Giveaway~

Gratitude List for 2017!

Hey Everyone! 

2017 has been quite a whirlwind of activity, has it not? I have been so super busy that I wanted to look back and show some gratitude on the activities of the past year. I encourage you to do the same. Here is my little list of Gratitude!

1. I am working on my own.... successfully! I took the big leap to leave my regular job and venture off on to unknown speech territory. I am happy to announce that Creating Communicators is the first business in Alberta where an SLP-A is employing SLP's. I am the first SLP-A to provide speech therapy services to schools. I have several SLP's who work for me (not the usual!) and Occupational Therapists. How does it work? My SLP's assess the kids after I have screened them, and then I go in and provide follow up therapy, and assistance to aides at the schools (if there are any). I also provide resources and in-class activities. The SLP's provide regular consultation, and supervise me. I am doing this on my own. I took the leap and left my cushy job with regular pay checks, retirement plan savings, benefits, sick and vacation days with my AHS job to conquer unknown territory. I was very scared, to say the least. But, here I am, 3 years later and still going strong. I am actually busier than ever! So happy I took the leap.

2. My SLP team! I am so grateful for Roxanne, Amy, and Zahra my Speech Path Team! They are all wonderful, smart, accommodating women! I do not know what I would do with out them!! They are all such a great bunch and bring their own unique talents and "smarts" to the team!! Thank you all for juggling kids, husbands, work loads, and travel time to help me out! I am beyond grateful! You rock!!

3. My OT Team! Chantelle and Candis! Chantelle has been juggling my work load with her kids, her full time job, husband and all of the other things that go along with being a working mom! Thank you, I totally acknowledge the sacrifices you make to help me!! Candis, who has helped me out and is now taking a year off (from me) to go check out the great white north and be with family but we hope to see you back and wish you all the best!

4. My new van! This year I got a new van and I am so pumped about it! It has heated, leather seats, the 2 big things on my list. I also have satellite radio- a must have for all my my time on the road. The comedy channels keep me laughing on the long road trips. Last year I put 100 000 Km on my old van!

 

5. The kids! I am so grateful to be able to work with a fun bunch of willing kids who are always open to trying new treatment ideas! Thank you for making each and everyday exciting and worthwhile!

6. The Schools! I am so grateful to work with wonderful schools who have the greatest staff. I love each and everyone one of you and you are all fun, amazing and hard workers! Thank you all for welcoming me into your schools with open arms and trusting me to take care of all of you speech/occupational therapy needs! I wouldn't be here with out you, especially you that took a chance on me! Forever grateful!! :)

 7. MY family! Thanks guys for keeping things going when I leave at 7 am and don't usually arrive home until 7 pm. Sorry all the long days and the tired evenings. You are awesome kids and I love you more than anything! Ed, thanks honey, for holding down the fort while I am on the road. You are a good husband and thanks for supporting me on this new, exciting and scary adventure! Love you! 

8. The 100 best blog list! Last, but certainly not least, I made the 100 best speech pathology list! Check out the post. Kidmunicate has acknowledged some top SLP blogs, thank you! When I am up at 5 am (like today!) or not getting to bed until after 11 ( I am a 9:30 kind of gal!) trying to get in a blog post, (or finish some extra work)  it feels like no one cares, or is even reading it, thank you for the acknowledgement. I am so grateful!! Thanks for reading!

 Much love and cheer throughout the Holiday season from the Creating Communicators family to yours! And all the best in 2018! 

 

Christmas Freebie

Do you need a quick, free activity that last week before Christmas break?
 Well, I'm here to help a sister out!

  

This is a cute Christmas book for emergent readers that was written in the Brown Bear, Brown Bear format.
It includes beginning sounds, syllables, sequencing worksheets and activities.
It also includes write about your family traditions and your favorite thing about Christmas.

And if you haven't entered yet, don't forget to check out an awesome giveaway. I teamed up with Marisha from SLP Now to giveaway an entire year membership! Yes, an entire year! That is worth over $200!

SLP Now Giveaway!

SLP NOW Giveaway

 Hello Fellow Speechies!

Have you heard about SLP NOW? I have, and I love it! It is everything you need for speech therapy all in one place. It has all the materials you could ever want,  skill assessment packs, information on evidence based materials. It really is the starting point to working smarter, not harder! 

For the new year, I am giving you the gift of time! More time to spend in therapy and less on prep that's why I am giving  away a full year to SLP Now!
I  have teamed up with Marisha, and have decided to give away a yearly membership for the Ultimate SLP worth over $200!! 

 

   
What can I look forward to on SLP Now?
There are videos that can help with caseload, tutorials, ideas on curriculum based therapy. This membership will help you look at your caseload, and plan it and will also give you all the materials you will need for treatment! LOVE IT!
Here is what you can look forward to, in her words:

Therapy Materials

You can gain access to an organized library of 600+ therapy materials. Use the search features to quickly find activities for therapy including:

• Literacy and theme-based activities (Book guides, crafts, open-ended activities, and reading passages for 48 themes and 97 books)
• Skill packs to address 20+ skill aligned with the Commore Core State Standard
• Bonus organizational tools

New materials are added on a regular basis

Caseload Management Tools

The caseload manager includes tools to streamline your therapy. You'll be able to...

• Upload your student data for easy reference
• Use the digital planner for easy therapy planning
• Quickly enter your therapy data
• Use our templating system to quickly generate billing notes
• Easily review student progress using automatically generated graphs
• Document parent and teacher communication

The site is hosted on a HIPAA-compliant server. Keeping your data secure is our #1 priority!

Community

All members are invited to join our community!
Connect with SLPs for ideas and inspiration by joining groups, messaging individual SLPs, and more.
Groups of SLPs have the ability to create private groups. Just contact us at hello@slpnow.com to set up your group! Perfect for school districts or teams of SLPs.

Doesn't this look wonderful! Sign up below to enter for the giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

AAC's and You!

 Hey Guys & Gals 😉

Remember, I started talking about about AAC's a while ago (click on the icon below for that post) well, I wanted to elaborate on that post. 

I have a few kids on my caseload that are using Alternate and Augmentative  Communication Devices. Remember AAC doesn't always mean iPad, it can mean gestures or communication boards, etc. Some of those kids are beginners and some are already able to tell me short stories on their devices! YAY! There is so much to learn. I need some way to help me organize my thoughts, and help me differentiate between the different levels that the kids were at. I needed help!

I had heard there was this very cool resource called AAC Language Labs. So, I looked into it and was I ever surprised! It was all there, everything I needed and all organized. There were plans for SLP's, educators and parents. Everything was organized into different stages and materials, and games that you could use to teach new skills. I  am in love! My life was made a whole lot easier!! SO HAPPY!!!

On AAC Langauge Labs its all the there, laid out and easy to use. Complete with activities, lesson plans, materials and videos for SLP's, parents and educators. Everything is right here. LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT! ♡♡

For SLP's there are:

Language Stages and Goals

• The “Stages” that form the foundation of the AAC Language Lab are information gathered from different resources, and organized in a single chart of teachable segments, called Stages. Because the acquisition of new language skills flows gradually from stage to stage, it is not unusual to find skill development overlapping the stage divisions. Therefore, the stages provide a general structure, but should not be interpreted rigidly.

Clinical Lesson Plans

• Clinical lesson plans are based on specific expressive and receptive language objectives. They are designed to guide your student through developmental milestones as they improve their functional and academic communication skills using their preferred expressive method (ie. verbal speech, voice output communication device, etc.). Lesson plans are organized and grouped by language stage. Each lesson plan contains:
  
• a target language outcome
• a short list of vocabulary words
• suggested objectives
• ideas for teaching activities
• links to Smart Charts with Unity icons
• Common Core Standards by grade level  

 

• Mobile Lesson Plans 

•  Mobile lesson plans are designed for a variety of language levels using popular education apps. The focus of each lesson plan is to show different ways the apps can be used to help a student become a better communicator. Lesson plans are divided according to skill level and activities can be adjusted to address the needs of each student. Common Core Standards by grade level are referenced in each lesson plan.

• Mobile Lesson Plans are organized by language stage; Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced. 
  
  If you have anyone on your caseload that is using an AAC, I highly suggest you taking a look. It will definitely help you, the child, their teacher and family on their journey! Plus it is very reasonably priced- starting at $19.95/YEAR! 
  Don't forget to check out their free resource page! 
  
  Don't forget to check out my shop!

 Leave me a comment, if you've used this services and let me know what you think!

Elf Language Activities

 

Hey Everyone!

I love the holiday season and I love to give. So I am doing just that, giving away a pack from my store ($3.75 value) to you!

And who doesn't like a nice freebie that will make therapy easier this month!

I know everyone, right?!

If you follow my facebook page and my TPT Shop I will email you a copy of this freebie!

Just leave your email below, OR email mindy@creatingcommunicators.net with your FB name and how many followers I have on TPT and I'll email you a copy!

This pack includes:
Pronouns
Possessives
Changing verbs to nouns
Categories
Comparing & Contrasting

 Name the Items
Attributes
Articulation Homework
Follow 2 step Directions

I hope you enjoy it!

Tis' The Season!

Cheers,
Mindy

Free Parent Handout!

 

Pretty soon it will be that time again, and we will all be on break. During that time we need our kids to keep up with their speech and language skills but we don't want a lot of work that won't be done by the parents. Well, look no further! I have made an easy handout for parents to work on some language skills during regular activities that families already do during the holiday break!

Check out my freebie! Don't forget to follow my shop!

Happy Holidays!

Mindy

Useful AAC Information

Last week I took an online course-Model, Motivate, Move Out of the Way. I loved it! Such great information.

I have a few kids who are using AAC's and I don't have much experience so I went looking for some information. I found a course through ERLC (in Alberta) and signed up for MMM. It was so informative. During the 1 hour, free, course I learned so much. Kate Ahern did the presentation and she has placed her powerpoint. I think anyone in the speech world should read it, all teachers and all parents.

Model, Motivate, Move Out of the Way

Kate also has a blog, check it out here!

I made a quick list of information I found important:

1. AAC is any kind of non-verbal communication including gestures, sign language, spelling, communication boards and technological devices (like iPads.) 
2. Always presume that the student has not yet learned a way to communicate and not that they "can't do it." They need us to teach them how to communicate their needs/wants and feelings.
3. Communication Bill of Rights, every person has the right to communicate their need, wants and feelings. 
4. Every person has the right to be treated with dignity and respect. To be spoken to and not about and to be taught how to communicate. 
5. When you are working with an AAC- start small. 
6. Don't use the device for asking "find the... or where is the..." Use it to communicate not as a receptive tool. 
7. You need to use it, model it, model, model! The student won't learn how to use it unless you use it and model how to use it. 
8. Use it in a motivating way so that it is fun. If its no fun, and not useful, the student won't be motivated to use it.
9. Always have the device handy. Don't put it away, keep it accessible at all times.

These are just a few of the important points, and I am not doing this pp any justice. Kate is a wonderful speaker, if you have the opportunity, listen to her. If not, definitely check out her blog and read her pp. There is some wonderful information that is useful for everyone!!
 
Thank you for all the wonderful, useful information, Kate!