Archive for November, 2007

Parent Question: Independence for a Deaf Child

Friday, November 30th, 2007

A few parents have asked how their deaf child can be made more independent. In fact, deaf children can be educators, as a recent blog post noted! These ideas will get you started. Young children: * Let them do things for themselves and don't spoon-feed * Arrange play-dates with local children or go to a ...

Ask a Question: How many hours of speech therapy has your child received this year?

Friday, November 30th, 2007

I will leave this to the parents to answer this question in the comments below this post. 

Ask a Question: What is meant by sensory integration?

Friday, November 30th, 2007

Alaine Wetherall, Occupational Therapist for the Solas Centre in Dublin helps us to explain SI:  Sensory Integration is a neurological process which involves the registration, processing and organisation of responses to sensory stimuli in a person’s environment.  It enables a person to use their body effectively within their environment and is ...

Fantastic Anecdote

Thursday, November 29th, 2007

Yesterday, a mother of one of my students with autism told me a fantastic story.  She had left her son, "John" at her sister’s house and was off to get some things done.  A few hours later, there was a knock on the aunts door, and John became exited, 'assuming his mother had ...

Stagetext Debuts In Dublin

Tuesday, November 20th, 2007

Stagetext, a captioning service for theatre-goers, debuts to Irish audiences this month at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. This service, which in 2008 will expand across Ireland, was devised in 2000 in the UK by three deaf theatre fans who were frustrated at missing out on the performing arts. Personally, I’m ...

Digital Photos Help Special-Needs Children Learn

Tuesday, November 13th, 2007

Digital photos have massive potential in developing the reading and writing skills of children with special needs. For deaf children specifically, new words can be taught by connecting the word to a digital picture. Phonetics challenge many special-needs children, but words can be better understood when connected to pictures. Journals, ...

Information Weekend for Parents with Newly Diagnosed Deaf Children

Sunday, November 11th, 2007

From Friday February 29 to Sunday March 2, 2008, the National Association for the Deaf (NAD) is hosting its second information weekend for families with newly-diagnosed deaf children. At the Heritage Hotel in Portlaoise, County Laois, families from across the country will gather for sessions with experienced NAD staff and other ...

Parent Question

Friday, November 9th, 2007

Hi. I have a four year old little girl with Down syndrome. Verbal speech isn’t that strong, however her comprehension is very good. Would you recommend lamh or PECS? Thanks

Autism Speaks Videos

Monday, November 5th, 2007

I found this helpful webiste of video's on YouTube this evening and thought I would pass it along.  This song Open Your Eyes has a great message.  You can watch the other Autism Speaks videos HERE. Autism Speaks is dedicated to increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders, to funding research into the ...