The holidays are over and we’re still in the early days of winter – sigh.  I’m sure that many of you are shivering as you read this post.  So… what are some books to use in therapy that are NOT holiday books?  What can we pull out of our Mary Poppins bag and use with our clients until the Earth tilts back towards the sun and we can start planning spring therapy?

Here are 7 of my favorites:

Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

This is easily one of my top books to use.  We typically use it in conjunction with snow-themed sensory bins, creating instant fake snow, or other activities. Snowy Day can be used for inferencing (e.g. What did he find sticking out of the snow to make a third track?  What will happen when he hits the snow with his stick? Where did the snowball go?), narrative retell, vocabulary (slowly, firm, heaping, deep, drag), and more.  It’s a classic and easily adaptable for most elementary client ages.

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow by Lucille Colandro

Of course I have to mention a “There Was an Old Lady” (when will she ever learn and does she have pica?!?) in this list.  Aside from some of the snow-based activities listed above, we use this book to work on vocabulary, answering “why” and other wh- questions, and pairs well with various TpT activities like this one from Jenn Alcorn of Crazy Speech World.

The Story of Snow by Mark Cassino with Jon Nelson, Ph.D.

If you have upper elementary clients or clients in middle/high school, take a look at this book.  It is more nonfiction with a little flair with great vocabulary and is a good way to work on comprehension of science texts in the therapy setting.  I like to use it as a transition from more “young” fiction texts to the textbooks that my students are learning from.  It’s  a nice bridge between the two.  This book can be read in chunks and activities planned for each area of the book.  Also, there is a “How To Catch Your Own Snow Crystals” experiment which wouldn’t work well for me in Phoenix but if you’re allowed to go outside with your clients in colder climates, could be great for you as a follow-through activity.

Hibernation Station by Michelle Meadows

Hibernation is a big winter-related topic for many of our clients in their classrooms.  Here is a nice and slightly different book that looks more into the topic of hibernation.  I love that the animals are wearing pajamas and the cute illustrations.  There are problems to solve within the book and a lot of good “sound” words and animal vocabulary.

A Loud Winter’s Nap by Katy Hudson

I will confess… my mom gifted this book to our speech/language room this year, it wasn’t my find.  The illustrations alone are hilarious and useful for therapy.  I love the “sound” and vocabulary words included, the emotions discussed, figuring out just why “tortoises don’t like winter”, and the overall message of this fun little book.  A quick read and easy to pair with animal, snow, or winter activities.

Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by Bill Martin Jr/Eric Carle

Of course I have to mention this gem.  If you work with younger clients, including pre-K and even EI, this book is truly wonderful.  It is even better if you’ve used Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See? with the client before.  There are oodles and oodles of TpT and other materials to pair with this book – no need to re-invent the wheel.

Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson

The wonderful SLP that I have the privilege of sharing a caseload with this year introduced me to Bear Snores On. This book pairs wonderful illustrations with descriptive vocabulary and rhyming words that make this book a sing-song read.  I love to pair this book with a book companion from Shannon Werbeckes of Speechy Musings and mix and match the skills depending on my groups.

There are, of course, many other wonderful winter books to use in therapy, please share your favorites below!  I can’t say how much the use of literature has improved my therapy provision and I highly recommend the use of books in therapy.  Happy winter and have a wonderful 2018!

This comprehensive book from Julie Causton and Chelsea P. Tracy-Bronson was recently published (2014) and includes recent information, forms and findings.

This is the included Contents page which details the various topics covered.  This book could easily be utilized by non-SLPs as well because it details SLP roles and responsibilities as well.  Each section progresses through from general to specific information.

The text is nicely laid out and easy to read.  You can skip through to sections that you need or read from start to finish (as I did) to get a better overall look at the process.

Also included are very helpful forms for integrating this process into your school.  These handouts are also made available from the publisher to book purchasers in electronic forms for easy printing!  There are a lot of great forms included!

I learned a great deal from the sections that spoke to working in teams.  Although my previous school did not have an official inclusive therapy approach, I utilized many aspects of this text in my therapy room and in my approach to teaming as much as possible.  You will learn practical strategies for working with others to find the best way to assist children in schools, develop supports/aids/services, develop goals, planning schedules, approaching children as a person instead of a diagnosis, supporting in classrooms and all school environments, providing academic supports, and much more.

Other titles for Paras, Principal’s, and OTs is also available.

Overall this great resource would be very helpful for SLPs starting out the school year.  It’s a great refresher for long-time SLPs as well as a great resource that could be utilized in Graduate Programs as well.  This terrific resource for school-based SLPs will help to solidify the basis for inclusion and help to facilitate therapy within that therapy model as well.

You can purchase the book from Brookes Publishing for $29.95 or Amazon for $26.93.

]]> http://sublimespeech.com/2014/09/back-to-school-buys-the-slps-handbook-for-inclusive-school-practices.html/feed 0 http://sublimespeech.com/2014/09/back-to-school-buys-artic-attack.html http://sublimespeech.com/2014/09/back-to-school-buys-artic-attack.html#comments Tue, 02 Sep 2014 18:28:18 +0000 http://sublimespeech.com/?p=1814 This post kicks off a fun new series about some must-haves for the upcoming year! I’m starting off with a really fun series of books from Kimberly Swon Lewis (Activity Tailor).

I’m sure that if you work with Elementary and even some Secondary students you have had the battle of needing to work on the dreaded /r/ or /s and z/ with a student who is older and difficult to motivate.  These were the students that Kimberly developed this series for.  I had the opportunity to look over and use the /s/ and /z/ book for this review.  I’m a little sad that I’ve moved out of the schools because this was such a hit!  (particularly with my boys!)  You can even follow simple instructions located within the book to receive a PDF copy of the book to make printing easy and utilize on the iPad if that’s how you roll!

Here is an example of how many different positions the phonemes are targeted in.  This really helps increase the accuracy of your data collection by targeting specific positions for the sounds.

In Tic Tac Toe you have the option to utilize pictures or words (as shown above).  There are suggestions for eliciting carrier phrases/sentences as well.  I love how easy this is to copy and have ready for students!  They always love beating their SLP!

Sink-a-Ship is like a typical “Battleship” type game.  A really fun activity in therapy.  Definitely for the older students that are readers.

Stop-Gate is one of my all-time favorites.  It looks like “squares” and that is one way to utilize the game.  However, the instructions show a different way to play.  Each player has an assigned direction (horizontal/vertical) and connects 2 dots on their turn and says the word that is crossed off during this.  If a dot has been used, it can’t be used again.  The last person to be able to move is the winner!  My students adored this game!

Triangles is another connecting dots game. When a triangle is completed, the child/adult puts their initial into the triangle to claim it.  The most triangles wins the game.

Finally, one of the absolute best parts of this book are these Hall Passes.  This can be used during hallway time between classroom and therapy room.  It could also be used as a brag tag, carry-over in class, or any other creative way that you can think of!

Overall, this comprehensive book (and the /r/ version as well, I’m sure!) are an incredible addition to any speech session this year.  If you have older and more difficult to motivate students (particularly boys) this will be an instant hit!

You can easily purchase this activity from Activity Tailor’s TpT Store: /s/ & /z/ or /r/ books!  It can also be purchased at Say it Right.

Reader Special: Grab Artic Attack for $10 off!

Kim has even lowered the price of these great materials by $10 this week for Sublime Speech’s followers!  WooHoo!

Want to win a copy?  Enter below and good luck!

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“Even though autism is now a household word, many people do not understand the first thing about it.” ~Dr. B “Stars in Her Eyes”

I have always had a love for working with children with autism and other severe and profound delays/disorders.  I love that each child is incredibly unique and incredible in their own special way.  I currently work with 16 children who are diagnosed with autism.  Each of these children are incredibly special to me and the reason why my job as a Speech-Language Pathologist is so unique and why each day brings a new adventure.

In the relatively few years that I have been a practicing Speech-Language Pathologist, I have worked with and met people of every degree of knowledge on the subject of autism from knowing it in term only to having spent their entire careers working with individuals with the diagnosis of autism.  Parents, teachers, therapists, family members, and the public have a different view of and comfort level with these individuals.  I have seen first-hand what a well-informed parent or teacher can do for a child with autism.  I have also seen what damage a person without this knowledge level can do.

While I was in college, I had the extreme privilege of having Dr. Linda Barboa as a professor.  Today she releases her book, “Stars in Her Eyes: Navigating the Maze of Childhood Autism” with contributing author Elizabeth Obrey.  It is described as a book designed to help parents and teachers navigate the dizzying maze of autism.  This book includes narratives from four contributing authors who have “been there and done that”: a speech-language pathologist, a teacher, a parent with 2 children on the spectrum, and a psychologist with children on the spectrum.  These contributors are very honest and direct in explaining their opinions, advice, and unique views of many areas.  This book discusses the following areas:

• Red Flags: Communication, Sensory Issues, & Social Skills
• You are Not Alone – Know Your Team Members: Educational Professionals, Medical Professionals, Community, The Parents’ Role
• Interventions: Behavioral, Programs Based on Learning Theories, & Biomedical
• Schools: Choosing & Programming
• Resources: Your Rights, Respite Care, Camps, Funding
• Home Life: Self-Care, Disruptive Behaviors, Family Life, & Relationships.
• Final Thoughts, Suggested Readings, and more!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.  Stars in Her Eyes is a book which makes you feel as if you’ve been invited to chat with the authors and contributors over a cup of coffee about all of the ins and outs of having or working with a child with autism.  Throughout the pages I saw bits and pieces of the students that I work with each day.  I felt, as  a therapist, that I better understand the point of view of parents after reading this book.  I don’t believe that I have found another book which marries all viewpoints of therapists, parents, and educators as well as this does.  It is a book that should be read by and shared with anybody who knows a person who has been diagnosed with autism.  It will most definitely be one that I recommend to parents of newly-diagnosed children with autism as well as seasoned therapists and educators.

“For the larger community, education is the only avenue to autism awareness.  Understanding does not come quickly, as it is a complex disorder.  It falls to those of us who live in a world touched by autism to enlighten those on the outside peeking in.  Whether you are a parent, teacher, student or friend, you can spread the information that will educate the world about autism.”~Dr. B, Stars in Her Eyes

To read more about this book, including excerpts, visit Tate Publishing.

Stars in Her Eyes can be purchased at Amazon:

Dr. Barboa has offered a copy of this incredible new book for a giveaway!  Enter below for a chance to win a copy of Stars in Her Eyes: Navigating the Maze of Childhood Autism!

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Disclosure: A copy of this book was provided for review.  No other compensation was provided and all opinions are that of the blog author.

It’s time for the very FIRST Book Review here at Sublime Speech!  And, I’ve had the privilege of starting off with a bang with Easy-To-Say First Words: A Focus on Final Consonants!  This simple, yet incredibly useful, book was sent to me from the author, Cara Tambellini Danielson who is an SLP! (I’m a little biased towards those amazing SLPs!)

This book was developed to help children acquire first words and articulate final consonants.  It has unique and engaging illustrations that capture children’s attention. The target words in this book are easy-to-say because they are one-syllable words that contain early-developing consonants.  Since the words in this book are common first words, this book can be read with any child who is learning to talk. There are three categories of final consonants included in the book: words that end with /p/, /t/, and /k/.

I love that there is a parent guide explaining how to help children with his/her speech and language skills included.  This is easy to understand and can be used by parents … or SLPs!

I actually have used this with my K-5 students with severe Autism including a student who is currently nonverbal but working on those early sounds that are targeted in the book.  We utilize the great drawings to expand on each illustration.

As you can see… it’s a very engaging book and my kiddos LOVED the illustrations and the predictable format of the book.  This is perfect for EI/Early Childhood and students with severe Autism/other diagnoses who are minimally or nonverbal.

Overall, this is such a great little book!  It is currently available from Amazon for $10.39.

Cara has offered to do an amazing giveaway for THREE copies of the book!  Enter below and good luck!

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