Re: my 3 yr old (almost 4) can't learn her colors

[Guest guest]

Tara I recall around the same age I too was worried about Tanner's inconsistency

in saying colors or numbers until I too learned that I was just adding more

pressure onto an already full plate.

Here's a clip from the archive -more below:

" > When Tanner was 3 and 4 there were a few times that he would not

> appear to know a letter or number that he typically did know. I

> wasn't sure if he knew and just couldn't let us know -or if he

> forgot. I questioned his SLP Ortega and Zimet -and

> the MDs that worked with him at that time such as for the neuroMDs

> Dr. Agin and Dr. Gozo. When I questioned the professionals who

> worked with Tanner and knew him best, I was told " not to worry

> about it " because Tanner is working on many other things right now.

> Just keep doing what we are doing to expose him to it -and give him

> time because there are many " normal " children who don't just pick

> academic skills early. I was also told about the research that the

> children that are 'expected' to know academic skills 'later' vs early do

> better. Those words comforted me, and better yet -they were right.

>

> Tanner transitioned into kindergarten mainstream and was one of the

> top students in his class -and now in an accelerated academics first

> grade he has maintained straight As in all subjects. He recalls

> even complex rules of spelling with ease. "

Please don't jump to believing it's cognitive or God forbid she " can't " learn

her colors. She's still so young and it can be a number of reasons but if you

meant verbally keep in mind not only does she have to know the color but motor

plan it on command. I have much more below from the archives as this comes up

frequently but think this one archive sums it up...but don't forget that YOU are

your child's best advocate and if you give up on her before she's 4...well you

just can't!!! I won't let you!! No matter what you want to look back and say

" I provided my child with the best chance possible of success...I believed in

her even when others didn't " :

~~~~~~~~start of archive:

Hi

Just wanted to elaborate what I think meant when she said that :

" I just want to again caution against the too real and much to common

danger of assuming that a child with apraxia or other multifaceted

communication impairment when preschool age who doesn't appear to

know his numbers, colors and letters all the time has receptive or

cognitive (etc.) 'challenges'.� Many of our children are working on so many

developmental skills that other children their age already have

mastered and so they may developmentally not be ready to learn pre

reading skills yet, a skill that at 3 or 4 is superficial, not

required to be mastered until kindergarten (which may not be until

years later when the child is 6 years old)� You don't want to set a

child up for failure -it hurts their self esteem. So yes you want to

teach and you want repetition -but you want to do it in a way that

doesn't bring repeated failure -only challenge (with repeated success) "

Some kids are not able to keep up with their peers at 3,4 or 5 but seem to

plateau in Kindergarten or 1st grade (some may need additional help, like

therapies, speech/OT like my dd) this also does not mean that we do not try to

push

them either. It does seem that we as Mothers are so stressed out that our 3

or 4 year old is not learning the same way as their peers but I think what

is saying is that these 3 and 4 yo really do not need the feeling of their

parents stress added on top of their shoulders either. Does this make any

sense? I hope that Im not causing a debate and believe me I know all about

stressing out but this is just how I interpreted 's post and if I don't have

this right please feel free to correct me.

Traci

>

> Thanks Traci!

>

> warns me about answering when I am rushing! I believe my

> original point was lost in translation so my apologies.

>

> As many of you know I am very cautious of words such as " receptive

> delay " " cognitive delay " used for preschool children with

> multifaceted communication impairments like apraxia (which can

> involve all or some of the following -motor planning problems,

> weakness and sensory problems) I was specifically responding to

> those who posted concern over their children when they sometimes can

> sometimes can't recall or show they have the ability to recall their

> knowledge of academic skills like " reading readiness " required to be

> known by school age children by the end of kindergarten such as

> numbers or letters or even colors (so 5 -6 or even 7 years old).

>

> When Tanner was 3 and 4 there were a few times that he would not

> appear to know a letter or number that he typically did know. I

> wasn't sure if he knew and just couldn't let us know -or if he

> forgot. I questioned his SLP Ortega and Zimet -and

> the MDs that worked with him at that time such as for the neuroMDs

> Dr. Agin and Dr. Gozo. When I questioned the professionals who

> worked with Tanner and knew him best, I was told " not to worry

> about it " because Tanner is working on many other things right now.

> Just keep doing what we are doing to expose him to it -and give him

> time because there are many " normal " children who don't just pick

> academic skills early. I was also told about the research that the

> children that are 'expected' to know academic skills 'later' vs early do

> better. Those words comforted me, and better yet -they were right.

>

> Tanner transitioned into kindergarten mainstream and was one of the

> top students in his class -and now in an accelerated academics first

> grade he has maintained straight As in all subjects. He recalls

> even complex rules of spelling with ease. And his best subject is

> math which he is able to do in his head. Then again he loves

> science and history too. And Tanner kicks it with chess beating

> kids older than him a number of times now. Tanner is this week

> competing in a spelling bee and when we practice words he says the

> word -spells it -then says the word again -all with his hands

> clasped behind his back. I don't tell him to do this -he

> just " strikes the pose " I guess. He speaks better when he spells

> then when he talks normal for some reason -you can't tell he has any

> impairment of speech when he is spelling. This same child was the

> one who didn't always recall the letter b from the letter d just a

> few years ago. Tanner who is now 7 years old in first grade is now

> spelling words

> like " beneath " " inquired " " rhymes " " astronaut " " commitment " " geography "

" finally " " rejoice "

>

> I probably react stronger emotionally and shouldn't do that because

> this is a sore spot for me due to the ignorance of the abilities of

> the communication impaired I faced with my son Tanner in his younger

> years. I do believe that if we didn't stand up and fight for him he

> would be in a special ed class right now -because the public school

> did not believe in Tanner's abilities due to inappropriate verbal

> based testing. Many new parents do not realize how quickly our

> children slip through the cracks -and I speak to the parents of the

> older children all the time. I say what I do in love for children

> like my son Tanner to ask you to please make sure of what you worry

> about -make sure it's founded if you are worried about academic

> skills-give the child time and the benefit of the doubt.

>

> Then again I do believe in parents gut reaction -if you are reading

> this and you truly believe that your child has a receptive delay

> even if it's just because he can't at 3 or 4 do academic skills that

> are not required yet -that's your child -and you know your child

> best. Best to you, your child -and your family.

>

> Here is more from the archives including research and an article:

>

> " Some say 4-year-olds are too young to take this test but not too

> young to pick up on the stress of their teachers. "

> http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/living/education/k_12/6422361.htm?1c

>

> " Why, when we know what is good for young children, do we persist in

> miseducating them, in putting them at risk for no purpose? The short

> answer is that the movement toward academic training of the young is

> not about education. It is about parents anxious to give their

> children an edge in what they regard as an increasingly competitive

> and global economy. It is about the simplistic notion that giving

> disadvantaged young children academic training will provide them

> with the skills and motivation to continue their education and break

> the cycle of poverty. It is about politicians who push

> accountability, standards, and testing in order to win votes as much

> as or more than to improve the schools.

>

> The deployment of unsupported, potentially harmful pedagogies is

> particularly pernicious at the early-childhood level. It is during

> the early years, ages four to seven, when children's basic attitudes

> toward themselves as students and toward learning and school are

> established. Children who come through this period feeling good

> about themselves, who enjoy learning and who like school, will have

> a lasting appetite for the acquisition of skills and knowledge.

> Children whose academic self-esteem is all but destroyed during

> these formative years, who develop an antipathy toward learning, and

> a dislike of school, will never fully realize their latent abilities

> and talents.

>

> If we want all of our children to be the best that they can be, we

> must recognize that education is about them, not us. If we do what

> is best for children, we will give them and their parents the

> developmentally appropriate, high-quality, affordable, and

> accessible early-childhood education they both need and deserve. "

>

> � Elkind is a professor of child development at Tufts

> University and the author of Reinventing Childhood and The Hurried

> Child.

> http://www.educationnext.org/20012/8elkind.html

>

> And from the same link above (In defense of Elkind's theory -I say

> most of the US kids are not reading as well as the Swiss at the same

> age of 7 'because' all the stress on early reading and self esteem

> damage)

>

> " `Sesame Street' has run for more than 30 years. Children today know

> their numbers and letters earlier than ever before. Many know them

> by age two. Yet children today are not learning math or reading any

> earlier or better than did children before there was `Sesame

> Street.' " The evidence shows that the average child attending Head

> Start exits that program in the summer before kindergarten being

> able to name only one�yes, one�letter of the alphabet. Head Start

> kids must not be watching enough television. "

> http://www.educationnext.org/20012/8elkind.html

>

> And from an archive:

>

> " Research Link / When Children Aren't Ready for Kindergarten

>

> H. Holloway

>

> How can schools promote the achievement of children who are old

> enough to enroll in kindergarten but who are not developmentally

> ready to succeed? Two approaches that parents and schools commonly

> use are delaying the child's entry into kindergarten and retaining

> the child in kindergarten for an extra year.

>

> Giving children an extra year, whether through delayed entry or

> kindergarten retention, makes sense in view of the ample research

> suggesting that the youngest children tend to lag behind their

> classmates. West, Denton, and Reaney (2000) found that in the spring

> of their kindergarten year, younger children had lower reading and

> mathematics knowledge and skills on average than did their older

> counterparts. These researchers also found that older kindergartners

> were more likely to persist at tasks, more eager to learn, and

> better able to pay attention.

>

> Delayed Entry Versus Kindergarten Retention

> To avoid the disadvantage suffered by younger students, some parents

> choose to delay the entry of their children into kindergarten. Zill,

> Loomis, and West (1997) found that children whose kindergarten entry

> was delayed so that they started kindergarten when they were older

> performed better than their younger classmates in grades 1 and 2.

> These researchers concluded that the extra year before starting

> kindergarten does not harm the children who are held out and may

> help most of them.

>

> In contrast, the researchers discovered that children who repeated

> kindergarten were doing worse than their younger classmates on most

> school performance indicators by 1st or 2nd grade. For instance, two-

> thirds of the retained students had received some negative feedback

> from teachers compared with less than half of the nonretained

> students. The retained students were also much more likely to have

> problems concentrating, to perform below their capabilities, and to

> act up and disrupt the class. Zill, Loomis, and West concluded that

> repeating kindergarten had not helped those children and may have

> actually made matters worse.

>

> Reasons for the Differences

> What explains the difference between the school performance of

> delayed-entry children and those who repeat kindergarten? Both

> groups of students are older than most of their classmates, so why

> don't the beneficial effects of being older apply to both groups?

> Some possible answers are that

>

> The underlying developmental problems of the two groups may differ.

>

> The two groups may have different socioeconomic backgrounds.

>

> Parents who choose to delay their children's school entry may have a

> higher level of awareness and involvement.

>

> The stigmatizing effect of being required to repeat a grade may harm

> children's academic progress.

>

> (read full article)

> http://www.ascd.org/publications/ed_lead/200304/holloway.html

>

> There is much more on this.

> In researched studies -those children who read early are no farther

> along than those who read later. Tanner seemed to know his letters

> at 3 and 4 years old, at least most of the time -but it was honestly

> not something that I cared about as much as getting him up to speed

> in being able to talk. With the daily therapy and school, I felt

> bad Tanner didn't have much " kid time " and tried to make the time

> out of therapy and school fun for him. Didn't work well. Most of

> the time Tanner would just sleep in his free time he was so

> exhausted from the long days of therapy and school. I felt he

> missed so much, but on the other hand we couldn't not do the

> therapy. I did the research and knew that school work could and

> should take a back seat during Tanner's preschool years.

>

> Tanner didn't start kindergarten until 6 years old and was one of

> the top in his mainstream class according to his teacher Mrs.

> . He was " reading ready " when he graduated kindergarten. He

> started reading over the summer, his favorite book was " Hop on Pop "

> Because Tanner transitioned out of OT at the end of kindergarten -

> and he seemed ready and willing to learn reading and other

> academics, we switched him to a private accelerated academics

> academy school. When Tanner started first grade he was the only

> one in his class who was a beginner reader since most of his friends

> now were fluent readers since kindergarten. Tanner is also the only

> child in his entire school now who has any impairment of speech,

> other than one little girl with mild stuttering. As one of the

> other toy inventors I used to work with used to say " The proof is in

> the pudding " In spite of the fact that Tanner didn't start working

> on reading skills until later -Tanner has been a straight A student

> in all subjects.

>

> With intensive therapy and all the stress of not being able to

> communicate simple needs well, many of our children in preschool

> years don't have the same amount of kid time with no

> pressure " normal " kids have -don't underestimate the importance of

> play. They not only will catch up when they are ready if given the

> chance -they 'can' surpass others. Again in this group we are

> reporting many of our children that are " late talkers " have

> incredible memories -that's a great asset for being a top student! "

>

> =====

>

[Guest guest]

Agreed, Rose had the same issues around that age. We came to realize that she

knew the colors but was unable to vocalize the answers when asked. She knew she

had a batch of words that represented colors, she knew we wanted to hear one,

she wasn't able work it all out in a reasonable time to answer so she would just

grab one and say it. Then she would smile a giant smile, like " please say I'm

right so I don't have to do that again... " Amazing how they learn to cope with

their shortcomings.

I wouldn't stress. Keep talking about colors in a natural way. She will get

them long before she will be able to tell you.

[ ] Re: my 3 yr old (almost 4) can't learn her

colors

Tara I recall around the same age I too was worried about Tanner's

inconsistency in saying colors or numbers until I too learned that I was just

adding more pressure onto an already full plate.

Here's a clip from the archive -more below:

" > When Tanner was 3 and 4 there were a few times that he would not

> appear to know a letter or number that he typically did know. I

> wasn't sure if he knew and just couldn't let us know -or if he

> forgot. I questioned his SLP Ortega and Zimet -and

> the MDs that worked with him at that time such as for the neuroMDs

> Dr. Agin and Dr. Gozo. When I questioned the professionals who

> worked with Tanner and knew him best, I was told " not to worry

> about it " because Tanner is working on many other things right now.

> Just keep doing what we are doing to expose him to it -and give him

> time because there are many " normal " children who don't just pick

> academic skills early. I was also told about the research that the

> children that are 'expected' to know academic skills 'later' vs early do

> better. Those words comforted me, and better yet -they were right.

>

> Tanner transitioned into kindergarten mainstream and was one of the

> top students in his class -and now in an accelerated academics first

> grade he has maintained straight As in all subjects. He recalls

> even complex rules of spelling with ease. "

Please don't jump to believing it's cognitive or God forbid she " can't " learn

her colors. She's still so young and it can be a number of reasons but if you

meant verbally keep in mind not only does she have to know the color but motor

plan it on command. I have much more below from the archives as this comes up

frequently but think this one archive sums it up...but don't forget that YOU are

your child's best advocate and if you give up on her before she's 4...well you

just can't!!! I won't let you!! No matter what you want to look back and say " I

provided my child with the best chance possible of success...I believed in her

even when others didn't " :

~~~~~~~~start of archive:

Hi

Just wanted to elaborate what I think meant when she said that :

" I just want to again caution against the too real and much to common

danger of assuming that a child with apraxia or other multifaceted

communication impairment when preschool age who doesn't appear to

know his numbers, colors and letters all the time has receptive or

cognitive (etc.) 'challenges'.� Many of our children are working on so many

developmental skills that other children their age already have

mastered and so they may developmentally not be ready to learn pre

reading skills yet, a skill that at 3 or 4 is superficial, not

required to be mastered until kindergarten (which may not be until

years later when the child is 6 years old)� You don't want to set a

child up for failure -it hurts their self esteem. So yes you want to

teach and you want repetition -but you want to do it in a way that

doesn't bring repeated failure -only challenge (with repeated success) "

Some kids are not able to keep up with their peers at 3,4 or 5 but seem to

plateau in Kindergarten or 1st grade (some may need additional help, like

therapies, speech/OT like my dd) this also does not mean that we do not try to

push

them either. It does seem that we as Mothers are so stressed out that our 3

or 4 year old is not learning the same way as their peers but I think what

is saying is that these 3 and 4 yo really do not need the feeling of

their

parents stress added on top of their shoulders either. Does this make any

sense? I hope that Im not causing a debate and believe me I know all about

stressing out but this is just how I interpreted 's post and if I don't

have

this right please feel free to correct me.

Traci

>

> Thanks Traci!

>

> warns me about answering when I am rushing! I believe my

> original point was lost in translation so my apologies.

>

> As many of you know I am very cautious of words such as " receptive

> delay " " cognitive delay " used for preschool children with

> multifaceted communication impairments like apraxia (which can

> involve all or some of the following -motor planning problems,

> weakness and sensory problems) I was specifically responding to

> those who posted concern over their children when they sometimes can

> sometimes can't recall or show they have the ability to recall their

> knowledge of academic skills like " reading readiness " required to be

> known by school age children by the end of kindergarten such as

> numbers or letters or even colors (so 5 -6 or even 7 years old).

>

> When Tanner was 3 and 4 there were a few times that he would not

> appear to know a letter or number that he typically did know. I

> wasn't sure if he knew and just couldn't let us know -or if he

> forgot. I questioned his SLP Ortega and Zimet -and

> the MDs that worked with him at that time such as for the neuroMDs

> Dr. Agin and Dr. Gozo. When I questioned the professionals who

> worked with Tanner and knew him best, I was told " not to worry

> about it " because Tanner is working on many other things right now.

> Just keep doing what we are doing to expose him to it -and give him

> time because there are many " normal " children who don't just pick

> academic skills early. I was also told about the research that the

> children that are 'expected' to know academic skills 'later' vs early do

> better. Those words comforted me, and better yet -they were right.

>

> Tanner transitioned into kindergarten mainstream and was one of the

> top students in his class -and now in an accelerated academics first

> grade he has maintained straight As in all subjects. He recalls

> even complex rules of spelling with ease. And his best subject is

> math which he is able to do in his head. Then again he loves

> science and history too. And Tanner kicks it with chess beating

> kids older than him a number of times now. Tanner is this week

> competing in a spelling bee and when we practice words he says the

> word -spells it -then says the word again -all with his hands

> clasped behind his back. I don't tell him to do this -he

> just " strikes the pose " I guess. He speaks better when he spells

> then when he talks normal for some reason -you can't tell he has any

> impairment of speech when he is spelling. This same child was the

> one who didn't always recall the letter b from the letter d just a

> few years ago. Tanner who is now 7 years old in first grade is now

> spelling words

> like " beneath " " inquired " " rhymes " " astronaut " " commitment " " geography "

" finally " " rejoice "

>

> I probably react stronger emotionally and shouldn't do that because

> this is a sore spot for me due to the ignorance of the abilities of

> the communication impaired I faced with my son Tanner in his younger

> years. I do believe that if we didn't stand up and fight for him he

> would be in a special ed class right now -because the public school

> did not believe in Tanner's abilities due to inappropriate verbal

> based testing. Many new parents do not realize how quickly our

> children slip through the cracks -and I speak to the parents of the

> older children all the time. I say what I do in love for children

> like my son Tanner to ask you to please make sure of what you worry

> about -make sure it's founded if you are worried about academic

> skills-give the child time and the benefit of the doubt.

>

> Then again I do believe in parents gut reaction -if you are reading

> this and you truly believe that your child has a receptive delay

> even if it's just because he can't at 3 or 4 do academic skills that

> are not required yet -that's your child -and you know your child

> best. Best to you, your child -and your family.

>

> Here is more from the archives including research and an article:

>

> " Some say 4-year-olds are too young to take this test but not too

> young to pick up on the stress of their teachers. "

> http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/living/education/k_12/6422361.htm?1c

>

> " Why, when we know what is good for young children, do we persist in

> miseducating them, in putting them at risk for no purpose? The short

> answer is that the movement toward academic training of the young is

> not about education. It is about parents anxious to give their

> children an edge in what they regard as an increasingly competitive

> and global economy. It is about the simplistic notion that giving

> disadvantaged young children academic training will provide them

> with the skills and motivation to continue their education and break

> the cycle of poverty. It is about politicians who push

> accountability, standards, and testing in order to win votes as much

> as or more than to improve the schools.

>

> The deployment of unsupported, potentially harmful pedagogies is

> particularly pernicious at the early-childhood level. It is during

> the early years, ages four to seven, when children's basic attitudes

> toward themselves as students and toward learning and school are

> established. Children who come through this period feeling good

> about themselves, who enjoy learning and who like school, will have

> a lasting appetite for the acquisition of skills and knowledge.

> Children whose academic self-esteem is all but destroyed during

> these formative years, who develop an antipathy toward learning, and

> a dislike of school, will never fully realize their latent abilities

> and talents.

>

> If we want all of our children to be the best that they can be, we

> must recognize that education is about them, not us. If we do what

> is best for children, we will give them and their parents the

> developmentally appropriate, high-quality, affordable, and

> accessible early-childhood education they both need and deserve. "

>

> � Elkind is a professor of child development at Tufts

> University and the author of Reinventing Childhood and The Hurried

> Child.

> http://www.educationnext.org/20012/8elkind.html

>

> And from the same link above (In defense of Elkind's theory -I say

> most of the US kids are not reading as well as the Swiss at the same

> age of 7 'because' all the stress on early reading and self esteem

> damage)

>

> " `Sesame Street' has run for more than 30 years. Children today know

> their numbers and letters earlier than ever before. Many know them

> by age two. Yet children today are not learning math or reading any

> earlier or better than did children before there was `Sesame

> Street.' " The evidence shows that the average child attending Head

> Start exits that program in the summer before kindergarten being

> able to name only one�yes, one�letter of the alphabet. Head Start

> kids must not be watching enough television. "

> http://www.educationnext.org/20012/8elkind.html

>

> And from an archive:

>

> " Research Link / When Children Aren't Ready for Kindergarten

>

> H. Holloway

>

> How can schools promote the achievement of children who are old

> enough to enroll in kindergarten but who are not developmentally

> ready to succeed? Two approaches that parents and schools commonly

> use are delaying the child's entry into kindergarten and retaining

> the child in kindergarten for an extra year.

>

> Giving children an extra year, whether through delayed entry or

> kindergarten retention, makes sense in view of the ample research

> suggesting that the youngest children tend to lag behind their

> classmates. West, Denton, and Reaney (2000) found that in the spring

> of their kindergarten year, younger children had lower reading and

> mathematics knowledge and skills on average than did their older

> counterparts. These researchers also found that older kindergartners

> were more likely to persist at tasks, more eager to learn, and

> better able to pay attention.

>

> Delayed Entry Versus Kindergarten Retention

> To avoid the disadvantage suffered by younger students, some parents

> choose to delay the entry of their children into kindergarten. Zill,

> Loomis, and West (1997) found that children whose kindergarten entry

> was delayed so that they started kindergarten when they were older

> performed better than their younger classmates in grades 1 and 2.

> These researchers concluded that the extra year before starting

> kindergarten does not harm the children who are held out and may

> help most of them.

>

> In contrast, the researchers discovered that children who repeated

> kindergarten were doing worse than their younger classmates on most

> school performance indicators by 1st or 2nd grade. For instance, two-

> thirds of the retained students had received some negative feedback

> from teachers compared with less than half of the nonretained

> students. The retained students were also much more likely to have

> problems concentrating, to perform below their capabilities, and to

> act up and disrupt the class. Zill, Loomis, and West concluded that

> repeating kindergarten had not helped those children and may have

> actually made matters worse.

>

> Reasons for the Differences

> What explains the difference between the school performance of

> delayed-entry children and those who repeat kindergarten? Both

> groups of students are older than most of their classmates, so why

> don't the beneficial effects of being older apply to both groups?

> Some possible answers are that

>

> The underlying developmental problems of the two groups may differ.

>

> The two groups may have different socioeconomic backgrounds.

>

> Parents who choose to delay their children's school entry may have a

> higher level of awareness and involvement.

>

> The stigmatizing effect of being required to repeat a grade may harm

> children's academic progress.

>

> (read full article)

> http://www.ascd.org/publications/ed_lead/200304/holloway.html

>

> There is much more on this.

> In researched studies -those children who read early are no farther

> along than those who read later. Tanner seemed to know his letters

> at 3 and 4 years old, at least most of the time -but it was honestly

> not something that I cared about as much as getting him up to speed

> in being able to talk. With the daily therapy and school, I felt

> bad Tanner didn't have much " kid time " and tried to make the time

> out of therapy and school fun for him. Didn't work well. Most of

> the time Tanner would just sleep in his free time he was so

> exhausted from the long days of therapy and school. I felt he

> missed so much, but on the other hand we couldn't not do the

> therapy. I did the research and knew that school work could and

> should take a back seat during Tanner's preschool years.

>

> Tanner didn't start kindergarten until 6 years old and was one of

> the top in his mainstream class according to his teacher Mrs.

> . He was " reading ready " when he graduated kindergarten. He

> started reading over the summer, his favorite book was " Hop on Pop "

> Because Tanner transitioned out of OT at the end of kindergarten -

> and he seemed ready and willing to learn reading and other

> academics, we switched him to a private accelerated academics

> academy school. When Tanner started first grade he was the only

> one in his class who was a beginner reader since most of his friends

> now were fluent readers since kindergarten. Tanner is also the only

> child in his entire school now who has any impairment of speech,

> other than one little girl with mild stuttering. As one of the

> other toy inventors I used to work with used to say " The proof is in

> the pudding " In spite of the fact that Tanner didn't start working

> on reading skills until later -Tanner has been a straight A student

> in all subjects.

>

> With intensive therapy and all the stress of not being able to

> communicate simple needs well, many of our children in preschool

> years don't have the same amount of kid time with no

> pressure " normal " kids have -don't underestimate the importance of

> play. They not only will catch up when they are ready if given the

> chance -they 'can' surpass others. Again in this group we are

> reporting many of our children that are " late talkers " have

> incredible memories -that's a great asset for being a top student! "

>

> =====

>

[Guest guest]

Are you worried about her being colorblind? Instead of having her say the color,

ask her which one is blue or green or whatever. Then you will be able to tell

if she knows the color, but is having trouble saying the right word. In the

great scheme of things, knowing colors by a certain age isn't so necessary. With

my son we pointed out color on cars all the time, all of his matchbox cars where

named by color, green race car, red dump truck, white truck with white trailer,

etc.

I have a friend whose husband is color blind and they work different shifts so

someone is home with the children at all times. Well, he teaches their children

the wrong name for colors b/c he can't see the difference. Drives her crazy, but

they get it sorted out eventually.

Liralen

>

> Agreed, Rose had the same issues around that age. We came to realize that she

knew the colors but was unable to vocalize the answers when asked. She knew she

had a batch of words that represented colors, she knew we wanted to hear one,

she wasn't able work it all out in a reasonable time to answer so she would just

grab one and say it. Then she would smile a giant smile, like " please say I'm

right so I don't have to do that again... " Amazing how they learn to cope with

their shortcomings.

>

> I wouldn't stress. Keep talking about colors in a natural way. She will get

them long before she will be able to tell you.

>

>

[Guest guest]

When my son was little and couldn't learn more than two or three colors.

When we started chelation he learned them fast. I think the metals were

causing his colorblindness.

Kathy

From:

[mailto: ] On Behalf Of liralendoncov

Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2010 9:28 AM

Subject: [ ] Re: my 3 yr old (almost 4) can't learn her

colors

Are you worried about her being colorblind? Instead of having her say the

color, ask her which one is blue or green or whatever. Then you will be able

to tell if she knows the color, but is having trouble saying the right word.

In the great scheme of things, knowing colors by a certain age isn't so

necessary. With my son we pointed out color on cars all the time, all of his

matchbox cars where named by color, green race car, red dump truck, white

truck with white trailer, etc.

I have a friend whose husband is color blind and they work different shifts

so someone is home with the children at all times. Well, he teaches their

children the wrong name for colors b/c he can't see the difference. Drives

her crazy, but they get it sorted out eventually.

Liralen

>

> Agreed, Rose had the same issues around that age. We came to realize that

she knew the colors but was unable to vocalize the answers when asked. She

knew she had a batch of words that represented colors, she knew we wanted to

hear one, she wasn't able work it all out in a reasonable time to answer so

she would just grab one and say it. Then she would smile a giant smile, like

" please say I'm right so I don't have to do that again... " Amazing how they

learn to cope with their shortcomings.

>

> I wouldn't stress. Keep talking about colors in a natural way. She will

get them long before she will be able to tell you.

>

>

[Guest guest]

Tara the suggestions about games are great as long as it's fun for your child.

One of Tanner's OTs used to work on fine motor skills and colors at the same

time. You take various colored plastic objects and “hide†them in play

dough. Tanner had to try to find all of the objects, put each one into the

matching colored cup, and attempt to say the color of the object.

But games and working on colors for a 3 year old with a speech impairment aside

as we've already covered that while those of us who have been there before can

clearly say this skill means absolutely nothing in regards to future academic

success or intelligence...if you use nonverbal ways to ask colors can she answer

that?

In other words if you ask your daughter to point to the " red " pony or the

" yellow " kitty...is she able to point correctly to the color? If you ask for

the green block will she hand you the green block? Knowing colors as we are

aware in this group doesn't mean ability to verbally say the word.

Either way -here are some things I found with a quick search! (LOVE " I spy " we

used to play that all the time!!!)

All About Colors - Teaching Colors to Preschoolers

Teaching your child colors doesn’t have to be boring. Some people teach colors

just by pointing to objects and saying what color they are. This is something

you can do regularly to help your child understand colors but it is kind of

boring. Children love to learn through playing and games so why not making

learning colors fun. You may find that when you first introduce colors to your

child that she picks one color to describe everything. This is perfectly normal

and she will learn the right name for all of the colors soon enough. Be patient,

have fun and let your child enjoy learning. To help you with teaching your

preschooler colors we have come up with a list of great ideas that anyone can

do.

Finger paints - Kids love to paint. You may want to work on just a few colors at

a time and let them have fun telling you what colors they used to paint with.

Playdough- You can have all kinds of fun with playdough. Have your child combine

two colors to see what they make.

I Spy - Play “I Spy†around your house and let your child find objects with

different colors. Or make your own “I Spy†book. Cut out pictures from

magazines or books and glue them on the pages. Then flip through the book and

let your child pick out the different colored items.

Ribbon dancing- Purchase some colored streamers from a party store and let your

child have fun ribbon dancing with her colored streamer.

Play a matching game - Make your own colored cards out of construction paper.

Place several cards on the floor or table and let them pick the cards with

matching colors.

Make your own fishing game - Take construction paper and cut papers into fish

shapes. Glue a magnetic strip to each paper fish. Then purchase a wood craft

stick and tie a string to it. Attach a magnetic strip to the end of the string.

Have your child catch different colored fish.

Play hide and go seek- Cut up construction paper clues (or use different colored

toys) and hide them. Ask your child to find all of the clues that are a certain

color.

Treasure hunt game- Fill a bucket with sand and hide different colored objects

in the sand. Have your child dig through the sand to find the right colored

objects.

Coloring pages- Practice colors by simply having your child color in coloring a

coloring book. Ask your child what color crayons they are using while they

color.

Color the Rainbow

Buy a large picture of a rainbow that includes the colors red, orange, yellow,

green, blue, and purple. Alternatively, you can draw the outline of a rainbow

and help your child color it in or paint it appropriately. Then have your child

leaf through old magazines to find objects that are a single color. Help your

child cut the pictures out and paste them on the appropriate strip of the

rainbow. When your child finishes, go through each strip to point out the

different objects that are each color. For example, you might say, “Wow, look

at all the things that are red! There’s an apple, a car, a shirt, a flower,

and a raincoat. That’s a lot of red!â€

Block Tower Contest

Do you have blocks in several different colors? Use them to teach colors to your

preschooler. To do this, pick up a blue block and say, “I’m going to build a

blue tower, and I’m only going to use blue blocks!†Model this process by

picking up all the blue blocks, putting them in a pile, and building a tower

with them. Then pick up a green block and say, “This block is green. Can you

build a green tower? Let’s use only green blocks in this tower.†If your

child catches on, repeat with the other colors in the block set.

Color Scavenger Hunt

Cut out small squares from several pieces of construction paper

(different colors). Hand one of the squares to your child and ask, “Can you

find anything else in the house that’s this color? This color is ____.â€

Encourage your child to use the square to find other objects that are the

matching color. This activity is perfect to do in a playroom, where there are

usually many materials in primary colors.

These are several techniques for how to teach colors to preschoolers. The most

important technique you can use, of course, is simply using the color words over

and over again in everyday conversation. Then encourage your child to do the

same!

Music to teach color

http://www.songsforteaching.com/colorssongs.htm

You can also look for online games to teach color at sites like Disney or toy

companies -here's one from Nick Jr http://www.nickjr.com/kids-games

So yes -have fun!!!

=====

[Guest guest]

Great ideas !

Just remember, color Identification (receptive skill) occurs prior to color

naming (expression). So first, target pointing games (show me/point to the___),

then work on matching, the work on naming colors.

Most sp-lang tests only expect kids to identify colors by 3-4 yrs & state 1

color name by 3yrs. Usually, kids state blue, red, or yellow first. The order

does not matter.

As stated, color naming does not predict language skills later on. There are

many other factors which predict skills.

Warmest wishes,

Barbara A , M.S., CCC-SLP

Executive Director, Help Me Speak, LLC

410-442-9791

[ ] Re: my 3 yr old (almost 4) can't learn her colors

Tara the suggestions about games are great as long as it's fun for your child.

One of Tanner's OTs used to work on fine motor skills and colors at the same

time. You take various colored plastic objects and “hide†them in play

dough. Tanner had to try to find all of the objects, put each one into the

matching colored cup, and attempt to say the color of the object.

But games and working on colors for a 3 year old with a speech impairment aside

as we've already covered that while those of us who have been there before can

clearly say this skill means absolutely nothing in regards to future academic

success or intelligence...if you use nonverbal ways to ask colors can she answer

that?

In other words if you ask your daughter to point to the " red " pony or the

" yellow " kitty...is she able to point correctly to the color? If you ask for

the green block will she hand you the green block? Knowing colors as we are

aware in this group doesn't mean ability to verbally say the word.

Either way -here are some things I found with a quick search! (LOVE " I spy " we

used to play that all the time!!!)

All About Colors - Teaching Colors to Preschoolers

Teaching your child colors doesn’t have to be boring. Some people teach colors

just by pointing to objects and saying what color they are. This is something

you can do regularly to help your child understand colors but it is kind of

boring. Children love to learn through playing and games so why not making

learning colors fun. You may find that when you first introduce colors to your

child that she picks one color to describe everything. This is perfectly normal

and she will learn the right name for all of the colors soon enough. Be patient,

have fun and let your child enjoy learning. To help you with teaching your

preschooler colors we have come up with a list of great ideas that anyone can

do.

Finger paints - Kids love to paint. You may want to work on just a few colors at

a time and let them have fun telling you what colors they used to paint with.

Playdough- You can have all kinds of fun with playdough. Have your child combine

two colors to see what they make.

I Spy - Play “I Spy†around your house and let your child find objects with

different colors. Or make your own “I Spy†book. Cut out pictures from

magazines or books and glue them on the pages. Then flip through the book and

let your child pick out the different colored items.

Ribbon dancing- Purchase some colored streamers from a party store and let your

child have fun ribbon dancing with her colored streamer.

Play a matching game - Make your own colored cards out of construction paper.

Place several cards on the floor or table and let them pick the cards with

matching colors.

Make your own fishing game - Take construction paper and cut papers into fish

shapes. Glue a magnetic strip to each paper fish. Then purchase a wood craft

stick and tie a string to it. Attach a magnetic strip to the end of the string.

Have your child catch different colored fish.

Play hide and go seek- Cut up construction paper clues (or use different colored

toys) and hide them. Ask your child to find all of the clues that are a certain

color.

Treasure hunt game- Fill a bucket with sand and hide different colored objects

in the sand. Have your child dig through the sand to find the right colored

objects.

Coloring pages- Practice colors by simply having your child color in coloring a

coloring book. Ask your child what color crayons they are using while they

color.

Color the Rainbow

Buy a large picture of a rainbow that includes the colors red, orange, yellow,

green, blue, and purple. Alternatively, you can draw the outline of a rainbow

and help your child color it in or paint it appropriately. Then have your child

leaf through old magazines to find objects that are a single color. Help your

child cut the pictures out and paste them on the appropriate strip of the

rainbow. When your child finishes, go through each strip to point out the

different objects that are each color. For example, you might say, “Wow, look

at all the things that are red! There’s an apple, a car, a shirt, a flower,

and a raincoat. That’s a lot of red!â€

Block Tower Contest

Do you have blocks in several different colors? Use them to teach colors to your

preschooler. To do this, pick up a blue block and say, “I’m going to build a

blue tower, and I’m only going to use blue blocks!†Model this process by

picking up all the blue blocks, putting them in a pile, and building a tower

with them. Then pick up a green block and say, “This block is green. Can you

build a green tower? Let’s use only green blocks in this tower.†If your

child catches on, repeat with the other colors in the block set.

Color Scavenger Hunt

Cut out small squares from several pieces of construction paper

(different colors). Hand one of the squares to your child and ask, “Can you

find anything else in the house that’s this color? This color is____.â€

Encourage your child to use the square to find other objects that are the

matching color. This activity is perfect to do in a playroom, where there are

usually many materials in primary colors.

These are several techniques for how to teach colors to preschoolers. The most

important technique you can use, of course, is simply using the color words over

and over again in everyday conversation. Then encourage your child to do the

same!

Music to teach color

http://www.songsforteaching.com/colorssongs.htm

You can also look for online games to teach color at sites like Disney or toy

companies -here's one from Nick Jr http://www.nickjr.com/kids-games

So yes -have fun!!!

=====

[Guest guest]

sorry it's taking me so long to get back to everyone. Thanks for all your input.

My daughter is almost 4 (may 31) and she is talking quite well. While it's far

from perfect almost everybody can understand her. We went to see Kaufman

about 8 months ago and it was the best money we ever spent.(and we have spent

plenty) It changed everything about the way my daughter receives her s/t.

told me she was not so concerned about her speech - she felt for sure

would talk- she felt her issues would be more cognitive. I was in shock because

my daughter had always tested very high on that part of the peaboby test.

explained she always would because she was smart and that these test were too

easy. Now that she is trying to learn her colors I completely understand what

she meant. She does say all the colors names but just can't put them toghether.

They do play all sorts of games with her. She is a therapy baby (since 3 months

aggresivley) It

also happens with animals. She will look a a bird and flap her arms, she will

look @ a cat and say meow, ect. ect. The animals I can work on because I can

describe it to her ex. Pig- it's pink, fat, lives on a farm, says oink, and then

she will say pig. Colors are just hard- cant really describe them as easily as a

farm animal. I try not to worry about her as I do realize she is working in so

many areas but I know she is smart and I guess I can't grasp not being able to

learn basic colors at this stage. Somebody just recomended the muskatova method.

It's a face tapping therapy. HAs anyone tried it? (Funny if I mix colors up and

say get me the red, get me the blue, get me the yellow, - she almost

always gets that right. It's if I say what color is this or that - she is

completey guessing.

________________________________

From: kiddietalk <kiddietalk@...>

Sent: Wed, March 24, 2010 1:23:12 AM

Subject: [ ] Re: my 3 yr old (almost 4) can't learn her colors

 

Tara the suggestions about games are great as long as it's fun for your child.

One of Tanner's OTs used to work on fine motor skills and colors at the same

time. You take various colored plastic objects and “hide†them in play

dough. Tanner had to try to find all of the objects, put each one into the

matching colored cup, and attempt to say the color of the object.

But games and working on colors for a 3 year old with a speech impairment aside

as we've already covered that while those of us who have been there before can

clearly say this skill means absolutely nothing in regards to future academic

success or intelligence. ..if you use nonverbal ways to ask colors can she

answer that?

In other words if you ask your daughter to point to the " red " pony or the

" yellow " kitty...is she able to point correctly to the color? If you ask for the

green block will she hand you the green block? Knowing colors as we are aware in

this group doesn't mean ability to verbally say the word.

Either way -here are some things I found with a quick search! (LOVE " I spy " we

used to play that all the time!!!)

All About Colors - Teaching Colors to Preschoolers

Teaching your child colors doesn’t have to be boring. Some people teach colors

just by pointing to objects and saying what color they are. This is something

you can do regularly to help your child understand colors but it is kind of

boring. Children love to learn through playing and games so why not making

learning colors fun. You may find that when you first introduce colors to your

child that she picks one color to describe everything. This is perfectly normal

and she will learn the right name for all of the colors soon enough. Be patient,

have fun and let your child enjoy learning. To help you with teaching your

preschooler colors we have come up with a list of great ideas that anyone can

do.

Finger paints - Kids love to paint. You may want to work on just a few colors at

a time and let them have fun telling you what colors they used to paint with.

Playdough- You can have all kinds of fun with playdough. Have your child combine

two colors to see what they make.

I Spy - Play “I Spy†around your house and let your child find objects with

different colors. Or make your own “I Spy†book. Cut out pictures from

magazines or books and glue them on the pages. Then flip through the book and

let your child pick out the different colored items.

Ribbon dancing- Purchase some colored streamers from a party store and let your

child have fun ribbon dancing with her colored streamer.

Play a matching game - Make your own colored cards out of construction paper.

Place several cards on the floor or table and let them pick the cards with

matching colors.

Make your own fishing game - Take construction paper and cut papers into fish

shapes. Glue a magnetic strip to each paper fish. Then purchase a wood craft

stick and tie a string to it. Attach a magnetic strip to the end of the string.

Have your child catch different colored fish.

Play hide and go seek- Cut up construction paper clues (or use different colored

toys) and hide them. Ask your child to find all of the clues that are a certain

color.

Treasure hunt game- Fill a bucket with sand and hide different colored objects

in the sand. Have your child dig through the sand to find the right colored

objects.

Coloring pages- Practice colors by simply having your child color in coloring a

coloring book. Ask your child what color crayons they are using while they

color.

Color the Rainbow

Buy a large picture of a rainbow that includes the colors red, orange, yellow,

green, blue, and purple. Alternatively, you can draw the outline of a rainbow

and help your child color it in or paint it appropriately. Then have your child

leaf through old magazines to find objects that are a single color. Help your

child cut the pictures out and paste them on the appropriate strip of the

rainbow. When your child finishes, go through each strip to point out the

different objects that are each color. For example, you might say, “Wow, look

at all the things that are red! There’s an apple, a car, a shirt, a flower,

and a raincoat. That’s a lot of red!â€

Block Tower Contest

Do you have blocks in several different colors? Use them to teach colors to your

preschooler. To do this, pick up a blue block and say, “I’m going to build a

blue tower, and I’m only going to use blue blocks!†Model this process by

picking up all the blue blocks, putting them in a pile, and building a tower

with them. Then pick up a green block and say, “This block is green. Can you

build a green tower? Let’s use only green blocks in this tower.†If your

child catches on, repeat with the other colors in the block set.

Color Scavenger Hunt

Cut out small squares from several pieces of construction paper

(different colors). Hand one of the squares to your child and ask, “Can you

find anything else in the house that’s this color? This color is ____.â€

Encourage your child to use the square to find other objects that are the

matching color. This activity is perfect to do in a playroom, where there are

usually many materials in primary colors.

These are several techniques for how to teach colors to preschoolers. The most

important technique you can use, of course, is simply using the color words over

and over again in everyday conversation. Then encourage your child to do the

same!

Music to teach color

http://www.songsfor teaching. com/colorssongs. htm

You can also look for online games to teach color at sites like Disney or toy

companies -here's one from Nick Jr http://www.nickjr. com/kids- games

So yes -have fun!!!

=====

[Guest guest]

You wrote:

" We went to see Kaufman about 8 months ago and it was the best money we

ever spent.(and we have spent plenty) It changed everything about the way my

daughter receives her s/t. told me she was not so concerned about her

speech - she felt for sure would talk- she felt her issues would be more

cognitive. I was in shock because my daughter had always tested very high on

that part of the peaboby test. explained she always would because she was

smart and that these test were too easy "

As an SLP who specializes in apraxia, I don't understand 's comments. The

only way that I would tell a parent that, as you said, her issues would be more

cognitive would be if I had test results to back up my information. We,

professionals, can't assume that a child may have certain deficits unless we

have test data to support that conclusion. Did do any language testing

besides the KSPT?

I guess one of my frustrations is when a professional will tell a parent that

their child will not or will never do such and such. Argh! I see some

doctors do this too. How do they know what the child will or won't do for

sure??? Do they have a crystal ball? Maybe it's just me, but I don't ever give

up on my clients---even when others have. I have had many parents tell me that

they are pleasantly surprised their child could now do xyz or speak, etc after

working with me because the neuro doc had said that the

child would never do that!

As a professional, yes, we need to use prognostic indicators to give us guidance

on expected progress. Such as age of child, receptive/ expressive language

skill levels, cognitive skills, hearing acuity, visual acuity, fine/gross motor

skills, etc., etc. BUT those indicators are only guidelines. Unfortunately,

kids don't read the book and know how they should respond.

Sorry to ramble, but 's comments confused & concerned me.

Warmest wishes,

Barbara

Barbara A. , M.S., CCC-SLP

Executive Director/ Help Me Speak, LLC

<http://www.helpmespeak.com/> http://www.helpmespeak.com

(o) 410-442-9791 (f) 410-442-9783

2500 Wallington Way; Suite 103

Marriottsville, MD 21104

follow us on FaceBook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marriottsville-MD/Help-Me-Speak-LLC/104628852032

Call me with any questions about NutriiVeda! www.hms.myzrii.com

From:

[mailto: ] On Behalf Of Tara Nowakowski

Sent: Wednesday, March 24, 2010 6:35 AM

Subject: Re: [ ] Re: my 3 yr old (almost 4) can't learn her

colors

sorry it's taking me so long to get back to everyone. Thanks for all your input.

My daughter is almost 4 (may 31) and she is talking quite well. While it's far

from perfect almost everybody can understand her. We went to see Kaufman

about 8 months ago and it was the best money we ever spent.(and we have spent

plenty) It changed everything about the way my daughter receives her s/t.

told me she was not so concerned about her speech - she felt for sure

would talk- she felt her issues would be more cognitive. I was in shock because

my daughter had always tested very high on that part of the peaboby test.

explained she always would because she was smart and that these test were too

easy. Now that she is trying to learn her colors I completely understand what

she meant. She does say all the colors names but just can't put them toghether.

They do play all sorts of games with her. She is a therapy baby (since 3 months

aggresivley) It

also happens with animals. She will look a a bird and flap her arms, she will

look @ a cat and say meow, ect. ect. The animals I can work on because I can

describe it to her ex. Pig- it's pink, fat, lives on a farm, says oink, and then

she will say pig. Colors are just hard- cant really describe them as easily as a

farm animal. I try not to worry about her as I do realize she is working in so

many areas but I know she is smart and I guess I can't grasp not being able to

learn basic colors at this stage. Somebody just recomended the muskatova method.

It's a face tapping therapy. HAs anyone tried it? (Funny if I mix colors up and

say get me the red, get me the blue, get me the yellow, - she almost

always gets that right. It's if I say what color is this or that - she is

completey guessing.

________________________________

From: kiddietalk <kiddietalk@... <mailto:kiddietalk%40> >

<mailto: %40>

Sent: Wed, March 24, 2010 1:23:12 AM

Subject: [ ] Re: my 3 yr old (almost 4) can't learn her colors

Tara the suggestions about games are great as long as it's fun for your child.

One of Tanner's OTs used to work on fine motor skills and colors at the same

time. You take various colored plastic objects and “hide†them in play

dough. Tanner had to try to find all of the objects, put each one into the

matching colored cup, and attempt to say the color of the object.

But games and working on colors for a 3 year old with a speech impairment aside

as we've already covered that while those of us who have been there before can

clearly say this skill means absolutely nothing in regards to future academic

success or intelligence. ..if you use nonverbal ways to ask colors can she

answer that?

In other words if you ask your daughter to point to the " red " pony or the

" yellow " kitty...is she able to point correctly to the color? If you ask for the

green block will she hand you the green block? Knowing colors as we are aware in

this group doesn't mean ability to verbally say the word.

Either way -here are some things I found with a quick search! (LOVE " I spy " we

used to play that all the time!!!)

All About Colors - Teaching Colors to Preschoolers

Teaching your child colors doesn’t have to be boring. Some people teach colors

just by pointing to objects and saying what color they are. This is something

you can do regularly to help your child understand colors but it is kind of

boring. Children love to learn through playing and games so why not making

learning colors fun. You may find that when you first introduce colors to your

child that she picks one color to describe everything. This is perfectly normal

and she will learn the right name for all of the colors soon enough. Be patient,

have fun and let your child enjoy learning. To help you with teaching your

preschooler colors we have come up with a list of great ideas that anyone can

do.

Finger paints - Kids love to paint. You may want to work on just a few colors at

a time and let them have fun telling you what colors they used to paint with.

Playdough- You can have all kinds of fun with playdough. Have your child combine

two colors to see what they make.

I Spy - Play “I Spy†around your house and let your child find objects with

different colors. Or make your own “I Spy†book. Cut out pictures from

magazines or books and glue them on the pages. Then flip through the book and

let your child pick out the different colored items.

Ribbon dancing- Purchase some colored streamers from a party store and let your

child have fun ribbon dancing with her colored streamer.

Play a matching game - Make your own colored cards out of construction paper.

Place several cards on the floor or table and let them pick the cards with

matching colors.

Make your own fishing game - Take construction paper and cut papers into fish

shapes. Glue a magnetic strip to each paper fish. Then purchase a wood craft

stick and tie a string to it. Attach a magnetic strip to the end of the string.

Have your child catch different colored fish.

Play hide and go seek- Cut up construction paper clues (or use different colored

toys) and hide them. Ask your child to find all of the clues that are a certain

color.

Treasure hunt game- Fill a bucket with sand and hide different colored objects

in the sand. Have your child dig through the sand to find the right colored

objects.

Coloring pages- Practice colors by simply having your child color in coloring a

coloring book. Ask your child what color crayons they are using while they

color.

Color the Rainbow

Buy a large picture of a rainbow that includes the colors red, orange, yellow,

green, blue, and purple. Alternatively, you can draw the outline of a rainbow

and help your child color it in or paint it appropriately. Then have your child

leaf through old magazines to find objects that are a single color. Help your

child cut the pictures out and paste them on the appropriate strip of the

rainbow. When your child finishes, go through each strip to point out the

different objects that are each color. For example, you might say, “Wow, look

at all the things that are red! There’s an apple, a car, a shirt, a flower,

and a raincoat. That’s a lot of red!â€

Block Tower Contest

Do you have blocks in several different colors? Use them to teach colors to your

preschooler. To do this, pick up a blue block and say, “I’m going to build a

blue tower, and I’m only going to use blue blocks!†Model this process by

picking up all the blue blocks, putting them in a pile, and building a tower

with them. Then pick up a green block and say, “This block is green. Can you

build a green tower? Let’s use only green blocks in this tower.†If your

child catches on, repeat with the other colors in the block set.

Color Scavenger Hunt

Cut out small squares from several pieces of construction paper

(different colors). Hand one of the squares to your child and ask, “Can you

find anything else in the house that’s this color? This color is ____.â€

Encourage your child to use the square to find other objects that are the

matching color. This activity is perfect to do in a playroom, where there are

usually many materials in primary colors.

These are several techniques for how to teach colors to preschoolers. The most

important technique you can use, of course, is simply using the color words over

and over again in everyday conversation. Then encourage your child to do the

same!

Music to teach color

http://www.songsfor teaching. com/colorssongs. htm

You can also look for online games to teach color at sites like Disney or toy

companies -here's one from Nick Jr http://www.nickjr. com/kids- games

So yes -have fun!!!

=====

[Guest guest]

Thank you Barbara. And Tara I can't even believe this would be true for any

professional to judge a baby like this. In fact if this happened then you are

falling into the negative version of the now very well proven Rosenthal theory

which is very sad.

I avoided therapists that appeared to underestimated my son like they had the

bird flu. I had the honor of speaking with the distinguished Dr.

Rosenthal and would love to have research in this area of verbal disabled

children and students since society has such a negative view of the verbal

disabled (unless they are hearing impaired or deaf -for that, today, there is

more sympathy) If anyone is interested Dr. Rosenthal said he would help. Here's

just one article on this http://www.ntlf.com/html/pi/9902/pygm_1.htm Huge amount

more all over the web. This is a now well proven and known theory.

Furthermore we know from this group including with my own son Tanner that

ability to say a color or even know a color at 3 years old (even if almost 4)

has nothing to do with future success. It's fortunate for me I guess then when

my son was little and while I was still learning and a newbie that I was

surrounded with positive professionals who assured me that Tanner's inconsistent

ability to tell me what color or number had nothing to do with his abilities and

to just keep doing what I was doing.

Again my son has been in the mainstream and many times a straight A student and

very bright since kindergarten. In fact his kindergarten teacher even his first

year in mainstream said he was " one of the top students in the class " (of 24

kids!!!)

Even WHEN a professional tests a child's receptive or cognitive ability there is

room for error in a toddler no matter what. There is room for error for any age

when that individual has a verbal disability. According to DR. a Tallal

there is NO testing that is 100 percent accurate for a verbal disabled

individual to accurately measure receptive ability. Dr. Tallal is one of the

Cherab Foundation advisers

http://www.cherabfoundation.org/about/advisoryboard/paula-tallal-ph-d

It seems like there has to be something missing from your story -but if someone

told me this about my son the way you laid it out here - not only would I be

furious- but for sure wouldn't say how great they are!! In fact there were

professionals- check the archives -the public school when Tanner was in out of

district placement for preschool at the Summit Speech School. Their testing

found that " Tanner needs to be schooled in a self contained learning disabled

kindergarten class. He wouldn't make it in a mainstream kindergarten class "

And you know what I said (picture this being said in the most disgusted matter

of fact way possible)

" Just exactly what is it that you think my son is not " CAPABLE " of doing in a

mainstream kindergarten class?! Finger painting? Sitting on a rug and

listening to a story?! And if we do start him in a self contained learning

disabled class which I won't agree to anyway at what point would you propose we

throw him into the mainstream? 1st? 2nd? 3rd?!! "

And just then the Director of Summit Speech School cut in and said

" I believe what Mrs. Geng is saying is to give the student the benefit of the

doubt. Based on our testing here there is no reason why Tanner could not be

placed in the mainstream so lets start him there and then if he's having

trouble...THEN you can pull him out and place him in a self contained class "

And you want to know something? These professionals HAD all the testing to back

up what they were saying! But I don't agree with the testing. I've spoken to

Dr. Rosenthal about it. He said to me " Why in the world would they use verbal

based testing for children with communication deficits? " And I said " Dr.

Rosenthal you are one of the world's greatest psychologists ever and if you

don't know -I certainly don't. All I know is that the emperor is naked and

nobody notices all over the country "

If you give up on your child even before 4 years old -who else ever will give

the chance to your child to prove others wrong that don't believe in them? It

sounds again like you've already given up -and that's so sad.

And you want to know something else??? There are so many others who said to me

after the fact " I never thought Tanner was going to go as far as he did " They

did not tell me that however -some things are best kept to yourself -ESPECIALLY

if you don't have testing to back it up.

My older son Dakota -he's probably even more the reason I know this is just

garbage. My son Dakota was a traumatic forceps delivery with life threatening

injuries at birth. He had injuries to his head, neck and face -trouble

breathing and eating and severe swelling in the brain due to the trauma. Both

of us almost died at birth and if anyone looked at his medical records

apparently it looks like he was born in a third world country...in fact my

doctor was on vacation and he was delivered by someone right out of medical

school who didn't know any better and Dakota was transverse. Only 2 percent of

babies are born (not C sectioned) because it's so dangerous to both mom and

child -but that is how this doctor tried to deliver Dakota who was not turned

correctly. Dakota did live, so did I -but it was very rough. We both had

severe injuries and Dakota was in intensive care and then overseen by

neurologists ever step of the way for the first few years of his life. We were

in constant therapy for Dakota and no matter how much pain I was in all I cared

about was helping Dakota. (people used to just look at him and cry and each

breath he took for the first few months of his life he moaned like he was in

pain -probably because he was) At 2 years old -slightly younger than your

child's age -Dr. Trevor De Souza in Jersey sat Glenn and I down and told us very

calmly and yes nicely that Dakota had a 6 month delay and that " nobody can tell

you right now whether that delay will be permanent or not " I had tears running

down my face while he told us " NOT " to give up hope. That the brain is

malleable and to " expose Dakota to as much brain stimulation as possible " Of

course I didn't know what that meant but he taught us that meant everything from

colors and music to every type of education. We had Dakota on the computer at

2. He was in all types of classes both fun as well as therapy. Museums, dance,

reading, cooking -everything.

Dakota was at high risk for mental retardation and for part of his body not

growing. He was at high risk for being in a wheel chair the rest of his life

according to various doctors and we saw many of course. But one thing we were

always given by every doctor and I took it was HOPE. If there was a small

chance my son would be able to live a normal life I'm going to do my best to

provide that chance to him. Do you appreciate how much different this is than

believing your child " can't " learn colors? To report a speech pathologist who

isn't a PhD even tells you that you can't go by tests and that in her opinion

your child has cognitive issues??? That's just insane! I was faced with teams

of neurologists and hospitals and testing for Dakota and provided with very

dismal facts -but also with hope -always with hope. I am thankful for all those

doctors. And Dakota proved to me that early intervention is powerful.

Dakota is brilliant. He tested in the 3rd grade 99th percentile. He is a whiz

at computers and is in HS and college at the same time right now in 10th grade.

He does have ADHD (which I don't think is any big deal -OMG take that any day)

but the fish oils have been great and FINALLY he's admitting that nutriiveda

http://www.pursuitofresearch.org is " helping him focus "

Here's some info for you to but way way more out there as again Dr. Rosenthal is

one of the top psychologists of our lifetime. Study the work of Dr.

Rosenthal or watch the movie Stand and Deliver. You will NEVER again consider

a professional who judges your child's ability -especially preschool child's

ability as anything but what it is -horrible! The following is about Dr.

Rosenthal's theory in relation to the blind population -it works for our

population as well.

The Interpersonal Expectancy Effect2

A Harvard researcher, Rosenthal, showed the remarkable effects of lowered

expectations in a study conducted in 1964 and 1965. Rosenthal was concerned

that, " one person's expectation for another's behavior could come to serve as a

self-fulfilling prophecy. " 3 He conducted his study in a California school that

operated under an ability-tracking system in which each of the school's six

grades was divided into three groups: fast, medium, and slow.

After the principal of this California school had read a Rosenthal article on

" investigator expectancy effect, " which discussed the fact that the bias of the

researcher was reflected in the outcome of certain studies, she wondered if the

expectations her teachers had for their students had anything to do with the

level at which they performed and their resulting placement in one of the three

tracks. Because of this concern the principal had invited Rosenthal to conduct

the study at her school.

Rosenthal began his study by administering IQ tests to selected students. He

then lumped students into two groupings--those who were expected to improve at

an average rate and those who would be expected to improve at a superior rate.

He told the teachers who would be working with the youngsters which of the

students were expected to be average and which were likely to be superior.

Rosenthal returned to the school several times over a two-year period, retesting

the students on each visit. His findings confirmed his worst fear: the

self-fulfilling prophecy had come true. The students the teachers expected to be

average functioned at an average rate, and the so-called superior

students--those the teachers expected to be superior--improved at a superior

rate. In fact the tests showed that IQ increases actually tracked with teacher

expectations for each group.

After the study was completed, Rosenthal revealed the startling truth--the dirty

little secret. When he split the students into the two groups, he had done so

randomly. This meant that the average group included superior students, and the

superior group included average students. However, he had led the teachers to

believe that those in the average group were students who had tested at an

average level and the ones in the superior group had tested superior. The

teachers' expectations for the members of each group correlated precisely with

the students' achievement. No doubt the teachers who were involved in this study

believed that they held not only fair but also high expectations for all of

their students in both groups--no doubt they were people with good intentions.

Since this problem of soft bigotry could arise so easily and naturally among

teachers who believed they were teaching what they would call normal children,

just imagine the impact of lowered expectations on an entire group of people

already perceived by society as something less than normal. Among other things

this study also shows all too clearly that people who believe they have high

expectations for those with whom they are working often really don't and that

good intentions alone don't cut it.

http://www.nfb.org/Images/nfb/Publications/bm/bm07/bm0706/bm070607.htm

Tara- I'm telling you so please believe this instead...your child CAN learn

colors!

=====

[Guest guest]

My son loves this unomoo farm animal game and I don't even think he knows it

taught him his colors. We played it at home and his speech therapist also used

to use it in therapy sometimes. I found a link for it from Toys R Us

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3454135

I agree not to think this is a problem with her ability to learn.

Kate

> >

> > >

> > > Help. Wondering if anyone has any suggestions. My daughter knows all her

colors names but can't identify colors on objects. She gets green and red right

alot but none of the other colors. She will just keep guessing until she is

right. I know this has to do with processing issues. Has anyone else had this

problem?

[Guest guest]

Yes, , great points and info. The Rosenthal theory of self-fulfilling

prophecy is EXACTLY why it steams me when professionals (Doctors, SLPs, OTs,

PTs, etc) paint a negative picture to parents about their child’s prognosis.

No one has a crystal ball! There are so many different variables that comprise

a child’s overall progress.

Parental support and an expectation of continued improvement is vital for any

child. It is hard for parents to expect the most improvement when docs tell

them that their child won’t progress.

Back to colors---comprehension and expression. Interestingly, most

speech-language tests don’t require that kids know all their colors by age 3.

First comes comprehension (identification of colors by pointing) and then comes

naming/expression. In most areas of the country, society thinks that kids should

know all their colors, #s, and letters by age 3. However, those skills are not

required to have developed by age 3.

I hope that other parents haven’t experienced the same type of comments from

other professionals about what their child “won’t†do. Unfortunately,

I’m sure it happens all too frequently.

If that happens to a parent on this list, I hope you remember the

self-fulfilling prophecy theory and tell that professional that you always

expect the best from your child. In my clinic, we always expect the most and

the best from our clients! J

Warmest wishes,

Barbara

Barbara A. , M.S., CCC-SLP

Executive Director/ Help Me Speak, LLC

<http://www.helpmespeak.com/> http://www.helpmespeak.com

(o) 410-442-9791 (f) 410-442-9783

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Marriottsville, MD 21104

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