Blog
One of the Most Versatile Tools in an SLP’s Toolbox: Books
Not only are books one of my favorite tools to use in therapy but I believe they are one of the best activities parents can use to generalize skills we are targeting in the therapy sessions.
The Importance of Outdoor Play
In general, children can benefit from daily active free play whether it be indoors or outdoors. However, children of all ages can benefit from at least three hours of free play outdoors a day.
Adapting and Shifting During a Pandemic
I am a speech language pathologist who specializes in social cognition and executive functioning. I have been to countless Michelle Garcia Winner’s Social Thinking conferences as well as Sarah Ward & Kristen Jacobsen’s 360 Thinking Executive Functioning seminars.
Let me say it again… I teach social cognition and executive functioning skills for a living… However, this pandemic has completely upheaved my executive functioning skills and rewired my brain. Anyone else struggling??? Please let me explain…
Establishing trust: stepping beyond everything you learned in grad school
When I was an indecisive, whimsical sophomore, circa 2007 at the University of Connecticut, one of the requirements in selecting a career path was that it embodied a counseling component. I didn’t quite aspire to be a mental health counselor, but I undoubtedly wanted to support individuals in some capacity. After shadowing a few SLPs I saw undoubtedly how much counseling was involved across settings.
Transition Planning: What does it mean, when do you start, and who is on your team.
For most children, planning their adult lives starts somewhere in preschool when they begin discussing what careers they hope to pursue in their adulthood. Then somewhere in high school, students seem less sure as they are faced with a decision to transition into the workplace, post-secondary education, or maybe even completely rock their parents world by electing to backpack through a foreign country looking for their missing inspiration.
Why Outpatient Therapy? COVID-19, Hybrid School Days and Beyond
There are just about a million things to consider when discussing back to school. The school schedules are changing minute to minute, meetings are being delayed, childcare options are limited at best and everyone is frantic. You may be looking at your child’s schedule and wondering how their related services are going to look now.
An OT insider perspective on the multipurpose toy for kids
s an occupational therapist, part of the job is to be creative in our activities, to help promote improvement of skills and independence (as well as be fun in doing so). Squigz are one of my favorite toys to use in my sessions.
The Many Hats of an SLP: A Letter to My Graduate School Self
The diversity and variety of demographics that we are able to treat as SLP’s is something I feel so fortunate to be a part of. When I started at a school, I thought that I would lose some of my medical knowledge but this basis of knowledge helped me more than I thought. I was still able to treat a variety of needs at the clinic, but now my knowledge has expanded to helping students navigate their school environment, both socially and academically.
When I ask about any board games they have at home, they tell me about this one specific time they played this fun game with their family, their sibling, or got one on one time with their parent. They tell me who won, where they played, and are able to elaborate on this great memory.
Transition Through Teletherapy
Change is hard. Let’s face it, no one really loves it, especially when it’s abrupt. However, it’s also provided us a great opportunity to adapt. At the start of this pandemic I was encouraged by the following words: crisis is the birthplace of innovation and the nexus for opportunistic growth (Anonymous, 2020). In a world where all normalcy was interrupted, I welcomed the transition into teletherapy.
hile there is a mainstream culture in America and English is the unwritten official language, there is also beauty and respect in admiring the cultural differences of people from all origins.
What? Huh? Can you hear me now? The struggle with hearing loss and wearing masks.
Between the muffled sounds created by the mask, background noise, poor acoustics in these places and not to mention the obscured lack of seeing facial expressions simple tasks were made a significant challenge.
As an SLP we are able to be raw, true, vulnerable and compassionate for clients and their families. Our day to day lives are fulfilling and rewarding for being able to make the kind of impact we are able to make. Our therapy is authentic, individualized and evidence based.