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ALT Title: Christmas Art Images are drawn/cut-out and coloured-in pictures: 1. A penguin. 2. Seven robins with facts about robins written around them. 3. Three gingerbread men. 4. A drawing of a woman with a Santa hat on her, and a hill in the background with a blue car on it. 5. Three penguins. 6. Two reindeer faces. 7. Seven penguins with penguin facts written around them.

ALT Title: Emergency Contact Numbers Text: Christmas is a happy time for a lot of people, but it can also be a time of hardship. Here are contact details for some services: Meath Women’s Refuge and Support Services: 1800 46 46 46 Family Resource Centre: Trim - 046 943 8850 Kells - 046 924 7161 Navan - 046 907 3178 East Coast - 041 981 2230 Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS): 0818 07 2000 HSE Drugs and Alcohol Helpline: 1800 459 459 Meals on Wheels: www.mealsonwheelsnetwork.ie/contact If you or someone you know needs urgent help, please contact emergency services on 112/999. Pictures: a house with a heart in the middle, a piggybank, a person holding an umbrella over a crying person.

ALT Text: North Leinster Citizens Information Service: 0818 07 6150 Meath Community Drug and Alcohol Response: 087 0933759 Pieta: 1800 247 247 The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul: 01 884 8200 ALONE: 0818 222 024 Turn2Me mental health support: https://turn2me.ie/ Samaritans: 116 123 If you or someone you know needs urgent help, please contact emergency services on 112/999 Pictures: a person lifting someone onto a box, a bag of groceries, a cupped hand holding a phone, hands pointing up with hearts drawn on the palms.

ALT Title: Did you know? Many of our favourite Christmas games use Total COmmunication! Text (presented in separate present-shaped boxes with a red bow on top): -Charades shows the creativity involved in communicating without words. It also shows how many options we have - our facial expressions, our body movements, and more! -30 Seconds is a fun way to manage word-finding difficulties. It gives a chance to practise creative ways to describe things. It also shows the importance of having attentive listeners! Junior version also available. -Pictionary shows how drawing can be an effective way to communicate. You don't even have to be a great artist to get your point across! Junior version also available. -The Big Taboo combines elements of ‘Pictionary’, ‘Charades’ and ‘25 Words or Less’ to create a Total Communication board game. This one will really show some creative ways you can communicate! Taboo Junior also available.

ALT Title: Learn Language with Christmas Crafts Text: Christmas crafts create lots of opportunities to learn sequencing and new vocabulary. Make your own cards. Make your own ornaments. Bake and decorate some festive cookies. Put together a gingerbread house. Sequencing words (the words are written across a picture of a page)- First Second Last Third Then After Before Finally Next Vocabulary (the words are written across a picture of a page)- Mix Blend Sprinkle Stir Paste Pinch Fold Trim Snip Combine Sequins Secure Texture Glitter Knead Pictures: Pictures of each craft listed. Also an image of Santa on the right side of the post. Pale yellow background with red and green snowflakes.

ALT Title: Christmas Gift Ideas for Young Children Text: Christmas magic is sharing time, joy, and presents with loved ones. Here are some of our favourite gifts for language development: -Teddies/Dolls - great for learning body parts, action words, and describing words -Play-Dough - great for learning shapes, colours, and action words -Blocks - great for learning shapes and colours -Jigsaws - great for learning colours and position words (like beside, under, on top of...) -Books - great for learning new words and how to tell stories -Bubbles - great for learning action words and size words -Potato Head - great for learning shapes and position words -Cars - great for learning colours and action words -Shape Sorter - great for learning shapes and colours -Kitchen Set - great for learning food words and action words Pictures of each gift are included.

ALT Title: Inclusive Halloween Picture: 3 ghosts trick-or-treating Text: Remember Halloween is a fun time for lots of children, but it can also be overwhelming. Be patient with trick-or-treaters. Some might not dress up or say “Trick or Treat”, but they still deserve a treat!

ALT Title: Halloween Text: Some children might not wear a costume because they don’t want to or they may find it uncomfortable. Comment on what they are wearing, like 'what a lovely dress', 'those are cool light-up shoes'. Some children might not say 'Trick or Treat' or explain their costume. Some might say it but be hard to understand. Keep it low-pressure. Let them talk if they want to, but give them the treat even if they don’t. Some children may find the sights and sounds of Halloween overwhelming and get very quiet or really excited. Give children the time they need. Try not to ask too many questions or to rush them along.

ALT Title: World Stroke Day. Text: A stroke is a brain attack caused when something blocks blood getting around the brain, or when a blood vessel in the brain bursts. After a stroke, people may need a team of health professionals. This team may include a Speech and Language Therapist to support communication and feeding, eating, drinking, and swallowing (FEDS).

ALT Title: Top Tips for ADHD: Text: Let the person move. Provide fidget toys as needed. Moving or fidgeting can actually help some people focus. Gain attention before giving instructions and give instructions one at a time. Keeping a checklist may help. Minimise distractions in the ‘work’ space, e.g. seat away from windows in class and turn the tv/radio off at home. Use timers and stick to these. Let the person work until the timer sounds, then give a movement break. Restart the timer. Give the person an early turn in a game or when speaking. Support them in waiting, and label turns. Fidget toys may help.

ALT Title: Remember! Text: Most people benefit from movement breaks. Whole class activities can help the group to refocus. Title: Special Interests Text: Part of an ADHD profile can be intense interests. Often people with ADHD will talk about them as a way to share the interest. Finding like-minded people with similar interests can be really helpful. Like, share, follow for more information about how to support people with different brain types

ALT Title: ADHD Awareness Month Text: ADHD, or attention deficit (hyperactivity) disorder, is a brain difference characterised by higher levels of inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity. Signs of ADHD: -Have speech and language differences -Need to move constantly or 'fidget' -Spot patterns and creative solutions quickly -Have variable attention -Talk or act without thinking -Lose belongings and appear forgetful or careless -Have difficulty with planning, organisation, and sequencing thoughts. -Have difficulty with turn-taking and waiting -Talk a lot about an area of interest

ALT Text: ADHD is not a learning disability, BUT the features of ADHD can make learning tricky. Title: How Can ADHD Affect Learning? Text: -Variable attention can result in expert knowledge in areas of interest, but missed information in other areas. -Increased sensitivity to the environment can make it harder to follow instructions and learn new skills. -Difficulty with planning can lead to jumbled stories, speech errors and mistakes in writing. -Group work can be tricky because impulsivity can lead to interrupting and difficulty turn-taking. -Homework and tests can be rushed or incomplete and may not reflect true knowledge. Look out for our top tips for ADHD!

ALT Title: how to help dyslexic people: Text: -Sing nursery rhymes with your child to draw attention to the sounds and rhythm of language. -Read books with lots of rhymes and repetitive phrases. -Teach new vocabulary regularly and play word games e.g. Hedbanz, Scrabble Junior, Guess Who, I Spy etc. -Listen to audiobooks with your child to develop attention, comprehension and vocabulary skills. -Boost your child’s confidence by focusing on their strengths and other interests.

ALT Title: I Spy Text: I Spy is great to play on the move! You don’t need any resources other than your mind, and it helps to learn and remember words. Try describing things instead of giving the first sound e.g. ‘I spy something tall and brown with green leaves’. Remember! Reading and writing can be tiring. Discuss options with your child’s teacher if homework is taking a long time e.g. you read aloud and write down the answers your child gives. Like, share, follow for more information about how to support different brain types.

ALT Title: All About Dyslexia Text: Dyslexia is a brain difference that causes specific difficulties with reading, spelling and writing. Title: Before School Text: Signs of dyslexia in young children: -May be a late-talker -Difficulty rhyming -Difficulty finding the right word -Some difficulty with pronunciation -Difficulty building vocabulary -May have delayed fine motor skills -Difficulty learning the alphabet, numbers, colours and shapes

ALT Title: School Age -May have a poor working memory -Difficulty learning phonics and sight words -Spends a long time on reading and writing tasks -May have difficulty with sequencing -Difficulty finding the right word -Difficulty spelling -Reading below class level Title: Teens+ Text: (Generally the same as for school-aged children, plus...) -Difficulty learning new languages -Dislikes or avoids reading -Smaller vocabulary -May have difficulty with word problems in Maths -Difficulty summarising information Keep an eye on the page for more information about neurotypes!

ALT Title: Did you know? Stammering and stuttering are the same thing! Picture: Mam visibly thinking Text: Stuttering, stammering, or dysfluency is a brain difference that results in disruptions in the forward flow of speech. Someone who stutters might: -Repeat sounds in words. -Repeat words or syllables. -Have 'blocks' where no words come out. -Stretch out sounds in words. -Feel tension in their speech muscles. -Have a range of thoughts and feelings about their stutter.

ALT Title: Stuttering: How to Help Text: -Focus on what the person is saying, not how they are saying it. -Be patient - do not interrupt or finish the sentence for someone. -Do not assume that the person views their stutter as a bad thing. All people's experiences are unique. Remember: -Nobody is fluent all the time. Speech is full of fillers like 'um', 'you know', 'what was I saying'. -Continue to promote awareness and, most importantly, acceptance of stuttering. The most important thing is the message, not how it is delivered. -Stuttering is a neurotype, or brain type. It is not wrong or bad, and it does not need to be 'fixed'. It is just different.








