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Journal: G is for Graduate School

Hi Everyone!

Hope that break treated everyone nicely, and you got to relax.  Back to school on Monday! Heading into a brand new semester of stimulating classes, with the intense work and rigorous schedule that comes along with it, can be overwhelming.  Add to that the addition of a semester working in the clinic, and there’s opportunity for some serious anxiety.  But when you replace those tension filled thoughts with the excitement that comes along with learning from experienced professors, and invaluable real live work in the clinic, the butterflies diminish to some extent 🙂

I’m definitely heading into my second semester with more confidence than the first.  I’m no longer walking into the unknown, or stressing over the unexpected.  (aside from clinic of course).  Now I’ll be walking into the building I know so well, with the professors, secretaries, and peers that I’ve already met.  We’ve already gone through one whole semester together which creates a solid sense of collaboration.  It didn’t come so easy of course.  It’s a feeling that comes from going through projects, finals, and deadlines all together as a class.  After all the work and pressure, you emerge “stronger together” (Clinton, Presidential Campaign 2017).  I’m hoping this feeling only grows stronger as we continue through this journey of graduate school.

In other news…thankful that Pesach isn’t right in the beginning of the semester!! This time I get to settle into class and get ahead of the work before taking off for Yom Tov.  Of course I still can’t make any plans for going home until I get a finalized schedule that includes work in the clinic.  But we’ll have to take that as it comes.

For now, deep breaths, stocking up on a fresh pack of paper, and davening for the Siyata D’Shmaya to make it through the semester!  Wish me luck for tomorrow!!

We’ll be in touch…

When therapy materials don’t work out:(!

We purchase or download therapy materials, fully expecting them to work for us. However, sometimes the material/activity does not work out due to the client interest, the game may not be age appropriate, be boring, or does not address the intended area.

Sometimes the games themselves are flawed.  The package and title may seem to be just perfect but the game has serious issues. Here are three examples of recent purchases that did not live up to my expectations.

You’ve been Sentenced sounds like the perfect game for targeting syntax and semantics, no?  After giving this game 2 or three tries during sessions, I’ve accepted that the rules of play are simply flawed.  It is a painstaking process to create sentences.  Playing this game for 20 minutes is painful for all parties involved.  The solution is simple though: utilize these cards for different activities.  Use it to teach syntax in other ways.

Elephant Trunks looks like a darling game for use with preschoolers.  I envisioned hour happily spent sorting and classifying clothing into suitcases as we worked on many different language goals.  Alas, the game is disappointing.  Each player takes 6  matching tokens and spins the die to see which suitcase to place it in.  It can be good for teaching colors and basic labeling but has little other use.

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Lastly, we come to Rory’s story cubes.  We have said it before and we will say it again.  These cubes do not elicit much speech or conversation from the players.  The pictures are obscure and result in silly nonsensical sentences or stories with little structure present.  A well-marketed but poorly designed product!

If you have any other games that you would like to share with us then please comment below!

Product Review: Howie’s Owies

Howie or Chaim needs some bandaids on his boo-boos.  This activity will definitely appeal to children preschool to 3rd grade.  Here are some different ways that this could be used:

  1. Use as a reinforcer https://genericforgreece.com/αγ…iagra/.  No matter what the goal is, allow the child to place a band-aid on the boy when they complete their task.
  2. Auditory Comprehension/Following Directions: Put a small, red band-aid on his elbow.
  3. Expressive/Receptive Language: Teach the names of the body parts, answering “wh” questions, prepositions.

Once you get a shirt and yarmulke on Chaim using a Sharpie marker, please send us a pic!!

Guest Post: Rochel Leiberman and the book she authored

There is something hugely significant about the words a person mutters to himself when going through a moment of stress.

Ever wish you had the great line you thought about after a stressful event and wish that you could’ve delivered that wordy comeback at the right moment? At the moment of a stressful event, that priceless I-wish-I-had-that-line-memorized seems elusive. A line, a healthy positive line, is essential to reframe and reevaluate a situation, called reframing.

For every negative line that Pearla’s inner critic says to her (“Who will want them?”), Pearla is able to comeback with a healthful line “I’m a person. People are not perfect. I did my best. I know I will be helped with the rest.”  This refrain walks her through intense feelings of embarrassment, sadness, surprise.  Through these wordy phrases, Pearla is able to hold on to a healthy belief of “I did my best and feel so thankful for the rest.”

Soon she realizes that people who truly feel comfortable in their skin, who drum to a beat of their own, like the Petraplinksis and Sammy Konstalay also have a healthy refrain that keeps them going. “This is perfect! These may have a sign that says ‘Imperfect’, but they are perfect for us.”

Having a healthy mantra for which to guide your life, and walk you through challenging journeys that is consistent with your natural style of talking is essential. If the idea of talking to your inner critic sounds silly or uncomfortable, try to think of what you would say to your child, Pearla, if she would confront you with her dilemma?

Pearla absolutely adores her culinary creations. She is proud of her work and she gets emotional and social enjoyment from her delicious confections. She is excited to get up early on a Sunday morning and is eager to engage in the baking process. Humming along to that excitement is Pearla’s inner critic. Her inner critic is relentless: forcing her to place the cream in perfect squiggles and to not accept failure at any cost. That critic needs to be spoken to! And that is exactly what Pearla does.

While the reader can feel inspired by Pearla’s ability to reframe her thinking and come up with a line that to tame her inner critic, it is important to relate these teachings to daily practice. Take one second and ask yourself ask “what is my helpful line that guides me through stress?

To read more about Rochel and to purchase Pearla and Her Unpredictably Perfect Day visit www.ariberspeech.com.

 

Product Review: Rainbow Scratch Paper

This scratch paper never ceases to amaze students young and old.  By simply scratching the paper with the wooden stick provided and a beautiful rainbow appears underneath.  This can be used as a reinforcer or for writing down the words and sounds that they are working on.  This activity is low in stress and maintenance for the therapist and highly motivating for the student.

Oorah Auction Booklet and Expressive Language

Kids and adults alike eagerly wait for the  Oorah Auction Booklet to show up in their mailbox.  And why not, it’s both exciting and fun to look at.

This booklet can be used seasonally in your sessions targeting expressive language and increasing MLU.

The pictures are of items/scenes that the kids are familiar with.

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Ex: Grocery Giveway:

“WH” questions

Who is in the store?

What are they buying?

Where is the mommy?

When will they eat the food?

Why are they putting the food in the shopping cart?

Describing

Find something square in the picture?

Tell me three things about the girl in the picture?

Syntax

Present progressive “He is holding 3 boxes”.

Pronouns “They are riding on the shopping cart”.

Irregular verbs “They are buying a lot.” Last week they bought less nosh.”

Articulation

Work on sentences and carryover.

Best of all buy some auction tickets for yourself.  Miracles happen!;)

 

Enjoy the Long December Vacation

Many SLPs will continue to work straight through the upcoming Holiday Season.  Others will have 1-2 weeks off and much time to spend at their leisure.  Here is a list of some common pitfalls that befall those of us who are off.

Don’t overbook yourself as tempting as that may be.  Doing so would set you up for disappointment. And remember that it is called “vacation” for a re ason.

You will still need to complete everyday chores: Eating Breakfast, Davening, Straightening up.  These are all normal everyday tasks that you may not have the luxury for on regular work days.  Enjoy engaging in them but remember that they DO take up your time. Don’t be surprised to find that it is 3:00 pm and you feel that you have nothing to ‘show’ for your time

Expect the unexpected: ‘Things’ come up when you least expect them:) Remember that it is normal.

Take time for yourself to do something you wouldn’t normally do.

Slow down even while accomplishing.  Don’t allow yourself to fall into a frantic pattern during this time off.  Slowing down a little bit will allow you to fully enjoy your time

Enjoy Chanuka: Chanuka is a Yom Tov celebrating our Nitzchiyous in this long Galus.  This year, try to appreciate that you are away from your work environment during this Chag.

Site Review: Rewordify

www.rewordify.com is an amazing resource for simplifying text with difficult vocabulary.  Log onto the page and you will be greeted with a yellow box to be filled with the text of your choice.

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Now I have entered the text “It can be hard to make inferences” and click on the yellow button  “REWORDIFY TEXT”

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The top of the page now reads “It can be hard to make guesses (based on what you have been told), with the new words in yellow!

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A simple and effective way to translate complex language.

It also comes fully stocked with translations of many of the classics.  You can search by letter.  A search of Animal Farm turned up this…

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This website is a real treasure.

Product Review: Articulation maps

This game was presented by an SLP at a staff meeting.  The concept is so cute and original.  Pair this with some mini cars and have students practice giving directions to each other

 

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“Make a left on Red Road to get to the Restaurant”

Order some mini-cars on Amazon by clicking here or pick some up at your local dollar store.