WELCOME BACK!!

Speech services are well under way after all the beginning of the year assessments are just about complete.  It has been a pleasure revisiting prior students and meeting so many new Kindergarten students.  Thank you to every family that so promptly returned the consent forms for RTI Speech Services - this is the first year I received every consent form back so quickly!!  It is much appreciated and made scheduling very easy.  

As always, your child will most likely have weekly speech homework.  It is so important that you work with your child daily to reinforce the new skills he/she has learned in order to make natural changes in their speech patterns.  I'm sure you can imagine how difficult it is for young children who are not understood by their peers and teachers and to "undo" a way of producing sounds in the only way they've been able up to this point.

I'm sure your child will come home and say they played games in speech - and yes, that is much of what we do!  Drill for articulation needs to be creative to keep interest and have the students speak naturally.  If you need ideas for working with your child at home, please contact me via phone or email and I will be more than happy to send you some ideas!!  When it's fun for both of you at home, practice will not be a chore, I promise!

Continue to have a wonderful beginning to the school year and enjoy the fall season.

Holiday Ideas

I hope you all enjoyed family, friends and great food over Thanksgiving break.  If there are any questions regarding progress notes or charts, please contact me at any time.  November was a time of gratitude as much as December is a time of excitement, more family, and the joy of children!  I know you will all be busier than ever this holiday season - please keep in mind it is especially important that the kids continue to practice (especially since we will have two weeks off at the end of the month)....

I have included some ideas to keep practice fun over this holiday season.  Maybe if you have guests, they can assist as well?  Let your child's imagination flow as you practice their speech and language skills all throughout the month.  Find things at the store with their sound, go over their Christmas list looking for their sound, describe the items they would like in detail rather than just naming, as they help around the house and in the kitchen - use this as a time to "sneak" in speech and language practice.  Check out even more ideas on this page:

Creative Practice Handout

Enjoy your time together and thank you, as always, for your continued support of the work your child does in speech!!  YOU make quite a difference in their progress.

October News

All testing and screenings have been completed and services have officially begun!  It is a JOY to meet and work with students inside and outside of their classrooms.  If you received a consent form for my Speech Improvement Group and have yet to turn it in, please do so as early as possible.  The program has proved successful in past years and while I appreciate the home support, it is your child who reaps the benefits!  Please read the following on the importance of homework:

ONLY PRACTICE WITH YOUR CHILD ON THE DAYS YOU WANT TO SEE PROGRESS

This website discussed the benefits of practicing with your child and some fun ways to make it successful at home.  If you would like further ideas, please contact me at any time!

It's So Nice to be Back!

I do hope that everyone had a memorable summer and is adjusting well to being back to school!  It has been a pleasure seeing first and second graders back to school as well as meeting our new Kindergarten students.  They are here all day and are doing a great job!

I have begun the process of screening incoming students and those who were part of my Speech Improvement Groups last year.  Services will be starting within the next week or two for all students.  If your student is in need of services for RTI, you will receive a letter from me next week explaining the program.  If you do not hear from me, yet feel your child needs to be screened for speech and language concerns, please contact me at any time.

I am anxiously awaiting meeting your children and getting to know them even better as the year progresses!

You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives.  ~Clay P. Bedford

http://www.scribd.com/doc/124937230/Valentine-s-Day-Articulation-Elementary



Valentine's Day Articulation games & worksheets thanks to another Speech Language Pathologist who was kind enough to post all of her hard work!  Enjoy and keep practicing!!  We are having a great year so far and I am so grateful for all the home support the kids are receiving.  It does make a HUGE difference in their success and rate of improvement.