ACQ Vol 12 No 2 2010

6. Traffic Lights

9. Animalia Frieze

(suggested by Hilary Cleator) Custom-designed/made to order by Technical Aid to the Disabled (www.technicalaidnsw.org.au) “Go!” “Stop!” “Careful!” I use a set of miniature traffic lights to give instant and eye-catching visual feedback during all manner of clinical tasks (e.g., speech and language therapy; phonological awareness activities). If the lights turn green, a child knows they have done well; amber is a cue to think more carefully about their response; and if the lights turn red it’s definitely time to stop, think and maybe try again. At first I used the traffic lights during specific therapy tasks, but I have found children enjoy playing with the controls and operating the lights themselves (they are child-proof). The lights often act as an “ice-breaker”, especially for those who are shy during the first clinical contact. As the child becomes absorbed in manipulating the lights in the context of a game involving toys such as cars, trains, fire engines and pedestrians, they usually start communicating in whatever way they can. The battery-powered lights are 13 cm high and 4 cm wide. 7. My First Picture Pairs (suggested by Katherine Gorrie) By DK Games. Available from

(suggested by Ros Neilson) By Graeme Base (Viking). Available from Mosaic Resources (www.mosaicresources.com.au).

In my waiting room I have a long frieze that is a reproduction of Graeme Base’s marvellously illustrated alphabet picture book, Animalia . The frieze keeps parents and adults entertained in a most productive way. Parents do often need to be told that the point of the pictures is not just to read the alliterative tongue twisters on each page, and children do need to be told that the game is not just to find the little boy hidden in each of the illustrations. The book, rather, provides hours of intriguing practice with word-finding and vocabulary building as one works out what the alliterative reference is for each of the detailed images on each page. Once parents and children are familiar with the frieze, they often ask to borrow my copy of the book – I have picked up several copies over the years, and am happy to share the pleasure with them. 10. Caroline Bowen’s Phonological Therapy Listserv (suggested by Ros Neilson) To sign up, go to http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/ phonologicaltherapy/. Caroline Bowen’s Phonological Therapy listserv provides a positively exhilarating experience of what can happen in terms of communicating and networking in this day of the world wide web. People from all over the world contribute to the discussions on a range of clinical problems relating to phonology – including the top researchers in the field, experienced professionals, and ordinary plodding professionals or students who sometimes ask the simple questions that all of us really wanted to ask but didn’t have the courage. Caroline Bowen herself is very generous with specific bits of advice, constructive comments and practical suggestions, and the listserv has a “Files” storage area that contains a treasure trove of resources. The interchanges occasionally get heated, but everything is well moderated and things get politely smoothed out in the end. The listserv is free for speech pathologists and other professionals to join, and is priceless in terms of value.

Learning Ladder (www. learningladder.com.au). My First Picture Pairs is an invaluable resource with

innumerable uses. I use these pictures every day for language stimulation, posting, matching, picture identification, following directions, auditory discrimination and visual memory development. The pictures are of everyday common objects on a plain white background and are just the right size for little hands.

8. Bunny Hop

(suggested by Alex Holliday) By Educational Insights. Available from Amazon (www. amazon.com). In the game Bunny Hop , 20 bunnies of four different colours are hiding in a carrot patch. Children need to help the farmers catch the bunnies in a game of luck and memory. Some of the chosen bunnies will jump high out of their holes, while others stay put. The winner is the first person to collect at least one bunny of each colour. This is the one game that my clients keep coming back to – children of all ages love it.

Correspondence to: Alexandra Holliday email: alexholliday@y7mail.com

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ACQ Volume 12, Number 2 2010

ACQ uiring knowledge in speech, language and hearing