Show And Tell: Hog Wild Poppers

My sister, who is a Pediatric Occupational Therapist, called me one day to tell me about these awesome toys she just got.  They sounded like fun, so I got on amazon, and bought a couple.  They're called Hog Wild Poppers.

Clear Horizons Academy, the school I am going to start teaching at in Fall 2013, asked if I would come and do a pre-writing activity with some of the kids so that they could see my teaching style.  I decided to use the popper toys as a fun activity.

To get ready for the activity, I made some shapes and put them on manila folders.  You could do letters, numbers, word recognition, nouns, verbs, anything you're working on with receptive language really.  If you fold the back part of the folder up, it makes for a nice little stand.

I showed the kids the folders, and I had them trace the shapes with their fingers.  Then I set them up as targets.  I would tell them what shapes to hit, and they would try to hit them with the poppers.  Some kids needed the activity adapted more than others, but it's easy to do.

There's so many different activities you could do with these, and I think it would be fun for kids that are older than preschool as well.

So here are just some of the reasons why these toys are so awesome, and how they can help with child development.

• First, who doesn't love shooting balls across the room.  They're engaging and fun, and can keep the kids attention.
• Color/Shape identification
• Making choices-I had them choose which color ball they wanted, and which animal they wanted to use
• Taking Turns-We took turns shooting the balls
• Fine Motor Strength
• Squeezing the poppers to strengthen hands
• Manipulating small objects (balls) 
• Thumb Opposition
• Squeezing the poppers
• Crossing midline
• Placing objects of the opposite side of the body for them to reach for (some kids had a hard time crossing midline, so I would purposely do a little playful obstruction and make them reach a couple times across midline before I would give them the ball, especially if they would switch hands when I crossed midline)
• Tracing large shapes
• Pinser Grasp
• Picking up the small balls and placing them in the poppers
• Finger Isolation
• Tracing shapes with their pointer finger
• Using one finger to push the ball in place
• Eye-hand coordination
• Hitting a target with the ball using the poppers
• Bilateral Coordination
• Squeezing the poppers with both hands
• Holding the popper with one hand while putting the ball in with the other
• Upper Body Strength
• Laying on their tummies while playing the game
• Motor Sequencing
• Following the sequence of events to hit the targets
• Getting the ball
• Putting it in the popper
• Aiming at a target
• Squeezing the animal to shoot the popper

Some warnings:  

• This toy is not meant for kids under 3, it has small parts.  
• Some kids will look at the toy while squeezing it, it shoots pretty hard, so you'll want to be careful of that.  Especially for kids who don't quite understand cause and effect.

Here's a list of some of the different poppers I found on Amazon.  Hope you have fun!

• Pig
• Cow
• Penguin
• Dog
• Bear
• Dinosaur
• Fish
• Moose
• Panda
• Shark
• Bunny
• Monkey
• Santa Pig
• Pirate
• Noise Making Popper (Dog)
• Orange Monster
• Blue Monster
• Green Monster 1
• Green Monster 2

Joy Mano

Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant

Early Childhood Services for Kids With Autism

My sister, who is a Pediatric Occupational Therapist, called me one day to tell me about these awesome toys she just got.  They sounded like fun, so I got on amazon, and bought a couple.  They're called Hog Wild Poppers.

Clear Horizons Academy, the school I am going to start teaching at in Fall 2013, asked if I would come and do a pre-writing activity with some of the kids so that they could see my teaching style.  I decided to use the popper toys as a fun activity.

To get ready for the activity, I made some shapes and put them on manila folders.  You could do letters, numbers, word recognition, nouns, verbs, anything you're working on with receptive language really.  If you fold the back part of the folder up, it makes for a nice little stand.

I showed the kids the folders, and I had them trace the shapes with their fingers.  Then I set them up as targets.  I would tell them what shapes to hit, and they would try to hit them with the poppers.  Some kids needed the activity adapted more than others, but it's easy to do.

There's so many different activities you could do with these, and I think it would be fun for kids that are older than preschool as well.

So here are just some of the reasons why these toys are so awesome, and how they can help with child development.

• First, who doesn't love shooting balls across the room.  They're engaging and fun, and can keep the kids attention.
• Color/Shape identification
• Making choices-I had them choose which color ball they wanted, and which animal they wanted to use
• Taking Turns-We took turns shooting the balls
• Fine Motor Strength
• Squeezing the poppers to strengthen hands
• Manipulating small objects (balls) 
• Thumb Opposition
• Squeezing the poppers
• Crossing midline
• Placing objects of the opposite side of the body for them to reach for (some kids had a hard time crossing midline, so I would purposely do a little playful obstruction and make them reach a couple times across midline before I would give them the ball, especially if they would switch hands when I crossed midline)
• Tracing large shapes
• Pinser Grasp
• Picking up the small balls and placing them in the poppers
• Finger Isolation
• Tracing shapes with their pointer finger
• Using one finger to push the ball in place
• Eye-hand coordination
• Hitting a target with the ball using the poppers
• Bilateral Coordination
• Squeezing the poppers with both hands
• Holding the popper with one hand while putting the ball in with the other
• Upper Body Strength
• Laying on their tummies while playing the game
• Motor Sequencing
• Following the sequence of events to hit the targets
• Getting the ball
• Putting it in the popper
• Aiming at a target
• Squeezing the animal to shoot the popper

Some warnings:  

• This toy is not meant for kids under 3, it has small parts.  
• Some kids will look at the toy while squeezing it, it shoots pretty hard, so you'll want to be careful of that.  Especially for kids who don't quite understand cause and effect.

Here's a list of some of the different poppers I found on Amazon.  Hope you have fun!

• Pig
• Cow
• Penguin
• Dog
• Bear
• Dinosaur
• Fish
• Moose
• Panda
• Shark
• Bunny
• Monkey
• Santa Pig
• Pirate
• Noise Making Popper (Dog)
• Orange Monster
• Blue Monster
• Green Monster 1
• Green Monster 2

Joy Mano

Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant

Early Childhood Services for Kids With Autism

Show and Tell -- Duck Duck Moose Apps

If you haven't tried the Duck Duck Moose Apps, you really should.  They are great for kids.  With familiar tunes, great animations, and interactive activities how could you go wrong?

Here's more reasons why I love the Duck Duck Moose Apps.

• Great cause and effect applications
• Counting games
• A lot of actions that you can talk about with your child while he's playing.  "Hey! You made him jump!" "He's climbing his web."  Etc.
• You can sing with it, or sing alone with the accompaniment
• You can record your child singing it
• Kids love it and stay engaged with the learning activities

Try some out if you haven't already.  They are between $0.99 and $1.99.

If you haven't tried the Duck Duck Moose Apps, you really should.  They are great for kids.  With familiar tunes, great animations, and interactive activities how could you go wrong?

Here's more reasons why I love the Duck Duck Moose Apps.

• Great cause and effect applications
• Counting games
• A lot of actions that you can talk about with your child while he's playing.  "Hey! You made him jump!" "He's climbing his web."  Etc.
• You can sing with it, or sing alone with the accompaniment
• You can record your child singing it
• Kids love it and stay engaged with the learning activities

Try some out if you haven't already.  They are between $0.99 and $1.99.

Communication and Autism

On Monday I focused on the area of Social Interactions in regards to the DSM IV (how autism is diagnosed.)  Today I'm would like to continue on to Communication.  As I said in my last post, just because someone has some of these characteristics, does not necessarily mean they have autism.  They must also meet the criteria in the areas of Social Interaction and Repetitive Behaviors.

According to the DSM IV, at least one of the following are present.

• Delay in or total lack of, the development of spoken language (also without gestural communication)
• Individuals with adequate speech have a marked impairment in the ability to initiate or sustain conversations
• Stereotyped and repetitive use of language or idiosyncratic language
• Lack of varied, spontaneous make-believe play or social imitative play appropriate to developmental level

Spoken Language and Gestural Language.  Many times the lack of spoken language is the most obvious sign for parents that their child may have delays.  Typically, kids should have several  consistent words they are using by 18 months.  You would start seeing more gestural communication, like pointing, around 14 months.  Here is a great blog about language development (Playing With Words 365), and particularly, here is a post about red flags in communication.  It gives some great timelines on language development.

Initiating and Sustaining Conversations.  There are some kiddos who have tons of words they know, but making their words functional can be more difficult.  Conversations are a give and take process, we build relationships when we have good conversations.  Some kids may know how to talk, but they do not participate in a back and forth interactions with others.  Some kids are good at responding, and will answer questions, but will not go further than that.  Others will initiate, but will rarely let others respond, thus they are very good at the giving part, but not so much at the taking part.

Stereotyped and Repetitive Language.  Some parents will report that their children speak in movie quotes.  Sometimes it's in context with the situation, but a lot of times it is not.  Some kids may get fixated on certain phrases and will repeat them continuously.  Other kids will repeat what you say or other things they hear, this is called echolalia.  Echolalia includes when they immediately repeat what they hear, or they may also repeat what they heard hours ago.

Make-believe Play or Social Imitative Play.  Make-believe can be difficult for some kids with autism because it involves an understanding of what other people are feeling and doing.  It also requires imitation skills.  When playing with others in pretend play, this skill also requires that the child is able to see the points of view of other people and explain his/her point of view to them to create the experience that they want.  Many kids with autism prefer to play on their own, and may focus more on sensory type play.

Joy Mano

Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant

Early Intervention Services for Children with Autism

photo credit: Diego Dalmaso via photopin cc

On Monday I focused on the area of Social Interactions in regards to the DSM IV (how autism is diagnosed.)  Today I'm would like to continue on to Communication.  As I said in my last post, just because someone has some of these characteristics, does not necessarily mean they have autism.  They must also meet the criteria in the areas of Social Interaction and Repetitive Behaviors.

According to the DSM IV, at least one of the following are present.

• Delay in or total lack of, the development of spoken language (also without gestural communication)
• Individuals with adequate speech have a marked impairment in the ability to initiate or sustain conversations
• Stereotyped and repetitive use of language or idiosyncratic language
• Lack of varied, spontaneous make-believe play or social imitative play appropriate to developmental level

Spoken Language and Gestural Language.  Many times the lack of spoken language is the most obvious sign for parents that their child may have delays.  Typically, kids should have several  consistent words they are using by 18 months.  You would start seeing more gestural communication, like pointing, around 14 months.  Here is a great blog about language development (Playing With Words 365), and particularly, here is a post about red flags in communication.  It gives some great timelines on language development.

Initiating and Sustaining Conversations.  There are some kiddos who have tons of words they know, but making their words functional can be more difficult.  Conversations are a give and take process, we build relationships when we have good conversations.  Some kids may know how to talk, but they do not participate in a back and forth interactions with others.  Some kids are good at responding, and will answer questions, but will not go further than that.  Others will initiate, but will rarely let others respond, thus they are very good at the giving part, but not so much at the taking part.

Stereotyped and Repetitive Language.  Some parents will report that their children speak in movie quotes.  Sometimes it's in context with the situation, but a lot of times it is not.  Some kids may get fixated on certain phrases and will repeat them continuously.  Other kids will repeat what you say or other things they hear, this is called echolalia.  Echolalia includes when they immediately repeat what they hear, or they may also repeat what they heard hours ago.

Make-believe Play or Social Imitative Play.  Make-believe can be difficult for some kids with autism because it involves an understanding of what other people are feeling and doing.  It also requires imitation skills.  When playing with others in pretend play, this skill also requires that the child is able to see the points of view of other people and explain his/her point of view to them to create the experience that they want.  Many kids with autism prefer to play on their own, and may focus more on sensory type play.

Joy Mano

Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant

Early Intervention Services for Children with Autism

photo credit: Diego Dalmaso via photopin cc

Symptoms of Autism

We are all different.  Agreed?  Yes, we may have some similarities, but we are still very different.  The person that I am probably the most like is my best friend, sometimes it's scary how much we think alike.  But, we are still very different.  One big difference is our career paths, I work with kids with autism and she is an accountant.  My sister-in-law is an identical twin, yes her and her sister look very similar, but they are very different.

What does this have to do with the symptoms of autism?  Well, I just want to emphasize that just because two people have the same diagnosis, they are individuals and are most likely very different from one another.  And although two people may have deficits in the area of communication does not mean that their deficits look the same.  It's a spectrum.  The diagnosis of autism is based on observation, and to be diagnosed with autism, the individual does not need to have 100% of the symptoms.

There are 3 common areas that are affected in individuals with autism.  They include social interaction, communication, and repetitive behaviors.  I will go into more detail about each area in upcoming posts.  If you have any concerns though, please contact your doctor.

Whether your child has a diagnosis or not, the thing that I think is important is that you find out where your child needs the most help and you put your efforts there.  I believe that individualizing the treatment is far more important than saying autism=a specific type of intervention.  There is not yet a cure for autism, BUT there are a lot of interventions that can help an individual improve and gain skills to be able to function more fully in this crazy/wonderful world we all live in.

Joy Mano

Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant

Early Intervention Services for Children with Autism

photo credit: read4thefunofit via 
photo credit: superhua via photopin cc
photopin cc photo credit: jshj via photopin cc

We are all different.  Agreed?  Yes, we may have some similarities, but we are still very different.  The person that I am probably the most like is my best friend, sometimes it's scary how much we think alike.  But, we are still very different.  One big difference is our career paths, I work with kids with autism and she is an accountant.  My sister-in-law is an identical twin, yes her and her sister look very similar, but they are very different.

What does this have to do with the symptoms of autism?  Well, I just want to emphasize that just because two people have the same diagnosis, they are individuals and are most likely very different from one another.  And although two people may have deficits in the area of communication does not mean that their deficits look the same.  It's a spectrum.  The diagnosis of autism is based on observation, and to be diagnosed with autism, the individual does not need to have 100% of the symptoms.

There are 3 common areas that are affected in individuals with autism.  They include social interaction, communication, and repetitive behaviors.  I will go into more detail about each area in upcoming posts.  If you have any concerns though, please contact your doctor.

Whether your child has a diagnosis or not, the thing that I think is important is that you find out where your child needs the most help and you put your efforts there.  I believe that individualizing the treatment is far more important than saying autism=a specific type of intervention.  There is not yet a cure for autism, BUT there are a lot of interventions that can help an individual improve and gain skills to be able to function more fully in this crazy/wonderful world we all live in.

Joy Mano

Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant

Early Intervention Services for Children with Autism

photo credit: read4thefunofit via 
photo credit: superhua via photopin cc
photopin cc photo credit: jshj via photopin cc