Putting Therapy Into Practice
Have your child look in their closet and/or dresser and have them make 2 piles: 1 for clothing that is too small and 1 for clothing that fits “just right”. Take the clothes that fit and sort them into the following piles: one color vs another color (e.g. pink shirt/green shirt), stripes vs polka dots, pants vs shirts, like vs don’t like, dark vs light colors. Teach your child how to hang up their clothing and/or fold them for their drawers.
Monthly Activity
Planters
You will need the following items:
- a small pot
- potting soil
- vegetable seeds (We recommended grape tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, peppers.)
Give your child a cup to scoop the soil out of the bag. Fill the pot 3/4 of the way with soil. Your child can now drop a handful of seeds into the soil. Scoop one more cup of soil and place over the seeds. Moisten the soil with a cup of water. Place the pot in a sunny location inside. Make sure to save at least one seed for comparison later. You can check the pot with your child daily and talk about:
- how the soil feels (wet/dry)
- what the seeds needs to grow? (water, sun)
- what the plant looks like (big/small)
- compare/contrast the seed vs the plant (big/small, color, leaves/no leaves, flower)
Jenifer’s Recommended Game
Zimbbos is an exciting game encouraging turn-taking, motor planning for balancing the blocks, and cooperation with a peer/adult. The communication during the game effectively builds language skills. The act of placing the block on top or beside another block addresses fine-motor skills and motor planning. This is a great opportunity for children to work on their PROMPT© lexicon in play routines at home. 
When playing the game, encourage your child to do the following:
- Take turns using the following: gesturing to self, me, I do, you do, I go, you go, my turn, your turn, it’s my turn, it’s your turn, I do it, you do it, etc.
- Make requests for the color and type of block he/she wants: blue, red, I want blue, May/Can I have blue?, I want the elephant, I want the pink elephant, Give me the clown, etc.
- Comment: Wow! Boom! Up, On, on top, put on, put on top, put it on top, put the block on top, Don’t let it fall, I did it, I didn’t do it, it’s high, too high, etc.
- Your PROMPT© trained clinician can specify which words in these lexicons are appropriate for your child at this time
- Talk about concepts (where he/she is placing the block): On the blue block, beside the pink elephant, etc.
Upcoming Events for Families
- May 1st-May 2nd: 10:00 Flower Mart at the National Cathedral
- May 3rd: 12:00 Cinco de Mayo Celebration on the National Mall
- May 10th: MOTHER’S DAY! Treat Mom to a fun day!
- May 15th: 6:30 The First Friday Night Concert at the Yards Park (every Friday through September)
Ongoing Events
- AMC Theatres offer sensory friendly films once a month: find out more information
- Meet a Farm Animal at the National Zoo every Saturday and Sunday at 11:00
- Special Needs Night at Flight Trampoline Park on the first and third Tuesday of every month from 5:00-7:00: find out more information