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