Parent Education

Teddy Talker: A Sensory Approach to Speech Sound Acquisition

by

Nanette Cote, SLP setting up Teddy Talker for a session

The Teddy Talker™ program is a multi-sensory approach to speech sound acquisition created by Linda Siciliano to promote phonics and early sound production in young children by stimulating auditory, visual, tactile, and kinesthetic learning.  This program aids children in grasping mouth movements for sound production through engaging visuals and rhymes, fostering successful articulation. I received a free kit suitable for both individual and group therapy, allowing me to introduce you to this program effectively.

Teddy Talker Contents

The Teach Together Toolkit allows me to create programming specific to each of my clients, which I can send home for carryover practice and instruction. These folders may contain some of the following:

  • Background information about the Teddy Talker program
  • Bear face and lips for coloring
  • Teddy’s tongue, teeth, and paper bag for modeling accurate placement
  • Teddy Talker™ Alphabet chart
  • Sound Assessment summary

Teddy Talker personalized homework folders

Personalizing Teddy Talker

In my opinion, one of the most important products in the Teddy Talker program are the visual instructions. Since home practice supports speech sound acquisition progress, I send a blank Teddy face home with coloring instructions. I want my young clients to have some ownership for the program, which is why I instruct caregivers that scribbles or even a single line across the bear’s face are permissible. In addition to the teddy bear face, families need a sheet of various mouth visuals. It is important to be able to see these visuals clearly, so I have parents color the mouth pictures. After coloring, families return papers to my office for lamination and adding Velcro, allowing us to change Teddy’s face for sounds.

Personalizing Teddy Talker
Personalizing Teddy Talker (prepping mouth interactives)


The colored alphabet chart pictured below came from the resource section of the Toolkit. I got a large, laminated copy for a visually challenged client. The alphabet chart is perfect for introducing speech sound targets.
Teddy Talker ABC Chart

Each child’s folder may also contain a consonant and vowel checklist for baseline collection to establish targets for programming.  As a parent, you may want to see your child’s progress and this checklist is a great way to track gains. 

Bear Tracks Card Deck

Besides the Toolkit, I was provided a Bear Tracks card deck, which would be a great resource for home practice! I use mine with children as young as 2.5 years old to assess strengths and needs in determining therapy programming. The card deck includes instructions for game play that your child may enjoy, so be sure to ask your speech pathologist if this would be a good investment.

Teddy Talker Bear Track Game


Worksheets

My approach with Teddy Talker™ involves selecting a suitable speech sound target, then copying relevant tool pages for weekly practice. The Toolkit offers 13 adaptable tool pages for any speech sound and various activities such as drawing, coloring, writing, and listening. There are two types of worksheets in the Toolkit:  target pages and generic tool pages.  For my purposes, I started with the target pages using the following:

  • Build and Say:  tells you which lips to Velcro onto Teddy’s mouth and provides detailed sound cues
  • See and say:  focuses on Teddy’s face
  • Trace and say:  introduces muscle memory for target letters with one inch, bold faced capital and lower case letters
  • Rhyme and say:  great rhymes describing how to make target sounds

I’ve successfully used this program with children aged 2.5 to 6, addressing a range of speech delays, from mild articulation challenges to pre-verbal.

Below are pictures of some supplements in my speech materials collection that I have added to the program.  I believe that using a mix of materials helps generalize speech sound practice outside of the Teddy Talker program. I hope that this review helped share more information about this dynamic program created by a speech pathologist to make our lives easier! Happy talking!!

A to Z Coloring pages purchased on TpT from
Lavinia Pop titled:  Letter of the Week
Free bear rhyme from my local library about body parts on a bear 
Target dollar spot puzzles and Good-Night Owl book.
Both include animal sounds.



 

Jaw Sliding Speech Therapy: Helpful Ark Therapeutic Tools

by

Improving the Foundation for Speech & Feeding Development

The jaw is the foundation in the house of speech musculature. Working on chewing helps improve jaw stability and strength to support both feeding and speech sound productions. Speech pathologists can help your child eliminate jaw sliding through jaw sliding speech therapy using a variety of oral motor tools. Before walking, infants must learn to crawl, developing muscles and coordination necessary for balancing and moving on two limbs.

Young girl eating carrot in jaw sliding speech therapy

The same can be said for speech sound productions. Children who do not chew various textures and/or have motor speech delays may not appropriately develop a stable, supportive base for lip and tongue movements, so sometimes it is necessary to teach a child how to stabilize and strengthen the jaw. We do this through oral motor work using tools known as Grabbers. Thankfully, Ark Therapeutic has helpful tools we need to eliminate jaw sliding in speech therapy. Years ago, the owner sent me tools tailored to my caseload needs for a hands-on review, free of charge.

Grabbers for Jaw Sliding Speech Therapy

Oral Motor tools for jaw sliding speech therapy

Over the last two decades, I have purchased materials from Ark Therapeutic, who sell a large variety of Grabbers to assist with jaw stability, biting, chewing, and tongue coordination. These tools are perfect for children who do not need gentle vibration, but benefit from any of the following:

  • Alternatives to chewing on hazardous non-food items
  • Decreasing grinding teeth and/or biting knuckles and fingers
  • Transitioning from pureed (pudding) to foods with more lumps/ textures
  • Increasing mouthing for feeding and/ or speech development
  • Improving lip and tongue control
  • Establishing the idea of biting and chewing
  • Strengthening the jaw in stability and control

There are several different types of Grabbers to meet your child’s needs from those with smooth narrow parts that suit tiny oral cavities to those with harder textures for older clients. You can even purchase textured grabbers for additional mouth input. Consult with your speech pathologist about the right match for your child.

Z-Grabber for Increased Stimulation

Z Grabber for jaw sliding speech therapy

The Z-Grabber is a vibrating chew tool that combines the best of both worlds, vibration (Z-Vibe) and chewing (Grabber) in one. You can either use the loop end as a handle or for chewing exercises. Your speech pathologist will use this vibrating option to provide more sensory input/information to support feeding and speech skills.

Practice biting with a Z-Grabber: Place it on molars, do a 3-5 second bite and hold, 10 times on each side. You want to make sure that he is not tilting his head back to bite. As children progress in their ability to hold that position without sliding the jaw, then I increase the challenge by gently tugging the Z-Grabber to provide an increased, jaw workout.

The multi-functional Z-Grabber allows you to switch a variety of probe tips on the opposite end of the grabber portion. With over 35 tips available, there is something for every child in various shapes, sizes, scents, textures, and resiliencies. Though various methods exist, I’ll offer only a few examples of jaw strengthening exercises using these tips.

Z-Grabber Tips for Jaw Sliding Speech Therapy

Bite-n-Chew Tip for jaw sliding speech therapy

Bite-n-Chew Tip: This tip is a great option for children who have a hard time starting with the Z-Grabber as it is smooth and more flexible. Align this tip laterally on your child’s lower molars, then gently press down to lower the jaw and hold. Tell you child to push up as you press down. Repeat this exercise 3-5 times on each side.

Bite-n-Chew Tip XL for jaw sliding speech therapy

Bite-n-Chew Tip XL: This tip is an inch longer than the one above to help reach all the way back to the molars. It is also available in a textured version if your child needs even more input. Place either of these tips lengthwise along the molar surface one side at a time. Next, move the tip front-to-back and back-and-forth across the molars for 3-5 reps per side.

Animal tips for jaw sliding speech therapy

Animal Tips: There are three, friendly shapes for this tip of a cat, mouse, or dog with any of them appropriate for feeding or jaw work. You can perform similar jaw work as mentioned above using these tips. The ears on each double as spoons!

Concluding Thoughts About Jaw Sliding Speech Therapy

While there are many options with and without vibration for working on improving jaw strength and stability, I hope that this post helped defined some of the basics. Always consult with your child’s speech pathologist about the necessity of using oral motor products before making an investment.

For more information on oral motor “wake up” routines that can be performed before feeding or speech practice, head to this post.

Expected & Unexpected Behaviors FREE Role Play Activity

by

Social Thinking Vocabulary

Expected & unexpected behaviors are terms from the Social Thinking program by Michelle Garcia Winner and Dr. Pamela Crooke. The authors explain that “Expected and Unexpected” terms replace referring to behaviors as “Appropriate and Inappropriate”. They postulated that teachers and caregivers rarely acknowledge “Appropriate” behaviors; rather, more emphasis is placed on the negative term “Inappropriate”. The latter insinuates disappointment and reprimanding, not teaching. In my experience, role-playing expected and unexpected behaviors is effective for teaching these skills to students.

You are a Social Detective

Expected & Unexpected Behaviors: You Are a Social Detective

During my tenure in the school system, we frequently utilized the renowned social skills book: You are a Social Detective by Michelle Garcia Winner in our social skills groups. For the uninitiated, it starts with “smarts,” discussing our strengths, and then outlines expected school behaviors. The next part of the book gives examples of unexpected behaviors and discusses how these impact others’ perceptions of us. The authors released a second edition of You are a Social Detective in 2020, and it’s available digitally on Apple Books and Google Play.

Expected & Unexpected Behaviors Role Play

Expected & Unexpected Behaviors FREE Role Play Activity: woman with surprised expression during role play activity

While working in schools, I collaborated with social workers for quick lunch social skills sessions, using the Social Detective book. With time constraints, we read during lunch, followed by role plays using slips of paper with expected or unexpected behaviors. I created some examples that you can get at this link.

I stored role play scenarios in a refurbished container covered in mustache duck tape, calling it “I Mustache You to Role Play.” Kids simply reached in the container and drew a paper to role play the expected or unexpected behavior. Overall, fourth graders loved this game for social skills. It was a great extension activity for You are a Social Detective.

For more information on Social Thinking and to view free video trainings for children, please visit this link.

Excellent Expanding Expression Tool (EET) Visuals

by

Complete EET kit

Expanding Expression Tool (EET) by fellow Speech Pathologist, Sara L. Smith, is a dynamic, multi-sensory approach for improving oral language and writing for students in kindergarten through high school. There are many reasons why you should use expanding expression tool visuals both in school and home.  Let’s take a closer look at the program and how I have incorporated it into my speech and language therapy practice.

Expanding Expression Tool Components

Just in case you have not seen an EET kit, here are the basic components:
First, you get the manual with the kit which includes five sections:  introduction, general descriptions, additional prompts, organizers, and parent program.  You will find baseline data sheets, worksheet activities for each descriptor bead, classroom prompts, student organizers, home activities, and much more in this manual.

EET

Included in the kit are two sets of beads, a large one for classroom instruction and one small strand for individual use.  The latter helps students become more independent with expressive language skills in a less conspicuous manner while still getting visual and tactile cues. Parents can purchase the smaller strand for home practice at this link. Basically, each bead represents a descriptor cue for target vocabulary and here is the breakdown:

  • Green=What Group does it belong to?
  • Blue=What does it Do? What is its Function?
  • Eyeball=What does it Look like?
  • Wood=What is it Made of?
  • Pink=What are its Parts?
  • White=Where can you Find it?
  • ?=What Else do I know about it?

Also included in the kit are picture cards with familiar objects, which you can break out for immediate EET practice.  Some of the cards include the EET coding, which is great for cuing students at their desk.  A few of the other cards in this deck offer lesson plan ideas.

The foam dice in the kit are perfect for playing games. Just roll the dice and answer the color-coded question about the target object.

Expanding Expression Tools in Action

Years ago, I used EET with a private language client who was in the fourth grade and received special education programming. She attended private speech and language sessions at my practice, Naperville Therapediatrics, twice weekly for 60 minutes. In August 2013, language testing revealed limited vocabulary use, reduced sentence structure, and delayed comprehension. While she did very well during discrete learning trials, she struggled with retaining and recalling information.  Her school special education team asked if I could help increase this student’s ability to use and comprehend vocabulary, especially homophones, so I researched the EET program to address these delays.

When I compared how this client responded at baseline to her responses while using the EET beads, she recalled a little more detail about each subject.  Here is one before/ after example taken recently after having covered worksheets for the following:  group, function, and “looks like.”

Tell me everything you know about Beluga Whales-

Baseline response on 1/7/2014:  
“It has sharp teeth and of course it has to eat fish.  Swallows fish.  It is a carnivore too because it likes to eat meat.  And it can make an echo.  If it’s danger and it makes sound.”

Halfway through program on 3/7/2014:
Animals (ocean/sea)
Swims underwater; moves its head (modeled demonstration); eats fishes; uses echolocation
White and Brown
Bones
It has little teeth.  They do not chew, they swallow.
See them at aquarium

Analysis

At baseline, she told me about it: group (carnivore), parts (teeth) and what it does (eats fish and echoes.)  Using the EET beads, she added a few more details about the following: what it does (moves head, swims underwater), what it looks like (white and brown), made of (bones), and where you may see them (aquarium.)  If we look at this data from a percentage standpoint, then she used 3/6 (50%) description points at baseline and 6/6 (100%) details with EET beads.  She increased the number of details provided in three other samples too.  Continued improvement was noted as we progressed through the workbook programming.

Expanding Expression Tool Seasonal Ideas

Since I’m a big fan of seasonal units and visual cuing, I thought it would be appropriate to take clip art and add lines to the image for EET description. Below are some of my ideas for each season/ holiday:

  • New Year’s party hat
  • Hot chocolate mug
  • Valentine cupcake
  • Basketball
  • Umbrella
  • Flower
  • Sun
  • Fireworks
  • Pail and shovel
  • Swimming pool
  • Leaf
  • Pumpkin
  • Turkey
  • Snowman
  • Christmas tree/ dreidel.

I am so appreciative of Sara’s efforts and hard work in designing this EET program.  For details on using EET to improve writing, you can visit my guest post by Dr. Karen Dudek-Brannan. If you would like more information about the EET program, then click on the title links below for descriptions and ordering details:

Expanding Expressions Home Page

Toolkit

How to Initiate Communication Effectively with PECS

by

PECS book Hanging on the Back of a Chair

Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)

PECS: Picture Exchange Communication System is a program that encourages expressive and receptive speech & language skills while supporting functional communication. Functional communication is demonstrating the ability to make one’s needs known effortlessly, immediately, and efficiently. This communication begins long before a child says his or her first words.  For some children with autism, speaking is challenging but gesturing may not be, so PECS may be an effective way to introduce the foundation of communication.

Picture Exchange Supports Speech-Language Development

PECS is a well-established system that began in 1985 and it is based on B.F. Skinner’s 1957 book, Verbal Behavior.  In Picture Exchange, a child is taught how to initiate communication by handing a picture to an adult.  This process may or may not involve speaking; regardless, Picture Exchange does not ignore speech, rather it promotes both speech and language development.  After the child places a picture in someone else’s hand, the communicative partner models speech & language sentence structure by naturally labeling objects/ actions.  A sample exchange may look like this:

  1. Child: Retrieves, then hands a picture to a communication partner.
  2. Partner: “Book!  Billy says, I want to read a book.  Let’s read this book.”
  3. Child: After hearing the word book may naturally imitate a sound/word/phrase/sentence.

In the above example, the communicative partner uses a natural approach by modeling language that mirrors conversational speech as opposed to telling the child to “say” the word book.  Communication is not about telling each other what words to say next. By handing the picture of a desired object, the child has communicated his wants.  We no longer need to guess and navigate frustrations.  Instead, we have a teachable moment to work on enhancing speech articulation and sentence length.

Another way that PECS supports language development is through teaching clients to differentiate among picture choices.  Being able to distinguish between a number of options demonstrates that the child is using his receptive comprehension skills.  Through PECS training, he has learned to attach meaning to the images and can make selections with ease.

Caregiver Support

PECS is not something that children can learn in school or private practice speech sessions and then generalize.  In fact, the program is ineffective unless practiced in multiple settings with a variety of communication partners using an array of reinforcements.  Here are some specific roles and responsibilities of caregivers with regards to PECS:

  • Offering suggestions for tangible motivators that will encourage their child to participate in PECS
  • Providing an extra set of hands to prompt the child for specific actions during training (i.e., help pick up the picture, physically guide towards a communication partner)
  • Carrying over practice of techniques at home/ grandparents/ extracurricular activities

PECS Phases

Picture Exchange is taught in six phases.  The process begins in the same manner regardless of age; however, older clients may move through training stages faster.  Throughout the training, both communication partners and those physically assisting the child must remain silent.  This sounds simple, but it is much harder than you may think.

PECS is a communication system where the child starts the conversational exchange by performing an action to make his needs known.  When we start asking questions or using verbal directions to instruct the child, then we are no longer working on picture exchange.  So, a communication partner asking, “What do you want?”, has started the exchange, not the child.  If the partner verbally instructs the child to, “Get the picture” or “Bring it to me,” then the child may rely on this cue for future exchanges.

PECS Phase One

The goal for the first phase is to teach the client to initiate or start a communicative exchange by picking up a visual, reaching toward a partner, and releasing that picture into the partner’s hand.  We do this by having the child sit in close proximity to a communication partner while a second adult sits behind the child.  At first, the helper sitting behind the child may need to guide the child’s arm through each step.  PECS uses a “first one’s free” approach by observing the child’s interest in a food or toy within reach.  If the object is of interest, then we start teaching the “nature of communication” through the following sequence:

Pick up picture —> Reach towards communication partner —> Release picture

Once that picture hits the communication partner’s hand, then that reward must happen immediately!  No need to wait until the child says a word or answers a question.  Throughout this phrase, you will want to introduce different communication partners with a variety of identified rewards, fading physical supports as indicated.

PECS Phase Two

In phase two, we teach distance and persistence with the end goal being to have the child gain someone’s attention by bringing a picture or communication book to locate the communication partner in another room.  This phase can take a long time to achieve. Be patient, stay silent, physically assist when needed and your child will progress.  The four training steps in this phase are as follows:

  1. Repeat the “first one’s free” approach to assure that it interests him.  If so, then place a picture of that item on the child’s cover of his communication book that houses all of the identified reinforcements.  The physical prompter can assist the child in removing, reaching, and releasing the picture as needed.
  2. The communication partner should start slowly moving away from the child and gradually increase this distance by inches, feet, then yards.  The physical prompter may step in if needed.  If the child drops the picture along the way, then the prompter picks it up and brings it to the last successful step the child was able to complete.  In this case, that would be back on the communication book cover.  Again, there is no verbal prompting in this process, just physical guidance.
  3. Once the child can reliably and independently travel to a communication partner 5-8 feet away from the child, then increase the distance between the child and his book.  Eventually, you will want to designate a location in the room for the book. Every location should have a spot that is within a child’s reach, but not necessarily right next to him at all times.
  4. Assess and eliminate any additional prompts.  Your speech pathologist will guide you for behaviors to monitor like, showing an expectant look on your face as you wait for your child to retrieve a picture.

PECS Phase Three

By phase three, we work on teaching the client to choose a picture amiss all pictures in his communication book.  At this point in the training, we are trying to create many opportunities for spontaneous requesting during daily functional activities.  By this point, the child has learned the “nature of communication” and can independently find his communication book and partner to make requests.  Up until now, we have been placing just one picture on the child’s book cover.  Now, we will start the process of teaching picture discrimination through these steps:

  1. Discriminating between a highly preferred and a distracter picture.  For example, you may pair candy (something he really likes) with a spoon (something he would not want over candy.)  During this step, both pictures will be varied along with positioning on the child’s book.
  2. Next, you will work on discriminating between two reinforcing pictures and gradually add more than two choices.
  3. The final step is for the child to look inside his book for a specific picture.

PECS Phase Four

In phase four, we work at the sentence level by teaching clients to construct and exchange a strip of paper with a sentence on it to make requests.  This sentence strip will adhere to the bottom of the child’s communication book for easy access.  You will begin with simple sentences like one picture that indicates: “I want” and the other representing the child’s reinforcement.  This phase progresses to having a child construct a compound sentence like: “I want” + “object” + “and” + “object”, then sentences with attributes like:

  • color: I want red candy.
  • size: I want small ball.
  • shape: I want round cookie.
  • position: I want doll in box.
  • body parts: I want Mr Potato Head arm.
  • temperature:  I want cold water.
  • speed: I want fast dance.
  • texture:  I want bumpy chips.
  • quantity: I want 6 gummies.

PECS Phase Five

Phase five works on responding to a question while maintaining requesting.  Up until this point in PECS, the communication partner refrains from initiating interactions by sitting quietly.  During phase five, we are continuing to work on encouraging the child to initiate and make requests while occasionally responding to more questions posed by communication partners.  This helps expand communication turns in conversations to make discussions longer.

PECS Phase Six

The final phase six works on helping the child learn to make spontaneous comments about the world around him.  This phrase begins by placing a picture image of “I see” on the cover of the child’s communication book and moving the “I want” image to a storage page inside the book.  Some suggested activities to pair with training commenting include:

  • Containing items in a mystery bag and then commenting on one object at a time as it is pulled out of the bag.
  • Looking through a photo album from the child’s home.
  • Watching a video of a favorite book on You Tube

The entire training period for PECS varies for each individual and is dependent on ability level and amount of practice time in both the clinical and home settings.  Speech pathologists trained in PECS have resources for trouble shooting, so do not hesitate to talk with your child’s therapist if you need help with carryover.

For more detailed information about this program visit http://www.pecsusa.com/

Fun & Functional DIY Games to Play with Kids

by

Are you looking for a fun and functional DIY games to play with kids? I can promise you that my seasonal category games will exceed your expectations. Using bags and items you have around the house, you can quickly create an electronic free way to engage with your child and foster language skills.

DIY games using mom's purse

DIY Games With Mom’s Purse

My love for bagging up objects started with this fun activity that I found on Make Learning Fun during Mother’s Day 2012.  Basically, you play a guessing game about items typically found in mom’s purse.  It was a HUGE hit with preschoolers and middle school students during the spring season, and it was easily adaptable.  All you need to do is search your home for a variety of items that are typically found in a mom’s purse.  I purchased most of my items at the Dollar Tree, bag included!

After your search for objects is over, take a picture or make a computer generated one for each item in the bag.  Then print, hole punch, and clip all pictures to your purse for safe keeping.  During the game, children take turns using just their hands to feel inside the bag for the picture target.  I like to set a timer for one minute to keep the game moving along. Older children can use descriptive words to talk about what item they are looking for while younger ones can reach in and search while you provide descriptors.  Here are some of the many speech and language goals that can be incorporated into this activity:

  • articulation practice at the word/ phrase/ sentence level
  • describing objects by function
  • discussing objects by shape/ size/ textures
  • using slow, smooth fluent speech to talk about object features
  • answering “why” questions about various bag contents

DIY Games Using Beach/Pool Bags

DIY games using pool bag

You can create a seasonal category game for the summer months too.  All you need to do is grab your pool or beach bag, which may already have plenty of items packed in it for the summer, and take a picture of each item.  Then, using contact paper, laminate the pictures and hole punch the stack.  You can use a round clip to attach the pictures to the handle of the bag.

Now, it’s time for some fun!  Following the cards in sequential order, have children take turns reaching into the bag to feel for the item on their picture.  Describe the item by size, shape, texture and more, prompting children to use descriptive words. My middle schoolers loved revisiting the guessing game after enjoying the “Mom’s Purse” activity during spring.

If you want to work on following descriptive directions, you can ask your children to locate the above items given clues, and then play the seek and find game later.  Below are some clues you can provide for items like the ones pictured above:

  • Find something made of plastic that helps us see underwater.
  • Get something in a hard can that protects our skin outside from the sun.
  • Find some small, bumpy treasures that we brought home from the beach.
  • Get the soft, large thing that dries us off.
  • Find three plastic things we can play with in the water. 

DIY Games with School Lunchbox

Since it’s harder to ask kids to reach into such a small space like a lunchbox and feel around for things, I created some “What am I” guessing cards.  Grab your level 1 card deck here.  If you are looking for something a bit more challenging, then snag your level 2 rhyming card deck at this link.

The contents of my lunchbox included: water bottle, spoon and fork, sandwich container, Ziploc bag, straw, note, and a napkin.   Once kids guess the object, have them search the lunchbox to retrieve the match.  I also took pictures of all objects in case I want to use this as a matching picture to object task for my preschool kids.  This is a perfect, fun game for your “Back to School” lesson planning and a great way to recycle your child’s former lunchbox!  Enjoy!!

Christmas Stocking

DIY Games for Christmas

I replaced typical gifts in a seasonal game with mini objects targeting speech sounds or vocabulary to enhance expressive skills. For suggestions and sources, see my post.

Given the number of targets that you may use with this game, I typically forego creating pictures as I have with my other guessing game bags.  Think of it this Christmas activity as a sensory bin without the box. For articulation practice, clients can pick one item at a time from the bin and say the word 3-5 times.  Language clients can describe the item retrieved, answer questions about it, or use the target in a sentence.  

Understanding the Speech Evaluation Process in Schools

by
Teaching reading a book surrounded by attentive children

One of the most important aspects of my job as a speech-language pathologist is caregiver education. Understanding the speech evaluation process is crucial for qualifying for speech therapy services in the school system. It is easy for professionals to take for granted the understanding of acronyms, evaluation timelines, and criteria for qualification of speech services. So, I thought I would take a moment to walk you through the eligibility process as it pertains to both the public and private school settings here in Illinois, while defining some key terminology along the way.

Step One: Screening Consent

Some public-school districts may have either your child’s teacher or school speech pathologist contact you to consent to a screening. Parents may express concerns at conferences. In IL private schools, parent consent via email or phone is required for speech and language screenings.

Step Two: Screening

A school SLP addresses speech articulation, expressive language, receptive language, fluency, voicing, and social skills. When caregivers and/or teachers express a concern about the students’ communication, I have them complete a one-page screening request form. The screening questionnaire helps tailor the assessment, focusing on concerns like articulation, vocabulary, or comprehension of directions. A speech only screening is an informal collection of information that typically takes 15-20 minutes. A screening does not assess but helps decide if further assessment is needed.

Step Three: Initial Team Eligibility Meeting 

If further testing is required after screening, caregivers meet with a team comprising the speech pathologist, teacher, and school representative. The 60 school days clock starts ticking when consent is signed, so all testing and reports must be completed within that timeline. You’ll get a notice before the meeting to discuss test results and eligibility for special education services with the team.

Step Four: Speech Evaluation

Common Speech Evaluation Tests Used by School Speech Pathologists

  1. Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation (GFTA)
  2. Arizona Articulation and Phonology Scale (Arizona-4)
  3. Clinical Assessment of Articulation and Phonology (CAAP-2)
  4. Kaufman Speech Praxis Test for Children (KSPT)
  5. Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology (DEAP)
  6. Structured Photographic Articulation Test-Third Edition (SPAT-3)
  7. Photo Articulation Test (PAT-3)
  8. Hodson Assessment of Phonological Patterns (HAPP-3)
  9. LinguiSystems Articulation Test (LAT)
  10. Bankson-Bernthal Test of Phonology (BBTOP)

In both public and private elementary schools, I commonly received referrals for speech articulation issues. Generally speaking, your child may be found eligible for speech articulation services if scores are well below the average expected range. You will read more about this in the standard score section of this post. Often, a child with one, developmentally appropriate sound error may not qualify for school speech services.

Developmentally appropriate sound errors:  These errors are on sound targets that the student may not yet be able to produce due to age.  Like all other areas of development, some children can master sound targets sooner than others. Much of this depends on growth of the oral cavity, hearing acuity, and exposure. The preschooler struggling with /r/ may lack oral cavity growth, hindering tongue movement. Recurring ear infections could impact hearing certain sounds. If we allow some time, the sound targets may naturally become clearer.  The chart pictured below depicts recent research information for sound development.

Understanding the Speech Evaluation Process in Schools: McLeod-Crowe-2018 English consonants Treehouse


Keep in mind that these rules do not apply for a highly unintelligible child. Typically, professionals identify a child with a significant speech challenge in early intervention, preschool, or kindergarten.

For more information on qualifying for speech services under these conditions, please refer to the following posts: Phonological Processes, Childhood Apraxia of Speech, and Speech Sound Development. Explore this resource for a more comprehensive understanding of testing expressive and receptive language.

Step Five: Eligibility Meeting to Review Speech Evaluation Results

Each team member will discuss your child’s test results reviewing strengths and identifying areas of need if indicated.  Typically, we use tests that yield a standardized score (SS).

Standard Scores: These scores compare the student’s results to a national average, indicating if the student is above, below, or at the average compared to peers of the same age.

Standard deviation: This formula reveals the distance to the average range. Every 15 points represents one unit of standard deviation. The range of average for most tests is from 85-115.  You should ask your child’s team what the standard deviation requirements are for eligibility.

Students scoring 70 are one standard deviation below average, indicating a mild delay. Those scoring more than 2.5 standard deviations from the norm are classified as having a severe-profound communication delay.  The visual below from Teach in the City is a great representation of standard score classification.

Understanding the Speech Evaluation Process in Schools: Bell Curve

Adverse impact on student’s educational performance:  This line is the “Be all, end all,” in the school system. The initial team reconvenes to report scores and determine if the delay affects the child’s learning in school. If a delay in any area of communication (speech, language, voice, fluency, social) affects a child’s ability to be understood by school staff and/or peers, the child will likely qualify for services.

Least restrictive environment: Once a child qualifies for special education services, the team will discuss the least restrictive setting and frequency for educational support. Basically, this means that if your child demonstrated a mild delay in speech articulation, then the service delivery should match, not exceed his needs.

Step Six: Individualized Education Plan (IEP)

In the public-school setting, educators develop an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP), while in private schools in Illinois, we create an abridged version known as an Individualized Service Plan (ISP). Either way, the plan is good for one year, at which time the team meets to review student progress, develop new goals, alter service times, or in some cases discharge services altogether. It is not uncommon to hold an IEP meeting with the eligibility.

An IEP starts 10 school days after the meeting. Address questions or concerns with the team and review the draft. At any point in the year, caregivers can request a team meeting to edit goals. If you move to another district or state, your new district must follow the IEP, as it is a legal document.

If your child qualifies for special education, the team will reconvene in three years for updates. Ask questions anytime. Remember, you’re an essential part of your child’s journey. Your involvement ensures the best outcomes. Don’t hesitate to advocate for your child.

Conclusion: Understanding the Speech Evaluation Process

Navigating the speech evaluation process can be challenging, but it’s essential for securing the right services for your child. As caregivers, your involvement and understanding of the process—from initial screening to the development of an Individualized Education Plan (IEP)—are crucial. Remember, each step, whether it’s understanding standardized scores or determining the least restrictive environment, is designed to support your child’s unique communication needs. Keep asking questions, stay engaged, and collaborate with the school team to ensure your child receives the best possible support for their speech and language development.

Improve Reading Comprehension with Winter Literacy

by

As the winter chill settles in, it’s the perfect time to cozy up with some winter-themed literacy activities to improve reading comprehension! Whether you’re a speech pathologist looking for engaging classroom resources or a parent eager to enhance your child’s reading skills at home, this winter literacy post (featured in ASHA 1/10/13) has you covered.

Exploring winter literacy with my elementary clients has been a delightful journey. During one winter break, I crafted several engaging lessons, pairing seasonal books with practical activities. Organizing these books can enhance thematic learning experiences and streamline access to resources for speech and language therapy sessions. For more details about my unique storing system, read my organization post.

Improve reading comprehension with Tracks in the Snow

Improve Reading Comprehension with: Tracks in the Snow

Tracks in the Snow by Wong Herbert Yee suits 1st and 2nd graders. It aids in teaching irregular past tense verbs. I decided to create a list using sentences with present tense verbs from the story.  Kids take turns changing verbs to past tense, earning animal track cards or tokens for correct answers. The person with the most tracks or tokens wins! You can grab your list here for Tracks in the Snow:

Improve reading comprehension with The Missing Mitten Mystery

Improve Reading Comprehension with: The Missing Mitten Mystery

My next book, The Missing Mitten Mystery by Steven Kellogg is a funny story about a little girl who retraces her steps outside in search of a missing mitten. I found this book by Scholastic for a quarter at my local library sale! Moreover, I needed a lesson for some 3rd graders that focused on simple comprehension questions following a short reading, and this book fit the bill! If you can find this book at your local library or bookstore, then you can use these comprehension questions!

Improve reading comprehension with In the Snow: Who's Been Here?

In the Snow: Who’s Been Here?

Another score at the library sale was, In the Snow: Who’s Been Here? by Lindsay Barrett George. I highly recommend borrowing or purchasing this book because each page gives clues about a winter animal that has crossed the trail in the woods just prior to the children’s walk. Great for vocabulary building and also for answering who/what questions!!

Improve reading comprehension with The Hat

Improve Reading Comprehension with: The Hat

The Hat by Jan Brett follows Hedgie the hedgehog as he gets a sock stuck on his prickles and faces the curiosity of other animals. As the story unfolds, readers discover how Hedgie’s predicament turns into a whimsical adventure. If you have not seen the FREE templates at www.makelearningfun.com that go along with the stories, The Mitten and The Hat both by Jan Brett, then you should follow this link to take a look!

Improve reading comprehension with Owl Moon

Improve Reading Comprehension with: Owl Moon

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen depicts a young girl and her father as they embark on a magical journey into the woods on a moonlit night. Together, they search for owls, experiencing the wonder and quiet beauty of nature. I found some great worksheets for this award winning story at this blogger’s TpT site.

Addendum 1/3/2013

After borrowing Katy and the Big Snow, I crafted a vocabulary lesson plan, prompted by a comment on this post. Follow this link for complete details.






10 SLP Apps that Stand the Test of Time

by

Essential SLP Apps

I was given each of these SLP apps so I could put them to the test and offer a first person, hands on review.  This list of 10 apps that stand the test of time is meant to guide other educators and caregivers towards the apps that I have found to be most beneficial, not only when my son was younger, but also at work with clients on my pediatric, speech-language caseload. The ranking is in no particular order of preference.

Conversation Builder for Social Communication

Conversation Builder icon: SLP apps

Conversation Builder Teen ($29.99) by Mobile Education Store:  I cannot say enough about this dynamic app that supports improving social skills for teenagers! I have used  it with middle school clients diagnosed with autism. To say this app is a must have for anyone needing support with pragmatic skills would be a HUGE understatement!!

Tense Builder for Understanding Verbs

Tense Builder ($9.99) by Mobile Education Store:  This is another, fantastic app by Kyle Tomson. It addresses every, possible verb tense in a bright, entertaining way that the first graders in my life really enjoy. Users watch a short cartoon video and then match the appropriate picture to the target sentence. For a closer look at this gem, head to my detailed post here.

Syntax City App

Syntax City icon: SLP apps

Syntax City ($19.99) by Smarty Ears:  Great app that targets a good variety of syntax in a fun, categorical way. Visit several different locations in the city and earn prizes by choosing the correct word to complete sentences. Motivating, educational, and fun for my young, elementary students. I have more information and images to see of this app in my detailed review post.  

Rainbow Sentences: Recommended SLP Apps

Rainbow Sentences icon: SLP apps

Rainbow Sentences ($9.99) by Mobile Education Store:
The object of this game is to unscramble words to form grammatically correct sentences. It offers multiple settings and various levels of difficulty. I personally like how the mixed up words maintain the correct punctuation and capitalization, which act as clues for word ordering while offering visual reminders to use these techniques while writing too! Children earn pieces of a puzzle by answering several questions accurately.  I provide even more details and images in my post: Constructing Grammatically Correct Sentences with Rainbow Sentences app.

Preposition Builder App

Preposition Builder icon: SLP apps

Preposition Builder ($7.99) by Mobile Education Store:
What can I say, I’m a Mobile Education Store Fan! They cover all the speech language therapy bases!! This app teaches prepositions in related groups. Once you successfully fill-in the correct prepositions in all sentences, you unlock an opportunity to watch a short, animated video clip.

Articulation Station: The Greatest of all SLP Apps

Articulation Station (.99-$5.99) by Little Bee Speech:  The app itself comes free with oneArticulation Station: SLP apps target sound, /p/, and then you purchase other sounds at various prices. Speech pathologists will want the entire collection, while parents need only purchase sound targets applicable for their children.  No need to dig for flashcards because this puts them all in the palm of your hand. You can work at word, phrase, sentence, or story levels and set sound targets for all positions in words.  In addition to the flashcards, there are memory games built into every sound target, making carryover practice easy and fun!

Expressive: Robust AAC APP

Expressive icon: SLP appsExpressive ($59.99) by Smarty Ears apps: This is an affordable augmentative and alternative communication speech generating app primarily used for individuals who are minimally verbal.  For complete details and images, please see my post Expressive by Smarty Ears Apps- An Affordable AAC app.

Expressive Builder App

Expressive Builder ($9.99) by Mobile Education Store:  I use this app to address building grammatically and syntactically correct sentences. The levels of play make this a nice tool for teaching and assessing speech and language skills!

Custom Boards: A Versatile Tool in SLP Apps for Creating Visual Resources 

Custom Boards (PRICELESS) by Smarty Ears apps: Incredible, comprehensive, amazing, dynamic – these are just some of the descriptive words that came to describe this app!  Basically, Custom Boards allows you to create whatever you need for children of all ages using any of the 35,000 “Smarty Ears” symbols, your own library photos, or Google search images.  You can edit the text font, image size, and change the background colors for images to help them stand out more and create just about anything from Bingo games to daily routine visual schedules.

Little Stories: Literacy App for SLPs

Little Stories icon: SLP appsLittle Stories ($59.99) by Little Bee Speech:  It is impossible for me to tell you everything about this app in one paragraph, so I want you to download the free version and sample three stories for yourself.  You can target speech, language, and literacy in this dynamic app that contains 82 stories at tiered reading levels. Take a look at what you get with each story:

Reading & Literacy

  • Phonemic awareness
  • Reading fluency
  • Reading comprehension
  • Story structure awareness
  • Story tradition and genre exploration

Receptive Language Skills

  • Attention and listening
  • Vocabulary acquisition
  • Story structure and comprehension
  • Question processing

Expressive Language Skills

  • Speech production
  • Story sequencing
  • Story retelling
  • Question answering

How to Write a Social Story

by

One of the most frequently asked questions I have heard in both early intervention and school settings is:  How do you write a social story? I’ve discovered the value of not only offering educators and caregivers the stories they seek for their children but also providing guidance on crafting future social narratives. By the end of this post, I aim for you to feel empowered to craft your own impactful social stories.

Woman dressed in black writing a social story on a computer

What is a social story?

A social story is a personalized script that depicts any number of social scenarios.  According to the developer of social stories, Carol Gray, “Social Stories are a social learning tool that supports the safe and meaningful exchange of information between parents, professionals, and people with autism of all ages.” Written in the first person, the social story may be repeated aloud; therefore, we want these utterances to be grammatically correct and personify the speaker. If a child memorizes a script like “You will feel proud,” it may sound awkward in social situations.  Rather, this line in a social story should say, “I will feel proud.”

Who benefits from social stories?

Children with autism and other communication delays have particular difficulty comprehending and responding to routine and unexpected social situations. Social stories define social sequences, aiding comprehension for autistic children, whether through text alone or with visuals.

What can I use to write my own, visual social story?

While there are many social stories for sale, it is easier to compose one specific to the child’s needs. These stories can be generated using apps on an iPad like, Social Story Creator & Library by Touch Autism or Custom Boards by Smarty Ears apps. Create a photo album with typed sentences to ensure consistent reading, aligning with pictures for a cohesive story experience.

Whether your social story is a few pictures in a photo album or several sentences on one full page, there are some elements that must be included in order for the story to be effective. Let’s look at a sample story and examine the  four types of sentences that comprise a social story.

Guideline for Writing Social Stories:

Story title:  Changing into Gym Clothes Before Gym Class

Before we can go to gym class, we need to change into our gym clothes. (This is an example of a descriptive sentence. You may use a few of these in one story.)

Other children in my class need to change into their gym clothes before gym class too. (This is a perspective sentence because it describes another’s actions.)

I will try and stay calm in the noisy changing room. (This directive sentence type is a statement of the response or action you are trying to achieve with the social story. You can even add some techniques that help the child “calm” such as taking deep breaths or counting.)

Most people change into gym clothes before gym class so they will not ruin their school clothes. It is a good idea to keep our school clothes clean. (This final sentence is called an affirmative one because it affirms or reinforces the other sentences in the story and reiterates values and opinions.)

While I have seen some written using negative connotations like, “I will not hit my friends,” we know that repeating these lines can reinforce those unacceptable behaviors.  A better option would be to script the expected action, “I will have quiet, calm hands with my friends.”

Sample Social Story Resources:

I hope that the details in this post provided you with all the information that you need to write your own social stories.  However, if you are not quite ready to start from scratch, then I have listed some resources with sample stories to use or edit:

Writing Social Stories with Carol Gray

The New Social Stories Book: Revised and Expanded 15th Anniversary Edition

204 Fold and Say Social Stories

Given the emotional content some social stories are more challenging to write than others, so Carol Gray wrote some sample social stories covering topics like, safety, tragedy, self discovery, stereotypes, and resilience.

Verified by MonsterInsights