Monday, May 9, 2011
End of the Year!
As the school year is coming to an end, I find myself reflecting on my second year at Shakopee JH. This year definitely went by quickly! It seems like just yesterday we had a new class of 8th graders, wandering lost in the hallways.
Being my second year, and being that the JH is only 8-9th grade, I find that sending off this group of 9th graders to the high school is more difficult than I anticipated. These are the students I met when I first started, and over the past 2 years we have grown to know each other well and have built rapport. I can't help but wonder, though, did I help these students enough? Did I do everything I could have? We may never feel we've done enough - with 38-40 students on my caseload, it can be difficult to reach each one of them on a personal level. At the very least, I hope these students can leave the JH knowing that they have potential, are in control of their own progress, and maybe have a stronger passion for learning.
"Please Stop Laughing At Me" by Jodee Blanco
The book "Please Stop Laughing At Me" by Jodee Blanco has been an amazing tool in some of my speech therapy sessions. The true story follows a young girl on her path through junior high and high school as an outcast. She is teased, bullied, abused, and ignored. The junior high students I work with find this story to be very engaging, and many of my students have been able to relate to Jodee's struggles. In addition to being a captivating story, it also introduces new vocabulary.
My students have been able to learn and use inferencing skills, context clues to identify & define unfamiliar vocabulary, decoding strategies, and problem solving skills. The student and myself take turns reading, and we keep a pencil nearby to underline unfamiliar vocabulary words. We also summarize & state the main idea of each chapter. The students are also asked to predict what will happen next.
Each of the students that use this book in therapy sessions show excitement to learn and find out what will happen to Jodee next. They are also learning important character education traits, such as respect and standing up for others.
I would highly recommend this book to teachers/students at the secondary level.
(Parent permission is suggested, as some of the topics address drugs/peer pressure, etc.)
Providing Homebound Services
This Spring, I have had the unique opportunity to provide Speech Therapy services to a student in the home setting. The student is receiving Homebound Services following a major surgery, which requires him to recover at home through the end of the school year.
This student also uses a Dynavox V-Max to communicate. The goals/objectives in therapy are to help him become more independent and communicate his wants/needs via the Dynavox. There are advantages and disadvantages to providing this type of therapy in the home setting.
One advantage is the student's comfort level. The student is in a familiar, safe environment in which he feels comfortable. His mother is also present, which provides for familiarity. We also have the advantage of having common items available, flexibility with location, and a variety of communication partners (brother, etc.)
I've found that the disadvantages are more related to the adults than to the student. It is easy for the therapist and parent(s) to become involved in conversation and inadvertently leave the student out. Also, the student sometimes appears less motivated to work, presumably because he is in his home environment and has not had these demands placed on him at home before.
Over the next few weeks, my goal will be to utilize the advantages and increase functional communication in the home environment.
This student also uses a Dynavox V-Max to communicate. The goals/objectives in therapy are to help him become more independent and communicate his wants/needs via the Dynavox. There are advantages and disadvantages to providing this type of therapy in the home setting.
One advantage is the student's comfort level. The student is in a familiar, safe environment in which he feels comfortable. His mother is also present, which provides for familiarity. We also have the advantage of having common items available, flexibility with location, and a variety of communication partners (brother, etc.)
I've found that the disadvantages are more related to the adults than to the student. It is easy for the therapist and parent(s) to become involved in conversation and inadvertently leave the student out. Also, the student sometimes appears less motivated to work, presumably because he is in his home environment and has not had these demands placed on him at home before.
Over the next few weeks, my goal will be to utilize the advantages and increase functional communication in the home environment.
Collaborating on Evaluations
Recently, a referral came to me for a Fluency evaluation on a 9th grader. The parent requested the evaluation, due to the student's increasing anxiety and difficulty dealing with his stuttering. The student had not received speech therapy in the past, but stated that he was very motivated and wanted to get help for his stuttering.
One of my colleagues just presented at the MSHA conference regarding Metacognitive Strategies for Fluency Evaluation and Treatment. She also presented this information to our Vertical Team. I will be using her strategies in my upcoming evaluation.
The following are the components of the Fluency evaluation I have adapted from Dr. Cheryl Johnson:
1. Establish base rates for pattern of stuttering (conversation, oral reading, reciting, etc.)
2. History (include metacognitive - how does the student think/feel about their stuttering)
3. Summarize the student's metacognitive knowledge (of self, of speaking tasks, of strategies)
If all goes as planned, this student should be ready to work with Dr. Johnson at the high school next year!
To have the opportunity to collaborate with other professionals in the district has been crucial to my survival the last two years. The other Speech-Language Pathologists offer great advice and often share their unique strategies in completing evaluations and treatment.
One of my colleagues just presented at the MSHA conference regarding Metacognitive Strategies for Fluency Evaluation and Treatment. She also presented this information to our Vertical Team. I will be using her strategies in my upcoming evaluation.
The following are the components of the Fluency evaluation I have adapted from Dr. Cheryl Johnson:
1. Establish base rates for pattern of stuttering (conversation, oral reading, reciting, etc.)
2. History (include metacognitive - how does the student think/feel about their stuttering)
3. Summarize the student's metacognitive knowledge (of self, of speaking tasks, of strategies)
If all goes as planned, this student should be ready to work with Dr. Johnson at the high school next year!
To have the opportunity to collaborate with other professionals in the district has been crucial to my survival the last two years. The other Speech-Language Pathologists offer great advice and often share their unique strategies in completing evaluations and treatment.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
iPad 2 and Communication
4.26.2011
I have recently purchased and iPad 2 and am waiting for it to come in the mail! I have done extensive research on the benefits it can have on a persons communication skills. I plan to implement this learning tool into my everyday speech/language therapy with students grades K-5 in the elementary setting.
There are endless educational applications or "Apps" that can be downloaded to the Ipad 2. I have found the following apps I am planning on downloading once my iPad 2 arrives. They can all be applied to speech or language therapy.
Areas in Speech/Language; Articulation Difficulties, Receptive and/or Expressive Language Disorders, Fluency/Stuttering, and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)
There are endless educational applications or "Apps" that can be downloaded to the Ipad 2. I have found the following apps I am planning on downloading once my iPad 2 arrives. They can all be applied to speech or language therapy.
Areas in Speech/Language; Articulation Difficulties, Receptive and/or Expressive Language Disorders, Fluency/Stuttering, and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)
APPS...
This post will be continuously updated with more information.
The more I learn; the more updates there will be!
Member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
Kim Jarvis, M.S. CCC-SLP
Why buy an iPad for Speech/Language Therapy? ASHASphere
The more I learn; the more updates there will be!
Member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
Kim Jarvis, M.S. CCC-SLP
Why buy an iPad for Speech/Language Therapy? ASHASphere
Monday, April 11, 2011
Vocabulary Strategies
In working with both adolescents and adults, the teaching of strategies to improve comprehension and use of vocabulary is critical. When given reading material in therapy sessions, I find that many students skip over unfamiliar words (especially if they are difficult to pronounce), and subsequently miss important information. In missing this information, their comprehension of the passage may be negatively impacted. Students need to be taught to "tackle" these words. Some of the strategies I've used are summarized below:
1) "Flag" the page (with a sticky note) and come back to it at the end of the chapter,
2) Stop and break down the syllables to decode the word, then look up the meaning in the dictionary,
3) Utilize context clues to derive meaning,
4) Stop and ask someone to help determine the meaning, and/or
5) Use a thesaurus to find a synonym for the target word.
Most often, the student lacks motivation to take the extra time for use of vocabulary strategies. However, students should be shown the benefit of expanding their vocabulary for comprehension and expression.
In my therapy sessions, students are always given a "word of the day". They are required to look up the definition and then use the target word in a sentence. Each week, the vocabulary words are reviewed, and most students take pride in the fact that they are learning new words. Recently, one of my students said that he feels like he "sounds smarter" when he is able to use a new vocabulary word. Hopefully, this will bring a sense of excitement to continuing to expand his vocabulary!
1) "Flag" the page (with a sticky note) and come back to it at the end of the chapter,
2) Stop and break down the syllables to decode the word, then look up the meaning in the dictionary,
3) Utilize context clues to derive meaning,
4) Stop and ask someone to help determine the meaning, and/or
5) Use a thesaurus to find a synonym for the target word.
Most often, the student lacks motivation to take the extra time for use of vocabulary strategies. However, students should be shown the benefit of expanding their vocabulary for comprehension and expression.
In my therapy sessions, students are always given a "word of the day". They are required to look up the definition and then use the target word in a sentence. Each week, the vocabulary words are reviewed, and most students take pride in the fact that they are learning new words. Recently, one of my students said that he feels like he "sounds smarter" when he is able to use a new vocabulary word. Hopefully, this will bring a sense of excitement to continuing to expand his vocabulary!
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