SLPs Build Successful Lives! ASHA Bound!

I am so excited for this week. I have a 2 day work week and then I am off to Orlando, FL (my home state) for ASHA Conference!!! Then I will attend a wedding and have a week of Thanksgiving BREAK!! :)

The new year, 2015 will be here before you know it. 2014 has been a great year for me!! It marks my 10th year of living in Atlanta, GA and working as a pediatric speech-language pathologist. Wow! I really can't believe that these years have gone by sooooo fast. I LOVE working with children with special needs!!! I look forward to many more years to come of enriching the lives of children with various communication, developmental, and learning disorders. 

Building Successful Lives. This is what all SLPs do every day through our awesome job as a SLP!  We teach children how to build language comprehension, oral language, correctly pronounce sounds, speak fluently, and effectively communicate with others. This only scratches the surface of the positive influence that SLPs have on the children and families that we serve. 

Building Relationships. This is what all SLPs do as we equip children with the skills they need to communicate and interact with their family, peers, teachers, and others in their community. We teach them how to observe social cues and problem solve in a highly social world. SLPs also build relationships with parents, educators, OTs, and PTs as we all work towards a common goal of enriching the lives of children with special needs. 

Building Hope.  SLPs are skilled at speaking with parents who are still trying to digest that their child has a communication disorder, hearing loss, developmental disability, and/or learning disability. SLPs empower parents to understand how they play a role in assisting their children achieve communication and language goals. We know how to share evaluation results while highlighting a child's strengths, areas of needs, and speech/language goals. 

On those extremely hectic days of speech/language therapy sessions, IEP meetings, staff meetings, RTI, report writing, and a million other tasks, remember that SLPs Build Successful Lives!

I look forward to seeing my fellow SLPs at ASHA! Leave a comment to let me know if you'll be there. Thanks! 

Keep scrolling down to read my previous 2 entries to enter the giveaway for progress monitoring tools. The winners will be announced on Thursday! :)

Tamara Anderson

BSL Speech & Language

Speech Progress Monitoring {Product Launch & Giveaway}

Over the years, I have provided speech therapy for several preschool to middle school age children who stutter.  I know how valuable it is to have a way to quickly take data on the frequency of a child's dysfluent episodes, types of stuttering, stuttering severity, and secondary behaviors during therapy sessions. That's why I am thrilled to share with you what has helped make my fluency intervention sessions a breeze!!

My latest product, Speech Progress Monitoring, was released last week in my TPT online store. It includes my speech fluency data collection tool that is perfect for progress monitoring in the speech room, general education classroom, or home environment. On the form, the SLP should record the setting the speech sample is taken, type of sample (e.g. picture description, story retell, conversation) and write tally marks to indicate each spoken syllable. Under each tally mark for a dysfluent episode, use the provided acronyms to record the types of stuttering. The formula to calculate the percentage of stuttering or severity is included. As a bonus, the SLP can circle if any secondary behaviors were observed during the speech sample. Using this form, will improve your ability to write fluency objectives such as the child naming the types of stuttering and reducing the percentage of stuttering in different speaking situations using fluency strategies. 

In speech therapy, there is a definite need to also have a speech intelligibility data collection tool. The progress monitoring form that I created provides a quick and easy way to calculate the percentage of speech intelligibility for children. I currently use this tool for children on my caseload with moderate intellectual disabilities. Many of these children struggle with speech articulation at the word, sentence, and conversational levels as well as with their communication partners understanding their speech. With direct intervention, the SLP can facilitate improving the speech intelligibility or the level that their speech is understood by familiar and unfamiliar speakers. This tool is essential for all speech language pathologists addressing increasing speech intelligibility with kids on their caseload. 

So head over to my TPT store to purchase this awesome resource at an incredible price! 

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Speech-Progress-Monitoring-Fluency-Intelligibility-1537215

Enter here for a chance to win 2 of my latest progress monitoring tools in honor of ASHA in Florida! The winners will be notified next Thursday! :a Rafflecopter giveaway  


Tamara Anderson
BSL Speech & Language

Vocabulary Progress Monitoring {Product Launch & Giveaway}

I am excited that my latest product, Vocabulary Progress Monitoring, is available for use by speech-language pathologists and can be purchased in my TPT store. This essential and effective informal assessment tool assesses 300 vocabulary words. 

                                              
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Vocabulary-Progress-Monitoring-1520541

I have personally used these quick evaluation tools with children who have speech-language disorders to measure their semantic processing skills. Several SLPs purchased this product last week during my November 7th Must Have sale so I know this is a necessary product to have handy in your speech-language therapy room.

The resource is organized by vocabulary skills that require increasing receptive and expressive language abilities. In this extensive resource, you will receive vocabulary progress monitoring documentation forms to evaluate these specific semantic skills:

1) Object functions- 20 words (school & home items)
2) Word associations- 40 words
3) Categories- 10 groups
4) Similarities/Differences- 10 words
5) Synonyms/Antonyms- 40 synonyms, 40 antonyms
6) Multiple meaning words- 90 words
7) Oral definitions with Tier I words- 10 words
8) Oral definitions with Tier III (academic) words- 20
9) Figurative language- 20 words

I recommend making an assessment binder with several copies of each form and keeping them in sheet protectors. This way you can easily access them when you need to complete an informal vocabulary assessment for a student. 

This must have progress monitoring tool is on sale now in my TPT store for one week only because I know how much you need this product! As a special gift to my blog readers,  enter now for a chance to win my 2 latest progress monitoring tools! The winners will be notified next Thursday in honor of ASHA in Florida! a Rafflecopter giveaway  




Thanks for visiting the blog today. 

Tamara Anderson
BSL Speech & Language

Literacy Website Review # 4 {Fry Sight Words}

Many students with language disorders have co-occurring learning disabilities in the areas of reading and writing. They need direct intervention to increase their reading decoding, sight word recognition, reading fluency, and reading comprehension. 

Students need practice to improve their automaticity for oral reading of sight words. Recently, I have been thinking of ways to support the special education teachers' goal of improving the reading skills of students with reading disabilities and language disorders.  Sometimes the progress is slower than we would anticipate and we are eager to close the gap when the kids are reading several grade levels behind. We discussed that the students really need to improve their sight word recognition of Fry words. Research shows that students need to read the first 300 by 3rd grade and 1000 words in 4th and 5th grade to successfully read on grade level. 

I was going to make flash cards for students to take home for practice and then I stumbled across the website: http://www.uniqueteachingresources.com/Fry-1000-Instant-Words.html

The Unique Teaching Resources website is awesome because it has the Fry words flashcards for 1000 high frequency words already created! Plus, there are progress monitoring checklists for all the words. I especially like that the words are divided into sets of 10 and 20 words based on the needs of students that you are working with. 

This is an excellent resource to share with parents for them to encourage their kids to practice their sight words. If you have a literacy night at your school, this is a great website to share with parents and staff to access the FREE and beneficial resources! 

An added bonus on this website is that it includes 100 nouns with pictures. This is great to use with language disordered kids who are building their receptive and expressive vocabulary skills. 

In a special education classroom, students sometimes practice their sight words online via a power point presentation of words. However, I think is important for  them to also have access to practice their sight words with flash cards when they are on the go. They can practice reading on the bus, in the car, at home easily without having to turn on a computer. Yes I do love technology. However, I also believe back to the basics instruction is needed as well. 

Students in K-2nd generally practice their sight words with hands on flash cards or other word work activities when they are learning to read. What about students in grades 3-5 or even middle and high school who are reading below grade level? They still need intervention to improve their sight word recognition and reading decoding even though they are expected at that level to read to learn. But what happens when they still need to learn sight words? Special education teachers need to make remediating this area a priority and not just teach comprehension strategies and the grade level standards despite time constraints. Yes, kids need to learning comprehension strategies but they must learn sight word and how to decode words too! 

This educational literacy website is created by a teacher for other educators and it is definitely jam packed with great FREE literacy resources along with some lesson plans available for purchase. 

The website does not directly share other ideas for students to learn sight words other than flash cards. However, they can play games such as BINGO, Go Fish, and Memory to practice this skill. Dr. Edward Fry's book is the perfect resource for this.
(Dr. Fry's 1000 Instant Words: The Most Common Words for Teaching Reading, Writing, & Spelling). You can view a preview here:books.google.com/books?isbn=1576907570


Here is a great website if you would like to see the Fry word lists as related to the Common Core Standards for K-5th grade. http://www.k12reader.com/subject/vocabulary/fry-words/

I like that the K12 reader website reminds you to have students practice their reading sight words in contexts of sentences, paragraphs, and writing the words as well. 

Thanks for reading the blog today!

* Tamara Anderson
BSL Speech & Language

Literacy Review # 3 { Technology }

This week, I have been integrating technology based literacy activities in pediatric speech-language group therapy sessions. So many kids with receptive language disorders need to improve their listening  comprehension skills when read fiction and non-fiction text. That is why I love the 2 products from Super Duper Publications, Auditory Memory for Quick Stories (fiction text) and Auditory Memory High-Interest Quick Stories, Curriculum-Based Stories for Science and Social Studies (non-fiction text). There are 30 fiction stories and 30 non-fiction stories. I purchased these about 3 years ago and I am so glad that I did! 

http://www.superduperinc.com/products/view.aspx?pid=AMLQ110&stid=

http://www.superduperinc.com/products/view.aspx?pid=AMLQ220&stid=#.VEmlm_ldWSo

Using these resources allows the SLP or classroom teacher to differentiate instruction by content or what the child needs to learn. The SLP may vary her delivery of services by providing individualized instruction to a student on a specific learning objective (e.g. multiple meaning words) while other students practice their listening comprehension skills using these literacy technology resources. 

These Cds also have built in capabilities for differentiated instruction based on the process because there are leveled settings available that the SLP or teacher can select based on a child's current literacy abilities. For example, on level 1, a child is presented with a question after each picture. The levels increase by providing more auditory information and visual pictures before the next set of comprehension questions. The 4th and highest level is strictly auditory and requires keen listening for details from stories. 

I love this product because it provides children an opportunity to improve their memory skills and language comprehension. It also helps foster a love of literacy. This is a definite win for the SLP and teacher because this program tracks data according to percentages from each story. I recommend printing the scores regularly to ensure that you maintain meticulous therapy data or work samples for your classroom.   

Have you used this resource before? What are your thoughts?

Tamara Anderson
BSL Speech & Language

October Children's Literature Reviews

Here are my children's literature reviews for books to use during the month of October. The first two books are ideal for addressing listening comprehension and vocabulary skills with children who are learning everyday Tier I words. 

A is for Autumn, by Robert Mass is a colorful book with great photographs that display nouns and adjectives of the season. The language in the book is simple enough for students in preschool and grades K-2. SLPs and teachers may lead students in an auditory memory activity to recall facts from the book or practice naming vocabulary associated with fall. The targeted vocabulary are: apples, birds, colors, daylight, exercise, frost, games, Halloween, ice cream (great for any season!), jacket, kayak, leaves, Monarch butterfly, neighborhood, owl, pumpkins, quilt, rake, scarecrow, Thanksgiving, umbrella, vegetables (gourds/squash), X (train crossing), yellow, and zipper. 

 Here's a snapshot from one of my favorite pages:

Word Bird's Fall Words, by Jane Belk Moncure is a book that introduces themed vocabulary to early learners. This is a simple text that teaches kids words associated with fall such as leaves, red, yellow, orange, football, acorns, squirrels, caterpillar, cocoon, Columbus Day, wild geese, pumpkins, Halloween, jack-o'-latern, trick or treat, turkey, Thanksgiving, Mayflower, Pilgrims, Indians, and tepee. Preschool and elementary school aged children can practice identifying and naming the key vocabulary. This is a fair book for kids with limited semantic or vocabulary skills. I use this book with kids with moderate intellectual disabilities and co-occurring language impairment. It can be used with a variety of children with language difficulty. 

My speech students love the books The Saturday Triplets in Lost in the Leaf Pile and The Saturday Triplets in The Pumpkin Fair Problem by Katharine Kenah. In the first story, the siblings decide to make a game out of raking leaves and in the process they lose their kitty, Boo. In the other story, the triplets go to the fair with their parents. They are so excited to be there, but can't agree on what to do! The illustrations are fantastic in these stories and provide a great opportunity for kids to practice basic level verbal narratives. 

It wouldn't be a new season without using one of Lucille Colandro's books. I definitely recommend There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat! and There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly! Yes, the children you work with will probably be grossed out again by the things this silly old lady eats. However, these books are an engaging and fun way to allow kids to practice identifying the correct sequence of the story events and verbally retelling the fiction story. Of course, you should always ask "wh" questions to check for comprehension. Although these books are at a second grade reading level, I think they are appropriate for a read aloud for preschool-3rd grade kids with language impairment or in a general education class as well. 

Enjoy the month of October! What are some books that you use this month in your classroom or during speech-language therapy sessions?

Tamara Anderson

Language Processing Treatment Plan {Evidence Based }

The majority of children on my caseload have a mixed receptive and expressive language disorder. They struggle with both language comprehension and oral expression. They also have language based learning disabilities with challenges in reading and written expression. In order to remediate their difficulties, it is important to remember the hierarchy of language processing skills that will enable children to be more successful communicators and learners. 

I love the Language Processing Test Elementary by Gail Richard and Mary Anne Hanner. http://www.linguisystems.com/products/product/display?itemid=10360


There is also an accompanying intervention book that describes the importance of providing speech language therapy services according to the following hierarchy. As a SLP, you can determine a child's language strengths and areas of need. Then you can provide direct instruction in those areas. Remember that these skills require increasing linguistic demand or receptive/expressive language abilities. 

1) Labeling
2) Functions
3) Associations
4) Categories
5) Antonyms
6) Synonyms
7) Similarities
8) Differences
9) Multiple meaning words 
10) Oral definitions with attributes (*This corresponds with the assessment subtest. However, the treatment book includes practice with idioms and analogies instead of attributes.)
http://www.linguisystems.com/products/product/display?itemid=10438




Although I have not yet used the specific activities in this book, I have provided direct speech-language therapy on these specific language areas of need for years. It is important to remember this hierarchy when writing speech-language goals & objectives for children and providing therapy services. Each language area requires knowledge and expressive communication abilities of the previous language skill. 

So many students with co-occurring disorders struggle with these concepts. Students may have an identified speech-language impairment (SLI) along with specific learning disability(SLD), SLI with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), SLI with Moderate Intellectual Disability (MOID), SLI with Mild Intellectual Disability (MID), SLI with Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD), or SLI with Deaf/Hard of Hearing (D/HH). Regardless of these "labels" or classifications, speech-language pathologists have the important professional task of remediating the language processing skills listed above as appropriate for each child. 

I have several speech-language therapy activities that address these skills in my TPT online store. Head over to my store and add them to your SLP time saving and effective resources. 
www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Tamara-Anderson   

Thanks for reading the blog today! 


Tamara Anderson