SLPs Build Successful Lives! ASHA Bound!
I am so excited for this week. I have a 2 day work week and then I am off to Orlando, FL (my home state) for ASHA Conference!!! Then I will attend a wedding and have a week of Thanksgiving BREAK!! 🙂
Keep scrolling down to read my previous 2 entries to enter the giveaway for progress monitoring tools. The winners will be announced on Thursday! 🙂
Seven Keys For a Successful School Year {Parents}
Encourage your child to work hard and ask questions.
Enroll your child in non-academic activities
(e.g. sports, music, dance).
Listen to your child.
Join the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and
volunteer.
Set boundaries for your children.
Stay calm and talk to the teachers, speech
language therapists, and all service providers.
On a Mission {Build Successful Lives}
Hey there! I just got back to Atlanta yesterday from an awesome weekend trip to Dallas, Texas! It was my first time visiting the state and was impressed with the beauty and diversity of the area. The people were quite friendly as well. This was a great way to finish my summer break as I return to work full time tomorrow!
Here is a picture of me in Uptown aka West Village.
By the way the pizza at Union Bear is delicious! Everyone in Dallas loves this place.
Here is a picture of my friend and I visiting the African American History Museum.
This is a must see and has great history about the community of North Dallas.
While in Dallas yesterday, I visited my friend’s church and the pastor was talking about being on a mission daily to serve others in our community. I was sitting there thinking….hello…that is my personal and professional mantra!! In my life, my relationship with Jesus Christ/Yeshua is of # 1 importance, followed by my family, friends, career, etc. I truly believe that my belief in my savior, my guide, Jesus Christ/Yeshua enables me to do all that I do and provides me with my next steps. So to hear the pastor talk about that yesterday in church was another confirmation that God/Yahweh is amazing and personal!
Dallas Skyline
Driven by Innovation
On Sunday, I went to one of my favorite places in Atlanta, The High Museum. In fact, I love it so much I have an annual membership that I purchased for a steal back in September! The museum’s latest major exhibition is Dream Cars that features unique and imaginative cars that were designed in the 1930s through the present by Ferrari, Buggatti, General Motors, and Porsche. These automakers designed cars that changed the industry by challenging what was possible both technologically and stylistically.
Here are a few photos from my visit.
This made me think about the field of speech-language pathology and education. What are these industries doing to challenge the notion of what is possible for students’ communication and academic successes? What are speech-language pathologists and educators doing to modify how they assess students and implement therapy sessions and instruction? In recent years, I think SLPs and educators have done and continue to do a TREMENDOUS amount of preparation to select evidence based materials, evaluate what children already know, teach, and evaluate again to see what children learned.
Common Core Standards and differentiated instruction are terms that I hear frequently while working as a school based speech-language pathologist. There are many people on both the pros and cons side of the Common Core Standards discussion and I’ll spare you the debate here. However, I like the accountability piece that the common core standards creates for school districts that use these standards to guide instruction.
In the same manner, I believe that differentiated instruction, in which a teacher modifies how they teach, what they teach, and how they assess children is an essential shift in the style from traditional teaching. I also think that it should be best practice for all educators to implement curriculum design based on Grant Wiggins’ notion of creating a solid assessment before instructing students so that you know clearly what and how you expect them to demonstrate mastery of specific learning standards.
As far as technology goes, there has been a significant increase in the amount of technology that SLPs and educators use to select lessons that drive children’s learning while implementing new techniques that assist in delivering results. The use of interactive SMART boards, IPads, Mimio Boards, and computer based therapeutic/educational program are engaging for children and contribute to learning when implemented effectively. Additionally, teachers and SLPs are able to collaborate with other professionals not only at their school, but also nationwide and globally through the use of online blogs, discussion boards, Twitter, Pinterest, and other forms of social media. Children and adolescents in today’s society are very technologically savvy and I have observed that they love creative and innovative lessons rather than the same old therapy and education styles from even 5 to 10 years ago.
What are ways that you implement creativity and innovation in your speech language therapy sessions or classroom? I’d love to hear!
Tamara Anderson, Ed.S., CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Education Specialist
Writer
Build Successful Lives- The Gift of Hearing
Yesterday, I heard about a toddler from Dallas, Texas who recently had a cochlear implant
surgically placed. Izzy Baker was born with a severe hearing loss that led
to her challenges with communication. She currently communicates with sign
language. A friend of mine shared this
video story with me after it was shown on NBC in my hometown of Miami, FL. It was
a short segment, but it was definitely one of those feel good stories. You know the ones that just pull at your heart strings.
amazing to see this precious little girl receive the gift of hearing as the
audiologist (hearing specialist) activated the sound processor behind her ear
for the first time. The little girl’s face lit up in amazement and she also smiled
and pointed to her ear as the audiologist turned on the beeps to test her
ability to hear. This sound processor looks like an external hearing aid and transmits
a signal to the cochlear implant that stimulates the
auditory nerve in the inner ear and allows Izzy to hear.
has received this gift of hearing, she will receive follow up care from a team
of professionals to ensure that she receives the greatest benefit from her
cochlear implant. The audiologist will make sure the device is programmed and
fitted effectively, the speech-language pathologist will teach her to
communicate orally and/or with sign language, and her parents will carry out
instructions given by the team of hearing professionals.
video clip: http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/national-international/Dallas-Toddler-Hears-for-the-First-Time-266041791.html?_osource=SocialFlowFB_MIBrand
I hope this
story made you smile! Have a great day. Remember to do what you can to build
successful lives through service to others! This little girl now has access to hear and communicate in
new ways that would not have been possible without her cochlear implant,
family, and team of hearing professionals!
It Takes A Village!
When I woke up this morning, I was so excited thinking about all that I wanted to share with you all today. There were so many things that flooded my mind. Do you know what stuck out the most? I kept saying it over and over. Do you know what it is? I am sure you guessed it by now. It Takes A Village!
It really does especially when working with children, adolescents, and often adults with special needs. This is why I work primarily as a school based speech language pathologist so that I may have the pleasure of making an influence in the lives of children with communication and learning challenges. Developing effective communication skills is the foundation of a child’s learning and social interactions with his or her family, friends, teachers, and people in the community. Many children naturally learn to communicate, but children with developmental delays and neurological impairments need direct intervention services from a speech language pathologist to gain these skills.
The village is a community that builds successful lives. For a child with special needs, it includes the child, parents, speech-language pathologist, physical therapist, occupational therapist, pediatrician, psychologist, teacher, administrator, friends, family, and other community workers that interact with each other for a shared purpose of positively influencing the life of a child.
I am glad that you are taking the time to read this blog today and I challenge you to join this community. Stay connected with this blog and you will receive valuable information about assisting children with communication disorders, learning disabilities, and students without learning challenges. Even if you don’t work directly with children, you most likely will read something that will be beneficial in caring for your own children or that you can share with a family member or friend. Remember, It Takes a Village!
You don’t want to miss this opportunity to learn about educational/therapy resources for children and take part in something BIG! It Takes a Village to positively influence the life of a child starting with the day he or she is born and continuing as he or she begins elementary school, graduates from high school, decides on a college/career path, and enters the work force.
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Have a wonderful day!
Tamara Anderson, Ed.S., CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Education Specialist
Writer
