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"The best gift you can give your child is emotional availability."
The Ah-choo game Sit down on the floor with your child. Take a toy or other object with no sharp edges such as a ring from a ring stacker, a sock, or a soft block, and place it on top of your head. Get your child's attention, and pretend to sneeze big ("AHH-CHOOO!") allowing the toy to fall off your head onto the floor in front of you. Enjoy the silly moment with your child. If your child is developmentally able, encourage him or her to participate even more by trying to put the item back on your head to have you repeat the fun, on their own head to try it themselves, or someone else's head. Maybe they will try to make the "ah-choo" sound or move their own head to make an item fall off of it!
This activity addresses the following developmental skills: Paying attention, social enjoyment, imitation of movements, imitation of sounds
Activity Shared By:
Stacy L Pate, MA CCC-SLP, IMH-E (II)
Stacy received a Bachelor of Arts in French and English at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, and a Master of Arts in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Kansas-Lawrence/Kansas City. With 20 years of experience as a pediatric SLP, Stacy has worked for ITSJC since 2003 as an ASHA-Certified Early Interventionist-SLP. She has worked extensively with families who have children with autism, obtaining her Certificate of Mastery in DIR/Floortime in 2008, becoming certified in Responsive Teaching and completing her training at the University of Kansas as an Autism Specialist in 2013, and becoming Hanen Certified in 2018. Stacy works to support family relationships and social-emotional health in her coaching with ITS families. She first completed her training in Promoting First Relationships in 2010, obtained her Infant Mental Health Endorsement as an Infant Family Specialist in 2011, and continues to learn how to integrate approaches such as Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) into early intervention. Outside of work, Stacy enjoys taking photographs of her husband and two children, paddling her kayak, reading, and writing. Stacy received a Bachelor of Arts in French and English at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, and a Master of Arts in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Kansas-Lawrence/Kansas City. With 20 years of experience as a pediatric SLP, Stacy has worked for ITSJC since 2003 as an ASHA-Certified Early Interventionist-SLP. She has worked extensively with families who have children with autism, obtaining her Certificate of Mastery in DIR/Floortime in 2008, becoming certified in Responsive Teaching and completing her training at the University of Kansas as an Autism Specialist in 2013, and becoming Hanen Certified in 2018. Stacy works to support family relationships and social-emotional health in her coaching with ITS families. She first completed her training in Promoting First Relationships in 2010, obtained her Infant Mental Health Endorsement as an Infant Family Specialist in 2011, and continues to learn how to integrate approaches such as Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) into early intervention. Outside of work, Stacy enjoys taking photographs of her husband and two children, paddling her kayak, reading, and writing.