ASSOCIATED SPEECH & LANGUAGE SPECIALISTS, LLC IMPROVING communication. Transforming LIVES.

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1 ASSOCIATED SPEECH & LANGUAGE SPECIALISTS, LLC IMPROVING communication. Transforming LIVES. What s So Funny? Understanding the Relationship Between Humor & Language There s nothing like sharing a laugh with your kids. Whether it is a made up knock-knock joke or a favorite silly story, our brains are wired to take pleasure from humor and laughter. For young children, humor is developmental, and their ability to enjoy it depends on their cognitive understanding. Humor in children has been correlated with creativity, sociability, empathy, language development, and problem solving. WINTER 2017 What s So Funny? 1/2 Employee Spotlight 3 Snow Dough 3 Star Client 4 Humor begins in children as young as 6-12 months of age when they delight in things that are surprising or not as they expect them to be, such as a game of peek-a-boo, over-exaggerated sneezes or dancing around and falling down. From 1-2 years of age verbal humor generally begins to develop. Children understand basic rules and patterns, and 5 Reasons to Play Board Games Misc. Office Notes 4 5 they start to appreciate the humor of breaking the patterns. They begin to see the humor in changing what is expected such as telling them, The pig says moo. By the age of 4, although they can t grasp double meanings or word play, children begin to imitate the patterns of knockknock jokes and this alone is enough to make them laugh. In the next few years, children progress from toddler humor and potty humor to understanding verbal humor involving word play and incongruity. As language continues to develop, children begin to use more sophisticated word play such as using multiple meaning words and exaggerated stories. These more advanced skills allow them to connect with peers and adults at a more advanced level. Children with language difficulties may have trouble understanding and using humor. As a result, they sometimes struggle to fit in with peers when they don t get the joke. 1 P a g e

2 Some of the reasons children with language difficulties often struggle with humor include: *Difficulty with abstract language concepts, such as multiple meaning words and idioms *Difficulty with social norms, such as knowing what is an appropriate joke for your audience and/or the appropriate time for a joke *Difficulty taking another person s perspective *Limited vocabularies *Difficulty organizing and sequencing thoughts into words The good news is there are many ways to help children develop humor skills, and you can have a lot of fun along the way! Some ways to help children develop humor are: *Practice telling jokes with your child. Start with basic knock-knock jokes, then move to riddles and more sophisticated jokes. Teach them a basic knock-knock joke and have them practice with other family members. *Take turns sharing a funny story or joke each night at the dinner table. *Designate a funny zone (refrigerator, bulletin board, bathroom mirror) for cartoons, comic strips, funny photos. *Point out to them appropriate times and places to tell their jokes. *Explain to them why jokes involving multiple meaning words and idioms are funny. Show them how to use these abstract words in silly ways. *Use books the demonstrate word play humor such as Amelia Bedelia books, The King Who Rained, How Much Can a Bare Bear Bear, A Chocolate Moose for Dinner, Dear Deer, In a Pickle, Parts, More Parts, and Even More Parts, among many others. *Use pictures depicting humor to help them see what s funny, such as comic strips from newspapers. *Create a joke book to encourage learning, practicing, and understanding jokes. *Teach them the beauty of laughing at themselves by laughing at yourself when things don t go as planned so they learn not to take themselves too seriously. Humor is a great way to help your child develop new language skills. Even more importantly, it is an entertaining and bonding gift to share with you child. 2 P a g e

3 Suzanna works in our Plymouth office. Her co-workers describe her as: Upbeat, attentive with our families, easy going, thorough, and fun. Born and raised in: Suzanne was born in California and raised in Minnesota. Family: Suzanna s family includes her husband Jacob, daughter Madelyn (7), and son Jalen (4). 3 things she can t live without: Family, food and coffee. Favorite restaurant: Any Mexican and Asian cuisine. Favorite book: Suzanna likes any book she can read to her kids. Favorite movie: Suzanna loved watching Disney movies, and now she can enjoy the old ones and new ones with her kids. If you had a million dollars: Suzanna would set up college funds for both of her kids and travel with her family. Raid Your Pantry To Make Fun Snow Dough! Ingredients: Flour Oil (vegetable or baby) *as a rule, 8 parts flour to 1 part oil* A plastic storage bin Assorted tools (ex. Ice cream scoops, plastic cookie cutters, spatulas) Directions: Dump flour into plastic container Make a small depression in the middle Pour the oil into the flour and mix, mix, mix You have reached the right consistency when the dough molds nicely into shapes, but then breaks apart like snow and sand. *recipe was found on yummy mummy club 3 P a g e

4 What Mason s SLP Alysse has to say about him: Mason started coming to ASLS in April of His current goals are improving his expressive language and motor planning skills to age appropriate levels. Mason is marking final consonants in phrases and has mastered lip rounding sounds such as /w/ and /o/. He has improved on requesting using carrier phrases and using present progressive phrases with reduced cues. Mason is a hard worker whose vocabulary expands everyday! Fun Facts about Mason: Mason s favorite food is meatballs. Mason s favorite colors are blue and green. Mason is 3.5 years old, and he is in Pre-K. Mason s favorite thing to do is play at the park. 5 reasons to play board games with your kids There are many good reasons for introducing board games when kids are young and for continuing to play increasingly more complex games as they re ready for them: 1. Basic Civility and Manners: During the life of a board game, there are a number of skills tested and honed. Children must agree to abide by rules, stick with the game until the end, wait their turn, interact with other players in a positive manner, and be able to lose or win the game graciously. 2. Math Skills: Simple math board games involve matching pictures and numbers, counting spaces while moving a board piece, number recognition, and sequencing. More difficult math games will require operations skills, addition, subtraction, detecting patterns, analyzing probability, short and long term planning strategies, and logic. 3. Reading and Language Skills: Word games begin with simple skills such as matching, sequencing, and building simple works. Letter and word recognition skills grow as children play. Children must read directions and refer to written rules. New vocabulary rules are also learned, and visual perception skills are enhanced. 4. Decision Making: A side-effect of enjoying board games is a gradual awareness of the consequences of our decisions and choices. Games are a safe place to practice tough decisions. 5. Quality Family Time: In our fast-paced lives, it is important to make room for quiet, unplugged family time. Board games offer a variety of social and education skills, time to laugh, chatter and simply enjoy being together. *article written by Jan Pierce* 4 P a g e

5 St. Paul Phone: , Fax: Maplewood Phone: , Fax: Shoreview Phone: , Fax: Plymouth Phone: , Fax: *For our mailing addresses, please refer to our website. VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT: INSURANCE CHANGES?? To avoid out of pocket costs, please notify the front desk promptly with any changes in your insurance. PLEASE NOTE: ASLS follows the same guidelines as the schools in regards to a sick child. If your child has vomited, had a fever, persistent cough, or had persistent diarrhea in the last 24 hours, he/ she will be unable to attend therapy. Also, if your child has been diagnosed with a contagious illness (i.e. strep throat), we are unable to see them until after the child has been on prescribed medication for 24 hours. Please follow the above guidelines to keep our other patients and our staff healthy. Thank you. *You are receiving this because you/ your child currently receives/ has attended therapy at Associated Speech & Language Specialists, LLC. * To unsubscribe from list please us at maplewood@associatedspeech.com or call Copyright 2017 Associated Speech & Language Specialists, LLC, All rights reserved. 5 P a g e