after school speech 14, 15, 16 & 17

There was a big lull between summer and 8th grade after school speech. We needed an evening, but there was a shortage of evening appointments. We finally got one two months ago, but we had to cancel a bunch of appointments due to basketball games.


The first two appointments the therapist was conducting a bunch of speech tests, so I don't have much to report on those sessions. The third session she worked on feelings. She gave him a feelings word and he had to give her a sentence with that feeling. These were their results.

1. Happy-When I'm happy, I smile.
2. Scared-When I'm scared, I run away. When I'm scared, I get it over with.
3. Sad-When I'm sad, I frown. When I'm sad, I'm crying.
4. Surprised-When I'm surprised, I gasp and have a shocked expression.
5. Angry-When I'm angry, my face turns red.
6. Calm-When I'm calm, I feel brave.

Then, she had him tell her how he could turn a bad feeling into a good feeling. See his answers.

1. Scared-I need a safe place.
2. Sad- I need something to entertain myself.
3. Surprised-I need to take a second to figure it out.
4. Angry-I need to calm down.

This comprised the bulk of the session. At the last session, they continued to talk about feelings. After they finished their talk, she moved onto his conversational skills. She had him practice this skill, by having him ask her appropriate discussion building questions. When they finished their practice, she gave him a sheet with written tips for having a great conversation.

1. Maintain appropriate eye contact.
2. Always stay focused on the other person.
3. Have good body posture (big problem for SJ).
4. Face the other person.
5. Ask the speaker questions about their topic.
6. Make comments so that the speaker knows you are listening.
7. Your voice should sound like you are interested in the conversation.
8. Change the topic in a way so that your listener is aware of the next topic.
9. Let the listener know that you are ending the conversation.
10. Keep your hands stills on your lap or on the table (probably the biggest struggle for SJ).

I had to cancel the next two upcoming weeks for basketball, but he will back at it soon!