In this final post in our series, we ask the experts a really tough question and they do not disappoint with their answers. It is important to note in this post that procedures for diagnosing a child as well as getting help in school may vary by state, or in some cases, even by school district so it’s important to talk to someone local! What can you do when your child's school does not agree …
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#GivingTuesday – Ways to Give to Fight Speech Disorders
This year the #GivingTuesday movement is expected to deliver almost $500 million in funding to amazing charities all over the world. At Orange Effect Foundation, we’ve been surprised how critical #GivingTuesday has become for our little organization. Even a donation of $50 has a major impact on a child dealing with a speech disorder (in general, one hour of speech therapy is between a $50 and …
Being Grateful For the Little Things
We at the Orange Effect Foundation find it easy to be grateful. We have over 100 reasons to be thankful. In 2018, we have funded speech therapy for over 100 children across the United States. We are making a difference. We are grateful to all our sponsors who help make this happen. To show how far the gratitude goes, here is what some of our Orange Effect grant recipient families are thankful …
Thanksgiving Speech Therapy Activities
Thanksgiving is almost here! Now is the time to start doing some Thanksgiving speech and language activities with your child to help him/her get ready. Activity #1: Thanksgiving Taste Test This is one of my favorite Thanksgiving speech and language activities, though maybe that’s because I enjoy eating! For this activity, tell your child that you are going to do a taste test of all of the …
Recipient Spotlight: Anthony
Anthony is a kind, caring teenager who is challenged by autism and stuttering. Fortunately, he discovered FACETime Summer Camp at the Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center. This special summer speech camp is designed for older children and younger teens who stutter. Camp provides a safe environment where speech skills are practiced in real-life situations at restaurants and other public locations …
Autism and Speech Devices: Helping Kids Advance Skills As They Mature
We think this article from Autism Speaks about autism and speech generating devices is so valuable, we thought we'd share it with you. ------ A parent asks, “Our son is 6 years old, minimally verbal and on the spectrum. We’ve seen him make progress with a speech-generating device – a touch screen with pictures that produce single words. How can we use this approach to keep him making …
A Serious Speech Therapy Funding Problem (and what we are doing about it)
It’s hard to believe that (with your help) we are funding speech therapy services for over 100 children in 25 states. Now, before we start congratulating ourselves, we have a serious problem. In our last Orange Effect Foundation (OEF) board meeting, we granted just over $50,000 in speech therapy services to children and families. While this is great, it was about 50% of what we needed to …
Make Halloween a Better Experience
By its very nature, Halloween is scary. Everything from the decorations, horror films, costumes, and the inflated cost of candy. However, perhaps the scariest part of Halloween is trying to understand it through the eyes of our kids with autism. So how do we make this spooky night less of a nightmare? BOO! Take out the surprise factor Talk about Halloween ahead of time so your child will know …
Lean In to the Uncomfortable
Katie Hill has a genetic disorder that affects her movement and speech. Before she entered 7th grade this year, a friend made this video to introduce Katie to the hundreds of students at her new middle school. We think this video does a great job of showing how a speech generating device works and how using one can open up the world to a child. https://youtu.be/H9nluhqzu3s In this …
Is it Ever Too Late For Speech Therapy?
Continuing in our series of blog posts answering some of the FAQ’s we get here at Orange Effect Foundation, we have reached out to our experts today to find out if you are ever too old to start speech therapy. We started the series last month by asking how these amazing professionals can do work with toddlers. We know that not all kids hit their milestones at the same time but our experts were …
Spreading The Orange Effect Across The United States
CLEVELAND - Sept. 25, 2018 - PRLog -- Recognizing that some children must go without necessary speech therapy because of their family's financial limitations, the Orange Effect Foundation has responded. At a recent meeting, board members for the Orange Effect Foundation awarded nearly $50,000 in grants to needy children and young adults across the United States. These grants will fund speech …
Content Marketing World Recap
The first week of September I had the unprecedented honor of being an attendee at the event Content Marketing World. Those who know a bit about my history know that I have worked at the event the first seven years, so being an attendee and not working was definitely a new experience. I had such a wonderful time. I could write an entire blog post about how amazing the event is and how much I love …