MindWing Concepts Blog

This week I am blogging to tell you about a tech resource that is really simple to use - Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry's Simple Machines Game. This site is a perfect example of how resources that were not designed for SLPs actually provide wonderful language-learning opportunities. It is also one of the best-designed- and totally one of the cutest- sites I have seen of late. Additionally, it presents the perfect blend of narrative and expository structures as a context for intervention, and concerns a key and oft-tested (on state assessments) curriculum topic- simple machines such as lever, wheel-and-axle, etc.

Having worked within the dual fields of speech/language pathology and reading/writing disabilities for the past 35 years, I see the ability to comprehend and/or express a story as vital to both academic and social success. Our conversations with family and friends are made up of stories, about ourselves, and others. We take perspectives of others through stories, we are asked to analyze the actions of characters and even notice their facial expressions and feelings in stories (books and TV) and in life as we strive to understand human nature: why people do what they do...

I have long had an interest in how technology can provide context within our interventions, much the same way a storybook can provide context.  In this approach to intervention, MindWing's tools have served as essential structure to help my students break down language, (as used with a website that provides information, for example) or organize and produce language (when used in conjunction with a creative “Web 2.0” resource that allows students to save and publish work). To focus on this latter "bottom-up" strategy, I suggest you check out Kerpoof, one of my favorite resources for its versatility and ease of use.

Kerpoof* is a free, interactive website recently acquired by Disney and is basically an online version of Kidpix Studio. Kerpoof's interface allows you to choose a background, characters and other setting elements, and add word/thought balloons and caption boxes (sounding promising?). You can create, share, export or print the resulting pictures or multi-picture story sequences...

Since April is Autism Awareness Month, we thought that the contents of this blog entry should be about MindWing’s tools and methodology as a Story-based Intervention for children with autism spectrum disorders. In September, 2009, the National Autism Center announced the results of its multi-year National Standards Project1. This project “serves to support parents and professionals and answers one of the most pressing questions…

We are proud to finally (officially) introduce our NEW Autism Collection with two spiral-bound manuals (It’s All About the Story and Making Connections), games, activities, cards, stamps and more! Click here to see a picture of the Autism Collection and to learn more about this brand new product. The Autism Collection is available at a discounted, introductory price of $74.95 during the month of April.

We wish you the luck of the Irish — Happy St. Patrick’s Day from MindWing! A wonderful lesson was sent to us by our good friend and colleague Valerie Fluhr, M.A., CCC-SLP and her speech intern Tammy Tran, both from OCPS in Orlando, FL. It is to be used with Story Grammar Marker® and the book My Lucky Day by Keiko Kasza. Click here to download the lesson. Sláinte!