These apps are easy to download and use on-the-go. Plus, they’re free!  You can learn more about them here: http://www.aphasia.com/products/apps/smalltalk or feel free to download them from the AppStore. With more mobile devices finding their way into classrooms and homes, mobile apps have become synonymous with speech therapy. At Lingraphica we saw this as an opportunity to incorporate functional speech-therapy exercises into a convenient application, accessible anytime, anywhere. Many patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) find our SmallTalk Family of Communication Apps especially helpful in assisting them with resulting articulation issues after their injury. There are 13 free SmallTalk apps available for download on the iPad, iPhone, and iTouch.

Five of our SmallTalk apps have videos built into them, which is helpful for patients, clinicians and families looking for an extra layer of assistance with speech therapy exercises. Each articulation video illustrates the tongue and lip movements necessary to produce words and phrases. These easily accessed, interactive self-therapy exercise videos allow users to practice speaking at their own pace. When watching these videos we recommend having a mirror close by so patients can compare their mouth movement to the modeled word or phrase.

1. SmallTalk Phonemes: The Phonemes app is a series of speech-exercise videos that contain all the English-language phonemes; a phoneme is a distinctive speech sound, for example, the sound of the “k” in the word “keel.” Each video gives users an accurate and effective model for speaking one of these distinctive speech sounds through illustrations of the tongue and lip movements necessary to produce it.
   
   
2. SmallTalk Consonant Blends: The Consonant Blends app is a series of speech-exercise videos that illustrate the tongue and lip movements necessary to produce consonant blends. With this app, users can easily practice the isolated speech sounds of two or three consonants blended together, such as “bl” or “str.”
   
   
3. SmallTalk Common Phrases: The Common Phrases app is a series of speech-exercise videos that contain greetings and conversational phrases such as, “let’s go for a ride today.” The app illustrates the tongue and lip movements necessary to produce these common phrases and allows users to practice them as often as possible.
   
   
4. SmallTalk Days, Months, Dates: The Days, Months, Dates app is a series of speech-exercise videos that illustrate the tongue and lip movements necessary to speak the days of the week, months of the year, and ordinal numbers from 1st through 31st. This app is helpful for recovering important time-oriented words.
   
   
5. SmallTalk Letters, Numbers, Colors: The Letters, Numbers, Colors app is a series of speech-exercise videos that contain the 26 letters of the English alphabet, the numbers one through 20, and the primary colors. This app illustrates the tongue and lip movements necessary to produce the letters, numbers, and colors. 
   

Learn more about how to help someone with a traumatic brain injury {TBI} with these tips! 

Lisa Haynes, MS, CCC-SLP, is the Manager of Clinical Affairs for Lingraphica. As a certified Speech-Language Pathologist and Augmentative and Alternative Communication specialist she oversees the company’s clinical programs and offerings.

As if going from tween to teen wasn’t tough enough, add in the extra challenge of transitioning to a new school and you have a recipe for stress and anxiety. Even if your middle schooler is staying with the same kids when he goes to high school, he’s still moving to a new – possibly much larger – building, getting mixed in with teens who are virtually adults already and having to handle classes that will now count towards college admissions. That said, making the move is a challenge that you can help him to meet. Instead of throwing him to the wolves, spend the summer prepping for his move into the big leagues.

Before you dive into the high school transition, keep in mind that this is a process and not one singular event. While there’s a definite first day starting point, the build up to this “event” should be gradual. During this process parents, schools and the students themselves all have their roles to play. As a parent, you can start the transition during eighth grade and kick it into high gear during the summer before high school. Although there are an almost countless number of ways to help your child move from middle to high school, trying a few basic strategies can calm your student’s fears and help him to make the move.

If you’re not sure where to start, consider one (or a combination) of transition-easing ideas:

• Have a positive attitude! Instead of focusing on the negatives, or completely commiserating with your child, turn your (or and your child’s) attitude around. For example, if your child says, “I’m never going to get good grades in ninth grade. I heard that the classes are so hard and there’s so much more homework,” tell him, “I know that the work is more challenging in high school, but your classes are also much more interesting. And I know that you can do the work.”
  
  
• Talk to your child, asking what his concerns or fears are. In “Education Week” executive director of the Association for Middle Level Education William D. Waidelich, Ed.D. suggests that parents help their children to come up with solutions to their concerns before the school year starts. This may include strategies for handling a larger volume of homework or ways to meet new kids.
  
  
• Find a buddy for your child. A peer who is already in high school can provide an insider’s view of what it’s like. If his high school has a peer mentor program, ask how your child can sign up. If not, ask friends or neighbors if they know a high school student who would be open and willing to show your child the ropes. Don’t force them to hang out constantly. Have them meet up a few times or invite the older peer over to talk about what to expect in ninth grade.
  
  
• Attend school transition events. This goes for both you and your child. If your child’s new school offers a parents’ orientation, it’s likely that they will provide information on how to ease the transition as well as specifics for their school/ You’ll also have the opportunity to see your child’s school, making it easier for you to answer his questions or respond to statements such as, “I don’t see how I’m ever going to make it from one class to another in time when the school is so much bigger than my last one.”
  
  
• Do a walk through. Some schools have a special day for doing this, in which students can walk through their entire daily schedule. In the event that your child’s school doesn’t offer this, ask an administrator if you can make a visit before the first day of classes to do a dry run. Have your child create a class-to-class route for his daily schedule. Don’t let him forget to schedule locker stops or look out for where the nearest rest rooms are.
  
  
• Encourage your soon-to-be high school students to get involved in activities before the academic year begins. Some sports, activities or clubs may hold summer practices or meetings. If your child can sign up for these activities before school actually starts, he can join in during the summer months. For example, track practice may start in August or the band may hold an annual camp in July. This gives him the opportunity to meet new friends, get involved and feel like he’s part of the high school community.
  
  
• Give your child more independence. This doesn’t mean that you should let him have free reign to do whatever he pleases. When he gets to high school he will need to take on more responsibility and be more in charge of his own life. Encourage independence over the summer months by letting him take on ore responsibilities at home or babysitting his younger siblings. ​

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If you'd like even more tips on how to help the transition to high school go smoothly, download our FREE Parent Guide to High School Transition below. 

Erica Loop is a mom, arts educator and freelance writer. She has an MS in Applied Developmental Psychology, and now writes at her two parenting blogs Please Shut Up, I'm Thinking and Mini Monets and Mommies.

My first-born, Samantha, was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes or Juvenile Diabetes (link  (http://www.jdrf.ca/news-and-media/fact-sheets/type-1-diabetes/) at 18 months of age and from that day on she has been insulin dependent.  This means she needs a careful balance of carbohydrates, protein along with timing of meals and snacks every day.  Having a battle at mealtime or dealing with a picky eater just was not something that I could let happen or a trip to the emergency room could result.  Therefore, I incorporated certain strategies that can minimize this issue.  

1. Set the stage.  To keep emotions and anxiety at bay, have a peaceful environment during mealtimes, even during the meal preparation so you are relaxed when the family comes to the table.  That means NO radio or TV. Hearing news about some disaster or a recent Hollywood breakup will not help either the adults or children.  Play quiet spa-like music with no vocals, in the background.  Peaceful, quiet music will relieve stress and relax your body. It may be awkward at first but give it 30 days.   You and your family will feel the difference, I promise!
   
   
2. Be mindful at mealtime.  This should be family time, no electronics. Period. Put phones etc. on silent/no vibration, use a colorful basket or “cool” box in the kitchen or nearby room so the kids know where their gadgets are and can easily retrieve them after the meal or snack.  Not placed up high on a shelf where only an adult can get to it, there will be less anxiety this way.  They will feel like they are still somewhat “in control”. They know where it is and get it themselves when the time comes.
   
   
3. Sit down together.  Eating with your children is important, as adults we often finish our meals sooner, but resist the temptation to gather the dishes and start cleaning while the kids finish eating their meal. Mealtime maybe the only opportunity to connect in our busy lives, it creates a unified wholesome feeling.
   
   
4. Stay positive.  During the meal, discuss positive and happy stories.  Start conversation by simply asking each person at the table “What was the best part of your day today.”  I would even start the dinner off with a positive, funny and uplifting story about my day. Knowing this was something I had to do, I always searched out a good story.  This makes my day more positive.  There would be no talking about anything negative…. ever.  Like attracts like. If someone starts complaining about something, the rest of the conversation just spirals out of control and effects the mood at the table, and keeping a positive happy mood can alleviate complaining or grumbling about the food on the table.  Before everyone goes off to school or work, remind them of this search for something positive they will need to report at dinnertime.  Good practice for everyone in the family!  Searching for the good and positive in their day.
   
   

Eating properly and scheduling meals is an important part of living with Type 1 diabetes.  Struggling and fighting about food was something I just couldn’t let happen.  By creating an environment of peacefulness and being mindful helped.  Yes, battles still happened, she was a toddler after all when she was first diagnosed, but it was less of a challenge when mealtime was a comfortable, relaxed and happy experience.