3 Quality Tips about Stalled Speech Progress: Difficult Conversations with Caregivers
As a pediatric SLP, your dedication to helping children make progress with their speech and language goals is unwavering. However, there are times when that progress stalls. As you approach the end of the year with spring on the horizon, it’s necessary to have difficult conversations with caregivers when their child isn’t making the expected progress with speech and language goals. Read on for 3 high-quality tips to make the most of these conversations about stalled speech progress. 3 Important Tips for Conversations about Stalled Speech Progress Make Necessary Referrals Accept Limitations Discuss the Importance of Home Practice Make Necessary
Exploring 6 Alternative Causes for Language Regressions Beyond Autism for Pediatric SLPs
While Autism Spectrum Disorder (or ASD) is commonly associated with language regressions in young clients, it’s critical for you as an SLP to consider other causes for these setbacks. To provide the best, most effective services to your clients and their caregivers, you’ll likely have to broaden your perspectives! Think about these 6 alternative causes for language regressions when ASD isn’t a piece of the puzzle for your client. Language Regressions Before we dive into other considerations, let’s think solely about language regressions. A language regression is defined as any decline in a child’s communication abilities. Commonly reported language regressions
6 EASY Ways to Make Speech Homework a Habit in the New Year
As a pediatric SLP, you understand the importance of caregivers following through with speech therapy homework with their children. The new year is a great chance to encourage the families you serve to recommit to this crucial practice! Ensure that your clients continue to make progress and reach their goals by using these 6 easy strategies to help caregivers make speech homework a habit this year! Support Caregivers as They Make Speech Homework a Habit 1. Reinforce the Importance of Consistency The beginning of the year is the perfect time to remind parents that progress in speech therapy goes far
Addressing the Parent Question: How Long Will Speech Therapy Take?
As a pediatric SLP, you know one of the most frequently asked questions you receive from families is “How long will speech therapy take?”. This is a normal concern, especially for caregivers who are paying out of pocket for their child’s speech services. Keep reading to learn what exactly you can say to caregivers when they ask this question! Talking to Caregivers about Treatment Length Discussing treatment length is as simple as 1-2-3-4! 1. Educate and Set Appropriate Expectations First, it’s important to educate families. Be sure that caregivers understand their child’s unique speech and language needs. Discuss their child’s
4 Ways to Start Fresh in the New Year for Success as an SLP
As the New Year begins, you’ll likely find yourself reflecting on your past year as an SLP. This is the perfect time to take inventory of what’s working and what isn’t, make changes, and plan ahead for a great summer break. Choosing a fresh start in the new year will help you establish a healthier work-life balance and find success as an SLP to carry you through the entire year! 4 Ways to Find Success as an SLP in the New Year 1. Take Inventory: What’s Working and What Isn’t The New Year is a fantastic time to evaluate what
TOP 3 Tips SLPs Need to Know for Writing Progress Notes
As you know, progress notes play a huge role in your work as an SLP. They are important for documenting a client’s progression with speech goals but also powerful tools for fostering positive communication with caregivers and generating more client referrals. You’re just 3 tips away from writing progress notes that provide this fabulous double duty! 3 Tips You Need for Writing Great Progress Notes Writing great progress notes is really easier than you think! 1. Embrace a Strength-Based Approach The first thing you need to do when writing progress notes is to adopt a strength-based perspective. During the evaluation
5 EFFECTIVE Ways for SLPs to Promote Practice During School Breaks
School breaks can be such an exciting and much-needed time to recharge for families, but they can also come with unique challenges for families with children with special needs. As an SLP in the schools or in private practice, the support you offer to families during this time can be helpful in more ways than you realize. Read on for 5 effective ways to maintain communication & promote practice during school breaks, regardless of the setting you work in: Why It’s Important to Maintain Communication During School Breaks The connection between dedicated SLPs and clients’ caregivers is crucial to the
6 Ways an SLP Can Support Caregivers of Special Needs Children During the Holidays
Raising a child with special needs can be both rewarding and challenging. These caregivers are often faced with emotional, financial, and social stressors that can lead to higher risks of depression and anxiety, especially when not having a positive support system. These stresses seem to rise during the holidays too! As speech-language pathologists (SLPs), understanding and addressing these caregiver needs is an essential piece to providing care for their children. Read on for 6 tangible ways you can support caregivers of special needs children during the holidays this year: General Stressors for Caregivers of Special Needs Children Caregivers of children
An Introduction to Stuttering Assessments and Therapy for SLPs
Stuttering assessments and therapy can feel daunting, especially early on in your career as an SLP. They don’t have to be though! Continue reading for essential knowledge and hands-on resources to become more confident in treating the children with stuttering on your caseload. What You Need to Know to Get Started with Stuttering Assessments and Therapy Stuttering Assessment A fluency evaluation is similar but also so different from other evaluations you will perform with children as an SLP. Informal Evaluation As with other types of evaluations, obtaining a thorough case history and making detailed observations are crucial pieces to assessing
How to Effectively Teach Pronouns in Speech Therapy
If you work with preschool and early elementary aged children in speech therapy, you are going to be working on correct pronoun usage. Although autistic children often struggle with pronouns, it’s also a common error for many language delayed children. Most children who struggle with pronouns struggle with the part of speech or grammar. It’s not usually a matter of not understanding or recognizing different genders. The most prevalent error is overgeneralization of “he.” Continue reading for hands-on ways to teach pronouns in speech therapy! How Pronouns Develop “Mine” is usually the first pronoun to appear in a child’s vocabulary
How to Support Caregivers with Research Strain
Research strain is a common issue for caregivers navigating a new diagnosis or when they’ve recently become aware of a developmental delay. If you’re an early intervention or preschool speech-language pathologist, recognizing this common issue and learning how to support caregivers with research strain will result in a more successful therapy experience. Researching the causes of developmental delays It’s a natural response for caregivers to search for a cause of a developmental delay or diagnosis especially if the family feels surprised by the information. It’s a way to try and regain some control over a situation that may feel overwhelming
4 Tips for Pediatric SLPs When Talking to Caregivers
Talking to caregivers is important and unavoidable as a pediatric SLP! Be prepared and handle these conversations with expertise and kindness. As pediatric speech-language pathologists, we bring a lot of knowledge and expertise to the table and it’s easy to forget how foreign our speech world is to caregivers. Since speech therapists are often the first point of contact for many families with language delayed children, we need to remain mindful of ways we communicate with the caregivers we serve. Our language can have an immediate impact on the level of trust a caregiver has in us. This trust can
How to Support Caregivers with Guilt
Caregiver guilt is a typical response when a child has speech and language delays. If you’re an early intervention or preschool speech-language pathologist, understanding where it comes from and how you can support caregivers with guilt will help pave the way for a more successful therapy experience. Guilt from risk factors (genetic or environmental) One of the first tasks when a caregiver arrives at a doctor or other health professional’s office is filling out a medical history form. While we might view this information as neutral or a clue to what type of delay/disorder a child might have, for a
Speech Regressions in Toddlers: Why They Happen and How to Help
Have you heard the comment, “Contact your pediatrician if you notice a regression in skills?”… Let’s talk about what speech regressions really mean, why they happen, and how to help. What is a Speech Regression? Regression is a decline in skills. This occurs when a child is not performing skills they once were able to. In regards to speech and language, this might look like a toddler who: stops using words to make requests and now uses jargon or crying has a significant decrease in interaction with other children or adults and seems much more focused on solitary play stops
Data Collection Tips for Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologists
A crucial part of a speech-language pathologist’s work is taking appropriate data. The data provides vital information about a child’s progress and helps guide steps in deciding the next steps for intervention. Though it’s necessary, this is oftentimes a pain point for many SLPs. Follow along in this guide for several data-collection tips to make your life as a pediatric SLP easier! Types of Data You’re likely to find that one type of data collection doesn’t cut it for all your therapy sessions. What works for kids with language goals doesn’t work as well for articulation goals, and so on.
Understanding Childhood Apraxia of Speech: A Beginner’s Guide for Parents and SLPs
Maybe you’re familiar with the term “childhood apraxia of speech” or not. Your child may have recently received this diagnosis, or you have a suspecting child on your caseload. Either way, there’s always more to learn about this rare speech disorder! Read on to learn more about what childhood apraxia of speech is, the likelihood of it to occur, telltale signs, and what to expect in an evaluation and therapy in this beginner’s guide to all things childhood apraxia of speech. What is Childhood Apraxia of Speech? Childhood apraxia of speech (also referred to as CAS) is a neurological motor
6 Considerations about Making Wise Investments During Your Clinical Fellowship Year
Congrats on becoming an SLP graduate! As you begin your professional journey, you will soon feel the need and desire to begin investing in continuing education courses and therapy resources in order to better your skills, continue learning, and provide the best care for your clients. Before you give all of your time (and money!) to these, stop and review these six considerations for making wise investments during your clinical fellowship year. 6 Considerations about Making Wise Investments as a New SLP Graduate #1 Focus on What You Know Although it will be tempting to try to learn everything that
4 Tried-and-True Strategies for Effective Carryover in Articulation Therapy
Kids often get stuck in therapy. They can make a sound (or sounds) in structured activities but need help to move beyond that. The answer to this dilemma is they are lacking in CARRYOVER. Implementing carryover activities in articulation therapy is essential, and they don’t have to be difficult either! Try these 4 tried-and-true strategies for effective carryover in your articulation therapy sessions TODAY! Start Early! First thing’s first– know that you should start addressing carryover skills as soon as possible! By implementing carryover strategies in small chunks over the entire course of a child’s therapy journey, you’re instilling self-confidence
An Overview of the Minimal Pairs Approach for Speech Sound Intervention
The minimal pairs approach is a popular intervention for treating speech sound disorders. You might have heard your child’s SLP mention this, or maybe you are an SLP who is looking for a refresher about how to implement it with some of your students. Read on for an overview of the minimal pairs approach and learn when it’s most effective and how to implement it in therapy sessions! What is the Minimal Pairs Approach? The minimal pairs approach is one of the oldest interventions used to treat phonological disorders in speech. It’s formally referred to as “Minimal Oppositions”. This approach
SLP Expert Opinion: Milestones vs Averages and Why Developmental Milestones Have Changed
You’re frustrated. Other kids the same age as your child are talking so much more than yours is, but your pediatrician is saying there is nothing to worry about. People are saying the developmental milestones changed recently too. What does all this mean, and what should you do next? Let’s dive right in and answer these questions! The Pediatrician Says Don’t Worry There’s a lot of talk about milestones when you have little ones, but one of the most frequently asked questions I hear is “Why don’t the milestones SLPs talk about match what my child’s pediatrician says?” This is