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Stuttering 101: Teaching Fluency Strategies in Speech Therapy

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We happen to have a massive toolbox of evidence-based strategies that we can use to help our students who stutter become more fluent. Every student is different, and part of therapy is exploring the different fluency techniques and seeing what the student prefers and/or what helps the most. A student may only need one technique, or a student may benefit from multiple techniques. A technique may work for a day, or it may work for years.

That said, it is unlikely that any one of these techniques will decrease stuttering by 100%. That’s why we talked about how to set the foundation for stuttering therapy last week.

Here’s an example of how I would teach the “Cancellation” technique.

Introduce the Technique (What Is it?)

A cancellation is a stuttering modification strategy that is used after a disfluency occurs. It helps the student produces a less tense disfluency.

How Will It Help?

Many times, people who stutter will ratchet up a lot of tension in their mouths and throats as they try to wrestle their words out. The Cancellation Technique allows people who stutter to “let out” that tension and say their desired word more fluently.

Demonstration of the Cancellation Technique

Prerequisites:

• Being aware of and identifying when you’re in a moment of stuttering.

• Being able to release tension in certain parts of the body.

How Do I Do It?

1. Once you’ve started stuttering on a word you want to say, stop. Pause.

2. Bring your attention to where the stuttering is happening in your mouth or throat and become aware of the tension built up there.

3. Consciously release the tension. (Practice learning how to release tension in your body with the Progressive Muscle Relaxation Technique).

4. Then, say the word again, strrrrretching out the sound you stuttered on now with less tension and keep on speaking.

Check out a quick video demo below:

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Stuttering 101: Where to Start with Fluency Therapy

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You just finished evaluating a student who stutters. You delivered a stellar report, and the student qualified for services. Now what do you do? Do you just dive into fluency strategies? Will that do the trick?

If you’re wondering where to start, you’re not alone!

Before Teaching Fluency Strategies

There are several reasons why we need to address more than fluency strategies.

One fluency strategy may increase a student’s fluency by 20% percent in the speech room. However… What does that look like in the classroom? Will the increase in fluency persist over several sessions? Into next year?

I love the proverb “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” This applies to so much of what we do in therapy, but it especially applies to our students who stutter.

We know that “school-age children will, in all likelihood, continue to stutter in some fashion throughout their lives” (Yaruss, 2018). They are going to need more than a strategy or two to understand their stuttering and navigate their way through moments of disfluency.

By teaching our students about stuttering and helping them understand how the speech system works, we’ll be teaching students to “fish” (i.e., understand their stuttering). We’re empowering them and giving them the tools to speak fluently.

Here are some strategies (and free resources!) that I use to accomplish these goals in stuttering treatment:

Step 1. Normalize Stuttering

I love doing a mini-unit on famous people who stutter. (Stuttering Help has a super helpful resource.)

We also take time to discuss the fact that we all have moments of disfluency from time to time, and that’s okay. We emphasize and drive home that it’s okay to stutter.

Step 2. Introduce the Speech Machine

This is foundational when it comes to teaching any fluency strategies. If students understand how the “system” works, they’ll have the tools they need to “change the system” and speak more fluently. Lacey from Speech Me Maybe has a free interactive activity that makes it easy to introduce the speech mechanism to students.

 

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Step 3. Talk About Stuttering

Once students understand the speech mechanism, we can talk about what happens when we stutter. We can move through the different parts of the speech mechanism and talk about what would happen if the different components are tight versus loose.* For example, if I try to say “ball” with tension in my lips, it might come out as “b-b-b-ball.” I often model what the tightness looks like and have students try it themselves.

* We might have to teach the difference between tight versus loose! I start with larger body movements (e.g., making a tight fist) to show the difference.

Step 4. Become a Speech Detective

We then get to become speech detectives!

I model different types of stuttering, and we identify what happened in the speech mechanism to make that happen. For example, if I say “passsssssport,” we can guess that I had tension in my tongue.

Students can then take turns imitating me and/or creating their own disfluencies to “experiment” with the speech mechanism. We might also find videos of students who stutter (like this one) and “analyze” their moments of disfluency.

Step 5. Increase Awareness of Stuttering

The student can then start to identify stuttering in his/her conversational speech and “analyze” the disfluency using what we learned about the speech mechanism.

After going through these steps, students are armed with knowledge that they can use to understand their stuttering. This is key when it comes to implementing strategies.

If you want to learn more about this stage of therapy, check out Nina Reeves and Dr. Scott Yarus’s book, School-Age Stuttering Therapy: A Practical Guide.

If you can’t wait to learn more about fluency strategies, then join us again next week!

Hope to see you next week as we dive into fluency strategies!

Stuttering Assessment: A Guide for School-Based SLPs

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Stuttering assessments can feel a little overwhelming—especially when you’re balancing a full caseload and trying to make every session count. But getting it right can truly change the game for our students. It’s not just about identifying disfluencies—it’s about understanding the whole child, their experiences, and how stuttering impacts their daily life.

In this expert guide, we’re excited to share insights from Victoria Dertouzos (Giacalone), M.A., CCC-SLP—owner and lead therapist at Speech & Stuttering Therapy of New Jersey. Victoria brings a wealth of experience as a former school-based SLP and a specialist in fluency disorders. She has published research, presented at both NJSHA and ASHA, and is currently a candidate for Board Certification in Stuttering, Cluttering, and Fluency Disorders. Her passion for supporting those who stutter, combined with a practical and research-informed approach, makes her guidance invaluable for school-based clinicians.

This guide breaks down the assessment process step-by-step, offering concrete strategies, helpful tools, and plenty of encouragement to help you feel confident and capable when working with students who stutter.

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Understanding Stuttering in Children

Stuttering is more than just a speech difference—it’s a unique way of communicating that can deeply impact how a child feels about themselves and how they engage with others. For school-based SLPs, it’s important to understand that stuttering isn’t just about what we hear; it’s also about the child’s internal experience.

While stuttering may include visible behaviors like blocks, repetitions, or prolongations, it’s also shaped by less obvious factors—like anxiety, avoidance strategies, or even the child’s personality and temperament. These internal factors can influence the frequency and intensity of stuttering and may not always show up clearly in a speech sample.

Children who stutter may avoid raising their hands in class, hesitate to participate in group activities, or feel overwhelmed in social settings. That’s why the goal of assessment isn’t just to document disfluencies—it’s to truly understand how stuttering affects the child’s overall communication and confidence.

By keeping a holistic lens, we can better support the child’s needs—not just in speech therapy, but in every corner of their school day.

“So the reason for that is because stuttering is pretty sensitive to nervous system changes… trying to take those things into account, not just for stuttering frequency, because we care a little bit less about that, but just for helping the person understand why it’s happening, when it’s happening, and maybe helping them to… manage those situations to see if it can support them a little bit better.”

— Victoria Dertouzos, M.A., CCC-SLP

Step 1: Initial Intake and Background Assessment

The foundation of a meaningful stuttering assessment starts long before the student ever says a word—it begins with the intake. A strong intake process gives you context, reveals patterns, and helps shape a more empathetic and effective therapy plan.

Start by gathering the usual background info: medical history, developmental milestones, and family history of stuttering. But go deeper. Victoria emphasizes the importance of learning about the student’s temperament, personality, emotional regulation, and any signs of anxiety. Since stuttering can be sensitive to nervous system changes, these insights are essential.

Make sure you’re hearing from all key players:

  • Parents: Ask about their understanding of stuttering and what they’ve observed at home. Do they see it as a problem? Are they worried? What are their expectations for therapy?
  • Teachers: Check in on classroom participation. Does the student avoid speaking? Do they participate in group work?
  • Students: When possible, hear from them directly. What do they think is happening when they stutter? What’s their experience like?

This collaborative, whole-child approach doesn’t just make your assessment more accurate—it also builds trust and sets the tone for a positive therapy journey.

“First, as always, getting a really good intake from the parents or from the person if it’s an adult… it actually is really important to include information about the temperament and the personality of the person, if there’s any additional anxieties… because stuttering is pretty sensitive to nervous system changes.”

— Victoria Dertouzos, M.A., CCC-SLP

Step 2: Behavioral and Affective Assessments

Stuttering assessments aren’t just about what we observe—they’re also about what the student experiences. Victoria recommends dividing the assessment into two parts: behavioral (what we see and hear) and affective (how the student feels).

Behavioral Assessment

This includes the classic features of stuttering: blocks, prolongations, repetitions, and secondary behaviors. Tools like the Stuttering Severity Instrument – Fourth Edition (SSI-4) can be helpful, but Victoria suggests using it descriptively—not as a score. Stuttering is highly variable, and a numerical score can be misleading or unhelpful in understanding the true impact on the student.

Behavioral assessments should also include direct observations and conversational samples, but with care. Avoidance behaviors can mask the severity of stuttering, and students may appear more fluent than they feel.

Affective Assessment

To understand the impact of stuttering, we need to dig into the child’s personal experience. Victoria recommends the Overall Assessment of the Speaker’s Experience of Stuttering (OASES), which provides a comprehensive look at how stuttering affects the student socially, emotionally, and academically.

The OASES not only helps set meaningful goals, but also supports eligibility decisions by providing a clear “impact score.” This is especially helpful in school settings where eligibility often depends on demonstrating educational impact.

Together, these assessments help create a clearer picture of the student’s needs—both visible and invisible.

“So the first one that maybe SLPs are a little bit more familiar with would be the behavioral assessment… The testing… usually comes along with that is the SSI-4… However, the difficulty with the SSI is that it’s only based on what we are hearing as the clinician… there’s also another side to this. There is the person’s experience of the stutter.”
 — Victoria Dertouzos, M.A., CCC-SLP

Tools and Techniques for Effective Assessment

With so many tools out there, it can be tricky to know which assessments truly add value. Victoria encourages SLPs to think critically about the purpose behind each tool—and how it fits into a bigger picture.

Standardized Tools

Informal Assessments

Victoria often leans on informal strategies like language samples, conversational speech, and reading tasks—but with a twist. She encourages asking the student reflective questions during the process (e.g., “Did you feel a stutter there?”), which gives a fuller view of their experience.

Affective Tools

Ultimately, it’s about blending standardized tools with real conversations and thoughtful observation. Tools should serve the assessment—not define it.

“Personally, I still use the pieces of the SSI, but I never score it… I cannot completely judge the stuttering severity because of the experience of the person as well that has to be involved… and then to also account for what I might not be hearing, I’m always asking the child as well.”

— Victoria Dertouzos, M.A., CCC-SLP

Goal Writing Strategies for Stuttering Therapy

One of the most common questions school-based SLPs ask is, “How do I write meaningful goals for a student who stutters?” Victoria offers a refreshingly practical approach: let the student’s experience guide the way.

She recommends using tools like the OASES to directly inform goal creation. For example, if a student rates themselves low on confidence as a speaker, that becomes a measurable and meaningful target. Instead of aiming for fluency (which is unpredictable and variable), the focus shifts to communication confidence, self-advocacy, and reducing avoidance.

A Sample Stuttering Goal Structure:

  • Baseline: The student rates their confidence in speaking at a 2 out of 5.
  • Goal: The student will increase self-rated confidence to 4 out of 5 over a set period.

This strategy not only empowers the student—it gives SLPs a way to track progress with data that actually reflects change. Plus, it’s flexible enough to adjust over time based on the student’s evolving needs.

By reframing goals around impact and participation, rather than frequency or “fixing” the stutter, therapy becomes more personalized and effective.

“The goal might look like: the student will self-rate their confidence and speaking ability at a 4 out of 5, maybe when the baseline was a 2 out of 5… And to me, it’s actually more accurate in a way than the SLP judging something… you’re getting the information like straight from the horse’s mouth.”

— Victoria Dertouzos, M.A., CCC-SLP

Practical Tips for School-Based SLPs

Working in a school setting means juggling a lot—IEPs, therapy groups, assessments, documentation… the list goes on. Victoria gets it. With five years of school-based experience, she’s all about strategies that are realistic and sustainable.

Here are a few of her go-to tips:

1. Think Holistically

Keep the focus on the whole child. During assessments and therapy, consider emotional regulation, classroom functioning, and how stuttering may be impacting academic participation or social interactions.

2. Collaborate Actively

Include teachers and parents in the process. They bring valuable insight, and their support helps extend progress beyond the therapy room.

3. Use Mixed Groups Wisely

Don’t be afraid to talk about stuttering even in mixed therapy groups. The key is to create a space where the student feels safe and heard.

4. Focus on Feel, Not Just Fluency

Instead of chasing fluency, help students explore how their speech feels. Use your SLP knowledge—voice, articulation, pacing—to support more comfortable communication, without labeling everything as a “strategy.”

5. Shift the Message

You’re not fixing a stutter. You’re supporting a communicator. Your messaging (with students, teachers, and parents) sets the tone for the entire therapy journey.

These small mindset shifts can have a big impact—not just for your students, but for how empowered you feel as a clinician.

“I totally understand the feeling of having to have a million balls in the air… I think that thinking about the whole picture… just trying to keep the mindset that you’re treating the whole child… It’ll just naturally help you gather the information a little bit more because ultimately, again, we’re looking for increasing the well-being of the child.”

— Victoria Dertouzos, M.A., CCC-SLP

Importance of Messaging and Communication

How we talk about stuttering—with students, families, and school staff—matters just as much as the therapy itself. The language we use during assessments and in sessions can either empower or unintentionally discourage.

Victoria emphasizes the importance of normalizing stuttering as a valid way of speaking. From the first assessment, it’s crucial to set the tone: stuttering is not something to be fixed—it’s something to understand, support, and work with.

This messaging helps students begin to view themselves as capable communicators. It also influences how teachers and parents interact with them, helping everyone involved take a more supportive and compassionate approach.

For school-based SLPs, this might mean:

  • Choosing descriptive, nonjudgmental language in reports
  • Educating staff about what stuttering is—and isn’t
  • Helping families reframe their expectations from “be fluent” to “feel confident”

When we shift the narrative, we create space for students to communicate freely, advocate for themselves, and take ownership of their voice.

“Understanding that a stutter is part of the way this child communicates. So using that as the foundation for all of the rest of the things that you’re doing. And assessment’s a really good place to start because it kind of sets the tone for working with the child and the whole speech therapy process.”

— Victoria Dertouzos, M.A., CCC-SLP

Conclusion

Stuttering assessment isn’t just about ticking boxes—it’s about understanding the child behind the speech. From thoughtful intakes to impact-driven goals, every step of the process offers an opportunity to support our students in becoming more confident, empowered communicators.

Victoria’s insights remind us that the most effective assessments are the ones that consider the whole child: what they experience, how they feel, and how they interact with the world around them.

Additional Stuttering Resources

If you’re looking to deepen your understanding or explore the tools mentioned in this guide, check out these helpful resources:

For more from Victoria, including upcoming workshops and downloadable resources, visit stutteringtherapynj.com/slps.

Frequently Asked Questions About Stuttering Assessment

1. What assessments are used for stuttering?

There are several assessment tools used to evaluate stuttering, including standardized options like the SSI-4 (Stuttering Severity Instrument – Fourth Edition), TOCS (Test of Childhood Stuttering), and OASES (Overall Assessment of the Speaker’s Experience of Stuttering). Many SLPs also use informal assessments such as conversational speech samples, reading tasks, and interviews with the child, parents, and teachers.

2. What does the SSI-4 measure?

The SSI-4 focuses on the behavioral characteristics of stuttering: frequency, duration, and physical concomitants. However, it does not capture the student’s internal experience or the emotional/social impact of stuttering. For that, tools like the OASES are more effective.

3. What is the 5-point scale for stuttering?

Tools like the OASES allow students to self-rate their experience of stuttering using a 5-point Likert scale (e.g., from “never” to “always” or “not at all” to “a great deal”). These ratings can guide therapy goals and track progress in a way that reflects the student’s own perspective.

4. What can be included in an assessment of fluency disorders?

A comprehensive fluency assessment includes:

  • Intake information (medical history, temperament, emotional factors)
  • Behavioral assessment (e.g., speech samples, SSI-4)
  • Affective assessment (e.g., OASES)
  • Parent/teacher/student input
  • Clinical judgment on co-occurring language or articulation issues.

This holistic view helps SLPs understand how stuttering affects the child’s communication, learning, and social participation.

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Marisha (00:01.358)

Hello and welcome to the SLP Now podcast. I'm really excited to be chatting about stuttering assessment today. Our guest is Victoria Dertouzos. She is the owner and lead therapist at Speech and Stuttering Therapy of New Jersey. So she has a private practice. She also worked as a school-based SLP for five years and obviously managing all the school-based things.

So she has a really cool set of experiences, just starting with a very broad practice space and now specializing in stuttering. And I'm really excited to learn more about assessments with her. But before we dive into all things assessments, first of all, hello, Victoria.

Victoria Dertouzos (Giacalone) (00:53.071)

Hi Marcia, thanks for having me.

Marisha (00:56.844)

Really looking forward to diving in. But before we do all that, would you mind telling us just a little bit more of your story? The bio I shared obviously doesn't do you justice. But what led you to specialize in stuttering and kind of the road to your own practice?

Victoria Dertouzos (Giacalone) (01:15.653)

Yeah, I would love to talk about that. I think stuttering itself kind of fell into my lap. After going into speech therapy, I ended up in an undergraduate college that didn't actually provide a major for speech therapy. So I kind of had to go out and find my own experiences. And I think it was just kind of by chance I found a board certified specialist in stuttering. And through my time observing with her,

It was just kind of something that hit me where like when she was working with her patients, I could tell it was a little bit more than what I thought speech was. She was really connecting with them and I could see how she was really changing that quality of life and how, you know, the difficulty they were coming to her with was really, really negatively impacting their life in a way that I didn't really think about with other, you know, speech knowledge that I had previously. So.

I kind of had the seed planted from college and then as I continued to go to grad school and go out into the field, you know, there were so many clients and kids and adults that I saw that I was like, okay, this is what I need to do because it's such a passion project for me. So it kind of led me to make all the decisions I've made up until this point. And ultimately I'm thrilled with where I'm at now and very

feel very lucky that I can work with the clients that I do now.

Marisha (02:48.314)

I love that. And I think, I don't know, there's just something really cool about all of our journeys because I feel like the types of students or patients or clients that we're meant to have just kind of, they just end up on your caseload. because like some SLPs have like, they might have one start like student on their caseload who stutters or I don't know. It's just funny how that variation happens and how, I don't know.

Victoria Dertouzos (Giacalone) (03:02.871)

Yes.

Marisha (03:18.958)

Some weird stuff at play, I guess.

Victoria Dertouzos (Giacalone) (03:21.337)

I agree. think I'm a person that thinks you kind of end up where you're supposed to and the people that need to find you find you for whatever reason. So I think that happened.

Marisha (03:29.388)

Yeah, I love that. Okay, so now let's dive into assessment. I, throughout this whole series that we've been like, we're releasing a bunch of episodes on stuttering, because there's been a lot of changes in the field, and just kind of some shifts from what we might have learned in grad school. So that's why we're talking about assessment again.

But what, from your perspective, what are the current best practices in terms of an effective assessment? What do we want to be thinking about?

Victoria Dertouzos (Giacalone) (04:09.101)

Yes, it's a great question and something I just want to comment on too while you mentioned it is that like there's a shift, right? And I think of course best practice always in our field is to use the research and the data that's there. I just want to note that this research has actually been around for a while, like even dating back to like the mid 1900s. That sounds really far away, you know? Everyone knows what I mean by that.

So yeah, just keeping that in mind when we're talking about this. So when we're looking at assessment, there's definitely key pieces. First, as always, getting a really good intake from the parents or from the person if it's an adult. And that not only includes the medical history and all of the basic things that we usually collect, but it actually is really important to include information about the temperament and the personality of the person if there's any

additional anxieties that are present or any emotional challenges that are present. And the reason for that is because stuttering is pretty sensitive to nervous system changes. So when you hear people say misconceptions like, they're stuttering because they're nervous, right? It's not because they're nervous, but maybe when they're nervous, you see it a little bit more. So trying to take those things into account, not just for stuttering frequency, because we care a little bit less about that.

but just for helping the person understand why it's happening, when it's happening, and maybe helping them to, and even the parent, to manage those situations to see if it can support them a little bit better. And again, in the intake, we're always kind of getting the parent, if it is for a child, we're getting the parent's view because they're filling it out usually or they're speaking with us, but something really important to get from them is also what they understand about stuttering at the start.

and then what their view of their child's stutter is. So if they're viewing it as a problem, if they're viewing it as something they're just really worried about, if they know or if they believe that the stutter is going to go away through the speech therapy process, these are all things that we want to kind of inventory so that we can either educate appropriately or continue to support their views of stuttering as the therapy process goes on.

Victoria Dertouzos (Giacalone) (06:36.835)

And then within the assessment, I think it's pretty easy to digest when you split it into two sections. So the first one that maybe SLPs are a little bit more familiar with would be the behavioral assessment. So that is actually talking about the concrete aspects of stuttering that you hear most frequently, right? Like those stuttering-like disfluencies, are there blocks? Are there prolongations? Are there repetitions, right?

And the testing, right, because we're usually looking for a test to use that usually comes along with that is the SSI-4. That's the most up-to-date one right now. However, the difficulty with the SSI is that it's only based on what we are hearing as the clinician or we are seeing as the clinician and our judgment. So something that is

different about stuttering is that there's also another side to this. There is the person's experience of the stutter. And believe it or not, that can actually be different than what we are hearing. So the person might be either feeling a block and we're perceiving it as a pause. So we're not actually noting it as a stutter. A little bit, something that can be a little more hidden or hard to kind of realize is that the person may also be using an avoidance strategy. So maybe they know the block is gonna come.

And they're actually adding the pause in to try to move past the block or they're adding in a word to switch it around. And, you know, even kids can be really adept at these coping strategies that can even become automatic. They may not even know that they're doing them, but it's something that their body is doing to manage the stutter, make it feel a little bit better for them. So personally, I, I still use the, pieces of the SSI, but I never score it.

So the reason for that is that I wanna be describing what I'm hearing. Always in the narrative, I'll explain that, you know, I cannot completely judge the stuttering severity because of the experience of the person as well that has to be involved, but I do wanna note like some of the pieces that I'm hearing. And then to also account for what I might not be hearing, I'm always asking the child as well. Like if I have a little bit of a suspicion, you know, I...

Victoria Dertouzos (Giacalone) (09:04.421)

I'm doing a lot of listening to stuttering. So I feel like my ear has gotten tuned just like anything, right? As speech therapists, we have to tune our ear to certain things. But I might ask, like, did you feel a stutter there? Or when they do the reading sample, I might say, like, I'm just wondering, did you notice if you stuttered in there or not? Never with a judgment, never to point it out to them, but just to see what they're aware of and to see if they feel something that I didn't hear, because that's important information, too.

So yeah, not scoring that also helps the parent not to hang on to something. Because a lot of times we'll get a question from parents that is, okay, well, how bad is it, right? They're using these judgmental words too. But if we tell them, the stutter is moderate or the stutter is very mild, right? It actually says nothing about how the stutter is impacting the child. And that's going to be the next part that

is the most important that I'm going to talk about now. But lastly, I just want to note about the SSI is that just another piece of why we're not scoring it why we're not giving it a severity is because stuttering at its core is variable. So parents and kids who stutter need to understand that their stutter is going to change depending on different factors, depending on the day, depending on the week. And that's actually just part of the experience.

So it kind of comes along with the acceptance piece of knowing, you know, that it's going to change. So if we're giving them this clear cut number or this clear cut word for it, then we're kind of setting them up for failure if it changes, if it gets the frequency increases or decreases.

So that next piece right I'm splitting it kind of into two behavioral we just talked about and then effective Which is the experience of the person? There are a bunch of different inventories out there to kind of survey how the person feels about their stutter and what their experience of it is like My favorite one is the Oasis so There are different age groups or different Oasis for different age groups

Victoria Dertouzos (Giacalone) (11:18.917)

starting at age seven and then going up to adult. And that's gonna give you a really good picture of how this center is impacting the child. So if we're kind of talking about the schools, right? We're looking to figure out, you know, what are really the areas of need? I know you talked about goals with Nina, but you know, the assessment always drives the treatment. So this test survey questionnaire, right?

Is really where personally I pull my goals from because it's telling me all that I need to know about how it's affecting the child And just to kind of note on something that I think school SLPs, especially are always looking for is how do I justify services? This is where you justify services At least in my state there's still a stuttering percentage a number of stutters that they're looking for unfortunately to qualify

However, your way around that is to show, hey, this is having an educational impact. They're not comfortable raising their hand in class, or it's having a social impact. They are feeling completely too nervous to even initiate conversations with their peers. And to me, that is just as good as giving a concrete number. And the OASIS does give you a number. It gives you an impact score at the end too. So you're still getting that.

that quantitative information. Yeah. So that's kind of like the overview, you know, including the screening parts and everything else that comes with being an SLP, right? If there are language difficulties that you see or speech difficulties that you see, just using your clinical judgment to figure out, is the language impacting the stutter? Is the stutter impacting the language?

speech, vice versa, and deciding what you're prioritizing in therapy. Sometimes you have a student where they're not very intelligible, and that's impacting them a little bit more at the time. But again, I keep using the word impact, and that's really the most important piece is figuring out how is this affecting, how is the stutter affecting the child.

Marisha (13:36.406)

Yeah. Wow. This was such a great overview of just like, yeah, what to consider when looking at an assessment. we're looking just a quick recap. We're looking at, we're doing a thorough intake, looking at medical history, temperament, personality, anxiety, emotional aspects. and then checking in with the parents on like perspectives and beliefs, because that can really impact.

how we set up therapy too, or at least how we communicate it with them. And then also looking at the behavioral and effective aspects. And you gave some great examples of things to consider in both of those areas. So yeah, this is awesome. And then I wanna ask this just because I know SLPs are always like, but how do I write the goals? So would you?

Like, would you be open to giving an example of how, like, how you would look at the oasis to, like, kind of navigate your goal writing?

Victoria Dertouzos (Giacalone) (14:41.529)

Yeah, 100%. So I think like anything, once you kind of shift your mindset on it and you look at it through a new lens, it actually becomes really easy. So you can take it pretty literally. So let's just say there's one item on the Oasis, right? And I'll just use feeling confident in your abilities as a speaker, right? That's the first one that comes to mind. So that's almost, we're very close to word for word, kind of what it says in the Oasis.

And they can choose, you know, always to never. And you can tell if they have like a pretty low view or a low confidence level. So what we want to do is we want to raise their confidence in their ability as a speaker. So we're going to put that as the goal. Now, the part that I think gets SLPs tripped up is, well, how do I make that 80 % accuracy? How do I make that one out of 10 opportunities, right?

And what you can do is, again, simple. You can use that same rating scale and the same way that you collected that information from the child, which was having the child decide, you're actually going to have them rate it again whenever you want. So now you have a progress measurement whenever you want and you have a measurement for your reevaluation or whatnot. So the goal might look like

the student will self-rate their confidence and speaking ability at a four out of five, maybe when the baseline was a two out of five. So really, whether you want something to go down or you want something to go up, you still have a measurement of it. And to me, it's actually more accurate in a way than the SLP judging something. Because technically, it's pretty subjective when you're when you're saying, OK,

the sound is being produced with 80 % accuracy, right? But when you're actually asking the person who's experiencing it, you're getting the information like straight from the horse's mouth. And it also helps to really encourage the fact that we wanna be listening to what they are feeling versus kind of just telling them, hey, we're gonna practice this thing today.

Marisha (17:04.066)

Yeah. And that's the, I think that's the overarching theme that we've been seeing in a lot of these episodes too, is that it's really, it's really like, and like you've been mentioning this whole episode, it's really all about the impact. And our goal is for our students to be confident communicators and what better way to measure that than by asking them. And because like, we, if we collect a language sample, it's so incredibly variable. It's not.

a good data point anyway, even if it might feel better of like, using our clicker to track these occurrences. if we ask them, even the context of what we ask them could significantly impact the, yeah. So I love that. again, you're so skilled at just giving really clear and practical examples. So thank you for that.

Victoria Dertouzos (Giacalone) (18:01.093)

Yeah, of course. If you don't mind, I want to touch on something you mentioned, the language sample. Again, I think that's something else that SLPs can get bogged down on. But if we're thinking about shifting, and we're thinking about communication effectiveness and communication competence, maybe when the child starts out, that language sample is going to look like a ton of avoidance strategies.

Marisha (18:03.08)

okay.

Victoria Dertouzos (Giacalone) (18:27.885)

repeating or going back and starting the sentence over because they want to rewrite over the stutter to fix it. We're adding in lot of ums, right? And in reality, if the child just stutters and lets it out and doesn't use any of those things, the language sample is going to look different, but it's actually not going to change how many stutters are in it. But you'll probably increase confidence, you'll increase communication effectiveness, and things like that. So.

That's kind of what we're looking for.

Marisha (18:59.139)

Yeah, now that makes so much sense. Okay, so, and this feels like what you outlined feels super doable. But I'm just curious, especially since you've had like five years in the schools and most people listening to this are school-based SLPs. But do you have any tips or strategies for SLPs who are juggling a bunch of different things in just making sure that they're able to

actually implement this. Like it feels really practical, but do you have any like tips or strategies that might make it a little bit easier?

Victoria Dertouzos (Giacalone) (19:39.181)

Yeah, I totally understand the feeling of having to have a million balls in the air and maybe, you know, feeling like your job isn't understood completely, the responsibilities and all that kind of goes into just being an SLP in the school. I think that thinking about the whole picture, right, we talk about that with like any student, just trying to keep the mindset that you're

you're treating the whole child. So keeping that open mind when you're going into the assessment, like I mentioned, when you're talking with the parents, even when you're talking with the teacher, that's an important part I missed in the intake, just seeing how the child functions in the classroom and what they notice. And again, of course, hearing from the child. But functionally, I think if you kind of keep that lens,

It'll just naturally help you gather the information a little bit more because ultimately again, we're looking for increasing the wellbeing of the child. We're not looking for, you know, parents maybe asking, okay, how can we practice or how are we going to make him more fluent? If that doesn't feel right to you and it probably shouldn't, I'll erase probably, then go with that, right? Anything that you think is going to increase his wellbeing in school, outside of school.

go there. But I think it is tough to juggle, right? You may have a group that you need to see and you have the one kid who stutters in there and you're trying to figure out how do I make this work? Talking about stuttering is also going to help making it not the elephant in the room. Again, kind of just another simple thing. know, kids can feel how you feel about things. So.

even if they are in the articulation group, it's okay if they're talking about stuttering, as long as you notice that they're comfortable. But I think, I know I'm kind of going broader instead of specific, but I think that's kind of what will help the most. But I know it's tough, like, I think a lot of SLPs have heard this message of like, not using fluency shaping strategies, right, not encouraging fluency, but

Victoria Dertouzos (Giacalone) (22:02.287)

They're not really sure what to replace it with. I think that's where the difficulty lies. So I guess I'll just give kind of one more thing. When you're in treatment, right, or you're in therapy and you're thinking about the stutter, we have this lens of strategies, right? So shifting away from those and into something else, what you can replace that with is all of your knowledge of being an SLP, everything else that you know about voice.

Everything else you know about articulation. Within the lens of stuttering, it falls under this idea of tension, really. So how can you help the child with the underlying message of, your stutter's not gonna go away, it's gonna be there, but let's work and play with your speech system so that we can make it feel better. And it doesn't need to be called an easy onset. It doesn't need to be called stretchy speech, right? You can let the child come up with something and just figure out.

Let them have the ownership over like, it feels better when I stutter a little bit easier and let them call it whatever that is. So I think just that lens, again, you're looking at the whole child and you're trying to make it feel better for them, whether that's emotionally or physically. Yeah.

Marisha (23:22.358)

that's great. was there anything else that you wanted to like wrap up with? I mean, I feel like we did, you did a phenomenal job kind of going through assessment and I feel like SLPs will have, if you check out the show notes, anyone listening, there's a link.

In the episode description, you'll find just like a quick outline of what we talked about. So you can use that to create your like your own little assessment checklist, as well as links to some of the assessments and all of that. But yeah, was there anything you wanted to add Victoria?

Victoria Dertouzos (Giacalone) (23:59.845)

I think I touched on a lot, but I guess just to kind of leave everyone with like the messaging that you're sending to both the child and the parents and the teachers and the staff in the school, right? Understanding that a stutter is part of the way this child communicates. So using that as the foundation for all of the rest of the things that you're doing. And assessment's a really good place to start because it kind of sets the tone for

working with the child and the whole speech therapy process.

Marisha (24:31.628)

Yeah, that is so true because if like based on the types of questions we're asking and just what the assessment looks like and also how we report it, that'll really shift how like parents and teachers and the student are kind of being introduced to the intervention too. So yeah, this is where it all starts.

Victoria Dertouzos (Giacalone) (24:40.794)

Yes.

Victoria Dertouzos (Giacalone) (24:52.141)

Yes, 100%.

Marisha (24:54.38)

Amazing. Well, thank you so much, Victoria. This was super helpful. And thank you to everyone who listened.

Victoria Dertouzos (Giacalone) (25:02.637)

I'm so glad. Thank you for having me.

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Marisha’s Birthday Giveaway

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It’s my birthday! I am so excited to celebrate with you, and to do that we are doing a GIVEAWAY — 10 of my favorite tools and resources as an SLP.

Enter below for a chance to win:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here’s a peek at the prizes:

1. SLP Now Membership

This has been a game changer for me as an SLP! I feel about 3,432 times more confident about my therapy plans, student progress, data collection, and documentation. Don’t tell anyone, but I actually kind of enjoy Medicaid billing, too.

2. SLP Now Following Directions Deck

This is perfect for the busy SLP who wants fun, engaging, evidence-based therapy materials but is not excited about pulling out the old printer and laminator.

 

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3. SLP Now Sentence Pack

This guy takes some time to prep, but it is one of my most used materials! Perfect for grammar and early MLU goals!

 

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4. Starbucks Gift Card

You know how much I love my no-water chai latte! An essential for SLPs navigating the craziness of a mega caseload!

5. Target Gift Card

Who doesn’t love a trip to Target? 🙂

6. Amazon Gift Card

I love Starbucks and Target, but I absolutely could not live without Amazon! My “go-to” for therapy materials and organizational goodies!

7. Teal Yeti

This is my absolute favorite tumbler! I carry it with me all the time. I’ve always struggled to drink enough water, but the large tumbler does the trick!

8. Stadtler Pens

These pens are #amazing! They don’t bleed and come in a beautiful organizer. An SLP’s dream come true!

 

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9. Children’s Book: Little Elliot in the Big City

This is my favorite book. It includes beautiful illustrations and an incredibly sweet story, is filled with targets, and contains just the right amount of text. Perfect for kids working on /l/, synonyms, antonyms, basic concepts, describing, inferencing… The list goes on and on!

10. Children’s Book: Giraffes Can’t Dance

This is a close second! I love encouraging my students with this story of perseverance, and it also happens to be a great vehicle for a variety of therapy goals!

Now I’m curious… What are your favorite SLP gifts?

Best Articles for Vocabulary Goals

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I love sharing tips and tricks to help SLPs implement literacy-based therapy, but it’s not always easy to find the perfect reading resource for you mixed group! This series of blog posts will help you find fun, engaging articles that also make it easy to target your students’ goals. (I know I am always on the hunt for amazing resources to use in therapy!)

Next up is…VOCABULARY!

Compare and Contrast

Predicting the Future – This nonfiction article about travel in the future is written at a 6th grade reading level. Students can compare and contrast travel now and what it might look like in the future.

From Earth to Outer Space – This nonfiction article about space travel is written at a 6th grade reading level. Students can compare and contrast space travel as depicted in the movie, A Trip to the Moon, with how it was described in the article.

Siblings – The fiction passage about two siblings is written at a 4th grade reading level. Students can compare and contrast the two siblings.

Multiple Meaning Words

The following articles include a variety of multiple meaning words:

Snow Day Fever – This fiction passage about a boy who is sick on a snow day is written at a 5th grade reading level.

Focus: What’s Inside? – This nonfiction article about focus and attention is written at a 5th grade reading level.

Winter Worries and Health Hazards – This nonfiction article about winter hazards is written at a 4th to 5th grade reading level.

Prefixes and Suffixes

The following articles include a variety of words that include prefixes and suffixes:

Tag–I’m It! – This fiction passage about a game of tag is written at a 4th grade reading level.

Louis Braille – This nonfiction article about Louis Braille is written at a 6th grade reading level.

Jump Jump Jump – This fiction passage about two boys’ adventures during recess is written at a 4th grade reading level.

Looking for more resources? Check out the SLP Now Membership! You can search for materials to help you teach these skills, as well as articles that include targets for all of your students’ goals. Try it today (for free)!

Best Articles for Language Goals

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I love sharing tips and tricks to help SLPs implement literacy-based therapy, but it’s not always easy to find the perfect reading resource for you mixed group! This series of blog posts will help you find fun, engaging articles that also make it easy to target your students’ goals. (I know I am always on the hunt for amazing reading resources to use in therapy!)

Next up is…LANGUAGE!

Facts and Opinions

New Debate: Virtual Education – This nonfiction article about virtual education is written at a 6th grade reading level. This article provides two points of view regarding whether cyber schools are a valid option for education, giving students multiple opportunities to identify facts versus opinions.

Looking for more debate articles? ReadWorks has plenty!

Tiger Watch – This nonfiction article about tigers and their near extinction is written at a 6th grade reading level. The article includes several facts and opinions as they describe the dangers that threaten these animals.

Up in the Air – This fiction passage about a boy who travels on a plane for the first time is written at a 4th grade reading level. Students have the opportunity to identify facts and opinions as the boy shares his experience.

Inferences

Confessions of a New Girl – This fiction passage about a new girl’s experience is written at a 4th-grade reading level. There are multiple opportunities to make inferences as the new girl describes her experiences at a new school.

Walk the Plank! – This fiction passage about two boys who are playing a pirate game is written at a 5th grade reading level. Students have multiple opportunities to make inferences as the two boys play together.

Magic in the Classroom – This fiction passage about Emma’s first day at a new school is written at a 5th grade reading level. Emma encounters several students who treat her very differently. Students can infer why this is happening and how it affects Emma.

Main Idea/Summarizing

Music and Your Mind – This nonfiction article about music’s power is written at a 6th grade reading level.

Nothing Left to Lose – This nonfiction article about a family’s escape from North Korea is written at a 5th grade reading level.

Time to Think – This nonfiction article about the length of a school day is written at a 6th grade reading level.

Looking for more resources? Check out the SLP Now Membership! You can search for materials to help you teach these skills, as well as articles that include targets for all of your students’ goals. Try it today (for free)!

Best Articles for Syntax Goals

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I love sharing tips and tricks to help SLPs implement literacy-based therapy, but it’s not always easy to find the perfect reading resource for you mixed group! This series of blog posts will help you find fun, engaging articles that also make it easy to target your students’ goals. (I know I am always on the hunt for amazing reading resources to use in therapy!)

First up is…SYNTAX!

Where do we even start? There are so many syntactic structures that we could target in therapy (or maybe you have no idea where to even start!). The latter was definitely true for me! This article by Zipoli (2017) is incredibly helpful and identifies four types of sentence structures that may be particularly difficult for our students!

Passive Voice

Baking Bread Now and Then – This nonfiction passage about bread is written at a 3rd grade reading level. The author uses the passive voice while describing how bread used to be made (e.g., “The grain was ground by hand on a millstone.”)

A Club for Explorers – This nonfiction passage about the Explorers Club is written at a 7th grade reading level. The author uses the passive voice when describing their club’s adventures (e.g., “James Cameron was given an award for his trip…”).

Relative and Adverbial Clauses

Making the Team – This fiction passage is written at a 4th grade reading level. This is a story about Andreas and his friend, Tyrell, who try out for the basketball team and describe the experience. The author uses several relative clauses (e.g., “…who made the team tomorrow before school,” “…that he could see when Andreas was upset”).

Schools of Skate – This nonfiction passage about skateboarding is written at a 4th grade reading level. The author uses several adverbial clauses (e.g., “…because students had less time”).

Inspiring Olympic Athletes – This nonfiction passage about the 1980 Winter Olympics is written at a 3rd grade reading level. The author uses several relative and adverbial clauses (e.g., “After upsetting the Soviet team,” “who were cheering for them”).

Sentences with 3+ Clauses

The Farmer, the Snake, and the Eggs and Bacon – This fiction passage is written at a 4th grade reading level. The author uses several sentences with three clauses while he describes how a farmer makes breakfast.

Civil Rights on a City Bus – This nonfiction article about Rosa Parks is written at a 5th grade reading level. The author uses several sentences with 3+ clauses (e.g., “She also became a hero and an inspiration to people all over the nation who were fighting for racial equality, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a young minister who would soon become a major civil rights leader.”)

George Washington – This nonfiction article about George Washington is written at a 3rd to 4th grade reading level. The author uses several sentences with multiple clauses (e.g., “Before becoming President, Washington led the Continental Army to victory, winning American independence from Britain during the Revolutionary War.”)

Looking for more resources? Check out the SLP Now Membership! You can search for materials to help you teach these skills, as well as articles that include targets for all of your students’ goals. Try it today (for free)!

Best Books for Vocabulary

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I love sharing tips and tricks to help SLPs implement literacy-based therapy, but it’s not always easy to find the perfect book for your mixed group! This series of blog posts will help you find fun, engaging books that also make it easy to target your students’ goals. (I know I am always on the hunt for amazing books to use in therapy!)

Next up is…VOCABULARY!

If you work with older students, then stay tuned for a series of blog posts that highlight engaging texts that can be used to target more complex syntax goals!

Here are the skills we’ll be covering:

• Basic Concepts
• Categories
• Compare and Contrast
• Idioms
• Multiple Meaning Words

Basic Concepts

The Mitten – This is a story about a boy who loses his mitten. Woodland animals discover the mitten and crawl in. A great opportunity for repeated practice of the concept IN.

Duck on a Bike – This is a story about a duck who decides to ride his bike. His animal friends eventually join in on the fun. A great opportunity for repeated practice of the concept ON.

Little Elliot, Big City – This is a story about a little elephant in a big city. A great opportunity for repeated practice of the concepts BIG and LITTLE.

Categories

Pass It On – This is a story about a cow who gets stuck in a fence, and the message gets passed on to different animals. This provides a great opportunity to practice categorizing animals!

We’re Going on a Picnic – This is a story about four animals who go on a picnic. This provides a great opportunity to practice categorizing animals and fruits!

Froggy Gets Dressed – This is a story about a frog who gets dressed. This provides a great opportunity to practice categorizing clothes!

Compare and Contrast

Little Elliot, Big City – This story about Elliot the elephant is filled with contrasts. Elliot is so small, and everything around him is so big. The story is filled with pictures and descriptions of furniture and desserts that students can easily compare and contrast. The main characters (an elephant and a mouse) can also be compared/contrasted.

The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear – This is a story about a mouse who tries to pick a strawberry without being discovered by the hungry bear. He attempts to hide the strawberry from the bear. Students can compare/contrast the mouse, the strawberry, and the bear, as well as the mouse’s different hiding strategies.

The Rainbow Fish – This is a story about a beautiful fish who learns to share his beauty with his friends. Students have the opportunity to compare/contrast the fish and other ocean scenery.

Figurative Language

Butterflies in My Stomach – This story about a boy’s first day at school is filled with idioms.

Reach for the Stars – This story is filled with idioms related to perseverance and success.

Crazy Like a Fox – This story is filled with similes about Rufus the fox.

Multiple Meaning Words

Dear Deer – This story about Aunt Ant who just moved to the zoo is filled with homophones.

A Chocolate Moose for Dinner – This is a story about a girl who tries to understand her mother’s use of multiple meaning words.

The King Who Rained – This is a story about a girl who tries to understand her father’s use of multiple meaning words.

Looking for more book ideas? Check out the SLP Now Membership! You can search for books that include targets for all of your students’ goals. Try it today (for free)!

 

Best Books for Later Language

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I love sharing tips and tricks to help SLPs implement literacy-based therapy, but it’s not always easy to find the perfect book for your mixed group! This series of blog posts will help you find fun, engaging books that also make it easy to target your students’ goals. (I know I am always on the hunt for amazing books to use in therapy!)

Next up is…LATER LANGUAGE!

If you work with older students, then stay tuned for a series of blog posts that highlight engaging texts that can be used to target more complex syntax goals!

Here are the later language skills we’ll be covering:

• Facts and Opinions
• Inferences
• Main Idea/Summarizing

Facts and Opinions

Nerdy Birdy – This is a story about a “nerdy birdy” who navigates the opinions of other birds. A great context for discussing facts versus opinions!

Family Huddle – This book includes engaging dialogue and descriptions about the Mannings (a famous football family). Football fans particularly enjoy this story, and it’s a great context for identifying facts versus opinions!

If You Decide to Go to the Moon – This story is written in second person and tells the reader what they need to do when traveling to the moon. Students can identify facts and opinions as the author walks them through their trip. For example: “To go to the moon, you will travel about 240,000 miles. It is a long trip, but rocket ships go fast.”

Inferences

Doctor De Soto – This is a story about a mouse who is a dentist. A fox stops by the office with a toothache. Students have the opportunity to make inferences about what the mouse and the fox are thinking/feeling throughout the story.

This Is Not My Hat – This is a story about a tiny fish who steals a hat from a big fish. This book is filled with opportunities to infer what the characters are thinking, feeling, and doing. Students also infer what happens at the end of the story. What happened to the little fish?

I Want My Hat Back – This is a story about a bear who lost his hat. The bear realizes who stole his hat, and students infer what happens to the culprit.

Main Idea/Summarizing

Vote! – This is an engaging and informative introduction to voting. Filled with visual supports, this text is ideal for older students who would benefit from a scaffolded review of this topic.

I Am Martin Luther King, Jr. – This inspiring biography includes great visuals that make it possible for students at all levels to learn more about Martin Luther King, Jr.

Why Should I Recycle? – This book illustrates why and how students can recycle. It’s filled with illustrations/visual supports to make the content accessible to all learners.

Looking for more book ideas? Check out the SLP Now Membership! You can search for books that include targets for all of your students’ goals. Try it today (for free)!

 

Best Books for Early Language

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I love sharing tips and tricks to help SLPs implement literacy-based therapy, but it’s not always easy to find the perfect book for you mixed group! This series of blog posts will help you find fun, engaging books that also make it easy to target your students’ goals. (I know I am always on the hunt for amazing books to use in therapy!)

Next up is…EARLY LANGUAGE!

If you work with older students, then stay tuned for a series of blog posts that highlight engaging texts that can be used to target more complex syntax goals!

Following Directions

These interactive books are a fun, engaging way to target following directions.

Press Here – Students have the opportunity to press dots, shake pages, tilt the book, and more to change what happens to the dots on the page.

Mix It Up – Students have the opportunity to tap, touch, and mix paint splatters to create some beautiful combinations!

Let’s Play – This book includes more detailed instructions (e.g., “Touch the bottom right corner.”) that students can follow to interact with a yellow dot!

Narratives/Story Grammar

These story maps fit really nicely into a story grammar framework, with a clear initiating event, an internal response, a plan, actions/attempts, and a resolution.

Little Elliot, Big City – This is a story about an elephant who is too small to buy himself a cupcake, his favorite dessert. He becomes friends with a mouse who helps him purchase a cupcake and ends up finding something much sweeter than a cupcake!

Turkey Trouble – This is a story about a turkey who doesn’t want to be eaten on Thanksgiving. He cleverly disguises himself as different animals to avoid being eaten.

Giraffes Can’t Dance – This is a story about a giraffe who gets made fun of by other animals in the jungle because he can’t dance. An unlikely friend helps Gerald the giraffe learn how to dance.

WH Questions

Where’s Spot? – This is a story about a mother dog who is looking for her puppy, Spot. This “lift the flap” is a perfect tool to practice who/where questions. Who is under the bed? Where is the crocodile?

The Old Lady Swallowed… – The infamous Old Lady Who Swallowed… series is perfect for structured practice of what questions. Each page gives students the opportunity to answer, “What did the old lady swallow?”

Pass It On – This is a sweet story about a cow who gets stuck in a fence. One of his friends finds him and decides to ask the other animals for help. The message morphs as the animals pass it along. The book has a repetitive structure that gives students the opportunity to practice answering who/what/where questions.

Looking for more book ideas? Check out the SLP Now Membership! You can search for books that include targets for all of your students’ goals. Try it today (for free)!

Best Books for Grammar

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I love sharing tips and tricks to help SLPs implement literacy-based therapy, but it’s not always easy to find the perfect book for your mixed group! This series of blog posts will help you find fun, engaging books that also make it easy to target your students’ goals. (I know I am always on the hunt for amazing books to use in therapy!)

First up is…GRAMMAR!

If you’re wondering how to target grammar goals using books, then check out our grammar series.

If you work with older students, then stay tuned for a series of blog posts that highlight engaging texts that can be used to target more complex syntax goals!

Here are the grammar targets we’ll be covering:

• Pronouns
• Auxiliary Verbs
• Past Tense Verbs
• Plural Nouns
• Negatives
• Post Noun Elaboration
• Compound Sentences
• Complex Sentences

Pronouns

I Like Myself – This story about a young girl is filled with “I” statements. A perfect opportunity to model this pronoun!

My Friend is Sad – This story about Gerald and Piggie is filled with “you” and “I” statements. A perfect opportunity to model/contrast these pronouns!

The Biggest Apple Ever – This story about the collaborative effort of two mice is filled with “we” statements.

Auxiliary Verbs

We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt – This story about three friends who go on an adventure is perfect for students working on auxiliary verbs. The repetitive structure of the book includes multiple opportunities to model and practice this target.

A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee – Mr. Magee and his dog experience an eventful camping trip. They complete several actions along the way, providing students with several opportunities to practice using auxiliary verbs (e.g., He is driving. He is roasting marshmallows. They are sleeping.).

Animal Strike at the Zoo – This is a story about zoo animals who decide to strike. Students have the opportunity to describe the animals’ actions using auxiliary verbs.

Past Tense Verbs

There Was an Old Lady Who… – These stories make repetitive use of past tense verbs, ideal for initial modeling and scaffolded practice.

Little Elliot, Big City – This story about a little elephant in a big city includes simple sentences with a variety of regular and irregular past tense verbs.

Chrysanthemum – Chrysanthemum is a mouse who loves her name until the kids at school make fun of it. This story chronicles her self acceptance and is filled with repeated use of regular (e.g., loved, looked, walked) and irregular (e.g., said, grew, woke) past tense verbs.

Plural Nouns

In The Tall, Tall Grass – This book describes the actions of bugs. The book includes simple two-word sentences (e.g., Caterpillars lunch. Hummingbirds sip.), ideal for targeted modeling and scaffolded practice of plural nouns.

Giraffes Can’t Dance – The story about a giraffe who learns to dance includes a number of regular plural nouns.

Dragons Love Tacos – This story about a dragon taco party includes repeated use of plural nouns.

Negatives

Where’s Spot? – This is a story about a mother dog who is looking for her puppy. She looks for him in several places. Students have the opportunity to “lift the flap” when searching for Spot and practice using negation (e.g., He is NOT inside the clock.).

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type – This story about unsatisfied farm animals includes repeated use of (“no” + noun).

How Do Dinosaurs Say I’m Mad? – This story about an angry dinosaur includes opportunities for students to practice answering questions. For example, “Does he roar and slam the door?” The SLP can model and/or students can respond with negation (e.g.,, “He does not!” or “He doesn’t roar and slam the door.”)

Post Noun Elaboration

Animal Strike at the Zoo – The story about animals going on strike at the zoo includes several examples of post noun elaboration as the author describes the animals.

A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee – This story about Dee and Mr. Magee’s camping trip includes several examples of post noun elaboration as the author describes the adventure.

Happy Like Soccer – This story about a young girl who loves soccer includes several examples of post noun elaboration as the author describes her game day.

Compound Sentences

Big Frank’s Fire Truck – The story about a fireman’s day includes several compound sentences.

Room on the Broom – This story about a witch and her broom includes several compound sentences.

Little Red Riding Hood – The story about Little Red Riding Hood includes several compound sentences.

Complex Sentences

The Little Red Hen – This story about the Little Red Hen includes several complex sentences (e.g., using the conjunction “after”).

How I Became a Pirate – This story about how a young boy became a pirate includes several complex sentences (e.g., using the conjunction “because”).

Family Huddle – This story about the Manning brothers includes several complex sentences.

Looking for more book ideas? Check out the SLP Now Membership! You can search for books that include targets for all of your students’ goals. Try it today (for free)!

6 Time-Saving Hacks for SLPs

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When I was managing my caseload of 100+ students, I desperately needed a way to “work smarter” as an SLP. I used these hacks to manage my caseload as sanely as possible, and I hope they help you, too!

Listen, every SLP needs time-saving hacks in their life. We have too much to do and too little time! This blog post shares six time-saving hacks that speech therapists can use with their caseload to make their workload more efficient and more manageable. Click through to learn all the tips, and don’t forget to actually implement them!

1. Language Sample

This is one of my favorite hacks ever! Such a great time-saver, and it helps me feel super prepared for my evaluation meetings.

 

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2. No-Print Books

These are my favorite! I can access them in the SLP Now app. I just have to click, and (voila!) I have a whole session worth of visual supports!

Best part? You can download five no-print books for free when you sign up for a trial!

 

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3. Sheet Protectors + Dry Erase Markers

These are another great time-saver! I print one copy of the materials I need. I slip them in a sheet protector and can reuse them across sessions. It’s also a great engagement booster because kids love being able to use the dry erase marker!

 

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4. Sticky Tack

This is perfect for busy SLPs on a budget. Instead of buying expensive Velcro, I use sticky tack. Instead of having to place the hook and the loop sides for Velcro, I just place the sticky tack on my interactive pieces. I can then stick the interactive pieces anywhere! On other visuals, on the wall, on the board–wherever they need to go! They hold up really well!

I usually only go through one pack a year, so it’s very budget friendly, too!

5. Digital Data

I’ve tried so many data systems, and this is the one that stuck! I love how it streamlines everything! Planning is so much easier. It’s easy to enter data for even the most challenging groups. I know exactly how my students are doing (thanks to beautiful “automagically” generated graphs).

6. Medicaid Billing

This is the last one on the list, but it has saved me so much time! I used to spend hours a week just dreading the billing process. Now it only takes me five minutes a week, and I’ve convinced myself to kind of enjoy the process!

Drowning in IEPs? Find six more hacks here!