6 steps to communication partner buy-in
You’ve completed professional development. You’ve listened to podcasts. You’ve read the research. You’ve told the team all about WISE strategies. YOU know that a trained communication partner is key for the success of individuals who use AAC. But your communication partners just aren’t following through. The communication devices are on a shelf. The batteries are… Read more
How to be a WISE communication partner
Communication is not completed in isolation. While talking to myself can help me process my own thoughts and feelings, it does not fulfill the social functions of communication such as expressing my wants/needs, sharing information, or experiencing social closeness (Light, 1988 as described by Beukelman & Mirenda, 2013). A communication partner is the person or… Read more
SLPD – Is it worth it?
After what was both an extremely short and extensively long two and a half years, I have completed my clinical doctorate in speech-language pathology from Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions (RMU). When I began this journey, my goals were to learn more about evidence-based practice, research, and the ever-changing field of speech pathology. You… Read more
Social Skills – In-person & Online Groups
If you are a school-based SLP, you know that groups are a must to serve all of your students. School SLPs have little to no time to work individually with students, even if we wanted to. Luckily, there is evidence that group-based social skills interventions (GSSIs) are effective for some goals (Reinchow et al., 2012). … Read more
Using PDFs in Distance Learning
Many SLPs and educators are very familiar with PDFs. These are the files that we download from the internet, print off, and use with our students. Easy. Distance learning and homework, however, has made many of us put on our thinking caps and learn flexible ways to use our favorite resources. But don’t worry, there… Read more
How to analyze research graphs – a primer for SLPs
In the past, I used the abstracts of research papers to determine what the research was about and the results of the study. I naively assumed that abstracts would not be biased; they would not overexaggerate results or make claims that were not fully supported. I didn’t come to these quick conclusions based on ill-intent… Read more
Conversational Scripts
Do you serve students with limited language skills who are unsure of how to interact within a situation? Here is a great example. I give my student five cards and keep five for myself and explain that we are going to play “Go Fish”. I could name multiple students right now that would either repeat… Read more