Lesson Planning

Let's be honest, we've all had sessions that may or may not have been a bust! Those rough sessions usually happen in circumstances where there just wasn't enough time to think through the lesson plan. As SLPs this happens more frequently than we'd like as our caseloads get bigger and the paperwork piles up.

I know I'm not only one who has occasionally whipped up a language lesson out of thin air. It's an SLPs super power. We are trained to adapt with each child in each circumstance. Those skills we worked so hard to develop make us uncannily trained to wing it. However, I think maybe winging it should be the back up plan, instead of THE plan. But this year, I'm determined to make every session count. Little steps, like making simple lesson plans, will make a big difference in my week.

One thing I have never had time for with my huge caseloads was thoroughly planning out each session. Well, it's not likely that I'll ever have all the time I really need to plan every session, but I want to make sure that I at least make a plan, however simple, for each session.

I've been researching some teaching strategies this summer. I feel like SLP master's programs should offer more general teaching technique classes, but maybe I'll get on that soapbox later.


After some research on  lesson planning here are the things I want to include in each brief lesson plan:

1. What am I going to TEACH today? And WHY is it important for my student?
2. What is the student going to DO to explore the concept and apply it during the session?
3. What materials and/or games will I use?
4. What STRATEGIES am I teaching my student so this will be useful in other contexts?
5. What am I doing to ensure GENERALIZATION into other contexts?

There were so many things I wanted to include in my lesson plans but I need to be realistic about my time constraints. I feel like giving each of these five things a 30 second walk through will make my lessons much more effective.

Here is the form I made to implement my lesson planning goal. It's hard to read but the sections say:

• Lesson:
• Exploration & Application Activity
• Materials
• Strategies to help student apply this is school, at home, or with friends
• Homework or Generalization Activities

Homework Survery Results

Thank you to everyone who participated in the homework programs survey! I wasn't expecting such a GREAT response. It turns out that the free version of survey monkey caps the number of surveys at 100 and we quickly hit that cap. I am sorry to those SLPs who did not get to take the survey. If you have any input you'd like to share about successes or failures in speech homework programs please share!

I have to admit, I am rather grateful that there was a cap on the number of surveys that could be submitted. For the past two weeks I have been trying to organize and analyze the data from these 100 surveys. I was feeling slightly overwhelmed by the avalanche of information but it is pretty exciting stuff! (and this is the point where my husband would say "nerd-alert!")

I have to make a disclaimer that I am not a statistician so I haven't run any regression tests on the data. I thought about it, but for now I am rather busy with my cute husband, our insanely adorable 6 month old baby, and my high caseload at work. Also I don't really feel like delving into my old Research Statistics notes from grad school to figure out how to properly analyze the data. I am only reporting raw data with basic percentages for each variable. Someday I'd love to go back and get a Ph.D. and maybe do some more focused research but this is not that day. So without further ado, here are the most interesting raw data results of this survey filled out by 100 speech language pathologists across the country.

I'm going to add some opinions in here that should be separated from the facts of the survey. My opinions will be in italics, like this.

One of the major points the survey confirmed is that a majority of SLPs report that their homework programs are unsuccessful. So if you are feeling frustrated and discouraged with your homework programs YOU ARE NOT ALONE! The criteria for the categories was determined as follows 0-20% homework returned was defined as unsuccessful, 40-60% of homework returned was defined as less successful, 60-80% of homework returned was defined as more successful, and 80-100% of homework returned was defined as most successful.

 Here is a quick comparison of variables between the most successful group (those reporting 80-100% homework returned) and the least successful group (those reporting 0-20% homework returned).

Though I haven't run any statistics besides calculating simple percentages, the comparisons between the two groups seem to be pointing to some key elements. 

CONSISTENCY in assigning homework seems to be playing a major role in the success of our homework programs. If we are consistently giving homework, the students are more likely to be consistently doing it. Successful homework programs sent homework at least one time each week. Interestingly, it appears that assigning homework every other week or once per month is not effective. Being assigned homework one week and not the next week might be confusing the students and their parents. It is easier for them to remember if it is a consistent expectation.

The Use of CONSEQUENCES when homework is not returned was another big variable between successful and unsuccessful homework programs. Successful homework programs had a set consequence. Here's an interesting note: the type and severity of the consequence did not appear to make a difference. Most of the consequences were a simple withholding of the child's homework sticker, prize or game. As long as the consequence was well defined and consistently enforced it seemed to do it's job. Another very interesting note was that withholding "extra" prizes did not appear to be very motivating to students. For example, many SLPs report that they give their students prizes (or stickers, or other reinforcements) just for coming to speech or behaving well during speech sessions. Then on top of those rewards the student can earn even more rewards for doing their homework. While these systems may help control behavior during the speech sessions, they do not appear to be very effective in encouraging completion of homework. Try to think like your students, if you know that you'll get a prize no matter what, why do your homework?

Many SLPs left comments that said "if I gave a consequence for not doing homework, my students would hate coming to speech."  I feel like this is an unfortunate attitude among SLPs in general that may getting in the way of success with our speech homework programs. Many SLPs do not believe students are responsible enough to do it, and it may be creating a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you don't believe in them, or don't expect them to do it, then why would they do it? I loved a comment from one SLP that said "homework and good behavior are just expected of my students, they know what I expect of them and they expect things of me as well."

Here is my personal thought on consequences. They do not have to be "terrible" but they need to be strong enough that the child is at least aware that it's a consequence. Give the consequence but continue to be a happy and encouraging therapist during your sessions. I have my students call home and ask their parents to help them remember to do their homework. I don't get mad, or give them a lecture I just point to the phone. It's just something that they know they have to do. If they forget their homework one week, I don't give them a hard time the whole session, but I also don't feel like I need to let my students get away with things just so they will like coming to speech. I try to make it enjoyable and productive. 

 If you are using rewards to encourage good behavior in speech I would suggest trying to keep your behavior reinforcement system completely separate from your speech homework reinforcement system. Maybe if they behave well or come on time they will be able to participate in the therapy game, but if they forget to do their homework they do not get their homework sticker.

The SLP's Belief in the Importance of Homework also appears to be a key player in success of homework programs. 100% of the SLPs who had successful homework programs said homework is important for their students' progression. Whereas, only 58% of those with unsuccessful programs said homework is important.

SLPs with successful homework programs often had a set system to keep track of homework they had sent in the past. These SLPs in general reported more organized homework systems. Some of the great suggestions for keeping track of previous homework included writing it down in your data logs, using a homework tracker, leaving all previous homework pages in the child's homework folder (which is awesome because the student can review it at a later date and you do not have to reprint it) and other similar suggestions.

The TYPE of Reinforcement does not appear to make much of a difference in success of homework programs. Most of the reinforcements reported for both successful and unsuccessful homework programs were exactly the same and often included small stickers, prizes, candy, or steps toward a prize. There did not appear to be any "super rewards" that the kids were just dying to get. However, a good percentage of the unsuccessful homework programs reported that they did not have a DEFINED reinforcement for homework.

The Socioeconomic Status of the area did not appear to effect success of homework programs. The distribution of SES for the surveys is shown in the graph below. It was interesting to me that some of the most successful programs were in areas where the majority of the families were very poor, while other very successful programs were in areas where families were average middle class to very well off.

The TYPE of homework assigned did not appear to significantly effect the success of homework programs. The most commonly reported types of homework included: worksheets, suggested activities, suggested books to read with parents, and packets. Some of the least successful types of homework were websites and packets given over breaks.

Other interesting notes from the survey..... 

• almost all people surveyed reported a significantly faster rate of progress for students who practice homework versus those who don't.
• notebooks with secured papers appear to be more successfully transported from school to home and back again compared to loose leaf papers and packets.
• an open communication relationship with the parents seems to play an important role in the parent's willingness to help their student with speech homework. There were a lot of great ideas to keep good communication with the parents including: a communication log in the student's homework folder, email correspondence, phone calls, a good clear homework description page in the student's homework folder, attending parent-teacher conferences and others. Any communication with the parents, no matter how small or big, seems to help.
• homework assignments that were only 5 to 15 minutes were the most likely to be completed.
• elaborate and overly creative homework is time consuming and draining. Conserve your creative energy for your therapy sessions. Have a simple, but consistent homework program and I think you will be so much happier with your homework outcomes.

There are a few specific notes from this survey that I would like to discuss more in future posts. But for now my bed is calling my name and I've already spent too much time away from my family tonight writing this post. I really hope these results help someone. Have a wonderful night!

Parent Homework Survey

Thank you to all of the speech language pathologists who participated in the survey about speech homework programs. If you have not yet filled it out please go ahead and do it. So far the results are intriguing. I am noticing definite patterns that lead to success or failure. I am excited to share with everyone as soon as I am done with the analysis.

While I was reading all of your input I realized that I was only hearing a part of the story. We need to get input from the parents and students. This week let's focus on parent input. If there is any way you can get your parents to fill out this survey about their attitudes and feelings toward speech homework it would really help us understand both perspectives. I'm guessing the easiest way to get participation would be to copy the link into an email and send the email to all of the parents of your students. Or you could send a note home asking parents to go to the link. Or you could send it in the mail if you think it wouldn't get home. Please please please, we need as much parent participation as possible. Thank you.

The link is

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/C2M7VY2

I think this is a VERY important key to figuring out what we can do to make our homework programs more successful.

Why is it so hard to get speech homework back?

Getting homework back from students is HARD! Especially in speech! I think it'd be awesome to hear from everybody what works and doesn't work with their homework programs. Please, please, please, click on the link below and fill out this survey on homework programs. It's only ten questions long and your answers do not have to be anything profound or life-altering. We just want as much input as possible so we can get a good representation of what is happening with other SLPs out there. Let's problem solve together!

Click HERE for the Survey

Homework Packets for Articulation Students

I have had a lot of people ask me what I send home as homework. For my articulation kids it is pretty cut and dry. I have 3 go-to books for my articulation kids.

• Webber's Jumbo Articulation Drill Book 
• No Glamour Articulation
• 40,000 Selected Words Organized by letter, sound, and syllable

I usually use the Webber's Jumbo Artic Book to make homework packets for my kids. I just copy the whole section for the target sound which includes pictures, lists, and sentences with the target sound in all positions of words.

If the child is working on 2 or 3 sounds I put packets for each sound in their folder, with colored paper in front of each new packet to make them more easily separated. Make sure that the copies are 2 sided or else their homework folder will be huge. I know it's A LOT of worksheets and not very specific or individual, this is why I created the homework tracker.

With the homework tracker I can write down what specific page the child needs to work on for the upcoming week. Please note, if you 3 hole punch the worksheets and secure them in the folder, they are MUCH more likely to stay in the folder. If you have them loose in the folder they are likely to fall out and get lost in transit. Make sure your homework tracker is secured in the folder at the very front.

Here are some advantages to keeping a whole packet in your child's homework folder...

• It can be used as a coloring book. I like to encourage this with my students because it makes their speech folder more fun, they also keep track of it better when they like it, and they have more exposure to words with their target sound. And when I do my quarterly probes (words the child has not practiced) to check for progress, I let the child who is not being tested color in their book while I test the other(s).
• You don't have to make a copy every session for every child. Just write in their homework tracker which sound and position they need to work on. (I also add a small sticky note on the page so they can just flip open to the page with the sticky).
• You can have the student practice certain pages again if they need more work on it. (and you don't have to copy it again cause it's still there).
• You always know what you gave as homework the week before. 
• There are weeks when I am not perfect and forget or run out of time to write in their homework tracker. I tell my students at the first of the year that if I do this they need to choose a page to work on and write down which page they worked on in their homework tracker. If they are younger, I make sure the parents know to pick a new page if I forget.

At the first of the year I run off 5 packets for each sound (well I do 10 for the most worked on sounds like R, S, L, and "th"). I have the copier automatically staple the packets so I don't get them mixed up. Then I use the schools awesome 3 hole punch machine to make sure the packets are all ready to go in the folders.

I put all the ready made homework packets in my file cabinet. It will take a lot of file cabinet space for the first week. My first sessions are always dedicated to putting together our homework folders, reviewing rules, expectations and routines and getting to know the child. Once the homework packets are distributed they will be in the student's hands instead of in your office. I keep all the leftover packets filed, in case I get new referrals or transfer students. That way I can just whip together a homework folder really quickly.

I know there are probably better ways, but I have found this a great, efficient solution to creating consistent homework that is easily individualized.

Creating a Happy Learning Environment

One of the most important things for speech-language therapists is building great relationships with our clients/students. In my experience, kids tend to learn better when they are in a happy environment. They work harder when they like you and trust you. Our profession can be so fulfilling. Or it can be a pain in the butt. It all has to do with attitude.

My first year as an SLP was a great learning experience. But looking back I was very overstressed. I had a high caseload, was trying to figure out all the required paperwork and documentation, scheduling, homework, meetings, and not to mention planning therapy sessions for each individual kid. I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about.

One particularly stressful day one of my kids actually said to me "Miss Annie what's the deal? You are usually all smiley and stuff and right now your are just blah. Are you okay?" Oh, Hello, reality check! I realized that day that my therapy is probably not very effective when my students can sense my own stress. That day it was time to "take a chill pill" as some of my kiddos would advise. I sat back and thought about how I could make things better and here are a few conclusions I came to.

1. Be a friend. Let your student's talk, and listen to them. I'm not saying spend the whole therapy session chatting, but building that therapist/client trust is really important. If they really want to tell you a story, but you don't have time, acknowledge it and tell them you want to hear about it later. My students tend to want to tell me all about their week. I LOVE this, but I need them to work. Often their story can be used in the session somehow. With a lot of my articulation groups I let them each have 10 seconds at a time to tell me whatever they want to, but they HAVE to use their good sounds and once their time is up it's the next kid's turn. I like the ten seconds things because I can just hold up my fingers and they know when their time is up. I always try to really listen and comment on their story just like I do when talking with my best friends. With my language kids I have them think about what they want to tell me until the end of the session and sometimes I give them a good couple minutes. It's a good time to reinforce good sentence structure or have them describe things in more detail. Give them time. They can tell if you like them, and you can tell if they like you.
2. Be the "teacher". Just because your students like you doesn't mean that you can't expect them to work hard. From the beginning let them know what you expect and what they can expect from you.
3. Be consistent. If you have rules, use them. If you have a schedule, stick to it. If you require homework, keep track of it. Kids thrive on routine. If you expect them to do something, let them know, and most importantly follow through with your expectations. Make visuals rules. It's so great to blame the "rules poster" instead of saying "because I said so".
4. ORGANIZE! Organizing your paperwork, schedules, routines, etc is like making a good strong foundation on a building. If you have strong organization and routine you spend less time dealing with behavior problems with the kids, you won't be as stressed and your therapy will be more effective. It takes a lot of leg work at first but once your organized you will have more time to really focus on the child's needs.
5. Make your room a happy place. I realized the day that my student mentioned my "blah-ness" that I kinda hated being in my tiny 8 by 10 foot "room" (that was really a storage closet with a whiteboard). I decided I needed to make it a happy place for my sake and my student's. A week later "The Parrot Perch" was born. I decorated and organized my stacks of paper and suddenly I felt super giddy when I walked into the room, instead of feeling stuck in a cave and the speech kids were "cool" cause they got to go to speech.

I've only been an official speech language pathologist for 3 years and there is so much more to learn! But when I started realizing these things, my life as a therapist got even better than it already was.

What do you do to help keep a happy environment in your therapy sessions?

Organizing Web Searches with Pinterest

Have you heard of the pinterest craze? Maybe you thought it wasn't for you because you don't plan on making wreaths out of all your old newspapers and headbands with all your old tee shirts. But lest you thought pinterest was only for those who reek of the craft store, let me enlighten you. This site is an AMAZING way to organize your web searches. You can use the site to "pin" pictures of anything that you find useful. You can follow people and see what they are pinning as well. It's basically twitter for visual people.

Above is a screen shot of my computer when I'm logged into pinterest. The red arrow is pointing to the most useful tool that pinterest gives you, the "Pin It" button. This button allows you to save any web search and put it in organized categories on your pinterest site. Below is a screen shot of my speech and language therapy board. When you pin something, you have to select a picture from the website to pin, then you have the option of typing notes to yourself to remember why you pinned that thing. Once it has been pinned, every time you click on that picture or "pin" it will take you directly to the website where the picture was found.

I have just started using pinterest but the possibilities blow me away! I am LOVING it! You can organize and save your internet research instead of saying, "I remember seeing that somewhere on the internet" or "I found it on some website".

On top of being able to organize your own web searches, you have the option to see what your friends or other people are "pinning". You can also search the pinterest site for pins on specific things like "language" or "articulation" and it will pull up all the pins that have those key words (just like twitter, except you aren't limited to things people have #hashtagged).

*note: if you pin something and don't provide an adequate description it will not be a useful and searchable pin to the public. if you do provide adequate descriptions it helps other who are searching pinterest find your awesome pins.

It would be so great if the SLP community could start pinning more. It would provide such a wonderful variety of therapy ideas. Pinterest is open to the public so you can roam the site and see how you like it before you sign up for an account. I would recommend going to the site and browsing by clicking HERE

On the top left hand corner of the screen there will be a search box where you can search anything and everything. You can even look me up by typing annie_slp in the search box and then clicking on "people" (under the search box there is an option for pins, boards, or people). An AMAZING pinner is PediaStaff. They have soooooo many awesome pins and boards for SLPs and OTs. Here's a glimpse of their pinboards.

Happy Pinning Everyone!

Using the iPad as a speech & language therapy tool

Well it's been 3 weeks back at work and I tell you what, speech language pathology is a mighty fun job! If I'm gonna leave my cute baby it sure as heck better be for a job that I love. Lucky for me, I'm an SLP! Thanks to everyone who reads the blog! You're emails and comments are awesome! I'm glad to say I'm back in the blogging world.

The newest development for my speech room this year is that our school district got a grant that bought iPads for all of the SLPs. Isn't that awesome! I've been trying it out in my therapy sessions this week. I have to admit it hasn't "rocked my world" like I thought it would but there are some serious advantages to having an iPad as a tool in therapy. Here is a brief list of pros and cons after this test-run week. Keep in mind I'm new to the iPad. But it's a pretty intuitive device, even for people who are not technologically savvy.

Pros:

• Storage solution! The IPAD is a great way to store an incredible amount of therapy stimuli in a small portable device. It's an unfortunate but true fact that most speech pathologists work in tight quarters. That is, if they are lucky enough to even have a room. For example, if you looked at the master map of my school last year, my speech room was labeled as a "closet". I know many SLPs across the country don't even have a room to do therapy in. The ability to carry around a huge variety of material on one small device is a serious advantage that can't be overlooked.
• Access to A LOT of Materials: There are so many apps out there it can be overwhelming! But it is nice to avoid buying tons of books from Super Duper or Linguisystems or other publications, then wait for them to be shipped to you, then find a place to store them.
• Easy simple data tracking. Most IPAD apps for SLPs have built in data tracking and a lot of them have the ability to track data for multiple kids at a time. Very cool.
• Voice Recording and Video Capabilities. We all know self-monitoring is absolutely necessary if the student is going to use targeted skills in their every day life. Voice recordings are among my favorite tools to help a student develop their self-monitoring skills. A lot of the articulation apps have recording features that I really love. I'm also loving the video feature with my language students. I can give them a scenario to role play or record them in actual interactions with friends. It's fun for the kids to see themselves and we can pause and discuss what they did great and what they could do better next time.
• Conversation Starters at your Fingertips: You can use the iPad for some pretty sweet conversation starters. Just look up kid friendly websites with articles about things they're interested in. Pull up some funny pictures and have your kids describe them. Watch a short video clip and have your students try to role-play it.
• Motivation: Come on, don't tell me you haven't heard of the game Angry Birds! And if you have been living in denial of the days current obsession with "Apps" believe me, your students haven't. Sure, it's slightly terrifying how "hooked on devices" the world is becoming, but why not use it to your advantage to get some good quality work out of your students. 28 minutes of hard work for a 2 minute game at the end is a pretty good compromise.

Cons:

•  Data Holes: This may be my lame, old-fashioned dependence on paper and pens but there are some "holes" in relying on the IPAD to track your data. Sure it is nice to say "yea" or "nay" just by the click of a button and then have that fancy device ring up the percentage as you go. But hopefully nobody depends completely on these cut and dry data trackers. Technology can't take the place of a good speech therapist. One of the things I love most about our profession is that it requires us to always be on our toes, actively thinking about what will benefit our students/clients the most. Adapting our therapy to the needs of the individual kiddo. Listening for patterns, identifying appropriate future goals, etc. For me, it's a lot easier to keep notes on how little Johnny is responding to certain techniques or write a reminder to work on a different goal when I have a piece of paper in front of me. Instead of taking the IPAD from him in the middle of it all and saying, "hold up! I gotta type in a note on this thing." I do have to say, there are some promising data apps out there and I might eat my words as I try them out. But from this week of working with the IPAD I find that either you use the IPAD as your stimuli and take your data on your usual paper logs, or you use the IPAD as your data tracker and have flashcards, games, other things as your therapy stimuli.
• The "EASY" Planning Trap: SLPs are genius' at "winging it", right? With 80 plus students on your caseload per week there is no way you will plan out every minute of every session with every kid. I sincerely hope that these ready made apps do not encourage any SLPs to become lazy about analyzing their students and adapting to their needs. I guess what I'm really saying is, it is best used as a supplement to therapy, not a replacement. However, I find SLPs as a whole to be a very unlikely group to be lazy.
• It's Not "Natural": Remember sitting in your graduate courses and hearing your professor emphasize the importance of a "naturalistic" setting. I'm pretty sure the IPAD is the opposite of that "natural" setting your professor was talking about (though it can be used to encourage some great conversation as noted above). It'd be fancy if your student could perfectly repeat a sentence that the IPAD chanted to her but it's useless unless she is talking appropriately with her teachers and friends. 
• It's Expensive: Remember how we all had to shell out the big money to get our master's degrees but most of us make less than someone with the average 4 year degree? Yeah, we're not made of money. So, if I hadn't been given an iPad to try out I probably wouldn't have the iPad leap right away. The iPad itself would take a large chunk of my monthly paycheck and the cost of the applications can add up quickly. So even though it's pretty neat, I would probably use the money to pay off my student loan instead.

These are just a few of my thoughts on the iPad. It's great, but it didn't change my life. Overall, I'm liking it as a supplement to therapy. I'll write a post on some of my favorite apps soon.

What are you thoughts on the iPad? Do you love it? Do you hate it? Please share!

Rules are IMPORTANT!

Wouldn't it be awesome if all of our clients came with little halos and had perfectly angelic behavior? Well we all know that is not the case. Honestly, their little quirky personalities and hyperactive smiles make my day, so I'm glad they aren't drone-like. However, sometimes it is necessary to bottle up their overflowing enthusiasm. I quickly found out my first year that it was absolutely 100% necessary to have rules in the speech room. Having them posted with visuals (for those who can't read yet) and using them consistently is also key.

I have this thought that it would be awesome next year to start the year off making a "behavior contract" with my students. We would have a discussion the first day about their goals in speech and what they hope to accomplish. Then we would write a goals sheet and keep it in the front of their speech homework folder. Then maybe we'll have a discussion about why how we speak matters, why we need to work hard and why messing around during speech would get in the way of those goals. Then we will make the "behavior contract" and both sign it. Good idea, right? Well I'll let you know how it goes this fall when I try implementing that with my students.

What rules/behavior systems have you found to work best for you with your speech kids?

These are my rules from this year. It's been good to have a visual and I love that whenever I need to help a kid remember that being on top of the desk is not really where they are supposed to be I can just say "Hey Drake, Remember Rule #4" and then point to the picture. Then Drake says "oh yeah, vats da one I always foget!" Gotta love that kid!

Hints to Successful Speech Homework Programs

I am a HUGE believer in homework for my speech students. I only have 30 minutes each week with most of them and guess what...that does diddly-squat unless they practice on their own! Homework can be a pain and sometimes the parents don't take it seriously since their kid isn't really graded on it. But I am convinced that most parents will do it if they realize how important it is for their child. This year I tried a few things that really helped my students and their parents get in the habit of doing homework at least once a week, if not daily. With this new system I have gotten weekly homework from 85-90% of my students! Keep in mind the parents at my school are pretty awesome so I'm not sure it's realistic to expect that high a percentage everywhere. But a little follow through goes a long way! Warning: this is a LONG post!

Here are some hints on how to get your speech students to do their homework consistently.
 -Write a letter to your student's parents at the first of the year introducing yourself, explaining why good speech and language is important, and that they will be expected to do homework daily. Explain how your time with the student is limited and that improvement will be minimal unless the child practices at home. Make sure the parents know what day and time their child has speech and that homework folders need to come to school on that day. Here is an example of my letter from earlier this year. You'll have to click on it to get the bigger view. The second page is some suggestions on how on speech and language at home.

-Make a speech homework folder. Here are some examples of what it could look like. I like to have the student decorate the front so they are proud of it and have some ownership in it. I've considered having the parents buy a strong folder for their child since I'm a poor SLP and can't afford to buy awesome sturdy folders for my kids. I actually got my folders this year for 1 penny each at the back to school sale at Office Depot. I bought 100 for $1.00! AMAZING!

-To get the student's and parents to do homework daily I provide them with a little daily homework tracker that I keep at the front of their speech homework folders. The students know they need to bring their folder to speech every week. See an example of the tracker sheets below. The first one is one I use with my articulation kids. The second one is one I use with my language students. The language student's tracker is more detailed because language therapy requires a lot more anectdotal information and a little more explaining to help the parent understand what they can work on at home.

-Provide rewards for doing homework weekly and EXTRA SPECIAL rewards for doing it daily. I use a sticker chart that works like this.

• 1 sticker for any homework done in the week. 
• 5 stickers = a LITTLE PRIZE 
• 15 stickers = a BIG PRIZE. 

 I know, that's a lot of work, but having the little prizes every 5 weeks keeps them motivated.

I like using these sticker books. They only cost a few dollars and they last a LONG time!

Here's my sticker card template. I know a lot of SLPs who give reinforcements to their students for coming on time and working hard and other stuff. I think kids can be expected to do certain things without rewards and I'm not really into behaviorism. However, homework is so important that I will gladly do anything to help my students get in the habit.

-For the extra incentive to do homework everyday I give out a HOMEWORK HEROES TICKET. It's basically a raffle ticket. Every student who does at least 5 days of homework for the week gets a raffle ticket. At the end of the week I draw a name out and one of those students gets a BIG PRIZE. Remember big prizes take 15 weeks worth of homework to earn, so getting a big prize is a BIG DEAL!

-Need more motivation? If my kids don't do their homework they have to call their parents and ask for help to remember to do their speech homework EVERY time they forget. They know this will happen. I tell them at the very beginning of the year. If they forget their homework I don't yell at them or make them feel bad I point to the phone right at the beginning of the session and they know to call their parents while I start working with the other student in the group. I start this pattern off at the very beginning of the year and usually after a couple weeks everyone is bringing their homework consistently.
-Not enough? If you use games during therapy make a rule that the student is not allowed to play unless they do their homework at least once during the week. This has been a good motivator for my students. I have this rule posted on my wall. I love having things posted on the wall because you can just point to the sign and they can't argue with a sign :)

Homework Tracking Sheet

I put a big emphasis on daily homework for my speech/language students. Here is a homework tracker that I put in the front of my student's homework folders. It's simple and no big deal but if you like it feel free to use it. You can get a copy of it on my Teachers Pay Teachers website. Click HERE for access to the form.

Here is a copy of one I use for my language kids. It is even more simple but it's been an effective communication tool to let my student's parents know what we worked on and what they can work on at home.

Building Routines in Therapy

This year I did a little experiment with having a set routine for my articulation groups. The reason behind this was a ridiculously large caseload and the need to make the most efficient use of my 30 minutes with each student. I decided to email all of the 76 SLPs in our school district and ask them what they did as part of their therapy routines. Still being relatively new to the field I love to hear how other people do their therapy. Here is the little routine I came up with for my 30 minute articulation groups.

WHAT I DO WHEN I COME TO SPEECH

1.       Turn in my HOMEWORK!

a.       1 sticker for any homework done this week

b.      Homework Heroes ticket for 5 days of homework (yippee!)

2.       Get SOUND CARD and start practicing (out loud!) to see what the sound cards are like click HERE

a.       Get the sound I am working on this week

b.      Put sound card in return box when I am done

3.       CHECK FOR PROGRESS on homework to see some progress charts click HERE and HERE

a.       Update progress chart! (I hope I got better!)

4.       PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE my speech sounds (that’s why I am here!)

a.       I can play a game if I did my homework 

b.      I cannot play a game if I did not do my homework 

c.       5-10 practice sounds/words/sentences = 1 turn at the game

5.       REVIEW HOMEWORK for next week (so I know how and what to practice at home)

a.       Make sure it is written in my homework tracker

6.       WRAP IT UP! It’s almost time to go!

a.       Put sound cards back on the wall

b.      Update progress charts

c.       Push in my chair

d.      Go back to class

PUT MY HOMEWORK IN MY BACKPACK so I can practice every day!

The routine is posted where every student can see it and it has pictures to help them remember. It has made my therapy a lot more effective this year. I might have to make some adjustments. 

 

Here's the small handout I made for our speech department meeting.

What are some things that you find effective in your therapy routines?

Great Speech Language Pathology Blogs List

I am always looking for new ideas and tools to use in therapy. I recently found some fabulous speech blogs that I wanted to share with you. I have put links to some of my favorites on the right side of this blog under my blog archive list. Speech-Language Pathologists are some of the most creative and intelligent people out there and I have learned so much from reading some of these amazing blogs! Check them out!

Schedule Boards

Holy Smokes have you ever used a schedule board? They are the best! This is my schedule board that I used this year for about a hundred-million different things. It was so useful in so many ways. I know I know it's just a black poster with a bunch of numbers velcroed on but seriously this beauty rocks my world! Read more of this post to find 6 ways to use a schedule board in your therapy.

Here are a number of uses for this fabulous therapy tool

Evaluation Count Down. When evaluating a kiddo I usually put up a number for each subtest that we need to do. After each subtest they get to take the number off the schedule board and put it in the "all done" pile. It helps them feel a sense of accomplishment and know how much more is ahead.

Incentive to work! I use it all the time to help little munchkins who have short attention spans. It is a visual that helps them know that they have to get so many "things" done before they get a break. Example of use with animal artculation cards below. Make sure that the child knows what they get when they complete the work and provide that reinforcement immediately. This kid LOVES bubbles so I always use the bubbles. Please observe the fabulous butterfly bubble bottle that I got at some wedding four years ago and is now an essential part of my therapy. One of my professors once said that bubbles were like crack for kids. He was right!

Picture Schedule. I use this with a few of my autistic clients. Autistic children are very visual and really crave routine. The schedule board shows them what they can expect to do in a session and what happens at the end.

Sequencing. The numbers are great to help children organize sequences of events.

Sentence Pacing Board. If you are working toward a longer MLU and the child needs a more structured approach you can use the numbers to make a pacing board. Put out 4 numbers if you want the child to use a four word sentence. Put your hand on the numbers as you say the words (e.g. for the phrase "the ball went down" touch 1 for "the", 2 for "ball", 3 for "went", and 4 for "down"). To fade this cue out try clapping instead of pointing to the numbers and then just doing it with a melody and then without any cues at all.

Multisyllabic Words Pacing Board. For kids who struggle articulating multisylabic words try breaking them up into the number of syllables. (e.g.watermelon can be broken up into 4 parts wa-ter-me-lon)

The possibilities are ENDLESS!

Getting To Know You Questions for Kids

Getting to know the kids is the fun part of therapy. The first week of school I quickly wrote down these questions, printed them and cut them into individual question strips and put them in a box. We played games, read the questions and talked for our first session. It helped to get a feel for each students communication abilities and it was a fun way to break the ice. These are not the best questions but feel free to copy them and use them for your own getting to know you activities. Click read more for the full list.

Time Timer

During therapy sessions sometimes it is best for the client and the clinician to have a visual reference to let them know how much time is left in the session. The Time Timer is my favorite for this. It is a timer that SHOWS you how much time is left. It is particularly great for young kids and low functioning clients but so fabulous for everyone. The smaller amount of red...the less time. It helps me to not go over time with my kids and it helps my kids pace themselves. It's a great therapy tool!