SLP Coffee Talk

Having background knowledge on a topic gives us a significant advantage in mastering unfamiliar tasks. 

This applies to speech as well. Studies show that when students read, they have greater comprehension if they have background knowledge on the topic. They are better able to use context clues and thus, achieve greater success with comprehension and vocabulary.

So how do we target that in our speech practice? 

In this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, I am sharing more information on why you should target background knowledge in speech, how to assess your students, and ways to improve their background knowledge on a given topic. 

You’ll want to start by assessing what your students already know about the topic you are covering. After that, you can help them gain the knowledge they are lacking with online tools, books, YouTube videos, and more. 

Make sure to tune in for all of the details so you can begin implementing them today. 

Resources Mentioned: 

Check out the Background Knowledge blog post

Check out SLP Elevate

Full show notes available at www.speechtimefun.com/95

Where We Can Connect: 

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Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets

As SLP’s, we work with students with many different diagnoses and needs educationally. It is important for us to understand those needs so we can best help them. 

In this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, I sat down with Michael McLeod to discuss all things ADHD and executive functioning, as well as how we can help these students in our therapy practice. 

Michael McLeod is a Speech-Language Pathologist and ADHD/Executive Function Specialist. He is the owner of GrowNOW Therapy in Philadelphia, PA, and the creator of the Internal Language Model for Executive Functions. 

Michael has traveled internationally training parents and professionals about the ADHD-Language Connection!

Research on ADHD is ongoing and we continue to learn more about it all the time. As we get new information, we are seeing that ADHD has a lot to do with our wheelhouse: language. 

Tune in as Michael shares what ADHD is exactly, the impact it has on self-talk and executive functioning skills, and how we can help our students improve their quality of life by improving their executive functioning skills in speech therapy. 

Resources Mentioned: 

Visit Michael's website

Follow Michael on Instagram

Follow GrowNOW on Facebook

Join the ADHD & Executive Functions For SLPs Facebook Group

Full show notes available at www.speechtimefun.com/94

Where We Can Connect: 

Follow the Podcast

Follow Hallie on Instagram 

Follow Hallie on Facebook

Follow Hallie on Pinterest

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets

There’s nothing like a fun game to get students relaxed and engaged in learning! 

Do you play games with your speech therapy students? 

Playing games in your classroom has many benefits and can really improve social skills as well as executive functioning skills. 

When you have older students like those in middle school and high school, it can be harder to come up with game ideas that are interesting enough to get them engaged in your lessons. 

In this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, I am sharing some games that even older speech therapy students will love! 

These games are hands-on, unique, and fun. They are great for incorporating into speech therapy lessons so that you can get your students involved in new and interesting ways. 

Listen in to hear my favorite games and how I use them to help my speech therapy students perfect their skills and reach their goals faster! 

Resources Mentioned: 

eeBoo Lion in my Way Game

Stare Junior Game

PicWits! Game (another game like Bubble Talk)

Suspend Junior Game

Games for middle school or high school students blog post

Full show notes available at www.speechtimefun.com/93

Where We Can Connect: 

Follow the Podcast

Follow Hallie on Instagram 

Follow Hallie on Facebook

Follow Hallie on Pinterest

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets

Are your speech therapy sessions fun?

Today on SLP Coffee Talk, we are talking all about having fun with your students by playing games in speech! 

Speech therapy can be challenging for students and making games out of your lessons can be a great way to boost their morale and increase engagement. 

I sat down with Maria Kotsonis to chat about creative ways to make your therapy sessions fun and something that your students will look forward to. 

Maria Kotsonis has been a speech-language pathologist for over 8 years. She graduated with her Bachelor's and Master's degree from St. John's University. Maria is a proud NYC Department of Education Employee. 

She is also the co-host of the podcast SLPs Wine and Cheese. Maria is certified in PROMPT and uses it to drive her assessment and treatment. Maria has also worked as an adjunct professor at St. John's University and has been a speaker at conventions and professional developments.

Tune in to hear all her best tips on what games to play, behavior management tips while playing, how to incorporate them into your lessons, and of course, how to make them educational!

Resources Mentioned: 

Follow SLPs Wine and Cheese on Instagram

Follow Maria on Instagram

Check out Marias Patreon

Listen to the SLPs Wine and Cheese Podcast

Things We Do Not Say In Speech Signs

Full show notes available at www.speechtimefun.com/92

Where We Can Connect: 

Follow the Podcast

Follow Hallie on Instagram 

Follow Hallie on Facebook

Follow Hallie on Pinterest

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets

Have you ever wondered why we are working on reading comprehension or the main idea in speech?

It is something that many SLPs ask because it seems like it should be taught in the regular classroom, not in our therapy sessions.  

The truth is that the skills needed to understand the main idea and reading comprehension all fall into our domain. Teachers may work on it in the classroom, but we can teach these skills with a language lens. 

Students have to understand what they are reading, filter out the unimportant information, hold it in their memory, and verbally express what it’s all about. We can focus on breaking it down into pieces to help them grasp the concept. 

In this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, I am sharing my strategies for focusing on the main idea in speech therapy. This will help students understand this concept, and by extension, develop language skills further. 

We have a unique ability to look at the bigger picture for each student and understand why they might be struggling with this concept. Tune in to hear my tips on how to evaluate your students, when to work on the main idea, and tools and strategies to use in the classroom. 

Resources Mentioned: 

Get the Main Idea Tic Tac Toe Freebie

Full show notes available at www.speechtimefun.com/91

Where We Can Connect: 

Follow the Podcast

Follow Hallie on Instagram 

Follow Hallie on Facebook

Follow Hallie on Pinterest

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets

As SLPs, it’s important for us to work with other professionals and specialists so that we can better understand the bigger picture when it comes to the educational needs of our students.

This is how we truly make a difference!

In this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, we are chatting with Corey Pollard from Ascend Smarter Intervention about how we can work together with structured literacy professionals for middle and high school students to better meet their needs. 

Corey is a data-driven and analytical educational therapist and diagnostician who is deeply passionate about helping struggling readers reach their highest potential. She spent over ten years working at leading research and clinical institutions including Johns Hopkins University, Children's Hospital Colorado, and the University of Denver digging into all the articles, best practices, science, and application of student development looking at everything from how the brain functions, student performance in the classroom, to best practices for closing student achievement gaps.

Corey now owns and operates an educational consulting private practice based in Denver, Colorado supporting students with specific learning disabilities. She also facilitates school-based training nationwide supporting educators and speech-language pathologists in implementing structured literacy in Tier 1, 2, & 3 settings.  

Tune in to hear more about the importance of structured literacy instruction, why SLPs are uniquely qualified to help students with literacy deficits, strategies for your therapy practice, and more!

Resources Mentioned: 

Visit The Ascend Learning website

Free Comprehensive Literacy Assessment

Follow SMARTER Intervention on Facebook

Follow SMARTER Intervention on Instagram

Subscribe to the SMARTER Intervention YouTube channel

Get the free course to break down barriers to research-based reading instruction

Full show notes available at www.speechtimefun.com/90

Where We Can Connect: 

Follow the Podcast

Follow Hallie on Instagram 

Follow Hallie on Facebook

Follow Hallie on Pinterest

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets

How do you come up with relevant, functional goals for your speech students? 

If you are just choosing random goals for your students, you may struggle to see progress. 

It can be so discouraging!  

When it comes to determining goals that are actually achievable, it is important to look at the students and evaluate their needs before setting those goals. 

There are several things you want to consider when it comes to each individual student, but how do you know what to look at? In this episode of SLP Coffee talk, I am sharing my favorite tools that you can use to evaluate your students where they are and determine what goals you want to accomplish for the school year. 

Setting the right goals can make all of the difference in speech therapy. If you choose the wrong ones, students will be frustrated and discouraged. It could lead to feelings of failure from both you and your students. 

Tune in to learn how to set the best goals to help your students reach their highest potential. 

Resources Mentioned: 

Free Critical Thinking Probes

Get the Baseline Tool with my SLP Elevate Membership

Full show notes available at www.speechtimefun.com/89

Where We Can Connect: 

Follow the Podcast

Follow Hallie on Instagram 

Follow Hallie on Facebook

Follow Hallie on Pinterest

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets

Are you excited about the thought of IEPs meetings? 

Today we are talking to Catherine Whitcher, the Master IEP Coach about all things IEP and making sure we are helping students reach their educational goals. 

Catherine Whitcher, M.ED, founder of the Master IEP Coach® Mentorship + Network, has been building IEPs for the real world for over 20 years. With experience as a special education teacher and a special needs sibling, Catherine knows the importance of helping a child reach their potential both inside and outside of the classroom. 

She is the host of the Special Education Inner Circle Podcast and currently leads Master IEP Coaches ®  nationwide in creating collaborative and effective IEP meetings. 

Catherine’s proven methods of building better IEPs have helped thousands of parents and schools work together to prepare students for further education, employment, and independent living. 

Tune in to hear all of her best tips on building strong relationships with parents, working collaboratively with your team to achieve student success, and making the most of your IEP meetings. 

Resources Mentioned: 

Visit Catherine’s website

Follow Catherine on Facebook

Follow Catherine on Instagram

Listen to the Special Education Inner Circle podcast

Follow Catherine on YouTube

Become a Master IEP Coach

Full show notes available at www.speechtimefun.com/88

Where We Can Connect: 

Follow the Podcast

Follow Hallie on Instagram 

Follow Hallie on Facebook

Follow Hallie on Pinterest

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets

As SLP’s, we know that students all develop and think differently. 

In this episode, we are talking with Danielle Kent about self-regulation, co-regulation, and how to better support our students whose brains work differently. 

Danielle is a mom, wife, and multi-passionate entrepreneur. She is wild about equipping parents and professionals to confidently teach communication and problem-solving skills. 

Executive functioning skills matter for the classroom and social interactions. They are so important!

It is important that we help give students the tools and support they need to develop the co-regulation or self-regulation skills they need to succeed in all areas of their lives. 

Danielle is sharing her tips for how SLP’s can incorporate executive functioning intervention into their therapy practice as well as how we can begin the conversation with our kids about how our brains work and our unique strengths.

Make sure to tune in! 

Resources Mentioned: 

Check out Danielle’s website

Follow Danielle on Instagram

Components of Executive Control in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Examination of Dual-Mechanism Accounts

Full show notes available at www.speechtimefun.com/87

Where We Can Connect: 

Follow the Podcast

Follow Hallie on Instagram 

Follow Hallie on Facebook

Follow Hallie on Pinterest

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets

As SLP’s in school settings, we collaborate with many people including teachers, paras, social workers, and parents.

Many people forget about the specials teachers, but they are important too!

These teachers may not have the background knowledge needed to modify and assist our students, so that is where we come in. 

In this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, we are talking about how to collaborate effectively with the art teacher to increase student success. 

When working with the art teacher, communication is key. We may need to explain how to effectively communicate with these students in a way that will best suit their educational needs. 

To learn more communication and collaboration tips, don’t miss this episode. I am sharing all of my best tips to help your students succeed in art class and beyond. 

Resources Mentioned: 

https://speechtimefun.com/collaborating-with-art-teacher-tips-and/

Full show notes available at www.speechtimefun.com/86

Where We Can Connect: 

Follow the Podcast

Follow Hallie on Instagram 

Follow Hallie on Facebook

Follow Hallie on Pinterest

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets