When it came to working with students who needed AAC, I was in a state of panic for the first few years of my career. I used to walk out of sessions drenched in sweat because I found them so stressful. I remember one particular kiddo who really threw me for a loop. I thought…
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Three Tips for Building Comprehension Skills in Kids with Language Disorders
Figuring out how to build listening and reading comprehension in students with language issues is a tall order. There always seems to be a million skills they’re struggling with and not enough hours in the day to get to them all. Let’s face it, there are a lot of articles, studies, presentations, materials (and so…
The simple view of reading: Why it’s not so simple and what that means for SLPs
I’ve been hearing some crazy stories from SLPs lately. The other day, an SLP shared that one of her private clients decided to stop coming because her mom couldn’t afford speech AND dance classes. So she decided to do JUST the dance classes and drop the speech therapy. Ouch. Then there was the SLP in…
What’s your syntax IQ? Part 3: Coordinating and subordinating conjunctions
“Never start a sentence with a conjunction!” Have you ever heard this mantra? Or have you ever said it yourself? I confess I’m guilty as charged. There were times I’d try ANYTHING to get my students to understand something in the moment. But…the problem with that little conjunctions jingle I just mentioned is that it’s about…
What’s your syntax IQ? Part 2: Simple, compound, and complex sentences
Everyone loves an epic grammar or syntax fail. There’s this one that shows how a simple comma can be the difference between life and death: “Let’s eat Grandpa.” Or this one that’s been floating around the internet (which shows how important it is to know what is and isn’t a coordinating conjunction): “Everyone’s got a right to…
What’s your syntax IQ? Part 1: Sentences, phrases, and clauses
SLPs are in a position to make a huge impact on our students’ language skills. But here’s the challenge a lot of us face when it comes to helping our students: Most of us are so good at using language, we use it without thinking. Over time we lose the ability to explain HOW we…
Working on spelling? Here’s why you should be.
Speech-language pathologists aren’t supposed to be working on spelling. Or are they? I’d make the argument that they should be. SLPs know they play a role in building literacy skills. But how that role plays out in day-to-day practice remains up for debate…especially when it comes to spelling. If you search through the vast amount…
Want to improve “reading comprehension”? If so, stop working on it.
If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me for some good “comprehension” and “inferencing” techniques for kids with language disorders, I could retire and buy a private island. If I had another dollar for every article I saw on Pinterest about “reading comprehension”, “main idea”, “inferencing” for language therapy I could probably…
The Ultimate Guide to Syntax Bundle
Does it seem like your students never make REAL, measurable progress in language therapy? Do you want to finally start writing progress reports that look like this: Instead of writing updates that look like this: Let’s face it. A lot of us find ourselves writing “not making progress” on a lot of our language therapy…
Do you have too much stuff in your therapy room?
Does the thought of sifting through your materials and planning for the next day feel like an insurmountable task? If so, join the club. Having to be “on” all day long in the therapist’s role is enough to leave anyone exhausted. The thought of doing any more work after all of that is the last…