Chanukah and Christmas are almost here and I am practically bursting with excitement! I just couldn’t wait any longer to post these ideas for making the most of this most wonderful time of the year!
As always, any holiday or special event just screams for an EXPERIENCE BOOK!
If you’ll have family in town over the holidays, talk to your child’s teachers/therapists and consider including relatives in your child’s therapy sessions. It will give them a better idea of how best to help your child learn to listen and talk, and also give them an appreciation for what you do with your child everyday!
Travel prepared! Don’t forget extra batteries, spare processor parts, the FM system (if you use one), etc!
Christmas and Chanukah come with lots of new — and difficult — vocabulary. If you are religious, make sure your child knows all of the terms associated with various religious services and traditions. They may not use these words but one or two weeks of the year, but it’s an important part of being connected to their heritage and to a larger community. The words of prayers and hymns may be tricky or archaic, but children with hearing loss deserve to know them just as well as the rest of us! What’s a menorah? What is Advent? Who on earth are the Magi?
Holiday songs are EVERYWHERE — in stores, on the radio, on your iPod! Teach your child some basic songs so that they can sing along!
As always, READ READ READ! There are so many great books, about the holidays, I couldn’t pick a favorite. The more the better!
Choose your gifts wisely! Don’t go for trendy toys that will be forgotten in a month, or noisy toys that create a disastrous listening environment. Instead, think about toys that will provide the most opportunities for interactive play and language development. Choose toys appropriate for both your child’s chronological age and language level. Choose toys that can be played multiple ways so that they will hold your child’s attention for longer periods of time. For older children, board games are fun ways to build critical thinking skills as well as engage in social conversations — fun for everyone in the family!
Elizabeth A. Rosenzweig 