Thursday, January 28, 2010

How Are Your Play Skills?


When I started out as a speech-language pathologist I remember how worried some of my classmates were about the clinical portion of our education - our first treatment sessions with actual real live clients. This was difficult for some, but I was lucky as I was one of the ones that just seemed to "get it". The hour (typical session time) just seemed to fly by, but I had friends that would complain that an hour was too long and that after 15 minutes or so the child would get bored and become "difficult to engage". At the time I didn't understand it and in my youthful arrogance I decided I was just a better therapist than they were and let it go at that.

It was not until I started my first supervisory position and began to watch other people's therapy sessions that I realized one therapist was not necessarily better than another in terms of knowledge of speech development but in knowledge of play. The ability to play with children in a functional way is not something that comes naturally to everyone and the disparity among the therapists that I observed was significant. Knowledge of speech development is, of course, integral to being a successful pediatric speech therapist, but the ability to be a great play partner is key.

Play was not a skill that was directly taught when I was in school but during this period I realized that it certainly needed to be. Children love to play and this is how they develop, learn and grow. As someone responsible for teaching a child, being good at play is not simply a bonus skill in your bag of tricks - it is the bag itself. I have always been a "kid person" but up until that point I had never given much thought to what actually made me a kid person. Children always wanted to play with me because, it turns out, I am a great playmate. With this realization I decided I needed to know what actually makes for good play so I could teach other therapists that were struggling in this area how to be a better playmate which would lead to better progress in therapy and more opportunities for learning.

Steps to Becoming a Better Playmate:

The first step in improving play skills is, believe it or not, put away the toys. Grown-ups often rely on toys to help them engage with children, but to become better at playing the toys need to go for a while. This is one of the bet ways to get your child like imagination back in gear. Imagination is the cornerstone of play. As adults we become literal and children are anything but literal when it comes to play. The thought of a one hour therapy session without one toy is daunting for many therapists, but the ability to engage with a child without anything but your brain is the best way to really get to know that child and to learn what their interests are and to see inside to where their imagination takes them.

Putting away the toys is the best way to learn how to focus on the child rather than the toys, and it is a great way to let a child know that you value them and that they are important. It is also the fastest way to learn how to do more than just hear what a child is saying. When you focus all of your attention on the child you are not simply hearing, but listening. It is listening that allows you to be a more responsive play and communication partner which will create better opportunities for learning. Listening will allow you to simply follow where the child leads and where the child leads is without a doubt where the best opportunities for teaching exists.

Give putting away the toys a try and let me know how it goes. I truly believe it is the first step in entering into a child's world rather than having them enter into your world. Next up we will take a look at the different roles that adults take on during play and whether or not they are effective - so be sure and follow this blog or check back so you don't miss out!

Better Late Than Never - Right?

I intended to post more on play on the day following my previous post but things don't always go as planned. I have had two deaths in my family in the span of two weeks and, as I am sure you can all imagine, my focus shifted a bit. I was only able to get done what absolutely had to be done and unfortunately updating my blog did not make the cut. I am, however, slowly getting out of the fog I have been in and back to work. I will have the play post up by this afternoon.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Play Is Work


For children, playing is more than just play - it is work. They are working to learn about themselves and the world around them. They are working to learn how to interact using words, what words mean, and how to put words together to express thoughts and ideas. They are working to learn how to solve problems, store memories, and to remember new information. They are working to learn how to grasp, to carry things, run, to climb and to balance. They are also working to learn how to negotiate, to cooperate, and how to play by the rules.

Theodore Roosevelt once said "Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing" - so remember to always work hard to play with your children to give you both a chance at one of life's best prizes - work worth doing!

Working hard as an adult to play seems silly to you I am sure - I mean how hard can it be? - it's only playing. The surprising answer is that it is much harder than you would think and many grown-ups, it turns out, are not such naturals at great playing after all so check back tomorrow for some tips on how to be a better playmate to your child.


Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Great News for Say-N-Play


Say-N-Play was picked up by Technology for Education. Check out the website at www.tfeinc.com.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Talk About Talk: Have You Played Today?

Talk About Talk: Have You Played Today?

Have You Played Today?

I Took His Hand and Followed

My dishes went unwashed today
I didn't make my bed
I took his hand and followed

Where his eager footsteps led.
Oh yes, we went adventuring
My little child and I
Exploring all the great outdoors
Beneath the sun and sky.

We watched a robin feed her young
We climbed a sunlit hill
Saw cloud-sheep scamper through the sky
We plucked a daffodil.

That my house was so neglected
That I didn't brush the stairs
In twenty years no one on earth
Will know or even care.

But that I've helped my little child
To noble adulthood grow
In twenty years the whole wide world
May look and see and know

~ Author Unknown