Homework!

I am in the camp of SLPs who believe that homework is very important for practice and carryover into other environments (generalization). 

We all have students who have their sound down pat when the "see our face," then walk into the classroom door and it all goes out the window! Because of that, I'm working on a variety of generalization strategies for the classroom (like classroom walk-throughs when possible, visuals on the desk, a special 'remember my speech' pencil top eraser, secret signals between the classroom teacher and the student) and for home (homework...that's really the only way I get "into" the home!). 

I use some homework that I find from SpeakingofSpeech.com. Check out their Materials Exchange HERE if you haven't before! Materials are made by SLPs for SLPs and downloads are free .pdf files.

First Free Homework Download! 
Ice Cream Articulation Homework

Packet includes the following sounds: L, S/Z, SH, CH, TH, S-blends, L-blends, vocalic R, CVC words, and a bank page you can individualize. I used Word clipart.

Language Bingo!
My Summer Homework looked like this. This could also be adapted to be done for a month (e.g., November Language BINGO!). Made one for older elementary, and one for younger elementary/preschool.

Grab this free download HERE.

Parent Information and IEP Scheduling

I have not yet used this form, but am very excited to do so! It should be very helpful when it comes to scheduling IEP meetings (as I look ahead on my schedule, I have some weeks that are very packed with IEP due dates!!).

I ordered my 250 free business cards from VistaPrint initially so I could pass them out to the families I home visit (birth through 3 years). I think I am going to staple a business card on the bottom portion of this handout so each of the families I serve have a copy of my contact information. (If you do not have business cards, consider copying your contact information onto the back of the portion they will keep at home, or type in your email/phone on the bottom of this page.)

 

Get your free download HERE.

Bottom Portion--to be kept by the parent

Top portion--to be sent back to school for case manager records

TpT Store for Free Downloads!

Check out my free downloads at my TeachersPayTeachers (TpT) Store! 

[Same downloads as blog...all in one place]

PamelaSLP TpT Store

IEP parent summary

I print this free printable off and add page numbers to point parents to the most important information in a printed IEP (Individualized Education Plan), since the full document can be quite intimidating! I include this in the envelope I send the final copy home in. 

(boardmaker pictures)

Download What's in an IEP Here. 

IEP Meeting Forms

2 Free Downloads to help your IEP meetings go smoothly!

I used these forms last year and LOVE them! I hope they are helpful to others as well!

PARENT IEP FORM

The first form is for the Parent. I try to send it home with the IEP meeting notice prior to the meeting. Last year, I sent a copy home at the very beginning of the school year for all the parents who had IEP meetings in the first semester. 

This form serves a few purposes: 

1. I like to give them a "heads up" about the meeting agenda--I think it is important for the parent to understand why they are there and what we are doing.
2. Those parents who like time to think about things are given an opportunity to prepare ahead of time. 
3. If I send it at the beginning of the semester, it gets the ball rolling for scheduling that meeting!
4. It is a visual, and I am always a fan of visuals! 

Some parents seem to really appreciate the form. They take time to fill it out and bring it to the meeting. I feel like the parents who do that are much more involved in the meeting than they were the previous year with out this handout.  They always like to share their notes with the team. 

Several parents do not fill it out and/or do not bring it. I'll still keep trying :) 
Download this free printable HERE.

IEP VISUAL AGENDA FORM

This form is one I use a variety of ways, depending on the student. For example...

• I fill in my notes as the meeting goes on (especially if I am not case manager and will just be filling in/editing the IEP later)
• I fill in some of the information before the meeting, make copies, and give it out to the other team members as a sort of visual agenda. During the meeting, I take notes on it. **I am excited to use my iPad video feature as a doc cam to do this during the meeting, so everyone can see the same notes "live."
• I keep it with the data forms so I can write notes for an upcoming IEP meeting (only with some students who I'm doing a lot of brainstorming for).

(filled out!)

(artic only student)

(artic only student...some student have multiple services listed. If they have a couple or more classroom accommodations, we look at the Accommodations Team Worksheet I created where we can circle and list specific accommodations)

Download it HERE.

I also put one in the teacher mailbox, and attach this IEP prep letter for the teachers. This form comes 3/page (I guess that's 3 free printables to help your meeting run smoother!). Some of my teachers do write down some notes before they come, which improves the overall meeting pace and participation. 

IFSP progress note

Free Download of my IFSP Progress Note.  In my state, Individualized Family Service Plans are birth through 3 years. 

My initial notes are in the speech bubbles...my notes from the meeting are along the sides.

I use this for the 6 month IFSP meetings. I typically fill in my notes and make copies for the team members (parents, early childhood special education teacher, services coordinator, school district representative). I try to write this in very family-friendly terms.

I usually present my information informally and conversationally, then give them a copy for their records until they receive a final copy of the IFSP. (However, depending on the family's overall personality, I may give some families the copy as we walk through the notes.) 

I use my copy to write my own notes in, too, so everything is on one page as I later type up the IFSP final copy.

IFSP Progress Note  free download HERE. 

My team members (service provider, early childhood special ed teacher) have mentioned that they really appreciate getting this form at the meeting for their records.

Happiness Is...

I love having a designated area of my room where I can see the "giggles" of the day. It helps me keep a positive attitude, stay in good humor, and count my many blessings. It also helps me remember that I am ultimately here for the students (not the paperwork!). 

Last year I just threw a piece of construction paper inside my cabinet door and wrote with markers, or posted post-it notes with my "giggles." The year before, I had a paper mounted on the whiteboard by my desk. I'm not sure what form this will take this coming school year, but maybe something a little more sophisticated (?!). 

Here are some of the highlights from last year :) 

All around this page I posted all of the artwork I received throughout the year. This is inside my stand-up cabinet so I see it when I grab materials or an assessment kit...and smile a bit!

This depicts a student taking a computer-based assessment. Each question was draining and time consuming for him, so he would do this 'victory pose' at the end of each answered question! (...it was a looonng testing session!)

Pointing to a picture when giving vocabulary assessment...I said "what kind of math is this?" (assessment expected answer: addition/plus) Student answered "easy!" (can't blame him--he was a 2nd grader!)....Then, he named the "totem pole" as "art" and that just made me smile!

Speechies can appreciate this one! The game? Matching. The objective? Articulation (k/g!) With this said, the gauntlet was thrown!

(It's heart is beating.) He was very excited about the heartbeat!

OK, both me and the student were snickering after he said this one (working on s-blends). Picture: SKUNK :)

How many times have we heard this when we walk into a classroom to grab our next group of students? It's a little heartwarming that we can be so popular with the non-speech students! ("Darn it..she never takes me!")

 

Do you have any visuals you use to remind you to count your blessings? If not, I challenge you to try it this year!

IEP at a glance!

It's almost the beginning of the school year, and I've been working on my IEP at a Glance! This is downloaded as a free printable HERE. 

My teachers have often commented that they like the fact that this is a one-page form. Special education paperwork can be intimidating, and the IEP is no exception! I have gotten great feedback from teachers on this form.

The areas included are:

• Student Information (name, diagnosis/verification, IEP/MDT dates) 
• Current services (X the box)
• Current Goal areas (X the box)
• Testing/Classroom Accommodations (yes/no) 
• Equipment Required (list any special equipment...picture schedules, etc)

I make photocopies of this form on our sped-designated teal paper (see TIP), then fill it in by hand. I try to hand deliver these to my teachers, not just put them in their mailboxes, so they 'see my face' and recognize that these students have something 'extra' for them to think about. 

 (TIP:  Our special education team uses the color teal to tell teachers: SPED paper!! Confidential!! Don't leave this sitting out and about!! no one else in the building uses our designated teal. Click "Read More" to see an example reminder paper we put in teacher mailboxes at the beginning of the school year.) 

Assessment Results Free Printable

 My first free printable (let's try this!), is the handout I use at MDT meetings to share testing results with parents.
Speech Language Assessment Results Handout

Your free download looks like this. You can input your own name and school/district information. Download in .doc format.

This has a basic bell-curve format, and I draw lines to indicate where the student scored. Some of these get a lot of additional information written in (e.g., I might add social skills notes, brief on-task classroom observations, or articulation sounds in error--though I usually give out a Iowa Nebraska norms sheet for that). I make an original with my notes, then make photocopies for the other team members. When I file my testing protocols and notes, I often have this page be my 'cover page,' paperclipped to the top of the pile and filed right behind my copy of the MDT report.

This one has a lot less information, due to the many meetings we had already had on this student.

Assessment results handout clipped on top of other assessment protocols.

I find that parents (and teachers!) appreciate the visual format of this handout. They also seem to appreciate that it is quick to read and interpret, and that I have summarized all the most important information for them.

During the meeting, I explain the results, using this as my visual, and always let them know that what we talk about will be typed up with additional details into a formal report that they can share with their pediatrician, childcare providers, other out-of-school therapists, etc. I love that I'm not just reading any part of the report, so the information comes out in a more conversational way and I can read the parents' reactions/nonverbals.

Get it HERE, through TeachersPayTeachers (free download).

Speech Language Assessment Results Handout

Welcome!

Welcome to SLP-ity!

*now under construction* 

I took time this summer to travel through many Speech Path blogs and found some great resources! How exciting that we have SLPs willing to share their ideas and creations with others in the field! 

As I looked at the desktop and network folders on my work computer, I realized that I have made many materials that I continue to use over and over--materials that I have not seen on other "speechie" blogs. I especially have many parent & teacher collaboration tools and organization tools that I think others may be interested in using (or adapting!).

I was excited in my second year as a school-based SLP that I could 'pattern myself after myself,' since I was no longer needing to create as many materials from scratch, but could just make a few changes on the materials I had made during my first year. Going into my third year, I have a growing idea of what 'works' what doesn't, what I'm missing, and what I never thought about before 'that moment' when I suddenly wished I had...that something.


My goals is to share these materials with other SLPs so we can successfully meet the demands of being school-based SLPs! As I see it, the quicker we can get our hands on an effective material or resource, the more time we have to be with our students (which is the fun and most rewarding part!).


I hope you can find many useful materials here! I seem to always put my own little personal touches on the materials I find, so please adapt these materials as you see fit to work best for you!