Scheduling: School Speech Therapists Are the Experts...

Aug 23, 2012 by

The beginning of the school year is always filled with excitement, anticipation and hope.  It is rather nice to have a job the starts “fresh” every year.  Schools look polished, organized and clutter free.  The kids look happy, enthusiastic and clean.  However, for therapists this feeling of euphoria is always short lived.  First we see our numbers and our caseload.  Usually we can deal with that by slowly chanting “it is what it is, it is what it is”.  We start thinking of therapy ideas the minute we know who are students are.  That’s truly one of the fun parts of the job. Then comes the next step, da-da-da-dum………….working out a schedule.  School Speech Language Pathologists are good at many things but we are experts in scheduling.  There is no graduate course that prepares...

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“Brain Training Programs” Any Experience?...

Aug 21, 2012 by

Can anyone comment on their experience using brain training programs such as Fast ForWord, Lumosity, Attengo?  I have a follower considering using this type of programming with her 8th grade son who has ADHD – inattentive type and difficulty with language comprehension.  They would love to hear your experience, if you thought it made a difference, if it is appropriate for older middle school students and is it worth the cost?  The student doesn’t qualify for services at school but has a 504 plan and could possibly use in-school time for this kind of training.  Are these types of programs effective and what type of student generally benefits the most? Thanks...

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The Glory of Multiple Meaning Words…….Run or Run or Run...

Aug 11, 2012 by

Understanding multiple meaning words is one of the first higher order language tasks that most children acquire naturally through reading and basic instruction.  Younger children will also pick up dual meanings through kid type songs, jokes and phrases.  For those students who demonstrate even slight language delays or impairments, understanding multiple meanings can be challenging.  Without awareness and understanding of multiple meaning words, students may experience decreased comprehension, misunderstandings and the biggest problem of all ….they have difficulty  understanding humor and slang.  Basically these kids won’t “get it.” So how do you teach the concept of multiple meanings?  First the students have to learn that multiple meanings exist.  The best way to start is with simple words.  My all time favorite word is “run.”  According to dictionary.com there are over 150 meanings for the...

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12 ways to enhance summer reading for middle schoolers...

Jul 21, 2012 by

Follow me on Examiner 12 ways to enhance summer reading for middle schoolers This is a rewrite of an article I wrote several years ago.  I’ve added a couple of new strategies....

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Can schools be proactive rather than reactive?...

Jun 15, 2012 by

Over my years of working as a Speech Language Pathologist, I’ve worked in many schools. Every school has it’s own set pluses and minuses. Wouldn’t it be great to create a school with only pluses. For that to happen, schools would have to get into the mind set of being proactive rather than reactive. Here is my list of the positive and proactive ideas I’ve seen implemented in school systems that seem to work well. Some of these are simple, some take some effort and some are no longer possible in the public schools because of the changes taking place in education. What’s on your list? A consistent leveled discipline plan, one that is followed by the whole school. Walking into any classroom and knowing what the expectations are makes it easy for professionals...

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Here come the high school years...

May 27, 2012 by

I’ve been a little reflective this week. Last weekend my oldest son graduated from college on Saturday and my youngest son graduated from high school on Sunday. I found this article written in 2009, the year my youngest was a freshman in high school. It was written from the perspective of a parent who had gone through the process and a teacher who knew the types of schools kids were looking at. At the end of the article I wrote that I was a little sad not to have a middle schooler any more. I’m not sad at all that I don’t have a high schooler anymore. One reason is is that I know I have raised a confident and capable young man soon to be considered an adult. The other reason is no...

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