Treasure Hunt

I stole borrowed this idea from a colleague. One of her young clients was having trouble attending to one of our many diagnostic tests featuring a flip book (think the CELF-5, PSL-4, EVT-2, etc.). So she tore up a few yellow Post-It notes and stuck small pieces of "gold" randomly throughout the test.

Let me tell you, I was shocked at how motivating "finding treasure" was for this client! She attended to the stimuli and responded to prompts more readily in order to see if there was more "gold" on the next page. Brilliant!

Have you used Post-It notes in other ways during assessments or therapy?

Swiss Cheese Cards

The other day, I was in a meeting and a general education teacher shared her student's "Swiss cheese cards."

The teacher had handful of cards attached by a ring. On each card, she had written one letter. During practice, the student had to name the letter before turning to the next card. If he/she labeled it correctly, the teacher put one hole punch in that card. After practicing for several days and getting more and more correct answers, one would expect the cards to look like Swiss cheese with so many holes!

Unfortunately, in this particular meeting, she was showing us how most of the cards had very few holes, thus why the team was meeting to brainstorm some new ideas for this student.

After the meeting, I thought of all the ways I could adapt this simple activity for speech/language therapy. Here are some ideas I came up with...

• articulation (e.g., five words that all start with the /r/ sound)
• language (i.e., synonyms, antonyms, irregular plural nouns, irregular past verbs, etc.)
• fluency (e.g., describing fluency strategies or parts of the "speech machine")

I especially like the idea for articulation, because it easily allows for independent practice as well. I sometimes do this with my larger groups. For example, I may have two or three students practice independently or with a partner while I work with one student; then I rotate the students through the session so everyone gets at least a few minutes of one-on-one instruction.

Have you ever used Swiss cheese cards? In what ways would you use them? I would love to hear your ideas!

Differentiated... Blogs?

Differentiated instruction is a must. It is even more crucial when working with students with learning differences and needs.

Even in the business world, brands for products and services look to differentiate themselves. Where do they fit into the huge marketplace?

After starting this blog last evening and a good night's sleep, I woke up and thought to myself, "But there are already so many good speech and language blogs out there... what makes mine different? Where is my niche?"

Some excellent blogs focus on a specific area, like Jill Kuzma's Social & Emotional Skill Sharing Site.

Others share ideas through their products, like the ever-creative Jenna Rayburn of The Speech Room News.

Still others focus on certain audience, like Mommy Speech Therapy.

All of these blogs are run by incredibly talented speech-language pathologists. I love following their sites and learning from them. But what can I contribute that is unique?

Then I thought about pie... a good pie is made from the basics. Flour, sugar, salt, eggs, fruit...

So on my blog, Speech Pie, I have decided that my twist is going to be about getting "back to basics." While I think products and programs absolutely have their place in the speech-language world, I also believe effective therapy can be conducted using whatever is already in your room and some imagination. Sometimes my best sessions are those that use less "stuff."

I hope you find my ideas useful! Please feel free to comment and share your ideas as well!

Calling for Recipes!

As a Speech and Language Pathologist in an elementary school, I am constantly trying to think of new and engaging therapy activities for my students.

I mean, really, the S sound and irregular plural nouns aren't THAT interesting on their own.

So I am challenged to keep these concepts exciting, even after repeated practice... and I know I'm not the only educator facing this difficult task.

On lucky days, a great activity just comes to me... sometimes even as the student is walking through the door. On not-so-creative days, I look to other educators and therapists for inspiration.

I am starting this blog to share tried and true therapy activities - the ones the students actually request to "play" and consistently result in student learning! I welcome and encourage you to share your tricks as well.

Please share your very best "Speech Pie" recipes! I know I will be posting mine!