Announcement and lesson on Figurative Language

Hey everyone! I am starting a new thing after doing this blog for the past 15 years. I will be featuring certain topics in education and therapy. Yesterday I finished my application to become a Certified Autism Specialist (CAS) and made a 95% on the exam. Now I am just in wait mode. This has been an endeavor for the past few months that I have felt very passionate about since Ridlee's diagnosis. I honestly didn't expect even myself to push as hard as I did and get to this point this fast. The next Thursday I will be in Oklahoma City at a conference featuring Temple Grandin, her mother Eustacia Cutler, and Beth Aune, an Occupational Therapist knowledgeable about IEPs. On Friday I will be attending my first ever IEP meeting for Ridlee for the public school system. As you can see I am prepared as much as possible already! We've done several for her preK but nothing in public ed. yet.

The binder is already fairly full. I have a feeling I will need one for each grade. But because of my new path, there will be additional knowledge that I gain throughout this process. Much of which I would love to share. This could be great educational sites, books, apps, games, etc. 

Today I wanted to talk about a really great educational site and give a freebie! So let's talk about figurative language. Part of Ridlee's struggles with her speech is understanding the concept of figurative language. As intelligent as she is, the part of her brain that struggles the most is the part understanding speech and language. She is making strides in her therapy, but this will be something that will be a continual lesson for her because certain concepts are harder for her to grasp. I love this quick little visual on the different parts of figurative language. Some of these she actually can grasp better than others. One of those is onomatopoeia, which is, the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named. Because of her hyperlexia she is able to read many words, most of which she has learned on her own. 

Education.com has some great resources for parents and teachers on figurative language. Below is such an example and freebie crossword puzzle!

Arr! Kids will learn about onomatopoeia and figurative language with this crossword worksheet from Education.com. For more fun ways to learn, check out these reading games!

And as promised here is a crossword freebie! Hope you enjoy!