.  We just finished the first week and both Kiddo and I have learned a lot and we still have one week to go.  :)

We started off with an evaluation, in which Nancy was very impressed with how far he has come in the two years since she last saw him, but we still have quite a ways to go.  Here are the goals we are working on while we're here:

Articulation goals:

• Final and medial (middle) m (ex: tummy and game)
• Final and medial (middle) n (ex: bunny and on) 
• S blends (ex: sleep, sweater, stop, snack, scoop, etc.)
• Th (ex: three, Ethan, with)
• Medial L (Ex: yellow, hello)

Language goals:

• Using appropriate verb tenses
• Using proper pronouns (he/she)
• Using proper grammar (a, an, the, to, is, are, etc)
• Using longer sentences with all of the above goals (ex: "She is kicking the ball."  Before he would just say "girl kick ball")

He is working with Nancy and two other therapists, and they are all awesome and enthusiastic and I don't know what I'll do without them when we go back, haha.  Kiddo is a champ, cooperating really hard and though he mentions he's tired to me from time to time, he just keeps working.  I am sooo proud of him.

Each day he also gets a one-hour speech session with three other kids who are participating in the summer SPEAK program to work on social language skills.  It begins with Lisa, an awesome music therapist singing a few songs with opportunities for the kiddos to practice speech.  Then Nancy leads them in a fun game or activity that requires the kiddos to let her know who's turn it is, what they want to do, etc.  And then they end with a craft project, that the mommies and daddies come out and help with, and encourage our kiddos to ask the therapists for the materials they need.  Lots of good stuff.  We've also been enjoying getting to know the other people here for SPEAK.  In fact, we're all going to meet at the Detroit Zoo on Sunday which should be lots of fun. :)

After each day's hard work, we go somewhere fun to celebrate Kiddo's hard work, such as Chuck E Cheese's, to a playground with some of our new friends from SPEAK, to the movies to see Secret Life of Pets, swimming in our hotel pool, and playing at the McDonald's play place and trying to collect all the Secret Life of Pets toys they have in Happy Meals.  I've been reinforcing what he's been learning in his sessions and it seems to be sticking. :)  For example, he gave me a big hug the other day and told me "Mommy, I'm squeezing you!"  Another time, we went to the playground and I was pushing him on the swings.  Normally he would just request "Higher!" but this time he told me "I want to go higher!"  And when we went to the pool he told me "Look my legs float like a stick!  Not like a rock."  I was blown away by the proper grammar in that statement. :)

Proudly showing off the visor he decorated in one of his speech sessions. :)

Can't wait for week 2, but then I also don't want it to end. :)