As an SLP, I often question and reevaluate my role in the communication abilities of my students. Having always worked with children with social, emotional and behavioral difficulties, I am alarmed at the violent language my students use when interacting with others. Words, phrases and labels such as “I hate”, “kill”, “you’re gross”, and “that’s a dumb idea” are common…. Read More
Helping Students Talk About Tragedies: 10 Tips for SLPs
While the school year has been over for many of you, my last day is more than a week away. In the wake of the horrific events that have taken place in Orlando this past week, I am happy that our school is still in session. Most of my upper elementary students are aware and confused over what has taken… Read More
Social Skill Explanation Handouts
As an SLP in the school system as well as private practice, I am always looking for quality handouts that explain the skill sets we are addressing in therapy. My caseload is heavily weighted with students whose IEPs include pragmatic language. Helping parents, teachers and educators to understand the importance of social skills is daunting, especially when we start talking… Read More
Size of My Problem Poster: A Review
Are you using Social Thinking’s Size of My Problem poster? I received mine about 2 weeks ago, and it has already proved to be an invaluable resource. Talking about the size of the problem and emotional reaction are concepts that have been part of my therapeutic vocabulary for a long time. Most of my career has been working with children… Read More
What Color Are My Feelings? Workbook: Middle School Edition
As another school year looms in the near future, I’m busy preparing and creating materials that will help make the transition easier. You may have read my guest post in Natalie Snyder’s blog about setting up a school-wide social skills curriculum. Continuing and expanding this program will be a primary focus for me this year as well. Modifying and… Read More
Social “Monsters”
I’m sure you will agree that most of our best therapy ideas are inspired by our students. In my private practice our focus is on social skills, where one client described his struggles as “having a little monster inside–I guess I need to train him”. As soon as those words escaped his mouth, I was on to the idea for… Read More