Tag: #speechtherapy

SLP Competitive Culture

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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.

I was lucky enough to have a great undergrad study group, who helped support each other. Without them I don’t know where I would be.

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

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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!

Best Selling Speech Therapy Materials

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Ever feel like you are stuck using the same materials again and again? These speech and language resources are perfect for your next therapy session. Some of my best selling and highest rated activities!

One Sheet Articulation Activities

No prep articulation activity pages to target each speech sound from isolation to sentence level. Includes visuals for how to make each sound. Includes all sound areas in all positions. {b, ch, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, initial r, s, sh, t, th, v, w, z} Perfect for homework or centers!

Students can work their way through the articulation levels with one simple worksheet. Start with sounds in isolation, move to words, phrases, and then sentences. This is great for students to use during those long breaks away from therapy! Grab it here.

These articulation lanyard cards are perfect for the on go therapist! Targets /b, ch, d, f, h, g, j, k, l, m, n, p, initial r, s, sh, t, th, v, w, z, vc, cv, cvc, cvcv/. Pushing in to classes, but are always running around with your students? Then these are great to use with your students for quick therapy targets. Sized perfectly to fit on your lanyard!

Only choose which cards are on your high priority list for target sounds. That way you can add or take away cards as needed depending on your caseload. Grab it here.

Teen Problem Solving & Inferencing | No Prep | One Sheet Activity

This simple, no prep, problem solving & inferencing activity is perfect for social skill lessons! Great prompts for teens and older students. Covers a variety of topics and situations.

Use the pictures to help guide students in their problem solving questions. Each page includes a short passage for student to read detailing a particular problem. These problems are real life scenarios students face in today’s ever changing world.

Also includes blank pages with world bubbles about each picture. This can be used to help extend your lesson by role playing what each individual may say. Perfect to use for students and those hard to had to take data on social skill goals! Grab it here.

No Prep Dinosaur Articulation Coloring: All Sounds

No prep articulation coloring and dab it worksheets. This MEGA packet includes all sound areas in all positions. Each page even has the word list of each target picture.

{b, ch, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, sh, t, th, v, w, z}

Students will love coloring, dabbing, or even smashing their target sounds with this fun dinosaur coloring sheet! Includes one black and white worksheet per sound. This makes for an easy print and go activity to finish our your dinosaur unit, or use on it’s own! Grab it here.

I’m a School SLP

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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.

Speech During A Pandemic

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As we enter the month before most schools start, I began to take sometime to get my list of must have for school next year. My school has not made the decision yet on what we are doing, but I do know that speech during a pandemic is going to have to look a bit different. Here are some of the items I have on my back to school list.

Expectations– Spend the first week of therapy talking about expectations for your speech room. Most years I have done this in bits and pieces, but this year I am going to tackle it hard. Make sure the students know what you expect for them, and have them decided ways they can keep other students safe that use your classroom. Some ideas are showing where the tissues are, using hand sanitizer when you come in and out of the room, staying in your assigned seat, etc.

Clean Me Bucket– I know that I don’t have a ton of time between groups, so I made this Clean Me bucket for when I do have time. Students can put things in here that they have used so I can clean them for other students. You can grab your decal to make your own bucket here.

Dry Erase Markers– Did you know you can write on most tables/desks with dry erase marker and it comes up easily? (Make sure to try it out first.) Draw a square, circle, line boundaries to keep students in their area of the table to reduce the spread of germs. Having students stay in their bubble of the table doesn’t have to be scary for them, but turn it into a game!

Sensory Bottles– Sensory bins are so last year… Just kidding! I will still be using sensory bins, but to start the year I’m using sensory bottles. These can be filled with lots of small objects that you can use to illicit language. Sensory bottles are also a great way to meet sensory seeking behavior needs, while being able to quickly wipe down between students.

Extra Dice– Make sure to have simple things like extra sets of dice so each student can have their own. There are a TON of ways you can use dice, especially with articulation. Give a student a word, have them roll the die, and say and color in the word on a 100 trials sheet the number on the die. You can grab some free 100 trial worksheets here!

Face Mask– As a speech therapist we HAVE to be able to model our mouth for our students. Although it is unclear if school next year will mandate masks, I still purchased myself two masks with a clear window. This will allow my students to see my mouth for a visual model.

No matter what you do, make sure your students know the WHY behind it. Yes, even your preschoolers and other young students who may need reminding. The more communication and explanation, the more seamless your school year will be!

What are some of your tips for next school year?

Teletherapy Ideas- Sample Packet

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Teletherapy Ideas 💡 I wanted to share some of the resources I will be using if my district closes due to COVID-19. My entire store is an additional 20% off until Tuesday 3/17/3030. Please let me know if you have any questions. Grab my Teletherapy Sample Packet here!

Teen Problem Solving & Inferencing Worksheets– This resource can be easily mirrored on your students screen. You can talk through each question, or have them write on the screen. Each senior even comes with a page with word bubbles you can role play with your students.

One Sheet Articulation Activity– This is a big one to target a wide range of speech levels. It takes you from sound to sentence level. Students can mark off each section once completed, and even do the maze themed to the sound!

Articulation Pattern Worksheets– Normally I have students cut and paste the images at the bottom of the page, but this is easily adaptable to teletherapy. Students can read each image aloud, and then draw a line to what the missing image is!

Mega Articulation Coloring Sheet Bundle– This bundle includes 14 different themes to use with your students! Students can say each word and then cross it out of their screen. The bundle also is an easy way to send a packet home for your students who don’t have computer access at home.

Digital Articulation Bundle– This includes 5 click through PDF resources. Depending on the software you use to provide services, students or you can click through each resource. This adds an interactive layer that some of the other resources might not always provide.

Ultimate Speech, Language, Social Skills Bundle– This bundle includes a little bit of something for everyone. Lots of leveled activities that can easily be adapted to teletherapy. The ultimate bundle saves you 30% on 15 activities versus buying each item on it’s own. This bundle is perfect to use as take home packets as well!

Grab it here!

IEPs for Newbies

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IEPs. The thing they never really prepare you for in college, but takes up a third of your time. Whether it’s writing goal updates, summarizing present levels, determining minutes, or sitting through heated discussions, IEPs are a fact of life in the SPED world.

In school you were taught how to write goals using SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) or ABCD (audience, behavior, condition, duration). You probably even wrote several evaluation reports and SOAP notes. You learned the basic of an IEP and possibly how your role looks in the ideal team. It seemed easy enough.

Photo by Startup Stock Photos on Pexels.com

Well, I quickly learned I was nowhere near as confident or prepared in my early IEPs as I thought I would be. It’s nerve-racking walking into a new school as a CF, and being the expert for the first time on a student you may barely even know. Parents turn to you to answer why progress is or is not being made. Teachers want to know how to help “Johnny” in the classroom. Your principal may be in the room, and you want to appear as if you know what you are doing.

Speechy Musing bell curve handout. I place mine in a clear sleeve to use again and again!

Here’s the big thing… you do know what you are doing. Be confident that you learned something during your 6 years of education. It’s ok not to know the answer, but it is not ok to make up the answer. You can always offer handouts to parents and teachers if they want more information. Slowly you will gain that confidence to speak up for each student. May the paperwork seem like a lot? Yes, but over time you will find a system that works for YOU! You’re going to have that meeting where you second guess your decisions, and other meetings where you are so excited for the student and their progress.

Below are some helpful hints and resources that really set me on the right path. Be confident, you can do this!

  • Read the student’s most recent IEP and/or Eval report.
  • Set deadlines for yourself ahead of what your district expects.
  • Ask your mentor to read over your first few IEP reports.
  • Invite your mentor to a few meetings the first semester. It never hurts to have a sidekick! They aren’t there to judge you.
  • Bring notes in the meeting. You may blank because of nerves, and this is the main time to express concerns.
  • Sign up for Speechy Musings‘ blog to get her bell curve chart. This has helped me on many occasions!
  • Start a goal bank of most used goals so you don’t have to keep reinventing the wheel.

Now do I still have IEPs where I don’t know the answer or I’m nervous for? Of course! You will have those difficult meetings, and that’s ok. Will you get forgotten about sometimes since you may be a related area and not primary? Yes, but keep communication between teachers open. Each meeting and report will get easier. Share your newbie IEP tips in the comments!