Don't miss this Q&A! Becca and I have a great little chat about promoting independence, using high-, low-, and no-tech AAC when cooking, and how great it is when your kids can make their own food.

Are you a clinician looking for something new and fun to spice up your therapy? Or maybe you're a parent on the hunt for ways to incorporate your child's speech and language goals into your everyday life? Join Gravity Bread's Becca Eisenberg for this fun podcast all about how to use cooking and eating to address communication goals for children of all ages and abilities. She'll address ways to address specific communication goals, support sensory exploration, promote independence, and encourage interaction in one of the most natural settings there is!

This month we talk to Bob Stewart, Superintendent of the Gladstone School District in Gladstone, OR. He is a Past President of the Confederation of Oregon School Administrators and it was a pleasure speaking with him. Also, full disclosure, I am a sitting school board member in Gladstone, so I know Bob personally.

This month we talk to John Carver, Superintendent of the Howard-Winneshiek Community School District in Northeast Iowa and participant in the first-ever National Connected Superintendents Summit at the White House in November 2014. This was an exciting interview! After all, how often do I get to glean insights from one of the top superintendents in the country? It only took this 15 minute conversation for me to hang up and reflect, 'How are we getting it so wrong everywhere else when they are getting it so right in Iowa?!'

Once you've listened to Heidi's formal talk, take a listen to our little conversation about our unique window on the wide world of IEP goals and how I don't know the difference between The Pottery Barn Rule and the Girl Scout motto.

Are you looking for strategies to connect your language assessment results to IEP goals? Do you ever wonder how other clinicians do it and what best practices are? Join Heidi Peters, MA, CCC-SLP as she shares guidelines and tips to help you improve what you've been doing so that you can easily write great goals that are measurable, realistic, and functional for your students. In this podcast, she addresses what 6 steps you should be following from assessment to goal, 4 things you should never do when writing goals, and results from a recent survey she did asking other SLPs for their input into this topic. Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of this post for her great handout to accompany the podcast.

This month we talk to Dallas Myers, Director of Student Services for Fremont County School District #25 in Riverton, Wyoming. His district has 12.8% of it's students on IEPs (approximately 350), and his job description includes overseeing the entire special education program, including curriculum and instruction and IEP compliance.

Kimberly was also gracious enough to hang out after her podcast to chat with me a little bit more about this fun population. Listen in on our informal Q&A session to hear us gab about the challenges and rewards of working in Life Skills classrooms. And, as promised, you can find all of her resources below the audio link. I can attest, there are some great ones on her list. Have one to add? Share it with us and we'll put it on there!

Are the dynamics of serving kids in Life Skills classroom overwhelming to you? Are you ready to turn the challenges of addressing the needs of this population into the greatest adventure of your school year? Join Kimberly Wilkerson as she shares guidelines and tips for navigating the multiple facets of serving kids and collaborating with staff in Life Skills classrooms. In this podcast, she addresses best practice service models, specific treatment considerations, resource possibilities, and of course - why and how working with these students can become the most fun and creative hour of your week! Plus, check out the resource links she's shared below!

This month we talk to Eric Richards, Student Services Coordinator within Salem-Keizer School District, Salem, Oregon. Eric has worked in education for years at both the district and state level within the department of education in Oregon. He is a close partner of The Hello Foundation due to his tremendous commitment to do the very best possible for students with special needs.