The structure of this book is very ‘simple’ as each page discusses something that is “yucky” and something that is “yummy.” However it can be great for children with apraxia of speech or autism as you can work on a variety of goals.

Potential goals:

Imitation of oral-facial movements. The imitation of oral-facial movements (e.g. pretend chewing, sticking tongue out etc.) are very important for children with apraxia of speech (apraxia of speech and/or oral motor apraxia). For example, children was CAS (Childhood Apraxia of Speech) struggle with motor planning; therefore, practice planning more simplified motor movements can aid in working towards practicing more specific speech sounds. Moving one’s tongue and jaw readily and on demand is required for speech; therefore this can be a great way to practice these primary motor movements.
General Imitation. Imitation is vital for children’s learning and production of speech, language and communication. However, children with autism tend to struggle with this skill due to their lack of social referencing. Therefore, practicing imitation can be very important to work on in therapy. Since this book is very repetitive, children will catch on to the pattern of the book and likely begin imitating common phrases or facial expressions you’re making (e.g. tongue out, saying “yucky/yummy etc.). If children are not imitating readily, first imitate them and what they are doing as this will help teach them this skill.
Turn taking. Turn taking is vital to children’s developing speech, language and social skills and can often be an area of weakness for children with autism. Since this book is very repetitive it lends itself well to targeting this social skill. Once the theme is established you can take turns with who says “yucky” and who says “yummy.” As mentioned above, this book is very repetitive and therefore turn taking can be more easily established within the reading of the book. If turn taking with vocalizations (or on a talker) is more challenging, it can be stepped down to turn taking with turning the pages and when the child has the hang of it you can step up to more complex tasks (e.g. vocalizations).
Vocalizing with “m” sound. For children with speech disorders or children with autism who have delayed speech and language, vocalizing all sounds (even earlier developing ones) can be tricky. Therefore, when reading this book you can practice an early developing sound “m.” For example, when discussing what is “yummy” you can say, “Spaghetti is yummy ‘mmmm’” which will help encourage the child to possibly produce “m” as well (targeting imitation and speech production). You can also implement gestures by rubbing on your stomach.

You can find it on amazon by clicking here and amazon.com by clicking here.

For more therapy information and resources on CAS check out SLP Mommy of Apraxia’s blog.

-S

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