Sensory and Movement Ideas for Better Participation and Behavior

Little Alex comes into your therapy space like a Tasmanian Devil!

He hasn’t stopped moving since he stepped foot in the door and he’s touched everything in reach.

In fact, half of your stuff is already on the floor.

What’s a therapist to do?

Never fear, my friends! I’m speech-language pathologist Carrie Clark and in this episode of The Speech and Language Kids Podcast, I’m going to show you how to use incorporate sensory and movement into your speech/language therapy sessions for better participation and behavior.

Listen to the Podcast Here

You can listen to the full podcast episode below:

How to Tell when a Child is Sensory Seeking

So many of our clients just seem…off.

Dysregulated.

And often that’s because their little bodies are just not getting the input that they need.

When we see children doing things with their bodies that are outside the “expected” behaviors, we have found our first cue that they need something different.

And if we observe and pay attention to their bodies, we can usually tell what it is.

How to Tell when a Child is Sensory Avoiding

Just as our students are sometime seeking sensory input….

….they may also be trying to avoid a sensory input.

Maybe they cover their ears or eyes.

Maybe they spit out a certain food or refuse to try it.

Maybe they pull away from our touch or have trouble wearing certain types of clothing.

The Different Sensory Input Systems

When trying to identify what sensory input a child is craving, we can consider these different sensory systems:

• Visual: A child who is seeking visual input may enjoy staring at things that are spinning, flashing, sparkling, etc. They may watch things out of the corner of their eye. Or they may close their eyes to them all together if they are avoiding a visual input.
• Auditory: Our auditory seekers may enjoy making certain noises or they may be drawn toward sources of sound. Our avoiders may cover their ears or scream to cover up a sound they don’t like.
• Smell/Taste: Seekers may smell or taste things that you wouldn’t expect. Avoiders may refuse to eat certain things or may gag uncontrollably.
• Touch: Those seeking a touch input may enjoy rubbing or feeling certain textures or fabrics. They may need something in their hands like a fidget. Our avoiders may refuse certain touches, whether from other people or from objects like clothing, seatbelts, chairs, etc.
• Vestibular: Our vestibular systems help us regulate our balance and movement. Children who are seeking this input may love jumping, spinning, swinging, crashing, falling, and going upside down. Alternatively, a child who is avoiding these things may become very agitated when they are not firmly attached to solid ground, such as when on a swing, in a car, or standing on something tall.
• Proprioceptive: This system tells our body where we are in space. It tells us that our arms are out to the side or that our legs are curled up underneath us. If a child has low awareness of their body, they may feel better when they get heavy pressure against their bodies, as it helps them feel their body better. Our seekers may bump or crash into people or objects excessively. They may love deep pressure, hugs, squeezes, or tight clothes. They may sleep nestled in between a billion stuffed animals and toys on their beds. Avoiders will react negatively to touch and pressure.

How to Incorporate Sensory and Movement into Therapy:

If we can tell what type of input a child needs, we can provide that at the beginning of our session or during our sessions to help them stay engaged with our learning.

But even if we’re not sure what type they need, we can still try different activities to see which ones help!

Some children will become overstimulated by an activity.

Others will calm down by it.

Trial and error is key here!

Sensory and Movement Activity 1: Heavy Work

Any activity that requires the child to use their muscles can be effective at helping them focus!

Consider jobs that require strength, such as carrying, pushing, stacking, lifting, etc.

If they feel like they are helping, they are more likely to do it than if they feel like it’s a meaningless task.

Ideas:

• Carry the materials (something heavy) to the speech room
• Push a box/laundry basket down the hall to take it to the office (while you practice their speech skill)
• Taking down and stacking chairs
• Rearranging furniture
• Wiping down tables or dry erase boards
• Punching paper with a 3-hole punch
• Sharpening pencils

Sensory and Movement Activity 2: Playground or Gym

Therapy on the playground or gym is my favorite!

Allow the students to free play as long as they agree to work with you while they do it!

Follow them around and find ways to work their speech into the play.

Or have them freeze and do a certain number of reps to unfreeze.

Draw things in sidewalk chalk to help them practice their skill.

Sensory and Movement Activity 3: Fine Motor/Sensory Play

Slime.

Putty.

Playdough.

A bin full of dried rice and beans.

There are so many things that kids can stick their hands into that will light up a totally different part of their brains!

Sensory and Movement Activity 4: Alternative Seating

Find different ways for kids to sit (or stand) to make drill and practice more appealing:

• Wiggle seats
• Wobble stools
• Balance boards
• Exercise ball
• Beanbag chair
• Swing/Hammock
• Hanging

Sensory and Movement Activity 5: Two-Person Movement Activities

If you can figure out what type of input a child needs, you can find ways to give them even more of that input in a way that they would need your help for.

If they like swinging, push them on the swing to go higher!

If they like bouncing, sit on an exercise ball with them on your lap and bounce HIGH!

If they like spinning, spin them in an office chair.

Once they know you can get them what they need, they’ll be more willing to communicate with you to get it or work to get more.

Free Sensory Resources!

We have free sensory resources inside The Hub!

Here are a few of our favorites for sensory-seekers or avoiders:

• Reinforcer Idea Cheat Sheet: Ideas for Sensory Activities to use as Reinforcement
• Behavior Analysis Tracking Sheet
• Stimming Analysis Workbook
• Ideas for Making Drill and Practice more Fun

Click Here to Grab a Freebies Membership to Access These Resources!

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No-Prep Ideas for Language Therapy

It’s No-Prep December and that means that I’m challenging you NOT to prep any therapy activities for the whole month.

But how do we do that for language therapy?

How do we do it for younger children?

Or teenagers?

Or elementary-aged students?

Is it possible to go no-prep for language therapy??

Well, I’m speech-language pathologist Carrie Clark and in this episode of The Speech and Language Kids Podcast, I’m going to answer all of these questions with three easy ways to do no-prep therapy for language skills.

Listen to the Podcast Here

You can listen to the full podcast episode below:

No-Prep Language Therapy Step 1: Choose a Skill

When starting off with no-prep language therapy, the first thing to do is to choose a skill to target.

You can choose one skill to dive deep on or a few that you’ll work on as they come up.

You’ll hold in your mind the level of the skill you’ll be working at (scaffolding) or what cues you’ll use.

No-Prep Language Therapy Step 2: Choose a Type of Activity

There are three levels of no-prep therapy to choose from.

The level you choose will depend on the age and developmental level of the child along with how things seem to be going that day.

Here are the levels:

1. Through Play: Model the language skill during play.  Provide communication temptations for the child to use the skill.  Use expansions and recasting to correct the child’s use of the skill.
2. Through Drill & Practice: Explicitly teach the skill and then practice it in isolation.
3. Through Natural Interactions: Talk about the skill explicitly but then wait for it to come up naturally through conversation, reading, writing, homework, playing games, etc.

Keep in mind that you may find yourself moving from one level to another throughout the session, based on how things are going.

But you should at least have an idea of where you’ll start.

No-Prep Language Therapy Step 3: Follow the Child’s Lead

Now comes the part where you have to learn to let go.

It may feel uncomfortable at first but I promise that when you allow the child to lead the activity, you’ll get better buy-in and they’ll make faster progress.

Plus, you’ll be spending less time up front on planning and prepping elaborate activities.

Let the child choose the toys, games, or activities.

Have them bring in something they are reading or an assignment they’re working on.

Ask them if they’d like to go for a walk.

Ask them if there is anything they’d like to talk about.

Ask them about their interests.

Invest in them as a human first, then work the communication skills into it.

No-Prep Language Therapy Example!

Let’s go over a few examples to help you understand what we mean:

Example: Pronouns

• Play: play with dolls, action figures, puppets, etc.  Model use of the pronouns “she is sliding, weeeee”.  Provide communication temptations: “what is Molly doing?”  Recast incorrect productions: “SHE is sliding!  Yes!”
• Drill & Practice: Look at pictures on the iPad of children doing different things.  Use sentences to describe what they are doing.  Emphasis on correct pronoun use.
• Natural Interactions: Have the student tell you about their day, use a signal to indicate when a pronoun needs to be corrected.  Or edit and revise a writing assignment for pronoun use.  Or read a book together and point out pronouns.  Retell that section of the story with correct pronoun use.

A Pre-Made Language Curriculum
(that’s also no-prep!)

Our Core Language Program is a 16-week oral language curriculum with 16 no-prep lessons.

Over the course of 16 weeks, our pre-made curriculum will teach…

• Vocabulary
• Syntax/Grammar
• Following Directions
• Asking and Answering Questions
• Retelling and Forming Narratives
• Stating Opinions
• Retelling or Providing Information

Click Here to Learn More about our Core Language Program

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No-Prep Group Speech/Language Therapy Ideas

When you’re a speech-language pathologist with a caseload of 70 or more kids, group therapy is a necessary evil.

Sometimes it feels like group speech/language therapy only happens because we don’t have enough time to see each child individually.

But there are actually a lot of really great benefits to group therapy!

Kids are much more likely to work on these hard skills when they see other kids working on them, too.

And hearing it in others’ speech can improve their awareness of their own speech.

Plus, we get a ton of practice on navigating interpersonal skills.

But running a speech/language group can also be daunting.

I’m speech-language pathologist Carrie Clark and in today’s episode of the Speech and Language Kids Podcast, I’m going to show you some quick and easy ways to run your speech/language therapy groups with NO prep time at all!

Listen to the Podcast Here

You can listen to the full podcast episode below:

How to Get Set Up for No-Prep Groups

• Plan which 1-3 skills you will target for each student for the month (see our Monthly Planning Page inside The Hub)
• Grab no-prep kits for those skills and drop them in the students’ folders (see our resources on Setting Up Speech Folders)
• Have a selection of general activities that are appropriate for your population (games, crafts, toys, outside gear, etc.)

How to Run your Groups

1. Students come in and grab their folders
2. They practice their skill quietly to themselves while everyone is coming in
3. You walk around and provide feedback and support
4. When everyone is getting squirrely, have the group decide on a game or activity to do
5. Continue to practice their skills during the activity

OR…Try the Stations Approach

1. Students come in and grab their folders
2. They go to a station (aka a quick activity that’s sitting somewhere in the room)
3. They practice their skill independently at that station. One station is yours! You help one student directly while the rest do independent practice.
4. After a set amount of time, they rotate to the next station

Station Ideas

• Speech/Language Professional Station
• Fine Motor Station (stacking blocks, assembling small manipulatives
• Gross Motor Station (stand on one foot, jump up and down, touch toes, etc.)
• Yoga Station (hold yoga poses)
• Writing/Tracing Station (dry erase boards or pages)
• Sensory Station (tactile material)

OR…Try the 5-Minute Approach

If groups are still getting you down, consider 5-minute sessions instead!

For this approach, you see each child from the group for 5 minutes independently instead of for 30 minutes in a group (or whatever your original schedule was).

You can still see the same number of students during that time block but each student will get in more repetitions in less time.

The short nature of the session means you don’t have to provide games or activities.

You simply drill for 5 minutes and then send them on their way.

The research shows PHENOMENAL gains when using this approach!

You’ll need to rework their IEPs to reflect the lower minutes but then you’ll see faster progress in less time.

Click Here to Learn More about 5-Minute Sessions inside The Hub

Need some help?

We have all of the tools and resources you need to make this happen!

Just join us inside The Hub and take “The Way”.

In this series of videos, I’ll show you exactly how to get set up for this Way of doing speech therapy.

I’ll even give you the data pages!

Come let me help you!

Click Here to Join The Hub and Start The Way

The post No-Prep Group Speech/Language Therapy Ideas appeared first on Speech And Language Kids.

How to NOT Take Data during Speech/Language Therapy

Data or it didn’t happen, right??

As speech-language professionals, it is crucial that we collect data to know exactly how our clients are doing.

Or is it?

Today we’re going to explore the questions of how much data do you ACTUALLY need to collect and how can you streamline your data collection processes.

Listen to the Podcast Here

You can listen to the full podcast episode below:

How Often do you Really Need to Collect Data?

• Every time they say the sound or do the skill?
• Once per session?
• Once per week?
• Once per month?
• Once per year?

Carrie’s Sweet Spot for Collecting Data

Our students don’t usually make such fast progress that you need to collect full data more than once per month.

Their performance next week will look very similar to their performance this week.

And copious amounts of time on data collection reduces the quality of your therapy (meaning they make even slower progress).

That’s why I only collect full data once per month!

What about the Rest of the Month?

Just because you’re not collecting data on every repetition, doesn’t mean you don’t know what’s going on.

With caseloads nearing 100 kids sometimes, we can’t be expected to remember each and every session we do and how the child was doing.

Instead, we can take a quick note at the end of every session that tells us how the child was doing without taking up much time.

Carrie’s Super Awesome Daily Notes Page for Speech-Language Professionals

Daily Notes Page Available for Download inside The Hub

If I’m not doing a full data day, this is the only data I collect.

I rate the student’s performance on a scale from 1-5.

I add a quick note so I remember what cue I did or what I want to try next time.

That’s it!

I do it during my session so I’m not taking work home.

Click Here to Join The Hub to Download the Daily Notes Page!

But what about data for Medicaid/Billing/Whatever Else?

This is the biggest hesitation that I hear about this approach.

How can I bill medicaid/insurance/etc. if I don’t have numeric data?

Well…

you do.

4 out of 5 is 80%

3 out of 5 is 60%

As long as you are still taking your detailed data at least once per month, you’ll be able to stay on track.

And the billing machines will appreciate their numeric data.

DISCLAIMER!  I’m not an expert when it comes to billing.  Please check with your billing company before taking this advice!  

What if my employer requires data on every repetition?

Tell them I said that’s silly.

Ok, don’t really do that.

I don’t need angry calls.

But in all seriousness, this is not best practice.

It does not help the kids.

It does not support you.

If this requirement is being forced on you, then your job becomes to advocate for yourself and your clients and ask for an alternative option.

So How Does this Look in Practice?

1. At the beginning of the month, choose 1-3 skills to target for each student.
2. For the first three weeks of the month, take only rubric-style data on the notes page.
3. For the last week of the month, take your full data during your sessions and jot down 1-3 skills for next month.

Need some help?

We have all of the tools and resources you need to make this happen!

Just join us inside The Hub and take “The Way”.

In this series of videos, I’ll show you exactly how to get set up for this Way of doing speech therapy.

I’ll even give you the data pages!

Come let me help you!

Click Here to Join The Hub to Download the Daily Notes Page!

The post How to NOT Take Data during Speech/Language Therapy appeared first on Speech And Language Kids.

No-Prep December Challenge! I Challenge you to do Less

Do you think you could go a full month without prepping any activities for therapy?

Would you like to try?

December is a notoriously busy month and usually our clients and students are all zany with that “pre-holiday” energy.

So how about this year, you give yourself some slack?

We’re doing a no-prep challenge this year and it’s going to change the way you look at therapy!

Listen to the Podcast Here

You can listen to the full podcast episode below:

Rules for the No-Prep December Challenge

1. You may not prep any therapy activities during the month of December
2. You may not take elaborate data on student progress more than once in December (use rubric-data instead)

How to Prep for the No-Prep December Challenge

1. Set up your speech folders (see last week’s podcast episode)
2. Choose 1-3 skills to target for each student in December
3. Grab no-prep kits or other no-prep materials and drop in their folders
4. Print out a rubric-style data sheet for each student and put in your data binder
5. Watch the webinar on the 25th for more details

What your Sessions will Look like Instead:

1. Students come in and grab their folder
2. Students practice their skill by itself for a few minutes
3. Students grab a game, craft, or other activity off the shelf
4. You continue to practice their skill during that activity

Tools for Success for the No-Prep December Challenge

Don’t worry, I have everything you need to make this easier!

Inside The Hub, I’ll give you…

• No-Prep Kits to put in your folders
• Monthly Planning Page to keep track of who is working on what
• Rubric-Style Data Sheets to make data collection a breeze
• Webinar on Nov. 25th to walk you through setting it all up
• More Videos on how to do no-prep therapy for various skills

Click Here to Join The Hub
and Start Today!

Free plans available!

The post No-Prep December Challenge! I Challenge You to Do Less appeared first on Speech And Language Kids.

Set up a Folder System for Effortless Speech Therapy Sessions

Your students come into your therapy space and they know what to do.

They grab their speech folders from the bin by the door.

They walk to the table and sit down.

They open their folders and get out their practice page.

And they start practicing their skill quietly to themselves.

While everyone is coming in and getting settled, you have a few minutes to walk around and make sure everyone is practicing correctly.

You give a few redirections and corrections to help them get it right.

Sound like a dream?

Well, today I’m going to show you how to set up speech folders for your own effortless speech therapy sessions!

Listen to the Podcast Here

You can listen to the full podcast episode below:

How do Speech Folders Work?

1. Each student has a folder
2. You drop what they’re working on into the folder
3. When it’s time for speech, they grab the folder
4. They do “drill work” at the beginning by practicing their skill over and over again for as long as you can keep their attention
5. You keep working on that skill while playing games or doing other activities
6. Once they’ve mastered that step, you send that one home as homework (to reinforce) and add something new to their folder

HINT: Our No-Prep Therapy Kits inside The Hub are perfect for this and will allow you to plan once for weeks of therapy!

How to Set Up Speech Folders

1. Get a file box
2. Put hanging folders in to house the students’ individual folders (one per group/class/grade level or one for each student)
3. Label each folder accordingly (student initials or name of grouping)

Need product recommendations? See my recommended files, boxes, carts, etc. inside The Hub.

What if you Only Have a Small Number of Students?

1. Get a 3-ring binder for each child
2. Put a page on the front with the child’s name
3. Put in 15 plastic page protectors plus three divider tabs

How do Speech Folders Work for Teletherapy?

1. Create a folder for each child
2. Save them all in a place you can easily access during sessions
3. Have a folder on your computer for links to their therapy activities

What to Do During your First Session:

1. Show student their speech folder or speech binder, explain this is where their work will be
2. Have them decorate the front with things that are important to them
3. Use this as a bonding time to talk about their interests and strengths
4. Store in the speech box when done

More Info, Training Videos, and Product Suggestions:

Are you ready to set up your speech folders?

I have everything you need inside The Hub:

• Video explanations of how to do this
• Product recommendations with links for folders, boxes, etc.
• No-Prep therapy kits to fill the folders

Click Here to Join The Hub
and Start Today!

Free plans available!

The post Set up a Folder System for Effortless Speech Therapy Sessions appeared first on Speech And Language Kids.

The Way of the Unstressed Speechie: Speech Therapy without Tears

If you’re a speech-language pathologist, SLPA, SALT or some other alphabet soup doing speech therapy with kids…

And you’re stressed out…

And overwhelmed…

You are not alone!

There are so many kids right now that need support and not enough of us to go around.

So what’s an SLP to do?

Well don’t worry, I’m Carrie Clark and in this episode of the speech and language kids podcast, I’m going to show you the way to be UNSTRESSED (just like a shwa) and do speech therapy without tears.

And by that I mean your tears. Not the kids. I can’t guarantee the kids won’t cry.

The Way: An easier path for speech therapy

Working as a speech-language pathologist is hard.

And working in a school setting can feel even harder.

But I’ve spent the last 16 years of my career figuring out a better way.

The Way is my streamlined system that allows you to see more students in less time.

And it will help your students make faster progress, too!

Overview of The Way: (Listen to the Podcast)

The Speech and Language Kids Podcast is back!!

Listen to the full podcast episode below to get a full overview of The Way

How to Streamline Speech Therapy Using “The Way”:

1. No Prep Speech Therapy:
   By using child-led therapy, we can practice speech/language skills with little to no prep time on our part.
2. Set Up Therapy Folders:
   Drop no-prep activities into each student’s therapy folder. We can increase retention (with less prep time) by using the same material over and over and changing the fun activity.
3. Plan for a Full Month at Once:
   Most of our students don’t make fast enough progress that they need a new plan each week. Plan once for a full month and use the same stimulus material (worksheet/flashcard/etc.) for the full month.
4. Make Group Sessions Easier:
   Using the folder system, students can come in and practice their skill right away. Then continue to practice during a game, craft, or play activity.
5. Try 5-Minute Sessions:
   Tired of group therapy? Instead of seeing 4 kids in a 30-minute group, try seeing each child individually for 5 minutes. You’ll use up the same amount of time in your schedule but students will make faster progress (more info on the research behind 5-minute sessions here)
6. Collect Full Data only Once Per Month:
   You don’t need to collect data on every repetition a child makes! Collect full data only once per month. During the rest of the month, focus on therapy time and give each session a rating on a scale of 1-5.
7. Streamline Admin Tasks and Systematize Larger Tasks:
   Spend less time on your paperwork and planning by eliminating unnecessary tasks, finding shortcuts, and using checklists for recurring tasks
8. Write Better Goals:
   Learn how to write goals that are easy to measure and make the most impact for the student
9. Organize Your Stuff:
   Declutter and pair down your things. Then, store things in a way that makes them easier to put away.

Learn More about “The Way”:

Are you ready to get started with The Way?

I’ve laid this all out in a video course…

…and the first three modules are free!

Click Here to Join The Hub
and Start The Way

Free plans available!

The post The Way of the Unstressed Speechie: Speech Therapy without Tears appeared first on Speech And Language Kids.

Why Use AAC for Toddlers or Children?

AAC devices are augmentative/alternative communication systems that allow a person to communicate with those around them without speaking.  There are many different types of AAC but the most common are high-tech AAC Devices that allow a person to push a button to speak a message.  These are helpful for children or adults who have either lost the ability to speak or who are not able to speak well enough to clearly communicate everything that they want to say.

So why would you need to use AAC with a toddler or child and how does it work?

Why to Use AAC Podcast:

Today we’re talking about how, when, and why to use AAC or augmentative-alternative communication devices and systems.  AAC allows children who are not able to talk to use something else to communicate with those around them.  Every child has the right to communication and it is our job as speech-language pathologists to figure out a way for every child to do just that.

This podcast will go over the basics of what is AAC, how to use it to help a child communicate, when it is appropriate to use AAC, and why it should be considered as an option for non-verbal and minimally-verbal children.  Click the play button below to hear the whole podcast, or scroll down to read the quick notes:

AAC Starter Kit

Everything You Need to Trial AAC with a Child

Show Notes:

What is Augmentative/Alternative Communication (AAC)?

AAC is the term used to describe any form of communication that a person can use that is not speech.  This may include pointing to pictures of what the person wants, using sign language, or using a device that will speak a message when a specific button is pushed.

When Should AAC be Considered for a Child?

AAC should be considered for any child when his/her speech output is not adequate to communicate everything that the child wants/needs to communicate.

Things to consider:

• Child’s frustration levels
• Adult frustration levels
• Access to school curriculum
• Participation in classroom activities
• Ability to demonstrate knowledge to teachers
• Access to home and community environment
• Ability to interact appropriately with family and peers
• Independence in developmentally-appropriate daily activities

 What Prerequisite Skills Does a Child Need Before Trying AAC?

In short, there are no skills that a child MUST have before AAC can be tried.  Though, here are a few of the common misconceptions about this:

These are commonly used as excuses why AAC devices should not be attempted with children but these are WRONG:

• The child must understand cause and effect (AAC teaches cause and effect quite effectively)
• The child must understand that a picture represents an object (again, AAC teaches this)
• Child must have good enough motor skills for AAC (there are lots of alternatives for children who can’t access a device with their hands)
• Child must understand enough language for AAC use (babies don’t have great language before they are introduced to speech)
• Child must be interested in communicating (even inappropriate behaviors can be shaped into intentional communication)

For more information about these “prerequisites”, click the link: http://www.speechandlanguagekids.com/what-are-the-prerequisites-for-using-an-aac-device-augmentativealternative-communication/

Options for AAC devices, methods, and systems

• Gestures/Body Language
• Sign Language
• Object Symbols (objects glued to cards)
• Picture Boards
• Picture Exchange
• Written Messages (paper or typed)
• Single Button Voice-Output Devices
• Multi-Button Voice-Output Devices
• Dynamic-Display Voice-Output Devices

Download the free PDF cheat sheet of the different types of AAC here:

How to Introduce the System:

Make it as natural as possible.  Think of it as similar to how you would encourage a late talker to talk.

1. Get Familiar with the Child’s System
2. Model AAC Use Around the Child
3. Encourage the Child When he Attempts to Use it and Provide Differential Reinforcement
4. Have the Device Present at All Times
5. Set Up Opportunities for the Child to Use the AAC Device (in the classroom, at home, in speech, etc.)
6. Train Other Adults on How to Set Up Opportunities and Provide Differential Reinforcement

For more info on getting started, click the link: http://www.speechandlanguagekids.com/help-child-use-aac-home-classroom-hint-easier-think/

AAC Starter Kit

Everything You Need to Trial AAC with a Child

AAC Devices Course

Guide to Using AAC with Non-Speaking Children

Free Therapy Materials for Teaching Words with AAC:

Check out the freebies that we have inside our Free Therapy Material Library!

6 Tips for Encouraging a Child to Use their AAC System

AAC Cheat Sheet

AAC and Autism Handout: Giving a Child a Voice with AAC

About the Author: Carrie Clark, MA CCC-SLP

Hi, I’m Carrie! I’m a speech-language pathologist from Columbia, Missouri, USA. I’ve worked with children and teenagers of all ages in schools, preschools, and even my own private practice. I love digging through the research on speech and language topics and breaking it down into step-by-step plans for my followers.

Connect with Me:

The post Why Use AAC for Toddlers or Children? appeared first on Speech And Language Kids.

In this episode of the Speech and Language Kids Podcast, speech-language pathologist Carrie Clark discusses the benefits of groups speech therapy for children and why speech therapists group children together.  Carrie also discusses the types of cases that benefit from individual therapy.

Benefits of Group Speech Therapy:

Time Constraints

• Only certain times the child can be out of class
• Only certain times the therapist is available

Peer Support/Normalization

• See that they’re not alone
• See that this is normal
• See that others can overcome it

Increased Awareness of Skills

• Be able to hear the error in someone else’s speech
• Know what the other person should do to fix

Learning Through Teaching

• Teaching a peer can be a very effective way to learn

Benefits of Perspective Taking

• See what it’s like to be on the other side of communication problems

Practice with Peers/Better Generalization

• It’s different to work on new skills with peers than with adults

When Individual Therapy is Needed:

Children with Severely Limited Attention

• If they can’t learn or practice if there are ANY distractions or other people

Children in Certain Stages of Learning with Childhood Apraxia of Speech

• When first learning speech sounds and getting past initial phases, need lots of repetition

Children who aren’t Making Progress with Group Therapy

• Possibly time for a change

More Resources for Speech-Language Pathologists:

Looking for more therapy ideas and resources to help you provide the BEST services to your clients?  Join us in The SLP Solution, our membership program for speech-language professionals!  Inside the membership, you’ll find:

• Step-By-Step Guides for teaching a variety of speech/language/communication skills
• Pre-Made Worksheets and Therapy Activities for hundreds of different topics
• Training Videos for dealing with difficult disorders or problems
• Answers to Your Questions in our exclusive SLP community
• Tools and Resources to help you with your paperwork and admin tasks
• Continuing Education through our monthly webinars and webinar recordings

To join us in the full SLP Solution, or to snag a free membership, click on the button below!

Carrie’s Best Tools to Simplify your Life:

You have a lot on your plate.  Let me help with that!

I’ve put together my best resources here.  Whether you’re streamlining your job as a speech-language professional, helping your child with his communication challenges, or trying to meet the diverse needs of your students, I’ve got you covered.

Choose the resource that you need most right now:

Watch “Quick Tip” Videos on Instagram

Access Carrie’s Free Material Library

Get Materials and Support in The Hub

Grab our Full Language Curriculum

The post Why Do Speech Therapists Group Children Together? appeared first on Speech And Language Kids.

In this episode of The Speech and Language Kids Podcast, speech-language pathologist Carrie Clark discusses what speech therapists can do to help with literacy (reading and writing) skills in children and adolescents.

What is Literacy?

• Pre-reading skills like phonological awareness and basic language skills
• Reading skills
• Writing skills

Why do Children with Speech and Language Delays have Trouble with Literacy?

• Children with repaired phonological (speech) problems still have underlying problems that can come back up with literacy skills (more likely to have reading problems later).
• Children with language delays are missing a grasp of how to use their language for a variety of different literacy tasks.

What Does ASHA Say About our Role?

Roles for Speech-Language Pathologists

Prevention—Communicating risk factors to teachers and parents, and working with them to develop programs to help children acquire explicit, age-appropriate knowledge, skills and strategies of the components of language that contribute to reading and writing development.

Identifying At-Risk Children—Assisting in development and implementation of screening (e.g., instruments and teacher observation checklists) and referral procedures for very young children, as well as older school-age children, including modifying procedures to reduce bias (e.g., dynamic assessment techniques and criterion referenced tasks) for culturally and linguistically diverse populations.

Assessing—Selecting, implementing, adapting, and interpreting assessment tools and methods to evaluate skills in spoken language, reading, writing and spelling.

Providing Intervention—Collaborating with teachers and families to plan intervention goals and activities, as well as modifying curricula to keep students progressing in the general education curriculum.

• Phonological Awareness Skills: https://www.speechandlanguagekids.com/ultimate-guide-phonological-awareness-pre-reading-skills/

• Literacy Activities and Guides: https://www.speechandlanguagekids.com/literacy-resource-page/

• Reading Comprehension: http://www.speechandlanguagekids.com/5-tasks-to-improve-your-childs-reading-comprehension/

• Reading Fluency: https://www.speechandlanguagekids.com/tips-for-improving-reading-fluency/

• Writing Narratives: https://www.speechandlanguagekids.com/ultimate-guide-to-teaching-written-narratives-by-grade-level/

• Persuasive Writing: http://www.speechandlanguagekids.com/how-to-teach-persuasive-writing-for-children

Documenting Outcomes—Establishing a tracking system for identifying new or re-emerging literacy deficits and documenting outcomes of intervention goals and plans.

Program Development—Directing or participating in teams to develop school or system-wide strategic approaches to early identification and intervention for children with reading deficits.

Advocating for Effective Literacy Practices—Providing information about literacy development to state and local agencies that plan and evaluate curricula, establish comprehensive assessments and set related policies; educating them about relationships between spoken language and written language (i.e., reading, writing and spelling) and the benefits of collaborative instructional approaches.

Advancing the Knowledge Base—Conducting scientifically-based research on early literacy development.

Free Pre-Writing Organizers:

Need more resources for helping children with literacy?  Check out our free pre-writing organizers here:

More Resources for Speech-Language Pathologists:

Looking for more therapy ideas and resources to help you provide the BEST services to your clients?  Join us in The SLP Solution, our membership program for speech-language professionals!  Inside the membership, you’ll find:

• Step-By-Step Guides for teaching a variety of speech/language/communication skills
• Pre-Made Worksheets and Therapy Activities for hundreds of different topics
• Training Videos for dealing with difficult disorders or problems
• Answers to Your Questions in our exclusive SLP community
• Tools and Resources to help you with your paperwork and admin tasks
• Continuing Education through our monthly webinars and webinar recordings

To join us in the full SLP Solution, or to snag a free membership, click on the button below!

Carrie’s Best Tools to Simplify your Life:

You have a lot on your plate.  Let me help with that!

I’ve put together my best resources here.  Whether you’re streamlining your job as a speech-language professional, helping your child with his communication challenges, or trying to meet the diverse needs of your students, I’ve got you covered.

Choose the resource that you need most right now:

Watch “Quick Tip” Videos on Instagram

Access Carrie’s Free Material Library

Get Materials and Support in The Hub

Grab our Full Language Curriculum

The post The Speech Therapist’s Role in Reading and Writing in Children and Adolescents appeared first on Speech And Language Kids.

Hypernasality Speech Therapy: Treatment Ideas for Hypernasal Speech

Hypernasality occurs when a child speaks with too much nasal resonance.  Airflow tends to be directed up into the nasal cavity during speech instead of primarily through the oral cavity.  Nasal emission is when that air comes all the way out through the nose.  This can make a puffing or noisy sound in the nose during speech.  Here are the steps for therapy for both hypernasality and nasal emission.

Listen to the Podcast on Hypernasality Speech Therapy:

Hypernasality Therapy Kit

Worksheets for Reducing Nasal Emission and Hypernasality

Hypernasality Speech Therapy Goals:

Check out this sample goal for hypernasality speech therapy!  Keep in mind, you should modify this goal to meet the needs of each individual client or patient that you’re working with:

The patient will demonstrate appropriate oral and nasal resonance during a 30 minute unstructured conversation in 2 speaking settings with no more than 2 instances of hypernasality.

Therapy Phases for Hypernasality Speech Therapy:

1. Refer to ENT: All clients who exhibit voice issues should be referred to an ENT first to check the structures and functions and be cleared for therapy. If hypernasality is present, it may be secondary to a cleft palate and would need to be addressed first.
2.  Discriminate Between Oral Vs. Hypernasal: The client will be able to discriminate between appropriate oral resonance and hypernasality during speech after listening to a speaker (live or recorded) 85% of the time independently on 3 out of 4 data collection days.
3. Technique Practice: After the effective technique has been identified in therapy, the client will practice that  technique.
4. Oral Resonance in Vowels: The client will use oral resonance when saying vowels  80% of the time with no more than 2 cues on 3 out of 4 data collection days.
5. Oral Resonance in Words: The client will use oral resonance in words  80% of the time with no more than 2 cues on 3 out of 4 data collection days.
6. Oral Resonance in Phrases : The client will use oral resonance in phrases  80% of the time with no more than 2 cues on 3 out of 4 data collection days
7. Oral Resonance in Sentences: The client will use oral resonance in sentences 80% of the time with no more than 2 cues on 3 out of 4 data collection days.
8. Oral Resonance when Reading: The client will use oral resonance when reading aloud independently 80% of the time with no more than 2 cues on 3 out of 4 data collection days.
9. Oral Resonance in Conversation: The client will independently use oral resonance during conversation in the therapy setting with no more than 2 cues on 3 out of 4 data collection days.
10. Generalize Oral Air Flow to Other Environments: Student will use correct oral airflow in a variety of situations and environments.

*** Discontinue Therapy if Not Making Progress: If no progress is made after 6 weeks, client should be re-evaluated by ENT.

Therapy Activities and Techniques for Hypernasality

• Stimulability probe: Try to get the child to imitate oral resonance
• Altering Tongue Position: Try for a lower, posterior tongue placement
• Open Mouth: Have the child speak with his mouth more open
• Change Volume: Try different volumes to see which has less nasality
• Change Pitch: Try different pitches to see which has less nasality
• Auditory Feedback: Teach the child to hear the difference between nasal and oral resonance in himself and others
• Feedback: Tell the child if productions are oral or nasal so he can learn to feel the difference
• Focus on the Facial Mask Area: Have the child draw his focus and attention to the eyes/nose area of his face
• Bio-feedback: Give the child immediate feedback on if air is coming out of the nose like placing a mirror right below nose or using a See Scape

Source:

The Voice and Voice Therapy, Seventh Edition: By Boone, McFarlane, and Von Berg

Additional Resources for Nasal Emission:

Hypernasality Therapy Kit

Worksheets for Reducing Nasal Emission and Hypernasality

Speech Therapy for Cleft Palate

Cheat Sheet

About the Author: Carrie Clark, MA CCC-SLP

Hi, I’m Carrie! I’m a speech-language pathologist from Columbia, Missouri, USA. I’ve worked with children and teenagers of all ages in schools, preschools, and even my own private practice. I love digging through the research on speech and language topics and breaking it down into step-by-step plans for my followers.

Connect with Me:

The post Hypernasality Speech Therapy: Treatment Activities appeared first on Speech And Language Kids.