Busy busy BEES

As we all know being a Speech-Language Pathologist on the road and in the school districts can be a lonely world. We rarely have a chance to consult with fellow SLPs and dream of the time to shadow others to pick up new skills and ideas. This is the bad and the ugly of our profession. I feel fortunate to have the ability to post and share ideas and thoughts on this blog and to have the opportunity to read and discover that other SLPs have wonderful and informative blogs out there too. 

This week's resources stem from my recent visit to one of my client's preschools. I am always excited to be invited to a school setting to observe and provide guidance to the general education team. Last week I met a wonderful group of educators who, although scared of the unknown, asked for help.  I take my responsibility to educate the general public about the world of Speech and Language Pathology very seriously. Of course, we do not have enough time in the day to be in multiple places at once (AI Technology just has to work faster, we need teleporting technology now StarTrek creators).

One Place for Special Needs  
This is a wonderful resource that is just a hub of all things parents/educators/professionals may need when working with children with special needs. They even have videos!!

Miami-Dade Public County Schools
This PPCD resource has many ready to use boards and activities, the catch is that you have to have Boardmaker Software to view, save or print these resources. I do not know how many of you have access to Boardmaker Software. If you do not have it I strongly encourage you to spend the money or become really good friends with someone who has a copy.
The website also has a great series of handouts for parents under the FOR FAMILIES heading. Why reinvent the wheel? I am appreciative of these resources and the wonderful people that created them. Enjoy!

Cheerios
Beata

Ethics or not to Ethics.....

"Itself" was used to protect the identify of the student in this post.

 
This has been a challenging ethical week.  As a speech-language evaluator I visit a number of schools each week. This week I was completing a student observation when I saw another student, in a wheelchair drooling all over "itself" while the teaching assistant was sitting at a table listening to her IPod.  I asked the assistant twice if she could help the student and the response I received was ""The student" will just drool all over "itself"again plus "it" has a bib. "The student" just received this new chair and it is making "the student" drool even more." I finally got up and wiped the student's face myself.  The student did not drool for the next thirty minutes!!! I was shocked by what I observed. It appeared that the classroom teacher did not pay attention to the needs of all of her students either.  Yes, this specialized classroom had 8 severely cognitively impaired students, two of which were in wheelchairs. The two students in wheelchairs were not even ONCE addressed during CIRCLE TIME, they were also located the furthest away from the lesson materials and the teacher.

Everyone has the right to have access to free public school general and special education services. Parents need to be active participants in their children's educational and academic experiences. QUANTITY does not equal QUALITY. I urge all of my families to become familiar with their rights and the responsibilities of the school districts ( Special Education in Texas A-Z Index) I always talk to my families and prepare them for school based special education services. I try my best to be present or provide any pertinent information needed when my clients are evaluated by the school district. Many of my home health clients turned three this year and transitioned to Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities (PPCD) or to Walk-in speech programs. Out of four schools only one professional contacted me to collaborate. I have been on both ends, home health and school based therapist. Yes we are all busy and school based caseloads are not getting any smaller but collaboration is key for increased progress for our special needs children. 

TEA Toll Free Parent Information Line: 1-800-252-9668

Division of Federal and State Education Policy
1701 North Congress Avenue | Austin, Texas 78701-1494
Telephone: 512.463.9414 | Fax: 512.463.9560
E-mail: sped@tea.state.tx.us 

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) made easy

My biggest struggle with AAC such as Communication Boards and  Picture Exchange Communication System is the time it takes to create and print vocabulary cards/pictures. Here is a website that I found recently that is just AMAZING, Free AAC Photo Cards. It is also available as an App for Android! You type in the name of the pictures you will need, the program generates the picture for you and once you are done, you can print your sheet for quick use. Technology is amazing.

Cheerios
Beata

Are you bilingual?

I am often asked if I am bilingual. My answer to my Texan friends and colleagues is "Yes but in the wrong language for Texas."

I was born and raised in Poland, moved to Canada when I was 11 and at 24 I migrated to Texas. My parents have always stressed the importance of using our native language at home. They made sure that both my sister and I continued to read, write and speak Polish.  I want the same for my own children one day.

I may have limited knowledge of the Spanish language but I always make sure to provide the best speech and language services and evaluations possible. I am fortunate to be surrounded by many Spanish speaking SLPs who allow me to pick at their brains. My motto is "There's always a way."  In the past I have had great results using Interpreters ASHA. I have also visited many of the links from this website Bilingual Speech Pathologist Resources. There are also some great Apps that are available ASHASphere for bilingual and English-speaking therapist like myself.

In the end, this is the article that inspired this post Why Bilinguals are Smarter.

Cheerios
Beata

To Tech or not to Tech

I have to say I have been resistant to the use of an iPad in my sessions. I want my clients to be able to focus on their communication partner's face, develop joint attention and have developmentally appropriate play skills. Don't get me wrong, I like technology and use it frequently with my clients who have appropriate play skills. I like the visual appeal of this wheel. I think many of my families and other professionals will find it helpful.

Many thanks go out  to my colleague Ann-Marie Passmore for sharing the following APP decision wheel for children with Autism spectrum disorder.

Enjoy

  See it on DropBox

Journey begins: The good the bad and the ugly

SLP-ON-THE-GO is a blog dedicated to all my fellow home-health Speech-Language Pathologists and our families. I hope to document new and exciting APPS, therapy techniques, video tutorials, weekly therapy experiences including the good the bad and the ugly etc.