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5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Child’s Speech
Finding ways to incorporate speech and language into your daily routine doesn’t have to take extra time or prep! Here are 5 easy ways from a licensed speech therapist to help grow your child’s speech in fun and engaging ways.
1: Go for a walk and talk about what you see. This is a great way to incorporate family time too!
2. While you are making a meal, invite your little one to help. Describe the smell and taste of food as you cook.
3. Turn your groceries list into a scavenger hunt! Your child will love finding new items, while you will love having some extra help.
4. Practice sequencing while talking about the steps to brush your teeth! Great practice for fine motor movements as well.
5. Game nights can be full of so many great learning opportunities. Practice following directions while playing a game, or have your child explain the directions to you!
Exposure is key when it comes to growing your child’s speech and language skills. Follow @gingerspeechie on social media for more great ideas like this!
Valentine’s Day Speech& Language Sensory Bin
Sensory bins are a great way to work on a variety of skills while keeping students engaged. Making sensory bins is like tie dying, you can’t really mess it up. Some of the best sensory bins are made from things you find around your house, or reuse from previous projects. Keep reading for some ideas on how I use sensory bins in my speech and language therapy sessions.
Targeting Vocabulary:
One of the easiest ways to use a sensory bin is to talk about the things you put inside! Talk with your students about the objects you put in your activity. My Valentine’s Day themed activity targets emotions.
Asking and Answering Questions:
Ask your students “wh” questions about what they found or have students practice asking each other questions about their items. Through my themed box we are asking students about a time they have felt a particular emotion they have found.
Describing:
This goal targets students’ vocabulary as well and can easily be used to help expand sentence length. Talk about the shape, size, color, or other descriptors when pulling items from your sensory bin. You can even use a sentence strip to help formulate sentences and expand utterances.
Fine Motor:
Sensory bins are a wonderful way to also target fine motor skills while working on speech and language. Students can use their fingers or various sizes or “grabbers” to work on their fine motor skills. I’m sure your occupational therapist friends will that you for the extra practice!
Speech Sounds:
It can go without saying, although I will, that your students can always practice their speech sounds at conversational level. For extra practice load your sensory bins with articulation cards targeting specific speech sounds for your students to find.
I hope you found this helpful! The resources you see in this blog post can be found in the Ginger Speechie Teachers Pay Teachers store, or linked on the Amazon Must Have List.
Using Vooks in Speech Therapy
Literacy based therapy is one of my favorite approaches for my students, as we are able to tackle difficult problems, using easy to understand stories. The newest resource I have been utilizing, Vooks, allows these stories to come to life!
Using books in therapy allow for a large number of goals to be targeted using a simple to understand story or theme. Working on expressive and receptive language goals while asking and answering questions about the stories read makes Vooks perfect as it helps increase student’s ability to participate.
Each story is read aloud to the students, and can be paused or played to allow for extra answer time. The words are on the screen, and highlighted as they are read, allowing for students to follow along are read with the story. My articulation students practice finding and listening for words with their speech sounds in them, then read the words with the story.
Vooks also works really well with social skills as they have books about neurodivergence, emotions, and problem solving. The large library of books means there is something perfect for everyone without having to purchase lots of books individually!
You can access Vooks via the apple app store here, google play store here, or access it via a web browser at Vooks.com! Books can be downloaded to your device for easy offline access.
Check out the free 7 day trial so you can see how you can use it with your students.
This post was sponsored by Vooks. #ad
SLP Competitive Culture
Picture this, you’re still in your undergrad classes, taking notes and trying to get a good grade on all your assignments. The professors are already warning you how hard it will be to get into grad school. You see the other students in the room as your competition, not not as the peers who you will one day be working in the field with. Like the jungle, each time tests were handed back you could cut the tension in the room with a knife. From the very beginning of your SLP journey, you have put up barriers to make sure you get to accomplish your goals.
Now you might have the personal experience or a friend’s story of the professor who told them they wouldn’t make it in the field. The supervisor who made a comment on what you wore to the clinic, or how they would have done something complete different with a client. You start off your therapeutic career often with lots of scrutiny and second guessing everything you do with clients. For some that helps shape them into amazing therapist, but for others that adds a life long toll of seconded guessing their individual therapy techniques.
Undergrad and grad students are fresh and excited and just what our field needs. They need to know that what we do isn’t cookie cutter, and we are excited to support their strengths when they join our field. Help push away the negativity, and loneliness that our undergrad and graduate programs sometimes create (even if it’s unintentional).
Practicing SLPs and SLPAs we need to work harder on realizing we are not alone, and we can lean on each other to create a network of support and change. You may be the only one in your building, district, office, nursing home, or hospital, but that doesn’t mean you have no one in your corner. It’s ok to do therapy different than others, it’s ok to ask for help, it’s ok to not always know the immediate answer.
I challenge everyone to take the CUEs needed to become a mentor for future SLPs and CFs. To reach out to those via social media, snail mail, conventions and repair some of those competitive feelings that may impact your willingness to find support today. Hopefully our schooling can make some change by allowing more students in graduate programs in order to increase acceptance into our field. Either way, the little things you can do to help go a long way.
Elementary Speech Room Behind the Scenes
Having a speech room is a blessing that I wish was guaranteed for all speech therapists. This year I changed districts, and am lucky to be supported by having an amazing speech room! Check out some of my favorite behind the scenes info on my speech room ⬇️
Small Group Table– This is the first MUST HAVE in any speech room. I love having my students close to me while we work on their goals. The colored seats are a great way to tell students where to sit, or let them choose their favorite. Last year I added colored dots to my table to match the stools (something I’m looking into doing again).
Storage– Another must in any speech room is storage. How are you going to organize all your games, flash cards, files, and more? I am lucky enough to have these great shelves for easy grab and go activities. Tip: To help hide the lower shelves I used curtains and command strips.
Calm Corner– If you have the space for a separate corner, desk, or chair for students to process in I highly recommend it. My calm corner has forgets, books, pills, and other items for my students. When I do centers in speech it is also used as a break area for kiddos.
Sound Wall– I think sound walls are a great way to add some functional speech decorations to your room! These are from my speech decor kits you can find on my Etsy and TPT shops. They are valuable in 4 different colors.
Mirror– As we all know mirrors are another MUST HAVE speech therapy item. I have small hand mirrors for everyday use, but my large mirror also gets a lot of love from students. Perfect for modeling, following directions, or practicing emotions.
Wall Tapestry– The wall tapestry is from my Etsy shop and is available in a variety of designs! Perfect for an office, classroom, or wherever you need a little extra décor. The styles that I have in stock quickly change, so if you see a style you like make sure to grab it quick.
What are some of your favorite speech room must haves? Let me know by commenting on this blog post or joining the conversation on Ginger Speechie socials!
A Letter to ASHA
Dear ASHA,
We, the school speech language pathologists, are frustrated with being given inadequate therapy rooms. Some of us are happy just to get a room with a door at all, and that is unacceptable. We provide a range of specialized services that require a proper space for our students.
School SLPs are often overlooked by admin and school boards when it comes to a proper space for our students. Speech services are not always seen as critical, even with advocacy provided by building and district SLPs.
FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) does require a basic level of privacy for our students, many of whom do not receive this when a therapy space is shared with other teachers or staff.
What message are we sending to our students when we provide services in storage closets, school hallways, cafeterias, or similar spaces? This is often the norm, not the exception, when it comes to school SLPs/SLPAs.
We look to you to not only advocate for us, speech language pathologists, but also for our students. Our profession has been in the school setting for far too long to continue to be looked over when it comes to proper therapy spaces.
How do you as our national governing body plan to make changes and advocate for us on a national and state level? We look forward to your statement and support of your school speech language pathologists.
Sincerely, A Frustrated SLP
What can you do to help make change? Reach out to ASHA through the ASHA National Office. I have linked the Action Center page below as well as listed their phone number to help voice your options. Share this post with other SLPs, admin, and supporters to get the word out. Reach out to local teacher unions you may be a part of a share your experience and the experiences of others.
Action Center:
Phone: 800- 498- 2071
email: grassroots@asha.org
Home Office Behind the Scenes
Your workspace can be an enjoyable space for you to spend time. My setup has completely evolved since working from home, growing my business, and getting into PC gaming. Check out some of my favorite items linked below!
Wall Tapestry– The wall tapestry is from my Etsy shop and is available in a variety of designs! Perfect for an office, classroom, or wherever you need a little extra décor. The styles that I have in stock quickly change, so if you see a style you like make sure to grab it quick.
Large Mouse Pad– If you are working on a small mouse pad you are doing yourself a disservice. Not only does this double as a backdrop for my products, but also allows me to use my entire desk space for moving around my mouse.
Curved Monitors– Do you really need a curved monitor? Yes! I don’t really know the science behind it, but I do think they feel better on my eyes. I recently purchased a second one, that’s how much I love it!
Light Up Keyboard– I love having a keyboard that is a little smaller than your usually keyboard (60% to be correct). There are so many light features which brings just a little extra joy to my typing and gaming experience.
Gaming Mouse– Even if you are not a gamer, I would recommend this mouse. The extra lights are a bonus, but I love how lightweight it is. For something that you move a lot, the weight difference is noticeable.
Cart with Drawers– These carts are everywhere, but I like this one since it has a verity of drawer sizes. The width of the cart is perfect to fit my Cricut. I labeled drawers with vinyl decals I made myself.
Cricut Explore Air 2– This was my first ever Cricut product and of course it had to go with the Ginger Speechie vibes with the lilac color! I use my Cricut to cut of the stickers you can purchase in my Etsy shop.
Rolling Cart– Another popular cart design, but this one is different because of the flat top option. I am able to store my oil diffuser, scale, and other products on top for easy use. The top is removable which adds extra storage!
Oil Diffuser– This adds just a little extra peace to my workspace. Depending on how I feel or how I want to feel is the smells I decide upon. It even has a light that you can choose the color adding to the “vibe” you are going after.
*If you purchase from the amazon links above I do earn a small amount of money.
Dress Challenge Final Thoughts
I wanted a challenge. Something that I could look forward to everyday when I went into work. This past year due to COVID we were aloud to wear jeans everyday to work. I decided to merge my challenge with this change of clothing. The dress challenge was then born. everyday I went to work I would wear some type of dress or skirt to work. My dress challenge in April really made me realize somethings that I didn’t think it would. Here are some of the highlights.
1) Re-wearing clothes that make you feel great help improve your attitude on the day. I swear I felt better on days where I was really feeling my outfit. I even when through one of the hardest days yet of my career during this time, and looking back I am so happy I was wearing a comfortable dress on that day.
2) I have wayyyy too many clothes that I don’t like, and need to get rid of. If they don’t make me feel great, then why have them? I know that I have some clothes that are two years old, and I have never worn them. I always said that I would wear them someday, but if that hasn’t come yet then it’s not worth holding on to. Knowing that all pants were out for the month allowed me to realize what dress and skirts I actually like!
3) Dresses can be powerful. There was something about taking on my feminine side and having dresses be a closet staple. (Yes, anyone can wear a dress/skirt, personally I equate them with my feminine side). The freeness that comes with wearing a dress and still kicking some therapy booty was so powerful. I think sometimes we are afraid to express the feminine side in case we come off as “weak” or “unable to complete a task”, let me tell you, YOU can do anything in a dress! I paired them with shorts and found athletic dresses that have built in shorts for those days that I know I may have to tackle a lot!
4) My students were able to relate with what I wore. Little girls would come up to me and say how they are wearing a dress and we matched. It was wonderful to make those small connections throughout the day. This pairs with number 3 above with showing littles how powerful that side of ourselves can be! I feel like overtime we begin to wear dresses less and less for a variety of different reasons, but I want to reclaim the reasons I may feel like I can’t.
5) Confidence in my body grew. Sometimes I didn’t always like how a skirt, shirt, or dress would fall on me, but it was amazing how the more I wore, the more confident I was becoming. The first few days I was super self-conscious wearing a dress to work and kept pulling at the hem. Slowly overtime I found a confidence in myself that grew to love whatever I chose and others didn’t have to worry about it.
6) Stepping outside my box- this was my biggest takeaway. I put together color combinations, materials, and clothing items that I never thought I could pull off. I’ve found a fashion that I think 14 year old Elizabeth would have been proud of.
Speech Room Setup
My speech room received an upgrade this year, so I wanted to share what I am doing with some of the extra space I have. Some of these practices are to help with social distancing due to COVID-19, while others are here to stay permanently.
Interactive Bulletin Board: 🌟This year I’m using a numbered organizer for all of my students to have their own supplies. Inside they have crayons, glue stick, and reward punch card. Hopefully this helps cut down on germs!🌟I’m using @aperfectblendteaching interactive language board to target a wide range of language skills. This is perfect to discuss while we are putting on our hand sanitizer.
SLP Style: 🌟Love my new SLP lanyard from @igotchewshop Use code GINGERSPEECHIE for 10% off 🌟 Together Again face mask from @shopdisney 🌟 PTA provided buttons so our kiddos can see our faces!
Sensory Corner: 🌟Sensory area for my students this year. There are pillows with different textures, sensory bottles, and other sensory items for students. 🌟In order to keep students safe, I have my Clean Me bucket. This is for fidget toys, headphones, and other things that need cleaned once used. I might not always have time to clean them right away, but when I do have time I can clean them for other students to use. Grab your decal here to make your own!
Color Coded Stations: 🌟Colored stools paired with a dot on the table help keep students in their area during therapy. This also allows students to know where to go for speech/language centers.
I’m a School SLP
I’m a school SLP.
That means that I focus what I learned in graduate school on children from ages 3-21 with a wide range of abilities. I can help your child who has trouble with his “s” sound. That also means that I can help the student who stutters while presenting in front of the class. That student who is nonverbal? Yes, they are on my caseload too. Don’t forget about the student who has language difficulties, and sometimes answers questions with the wrong ‘wh’ question. Or how about the student with autism that keeps getting in fights because they have difficulty interpreting social situations? I am on their team too.
Some students you may not realize that I also see could be the child who just had their cleft lip repaired. The student with a life long syndrome that affects their ability to swallow, and eat at lunch with their peers. The student who was in a car accident, and now has a Traumatic Brain Injury affecting their speech.
You may see us playing games in the room, or see us walking around school with one student and think it’s easy. I’m a professional who is constantly evaluating and reassessing my students so they get the best therapies possible.
School SLPs have to ride this fine line between the school and medical communities. What I say next is not everyone, but it’s enough to be said. We are often alone (or greatly outnumbered) in our school districts. Most teachers, staff, and administrators don’t fully grasp our scope of practice. Medical SLPs, OTs, PTs, and doctors don’t always think our evaluations, recommendations, or therapy practices to be up to their level. The letters after my name are the same whether I work in a school or hospital. School SLPs play games, love hands on activities, and participate in school spirit days that to some in the medical community may diminish our professionalism in their eyes. It’s difficult to for me to find my place, and that’s not something that grad school prepared me for. I think this feeling is why school SLPs feel so connected to each other via social media.
I love puns, bright colored classrooms, silly sock days, classroom parties, eating school lunch with my students, and working with teachers, paraprofessionals, nurses, and counselors to help our students.
We (myself included) need to help educate both the school and medical communities on the importance behind what we do. Only through this can we better help our students, families, colleagues, and our own importance in serving the school districts. Be that importance show it’s self in salary, supplies, or even a room larger than a janitors closet.
I am a school Speech Language Pathologist.