Why We Play {BHSM Part 3}

Hello! Welcome to Part 3 of my Early Intervention series in honor of Better Hearing and Speech Month. 

You can find Part 1, Why Early Intervention? here, where you can enter to win a copy of Teach Me to Talk: The Therapy Manual. 

Part 2, Being a Bagless SLP, can be found here.

Play. When you think of the word play, what do you imagine? Do you see kids running around the park? Maybe you see them blowing bubbles in the backyard, or kicking a ball back and forth. 

The Oxford Dictionary defines play as follows: "To engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose." The first part of that definition makes sense, right? When we play, we are doing the activity for fun. We aren't forced to do it, we want to do it because we enjoy it. 

It's the second part of that definition that I have problems with- "rather than a serious or practical purpose." You see, as an Early Intervention therapist, play is both serious and practical. Not serious in the sense of stern and uptight, but rather in the sense of importance. 

Children not only have fun during play, but they learn during play. You aren't going to find many 2 or 3 year-olds that will sit at a table and work on flashcards or a worksheet. You will, however, find 2 and 3 year-olds engaging in play. 

Using a child's natural instincts to play, we can target all of our speech and language goals. From establishing eye contact, to joint attention, to that first word, there is no better way to learn than through actively participating. Children are also more likely to learn when they are doing something that they enjoy.  

Don't limit play to just the birth-three population, though. Children continue to play, and continue to learn, through their school age years. Work on past tense verbs by acting out a story that happened yesterday, practice organization and narrative skills while the ninja turtles are battling the bad guy, work on those s-blends while slithering your snakes around the speech room. The only thing holding us back is our own imaginations. Our kids already possess the tools to learn through play, so let's let them learn.

How do you target skills through play? What else would you like to know about learning through play?

Being a Bagless SLP {BHSM Part 2}

Hello there! If you're just tuning in, this is Part 2 of my series of posts on Early Intervention to celebrate this year's Better Hearing and Speech Month's theme: Early Intervention Counts. 

You can find Part 1 of my series, Why Early Intervention? here! While you're there be sure to enter my GIVEAWAY of Teach Me to Talk: The Therapy Manual! 

Now let's get down to business. I know what you're thinking- An EI therapist that doesn't have a toy bag? What does she do? I don't know when EI therapists became known for bringing a bag of toys into therapy, but it is still a common practice. In fact, in my very first visit to my first client's house, I walk in and the mom says, "Oh, you don't have any toys?" I looked around the room and politely said, "It looks like your child has plenty of toys to play with here!" and grabbed a toy and started playing. 

After that session, I began to explain why I didn't have a toy bag during my initial visit. To me, it makes perfect sense why I wouldn't bring in any toys: I am with a child for one hour. 1 hour out of the 168 hours in a week. Sure my toy would be new and exciting for a child, but what happens when I leave? The parents are left without the toy I brought in and no idea how to carry over what we did in our session throughout the rest of the week. By using the toys already present in the child's environment, I can show the parent or caregiver the best way to play with the toy with their child, give them examples of language to model, and give suggestions for more practice once I leave. 

But don't limit yourself to toys! To begin with, some of our houses might not have toys available to use. Here's where you can let your creative juices flow. Head outside and pick some dandelions, dig in dirt for worms, play hopscotch, climb on the jungle gym. Stay inside and use the couch cushions and a blanket to build a fort, search through the cabinets and make drums out of pots and a spoon, help with a load of laundry or the sink full of dishes, eat a snack or help cook lunch, get out the shaving cream and get messy. 

The possibilities are literally endless, you just have to be open to take a chance. Sure, you might fail. I would be lying if I said every one of my sessions went perfectly. However, I can honestly say that my kids are learning. Not just when I'm there, but when I'm gone. By incorporating our unique skill set and knowledge into a child's daily routine with things present in their natural environment, we are equipping them with the tools for success. 

Since I just started venturing into the EI world last fall, it was easy for me to go bagless; I just didn't bring one to my first sessions and I haven't regretted my decision since. But what if you've been doing EI for 10 years and have brought toys into every session? I'm not saying to completely abandon the toys, unless you are up for the challenge! Start small. Choose one client that you feel comfortable with and whose parents are on board for the change. Once you get the hang of it, you'll be keeping the toy bag in the car for all of your sessions. 

Now I don't want to fool you and say that I never bring toys into a child's home. There are certain circumstances when you need to bring something in. You might be working on feeding and bring in a puppet to play with. Or maybe the kid isn't interested in anything, so you decide to bring in a bottle of bubbles, because every kid loves bubbles, right? Or there's a goal on the IFSP that you know you can meet if you could only bring in this one toy. So bring it in, play with it, and show the parents the success their child is having. The last 15 minutes of the session, put your toy away and help the parents determine how they can work on something similar with what they have in their home. Make sure that they are able to have success with their own items before you leave. The next session, you might not have to bring that toy back in. 

I hope that if you are an Early Intervention SLP, you will consider ditching the bag for one session and seeing how it goes. You might decide that you hate it. At least you tried! Or, you might decide that you like not having to lug that heavy bag around. (Your shoulder might thank you as well!)

My friend over at Sublime Speech recently did a 3 part series about being a "Bagless SLP", so be sure to check out her posts as well! You can view a great parent testimonial video on their thoughts of the toy bag there too. 

Have you tried going bagless? What has been your biggest challenge or your best moment? I'd love to hear! 

Be sure to enter my giveaway of Teach Me to Talk: The Therapy Manual on Part 1 of this blog series. And check out Part 3, Why We Play, here!

Why Early Intervention? {BHSM Part 1}

Welcome to part one of my mini series on Better Hearing and Speech Month: Early Intervention! Like I said last week, this year's theme is Early Intervention Counts. The sooner therapy is started, the better the outcomes. So, why does it take as long as two years before a speech and/or language impairment is not only detected but acted on?

The simple answer- awareness!  45% of speech-language pathologists and audiologists believe that lack of awareness is the leading barrier to early detection. 57% of parents don't realize that without early detection, treatment takes longer and is more expensive. And as many as 64% of parents are unaware of the early signs to a speech and language disorder. 

Check out the info-graphic below to see how early intervention is transformative, efficient, necessary, and accessible. 

So what can we do? Spread the word! Help parents identify the signs of early speech and language disorders. Below are a few common signs of speech and language disorders. Find more at Identify the Signs. 

• Doesn't smile or interact with others (birth +)
• Doesn't babble (4-7 months)
• Makes only a few sounds or gestures (7-12 months)
• Says only a few words (12-18 months)
• Words are not easily understood (18 months-2 years)
• Doesn't put words together to make sentences (2-3 years)
• Produces speech that is unclear, even to familiar people (2-3 years)
• Repeats first sounds of words or stretches sounds out in words (2.5-3 years)
• Uses a hoarse, breathy, or nasal-sounding voice

In honor of Better Hearing and Speech Month and their theme of Early Intervention Counts, I'm giving away a copy of Laura Mize's Teach Me to Talk: Therapy Manual. This manual provides info on WHY we do what we do in early intervention, as well as outlines therapy goals with many examples on how to target the goals in your sessions. A $54 value! The contest will be open until May 31st. A winner will be announced on June 1st! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out Part 2 of the series, Being a Bagless SLP, here! 
And you can find Part 3, Why We Play, here.

All information collected from ASHA's campaign: Identify the Signs.

Better Hearing and Speech Month

May is here-and in SLP land that means that Better Hearing and Speech Month has arrived! This year's theme is "Early Intervention Counts". After working in Early Intervention this year, I have never found this statement to be more true.

Join me each Friday in May as I highlight Early Intervention in informative blog posts. I will also be hosting a giveaway-you won't want to miss this! Check back next week for more details. And in the mean time, head to identifythesigns.org to find out more about ASHA's campaign to help us all identify the signs of communication disorders a little earlier. 

Everyday Speech Social Skills Video {Review & Giveaway}

When working on social skills, it's helpful to have a peer model to aid in teaching the skill. With such busy schedules, it can be hard to bring in someone to your session to serve as a model. That's why I love video modeling! But it's often hard to find videos to exactly fit my needs. Everyday Speech has the solution- and it's a great one! 

Everyday Speech is best known for their iPad app, Let's be Social. When they added videos to the app, they got such an overwhelming response that they decided to make even more. They hope to have 40 videos by the time they launch-40! The videos can be purchased as standalone videos, video bundles, or you can subscribe to their website to get access to their whole library.  

You will be able to watch the videos from any computer or tablet. You can even download the files to watch them offline! To watch on your iPad, you can download the VHX app here. 

Some of the topics covered include:

-voice volume

-staying on topic

-making eye contact

-using a filter

See a lot of the videos included in the picture below.

So what do I think of it? These video rock. I mean seriously, where else can you get videos specifically designed for the topic you need to teach that goes into the depth and detail that these videos do. Each video is right around 2 minutes long. They use real kids and adolescents in their videos in situations that our kids will really encounter. The videos not only show what to do and what not to do, they pause to explain what is happening and to give additional information.  

 

Videos start out by explaining the skill that the video is targeting.

Emotions are identified and explained as they relate to each social situation.

Teachable moments are pinpointed and enhanced.

Thought bubbles are used throughout to show what each person is really thinking.

Think this is something you would love? Sign up to be on the wait list now to get the best deals! Those on the waiting list will get:

• A guaranteed 50% off promo code, with no limits on purchase size
• Two Speech with Sharon followers will win a free package!
• For the blog/site that gets the most waiting list sign ups, everyone that signed up from that site will get a free video package.

To get in on this awesome deal, be sure to use this link! How would you use these videos in therapy?

The Fib Revealed!

I hope you enjoyed our Two Facts and a Fib blog hop! I know I enjoyed trying to guess everyone's fib. 

Now to reveal my fib! 

My entire county goes to one high school. Fact

I live in Jasper County, Illinois, a large county in the southern central region of Illinois. According to the 2010 Census, Jasper County covers 494.51 square miles and is home to a total of 9,698 people, which breaks down to less than 20 people per square mile. We have one private Catholic school that goes up to 8th grade. In the public school system, we have one grade school, one middle school (which is now housed in our high school) and one high school. I had 140 people in my graduating class.   

At one point or another in my childhood I had these animals as pets: cat, turtle, dog, and fish. Fact

My parents have had cats and dogs since my brother and I were little. One day, my brother and I found a turtle down by the creek near our house. We convinced our mom to let us keep it! We fed and took care of it for over a year. One morning, my mom woke up to the turtle crawling across the living room floor. Needless to say, from that day forward, we no longer had a turtle as a pet. Mom and dad did agree to let us get some fish as a replacement. Now my parents have a cat, while my husband and I have a dog. 

I am very musical and can play the clarinet, piano, and trumpet. Fib

I do consider myself a musical person. I have been in my school's band and chorus since I was in elementary school. I was an active member of my high school's marching and concert bands, as well as musicals and choir concerts. So which musical instrument do I know how to play? The clarinet! I didn't really have much of a choice when I started band in elementary school. My cousin had a clarinet that she gave to me to use, so it was either play that or play nothing. Good thing I was good at playing the clarinet! I did dabble around with my brother's trumpet, but I could never get it to sound quite right. Since I can read music, I am also able to punch out notes on a piano. However, I am far from saying that I can actually play the piano. Maybe one day!

Did you make the right guess? If you guessed C, congratulations! 

2 Facts and a Fib

Who's ready for a little April Fool's fun? The rules are simple: I will write down three statements. Two are facts and one is a fib. All you have to do is pick the fib! Hop to each blog and at the end write your best guesses down to win a $50.00 Amazon gift card. The person who guesses the most correctly will win the gift card. In the event of a tie, we will use random.org to determine the winner. 

Here are my two facts and a fib. Can you spot the fib?

A) My entire county goes to one high school. 

B) At one point or another in my childhood I had these animals as pets: cat, turtle, dog, and fish. 

C) I am very musical and can play the clarinet, piano, and trumpet.


Have you guessed my fib? Be sure to write down either A, B or C. Then, click the picture below to head to the next blog on the hop. 

Am I your first stop? Head on back to the first blog by clicking the button below. There, you'll also find the quiz answer form for you to fill in your answers after you visit each page. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Frenzied SLP February Edition: Love

As an SLP, I love many things- color coded planners, smooth ballpoint pens, when my student finally says the dreaded /r/ correctly.

As a frenzied SLP, I love things that are quick, easy, and effortless. That's why I love SpeechPathology.com. For only $99, you get access to as many different CEUs as you want for a year! It doesn't get much easier than that. 

SpeechPathology.com isn't just for the school SLP either. They have CEUs on early intervention, swallowing, aphasia, stuttering, ethics, autism, cochlear implants, and multicultural issues, to name just a few. 

The site also offers the courses in many different contexts, including live webinars, video courses, text courses, and audio courses. 

And if you plan it right, you can use the one year membership to count towards two CEU cycles for ASHA. How? Just register for the site during June or July of the last year of your three year cycle with ASHA. That way, you can use the CEUs for the last five or six months of your current cycle, as well as the first five or six months during your next cycle. 

Now you know why I love SpeechPathology.com. So, all you frenzied SLPs, what do you love?

Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with SpeechPathology.com and earn no benefits from directing you to their site. 

Moments of Clarity

We've all had those days. You know, the ones where we wonder why we ever thought it was a good idea to become a Speech-Language Pathologist. You are overwhelmed with paperwork while still trying to find time to perform effective therapy. Your private-practice client just cancelled his session. Again. A teacher/principal/parent questions your therapy approach. You find out about an IEP meeting for one of your students the day it is due, 5 minutes before the meeting starts. 

It's no secret our job is stressful. (Well maybe it is to our administrators or insurance companies- who seem to think we can handle adding bus duty and lunch supervision into our schedule or who deny every claim we submit and force us to somehow think of a clever way to get our claims accepted, all in our spare time.) Burn-out rate in our profession is high, and I don't know about you, but I don't want to be scouring the internet for "jobs for any other profession but speech pathology". 

So how do I stay motivated to keep doing what I do every day? Focusing on moments of clarity. Moments where I am reminded why I wanted to become an SLP in college. Moments where I realize that I am making a difference. 

I was having a rough day in therapy this week. Two clients cancelled on me the day of their session. One session was spent more on managing behavior than performing therapy. I didn't have time to eat lunch that day. My last therapy session of the day, however, was awesome! My client was requesting to play with many different activities, maintaining eye contact during communication,  and was making contextually correct comments (a big one for this little guy with Autism). 

When I got home from work that night, I found a Facebook status from my client's mother. Her words reminded me why I love being an SLP and reassured me that I made the correct career path. 

My boss loved the comment as well, she even posted it to the business Facebook page! 

So when you are feeling down and wondering why you ever wanted to be an SLP, find that moment of clarity. Once you find it-whether it is a card from a client, a few nice words said at a meeting, or even a client's mom's Facebook status- write it down, take a picture, hang it up. Do something with it. Display it where you can constantly be reminded of why you rock at your job.

Because you do rock. You are an SLP after all. :) 

Frenzied SLPs!

I am so excited to be a member of the Frenzied SLPs! 

First, a little more about myself:

• I'm a born and raised Southern Illinois girl. I love wide-open spaces, hometown pride, and having everyone know my name.
• My husband and I love wine. We have an annual wine trail weekend with our friends where we like to stock up on some favorites to bring home with us. Unfortunately, they don't last long in our house! Good thing the wineries aren't that far away ;)
• On December 16, I became the mom to my perfect little boy, Ian. While 16 weeks pregnant with him, his heart stopped beating. I was able to give birth to him and hold him in my arms-memories I will cherish forever.
• While I do love wearing dresses and getting dolled up, I am a true tomboy at heart. I own my own shotgun and bow, and shoot them often in the field by our house. One of my favorite things to do in the spring is search the woods for mushrooms. On a summer night, you can find my husband and I fishing in our pond. Don't worry, I still make my husband take the fish off the hook, that's gross after all!

Now on to the reason you're here, you're a frenzied SLP! Each month we will bring you a little something to help make your frenzied life as an SLP a little easier. This month, I've got a little cleaning tip for you!

I don't know about you, but my house always seems to be a M.E.S.S. My husband and I just moved in last month, and I never knew how quickly a perfectly put together house could turn into a mess. Dishes are stacked up in the sink. Laundry is overflowing from the basket. Blankets and pillows are all over the living room floor. Mail is stacked up on the one empty corner of my desk.  

And I know I'm not alone here when I say I don't like spending an entire Saturday cleaning my house. There's got to be an easier way, right? Right!

I've got a weekly cleaning schedule that will keep your house clean in less than 30 minutes a day. The trick? Pick a room to tackle each day. Breaking up the cleaning into small, manageable tasks will help you get things accomplished without feeling overwhelmed. And that's the goal after all, right?

Want a copy for yourself? Get the printable version here and enjoy a cleaner, happier house!