Advice for Medical SLP Newbies part 3

It's Kristin.

Well, if you've been following the blog, you kow that a few new SLPs or grad student readers have asked some specific questions re: how to get things started. My previous post covered "Planning." This one's going to be about carrying out the session itself. Hope it helps! Feel free to add your own comments and advice!

The Session: I personally like to start sessions by asking a few questions first.  Before I just jump in and start drilling them I want to see how they've been since our last session, how they're feeling, if they think speech therapy is helping, if they understand what we're working on, if they did any
"homework assignments" I gave them, etc.  This may seem obvious, but sometimes it's easy to skip this stuff when you get into automatic mode.

Then as we get going on our therapy tasks, I try to remember that if I'm bored, so is the patient.  I like to keep things interesting and meaningful for them.  I let them know what we're working on and why.  I try to switch activities every 10 minutes or so (but that can vary depending on their attention span).

Well, that seems really brief, but many of the other things I thought of mentioning seem too obvious and boring: taking data, dealing with different personalities or family.  Comment if you think I'm missing anything!

Merry Christmas!
XOXO,
~K

What a long crazy trip its been

Well, again I don’t know if you missed me or not, but I’m back and it has been one heck of a ride. I’m sure that there are some of you out there that have no idea what I’m talking about.

I decided to take up the challenge from National Novel Writing Month otherwise known as NaNoWriMo  to write a novel in one month, thirty days, with at least 50,000 words.

I started the first day, just me and my computer starring at each other, no ideas were coming to mind, nothing was flowing, but then I started typing and I just kept going. The story kind of created itself as I went along. I had to have plenty of brain storming sessions and discussions with my wife, but the story seemed to come out the best when I just kept writing. When I just let is flow and gush out. Maybe gushing wasn’t the best word right there.

Did I make it? Did I finish the challenge of 50,000 words? Well, those of you who follow me on twitter already know.

Yes and no.

I ended up with a word count yesterday of 83,100 words, so yes, according to NaNoWriMo I made it. And no, my story had not yet been concluded yet. That was my main goal, to have a completed first draft of my novel. Having had written over 150 word document pages means I have quite a bit of this novel written. Yet every good book needs three components, a beginning, a middle, and an end. Mine seems to be lacking that last part. I’m not quite sure how it’s going to get there, but I’ll keep trudging along, just not at the same crazy intense pace that I have been doing for the last 30 days. I told my wife yesterday that she has permission to nag me to finish this. I give you all the same permission.

Speaking of my wife, she is invested. She deserves me to finish this silly project of mine because bless her heart she has read every single word that I’ve written. Yup, every single word, if you can believe it. And not only that, she’s let me write while taking the kids, doing dishes, putting up with me talking about nothing else, etc, etc. Yes, my wife deserves a trophy I dare say. She has been wonderful while I have been putting myself through this literary madness exercise. I love her for it. Well, I loved her before it as well, but I love her even more.

I can hear the whole lot of you yelling from your computers and fancy smart phones as you are reading this.

“What the heck is your stupid book about??!!???” I’m sure some of you used even more choice language than that.

Well, what I thought it was going to be about in the beginning has evolved. I’ll tell you some things that it’s about, but don’t expect it to make sense.

It entitled Harvest Wind.

It’s about a teenage boy coming to grips with his stuttering disorder.

It’s about a young blossoming teen romance. (Yeah, I especially didn’t see that one coming either).

It’s about a murder mystery.

It’s about a people, a city, who live dual compartmentalized lives in a dream like world completely separate from their reality when they are awake.

It’s about a people fighting for survival.

It’s about a young boy coming to believe in himself as he tries to find his place in the world.

Is that enough to confuse you at least? The book took so many unexpected turns as I was writing it. There were many moments while I was writing that I laughed out loud by what one of my characters said or did. There were other times I could feel the love sickness that often times infects the hearts of those who are young. And there were times that I felt heart broken at the things that had happened. It was seriously an emotional roller coaster, not just feeling all the feelings of the main characters of my novel, but I also had all of the feelings of inadequacy come at me at times. There were several times throughout the month that I was attacked by, what the NaNoWriMo people call, my “inner editor”. This evil little thing often told me that my writing was crap, that this was a stupid idea, and that I should just call the whole damn thing off. I mean seriously, what was I thinking anyway? I got myself down several times thinking about the heap of rubbish that I attempted to call a novel in progress.

It very well maybe a big heap of … rubbish, but at least I proved that I could nearly write a novel in 30 days (over 80,000 words strong!). And if I can write a novel in thirty days I can do just about anything. Such as write a blog post at least once a week! Ha!

I’ve already had several people ask if they could read it. I want to at least finish the first draft before letting anybody touch it, but then I really need some people who have a good editing eye. Right now the book is untouched, riddled with inconsistencies and typos. I hope that some of you will please read this and help me make it better. If you would like to read a draft of this to help improve it, email me at pathologicallyspeaking (at) gmail (dot) com and I’ll add you to a list. Don’t hold your breath as to how long it might take me to complete the first draft. It feels like it still needs at least 10,000 more words, its kind of hard to tell.

And yes, I totally plan on doing this again next year, but I hope to enlist some friends in real life and on the web, to join me in this crazy challenge. Maybe you could join me next November.

Thanks for letting me ramble on this topic. I promise to shut up about it for a good year or so unless I really just want to tell you guys about one thing or another.

Now back to your regular scheduled blog program.Yes, I'm actually going to be writing about speech therapy stuff again.

A little bit more for the brand new SLP's (aka: advice for the Medical SLP Newbies-- part II)

It's Kristin here.

So, one of you commented after our advice posts that you are even wondering about some of the basics- how to plan a session, "run" a session, take data and write reports.  I know that can all be overwhelming when you're in grad school or just entering your first internship or first job.  I thought I could say a little more on that for those who are interested. And you veteran SLPs- feel free to add to this in the comments.  You know Bob and I love comments and feedback.

I work in a Rehabilitation Unit in a hospital.  I mainly see adults with neurological issues.  Bob- maybe you'll want to address a more pediatric version of some of the stuff I have to say. :)  No pressure! 

(Let's assume that the initial evaluation is done here and I'll start with the first session after the eval.)
 Planning:  I think the most efficient way to plan for a session, is to look at the patient/client/student's (okay, from now on I'll just say patient) goals and decide what the priorities are.  Maybe they have 7 goals, but which one is affecting their communication or life the most?  In my case, swallowing often comes first.  Then speech and language.  Then cognition.  In the schools, maybe it's a specific phoneme, or glaring syntactical deficit, or a pragmatic/social issue that's causing him major social problems.  Then there are those secondary goals that can wait a bit- like why start the session focusing on /s/ when the student can't even form clear sentences?  In my world- why start with memory tasks if the patient can't even name words?  Anyway, I think we may have a tendency as clinicians to start with the tasks that are the most enjoyable to work on, or that we feel the most skilled with, so you gotta watch out.

Let's stop there for now and I'll address other topics in my subsequent "Newbie" posts.


Thanks for reading,
~K

Where Did Bob Go?

Howdy peoples,

I bet you’ve been wondering, hmm, were did Bob go? If you are anything like me, if something doesn’t come up in your google reader it just doesn’t exist. So, you’re most likely not very concerned. If you aren't then you can stop reading right now, if you are concerned though (and I love you for it!!) then continue.

Well, I’m not writing jack this month because I’m writing too much. Make any sense? Of course not. If you know me well, you should know that I rarely make much sense at all. But there is a very good reason for this nonsense.

It’s November, which is National Novel Writing Month, affectionately known as NaNoWriMo, if you follow me on twitter, then you’ve seen my frantic tweets about the event already (on both accounts @speechbob and @aoirselvar), as well as updates on facebook (poor confused dave). This year I have decided to throw in my lot with those crazy people who are attempting to write at least 1667 words a day in order to meet the grand old goal of 50,000 words by Novemeber 30th.

It’s been fun, but everything else in my life has been put on hold. Including writing blog posts, playing video games, catching up on my DVRed shows, feeding my cat (did I mention that I recently got a cat?), personal hygiene… you name it.

But today is November 13th, and I’m at 28,000 words already! I’m more than half way there! Woot! But only problem is that my novel is more than half way done. I’ve actually set my goal for 70,000 words, which I hope to eep out a decent story.

My story? Well, it’s a fantasy story about a boy name Praxton (yes I stole this character from previous writings, but he’s nearly completely different. Like a different dimension Praxton, in a different world, etc). I’m actually pretty happy with what I’ve written so far, I’m worried about letting the masses actually read the book, but if really really want to read the book and help me revise it, email me at aoirselvar (at) gmail (dot) com. I won’t even send anything out until I’m done with draft one, after I let some people at least get rid of all the many typos.

Anyway, I have spent much too much time writing this blog post. And in order to save time so I can write more on my NaNoWriMo, I’m just going to put this post on the three blogs that I write on (Pathologically Speaking, Casual Huntering, Blog of Bob & Lindy, even though the have nothing in common and I write on some of them more often than others.

Everybody have a great day, and I’ll see you in December.

My new commitment

Hey all!  It's Kristin posting.  Sorry we've taken a short blog-bbatical!  We're really still here, just got a little swamped for a sec.

I got a comment from one of you (thanks Brenda!) recommending an /r/ program when I asked for help with that neighbor kid's /r/'s.  I went to research it a bit on Twitter and realized I am missing out on this whole SLP twitter world out there.  Bob, you are obviously totally SLPeeps savvy, but I am now jealous and I want to be a part of it.

Yes, I have a twitter account, but I don't really use it.  I don't fully understand how Twitter works, but I'm sure I'll figure it out.  (Examples:  Why do people's twitter names have the @ symbols and how does that help you find the person, as opposed to just searching for them without the @?  Why can you only see fractions of conversations, even when you expand them on the right?  Etc.)

Well, I am going to post and check my Twitter account at least 3X/week.  I am going to post about SLP stuff and if you wanna follow me its apparently @ and then my name kristinm333.  :) 

Hope to see you there.  Hope we can get good ideas from each other.  And for heaven's sake- we need blog comments.  Come say hi or add your 2 cents or something!

XOXO
~K

Good Byes and Hellos

I recently have released a few students from speech services. Often times I have mixed feelings about this. On one side, it’s good for the student to move on, they don’t need you anymore. Yet, we tend to grow rather fond of our students. Those of us working in elementary schools, we get to watch our students grow up. I work preschool through 6^th grade. I’ve only started the preschool part last year, but I have 3 of my preschoolers in kindergarten now. They’re already a little taller and a little more mature. It’s incredible just how quickly it all happens. And every year, a new batch of our kids are getting ready to enter Jr. High School. I hope and pray that they’ll be able to make it, that they’ll do okay.

The speech language pathologist has to have a big heart to do what we do with so many that we work with. We have to be flexible to let new kids enter our heart at a moments whim; yet, we have to be understanding when our students move with little notice.

I use to have a real hard time with good-byes. I’ve never much really liked them, but there have been so many in my life, not many were permanent though, just moving on from one stage of my life to another. This school year seems to be riddle with them. My school has a high turn over rate mostly due to our status as a title one school. I always have a stack of files that are ready and waiting for a file request, and I’m constantly adding kids to my schedule. My schedule has been all over the place this year. As if it wasn’t bad enough due to the fact that we’re also a year round school. At least some of the kids come and go so quickly that I don’t get time to get attached.

There are those who manage to sneak into your heart quicker than others. One that I released recently reminds me of my daughter, same spirit, same obsession with princesses, same smile. I had to let her go, and I was happy to hear from the mom that the student was very sad to have to end speech.

Luckily, we still have several years where she can say hello in the halls.

That nasty /r/ phoneme

Calling all pediatric SLPs!  This post is in regards to the bain of many SLPs' existences.  /R/.

My neighbors/friends asked if I would help them out. Their son is not saying his /r/'s correctly.  As you know, I work in the hospital with adults.  I am wanting to help them, but feeling like I might not be the best person for the job.  They are willing to try me anyway.

Their 12 year old has been in speech therapy for years.  He can produce /r/ correctly in structured tasks some/most of the time.  They do their speech homework. 

My questions to you are:

What are the cues you SLPs use to elicit the /r/?  (I know several of us use different cues.)

Do any of you take private clients at home, just informally?  Do I need to do any official paperwork??

Thanks guys!

Kristin

Therapy Dashing

Yeah, I’ve dropped the ball, haven’t written anything on the blog for 1 ½ weeks now. I am a world class slacker. Truthfully, things have just been busy, and I’ve been lazy on Tuesday mornings (when I usually write my new posts). So, I’m try to be better in the future.

Now I do have to admit, that even though I use my iPod touch a lot in speech therapy, I also play a lot of games on it. I recently bought a game called Mystic Emporium. I doubt you’ve heard of it, doesn’t matter, it’s basically a “Diner Dash” style game (don’t worry, I’m really getting somewhere with this). In the game Dinner Dash, you are a waitress trying to take care of a diner. You have to seat people, get their order, put the order in to the cooks, clean up their tables, etc. Seems simple, right? Well, once you get going to gets a little crazy, you have like 3 families waiting to be seated, you’re trying to get an elderly couples food out to them, while cleaning up several tables so more people can be seated. Basically it’s a time management game. You have to try to multi-task as much as possible, try to kill two birds with one stone whenever you can, basically try to survive while you have a million things to do.

 

It then hit me, are these kind of games so different than my life as a speech language pathologist? Working with teachers with classroom interventions, sending home this consent to evaluate, planning for that therapy session, finding time to evaluate a student, sped meetings, progress reports, IEPs, etc, etc, etc.

Suddenly the game seemed a little less interesting. It was starting to hit too close to home. 

Time management is something I’m still working on. Keeping on top of IEPs can be tricky when you are working year round. You have to pay attention to who is going off track soon so you can get their meetings done before they leave. Sometimes they sneak up on you. I’m trying to keep on top of the many referrals that I have coming through the wood works. I’m getting better about documenting everything so I don’t let any kids slip through the cracks.

Now I’m not going to even claim to be an expert in this area, I’m still trying to learn how to do this myself, but I have a book that’s been helping me keep everything in focus. First Things First by Stephen R. Covey, A. Rodger Merrill, and Rebecca R.Merrill has been a great asset. Now I don’t do everything in the book, actually, I need to do a whole lot more so I can stay on top of things. But the book doesn’t focus on staying on top of things so much as focusing on the most important things. 

I think sometimes we can get caught up so much into the paperwork and the logistics of everything that we end up sacrificing the child. I have to admit, at times when I have a lot of IEPs to write, and several other paperwork related items to get to, I’ve felt the “therapy” was getting in the way of me doing my job. Woah! What was that? Yeah, the things they teach in this book is helping me keep the right focus. The students come first; their progress is the most important. Of course everything else has to get done as well. That’s just the nature of our jobs. We have to be able to do everything. However, again, our priority has to be the people we’re serving weather it is students at a school or patients in a hospital.

Boardmaker Giveaway Winner

Hey all!  It's Kristin.  Thanks to those who participated in our first giveaway!  It's way fun to see the new followers and get new comments.  And the random (via random.org) winner is:

Entry # 22 - Jeremy Brown!  Jeremy - email me (see the side bar for my email) your address and I'll send you the goods.  Congrats!  I hope these Boardmaker discs come in handy. 

We'll do a new giveaway soon!

SLP Burnout

It's Kristin here!

FYI our giveaway ends tomorrow so hurray and enter (HERE).

Well, this was a long work week for me for some reason!  I think our job is heavy- all that face to face intense talking.  Coaxing phonemes, words, and memories out of people.  Managing behaviors, family members, doctors (or principals :)), and documenting it all.  And there's just no rest for the weary.  You'll be doing it all again tomorrow.

So what do you guys do to avoid burnout?  I haven't really been in the field that long yet, and already there are certain tasks that have become drudgery at times.  Some of the things we do are so repetitious.  Some of the patients are so tough!  Some of the politics get so old.

Not to be Negative Nelly today, but sometimes you just need a boost!  Sometimes I find that boost in a patient I love, or a conference, or a great patient breakthrough.  Sometimes just a long weekend or a vacation.  Sometimes there are little things in the workplace that help me- going to lunch instead of eating at my desk, taking a walk, hiding out on the hospital chapel or meditation room if I'm stressed, or getting some fresh air outside.  I even workout at lunch once in a while.  It's nice to have the PT gym right there!

Well, what do you guys do?  Any fresh ideas?

XOXO
~K

SLP CEUs...

...are expensive!!
I just want to complain a bit.  I wish I could go to ASHA every year.  I also wish I could get that "PROMPT method" training for apraxia I've been wanting for years, take one of Joe Murray's dysphagia courses, and take an sEMG course by Michael Groher.  A girl can dream.  The CEUs I actually end up getting are the free ones, or the local courses.  They don't tend to be what I really need.  Do you SLPs have the same tough time I do?

I will tell you some of my favorites.  I think the Passy-Muir company has great online courses.  They each take an hour and give you /1 CEU and they are packed with good info!  I also liked a Cross Country seminar I took on apraxia if you ever go to those.  I liked the Linguisystems CEU in the back of their dysarthria book. 

If you live in Utah we are actually hosting a training seminar this month by Dynavox.  It's 10/23 and is free!  You can get .6 CEUs.  If you are interested in coming you can email me (see my address on the side bar) and I'll save you a spot.  There are about 40 left.  It's going to be at the University of Utah (more details if you email).

Any other great CEU ideas?  I know we're always looking.

PS:  Don't miss our Giveaway.  This is the final week!

XOXO
~K

My iPod Touch in Therapy

I recently purchased the new iPod touch 4 (as I have mentioned in yesterdays post), which I had been saving up for for several months. In the last couple of weeks I've started using the iPod touch at work. I even purchased a few SLP apps for it. Its been great and it has helped immensely. I wanted to review some of the benefits to having an iPod touch or an iPhone as an SLP.

First off, there are many speech therapy apps that I'd rather go over in separate posts. Nonetheless the ones that I got are great. I got Pocket SLP, Artikpix, Percentally, and a ton of the free kindergarten vocabulary apps from kindergarten.com. I'm only started to get a feel for these different apps. I'm still trying to figure out how they fit in with my therapy. When I have had a little more time to get a feel for them I'll give reviews later on.

Okay, so first of all, having my schedule at my finger tips has been so helpful. Many of you know that I work at a year round school. You don't know what scheduling is like at a year round school until you've been there. You see, the kids still get there summer time off, but its dispersed through the year. There are 4 tracks of students with one track being off at all times. That means that you always have a different group of kids at school. I have students on all four tracks; and yes, my schedule changes every three to four weeks. I never know for certain who I'm going to see for therapy any given week. Now I have my schedule with me via google calendar that I can check at any time, with the students name, grade, track, teacher, room number, etc. I love it. I have a different google calendar assigned to each track of students. And I can decide which calendars I view. So, now when there's a track change, I simply turn off one track and turn on the other.

The new iPod touch also has a built in microphone (which they haven't had before) which any speech therapist would fine useful. You can also keep the mic on while running other apps. So, you could do artic probes on the device and record it at the same time. Next time you sync your device your speech sample will be backed up on your computer you can then  take that recording and burn it to a CD and put that in the student's file.

The new iPod touch also comes with a camera on the front and back that can take pictures and be used to create videos. There are lots of different things you can do with these resources. Not that we haven’t ever used a camera before, but now it’s just a tad bit more accessible. I like the idea of being able to make a PECS card out of anything in my room in a quick hurry. Also, the video (along with the digital recorder) is a great way to give the child feedback. I’m sure there are more things you can do with this, but I can’t think of anything else at the moment.

I’ll talk about specific apps, as I mentioned above, sometime in the near future. With that in mind, most of the therapy apps have some kind of data tracking mechanism. That is reason enough in my mind to run out and buy one of these things. I’ve sometimes said that I feel like can do one thing very very well, but my brain doesn’t always do too well with multi-tasking. The nice thing about letting the little device to assist in data tracking is that you can pay more attention to the therapy, helping the child, expanding language, have more in-depth discussion, etc. When it comes to artic you just press a button if they got the sound right or not, then at the end it’ll give you a percentage, which some apps will let you email, copy/paste, or even put into a spreadsheet. Can I tell you how much cleaner my therapy notes are going to be? Yeah, I’m pretty excited about that too.

Did I mention that this thing plays music? Yes, so you can pop that in while you’re doing progress reports late into the night to help maintain your sanity (something I did last night actually). I suppose you already know about that feature, considering the fact that it is an iPod after all.

And if you didn’t know, the sky is the limit as apps are concerned. There is an app for just about anything. I tried to keep this post to stick with the speech therapy related stuff, but I also have apps to help keep track of my exercising (which is easy to track at the moment because it’s not happening). I have a nifty budget app. I can keep my guitar tuned with an app. You can read ebooks, browse the web, watch TV shows, etc etc. I haven’t even mentioned the games that I’ve purchased for the app. Way too much fun is packed into this little device.

Now, just to note, I can’t connect to the internet while I’m at work, which is just as well because my therapy stuff I can do offline. The iPod Touch can only connect to the web when you have an available wi-fi network to connect to, but iPhones would still be able to connect. I just wasn’t willing to pay the extra money for the 3G network, and I don’t have my cell phone with AT&T anyway. If you must be connected to the web at all times, you might want to spend the extra money for the iPhone. However, its been fine doing therapy without it.

Kristin has recently posted a list of potential apps for the iPad (I started to write this before I knew what Kristin was up to, funny how that works). Most of your iPod touch / iPhone apps will work on the iPad as well, but there are a few greedy programmers that have separate versions which would require you to pay twice if you want it on both devices. Maybe its not greedy. I don't know, but I do love the fact that many apps are for the iPhone and the iPad, meaning you only have to buy it once. I wanted the iPod touch first because I wanted to use it as a personal organizer, something you can keep in your pocket. My pant pockets aren't quite big enough for the iPad. With that being said, I really really really want the iPad now, especially for therapy. It would be much better for those little preschoolers to share (kids tend to gather around, pushing others aside - at least that's what my kids at home do). If you plan on buying on iPad, I suggest that you wait just a little bit.   In about three months they are going to release the 2nd generation iPad. It's rumored that it's going to have a camera, retinal scanning, and be overall a better device. At least that's the going rumor.


If you use a device like this in your therapy, I would like to hear about it. I'm always looking for new and better ways to do therapy, and I'm a little bit of a tech-geek.

Versatile blogger award

If you haven't heard, we got a blog award from NDNspeechMom.




As a requirement to receiving this award, you have to tell 7 things about yourself. Kristin has already listed her seven. So, I guess it's my turn.

1.  My wife and I have three kids with one on the way (Sorry Kristin, we can't name this one after you because it's going to be a boy). My oldest daughter is in kindergarten and goes to work with me in the morning which has been great. We both have enjoyed the morning time we spend together. I have her count and work on her letters on the way to work and then she plays on my iPod Touch while I attempt to get some paperwork done before her class starts. I enjoy spending time with them, they are super cute, all my wife's genes I swear. And my wife is the most wonderful and patient person I know. I always tease her about having to raise the 4 kids (myself included).

2. This is the first year that I've been able bring in my guitar into therapy. During the functional skills groups I have tried to incorporate music, which is a great way to get their attention. I've been playing guitar since I was thirteen, but as of late I've neglected it. So, when I actually played guitar with our song in our large language group, all the kids were focused more than usual. It was great!

3. When I'm not being lazy I create some of my own language Tx material with my own artistic abilities, if you can believe that. I've made several poster board scenes with Velcro dots on them where kids can add little pictures of animals. I haven't created one in a little while. I end up getting obsessed with them and I neglect my family a little too much over them.

4. My job at my local church is to conduct the church choir. I’ve been singing in choirs since 3rd grade, so it’s right up my alley. At some point in college I stopped because I felt like I had to focus on my major (which is true, choir sometimes demands a lot of attention). Luckily before I started getting into my major in college I was able to meet Lindy, my wife. We met in a choir while in college. She has a beautiful alto voice and sometimes we sing solos in church. We’re also finding that our kids are picking up on our love for singing, particularly my five year old. Part of me wants to go back to school and get a second bachelors degree in music with an emphasis on voice and then become a speech language pathologist, voice therapist, for famous singers. /sigh.

5. I’m a geek. Anybody who has follows me at @aoirselvar as well as @speechbob on twitter knows that. I created two twitter accounts to separate my geekiness from my speechiness. I love sci-fi and fantasy. My favorite TV show is Firefly (a sci-fi) and my favorite author is Brandon Sanderson (a fantasy author – whom I’ve had the opportunity to meet twice). I’m just like Kristin in that I normally carry a book around with me everywhere and read a little bit when ever I get a chance. Most of the time those books are in the fantasy genre of course. I didn’t dress up as Gandalf when Lord of the Rings came out, but that’s mostly because I was in college and didn’t have time or money, but I would have. And yes, I have a gaming blog as well which you can see here. However, in the last couple of months I’ve greatly neglected my gaming blog (haven't written since August) do to a new project that I’m working on (this blog). But I mean to throw something up there soon so people don't think I died.

6. My current obsession is my new iPod Touch, which I was going to discuss in my next SLP blog post. I’ve only had it for 3 weeks, but I already have more than 100 apps on it. And I got this nifty skin for it. Just barely put it on last night. I think it makes it look sweet. You can find different artwork to put your your ipod or iphone at Gelaskins.com. Tomorrow, I’ll discuss its usefulness as an educational speech therapist in more detail. But besides its usefulness, it’s heck-a-fun. I’ll admit that I purchased several games on there. And in my defense I’ve also purchased several educational apps for my kids. My kids are obsessed with this. They tend to crowd around, all three fighting for a space on my lap. It gets a little chaotic, but it’s a lot of fun.

7. Originally, I was going into Deaf Education. I have a lot of experience in sign language. I’ve taken more than 8 classes, and I toyed with the idea of becoming an ASL (American Sign Language) teacher for high school students or an interpreter for the Deaf. When I went to Utah State University I had a teacher sway me to becoming a speech therapist, but that’s another story for another day. I still like using sign language, but I don’t get opportunities to practice like I once did. Often times my wife and I will sign to each other when we want a private conversation, but I really should get back with it and practice more.

As for who we’ll pass this award over to, I’m not sure who. Kristin and I will have to figure that out and get back to y’all on that one.

Our first award!!

Have you entered our giveaway?  Click here for a chance to win Boardmaker software!

Kristin here.

I'm psyched.  I've never received a blog award before.  NDNspeechMom gave us this:

Fabulous!

Now it is our job to write 7 things about ourselves (you wanna do your own, Bob?).  Here I go:

1.  I'm a total book worm.  I'm obsessive about it really.  I carry my book everywhere I go for the chance to squeeze it in if I have any alone time, or any waiting to do.

2.  I'm a certified aerobics instructor.  I'm just not teaching right now.  My favorite work-out in the world is step aerobics.  LOVE IT!  Please don't go out of style, Step.

3.  I'm training for a marathon right now.  It'll be my second!  It's the Las Vegas Rock and Roll marathon!  I even have a running blog.  Check it out (HERE).

4.  My favorite things to work on as an SLP are severe aphasia and apraxia.  What a blast!

5.  Pet peeves:  being awoken before my alarm sounds, passive aggression, and wasting time.  I always have to be multi-tasking.  My poor husband.

6.  I am addicted to the Food Network.  I love so many shows and FN stars.  My faves include:  Alex Guarnaschelli, Ina Garten, Ellie Krieger, Alton Brown and Jamie Oliver.  I love 30 Minute Meals, The Next Food Network Star, and Iron Chef too.  Ironically, I'm not a great cook.  But I'm growing.

7.  At my church, I'm "in charge" of the organization for the teenage girls.  It's a lot of work, but they are a blast.  Teenagers make me laugh.  As a result I am up in teen pop culture.  Just ask me about JB, Taylor Lautner, emo people, or High School Musical.  All things I learned about as a result of my church calling.  Ha ha!

Bob- think about who we want to award this to.  Somebody very versatile of course.  :)  I am just barely getting to know all of these SLP blogs, and I don't know them well.

XOXO
~K

iPad apps for medical SLPs

STOP!   I now consider this post out of date.  Some of these apps are no longer even in existence.  I am about to post a new app list that is far better.  Skip this one!  :) 

Hey, it's Kristin.

So we got some ipads at work to use as AAC devices.  They have some cool programs for patients who need speech-generating devices.  I am about to buy all the SLP-related apps I can find.  I want to know if any of you have any suggestions.  Here's what I found so far:

• Proloquo2Go:  an AAC app
• Memblock:  It's like that old memory game "Simon"
• Locabulary Lite
• Dictionary.com
• Webster Picture Dictionary
• Small Talk (by Lingraphica):  another AAC device
• Lumoscity.com (a brain trainer)
• Safe Swallowing in All Environments/Dysphagia Small Talk (only 99 cents!)  Did you see the article in Advance Magazine
• Tap to Talk
• Flash Cards (for naming!)
• Brain Pop (trivia type stuff)
• iApptitude (math)
• UT Driver's license practice test (or pick your state!)
• Arith fit (numerical game)
• Smarty AAC apps
• iZoo (animal sounds for responsive naming)
• Pocket sounds (same thing but free!)
• Dragon Dictation/Dragon Search (speech to text)
• Herod's Lost Tomb (I spy-like)
• Book Shelf (e-book reader)
• Word Whirl (lets you put random letters together to spell words)
• Others I found via SLPsharing
• Picture Scheduler: schedules
• ToDo: to do lists
• Evernote: note taking
• MindMeister: mind mapping
• Counting Bills & Coins: counting money
• Grocery IQ: shopping lists
• Epicurious: recipes
• iBooks: books
• myhomework: managing school assignments
• Speak it!: text-to-speech
• Kid Klok: telling time
• Flashcards Deluxe
• LitCharts: study guides for books 
• Percentally: data tracking

Many of these could work in the schools too.  I know for you educational/pediatric SLPs there are also:

• iPractice verbs
• Word Magic
• 3D Brain Education
• SI Dysfluency Index Counter
• Pocket SLP
• I Take Turns
• Math Magic
• Grace (AAC)
• 123 Color HD
• ArtikPix
• Mobile Articulation Probes
• R Intensive SLP
• Developmental Age Calculator
• Sunny Articulation Test
• Fluency tracker

 What a great new SLP tool!  Any others you guys like????


XOXO
~K

Twitter Shared SLP Goal Bank

Last week one of the SLPeeps from our twitter group of friends came up with an idea that we thought was fabulous. She started a shared ever growing twitter SLP goal bank.

We all jumped on it quickly and with in a few hours we had over two hundred annual and short term goals. We have it categorized according to the type of disorder. From articulation to dysphagia, there is a little of everything. And they are in many different formats, from SMART to IEP based.

Of course we don't suggest that you cut and paste these goals for your students/client. All goals should be individualized for the person that your working with. However, it's helpful to have some sample goals so that you can get fresh ideas, or see how somebody else worded the goal. Even if you are a seasoned veteran you can still benefit from perusing though these goals.

How do you participate? Well, the twitter goal bank is on a shared google document. In order to get access you need to send a direct message to @albrechtjn on twitter. She then can share you the document at which you can share goals with the rest of us. I debated about posting the goal bank here in it's entirety, but we got concerned with copyright issues and such, but needless to say if you struggle coming up with goals or you just want a fresh perspective then I highly suggest you give it a try.

Again, what you have to do is get on twitter (if you don't already have a twitter account then you'll have to make one - don't worry, it's free and easily done). When you are logged on to twitter go to the following page: http://twitter.com/albrechtjn then you'll want to follow her. After she gets a chance to follow you back (unless you are spam at which you'll probably just be blocked) then you can send her a direct message to request access to the goal bank. The reason we're having you send the direct message is so she can get your email address in privacy. She'll never spam you, promise. After she emails you the invitation then you need to go to google Docs. I'm realizing that you probably also need to make a google account for this. That's not hard to do, easiest way to do that is to set up a Gmail account (also free) by going to http://www.gmail.com. If you hadn't made a gmail account then you'll be happy you did, it's the best email out there, but now I'm getting off on a tangent. Access your google documents at http://docs.google.com.

There are a few rules stated on the top of the document. Basically, label any goals you add, don't change anybody's goals except your own, etc, etc. You can also chat with other people viewing the file, which was fun for us when we discovered it.

If you have and questions you can leave me a comment or you can email me at pathologicallyspeaking(at)gmail(dot)com.

Our First SLP Giveaway!

Hey all!  Sorry I haven't posted in a bit- I've been sick, and then went out of town.

My Dynavox rep, Jeramy is awesome.  He comes to my office every couple of weeks at least and has been a huge help in so many areas!  Hew has helped with evals, insurance requests, training me and the other staff, and helping me stay on top of all their new stuff. I asked Jer if Dynavox would give us some good stuff to giveaway on our blog, and they said yes!  Here's what it is:

If you don't already have Boardmaker- you need to get it! These 2 cd's just have more pictures, words, and options. I use board-maker all the time and I don't even work with kids. I made communication/AAC boards with it, and therapy materials for patients with aphasia. Boardmaker II and Boardmaker III are for those who already have the basic software and want some extra templates and options. I highly recommend them!

To enter the giveaway you need to do the following:

1. (*Mandatory entry) Become a follower of the blog and leave a comment saying that you did so. (If you are already a follower, leave a comment saying so.)
2. For an additional entry share this giveaway on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog, and leave a separate comment for each of those.
3. For another entry- check out Dynavox's website (HERE) and comment on one thing you learned.
4. Another entry for addition us to your blogroll (leave a comment saying you did).

***Remember to leave a separate comment for each entry!  We will pick a winner via random.org.  Contest ends midnight October 17th.  Good luck!

Newbie Advice for Educational SLPs

As quoted by Douglas Adams, the best advice for newbies is “Don’t Panic”. Very calm and comforting words which are easier said than done I’m sure. But you’ve been trained at a certified program, you are at least CFY ready (My professors always told me that their job was to at least get us CFY ready, if nothing else). So, trust your training and jump in head first.

(If you don’t know, CFY means clinical fellowship year, which is when you first start as an SLP working on supervision for the 36 weeks or so. It’s required to obtain your CCCs – Certificate of Clinical Competence, which you obtain from ASHA – American Speech Language Hearing Association. For more information go to ASHA’s website here. Of course if you are not in the United States, then your system is different and I haven’t a clue about your certification. I just wanted to add that for our international friends).

Now I’m a little slower than Kristin for getting blog posts out. I have 3 ½ very good reasons for being so and they range from 5 years old to still in the womb. So, I hope you are patient with me. Being a father of 3 comes with a lot of demands, but its also incredibly rewarding, but on with the blog post.

As for the job, being an SLP on the educational side, you’re in for a treat, but it won’t feel like it your first year. If you’re anything like me you’ll take a couple of hours in the beginning on each IEP (individual education plan). You’ll likely stay an extra 2-3 hours a day as well. There will be many times where you feel incompetent as a therapist, which is normal. (I still do much of the time).

So, relax, breathe and Don’t Panic. The nice thing about working in the schools is that you’re not going to hurt the kids if you make a big mistake. Its okay to be a newbie. Now I’m not telling you to go out and try to make as many big mistakes as you can, but you need to accept that you’ll make some at least. Speech Language Pathologists tend to be perfectionists, with a keen eye for detail. This is a great asset in our profession, but it makes the first year a little grueling. There’s a lot to learn and you’re not going to obtain perfection your first year (and probably not your second year… and probably… never). And that’s …. okay. Give yourself a little credit for what your accomplished and be a little self forgiving. And remember, there hasn’t been a single casualty from /r/ therapy in the history of speech therapy as far as I can recall.

Now as you get going you’re going to find your own way of doing things. There isn’t a wrong and a right way generally. For example, I’ve seen speech therapist do many many different approaches to making their schedule. Some like to have it out on paper, others like to have it on the computer. It really depends on your preference. In the beginning I like to write it out on paper with a pencil so it can easily be changed, then I start to put it into the computer. I had used an excel file to keep track of it, but now I use a private google calendar. I also have the dilemma of having to schedule 4 different tracks at a year round school (as well as a traditional school year preschool). This comes with a whole new host of issues that most SLPs don’t have to worry about. I’d say figure out what’s right for you. In a year or two you’ll have your own system down. I’d write more on this subject, but I think it deserves its own post altogether. Still the concept is important to know. Figure out what works for you.

There are many different things that you have to think about (scheduling, group therapy, IEP goals, homework, behavior system, etc, etc). And its easy for me to say “figure out what works for you”, but I know that wouldn’t have cut it for me when I was brand new. So, let me tell you something, idea thievery isn’t a crime as an SLP (unless you’re trying to make money off it, and that’s another matter altogether). Seriously, ask around what other SLPs are doing, then take what you like the most and try it yourself. You’ll find that SLPs love to share with other SLPs. Heck we just enjoy talking to each other, touching base with someone else who understands what we do. So, don’t be shy and call some of the other SLPs in the district. You might even ask if you can observe what they do maybe shadow them for half a day or something (this was the best thing for me, to watch veteran SLPs in action). Now there are probably several of you out there that don’t have much contact with other SLPs (the nature of our industry sometimes). I then suggest to do some professional networking. There are many networking sites out there such as facebook, twitter, linkedin, forums, etc. I personally like twitter the most (as you can read from this post), but the others I’m sure are just as good.

In the beginning I’d suggest to make friends with the faculty. You’ll likely have to compromise on several issues with the teachers and administration. Always put the students first, but remember that if there is a feud between you and the faculty of your school then you will really be miserable. I’ve only occasional had problems with teachers, never with the administration, but I’ve heard several horror stories. I really believe that they are the exception though, most often working in education means you get to work with great people who love working with children. To the most part you get to work with the cream of the crop. I love the staff that I work with.

You’ll find that you have to sometimes take work home with you, lesson plans, progress reports, goal writing, etc. That won’t completely ever go away, I don’t think. I know some speech therapists that don’t take anything home, but I’m not one of them. I’ve gotten a lot better in the last couple of years, but when it comes time to write progress reports it’s another story. I would suggest to try to keep that to a minimum if (and when) possible. I know you may be having a write an IEP the night before, or sometime you are desperately trying to get a lesson plan ready for a language group. I know, I’ve been there. However, if you are able to leave work at work as much as possible, your chances of burning out will drop significantly. I remember one of the courses that I was required to take in college for this degree was stress management. They taught us many stress relieving activities that can help you stay healthy and sane. Figure out you’re way to unwind, and do it frequently.

Now it's easy to let your focus on therapy slip. There will come a time when paperwork will try to take over, where you have too many IEPs to write with very little of time to do it (often times this comes in May & December where it seems like a lot of IEPs tend to land). You'll start your day feeling like your therapy time is getting in the way of other stuff. This is something you have to fight. Don’t worry, the IEPs will get easier to write. You’ll be an old pro in no time.

As Kristin has said, in the beginning you feel like a fraud. And the lingering feeling never quite leaves. I'm only now starting to feel somewhat competent as an educational SLP. I also agree that you need to appear confident (especially in IEP meetings). You really do know more than you think you do. Sometimes I doubt myself thinking "seriously anybody could do this therapy, how hard is artic therapy after all". But when I've spoken with teachers about doing some simple interventions with students I'm surprised with their reactions. They often are clueless about things I would assume were obvious. You really are your school’s expert in speech and language. No one there has the training you have had. Now don’t get a big head or anything, but remember – you are the expert.

I want to share one last thing that was suggested to me by my CF supervisor. Stay at your first school (if you can) only for a couple of years at most. The faculty in your first school (or schools) see you as new and inexperienced which is okay because you are at your first school, but once a person has established an impression of someone it's hard to change. If you go to a brand new school after a couple of years they'll just see you as a seasoned veteran instead of a newbie. Just an idea, it won’t be possible for everybody. It just so happens that my district is one of the largest in the country so we have a few schools. Its kind of nice to have a fresh start now that you’ve learned the ropes and have figured out the way you like to do things.

Remember it never hurts to ask questions. You still are a student in many ways, something that never really ends. You still need to further your education as much as you can, there is just too much to know in this field. Teachers and parents will ask you questions and will stump you from time to time (happens to me more often than not). Let them know if you don’t know an answer than you’ll do some research and figure it out.
It seems like my blog post has rambled off in my different directions. I just have so many thoughts in my head, but I’ve never been one to think in a linear fashion. I know the second I post this another good idea will pop in my head “Dohhh, I forgot to add that one thing.” If you have anything to add please do so. What were you’re big struggles your first year, or if you are in the middle of starting out, what are your struggles?

Advice for new SLPs: Kristin's version

One of you commented that you would like a post with advice for newbies.  Allow me to share my thoughts on the matter.

One of Bob's and my professors at USU seems to be a master in every area of Speech-Language Pathology.  She's a nationally-awarded authority on AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication, newbies!)  She taught our class on neuro-anatomy, cognition, and aphasia beautifully.  Also taught our childhood language class with expert detail and insight.  On the side she taught an awesome hands-on assistive technology class where we built adaptive furniture and devices ourselves, etc., etc.  She even became department head!  (Dr. F. if you're reading this, don't get a big head now.) 

I always think back to the time we were all nervously asking her ("The queen bee of speech-language pathology") just how competent we would feel when we got out into the field.  She said that for the first five years you feel like a fraud.  Coming from our SLP idol, this was comforting.  If she felt like a fraud for the first 5 years, we might just be okay!  So remember Dr. F when you've got that new patient or client with a rare neurological syndrome and you think, "Just a minute; I need to go hop on Google for a few minutes before I know how to proceed...."

I guess I haven't really given actual advice yet- just words of comfort.  Let me begin (again) by saying that confidence will be one of the most important things you can bring to your first job.  You don't want to start out by being apologetic, letting people know you are new and unsure, or sitting in the back of the team meeting and nodding quietly (you should always nod LOUDLY).  You are already more expert in your field than anyone else in the room, even though all you have to offer in the beginning is what you learned in class.  You know more than you think you do, and you need to make your presence known at your new job.  I say fake it 'till you make it. 

It took me a long time as an SLP to see the bigger picture in some ways.  To stop just surviving, and focusing on what I call, "doing speech therapy for the sake of doing speech therapy."  Do you know what I mean?  I didn't think about the other pieces of the puzzle, such as OT and PT goals, discharge problems, keeping up with the patient's medical changes, and knowing who would be the main care-takers, etc.  I think I just thought, "I'll do the best speech therapy I can for as long as they are here, and when they leave, I hope they have speech [insurance] benefits and keep doing it!"  My goal was to get through my documentation as fast as possible and get out of there (I worked looong hours as a CFY).  Now I can see how limited my approach was, and I have become a lot more holistic.  I think it's important to be aware of more than just what task you will bring to the patient today.  What you can do to keep other team members "happy" (I'm mostly speaking about MD's here.  More on this in a future post), what safety issues this particular patient needs to work on based on what the OT is seeing. Is the family trained?  What else can be expected/determined based on their specific diagnosis (e.g., they have terminal brain cancer- why are you working on cognition?), etc.  These are just a couple of examples of course.  Even as I write this I wonder if it will even be helpful, because at first, it may be all a new SLP can do just to get decent therapy done and get their charting done. 

Don't be afraid to ask questions.  Especially when you are a CFY.  Take advantage of the excuse you have, being new and all.  Call an old professor, ask a colleague, ask Bob and me :) (not that we have all the answers, it just makes us feel good that you asked), ask your grad school comrades, call and ask the company that makes the product (e.g., "Hi Passy-Muir.  Can you tell me if my trached patient should wear a speaking valve when he's eating?).  [Oh, and yes- wear when eating!] 

Read up!  I know, I know, it's so hard to find the time to read professional journals and articles.  Maybe you could just keep one in the bathroom.  Maybe you could start a journal club.  Maybe just read 1 page a day and high-light it.  I do a lot of reading and it has made a HUGE difference in my clinical skills and knowledge base.  My favorite and # 1 recommendation: (Bob, you will totally laugh at this) text books. 

Well, I could really go on and on.  I really like getting blog readers' requests because it helps me blog to your interests.  Let me know if this didn't answer your question and I'd be thrilled to do a "noob advice" post # 2!  I just hope I don't get a "TL:DR" here.

And you SLPs out there- what is your advice??

Upcoming posts: 
A sweet giveaway!
Bob's perspective on this same topic...

XOXO
~K

We're still here

Just so you know, we're still poking about. We're in the middle of trying to figure out how we want to do this blog thing. I'm starting to write a post for newbie educational SLPs. I'm starting to test out some iphone / ipod touch apps that I'll be writing about. As usual, we always trying to come up with ideas to post about.

Oh, and we're getting a contest together, we already got somethings lined up for that.

Just wanted to let you guys know that we're thinking about ya. But you have to excuse us a little. I mean come on, September is like one of the busiest months for school SLPs (as you well may know). I'm up to my ears with work, but I'm committed to being a better blogger.

So, there are some things to look forward to in the future.

Bob's moment in the lime light

Check out Bob's post on the ASHA blog!  http://blog.asha.org/2010/09/07/connecting-with-my-slpeeps-on-twitter/ 

It's very prestigious of him to be asked by them, I must say.

Any thoughts from our readers on networking via twitter?

Topic requests

Well, now that we're starting this blog, we're interested in your input.  What would you like to read about?  Let us know in a comment!

I'm thinking about posting some of my favorite therapy materials, AAC devices, ideas for therapy activities in certain areas, and how I feel about burn-out, etc.  I'm hoping Bob blogs about being a working dad, therapy ideas, behavior management, high caseload issues, Twitter networking, interesting cases, etc.  I guess some of the specifics I wish we could blog about are tricky what with HIPPA and all.

Well, this week was a full work week for me after a week-long vacation to Lake Powell Utah.  It was actually good to be back and also good to have a fresh new schedule of patients I didn't know yet.  I like the turn-over factor in the medical side of Speech-Language Pathology.  I think it helps me to keep things fresh and avoid burn-out (well, sometimes that is).

Well, more from me later- let us know your requests!!!

XOXO
~Kristin

Kristin's first post!

Welcome to our new blog! 

I'm excited to introduce myself and tell you a little about how Bob and I know eachother.  I'm an SLP working in an inpatient rehabilitation center.  I see mainly adult patients with stroke, TBI, and spinal cord injuries.  We also get our fair share of cancer, Guillain Barre, Parkinsons, MS. . .  I love working with adults.  Rehab can be a grueling setting to work in, but I find it really fulfilling, challenging, and interesting.

I'm hoping this blog can be a great place to share ideas and questions, and to have discussions and get feedback and ideas from other SLPs.  Feel free to comment often- including questions or requests for a specific post.  We love comments!


Bob and I met when we had a study group together way back in our junior year of college.  We kept joining  up for tests and projects, and over the next four years of undergrad and grad school we studied together for every test and paired up for every single project.  Our study styles just meshed well and I know Bob was a great help to me all throughout.  He put up with my crabby attitude on those late night cramming sessions, my many dating tales, my goofy humor, and my procrastination.  It's great to have a friend to lean on in those tough graduate school years!  Bob is a total hoot, he's witty, he's super smart, he's an extremely caring and compassionate clinician, he loves people, and would have been voted "Mr. Congeniality" if there were such a thing in the Communicative Disorders Department.  Bob is laid back, good-natured, and fun-loving.  I'm looking forward to his posts!


As for me, I'm into running, reading, blogging, singing, and eating good food.  As an SLP, my favorite things to work on are apraxia and aphasia.  I won't tell you my least favorite quite yet.  I like to do a lot of patient and family education, I'm aggressive when working on dysphagia, I'm passionate about AAC, and my favorite therapy tools are the VNS and the WALC-2 for those of you who know what I'm talking about.  I dislike plantar fasciitis, people on the train with poor hygiene, heavy metal, daily therapy documentation, cold weather, crusty bread, and stubbing a toe. 

XOXO
~K

Super Duper Attacked

Recently Mattel Toy Company sued Super Duper because they used the word "say" and "and say" in some of their products. Mattel felt that people would become confused with Super Duper products and that Super Duper was riding on Mattel's "coat tail" to get profits.

Outrageously, Super Duper has been order to pay $3.6 million dollars to Mattel and destroy half million dollars worth of product. This isn't exactly a large company.

If you are a speech therapist then you know the wonderful therapy products that Super Duper puts out. Therapy products, not toys. Well, I found a website entitled Speak Up for Say that gives a list of things that you can do to support Super Duper. I have to say, I love Super Duper products and I use them everyday! I think Mattel's arguments are unfounded. They're just plain greedy. Its ridiculous. Anyway, I just thought this was important enough to write something real quick.

A Little Clarification

Just to clarify on some of the stuff I want to do with this blog. (What Kristin does is another matter).

I would like to write about educational speech therapy ideas, struggles, amusing anecdotes, and speech related ramblings. I'll also review therapy material and webpages from time to time as well as give little guides to parents with children with communication disorders. I'll admit right from the get go that I am not the most creative speech pathologist in the world and there are people that have a far greater expertise in different communication areas. Education speech language pathologists have to be a jack of all trades. We get to work with a little bit of everything. I'll attempt to point you in the right direction to get more information on any given topic that I write about. 

And I reserve the right to occasionally rant on a non-SLP related topic, but I'll try to keep it to a minimum.

Oh, and my attention span is short sometimes. I'm bad about proofreading. (Yeah, I don't know how I got through grad school either). I'm in the middle on an intervention, so bare with me.

Bob

♠ ´¨)
¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•` (¸If at first you don’t succeed then, sky diving isn’t for you!

First Post

Pathologically speaking is a brand new SLP (Speech Language Pathology) blog for other SLPs and people interested in the medical and educational practice of speech language therapy. There are two of us that will be writing on this blog. As for me, I'm Bob Bateman. You can follow my daily adventures on twitter at Speechbob. I work with kids from preschool age to the 6th grade in the public schools. I have 3 kids of my own with one on the way. I'm always trying to figure out how to balance work and home in an on going juggling attempt. I'm particularly interested in AAC, fluency, narrative language therapy, and trying to stay on top of the growing pile of papers on my desk.

I'm excited to join the SLP blogging community and I hope that we can share some great therapy ideas. I may more often give stories of life as an educational SLP (without giving specifics or names as to not break any confidences of course).

That's all for now. I'll let Kristin introduce her self.

Bob Bateman

♠ ´¨)
¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•` (¸If at first you don’t succeed then, sky diving isn’t for you!