A Little Lesson in Voice Use

One of my favorite things to do during my ACT week (indirect) each month is to visit classrooms and conduct mini lessons on a variety of topics in the speech and language world.  One of the classroom teachers' favorites is the lesson I provide on voice use and projection.  One of my teacher friends has been "talking me and this lesson up" to SLPs in other districts recently which has resulted in SLPs connecting with me to share this particular lesson.

I present the lesson via Notebook for SmartBoards with some opportunity for interactive activities for the students, but have transferred it to  PowerPoint since it is used more universally.



 

Link:  https://www.box.com/s/ulz6iis999tymt9qvmrh

The Coughing Sound = K

Lucky Me!  We are nearing the halfway point of the school year and over the past two weeks I have been fortunate enough to celebrate a few "graduations," as well as add several new students to my caseload.  A few of the newbies are what us SLPs like to call "fronters."  This just means the students use a fronted tongue position when producing sounds, so a 'k' comes out as a 't' or a 'g' comes out a 'd.'  It can be very difficult for these kiddos to find and use accurate tongue placement in the back of their throat for the /k/ and /g/ so here is another great resource from Heard in Speech. 

 

Link:  https://www.box.com/s/8czlo3j43zecq307sodf

Tips and Tricks for /S/ and /L/

Parents,

Here are a few handy handouts to help your child practice and you monitor his/her productions of the /s/ and /l/ sounds at home.

 

Link:  https://www.box.com/s/r2g36nzjkherwebr0t37



Link:  https://www.box.com/s/ioyeb71sjmz1zoekbxma

Everyone Loves a Board Game

Thanks to Rebecca Visintin of Adventures In Speech Pathology I have found another great resource for practicting targeted speech sounds at home. 

You can find printable board games for FREE that target each consonant sound in the English language in the initial, medial and final positions of words.  What a great way to enjoy a little competition and monitor your child's efforts in speech all at the same time :) 

You can find the link here:  Articulation Board Games

In additon, for those students working on enriching their language skills, you can incorporate the following resources into everyday activities and while reading together.

 

Descriptive Language Bookmark

 

 

Link:  https://www.box.com/s/g0hgpf424vuu026u9opm

 

Reading Comprehension Check

Link: https://www.box.com/s/vxjuw1terskowyh6ph9s

A Speech Language What?

I recently came upon the following post on a blog I visit and felt that it provides an excellent description of the many facets in the field of Speech Language Pathology.   

Beyond Lisps -- The life of a Speech Language Pathologist (via SpeechBop.com)

As in many social situations, I am often asked what I do for a living. I can’t even begin to tell you the number of times I hear “oh so you fix lisps?” as a response. I often times laugh this off and try to explain as best I can that there are an array of communication disorders that I treat throughout the day. People are often shocked by the extent of a Speech Pathologist’s work. “You do FEEDING?” or “You work with STROKE victims?” Once in awhile, I will come across individuals who empathize with my line of work and will add how a family member or friend is seeing a speech pathologist for one reason or another. I started to think, “how can I get the word out there about what we as SLP’s really do?” I guess that this blog and the help of fellow SLP’s can be a good way to start! Let’s begin with a list of just some of the things that SLP’s do on a daily basis:

Work environments include: hospitals, schools, clinics, private practices, home based therapy, organizations, agencies, colleges and universities, nursing-care facilities, state and federal government agencies, rehabilitation centers, research laboratories.

Bedside Assessment of Swallowing

Establishing safe diets for clients with oral-motor weakness
 

Feeding Therapy

Articulation Therapy

Voice therapy

Fluency treatment (stuttering)

A variety of formal and informal evaluations/assessments to determine language impairment.

Hearing screenings

Treating individuals with cleft-lips and palates

Accent Modification

Decreasing speech impediments (lisps) or increasing speech intelligibility

 Work as a part of an interdisciplinary team with other health professionals to diagnose and treat (occupational therapists, physical therapists, doctors, nurses, psychologists)

Treatment in a variety of communication disorders and medical conditions including but not limited to:  auditory processing disorder, comprehension deficits, hearing impairments, oral-motor disorders, myofunctional disorders, phonological processing disorders, Autism, Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Apraxia, Aphasia, ALS (Lou Gherigs Disease), Dysarthria, Dysphagia, Traumatic Brain Injury, AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication), Huntington’s Disease, Laryngeal or Oral Cancer, Dementia, Stroke, Tracheotomy patients, ADHD, Selective Mutism.

I am hoping that by sharing this information, people can better understand the work of a speech pathologist as well as the settings that they work in. The next time you are asked at a party, “what do you do for a living?” I hope you take that opportunity to spread the importance of speech pathology and how this treatment can change many peoples’ lives.

 

~SpeechBop.com

What happened to October??

Phew!  Where has the time gone?  It has been a while since I have had the chance to update the SpeechSpot.  October always becomes a whirlwind with parent/teacher conferences, re-evaluations, initial evaluations and of course the MEA break. 

What a wonderful day and age that we live in where we have the opportunity to connect, collaborate and share assessment and therapy ideas with other SLPs near and far.  Here are a few new speechie blogs that I have found.

 http://slpmaterials.blogspot.com/

http://cjmonty.wordpress.com/

http://letstalkslp.blogspot.com/

http://speech2me.blogspot.com/

Articulation Techniques At Home

Once again, thanks to Pinterest I have found some great resources for explaining articulation techniques for specific speech sounds in parent friendly language.  I hope to find additional sounds in the near future.  These handouts are courtesy of an amazing blog I often visit called Heard in Speech.



Link:  https://www.box.com/s/rflq5x6ppqmc88snpddk



Link:  https://www.box.com/s/d0hilmej1rfy55z7x50n



Link:  https://www.box.com/s/15d1baril9u6t9pa8bu9

Speech Signals

When working with students' articulation (speech sound) skills it's always helpful to have auditory or visual signals the students can refer to when attempting to produce a specific sound.

Below are kid friendly names that can help the student visualize what each sound should look or sound like.

Below are visual cues I use with students to think about articulator placement or airflow when producing target sounds.

Speech Sound Development

Teachers and parents often ask "Jimmy can't say his /l/'s.  Is this normal?"  Well, it depends on his age.  Here is a speech sound development chart which reflects at what age specific sounds should be mastered.  Keep in mind there can be a wide age range from when a sound may begin to emerge to when it should be mastered developmentally.

What is an ACT Week?

Assessment

Consultation

Teaming and Training

I have been implementing a 3:1 service delivery model for speech/language services for approximately four years.  The concept of a 3:1 model is that direct services (DS) are provided for three (3) consecutive weeks of the month (or 15 consecutive school days) followed by a fourth week of indirect services (ID) (5 consecutive school days).  

My ACT week activities often include the following:

·        Consult with teachers, paras, parents, specialists and outside agencies

·        Observe students across school settings

·        Develop materials for student use at home, in the classroom, and/or for therapy sessions

·        Complete student evaluations

·        Provide ongoing direct service to students if needed

·        3^rd party billing

·        Participate/facilitate monthly district speech meetings

·        Provide in-service and training to staff

·        Analyze student's data toward achievement of goals

·        Provide mini lessons within classrooms

Over the past four years, I have found this service delivery model to be highly beneficial in my students' making progress in meeting their goals and objectives.

A little practice at home

Save a tree, save some time, save your mind!!  This year I am trying to K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Students) for all of my speech/language students and their parents when it comes to "speech homework" or as I like to call it "home practice."  Home practice opportunities can be found on my website and/or blog.  There are a few options for home practice with either a weekly articulation calendar, monthly language/voice/fluency calendar or your child may choose to interact with games and activities under their area of need on my web page. 

This year, students can earn Bonus Reward Points in my class if they do one of the following to show that they have practiced their speech/language skills at home:

1. Bring in a copy of the completed homework.
2. Have their parents help them leave me an email to indicate they have completed a home practice activity.  nstreif@priorlake-savage.k12.mn.us
3. Have their parents help them leave a comment on my Speech Spot blog to confirm they have completed a home practice activity.  http://streifspeechspot.blogspot.com/

Back to the Grind



It's official.... summer is over (at least for me and my fellow 750+ colleagues).

I've been back to the grind for four days now and it's always funny how it feels like I was just here.

Last night was our Open House/Back to School Night.  I love watching the students coming in so excited to meet their new teacher, wanting to quick visit their previous teachers and parents smiling ear to ear thinking, "they're all yours for the next 9 months."  I only wish this excitement could stay with all of them throughout the entire year... hee hee. 

This is the start of my 13th year at Glendale so I get plenty of visits from students past, present and future.  Some make me feel really old..."I remember when you were in Kindergarten," as I am looking at the student towering over me.  While others make my gears turn as soon as I see them..."Oooo we are going to have fun this year.  I have some new ideas!!"  And of course there are those who aren't yet on my caseload, but a parent or teacher has already stopped to ask me questions or give me a "heads up" to have a chat with their son, daughter or student. 

This is always such a great kick off to the school year and I am looking forward to seeing these smiling faces back here on September 4th.

Pinterest... Fun and Functional

I was introduced to Pinterest (a virtual bulletin board) by a friend and co-worker early last spring.  I initially just followed a few friends and "pinned" ideas for home improvements, fashion, DIY projects, recipes and my boys.  However, as time went on (not too much mind you) my addiction took hold and I was a servant to the Pinterest gods.  I have now created boards for many areas in the realm of speech and language (articulation, language, fluency, social communication) which include resources for speech/language development, strategies and activities to implement in therapy, the use of technology in therapy, in addition to resources via other SLPs blogs.  As the school year progresses, I imagine I will be reviewing and sharing ideas, strategies, activities, and visuals that students can use at school or home to improve their speech and language skills. 

You learn something new everyday

After following several amazing speech blogs I've decided to give it a go for myself.  My goal is to utilize this blog as a tool for parents, colleagues, students and myself.  My hope for the 2012-2013 school year is to post:

• Speech/Language info for parents
• Monthly Speech/Language service calendar
• Homework activities and practice for students
• Resources, lessons and activities to use in therapy

A big thank you to my technology obsessed friend Mr. Deris who has introduced me to his blogging ways.