by Let's Talk | Jun 6, 2015 | Uncategorized
Have ya’ll heard the hype on the Cariboo game??? Where have I been? Thank goodness for Pinterest! The game brand new costs around $145!!!!! Who spends $145 on a game??? No, thanks. I’m not going to spend crazy amounts of $ on a game that could easily get broken by some of my little friends. But, I found a fully intact one on Amazon for $45 shipped! Woohoo! After I got the game in the mail, I tested it out on my 3 year old. He loved it! Next, I found artic and language cards online at various free speech sites. You might try Teachers Pay Teachers or www.speakingofspeech.com. Look for pics that are 1 1/2 inches X 1 1/2 inches. I also made laminated white cards with hard velcro sticky dots attached. I slid the velcro squares into the spots where the cards normally go on the game itself. Then in a binder, I organized all of the cards for the game on plastic dividers I bought in bulk at Sam’s Club. This set-up allows you to mix your pictures to work on a variety of goals and if they are all on velcro, you can switch them quickly. I tested it at work and the boys and girls of all grades and ages LOVED it. I was able to tackle a variety of goals all with one game. Easy breezy! If you find a game with missing parts like the key, you can use a paper clip or small screw driver as the key. Also, you can find the...
by Let's Talk | Jun 1, 2015 | Uncategorized
Well, here we go. I’ve been asked a few times to start a blog on speech therapy ideas and resources. There are some amazing blogs out there and I have reservations if I can even compete. This can be a daunting task! Who will read this blog? Do I have anything worth writing? Is there a parent or a therapist who could benefit? Where will I grow an extra day to add this into my crazy life? There are way too many doubts. So, with that, I am going to attempt to block out the doubts and write what I think may benefit someone! I hope you stick with me. Share your ideas, your struggles, your triumphs. As a team, my hope is for us to all work together for the benefit of the children we...
by Let's Talk | Jun 1, 2015 | Uncategorized
How many of you get bored with therapy? I get way bored. And if I am bored, are the children I treat bored? Yup…bring on behavior issues, lack of progress and everyone banging our heads against a brick wall. I usually have a truck load of therapy supplies I cart around all over DFW for therapy in home health and schools. My friend Jennifer laughs at me frequently for my cases of therapy stuff. Yes, I said cases…like giant chests on wheels. In fact, we even presented on the very subject of differences in our therapy style, but how they were actually also very similar in 2014 at TSHA, “That’s My Bag”. Jennifer prefers Less is More and I prefer More for Less! Here is a small portion of the stuff I haul around! One of my favorite things in therapy is to use objects to elicit responses, for language, articulation and fluency. I can use the same objects for a variety of ages and a variety of goals. I buy huge lots of miniatures, small toy accessories and Barbie toys off of eBay for cheap (just watch the shipping $$$)! You can also buy miniatures and toys at thrift stores, crafts stores or dollar stores. I gather all of those objects and sort them into organized boxes. At one time they were in bags, but my collection grew! So, this weekend, I organized many bags like this…. Into this… Each with their own label from scrapbook stickers (I scrapbooked many years ago...
