I was perusing through Pintrest earlier, as I do on a regular basis, glancing over new foods and crafts to try, as well as some SLP stuff. That's when I came across this little ditty, which I think is vital information for a SLP, or anyone working with those who have impediments of any kind. Bullying. Although this brochure mainly pertains to the population of pediatric stuttering patients that are in schools, the general information is relevant to any SLP working with children in a school setting... in fact, I think all SLPs should know this, as medical speech therapy patients, child or adult, will come across some jokes or even bullying, and could use this information. Just knowing that their speech therapist is aware of these non-therapy issues is helpful for patients. (Even teachers and parents need this knowledge about better ways to manage bullying, in my opinion.)
According to Gordon Blood, professionals can use the acronym "STOP IT" to assess, deter and overcome a bullying situation. It goes as follows:
" S- stop the bullying immediately
T-tag and identify the behavior at once
O- offer assistance and social support to the victim
P- present immediate/appropriate consequences for bullying behavior
I- instruct witnesses and bystanders
T- teach students, personnel, parents and friends intervention strategies (Blood, n.d.)"
If we can implement this strategy and hand this poster up in our classes (or entire school), then we are at least taking one step closer to assisting patients who are victims of bullying and teaching others how to act in the situation. We probably can't erase bullying entirely, but any attempt is better than no attempt!
If you would like more information on stuttering, bullying or stuttering& bullying, then check out the brochure, and the link for The Stuttering Foundation below:
The Stuttering Foundation
Brochure: Bullying & SLPs: Enhancing our Roles as Advocates for Students Who Stutter
Blood, Gordon, PhD. (n.d.) Bullying & SLPs: Enhancing our Roles as Advocates for Students Who Stutter [Brochure]. Memphis, TN: The Stuttering Foundation.
Literacy and Therapy
25 February 2013
At first I was a bit apprehensive about taking a class about literacy for my "W' (Intensive Writing) credits. As with most people, I have my own concept of what literacy is and I just thought we'd be learning about applying literacy to our lives and writing a lot; after all, the class is called "Uses of Literacy." Maybe we'd just learn how it pertains to reading and writing, I thought... but it's turned out to be much more than that, which I think is valuable for those who want to be Speech-Language Pathologist or just want to work with children or community projects.
It is known that there's some amount of literacy building in a SLP's therapy. Some clients has Dyslexia, some are little children still learning how to put the pieces together, some have trouble recognizing the symbols and connecting them with sounds and words. The list can go on. But have you actually thought about the concept of literacy in a broader, more socio-developmental sense? How does the area where one lives affect their literacy and language capabilities? What about identity and literacy. Your literacy can affect who you identify as, and visa versa. There's also different domains of literacy, including technology, which has created a whole literacy type of it's own.
If we can formulate an idea about how our client's culture and identity affect language skills, then that could help us understand what approach to take for therapy. Maybe the client is more literate in one domain, like computers, but not as competent in social "literacy." Or, perhaps the community and culture surrounding this person and that have cultivated this person into his/her being have given way to a literacy that is different than what you are used to but is the "norm" where that person was brought up. This can be dialect, idioms, how they use language/ use it to express their thoughts, social behavior, etc. You have to be sensitive to all of these things in order to find the perfect piece to complete the therapy jigsaw puzzle. If you don't account for these types of literacies and try to treat each client with similar problems in the same way, it might not always click. You need to customize it to their level and type of literacy.
Maybe you can ask you client some questions, like:
*What are your favorite memories of reading and writing?
*How did you learn to read and write? Did anyone help?
*What are some of your favorite traditions?
*What re some things you like to do in your town/community?
*How do you normally talk to someone (write, talk, sing, ...etc)?
*What confuses you about language, reading, writing and speaking?
*When is it difficult for you to understand others, or for them to understand you?
Basically, just ask them anything to do with literacy. This can expand from just reading and writing; in fact, it includes much more than that. Try to think of definition of literacy... does yours reference to sign langauges/body language or how culture, society and events maybe shape one's literacy? There's also literacy "events" (like, remembering when you first learned to read a book, or reading/decoding a street sign, eavsdropping and understanding someone's conversation... basically anything can be a literacy event). Another thing is literacy sponsors... who or what has helped lay the foundation of your language and literacy skills? It can be people, places (school, library, home, travel), or things (books, websites, magazines, technology) or even abstract stuff like dreams,languages and age (your literacy changes as you age) .
Hope this helps you customize your therapy plans or understand a new way to tackle some speech and languages issues!
It is known that there's some amount of literacy building in a SLP's therapy. Some clients has Dyslexia, some are little children still learning how to put the pieces together, some have trouble recognizing the symbols and connecting them with sounds and words. The list can go on. But have you actually thought about the concept of literacy in a broader, more socio-developmental sense? How does the area where one lives affect their literacy and language capabilities? What about identity and literacy. Your literacy can affect who you identify as, and visa versa. There's also different domains of literacy, including technology, which has created a whole literacy type of it's own.
If we can formulate an idea about how our client's culture and identity affect language skills, then that could help us understand what approach to take for therapy. Maybe the client is more literate in one domain, like computers, but not as competent in social "literacy." Or, perhaps the community and culture surrounding this person and that have cultivated this person into his/her being have given way to a literacy that is different than what you are used to but is the "norm" where that person was brought up. This can be dialect, idioms, how they use language/ use it to express their thoughts, social behavior, etc. You have to be sensitive to all of these things in order to find the perfect piece to complete the therapy jigsaw puzzle. If you don't account for these types of literacies and try to treat each client with similar problems in the same way, it might not always click. You need to customize it to their level and type of literacy.
Maybe you can ask you client some questions, like:
*What are your favorite memories of reading and writing?
*How did you learn to read and write? Did anyone help?
*What are some of your favorite traditions?
*What re some things you like to do in your town/community?
*How do you normally talk to someone (write, talk, sing, ...etc)?
*What confuses you about language, reading, writing and speaking?
*When is it difficult for you to understand others, or for them to understand you?
Basically, just ask them anything to do with literacy. This can expand from just reading and writing; in fact, it includes much more than that. Try to think of definition of literacy... does yours reference to sign langauges/body language or how culture, society and events maybe shape one's literacy? There's also literacy "events" (like, remembering when you first learned to read a book, or reading/decoding a street sign, eavsdropping and understanding someone's conversation... basically anything can be a literacy event). Another thing is literacy sponsors... who or what has helped lay the foundation of your language and literacy skills? It can be people, places (school, library, home, travel), or things (books, websites, magazines, technology) or even abstract stuff like dreams,languages and age (your literacy changes as you age) .
Hope this helps you customize your therapy plans or understand a new way to tackle some speech and languages issues!
SLP Skill Saturday #3:Patience
23 February 2013
Patience is not just a necessary skill, it's actually elevated above many... after all, not many desirable characteristics can say they have proverbs written concerning them. Can't think of it? Think of the term 'virtue.' Still not ringing a bell? Well, there's a saying that patience is a virtue.' This holds very true, not only in life, but within the professional world as well.
As with many jobs, especially those working with children or in medicine, patience plays a key role. You need to be able to keep your calm and wait out the rough patches. Maybe the parents of a child are thinking more progress should be made; maybe an adult patient is having a hard time overcoming a pronunciation barrier; or, just maybe the weekend can't come soon enough. You need to be able to understand and find a way to be patient and cost through these, as well as find ways to overcome them in the best way possible. If not, the saying's cousin "haste makes waste" might pay you a visit. Perhaps you fill out some forms too quickly because you just want them to be done with, but later you realize that you marked some things incorrectly due to impatience. Now you have to fill them all out again. Sometimes, it is out of your control as well.
Sometimes, patience comes in the form of waiting for progress. This is a major part of the speech-language pathologist's career. Progress almost certainly never comes instantly. So for those who seek instant gratification from major accomplishments should not seek this career. It takes time to build the concepts and skills for a client to begin to overcome their impediment. Even more time if it is a larger issue to tackle or if it is due to other underlying causes. Let alone, the client may have it "click" while in therapy, but might not actually incorporate the therapy into his/her actual every-day life. This job require lots of patience, as it can take weeks, months or even years to make progress. Don't let that discourage you though, as there are minor victories along the way to help boost morale and show you it is possible.
One way to see this in perspective is illustrated by what my one teacher continually tells us hopeful Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists, which goes something along the lines of: "Your role as a Speech-Language Pathologist is not to cure these people; your job is to help them gain a better quality of life." So, if you find your patience wearing low, try not to focus on the big picture and attempting to cure your client. You need to focus on helping him/her and finding hope and joy in the smaller triumphs that lead up to major progress. As long as what you are doing is helping them feel better and have a better quality of life, then you are successful. You just need to enjoy the ride at a pace set for them, and not lose patience in our high-paced, goal-oriented world.
As with many jobs, especially those working with children or in medicine, patience plays a key role. You need to be able to keep your calm and wait out the rough patches. Maybe the parents of a child are thinking more progress should be made; maybe an adult patient is having a hard time overcoming a pronunciation barrier; or, just maybe the weekend can't come soon enough. You need to be able to understand and find a way to be patient and cost through these, as well as find ways to overcome them in the best way possible. If not, the saying's cousin "haste makes waste" might pay you a visit. Perhaps you fill out some forms too quickly because you just want them to be done with, but later you realize that you marked some things incorrectly due to impatience. Now you have to fill them all out again. Sometimes, it is out of your control as well.
Sometimes, patience comes in the form of waiting for progress. This is a major part of the speech-language pathologist's career. Progress almost certainly never comes instantly. So for those who seek instant gratification from major accomplishments should not seek this career. It takes time to build the concepts and skills for a client to begin to overcome their impediment. Even more time if it is a larger issue to tackle or if it is due to other underlying causes. Let alone, the client may have it "click" while in therapy, but might not actually incorporate the therapy into his/her actual every-day life. This job require lots of patience, as it can take weeks, months or even years to make progress. Don't let that discourage you though, as there are minor victories along the way to help boost morale and show you it is possible.
One way to see this in perspective is illustrated by what my one teacher continually tells us hopeful Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists, which goes something along the lines of: "Your role as a Speech-Language Pathologist is not to cure these people; your job is to help them gain a better quality of life." So, if you find your patience wearing low, try not to focus on the big picture and attempting to cure your client. You need to focus on helping him/her and finding hope and joy in the smaller triumphs that lead up to major progress. As long as what you are doing is helping them feel better and have a better quality of life, then you are successful. You just need to enjoy the ride at a pace set for them, and not lose patience in our high-paced, goal-oriented world.
What'd Ya Say? Wednesday: Infographic on SLP
20 February 2013
Whether you are still undecided, decided but have no idea about the process, want to check where you are along the path or just want to look at in infographic on becoming and staying a SLP, then I've got a treat for you. Some lovely people have patched this together to give a quick and comprehensive overview of what it take to one day be a SLP. It helps lay the foundation, almost like a pictoral checklist, from which you can look back on when needed to make sure you are on track. On top of this, it also lists the average wages, areas where SLPs are paid the most, and the work schedule/settings as well! (According to this, SLP is in the top 15 careers!)
*found at:http://www.infographicsonly.com/how-to-become-a-speech-pathologist/
*found at:http://www.infographicsonly.com/how-to-become-a-speech-pathologist/
Funny Video!
17 February 2013
Soooo... the other day we were learning about typical speech and Autism Spectrum Disorder, especially about gaining friendship and positive association with your clients (particularly the younger crowd) to be placed in their "trusted" circle to promote willingness to participate in therapy. It also helps to get their peers involved too. The guest speaker then showed us this video, which I find pretty hilarious. This demonstrates the outside-in approach to therapy, except in a more abstract way, not necessarily therapy related. But the concept is "shown" when you get further in the video. It may possibly be a stretch, but either way, here's the video. Hope it brightens your day!
Pintrest
15 February 2013
If you haven't heard of this wonderful and creativity-inducing website yet, you should probably get on it! Pintrest is such a great website full ideas, websites and blogs ranging from food to travel to education to weddings... basically you name it, someone has made a "pin" on something related to it! And as an (emerging) SLP, this is an excellent thing to have in your arsenal... but I'll get to that in a second.
The gist of Pintrest is that it's a new way to store your "favorites". But visually. Instead of placing a website into your favorites folder or bookmarking it, you "pin it" to one of your pinboards. You can have pinboards for anything. Like quotes? Have a quote board. Planning a wedding? Have a wedding board. Are you a pastry chef looking for inspiration? Have a board for new pastry ideas. Like I said, you name it, you can pin it. Besides being able to store your findings visually, with a caption, there's another great thing. You can search for what you want and it'll load all the pins related to your search. You'll be surprised at what a variety there is in just your search sometimes! You might search "apple pie", and get results for normal apple pie, caramel apple pie and crustless apple pie. Crazyyy. Another great thing is that you can FOLLOW others or SPECIFIC pinboards people have. This way you can see when they post something new in general or on that board to find new ideas and add it to yours!
So, what does this have to do with Speech Pathology? Welllll... similar to the boom of SLP bloggers, there's a burst of SLPs and other therapists, educators, etc on Pintrest as well! Even ASHA and PediaStaff have their own Pintrest. There's plenty of information on here for professionals and (under)grad students alike! Many have pinboards for therapy ideas, other blogs, tips and tricks, disorders, organization ideas, disorder information, etc. So, if you want to find a new therapy tactic for, say, phonological disorders, just search it and you should find something! It's a great way to connect with others as well, as professionals, organizations and businesses are on Pintrest. So I suggest you get on that!
http://www.pintrest.com
The gist of Pintrest is that it's a new way to store your "favorites". But visually. Instead of placing a website into your favorites folder or bookmarking it, you "pin it" to one of your pinboards. You can have pinboards for anything. Like quotes? Have a quote board. Planning a wedding? Have a wedding board. Are you a pastry chef looking for inspiration? Have a board for new pastry ideas. Like I said, you name it, you can pin it. Besides being able to store your findings visually, with a caption, there's another great thing. You can search for what you want and it'll load all the pins related to your search. You'll be surprised at what a variety there is in just your search sometimes! You might search "apple pie", and get results for normal apple pie, caramel apple pie and crustless apple pie. Crazyyy. Another great thing is that you can FOLLOW others or SPECIFIC pinboards people have. This way you can see when they post something new in general or on that board to find new ideas and add it to yours!
So, what does this have to do with Speech Pathology? Welllll... similar to the boom of SLP bloggers, there's a burst of SLPs and other therapists, educators, etc on Pintrest as well! Even ASHA and PediaStaff have their own Pintrest. There's plenty of information on here for professionals and (under)grad students alike! Many have pinboards for therapy ideas, other blogs, tips and tricks, disorders, organization ideas, disorder information, etc. So, if you want to find a new therapy tactic for, say, phonological disorders, just search it and you should find something! It's a great way to connect with others as well, as professionals, organizations and businesses are on Pintrest. So I suggest you get on that!
http://www.pintrest.com
What'd Ya Say? Wednesday: Vocal Fry
13 February 2013
Only a mere year ago I was sitting in my first Linguistics class, Introduction to Linguistics. My teacher was an enthusiastic grad student who had an interest in sociolinguistics. Basically, that means he was interested in how society affects language (vocabulary, sounds, pronunciation, etc.) A few examples of this would be studying African American Vernacular or Gay Speech, and see how those subcultures utilize language in different ways than the umbrella culture. After a few months and learning the basics of linguistics, we began to talk about dialects, sociolinguistics, etc. One thing that came up was this new "trend" of the vocal fry, which is often seen in younger female speech as of right now.
What is the vocal fry you ask? Think back to hearing your daughter, niece, neighbor speak. Or better yet, have you heard Ke$ha or Brittany Spears talk? This vocalization is illustrated when people tend to draw out the end of their sentence in a low, vibrating tone. Perhaps a video could better explain it, so here's an example for you to listen to (although she exaggerates it greatly): Does it make sense now? Some say that it's become a trend that's pioneering new speech patterns, especially since girls tend to use it for social acceptance or to show irritation (at least I think). After all, other speech patterns have caught on over the past decades, or at least gained attention/knowledge.
As she states, this is pretty bad. Not only for other's ears and sanity, but for the speaker's vocal health as well. The vocal folds are meant to vibrate to pronounce voiced sounds, such as [z], [b] and [g]. This is only meant for short bursts and the vibration isn't as rough. On the other hand, the vocal fry makes the sound elongated and has the vocal folds hitting each other more for a longer time. In fact, Speech Language Pathologists used to help people who did this, considering it as a slight voice impediment. There's debate as to if it is completely harmful(or at least long-term), but I'd think it would at least somewhat bad if kept up for a long time. I wonder if we could look in and see if there's any irritation there.
So what do you think... epidemic or natural? Safe, hazardous, or neither?
What is the vocal fry you ask? Think back to hearing your daughter, niece, neighbor speak. Or better yet, have you heard Ke$ha or Brittany Spears talk? This vocalization is illustrated when people tend to draw out the end of their sentence in a low, vibrating tone. Perhaps a video could better explain it, so here's an example for you to listen to (although she exaggerates it greatly): Does it make sense now? Some say that it's become a trend that's pioneering new speech patterns, especially since girls tend to use it for social acceptance or to show irritation (at least I think). After all, other speech patterns have caught on over the past decades, or at least gained attention/knowledge.
As she states, this is pretty bad. Not only for other's ears and sanity, but for the speaker's vocal health as well. The vocal folds are meant to vibrate to pronounce voiced sounds, such as [z], [b] and [g]. This is only meant for short bursts and the vibration isn't as rough. On the other hand, the vocal fry makes the sound elongated and has the vocal folds hitting each other more for a longer time. In fact, Speech Language Pathologists used to help people who did this, considering it as a slight voice impediment. There's debate as to if it is completely harmful(or at least long-term), but I'd think it would at least somewhat bad if kept up for a long time. I wonder if we could look in and see if there's any irritation there.
So what do you think... epidemic or natural? Safe, hazardous, or neither?
Research, Research, Research
10 February 2013
If you know me, you know I love learning and expanding my knowledge, especially if it's something I'm interested in. And well, I'm one happy chica right now, as I get to research two separate topics dealing with two different things I love (with some over-lapping!). My first project is a paper on Childhood Apraxia for my Intro to SLP class. I love learning about different diseases, how they relate to speech disorders and development and just anything to do with children or my future profession! (Although, I'm not dead-set on child therapy yet, but considering I've had more experience with kids makes it more viable.) It was a hard decision choosing a topic for this because, similar to the child-adult debate, there's some uncertainty about what I want to specialize in, if I do. There's just sooo many possibilities that I didn't know about! Childhood Apraxia of Speech ended up beating out the other contenders, though! It is just captivating, especially since it's not really acquired, which means that the child was born with it. And it has such a range of severity, with the most severe being almost unable to say any formidable and understandable words. How could that not spark interest?! I'll be looking into many things, including possible therapies and such, so I'll be up-to-date on that by the end of this!
The second project I am taking part in is actually a group project for my Genes and Diseases class (gahhh, genetics! I love it.) Turns out we are all CSD majors, and our topic was narrowed down to Deafness. For this we'll have to figure out how it goes from a mutation in the DNA that mis-translates into a bad protein that then causes deafness. Apparently there are many genes related to deafness! We had to pick one that seemed most prevalent so we were certain we'd find enough info. We also get to actually see where it is located and everything! Which makes me all the more excited since it'll help me curb my appetite for genetics. I may also be able to use this information in my career as an SLP, especially since I hope to learn ASL. :)
I'll be sure to keep you guys updated on anything I find interesting and whatnot! What are some diseases, conditions or anything related to Speech-Language Pathology or genetics that interest you?
The second project I am taking part in is actually a group project for my Genes and Diseases class (gahhh, genetics! I love it.) Turns out we are all CSD majors, and our topic was narrowed down to Deafness. For this we'll have to figure out how it goes from a mutation in the DNA that mis-translates into a bad protein that then causes deafness. Apparently there are many genes related to deafness! We had to pick one that seemed most prevalent so we were certain we'd find enough info. We also get to actually see where it is located and everything! Which makes me all the more excited since it'll help me curb my appetite for genetics. I may also be able to use this information in my career as an SLP, especially since I hope to learn ASL. :)
I'll be sure to keep you guys updated on anything I find interesting and whatnot! What are some diseases, conditions or anything related to Speech-Language Pathology or genetics that interest you?
SLP Skills Saturday #2: Finding Patterns
09 February 2013
It's time for the second installation of the SLP Skills Saturday series! As you can see in the title, today I'll be focusing on the idea that hopeful and current SLPs should be able to find patterns. Now, this doesn't necessarily mean putting the pieces together for a small 6-piece puzzle... professionals in this field have to also be able to complete those life-size 500 piece puzzles as well. Finding all the little things and piecing them together to find the underlying patterns that make the entire Shaquille O'Neal puzzle pattern. It's a very valuable skill to have, as sometimes these patterns can have the tiniest little details that need attending to or you might just miss it and spend an extra hour figuring out where that darn blue piece with yellow and white spots might go.
SLPs needs to have good auditory perception to help detect some patterns of speech. One example would be for phonological patterns. They must be able to tell if a certain sound is said correctly in each position in a word (Initial, Medial and Final). Perhaps the client can say /t/ in the intial position (ex. [tɪn] "tin"), but then it resembles the flap/tap in medial or final positions when it shouldn't... like, [bʌɾn] instead of [bʌʔn] for "button". Or maybe the client omits specific phonemes, or just consonants in general in certain parts of a word. Sometimes this is just part of typical development, like omitting the final consonant in a word. You have to be able to identify patterns like that and discern if it is part of development or needs intervention.
To go along with this theme, perhaps you will have to use those pattern finding skills to pick out articulation issues. You'll have to watch and listen for misarticulation of sounds. Place of articulation seems to be a big one; is the client pronouncing the sound in the wrong area of the speech mechanism? /S/ is sometimes dentalized and said with the tongue near the teeth instead of the alveolar ridge (the bumpy part behind the teeth). It's things like that where you have to find the pattern and determine the best method for therapy. Perhaps it's tied in with another issue and is only dentalized when after a certain phoneme or in a specific syllable position. That's when you are trying to find out where that blue piece with yellow and white spots fits into the life size puzzle. The big, crazy puzzle.
It isn't always about what the client says, but just getting the client to talk or finding a way to have him/her gain more interest in the activities! This piece of the puzzle will rely on your eye for creativity and adapting to the situation. What if you have a mute or autistic client that has communication issues with starting or continuing a conversation? Or even a fear of communication? You'll have to use multiple techniques to see which one is just right, and what piece of the puzzle will fit to have your client be enthusiastic about learning and talking. You want to find that one piece that encourages him/her to engage in therapy and conversing. Sometimes it's a simple hobby that fits in the 6-piece puzzle, other times it's a piece that you have to search for like a needle in the haystack of 500 pieces.
Of course there are other patterns that need finding. This is just a simple "taste" of some possibilities of possible patterns that SLPs (and those to be!) need to keep an eye out for. Pattern finding is an integral part of this profession. It's necessary to find what is going on and where it occurs so you can form an appropriate therapy plan for optimal progression. You probably won't completely fix and complete the puzzle, but you will at least be able to see more of the therapy picture puzzle.
*picture from: http://www.illustrationsof.com/royalty-free-puzzle-pieces-clipart-illustration-221865.jpg
SLPs needs to have good auditory perception to help detect some patterns of speech. One example would be for phonological patterns. They must be able to tell if a certain sound is said correctly in each position in a word (Initial, Medial and Final). Perhaps the client can say /t/ in the intial position (ex. [tɪn] "tin"), but then it resembles the flap/tap in medial or final positions when it shouldn't... like, [bʌɾn] instead of [bʌʔn] for "button". Or maybe the client omits specific phonemes, or just consonants in general in certain parts of a word. Sometimes this is just part of typical development, like omitting the final consonant in a word. You have to be able to identify patterns like that and discern if it is part of development or needs intervention.
To go along with this theme, perhaps you will have to use those pattern finding skills to pick out articulation issues. You'll have to watch and listen for misarticulation of sounds. Place of articulation seems to be a big one; is the client pronouncing the sound in the wrong area of the speech mechanism? /S/ is sometimes dentalized and said with the tongue near the teeth instead of the alveolar ridge (the bumpy part behind the teeth). It's things like that where you have to find the pattern and determine the best method for therapy. Perhaps it's tied in with another issue and is only dentalized when after a certain phoneme or in a specific syllable position. That's when you are trying to find out where that blue piece with yellow and white spots fits into the life size puzzle. The big, crazy puzzle.
It isn't always about what the client says, but just getting the client to talk or finding a way to have him/her gain more interest in the activities! This piece of the puzzle will rely on your eye for creativity and adapting to the situation. What if you have a mute or autistic client that has communication issues with starting or continuing a conversation? Or even a fear of communication? You'll have to use multiple techniques to see which one is just right, and what piece of the puzzle will fit to have your client be enthusiastic about learning and talking. You want to find that one piece that encourages him/her to engage in therapy and conversing. Sometimes it's a simple hobby that fits in the 6-piece puzzle, other times it's a piece that you have to search for like a needle in the haystack of 500 pieces.
Of course there are other patterns that need finding. This is just a simple "taste" of some possibilities of possible patterns that SLPs (and those to be!) need to keep an eye out for. Pattern finding is an integral part of this profession. It's necessary to find what is going on and where it occurs so you can form an appropriate therapy plan for optimal progression. You probably won't completely fix and complete the puzzle, but you will at least be able to see more of the therapy picture puzzle.
*picture from: http://www.illustrationsof.com/royalty-free-puzzle-pieces-clipart-illustration-221865.jpg
Free Funky February SLP Materials!
03 February 2013
Hey! Sooo, I've had the creative bug hit me lately, and that led me to attempting to make some therapy materials. Although there are two big holidays in February (Groundhogs Day and Valentines Day), I wanted to do a lesser-known and kind of fun holiday! I searched for weird February holidays and..... I found Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk Day! Sounds like an interesting and fun holiday, right? It's celebrated on February 11th, so it can be a fun school week activity. :)
Now, I've never made these before and I'm not sure what program SLPs use to create their materials, but I think these turned out decent. Some parts (aka my drawings) may be juvenile-ish, but it's hard to draw on Paint! Hopefully you guys like them AND if you have any hints or tips, PLEASE let me know!
It's mostly based off of building expressive and receptive language with some activities and even a fun game! There are some some other things tested like fine motor skills, memory and comprehension.
Here's a preview of the introduction page (that lists all the activities) and one of the activities:
PLEASE comment, like, do the poll and/or reblog/subscribe if you use it so I know people saw this and like it! Thanks soooooo much!
Click here to see the product listing!
[polldaddy poll=6875198]
Now, I've never made these before and I'm not sure what program SLPs use to create their materials, but I think these turned out decent. Some parts (aka my drawings) may be juvenile-ish, but it's hard to draw on Paint! Hopefully you guys like them AND if you have any hints or tips, PLEASE let me know!
It's mostly based off of building expressive and receptive language with some activities and even a fun game! There are some some other things tested like fine motor skills, memory and comprehension.
Here's a preview of the introduction page (that lists all the activities) and one of the activities:
PLEASE comment, like, do the poll and/or reblog/subscribe if you use it so I know people saw this and like it! Thanks soooooo much!
Click here to see the product listing!
[polldaddy poll=6875198]
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