Your go-to source for the latest information on school telepractice. Find career tips, technology insights, research, therapy resources and more.
Recognizing a language or speech disorder isn’t always easy. As SLPs, we often encounter barriers on the road to diagnosing and treating a language or speech disorder in children. At times it may feel as though we’re running into one roadblock after another. Some of those roadblocks are other developmental difficulties or disorders that mask language and speech disorders, while others may be environmental influences.
Read More
Far too often we focus on the wrong things when treating Language Processing. We focus on the pronouns, the letter combination sounds, and sentence structure. Of course, these are important but before we jump into these skills first, we tend to lose sight of the need to treat language processing (LP) first. Nearly all of our activities are done through language. When processing skills are an issue, it’s hard for us to communicate what to do if we don’t understand what it is we’re doing or the tools we’re using. For instance, asking a student to paint a picture will result in frustration if they don’t know what a paintbrush is. Read More
One of our roles as SLPs is being an advocate. We tirelessly advocate on behalf of our clients to state, federal, and local government, doctors and insurance. We advocate to teachers, family, and friends and we advocate to the general public, because it is often the general public that misunderstands the most about DLDs but comes to us when a speech or language disorder is suspected in their own children.
Misinformation and falsehoods about DLDs are one of the most popular reasons why people don’t seek out therapy for their children. As SLPs we are constantly dispelling myths about DLDs so more people can seek out the treatment they need for their children. Read More
Children who utter “Huh?” “What?” or appear to tune out are often regarded as having behavioral issues when in fact, it could be auditory processing disorder (APD). It’s through a concentrated effort on the part of many therapies that APD can be treated.
Read More
Conventions and conferences are a great way to pick up new skills and connect with other clinicians and professionals. If you’ve never been to a conference or a convention, you might want to consider attending the upcoming annual ASHA convention held in November.
Whether you choose the upcoming ASHA Convention or another conference to fit your specialty, there are some things you can do to make the most of your trip. We’ve collected the best tips and tricks to make your conference experience the best it can be. Read More
IEP meetings can be stressful for everyone involved. We often have a massive list of goals to achieve with students in what feels like a short period of time. IEP goal writing is mostly just the language you use to explain what the concerns are, how they will be addressed, and what the outcome should be. Though we are the language experts, it can still be a daunting task until we break it down. Read More
If you’re currently working within the education system and service a local school district, you undoubtedly know the struggle of having enough funds to provide the best learning environment you can for your students. You’ve likely paid for a number of materials and resources out of your own pocket in order to create enriching therapy sessions every school year.
Receiving funding for materials and activities is often one of the biggest struggles speech-language pathologists encounter. Grants from the local and federal government as well as other local or national organizations can go a long way towards helping you in the funding of your classroom’s activities. Read More
As a speech-language pathologist, you know all too well about the dangers of too much screen time in children. Children who spend an excessive amount of time in front of tablets, computers, smartphones, or other technology are at a greater risk of regressing from the progress they’ve made during the school year. Read More
When you think of summer break, you likely think of vacation time. Opportunities to rest, relax, and recharge the batteries all come to mind. Unfortunately, if you’ve recently become a school-based speech-language pathologist or considering making a career switch to working in schools, summer break might look a bit more like work than the vacation time you had intended.
Some SLPs might believe that working in schools is settling instead of a more exciting speech pathologist role. The truth is, for many school-based SLPs, summer break can be an opportune time to take advantage of many things you may not have been able to do during the school year. Read More
Patients with the neurodegenerative disorder Huntington’s disease know what’s going to happen to them as the disease progresses. For many patients and their families, that’s a scary thought. While the rate at which the disease progresses is different for every patient, one thing is certain; nearly every component of speech can be affected. Even though drug therapy treatment is available, it’s often not enough. Early intervention is important to provide strategies for dealing with Huntington’s disease-related speech and swallowing problems. Read More