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Marisha

How to Conquer Medicaid Billing

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Everyone loves Medicaid billing, right?

If I’m being honest, that was the least favorite part of my job. I even would have chosen bus duty (in 120 degree heat!) over billing!

I knew it was important… It helps us get funding and all that, but man… It was always such a chore!

When I was building SLP Now, that was one of my #1 priorities. I desperately needed a way to make billing easier.

Now, I am actually excited to bill because it is so easy!

Let’s take a look! 🙂

Here’s how it works:

1. Set up your caseload in SLP Now. (We have a super easy onboarding process. We’re here to support you. Most SLPs are able to get set up in 1 to 2 hours!)

2. Enter your data. (I went totally digital, and I am loving it! The tools streamline so many aspects of caseload management! No more piles of data sheets. It makes it incredibly easy to document and monitor student progress–with pretty graphs to boot!

3. Click that clipboard and paste into your billing software!

That’s it!

If you want access to these super easy Medicaid billing tools, check out the SLP Now Membership!

Working Towards Generalization with Literacy-Based Therapy

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You’re working really hard to provide awesome therapy to your students. You prepped those amazing activities. You attended that massive conference to pick up some new strategies. You are working so. darn. hard.

Yet…your staff has no clue. They may or may not know what you are working on with your students, and they likely wouldn’t be able to point out the awesome progress that Johnny is making.

via GIPHY

You’re not alone.

I was in the same boat, and I knew that something had to change–especially since what I was targeting in the therapy room wasn’t being noticed in the classroom.

I did a ton of research and came up with some solutions. I have been raving about literacy-based therapy ever since.

The best part is that it makes our jobs easier, and we can also use it to help our students.

Here are the four tips that helped me make the most progress!

1. Pick Literature from the Classroom

“Hey, Mrs. Smith! What are your students reading this week?”

That’s all it takes!

If they can give you the name of a book or an article, you are set! You have a text that you can use for relevant, curriculum-based therapy.

If they can’t give you the name of a particular book, then you can ask what they’re learning about in science, social studies, or language arts. There are so many books out there! There’s bound to be a book that matches one of the themes that is being discussed in the classroom.

2. Explicitly Focus on Skills

This is key! If your students know what their goals are, they will be able to answer questions like…

“What are you doing in speech?”

“What did you learn with Mrs. X today?”

They’ll also be more likely to make connections with the curriculum. “Hey, I’m learning how to summarize in speech/language therapy!”

There are countless ways you could increase goal awareness, but a goal pocket chart is one example of a tool/system that you can use to review goals.

3. Integrate Skills with Parallel Stories

Ukrainetz shares an incredibly helpful framework in her book, Contextualized Language Intervention (affiliate link). The last step of her framework includes a parallel story.

For example, if students just completed a unit using the book Snowmen at Night, then they can write a parallel story about what trees do at night. They can integrate all of the speech and language skills targeted throughout the entire unit to create an exciting final product. Students really take ownership of their final stories and are excited to share their book with parents, teachers, and friends. This is an amazing opportunity to practice all of those skills outside of the therapy room.

Work with middle school or high school students? I also wrote about some alternative activity ideas for older students!

4. Involve the Team

I periodically share updates with teachers and use the Remind app to communicate with parents along the way. This way, when students share their parallel stories, the team is aware of the students’ goals. They’ll be able to see the student use these skills in a meaningful way and will be able to provide opportunities for continued practice.

Want to learn more about literacy-based therapy? We are starting a FREE literacy-based therapy challenge that will include free planning templates, materials, inspiration, and more! Click here to sign up!

Literacy Based Therapy Challenge

5 Rules for Successful Literacy-Based Therapy for Mixed Groups

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So, you’re excited about literacy-based therapy. The framework makes a lot of sense, and you love the idea of infusing evidence-based strategies into every therapy session.

But, now what?

What does this actually look like?

The real world isn’t clean, and we have so many challenges to face when it comes to implementing this framework with our caseload.

One of the biggest hurdles that we’ve been chatting about is… MIXED GROUPS!

The good news is that there is a way to have successful therapy–even with mixed groups. You don’t have to feel like a hot mess when juggling all the different goals and strategies!

Here are my top five rules for successful literacy-based therapy for mixed groups:

1. Embrace It!

I would argue that your therapy session might even be more effective if you have mixed groups. (All of that peer modeling…!) The students can support each other and even facilitate carryover into the classroom. A quick mindset shift can make a world of a difference.

Rules 3 and 4 will also make the actual implementation much easier.

2. Set Up a Data System

Collecting data in a mixed group can seem overwhelming. Take the time to pick a system that works well for you. (Check out this blog post for tons of data collection ideas.) I love my digital data system, but it might not be a great fit for you and your therapy style. The most important part is that you pick what works for you!

When you’re doing more contextualized therapy, there is a lot of value in collecting probe data. I typically probe one goal at the beginning of every session. Once you get into a routine, this only takes a few minutes, and you will have great data! You can use tools from Teachers Pay Teachers, you can use the SLP Now assessments, or you can create your own probes.

There’s also a lot of value in tracking the level of support that a student needs in context (i.e., when reading a book). The SLP Now Membership includes a rubric that I use to “quantify” the support I provide in a session. This makes it easier for me to document (without having to write a novel)! It also helps me be more consistent in my reporting. We should see the level of support decrease over time. If I don’t see this happening, then it’s a clue that I need to change something about my strategy.

3. Organize Your Visuals

Mixed groups can feel messy, but having an organized set of therapy materials can make a world of a difference. I organized my visuals in a therapy tote. My most frequently used materials are easily accessible (by me or by my students), which makes the session flow much more smoothly.

SLP Now Therapy Tote

4. Create a Routine

With a routine, we can efficiently collect data and start teaching our students! Check out this blog post for more tips!

5. Plan Ahead

Take a second to map out your plan. Pick out a book and jot some activity ideas to set yourself up for success. We are starting a FREE literacy-based therapy challenge that will walk you through my planning routine. The challenge will include free planning templates, materials, inspiration, and more! Click here to sign up!

Literacy Based Therapy Challenge

So, there you have it! Those are my five “rules” for successful literacy-based therapy for mixed groups.

4 Ideas to Engage Older Students Using Literacy-Based Therapy

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Anyone else try reaaaallllly hard to keep your older students engaged? It’s not always an easy feat. Especially since some of them only want to play games, and anything curriculum-based makes them groan.

I’ve had a lot of success spending time on goal awareness and growth mindset, but technology is another huge winner with this population. Combine that with a literacy-based framework, and you have a recipe for success.

Engagement + Generalization = Happy SLPs and Students

The best part? It’s low prep! You can easily implement these ideas with your students tomorrow!

Let’s say “goodbye” to those yawns and groans!

I often use nonfiction reading passages with this population. The literacy-based therapy framework includes a “parallel story” at the end of the unit. This doesn’t always make sense in the context of a nonfiction text, so I’ve adapted it a bit to meet the needs of my students (and to better help them meet the demands of the curriculum).

Here are four of my favorite tools to use when working on generalization with literacy-based therapy…

1. Newscast

Students usually love this one! If they’re not feeling it, I might pull up a YouTube video of a funny newscast to get them inspired.

How does it work? We write a script summarizing the reading passage we just read. (This is a perfect way to combine all of the grammar, vocabulary, and other language skills that were targeted during the unit.) They then get to have fun and create their newscast! You can use any camera (or camera app). You don’t need anything fancy here!

They can share their final product with friends, teachers, and/or parents. At this point, they should be very familiar with the text and any repetition is a great way to continue practicing the target skills. Especially if it’s happening outside of the speech room!

2. Toontastic

Toontastic is a creative storytelling app. Students can use it to create a newscast for the article (using cartoon characters instead of recording their faces). It has some really great features (e.g., voice recording, music effects, the ability to share, and more)!

3. ChatterPix

Chatterpix is another tool that we can use to ramp up the engagement when retelling a story. You can take a picture of a key person in the text. Students can then record an audio clip retelling the story from that person’s point of view.

The best part? Students can replay the clip and see the person’s mouth moving. They will keep requesting replays, and they’ll get to hear their perfectly formulated summary (with key vocabulary and language concepts embedded). They won’t even know they’re learning!

4. Pictello

Pictello is another fun tool that students can use to create story boards. They can add pictures and audio for a nice final project that can easily be shared for generalization.

This is a paid app, but you could use Google Slides in a similar way.

Want to learn more?

I’ve got another post for you! This one is packed with even more engagement tools!

We are also starting a FREE literacy-based therapy challenge that will include free planning templates, materials, inspiration, and more! Click here to sign up!

Literacy Based Therapy Challenge

How to Plan for a Month of Therapy

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Jean and I presented on literacy-based therapy at the SLP Summit earlier this month.

We talked about how literacy-based therapy…

We also just happen to love books and what they can do for our students!

Easier Planning?

Yes! That caught my attention, too.

Let’s go back a few years…

I was loving my job, but my caseload had nearly doubled, and I was drowning! I was working so hard to meet my students’ needs, but I just couldn’t seem to keep up with it all.

That is when I started exploring literacy-based therapy, and I saw how it helped my students and made my job easier.

I want to share that with you, so…

Let’s Figure It Out Together!

Even with a framework, I know that it can still be overwhelming to figure out how to make this happen with your caseload.

Did you…

  • watch our SLP Summit presentation and loved Gillam and Ukrainetz’s five-step framework for literacy-based therapy?
  • want more practical examples of what the actual planning looks like?
  • want more ideas for skill-based practice?
  • want some FREE cheat sheets and therapy materials to get you started?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, then you are in the right place!

We are gearing up for a 5-day challenge to help SLPs implement literacy-based therapy!

Our goal is for all SLPs who participate to leave with a month-long literacy-based unit that they can use with their caseload (right away)! We will share tips and tricks so that SLPs can easily plan future units and implement LBT in therapy with confidence.

We’ll be sharing access to video tutorials, live Q&A sessions, free cheat sheets and therapy materials, and an awesome community of like-minded SLPs to make that happen. And it’s all free!

Click here to sign up for the challenge!

SLP Summit Recap: Literacy-Based Therapy Q&A Part 2

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Jeannie and I had so. much. fun. chatting with you about literacy-based therapy at the SLP Summit this week! We loved your enthusiasm and were blown away by your dedication. (I mean… What other professional would work all day and come home for more professional development?!)

Wait? What is the SLP Summit? Sarah and Lisa from SLP Toolkit and I hosted a FREE online conference for SLPs, featuring practical tips and resources for SLPs to start the new year off right.

Now back to business… 🙂

Let’s take some time to answer the live viewers’ questions (part 2)!

Student Engagement/Goal Awareness

How do you suggest implementing the self awareness / reflection on progress with lower level students in self contained classrooms?

Jenna Rayburn has a fabulous resource!

Any tips to increase engagement with books for preschool students with limited interest in books?

The key is to make books reinforcing! To get students used to the concept of books, you can start with more interactive books. Here are some of my favorites:

– Where’s Spot *
– Dear Zoo *
– Press Here *
– Mix It Up *

* These are Amazon affiliate links.

It may take some time, but if you keep book time fun and short, students will eventually become more engaged. (They might even start asking for more!)

Session Logistics

How many sessions, on average, do you use to get through each of the steps?

I spend 4-6 thirty-minute sessions on one book.

What would a 30 minute session look like as far as how many steps you might accomplish?

It really depends! We might spend an entire session on pre-story knowledge activation, or we might only spend 5 minutes. I typically do spend several sessions targeting specific skills. It’s not uncommon for Step 5 (Parallel Story) to take more than one session too.

Any suggestions on “fitting” it all in?

Don’t feel rushed! Let the kids soak in all the language! As long as they’re communicating and practicing their skills, it doesn’t matter how much time you spend on any given step.

If you feel like you’re wasting time in between activities, think about your therapy routine. Is there something you can do to make transitions easier?

If you’re doing it over a month, are you having to review/read the story again each session?

We don’t necessarily re-read the story every session, but we do refer to the book. For example, if the students are working on narrative retell, we might walk through the book to identify the story grammar elements. If we’re working on describing, we will open up the book and look at the pictures.

Do you do every step with every book or do you pick and choose according to the needs of your students?

That’s where your clinical judgment comes in! I typically include all of the steps, but it may vary depending on the needs of your groups.

Goals

How do you write goals and objectives using this framework?

The goals aren’t necessarily different! I collect data (e.g., teacher/parent report, student input, classroom observation, present levels assessments, therapy data review) to inform which goals I write. The best part is that you can use literacy-based therapy to target almost any goal.

Data

How do you track data?

I typically do a quick probe at the beginning of the session (and rotate through a different goal each session). I then describe the level of prompts/cues that the student benefited from when targeting his/her goals in context.

Collaboration

How do you connect with the curriculum?

I ask teachers which themes/books they are using in the classroom. It’s usually pretty easy to find a book to relate to whatever they are reading/discussing in the classroom.

Do you ever do this in the framework general education classroom?

I have in the past! I may not go through the entire sequence with the entire class, but it is a really great way to collaborate with teachers and to connect with the curriculum.

SLP Summit Recap: Literacy-Based Therapy Q&A Part 1

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Jeannie and I had so. much. fun. chatting with you about literacy-based therapy at the SLP Summit this week! We loved your enthusiasm and were blown away by your dedication. (I mean… What other professional would work all day and come home for more professional development?!)

Wait? What is the SLP Summit? Sarah and Lisa from SLP Toolkit and I hosted a FREE online conference for SLPs, featuring practical tips and resources for SLPs to start the new year off right.

Now back to business… 🙂

Let’s take some time to answer the live viewers’ questions!

Step 1: Prestory Knowledge

What is a book walk?

A book walk is a great pre-reading activity!

“Book or picture walks are shared reading activities that are done prior to reading new or unfamiliar text and involve the teacher “walking” through the text along with students. During this time, text and graphic features are identified and discussed. Picture walks involve pointing out photographs or illustrations in a story as a way to preview or introduce it prior to reading. Book walks involve studying the front and back covers, table of contents, sample of pages, headings or bolded information, and illustrations in a text” (IRIS Center, 2015).

What is a virtual field trip?

Discovery Education offers free virtual field trips. It gives students the opportunity to “visit” places through video. There are plenty of other options on the internet (e.g., YouTube, Mystery Doug, etc.)!

What was the material you used in the Snowmen at Night video to build the snowman? I think you said it melted throughout the session.

Yes! A Melting Snowman [Affiliate Link]

 

Step 2: Read Aloud

How do you determine how often to stop and discuss the content of the literature? Especially with Kindergarten?

I follow the students’ leads! For example, if they’re struggling to stay engaged, I will stop more often in attempt to draw them into the story. If I see they’re not understanding, I will also stop to support comprehension.

Do you ever have the student read the article for middle and high schoolers during Step 2?

Absolutely! I read for the student if I think they need that additional support, but I always give them the opportunity to read.

 

Step 3: Comprehension

Where can I find the visual question cards?

They are included in every SLP Now book activity pack! You can print, laminate, and cut. You can also use print in black and white (low prep) and pull up on the iPad using Notability (no prep).

Springtime is fresh and new, and with it come many new ideas for speech therapy. Check out this post with tips and activities for therapy inspiration - just what you need as we near the end of the school year!

Do you need some speech therapy ideas for March Madness? I've got a few fun and engaging basketball-themed activity suggestions in this blog post, so click through to read them and catch a video tutorial!

 

Step 4: Skill Practice

How does this work when you have a group of 3-4 students (all with different goals)?

It starts with a system! Having a structure/routine for your session is key! Check out my last SLP Summit presentation for some tips.

One of my favorite “hacks” is my therapy tote! Having quick access to visuals makes it easy to keep track of your students’ goals while providing them with great supports.

This also got a lot easier when I changed my mindset. Mixed groups aren’t a bad thing! It is incredibly powerful being able to see the students in the group scaffold and provide models for each other.

Do you stress about asking enough of the target goal, for example stating one similarity and one difference given two objects/items/pictures in 8/10 opportunities over 2 sessions?

You can collect quick probe data at the beginning the session for those types of goals. There are also plenty of pictures in books! It’d be pretty easy to create multiple opportunities within the context of the book.

 

Step 5: Parallel Story

How can I modify this for more impaired students?
The SLP Now core vocabulary packs include visuals that make it easy to scaffold story creation.

 

Resources

What was the name of the textbook you suggested?

Contextualized Language Intervention – Teresa Ukrainetz [Affiliate Link]

What is the name of the iPad app that you use to write on PDFs?

Notability

 

About SLP Now

Are the SLP Now materials appropriate for older students?
Yes! The SLP Now skill packs are perfect for older students. We are also adding new article units, geared specifically towards older students.

Would the books in the SLP Now Membership be appropriate for preschool?
Yes! You can easily search for books that would be appropriate for preschool.

We also have core vocabulary units with visuals and sentences that are perfect for earlier learners.

Would the books in the SLP Now Membership be appropriate for teletherapy?
The books are not included in the membership, but we do recommend apps like Epic. You can also borrow digital books (for free) from your local library!

Can you print all the materials from SLP Now or do you need to access them from an iPad or computer?

Yes! You can print!

Does SLP Now have data tracking?

Yes! You can use our tools to set up your schedule, add students to your sessions, enter data, and track goal progress. (The system automatically makes graphs for you!)

Did you catch the SLP Summit? I hope so! I wrote this blog post to answer some of the most frequently asked questions! Click through to get all kinds of practical tips to help you implement literacy-based therapy with your caseload!

Click here for Part 2 of the SLP Summit Q&A! We chat more about student engagement, session logistics, goals, and more!

 

A Day in the Life: How a School-Based SLP Plans a Month of Therapy

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I am so excited to have Martha Coller on the blog today! She has been an SLP Now member for about 18 months and graciously offered to share her experiences with YOU! She’s going to tell us all about how we can plan a month of therapy!

Now, let’s take a peek at what an SLP Now planning session looks like for Martha…

Before SLP Now

Before I became an SLP Now member, my planning consisted of pulling worksheets from files, binders, and SLP books, as well as printing off related documents I could find on Teachers Pay Teachers or a random Google search.

Did I meet the goals of my students? Yes, but it felt choppy, and it never flowed from one session to the next.

I was always trying to remember what we did last time and then figuring out what to do next. I was never quite sure if I was doing enough teaching versus obtaining enough trials. I’d hop between goals more than I wanted to because, quite honestly, finding materials was time-consuming and elaborate.

Planning with SLP Now

My planning sessions look very different today. I’ve been a member of the SLP Now membership site for about 18 months, and it has brought a breath of fresh air into my therapy room.

Today, I’m actually working on lesson plans for my students (something I believe in doing but had rarely found time to do before I found this site).

Let me walk you through what my planning sessions look like now.

Step 1: Pick a Theme

I pick a theme. January is going to be all about DRAGONS in the AO Elementary Speech Room! Marisha’s site offers theme suggestions, and I’m thinking we will address presidents next month.

Once inside a theme, I find book suggestions related to the theme. For example, the dragon theme includes the books Dragons Love Tacos and Duncan the Story Dragon.

I did a little bit of work before school started this year and applied for some grant money on the Donors Choose website following Marisha’s suggestions. I picked all the themes I wanted to cover this year and then chose two books per theme so I would have all the books on hand at the start of each month. To my surprise, my project was fully funded by parents, grandparents, and local businesses.

I also picked up some props and manipulatives to match themes at local dollar stores and yard sales. I think I’m most proud of my pirate theme box, which is complete with a treasure chest, gold necklaces, eye patches, pirate games, and a pirate flag. These boxes help me stay organized and make my lessons more interactive than ever before!

Step 2: Select Materials

After I pick my theme and books, I then print out the book guides and activity guides. They guide me in selecting targets quickly!

I’ll also print (or grab) any skill packs or teaching visuals I may need for new goals I will be working on this week. As I repeat these themes and goals over time, I won’t need to reprint these items, as they’ll already be in my theme box or organized in my skill-based binders.

Martha, a school-based SLP, graciously offered to share a quick tutorial for how to plan for a month of therapy! Click through to read her best tips and tricks!

Step 3: The Planning

I sit down with my weekly schedule/data log/planning guide (it’s all-in-one for me) and start entering targets.

For example, “Joe” is first. (I actually don’t have a “Joe” on my caseload, but we are going to pretend here for the sake of confidentiality.) Joe has goals for spatial concepts, antonyms, and categories.

I see that the Dragons Love Tacos vocabulary resource lists five antonym pairs. We can focus on these five during today’s read-aloud!

“Jane” is also in this first group of the day, and she has goals for adjectives and past tense verbs. The grammar resource page lists nine targets for each of those goals, but since Jane hasn’t been instructed on adjectives yet, I’m definitely going to start her off with an introduction to adjectives via the grammar teaching visuals in the membership. I want her to learn that we can describe pictures in our dragon book by category, size, color, feel, and function. I plan to identify those descriptive words for her today and then have her help me determine which type of descriptive word it is using the Description Language Strip I’ve printed out in color and laminated. (It’s so nice to be able to grab-and-go and finally have resources that I can use again and again.)

Martha, a school-based SLP, graciously offered to share a quick tutorial for how to plan for a month of therapy! Click through to read her best tips and tricks!

Step 4: Getting Organized

I make a list of all the items I may need for therapy this month.

For example, I need to make copies of the Roll-A-Dragon sheet Marisha provided in this lesson. It will be perfect for those drill-based articulation sessions while keeping us focused on our theme.

I’m also going to pick up some taco toppings for some taste-testing we will do later in the week. Talk about a great opportunity to describe, compare, and share opinions!

I’m also going to look and see if this book is available on the FREE Epic website (where you can find FREE digital books!) so I can present it on my SMART Board (I do realize I’m super lucky) as another means of presentation or reference next week.

I’ll need to grab my colored construction paper from the office for the dragon craft included in the activity guide.

Maybe I’ll even pick up some tomatoes, cilantro, and onions so my students working on following multi-step directions can make a salsa recipe. (This is where my mind races, and I fall back in love with my career!)

Wrapping Up

Each book typically gets me through about two weeks of therapy but could be shortened or lengthened based on your needs! I’ll then repeat this process for the second book, and voila!

A month of therapy planning is complete, and I sat down once. A little bit of planning, printing, and prepping makes me feel organized and focused for four weeks of treatment! Scattered, disorganized, and panicked are feelings of the past!

Why Literacy-Based Therapy?

I believe in literacy-based therapy as much as possible! I’ve seen an increase in engagement and carryover since transitioning to the use of more books in my lessons. I use most of the site’s book resources when selecting targets for lessons, in addition to any creativity that pops into my head based on these resources (insert Pin-the-Eye-Patch-on-the-Pirate game here, wink)!

Martha, a school-based SLP, graciously offered to share a quick tutorial for how to plan for a month of therapy! Click through to read her best tips and tricks!

In addition to the literacy-based resources, SLP Now also gives me access to the materials that I need to TEACH THE SKILLS! I think this was one of the biggest hurdles I struggled with in my therapy over the past 11 years. It felt arduous to create my own materials for each and every skill I needed to cover. I’d start so many and then inevitably never finish creating the materials because there are SO many other things to do as a school SLP! But now here it is, at my fingertips. I just click, print, maybe laminate (if I have time!), and GO!

What’s really neat for me this month is that I get to teach this method to my graduate intern, who is starting this week. (I hope she’s not scared of dragons!)

My 5-Step Process to Achieving Your Goals as a Speech Therapist

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If you’re anything like me, you have a list a mile long of things you want to improve! It’s kind of overwhelming! So how can you set attainable goals to grow as a speech therapist?

Here’s my 5-step process to create smart goals and set myself up for success!

Step 1: Get all of your great ideas onto paper to help build a vision for your future!

I love a good brain dump, where I jot down all of the things I’d love to do.

Don’t hold back here! Write down even your craziest ideas!

For example, you could set goals for your students (XX% will meet their IEP goals), your work goals (get more productive and organized with reports, cut down time spent billing, implement literacy-based therapy), and your personal life (leave school by 4pm daily!)

Step 2: Narrow it down to create manageable expectations for your goals.

Set yourself up for success and pick a few things to focus on.

I put this quote on my wall as a reminder. “You can do anything, but not everything!” We’ll be much better off just setting a few goals and really smashing them (compared to setting tons of goals and not really making any progress)!

Maybe in this quarter, you want to focus on being more productive with your time and make it a goal to stop taking your work home with you at night!

Step 3: Design your goals with SMART objectives.

We’re all experts at this when it comes to writing goals for our students, but the S.M.A.R.T. framework is a great reminder!

S – Specific
M – Measurable
A – Action-Oriented
R – Realistic
T – Timely

It makes it a lot easier to follow through with a goal!

So with my goal of cutting down billing time, my SMART goal was written like this: “By March 15, I will use the SLP Now Medicaid billing templates only a weekly basis to complete billing in less than 10 minutes/week.”

Step 4: Write your goal and place it somewhere visible!

We can have super fabulous goals, but they’re kind of meaningless if we can’t remember them!

I like writing my top three goals on sticky notes and putting them on my computer as a reminder.

Step 5: Ask for help from other speech therapists.

If you’re struggling with any of the steps, reach out to other SLPs! You never know what you’ll find!

Goal Inspiration

We posted on social media asking SLPs what their goals are. (Check out the post linked below to read some of their awesome ideas!)

A post shared by SLP Now® (@slpnow) on


We made a list of the most common goals and picked some resources to help you get started.

Note: These are broad categories! Don’t forget to set S.M.A.R.T. goals for yourself. 🙂

1. Get Organized

If this is your goal, then you’re in luck! I love organization and shared all of my favorite ideas here!

2. Streamline Data Collection/Medicaid Billing

Here’s a whole blog post about streamlining your data collection.

3. Increase Student Goal Awareness

Nicole Allison (Speech Peeps) shares how she set up her goal bulletin board! Love all of her functional decoration!

4. Implement Literacy-Based Therapy

I love using children’s books and stories to help students make more meaningful progress in speech therapy! Be sure to check out our blog posts for some ideas/inspiration. Don’t forget to join us at the SLP Summit for a practical presentation with tips to help you implement literacy-based therapy with your caseload, too!

5. Improve Therapy for Students using AAC

Anne Page (Beautiful Speech Life) wrote a great blog post on 5 free AAC resources. She’s an amazing resource if you’re looking to step up your AAC game!

6. Improve Fluency Therapy

Lauren LaCour (Busy Bee Speech) is your “go to” for easy-to-implement fluency therapy. She has some fabulous fluency binders in her Teachers Pay Teachers store. She also did a great presentation on fluency. I love how she combines the research (she really knows her stuff!) with her practical experience. Lots of practical ideas that you can use in your speech room today!

7. Provide Better Explanations to Parents

Scheduling time to practice explaining evaluation results/IEP goals before a meeting is a great first step.

If you want a little support, Natalie Snyders also offers handouts to make this easy! Parents are so overwhelmed at these meetings, and Natalie’s visuals are a great comprehension booster.

Check out this post for five quick and easy steps to crush your SLP goals this year! This post also includes a list of the top 10 goals listed by SLPs! Click through to get tons of ideas for your goal-setting session!

8. Spend Less Time Writing IEPs

I love SLP Toolkit’s Present Levels Assessments! They are a huge time-saver when it comes to writing IEPs!

9. Be an Awesome Supervisor

Maureen Wilson (The Speech Bubble SLP) has a fabulous binder to keep you organized!

10. Self-Care 

Shannon from Speechy Musings offers some great support and advice when it comes to self-care. This blog post is a great place to start!

 

Let us know in the comments! Did you set any SLP goals? Do you have any resources that we need to know about?

Best of 2017

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How is it the end of the year already?! Anyone else’s mind blown?

Since we are gearing up for 2018, we took a look at SLP Now’s most popular posts from 2017.

Let the countdown begin!

#5 – 7 Tools to Organize Speech Therapy Materials

This was one of my first posts, and I dive some of my favorite tools to organize some of those odds and ends. Perfect for SLPs who might have a few too many materials! 🙂

#4 – Organizing Speech Therapy Materials On the Go

This post reviews my very favorite way to organize my materials. I’ve traveled/moved quite a bit over the past few years, and this tote has become my “go to.” I know that I can use this rolling tote no matter where I end up (and I know I won’t break my neck getting materials from classroom to classroom–or from building to building–in the process!).

Here’s a sneak peek:

(Hint: Scroll to the bottom of this for a chance to win one of these guys!)

#3 – Planning Essentials: Speech Therapy Cart

Well, that’s 3 for 3! I do love some good organization posts!

I wrote this post after I started using a therapy cart to organize my most-used therapy materials. I parked this guy right next to my therapy table and used it to organize writing utensils, books, student folders, and more!

#2 – Speech Therapy Data Collection Solutions

Ah, data! Everyone’s favorite, right?

This was written a few years ago, but it was still really popular this year!

The post includes a massive review of different data collection options. This is the post for you if you’re struggling with data collection but aren’t sure what to change. I walk through everything from traditional paper data to digital data. Lots of free resources are included in this post, too!

#1 – Themed Book Lists

The most visited post of the year… The SLP Now Themed Book Lists!

If you’re looking to get started with literacy-based therapy, this is a great starting point! It includes lists of my favorite books (organized by theme/season).

Professional Development for SLPs

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I love a good professional development session! Being able to leave with ideas that I can use to provide better therapy for my students is so rewarding! That said, it’s not always easy to come by great professional development for SLPs on a budget.

Signing up for professional development is kind of like sampling a box of chocolates, isn’t it? You never know what you’re going to get!

Luckily, I have three “go to’s” for professional development that make the process a little bit easier!

1. The SLP Summit

This is 100% FREE! I host this online conference with SLP Toolkit every January and July.

We are always blown away by our speakers. They volunteer to present and truly deliver every single time. I definitely walk away from each conference feeling energized and ready to tackle some new projects!

2. SpeechPathology.com

This site got me through my CF year! I loved being to log on a view a webinar whenever I was feeling unsure of something (which was pretty much all the time!). I just love the convenience and was always able to find at least one course to help answer a question I had. It was a huge confidence booster for me! It does cost $99 a year, but you can earn unlimited CEUs, too.

3. State/National Conferences

These conferences are generally pretty affordable, and districts will often reimburse!

I appreciate being able to access courses on a variety of topics all in one go. I’m not going to lie! I probably wouldn’t have enough self-control to watch that many hours of PD on my own!

I also love getting to connect with other SLPs at a real, live conference! 🙂 It’s really nice to get out of my therapy room and meet people who “speak my language.”

Those are my three favorite CEU options! What about you? Comment below to share!

Other Resources

Looking for an easy and FREE way to track your CEUs? Check out this blog post!

Looking for more free CEUs? Check out my friend Sarah’s posts! She has a round-up of FREE CEU options.

3 Tips to Find the Best Books for Literacy-Based Therapy

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So you’re trying to implement literacy-based therapy… Where do you start?!

It makes sense to start with a book, right?

Here are my top three criteria when selecting books to use in therapy.

Criteria 1: Able to Read in 10 Minutes (Or Less)

In order to really dive into a book, we want to have enough time to, well…dive into the book! If we spend 30+ minutes reading the story, that gives us a lot less time to really dive into the text. This is part of what sets us apart from teachers or other specialists in the schools!

Bonus Tip: This can also apply to other types of literature (not just picture books!). I select articles, chapters, sections of textbooks, etc. based on this criteria.

Criteria 2: Multiple Demonstrations of Targets

If a student is working on irregular plural nouns, we want to make sure we have multiple exemplars in the book! The same goes for any other goal we might target–from grammar to vocabulary!

Part of being therapeutic in context involves giving students repeated opportunities to practice their targets (Ukrainetz, 2006). Selecting books while keeping targets in mind helps to set us up for success.

Yeah, I know. The elephant in the room…

I don’t have time to analyze all those books!

The SLP Now Membership includes book guides that pull out all of the targets for you.

Criteria 3: Align with the Curriculum

If you don’t already know, I love contextualized language intervention!

It can be overwhelming to think about tackling this with your caseload, but it can really be quite simple!

If your kindergartners are reading The Gingerbread Man in class, then it makes sense to use that book for your literacy-based therapy.

If your 2nd graders are learning about the solar system, then pick a book about space.

If your 7th graders are reading Walk Two Moons, then pull a passage from the book.

It’ll make our therapy that much more relevant, and it can help increase our students’ abilities to participate in the general education classroom. Win, win!

Want to hear more?

Check out this post to help you find books on a budget!

Check out all of our literacy-based posts for practical tips and strategies. More coming soon!

Enter your name and e-mail below to get access to a list of my favorite books.