Friday 31 December 2010

Old long since...









"Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
Or friendship e'er grow cauld?
Should we nae tighter draw the knot
Aye as we're growing auld?
How comes it, then, my worthy friend,
Wha used to be sae kin',
We dinna for ilk ither spier
As we did lang syne?"

'Tullochgorum' Skinner

Picture of Robert Burns’ original manuscript and lyrics to Auld Lang Syne from Google Images.

Wednesday 22 December 2010

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.


"From the Editorial Page of The New York Sun, written by Francis P. Church, September 21, 1897

We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:

"Dear Editor--I am 8 years old.
Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.
Papa says, 'If you see it in The Sun, it's so.'
Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?"
Virginia O'Hanlon,
115 West Ninety-fifth Street

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the scepticism of a sceptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no child-like faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! He lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood."

Image:From Google Immages.

Wednesday 8 December 2010

Speech by SLW at 7th World Congress on Conductive Education

"Hong Kong (HKSAR) - Following is the speech by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, at 7th World Congress on Conductive Education today (December 6):

Professor Leung (Professor Leung Nai-kong, Chairman, Organising Committee of the 7th World Congress on Conductive Education), Ms XuXiao Ming (Secretary General/Deputy Director, China Association of Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons), Professor Ildikö Kozma (President, International András Petö
Association of Conductive Education), Mr Fong (Mr Fong Cheung Fat, Chief Executive Officer, SAHK), distinguished guests, ladiesand gentlemen,

Welcome to "East Meets West: Adaptation & Development"- The 7th World Congress on Conductive Education. We are indeed honoured that the Congress is being held in Hong Kong. It is, if I may say so, an encouraging recognition of our effort and achievement in promoting the well-being of persons with disabilities.

The Hong Kong SAR Government is fully committed to helping persons with disabilities develop their physical and mental capabilities, fully realise their potential and integrate into the community.

For children with special education needs, our objective is to help them acquire a whole range of skills.

These include their fundamental developmental skills, intellectual ability, and perceptual-motor, cognitive, communication, social and self-care skills. Conductive Education is one of the programme options being implemented in many of the special schools for physically handicapped children in Hong Kong.

The holistic approach of Conductive Education combines education and therapy specially designed for children with neurological impairment resulting in weak or uncoordinated movement, Since its inception some 40 years ago, it has helped improve the quality of life and psychological well-being of these children and their families.

I would like to congratulate the SAHK and the International András Petö
Association for hosting this important event. Researchers, educators, policy-makers, carers and other specialists worldwide are invited to get together to share their knowledge, experience and best practices.

In this regard, the unstinting effort of the International András Petö Association is most commendable and impressive.

On the other hand, as the pioneer in the field in Hong Kong since 1980s, SAHK has not only made great strides in applying Conductive Education to its special child care centres, special schools and adult services, but also taken up the pivotal role in promoting Conductive Education to the Mainland of China in the 1990s. We are very proud of its accomplishment.

With the valuable input of our distinguished speakers and knowledgeable delegates from both the East and the West, I am sure that the Congress will lend further impetus to translate insightful ideas into practice. I wish all of you fruitful exchanges in the Congress, and our visitors a pleasant and enjoyable stay in Hong Kong.

Thank you."


Source: HKSAR Government
7th Space:

Saturday 4 December 2010

Susie Mallett's book arrived today with a lovely card.





















Although I wasn't able to make it to Hong Hong for the 7th World Congress on Conductive Education, today I received Susie's first book in the post which she published herself to present at the congress.

Thank you Susie!

On the front cover of the book is her sketch of Mária Hári the late director of the Pető Institute, Budapest Hungary.

I also received a card from her tucked nicely in the book. A card which has relevance to my own intention to contribute to Pető's work.













































References:

Photos: Susie's first published book and the card which I received today .

Friday 3 December 2010

Light has no past; it lives in the eternal present.







































Photo: Buddha in the snow in our courtyard and hungry birds having breakfast on the back patio Winter 2010.

Tuesday 16 November 2010

Can you help to translate this hidden treasure please?

For about two years now I have been looking for a book in our small gallery office without any success. Since we closed down I very rarely went up to the office, but on Friday last week I decided to spend some time there. Everything was left in the office untouched since the last day of our summer course.

I walked up to one of the bookshelves and I instantly found the book, which I was looking for. There was a gap in the rows of books, which clearly showed me the title of the book, which I was seeking. I was delighted to find it at last.


For some reason I turned towards another bookshelf, where I found another book a long forgotten present from Ester Cotton which she gave me when we worked together in London at the Hornsey Centre.

The title of the book is Introduction to Conductive Movement Pedagogy, András Petö’s lectures and practical demonstrations. On the first page there was a hand written note from Dr Mária Hári to Ester Cotton in German. I don’t speak German so if anyone can read it and can translate it, I would most appreciate it.

Reference: Gyogypedagogiai Tanarkepzo Foiskola,

Bevezeto A Konduktiv Mozgaspedagogiaba,

Pető András eloadasai es gyakorlati bemutatoi alapjan.

Tankonyvkiado, Budapest 1963 Hári Mária, Székely Ily

Thursday 11 November 2010

'Why not? Szathmáry. J (2010) Chapter Three



The next morning I woke up early and quickly got ready. I could hardly wait for him to arrive. The morning was fresh and filled with a sense of adventure as the sun sparkled through the branches of the trees. The sky was open, imposing its vastness with calmness and dignity.



He was already in the car park when I opened the back gate and stepped out onto the frosty gravel.


‘We are going to go back in time, close your eyes'--he said as he put his hand on my shoulder.


He gently squeezed my shoulder and I opened my eyes. We were at a reception of a single story building.


He took me to a large wooden cupboard and opened it. It was packed with a collection of walking sticks and different walking aids filled up to the brim.


These were left behind from children and grownups who didn’t need them anymore.'-He said, pointing inside.


'It was their intention to leave these behind in this cupboard. What is not visible to the eyes is that these people have left a lot more behind here. One of those things was their negative beliefs that held them back' -He said seriously.


He let go off my shoulder and stepped back to let me absorb what was presented to me.


'All those negative beliefs are just thoughts people keep thinking, they are man made and carried through and handed down over time by societies.' -He said breaking his silence.


'Beliefs influence the choices people make, the directions they take. Our beliefs trigger inner processes and manifest behaviours, which influence how we act, how we feel, how we move, how we engage with life.


Beliefs can be changed and they must change, as life is about constant change. Nothing stays still in life. Stillness is death.


You made me laugh once'-he said. 'Do you remember when you arrived to England and the headmaster was showing you around the school. The corridors and the classrooms were packed with standing frames, different kind of walking frames, wheelchairs and those high-tech, expensive special needs equipment, which cost thousands and thousands of pounds? He was very proud and asked you what you thought about them.


You answered without any delay. They will be good to be sent to a museum, as they will not be needed anymore.


I will never forget his face. I know that your comment was innocent and spontaneous, but this was not what he expected to hear.


I was listening to your effort of explanation to him, but he was not ready to hear it. You told him that by exposing the children with all of the equipment and using them from such an early age is detrimental to their progress. They put emphasises on disability and they don’t allow a platform for finding out their true, innate abilities, which could be and must be utilised and unique to each and every person.


In his mind the headmaster quickly came to a conclusion, which he found reassuring that you are Hungarian and you wouldn’t know about such equipment anyway and he turned his attention towards something else.'


He started moving with a fast space towards a long corridor and said-'First and foremost we are not dealing with the physical, as it is the end result of the process, we must attempt to influence a lot more things before we get to that.'


He turned around and he held my face with his hands- 'You must tell this to them.'

He gently slid his fingers off my face and continued- 'There is an ancient Toltec warrior saying: “Human beings love to be told what to do, but they love even more to fight and not to do what they are told, and thus they get entangled in hating the one who told them in the first place." and with that he opened a door which led us to one of the classrooms.

Picture: Michael Angelo Creation of Adam 'Hands' from Google Images

Monday 1 November 2010

'Why not? Szathmáry. J (2010) Chapter Two


I was warming my hands over the crackling fire in the study. The autumn evenings became colder and colder. He reached towards me handing me back my notes. ‘I have made some corrections'. –He said.


'I want you to tell them that I live in the eternal present and I come from the past and the future.


We met and known each other in many other times not just in the last thirty years. I lived and worked with you on ancient continents, in ancient cities and in old civilisations. We have known riches and poverty, experienced great love of the hearts and also solitudes of body and mind.'


He slowly walked around the room with his hands folded behind his back. He quickly turned around at the fireplace, looked up and with a raised voice he cited the following.


'The greatest pitfalls of man are ignorance and prejudice.


This is what we have been dealing with here, my dear girl! Ignorance and prejudice put their stamp on the work and tried to sell the distorted version of it to minds that are made of concrete.


The minute the work left the institute they wanted to change it to fit into their own work, into their own systems. They are still trying to find the bases of its existence in the literatures written by other minds.


They forgot to pay the slightest interest and attention to what was already there right in front of their eyes.


In some ways I can understand them. For example many people know that electricity exists, although it is not visible. No one can see it, no one knows where it comes from and no one can create it. Once it has been discovered they learned to use it and harness it, but there are certain requirements as to how it has to be handled. Otherwise it doesn’t work or could be very dangerous.'


Raising his palms towards the ceiling he continued. -' Look around you- the seeds, which have been put down by them many decades ago, are sprouting and growing into unrecognisable forms with no substance.


The energy is scattered and conduction is far from its ideal state.'


He was silent for a long time, only the sound of the crackling fire and the smell of the burning logs filled the room.


It suddenly became dark outside.


'The ego cannot pose truth my dear girl.' -He said quietly.' It wants to protect itself and what it knows. It strives for safety and control. The base of its existence is survival what ever it takes.'


Then he changed the subject and his voice became passionate and excited.


'But what we meant to talk about here is eternal and the greatest gifts of all, which grows in the giving and it never looses its luminous shine.'


Are you talking about love? – I asked with my heart pounding faster and faster, paying the closest attention to his words.


'It is love, but it is not the kind of love, which is portrayed and understood in everyday life.


The love that people generally talk about can be blissful, but it cannot compare with a still higher love, which marks a higher life.


This love requires commitment and puts great responsibility on the person who chooses to work with it.


This energy that we call love here, vibrates on a certain frequency. This frequency cannot be lied to, cannot be manipulated, cannot be grasped and controlled by the polluted mind.



When you learn to know this love, this energy; you understand that whatever may come to pass, if love-bonds are broken and you appear to have no friends, you are by right of birth surrounded by protecting powers that defy all opposition.


So long as you live a life of purity and goodness, and adhere strictly to the path of duty you will be protected from all harm'.


He turned towards the fire; his face lit up and his eyes reflected the most luminescent burning light.


He took a sip of his strong coffee, and as he slowly walked away he called back.


‘Tomorrow I want you to come with me.’ I nodded and looked at the burning fire as I put my hands on my burning heart. The sound of an owl broke the silence of the night.'


Picture: Michael Angelo Creation of Adam 'Hands' from Google Images


Monday 25 October 2010

‘Why not? Szathmáry. J (2010) Chapter One



He looked at me as he comfortable sat down onto the big armchair next to the large sash window.


‘Why not? What can you lose? Now that you know what you know there is nothing measurably difficult to accomplish, but it is up to you. You are in charge, only you can make that decision and the way things are going something needs to be done. It doesn’t have to be you but it is up to you’.


His presence filled the room. He had an enormous presence, which was uplifting, reassuring, sharp, and at the same time childishly serious.


You know that it is not an easy decision- I replied.


He looked deep into my eyes so deep that forms slightly started fading around us. He held his vision right into my soul, which resonated with mine.


‘Remember who you are. Focus on the greater collective good, rather than your individual loss or gain. Imagine the world you want your great grandchildren to live and strive in. Envision all the beauties, freedoms and joys of a truly fulfilled life, and decide how this would help perpetuate those gifts’.


He reached across the coffee table and opened up a beautiful silver box, which was engraved, with his initials and a quote, which appeared to be in Latin, but I was not able to read the scribe. He carefully took out a cigar and lit it.


‘You know very well that what you were involved in was not going to benefit future generations in the way in which you intended to. That is the reason you decided to stop what you were doing. You understood that sometimes the cost of self control is simply too high.


In order to fit in, you were suppressing a tremendous emotional charge and it started taking a toll on your body. This lightning bolt instead of being released to find its target, started to get grounded and trapped within your body, zapping your internal organs and your nervous system. The energy became too intense to contain.


It happens when for a long time we suppress the truth that should be acknowledged, spoken and acted upon. You knew that taking those steps you have taken will set loose that lightening and by doing so you will create permanent change.


You made a choice, allowing your desperate desire to be on the other side of the issue. You overcame the fear of invoking change. You made the first step’.


He looked at me and smiled.


‘Isn’t this what I taught you to do in your work? Now you know how hard it is and at the same time how liberating it is for those who practise overcoming their fear under your guiding hands’.


‘Remember who you are and choose your path’.


I closed my eyes and quietly said. Okay.


‘Well? He said, as he hadn’t heard me. Are you going to choose?’


I silently giggled, stood up, went to my desk and picked up a notebook. Why not? I scribbled on the first page.


This is going to be the title of it.


He nodded and stretched out in the armchair, quietly acknowledging that I remembered what he taught me; that decisions are not made with words, but with actions.


He relaxed in the knowing that I was going to do it.


From his point of view things were so much easier and simpler. He didn’t have a physical body anymore, but he couldn’t influence the physical as much as I could either.


I had a great respect for him, but he told me once; -don’t put anyone on a pedestal, if for some silly reason you do, imagine them having a ‘rush’. It will stop you.


‘You my dear girl, first and foremost learn to respect yourself. Once you achieved that, you made the first step to accomplishing what you came here for’.

I have known him for a long time. Our friendship started about 30 years ago. These kinds of friendships don’t happen by mere accidents. One day he told me this when we were sitting under a big pine tree in the forest. ‘There are no accidents in life, if people were more aware, they would read the signs and use them as guidelines. There is so much guidance available and brought forth only by our sheer existence, just by being alive’


Picture: Michael Angelo Creation of Adam 'Hands' from Google Images

Thursday 21 October 2010

Orbs...Can you find them on the photos?










Photos taken for record keeping at the Conductive Education Support Centre New Forest UK.

Today is the first frosty morning in the
New Forest UK.


"My! My! Time flies! A man in a winter sleigh, white white white as the snow

My! My! Time flies! A new day is on it's way, so let's let yesterday go

Could be we step out again

Could be tomorrow but then,

Could be 2010"

Enya My my time flies...

Sunday 17 October 2010

THE HANDS IN CONDUCTIVE PEDAGOGY


One Day Workshops

Saturday 30th October 10.00am -3.00pm

and

Sunday 7th November 10.00am-3.00pm




Book your place now!

07967 194433


Workshop fee: £111

Venue: 2 Bridge Farmhouse,
Lyndhurst Road,
Brockenhurst SO42 7TR






Please bring your camera with you!

Pictures:
Display picture from the late Conductive Education Support Centre in New Forest.
Michael Angelo Creation of Adam, 'Hands' Google Images
Cave Hands Google Images

Tuesday 5 October 2010

“It is good to feel good"














"Clarity is your natural state of being, eager is your natural state of being, loving is your natural state of being.

It is natural for you to have a desire… it is natural for you to anticipate happy outcomes.

It is natural for you to love and to sing and it is natural for you to play, it is natural for you to be joyful and it is natural for you to feel and know well-being.


It is natural for you to expand… it is natural for you to want more.

It is natural for you to question, it is natural for you to find interest.

It is natural for you to want more and it is natural for you to feel good…and anything else is resisting the natural state of who you are…” A H





Notes: Photos from the work at the Conductive Education Support Centre, New Forest UK. Parent and child group photo 1999.
The art of collapsing with laughter! after practising independent walking July 2010.

Wednesday 1 September 2010

The excellence of conductive pedagogy is between the pause and the actions...

“Music

is

the

silence

between

the

notes.”

Claude Debussy




Notes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Debussy
Photo: Finley at the lounge door August 2010.

Saturday 14 August 2010

How did it feel like working at the Petö Institute at the beginning of the 1980's?
















...It felt like the smell of freshly cut grass infused with a particular ray of sunshine that carried the light of simplicity, reassurance, calmness and clarity. It felt like a clear sense of focus and determination merged with the gentle breeze of everyday life with its noises, textures and feelings. Bringing this magical combination of peace (a kind of knowing), clarity and compassion into our distinctively perceivable three-dimensional world of time and space reality. It felt like purpose with infinite bounds of possibilities and choices, combined with a sense of seriousness and awe-inspiring joyful responsibility...

Friday 6 August 2010

Be free...


Almighty Freedom
Almighty freeer of the soul
Be free
Be free
And imagine
Free with peace at last
It's lovely
It's lovely, this land
No one can believe or understand
How far I came just for my lovely family
I should have been there with them when the world crashed down
But now they rest with me.
I'll never forget
How I felt that moment
I became free.





Photo from Google images.
Song by Lisa Gerrard in her invented language which she calls 'the language of the heart.'

Sunday 4 July 2010

While you are waiting for your acceptance letter to present at the 7th World Congress of Conductive Education in Hong Kong...

Enjoy Lang Lang's playing Franz Liszt (Liszt Ferenc) Hungarian composer's Liebestraum and Hungarian Rhapsody. It might get you in the mood of the Hungarian spirit which will hopefully be presented at the conference along with the true spirit of Conductive Pedagogy, just like the way in which Lang Lang performs Liszt.



"Lang Lang was born in Shenyang, China, and he has Manchu ancestry. When he was only two years old, he saw the Tom and Jerry episode The Cat Concerto which features the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by Franz Liszt. According to Lang Lang, this first contact with Western music is what motivated him to learn piano.[1][2] He began lessons with Professor Zhu Ya-Fen at age three. At the age of five, Lang won first place at the Shenyang Piano Competition and performed his first public recital.[3]

When he was nine years old, Lang Lang neared his audition for Beijing's Central Conservatory of Music, and, having difficulties with his lessons, was expelled from his piano tutor's studio for lack of talent.[4] His music teacher at his state school noticed Lang Lang's sadness, and decided to comfort him by playing a record of Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 10 in C Major, K. 330; she asked him to play along with the slow movement. This reminded Lang of his love of the instrument. "Playing the K. 330 brought me hope again," recalled Lang.[4] "





References:
Photo by Herbie Hancock at http://www.langlang.com/news?page=4

Tuesday 29 June 2010

Thursday 24 June 2010

Just for fun...Enjoy!



I hope that you enjoy this as much as I did. Communication between humans and animals. Wonderful!






:)))))))))))

Laugh more and play more.

Note: Photo Baby Finley on a mission May 2010.

Monday 21 June 2010

Summer Solstice 2010 "- Keep your eyes to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows." Helen Keller


"Ahh! FirstRay of Dawn
Awakens the heart
In appreciation of life
This morn of Summer's
portent born.

Yes! Love,
My basket,
Yearning to be filled
With all bliss in the ecstatic
Joy garnered from Earth's
Green delight!

Oh! You
Golden orb,
Bless all life brought forth
In the flowers' promise made known
By fruit and bird song
From now on.

Ha! Smile
Upon us,
Lighten each our heart
That every child is fed and loved;
Embraced in green arms
And bloom bright.

Ahh! First
Ray of Dawn:
Summer's Solstice born.
Earth's passionate embrace fulfilled,
Her covenant song
Our troth."

Jade Wah'oo

Notes:

Helen Keller: Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 – June 1, 1968) was an American author, political activist and lecturer. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Keller

Photo: Sun Rising Over Stonehenge - Summer Solstice, June 21, 2005 by : wikipedia

Wednesday 16 June 2010

Are you ready to change?

How many times a day do you say yes when you mean no?

How many times a day do you compromise your truth in your work and in your life, and by doing so depleting your precious energy and selling your spirit bit by bit even though you beleive you are giving your best at that particular moment?

Are you living your life at peace with yourself?

Are you afraid or inspired by change?

Is there a need for change how conductive education services are run and what is on offer under the name of conductive education?






Notes:

"The English word spirit (from Latin spiritus "breath")..."From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Photo: Judit and Owen at the Conductive Education Support Centre in Brockenhurts, UK February 2010.

Friday 21 May 2010

Hebrew Translation of the Challenge Me! TM Mobility Activity Cards designed by Amanda Elliott

On 19th May 2010 Jessica Kingsley Publisher confirmed that they have received the counter-signed contracts for Challenge Me! TM Mobility Cards to be translated in Hebrew.

Amanda Elliott the creator of the Challange Me!TM Mobility and Activity Crads is a senior conductor, one of the first graduates of the National Institute of Conductive Education UK, and the director of Conductive Education Support Services UK.

The set of beautifully illustrated full-colour mobility cards, together with a detailed instruction booklet, is a valuable tool for all professionals and parents facilitating the rehabilitation of children with neurological disorders and general developmental disabilities.

The activities address the development of mobility and coordination skills, while also promoting independence and self-esteem, using a fun approach that is motivating for children.

The cards were designed to give parents and professionals plenty of new ideas of tasks to practise at home/school to help improve mobility and all over motor skills based on Conductive Education.

Using the cards is fun and provide you with many useful ideas how to help children to improve essential skills. The cards also enable children to choose, focus, plan, empowering them to take charge in their own problem solving in a playful way.

Children can create their own activity regime which they can practise every day until they master the skills required, or they can choose ad-hoc challenges throughout the day which will build their abilities.
The cards were created in mind that everyone involved with child care, upbringing and education can easily be involved in helping children in a relaxed and joyful way.

In her resource review Julie Hughes of Down Syndrome Education International writes about the Challenge Me! Mobility Activity Cards.
"I'm always on the look-out for useful, practical activities that can be worked into everyday games – and that is just what I found in these cards.

The Challenge Me! Mobility Activity Cards - a set of useful, practical activities that can be worked into everyday games. They address mobility, balance coordination, spatial awareness, trunk control, transferring skills, gross motor skills, flexibility, adaptability, safety awareness, and independence. Practising these skills can also have a knock-on effect on self-esteem and confidence."

Link to full article: http://www.down-syndrome.org/resources/2023/

Link to order the cards directly from the author: http://www.challengemecards.com/order.html

Links to order the cards in USA:
http://www.amazon.com/Challenge-Me-Mobility-Activity-Cards/dp/1843104970/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274429105&sr=8-1

In Australia:
http://www.thebrainary.com/shop/product.php?productid=3583&cat=0&page=1

Challenge Me! TM Speech and Communication Cards are also available by Amanda Elliott.

'Speech and language skills are a vital part of being able to communicate with others and express one's own needs. The Challenge Me!™ Speech and Communication Cards provide fun and dynamic challenges for children aged 3-12 with any form of speech problem, whether this is a severe problem which is related to a motor disability or a general delay in speech. This set of beautifully illustrated full-colour cards with accompanying instruction booklet will be an ideal creative tool for parents and professionals working to improve a child's speaking skills.’


For further reading and to order the cards please follow these links:

http://www.challengemecards.com/speech_and_communication.html

http://www.challengemecards.com/order.html

Mandy at the moment is in Italy helping out with homeless, abandoned and cruelly treated dogs. Well done Manda and congratulations for your achievement!