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.

November News

Second quarter has arrived and we are in full swing - although trying to adjust to the short weeks of attendance!  For some, I'm sure things at home are already starting to feel busier than ever, especially since it gets dark so early.  Please be sure to make the time for speech and language practice each day, if you can.  During the holidays, there is so much to talk about and do that the opportunities for social language are much greater.  Talk about things that go together, categories, requesting, greetings, polite ways to interrupt, etc.  Language practice done in the most natural settings has the greatest impact on carryover.  The link below will give you some ideas on how to work on language throughout the busy holiday season.  

http://www.scribd.com/doc/113499503/Language-Homework 

Enjoy and be safe!  

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.  ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

October Happenings

Welcome to the beginning of fall and Halloween season!  I cannot express how pleased I am with the students and how well they are already progressing.  Thank you for your continued support at home - it truly makes all the difference in the world.  If you think about it in terms of numbers, it is obvious that at home practice and support is the driving force in speech and language.  I see my students once or twice per week for 15-30 minutes per session and while they may be producing their sounds correctly or using correct grammar in my room, if they leave and aren't supported, think about how MANY hours of incorrect productions they can produce and will need to overcome.  While I am thrilled to work with your children, my main goal is for them to be independent and succeed.  THANK YOU for your dedication at home and support of my work!

I have included some ideas to work on speech and language at home to change your approach and not make it seem so much like "work" (for either the parents or students).  I hope these help and you can always contact me if you would like more!



OCTOBER Speech Homework

And Away We Go......

This week all screenings and referrals have been completed and invitations for the Sound Improvement Groups have been sent home.  If you have received one and not yet turned it in, please do or request a new one if necessary.  Speech services began this week and it has been just wonderful working with your children!  I will also be working with some students not in speech within our RTI program and that will begin on Monday.

I cannot express the importance of working with your child daily on speech homework.  Practice, practice, practice is the key to remediating articulation errors.  Remember that it takes time to learn a new skill, particularly one that will eventually become natural.  Here are some suggestions for working with your child in the home environment:

• Designate a time each day to review production of target sounds.

• Avoid "over-correcting" a child.  It is acceptable to remind your child to use his/her "new sound" without correcting each mispronunciation. 

• Slow your rate of speech to model production of target sounds.

• Use language at an age-appropriate level.

• Avoid interrupting the child's speech to correct production when he/she is in mid-sentence.

• Find time to do quiet things, such as reading a book or going for a walk, and talking about the activity without correcting each sound.

• Find ways to build your child's confidence.  Praise is very important!

• Always listen to what your child says, not how your child talks.

• Be patient and use good eye contact.  Give your child a chance to express himself/herself.

• Talk about your child's speech in a matter-of-fact, reassuring way.

• Make homework time fun.  Play games which require turn-taking.  Before each turn, your child could label a picture or produce a word with the targeted speech sound. 

• Use a variety of resources.  Here is a link to a website which offers speech articulation games:http://www.quia.com/pages/havemorefun.html

If you need any suggestions or would like some creative ideas on practicing with your children at home, please contact me at any time!

Moving Along.....

It was wonderful to see you if you were able to attend our Curriculum Nights here at Elizabeth Ide.  It was nice to reconnect with familiar faces and meet new families.  It has been a joy to see returning students and I am anxious to begin working with them!  Kindergarten screening will be completed next week and speech services will officially start the following week.

If the screening determines your child may benefit from speech services, you will receive a letter and consent form next week regarding Sound Improvement Training. This is a program offered to students in compliance with the government's Response to Intervention (RTI) program.  I developed this program four years ago and it has proven quite successful for many students.  A program such as this allows students to benefit from speech services without initially being placed in special education. RTI is a preventative measure that allows a student to possibly reduce his/her risk for further articulation difficulties that may negatively affect his/her educational performance by participating in a Sound Improvement Group.

In the Sound Improvement Group, I meet with students with similar needs individually or in small groups to 1) check for stimulability of sound production, 2) attempt possible interventions to develop correct sound production, and 3) track data to interpret future needs of the students. Since we focus on sounds that are still developing, there is no guarantee that this will be your child's only speech and language intervention. This is a preventative measure used for a specific amount of time (semester basis) to see how your child's sound production develops. Your participation at home is warranted for the duration of this program. Homework will be given and each child is expected to practice while in this group.

If you see this paperwork come home and you have ANY questions, please contact me at any time via telephone or email.  

Fair is not everyone getting the same thing. Fair is everyone getting what they need. -Anonymous.

Happy New School Year!

Welcome to all our new and returning families!  I do hope that everyone enjoyed their summer.  The first few weeks back can be quite an adjustment for all of us, but things have been going VERY well here at Elizabeth Ide.  We have welcomed new staff as well as new students.  I am looking forward to a new year and so far it has been great.  The first week is complete and has been very positive - so many smiling faces around here!

The next two weeks I will spend screening students and putting together my schedule.  I will check on the progress of my Response To Intervention (RTI) speech improvement groups and screen all incoming Kindergarteners during these next two weeks.  If you want your child screened for speech, please call me or send me an email with your concerns.  I will be contacting the parents of students that are candidates for RTI speech improvement groups after screenings are complete.  Speech services will begin as soon as all testing and screenings are complete and my schedule is finalized.

Thank you for your patience as we begin this school year together!

May is Better Speech and Hearing Month

http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/communicationdevelopment.htm

This link provides information regarding children's communication development for Kindergarten through fifth grade. It has been my pleasure to work with your students in the 4 year old Early Childhood program and at Elizabeth Ide School again this year.
And while it is Teacher Appreciation Week, I am appreciative of not only the teachers that I work with, but the parents who support what I do here. Speech and language services are not a single-handed process at any level - without support in the classroom and at home, your children and students would be unable to achieve the success they have these past years in this district. Thank you!

To love what you do and feel that it matters - how could anything be more fun? Katharine Graham

Parents Advised On How To Detect Communications Disorders In Their Children
Although more than 5 million children in the United States have a speech, language, and hearing disorder, parents are often uninformed and unsure about what to do when they suspect their child. This May, and every May since 1927, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) has used the May is Better Hearing and Speech Month (BHSM) celebration to provide parents with information about communication disorders to help ensure that they do not seriously affect their children's ability to learn, socialize with others, and be successful in school. Speech and language problems can occur at any time in a child's life. They can be caused by accidental injury, illness, or inherited by birth.

Child speech and language problems include:
Stuttering
Articulation problems ("wabbit" instead of "rabbit")
Language disorders such as the slow development of vocabulary, concepts, and grammar.
Voice disorders (nasal, breathy, or hoarse voice and speech that is too high or low)

Parents who suspect their child has a communication disorder should see an ASHA-certified speech-language pathologist. These professionals identify, assess, and treat speech and language problems including swallowing disorders. Speech-language pathologists work in schools, private practice, hospitals, clinics, rehabilitation centers, health departments, research laboratories, and other health education settings. "Fortunately, most children with speech, language, and hearing problems can be helped,".
"Even if the problem cannot be eliminated, we can teach the child strategies to help them cope with their communication disorders, or provide them with the appropriate technology.

By promoting Better Hearing and Speech Month, we hope parents will learn about communication disorders, what they can do to help their children, and how speech-language pathologists and audiologists can help with their child's communication disorders." Meanwhile, hearing loss, like speech and language problems, can have a negative impact on a child's social and academic development. Communication disorders like hearing loss in children can occur at birth or as a child grows older due to chronic ear infections or exposure to noise. The earlier hearing loss occurs in a child's life, the more serious the effects have on the child's development.
 Typical signs of a hearing loss in children include:
 Inconsistently responding to sound
Delayed language and speech development
Unclear speech
Sound is turned up on electronic equipment (radio, TV, cd player, etc.)
Does not follow directions
Often says "Huh?"
Does not respond when called
Frequently misunderstands what is said and wants things repeated

As a first step, people who think their child is displaying many of these warning signs and think they may have hearing loss or other hearing disorders should see a certified audiologist. These professionals specialize in preventing, identifying, assessing, and treating hearing disorders. Also, they provide treatment for hearing loss including fitting hearing aids and other assistive listening devices, and they can teach children with hearing loss how to concentrate on hearing all sounds. ASHA recommends that children at risk for hearing loss, such as those who suffer from chronic ear infections or in cases where there is a family history of hearing loss, be screened by a certified audiologist as frequently as needed to ensure they are hearing well. Otherwise, for children ages 5-18, hearing screenings should occur on initial entry into school and annually in kindergarten through 3rd grade as well as in the 7th and 11th grades.

 Parents who think their children may have a speech, language, or hearing disorder or know of a loved one who has a communication disorder should access ProSearch at http://www.asha.org/findpro/, ASHA's online directory of audiology and speech-language pathology programs, to find an ASHA-certified speech-language pathologist or audiologist in their area.

About the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association ASHA is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than 145,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists. Audiologists specialize in preventing and assessing hearing and balance disorders as well as providing audiologic treatment including hearing aids. Speech-language pathologists identify, assess, and treat speech and language problems including swallowing disorders. www.asha.org/.

Welcome Back!

I do hope that everyone enjoyed their spring break and has come back refreshed and ready for the last trimester. Spring allows us plenty of opportunities to speak with our children and do plenty of hands-on activities both inside and outside. As daylight becomes more abundant, we have more time to spend outdoors describing the changes nature is taking, working together, and playing.



http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/vegetable-flowers-with-homemade-ranch-dip-685566/



"I'm a great believer that any tool that enhances communication has profound effects in terms of how people can learn from each other, and how they can achieve the kind of freedoms that they're interested in."

- Bill Gates

Spring Story Activity

Spring Rebus Story

March is an Exciting Month!

There is so much that happens in March, including many celebrations and days off! There are Institute Days, Casimir Pulaski Day, St. Patrick's Day, conferences, and of course, Spring Break. Yet, we are still working hard here and have been celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday this month! It is one of my favorites as the books are fun to read and they promote rhyming and repetition which is wonderful for speech and language teaching and practice. I do hope that you enjoy reading with your children, too. I found a great website that has plenty of activities you can do with the kids at home and continue to practice while having fun!



http://www.kidactivities.net/post/Dr-Seuss-Theme-Activities.aspx

As we end the second trimester, you have received updated progress reports. If you have any questions or comments, please email or call me at any time. I will be happy to speak with you regarding your child's progress!

Enjoy the extra time you get to spend with your child this month - cherish each moment - they're not little for long.

"Kind words are a creative force, a power that concurs in the building up of all that is good, and energy that showers blessings upon the world."
- Lawrence G. Lovasik

February is Here

We have had much fun with different themes this month - Groundhog Day, Valentine's Day, and upcoming President's Day. Your children and I have incorporated these exciting things into our lessons this month. I have posted a homework page to use for practice this month on articulation and language. Please continue to practice at home with your children to ensure their success and keep them motivated as they progress. Home support is crucial for carryover of skills they learn and work on in speech once or twice per week.

Enjoy the three-day weekend! As always, I am available if you have any questions or concerns.


"If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear."
Pooh's Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

February Speech and Language Homework

Feb Homework3

Winter Fun to Promote Language and Home Practice

I have found some books and fun projects that you can work on with your children to practice at home. This month's theme as the children returned to school was "Snowmen" and I wanted to share some of the resources I have found.


Fun Winter Books
A wordless book, The Snowman is excellent for working on interpretation and language development. Have the child look at the pics and tell what they think is happening. Prompt them to notice details in the pictures and assist them in processing the clues to arrive at a logical narrative. This is a great activity for developing narratives, working on verbal expression skills, and improving grammar and written language. This task is also excellent for the child with weak processing or pragmatic language skills. Social skills can be addressed by discussing how the characters may be feeling, why they feel this way, and how we come to those conclusions based on what we see or know.

The Mitten is a classic story about a lost glove and the forest animals who find shelter there. This story lends itself to sequencing tasks and story retelling. There is also lots of advanced vocabulary to be learned in this version of the story. Jan Brett's website
http://www.janbrett.com/search_results.htm?cx=003689230839966827781%3A9myke-i4ega&cof=FORID%3A11&ie=UTF-8&q=the+mitten&sa=Search+janbrett.com
includes many free activities. You can add all types of activities depending on your goals: matching mittens (real one, wallpaper/scapbook paper cutouts, or pencil paper tasks with worksheets), learning about the different kinds of animals, or creating your own story based on another article of clothing. The Hat is an example of expanding an idea from one story to another.

Cooking Activities

"Take advantage of every opportunity to practice your communication skills so that
when important occasions arise, you will have the gift, the style, the sharpness, the
clarity, and the emotions to affect other people."
Jim Rohn

Enjoy your time off!

To make practice more fun over break I have posted a board game that you can use. Instructions for use are under the "comments" section. It is important that during this busy time the students continue to practice since we will not be meeting for the next two weeks.

If your child takes piano lessons, your job is to make sure she practices. Now that your child has started school, it’s your job to see that she does her homework, and help her with it at times. There are 168 hours in a week. If I see a child once a week for half an hour, that gives the child 167½ hours between sessions for the brain pathways we just spent 30 minutes building and reinforcing to atrophy from lack of practice. A daily speech therapy home practice program can go a long way toward maintaining the progress a child makes in therapy, and can make the difference between noticeable improvement and month after month of therapy with little or no change.

A home program does not need to be a major time commitment on your part, but it is important. Usually, I ask parents to try for 15 to 30 minutes a day, but even five or ten minutes every day will benefit your child more than an hour once a week!

While I appreciate the home support my students have received all year so far, it is YOUR child who is reaping the most benefits! THANK YOU and compliments to all the people at home who assist in our students' successes. Have a wonderful, safe, and healthy holiday season. Enjoy your time with your children at home!!


"Communication is a skill that you can learn. It's like riding a bicycle or typing. If you're willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve the quality of very part of your life."
Brian Tracy

Snowman Board Game for Speech and Language Practice

Snowman Board Game

Thank You

As we begin American Education Week and the Thanksgiving season, may we appreciate all in our community that assist our students in becoming our future!

The first trimester is nearing a close and I am very pleased with the amount of parental support and practice my students are doing at home! This type of support helps them to progress at a notable rate. Thanksgiving is an opportune time to work on language and articulation as there is so much to discuss and family to enjoy. Take advantage of the chance to work on /th/ in Thanksgiving and Thank You and Thankful, etc. There are some great and fun Thanksgiving books to read together - "10 Fat Turkeys," "Thanksgiving is Here," and "Thanksgiving on Plymouth Plantation," to name a few. This is also a great time to work on following directions and sequencing if you choose to let your children help in the kitchen, or setting the table, or completing those extra chores we have to get ready for our feast!

Enjoy the next couple of weeks and have a wonderful fall season.


"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around."
Leo Buscaglia