Improve that lateral lisp-maybe it’s not so hard

Improve that lateral lisp-maybe it’s not so hard...

Mar 26, 2012 by Teresa Sadowski MA CCC-SLP

In the 25+ years of being a Speech Language Pathologist, I’ve done my best to avoid students who need work on their lateral /s/**. Pawning them off on other therapists was always good ploy. It also helped that some of the school systems I worked with felt that if articulation did not effect school performance articulation was not addressed. So honestly if the lateral /s/ kids were out there, they were never brought to my attention. Now I’ve landed myself at a school that actually wants articulation therapy for their students. Since I hadn’t really worked on articulation for years, I had to get creative. Last year I took an articulation workshop with Char Boshart. Guess what I learned? That articulation therapy hasn’t changed in 30 years. Many of the techniques and even the...

Use Comics to Develop Higher Order Language...

Mar 12, 2012 by Teresa Sadowski MA CCC-SLP

How long has it been since you read a comic book or the funnies? Most people began reading them for fun when they were young tweeners and probably never thought much of it. If you ever analyzed the language use in most comic books and funnies you might realize that they can make excellent and natural higher order language learning tools. Most of us developed higher order language so naturally that we didn’t even notice. Higher order language is basically the ability to use and understand synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, homographs, figurative expressions, dual meaning sentences, metaphors, similes, idioms, sarcasm and non-verbal messages that might contribute to meaning. Higher order language allows us to see the “big picture.” Without the ability to understand and mentally manipulate higher order language you are unable to...

New York Times Opinion Piece “Confessions of a Bad Teacher”...

Mar 4, 2012 by Teresa Sadowski MA CCC-SLP

I came across this article today in the NY Times. This is an article that hits a little too close to home for most of us. Administrators please read and give it some thought. If you are pro-active, logical, realistic and fair you won’t run into teacher evaluation problems. Confessions of a Bad...

Understanding higher order language skills...

Mar 4, 2012 by Teresa Sadowski MA CCC-SLP

This article was originally posted in Your Middle Schooler: A Unique Age in February 2008. It was the first in a series of articles on Higher Order Language Development. The importance of higher order language development and what to do to foster higher order language development. In following articles I will address strategies to foster understanding and use of higher order language development. If you have a specific concern in this area contact me. Develop Those Higher Level Language Skills! During the middle school years, students are beginning to develop higher level language abilities. Most students do this so naturally we do not even notice. Teachers do their best to help students gradually develop mature language skills. However, students with language disabilities or just weak academic habits may have difficulty acquiring these higher level...

Hearing health in children and adults...

Mar 2, 2012 by Teresa Sadowski MA CCC-SLP

http://www.examiner.com/speech-pathology-in-boston/earbuds-proceed-with-caution New article on Examiner focusing on proper use of earbuds to maintain good hearing health. You might want to consider bring this up at your school in May, as part of better speech and hearing month....