So you’re all prepped for your new teaching year – your classroom décor is sorted, name cards are laminated to the tables and you’ve even programmed for the first couple of weeks (well ok, not most of you but for the over achievers, gold star. Your ‘first week of school’ teacher checklist is looking good!Continue reading “Help! My Student Has a Language Disorder: 3 Strategies for Term 1”
Author Archives: Melissa Yapp
How to Teach Safe Hands and Safe Feet in Your Classroom: 3 Activities to Use Today!
Choosing the teaching career path is not something that anyone jumps into lightly. We become teachers because we want to help children learn, to show them new ways of doing things and to help them discover their own potential. We want to create interesting and exciting lessons, we want our classrooms to look warm andContinue reading “How to Teach Safe Hands and Safe Feet in Your Classroom: 3 Activities to Use Today!”
4 Ways an Occupational Therapist Can Help with Stool Withholding
Today’s Blog post is a little different to our regular articles – I sat down with the VERY talented Tabitha, Occupational Therapist from @toilettimewithtabby to dive into ways that an OT can help children experiencing stool withholding and constipation. What a great discussion! Melissa: Tabitha – thanks so much for joining me for thisContinue reading “4 Ways an Occupational Therapist Can Help with Stool Withholding”
Using Visual Schedules at Home: 3 Ways to Help Your Students
As dedicated teachers, we know the benefits of using visual schedules in the classroom and wider school environment – they help our students understand instructions and tasks, they reduce anxiety and can model appropriate social skills just to name a few! And while ALL our students benefit from using visual schedules, (I need aContinue reading “Using Visual Schedules at Home: 3 Ways to Help Your Students”
The 3 Best Non-Picture Visual Supports to Use in Your Classroom Every Day
When I first discovered the world of visual supports as a new teacher, even though I was SO excited about the positive changes that they brought to my classroom, I admit that sometimes I felt overwhelmed. Because whenever I heard someone say ‘visual supports would be great for this student’, I had visions of beingContinue reading “The 3 Best Non-Picture Visual Supports to Use in Your Classroom Every Day”
No Laxatives in Sight: 3 Ways a Speech Pathologist Can Help Your Child with Stool Withholding
“But don’t speech pathologists just fix lisps?” is one of the most asked questions I get when I tell my friends that I often support children with stool withholding and encopresis. And whist tackling those pesky ‘s’ sounds is definitely part of a speech pathologist’s regular caseloads, our skill set goes far further! Speech pathologistsContinue reading “No Laxatives in Sight: 3 Ways a Speech Pathologist Can Help Your Child with Stool Withholding”
What Makes a “Good” Social story? 5 Tips for Teachers
Social stories can be extremely effective tools for supporting social behaviours in children with Autism, ADHD, developmental delays and other additional needs. And let’s face it, the Internet is FILLED with social story options to teach a wide range of social skills and routines. But did you know that not all social stories are createdContinue reading “What Makes a “Good” Social story? 5 Tips for Teachers”
4 Ways to Help Your Child Stop Playing to Go Potty
Helping your toddler to stop playing to sit on the toilet can be one of the biggest toilet training hurdles I see. As if potty training isn’t stressful enough, battling with your child to pause their fun activity of playing to have toilet time can be a massive battle. Interestingly, there can be manyContinue reading “4 Ways to Help Your Child Stop Playing to Go Potty”
5 Ways to Help Students with Selective Mutism in the Classroom
What is Selective Mutism in a Child? Selective Mutism is an anxiety disorder which is characterised by difficulty or inability to speak in particular social situations, including school, preschool, work or other community places. Children with selective mutism generally speak clearly and without difficulty when they are relaxed and feel comfortable, such as atContinue reading “5 Ways to Help Students with Selective Mutism in the Classroom”
What I Wish I Knew as a First Year Teacher
The mantra for my 20+ year career has always been ‘When you help a child, you help a whole family’. This has been the driving force behind everything I have done in my professional life. So when it came time to choosing my Uni degree (Teaching behind Door #1 and Speech Pathology behind Door #2),Continue reading “What I Wish I Knew as a First Year Teacher”