It’s back to school time. A child with word finding difficulties has new teachers’ names, new curricula, and new classmates’ names to retrieve. How can we help him get through this stressful time? Especially since stress itself is likely to contribute to additional word retrieval difficulties…
Remember that frequency of use and recency of use will impact ease of retrieval. Simply practicing names aloud will improve word finding. Try to associate a meaningful word with the teacher’s name. To remember Mrs. Campbell, picture her ringing a bell at camp. Make the syllables very precise. Camp/bell, camp/bell, camp/bell. Associate the cue with the syllable. Say the word aloud 5 times, then make up a meaningful sentence using the word.
Ms. Vygotsky? got/skis. Picture the teacher on skis.
Mr. Neiman? the man has knees.
The more ridiculous the better. Use your imagination! Be sure your student repeats the target word aloud, NOT the cues. The cues that he or she creates himself will probably be more meaningful than the ones you create. And don’t forget to review frequently. Make it fun!