One of the simplest strategies when one gets stuck on a word is to use a synonym.  In my “Silly Sally” acronym, the “S” stands for synonyms and antonyms. In the FAVOR-C  acronym, the “O” stands for opposites and synonyms (see the November 2 post).  Language therapy is always about helping a child be more successful in expressing himself.  If he can get his point across by telling his friends about his new mini-computer, it doesn’t matter if he says “notebook” or “Chromebook.”  If she wants to tell about a smart phone, does it matter if she says “cell” or “mobile”???   This strategy is definitely limited, because many of the synonyms and antonyms we use are nouns and adjectives. But the larger vocabulary a child has, the more choices from which he can draw.  Vocabulary is so very crucial to reading comprehension and academic success.

But why antonyms?  Research tells us that synonym production is improved by antonym production, although the reverse has not been shown to be true (Powell, 1986).  Using antonyms helps define a word’s meaning:  using opposition (i.e., antonyms) helps “establish extremes of a word’s meaning.”  So if a child learns that “freezing” is the opposite of “boiling,” he learns more than “hot” vs. “cold.”  Many subtleties in word meaning are related to degree or extremes: Understanding the differences between pleased, happy, and ecstatic can help understand the differences between disappointed, sad, and depressed.  Learning opposites can increase a child’s vocabulary and provide more alternatives when he is stuck on a word.

There are a number of commercially-available sets of cards, lists, and other therapy materials to increase a child’s repertoire of synonyms and antonyms.  Some of my favorites are  the Fun Decks available from Super Duper.  Please “comment” and let me know what materials you find helpful.

It’s important for a child to know that he has a variety of strategies available.  This is just one more arrow he can have in his quiver.

Source: Powell, W.R. (1986). Teaching vocabulary through opposition. Journal of Reading, 29, 617-621.

Word retrieval and attention…perhaps that title is a bit disingenuous of me….the workshop I attended on Saturday morning was entitled “Attention and Language Disorders” presented by Maureen Sweeney, PhD, CCC-SLP.   However, the information was extremely relevant to word finding and reinforces what I posted on November 4:  Keep kids ACTIVE and involved!

Dr. Sweeney presented fascinating research about the neurology of attention and learning, and the developmental milestones and hierarchy of attention and focus.  I learned that brain chemistry is actually different when we learn material we care about.  So (my own editorializing) when we can get children to be motivated in speech/language therapy  they will learn better.  Exercise and physical activity promote synapses in the brain; hence, more learning.  Movement matters:  young children learn better when activity alternates between movement and non-movement.  It increases the level of arousal.  How exciting to have measurable science to back up our professional intuition!

So back to word finding….reinforce syllabication with movement.  Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse!  Get kids moving and laughing!  Keep in mind your students’ ability to pay attention:  are they “being the boss of their brain” (thank you, Dr. Sweeney) and focussing on your lesson?  External distractions aren’t the only problem: kids with speech/language impairment actually have more difficulty inhibiting internal distractions than typical learners.   I was surprised to learn that a child’s age is a good guideline to how long he/she can sustain attention to a classroom task:  a five year old can sustain his attention for about five minutes without being redirected to focus on a task.  Yikes!  As an SLP, I’d better make darn sure I am making good use of those few minutes I have a child in therapy.  Attention makes a huge difference!

Another topic Dr. Sweeney reminded us about is the research supporting intensive daily intervention to make changes in the brain.  I admit to being stuck primarily in the 20-30 minutes twice a week model.  To truly change the brain, we should collaborate with parents and teachers to promote daily follow-through with our students.  We need to advocate for best practices with the administrators and teachers with whom we work.

Don’t give up on Halloween yet!  Halloween will be ancient history within a few days, but you can make the most of exuberant memories early in the week by having your speech kids practice their irregular past tense verbs.  Irregulars seem to give word finding kids extra trouble: they may have learned the rule for forming past tense verbs, but have trouble retrieving the exceptions.  Ask them to tell you about their trick or treat experiences. You’ll have a treasure trove of past tense verbs:  We went trick or treating,  I ate a candy bar, I drank cider, I wore my mask, I lit my pumpkin…Review the words you practiced last week one more time before put them away until next Halloween.

Some people have asked me what word retrieval information I give to parents.  Collaborating with parents and teachers is so important! We can’t do a good job in therapy without having them on board.  I’d like to share the letter I give to parents as soon as I identify a word finding difficulty.   Please feel free to personalize it and use it if it is helpful.

My child has a word finding challenge:  What does this mean?

Word finding, or word retrieval, is an expressive language difficulty that interferes with the free flow of communication that most children take for granted.  A child with a word finding difficulty may have a strong vocabulary and a good understanding of sentence structure.  When he must formulate a thought, however, he gets “stuck” trying to retrieve a word from his memory.  This is the “tip of your tongue” experience that we all encounter from time to time.  For some children, however, it interferes with everyday communication with his friends, family, and teachers.  It may also interfere with oral reading.

How is a word finding problem identified?

The most valuable information comes from parents and teachers.  These children raise their hands enthusiastically to answer a question, only to answer, “I forgot” or “I can’t remember.”  They may revise and reformulate what they want to say (“We went to the…we rode in the, we went out to dinn, I mean supper.”). They may “talk around things” instead of coming to the point, and correct their own mislabeling of words in mid-sentence (“I scraped my el..my knee.”).

When a child is referred for word finding difficulties, I administer the “Test of Word Finding,” which can be given to children age 4 and up. This is a test which measures a child’s ability to name pictures or complete sentence with one-word responses.  There are some children who can offer one-word answers without difficulty, but have a harder time in connected speech.  The “Test of Word Finding in Discourse” helps identify these children.   More important to me than a test score, however, is observing how a child communicates in everyday life.  A child who pounds his fist on his lap or taps his head and says, “It’s a…a…a…I know what it is but I can’t think of it” may be indicating frustration with retrieving the word he needs.

What can be done to help my child?

Young children are best helped by enriching their vocabulary and building up the connections among different words.  Imagine a fishnet with many interlocking lines:  The more connections among the lines, the fewer fish that will escape the net.  Likewise, the more connections among different words the fewer words that will slip out from a child’s verbal grasp.  I spend quite a bit of time with younger children working with word groups and categories.  Word associations, too, build up connections among words.

As children develop the ability to “think about the way they think” they begin to develop strategies to promote their own retrieval.  I always tell children that different people learn in different ways.  Some people favor learning by seeing things, others favor learning by hearing things.  Likewise, different word finding strategies work for different people.  I present a number of different strategies and help each child develop an awareness of which strategies are most helpful to him.

One important strategy is visualizing. Other children help themselves by making up a sentence and “filling in the blank.”  Thinking of related words (word associations and categories) can be very helpful.  If you know the word your child is searching for, offer a choice of three or four words (“Are you thinking of a microphone, a microscope, or a calculator?”).  For children approximately age 5 and above, offering the beginning sound may trigger the target word. For example, “Let me give you a hint.  It starts with mmmm.”  In this case, please offer the initial sound   in a word, not the name of the beginning letter.  Another strategy is to pair a simple word with one that is more difficult.  For example, “hibernate” is easier to retrieve when I use the cue words “hide/brrr” and talk about the bear “hiding” from the cold for the winter (brrr).

Once a target word is identified, I ask for a “word finding five.”  The student says the word five times, makes up a sentence using the word, then gives me a “high-5.”  This reinforces the word so that it is easier to retrieve the next time he needs it.  Try to use that same word later in the day so he hears it again.

I try to present words from the curriculum before they are presented in class.  That way, your child can start a lesson with a solid understanding of new vocabulary words. If you notice words at home that are difficult, please let me know so together we can develop cues for those words.

Word finding can be frustrating to children, families, and teachers.  I want my “word finding kids” to receive a very important message:  We believe them when they tell us “I know but I just can’t think of it.”  We know that they are smart kids.  They can learn to retrieve words with less frustration.  If I can get this message across, I have helped them become more effective communicators.

It’s almost Halloween!  This is a big holiday for the kids I work with!  They can’t wait to tell me about their costumes and about trick-or-treating.  Be sure the word retrieval kids on your caseload have the words they need to tell about their costume, their classroom party, and trick-or treating.  Have them practice describing their costumes using the specific words they need:  wig, make-up, skeleton, Frankenstein, mummy.  To promote word retrieval, it’s not enough to have them know what the words mean.  They need to say them aloud repeatedly.  Remember that the most important factors in retrieval are frequency of use and recency of use.  So have the kids use those words a lot, and review them repeatedly.

I make little trick-or-treat bags out of brown paper sandwich bags.  I have a collection of miniature Halloween objects that the kids draw from a plastic jack-o-lantern. Some items are simply pictured or written on a slip of paper.  Whatever item they choose, they name and make a sentence.  I individualize the vocabulary to include words highlighting their own costumes and activities.

When you can anticipate the vocabulary words needed, phonological mnemonic cues are highly effective.  Use the strategy described in the Word Finding Intervention Program (Diane German, Pro Ed).  I make little index cards for the younger kids, and older children can make their own.  Write the target word, then write it out in syllables, then associate a common, easily-retrieved word with the “evasive syllables”.  With my early elementary aged kids, I call this the “small words strategy,”  or “using an easy word to remember a hard word..” We write the cue words in a “thinking bubble” .

So to remember the word “cauldron,” I associate “caul” with a picture of a witch on a cell phone (“call”).  For “coffin,” I use a mummy in a coffin, “coughin'” because he is stuck in the coffin.  I try to use as many modalities as I can  The cue word needs to be similar sounding to the target word, but doesn’t need to be similar in meaning. However, if you can come up with a clue that is also similar in meaning, so much the better. I try to use as many modalities as possible: what does the vocabulary item look like?  What does the written word look like?  What does it sound like?  What does it smell like?  We are trying to make as many neural connections as possible.

After you (or the child) adds a cue, have him say the target word aloud. Think the cue word, but say the target word.  Have him write a sentence using the word. He now has a cue card for the word that had previously been difficult to retrieve. At the beginning of the school year, I like to send home a “word finding envelope” to keep his cards in. That also serves as a notice to parents about what we worked on in speech therapy that day.

Once you have mnemonic cues for a word, repeat, repeat, repeat. Have the child say the word aloud 5 times.  Use it in a sentence.  Can you think of a simple song that uses the word? Watch for opportunities to use the word in connected speech.  You will soon have a child who can discuss Halloween with confidence!

P.S.  The second menu on my home page has drop-down options for phonological/mnemonic cues.  These same words are in a wiki established by an SLP colleague, Janet Waldman, and myself, which you can access at wordfinding.wikispaces.com.  If you have ideas to contribute, please email me or post them on the wiki.  I will add them to the database on this blog site.