In the last post of this Communicating with Compassion series, I gave several easy, interactive activities to help older students build emotional vocabulary skills. To refresh your memory, we are focusing on three areas critical to helping students become more peaceful, compassionate communicators: Language that shares emotions Listening with compassion Assertive vs. aggressive communication Here there are lots of… Read More
Activities to Build Emotional Vocabulary Skills in Older Students: Part 2 in Communicating with Compassion Series
In my first post in this series, Working with students classified as emotionally disturbed: What’s our role?, I explored the role of the SLP as part of the treatment team of this challenging population. I also shared my concerns for the ongoing epidemic of violence in our schools, and how we are part of the solution. Helping students to communicate… Read More
Social Thinking® & Nonviolent Communication
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