By Megan Peveto M.S. CCC-SLP
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The podcast currently has 59 episodes available.
Hey friend! I am so excited that the SLP next door podcast is GROWING! Let’s keep this momentum going. Be sure to share this episode with a friend or colleague. You can also help others find it by leaving a rating and review.
Social stories were initially created by Carol Gray. In 1989, Carol began writing stories for her students to share information they seemed to be missing. Many of the stories resulted in immediate and marked improvement in her students’ responses to daily events and new situations. Nowadays, social stories have become quite common amongst those working with Autistic children and special education. As a speech therapist, you’ve probably even heard about them. Maybe you’ve used them with some of the Autistic children on your caseload.
The message I want to give you today is about using social stories with any of the little ones in speech therapy for toddlers, the ones having a hard time with transitions, not understanding routines, and expressing themselves through challenging behaviors.
Research shows that reading social stories to those experiencing difficulties in certain situations is beneficial. Why? Social stories are designed to explain things in a way that is easy to understand. Plus, they provide real-life examples of how to respond to situations or how to use different behaviors/methods of communication to get a message across.
In this episode, we also talk about how to write social stories. Introduce the concept, address the areas of concern (behaviors, fears, new experiences), describe the new experience and how to respond, talk about the experience and then transition to how it will end.
Another aspect to consider when using stories is when to do so. There are 2 ways to do this.
Just like responding to a behavior, you want to introduce social stories when you notice a child experiencing difficulty with a situation. This is not to say that if you see a child biting another child, your response needs to be shoving a social story in their face immediately. It won’t work, especially if they’ve never been exposed to the concept of a social story before. Instead, you’ll want to introduce the social story outside of the behavior occurring. In other words, include reading the social story into the child’s daily routine. Then, when they find themselves in the scenario, remind them of the story and different ways to handle it. You might also want to read the story before you know the child is in a situation where the behavior might occur (like before school or daycare). If possible, the child can also carry the social story with them so an adult can help remind them of the necessary strategies.
The other way to use social stories is by introducing them before the event occurs. If you know something new is coming up that your child hasn’t experienced before, start reading the social story. An example of this is a haircut. Haircuts are planned so you can incorporate the story and help the child understand what is happening. Then, on the day of, you’ll read it again before the haircut and celebrate the victory (no matter how big or small) of achieving the goal. Moving forward, each time the child gets a haircut, read the story beforehand until they no longer need it.
Some social stories also include visuals and helpful handouts to be used for additional support.
Social stories are awesome and available in a variety of contexts. They can be extremely beneficial for unexpected behaviors, routine changes, or new experiences!
Grab your free social story HERE!
In this episode of The SLP Next Door podcast, we are putting our words into action. We've talked about the importance of determining the "why" or function of a behavior.
In this episode, you'll learn about creating a behavior intervention plan [of sorts] through parent involvement and implementing strategies that can help a child reduce the behavior and increase their functional communication skills.
When we empower parents to use their daily interactions and activities intentionally, we help them show their toddlers they can replace their behaviors with communication skills. Afterall, those day to day interactions are the best times to model new vocabulary, offer choices, or narrate what’s happening.
The strategies in this episode include:
You'll also learn the importance of encouraging parent involvement by providing simple strategies such as narrating activities, introducing turn-taking, and celebrating small victories. Therapists should support parents and encourage their participation while working together to implement techniques and strategies that fit a parent/caregiver's daily routine and benefit the child.
Remember, friends, all behavior is communication. It’s not always the most functional form of communication, but behavior is often effective because it does elicit some type of response. When parents/caregivers and therapists collaborate, you can create a behavior intervention plan to increase a child's communication skills, which in turn often reduces their challenging behaviors.
Check out the handbook for SLP early intervention and speech therapy for toddlers, Communicate & Connect!
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Thanks for being here, friend!
Working in speech therapy for toddlers, one of the biggest questions I get from parents (and even other therapists) is what to do about toddler behaviors. Whether a parent is feeling overwhelmed with their little ones' outbursts and has no idea how to help them or a therapist doesn’t understand why the toddlers seem to keep throwing things (including tantrums) in their sessions… at some point, we all need a little guidance. And today, that’s exactly what we are going to talk about- helping parents (and therapists) understand that behaviors are often a form of communication. There are multiple layers to behaviors and today I want to give you some tools that you can start implementing today that will help both you and parents.
Understanding that behaviors are a form of communication is a fundamental idea in early intervention, and we need to help parents understand it. Toddlers may not have the words yet, but they still communicate with us.
Behaviors have four functions: social/seeking attention, escape or avoid, seeking access, or sensory seeking. Are they trying to get my attention? Do they want out of a situation or event? Are they looking to gain access to something? Or are they trying to tell me something doesn’t feel right? When we understand the why behind a behavior, we can better understand, respond, and support a child.
For many parents, challenging behaviors are incredibly frustrating. However, once we help them see that these behaviors are their child’s way of talking to them, the entire conversation shifts.
That shift from seeing behavior as ‘bad’ to seeing it as an attempt at communication is powerful. It reduces frustration and opens the door to understanding.
And, it’s not just parents that should have this shift. Sometimes, as clinicians, we ourselves must remember that not everything is as it seems. When we have a little one on our caseload that appears to be experiencing difficulties, we have to ask ourselves: why?
Before we can help parents address or respond to their child’s behaviors, we need to guide them in understanding what the behavior is. Often, parents see behavior like hitting, screaming, or shutting down, but they don’t always connect it to what their child might be trying to communicate.
In this episode, we discuss 4 topics to consider when understanding a toddler's behavior. Observe the behavior in context Take note of what is going on surrounding the behavior Identify the function of the behaviors Keep an open dialogue with parents and caregivers about the behaviors
When choosing strategies, it’s important to include parent and caregiver input. We want to use strategies that will be beneficial and easily incorporated into their routine.
Introduce communication techniques such as functional words (power words) like "help", "more" "all-done" Use visual aides to provide concrete examples to abstract ideas. Visual communication schedules, "first/then" visuals, etc.
When we help parents see behavior as communication, we give them a new way to connect with their child. We want to help them identify the function of the behaviors, observe and take data on what is going on around the behaviors, and implement strategies to encourage development and more functional communication.
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In today's podcast episode, we continue the conversation of encouraging parent involvement in speech therapy for toddlers. Today's topic? Activities for parent involvement.
When we expect parents to implement strategies beyond speech therapy sessions, we must keep the tasks manageable. This leads us to the question: "What is manageable?"
The word manageable is pretty abstract. It means different things to different people. Some thrive with a list of items to do, while others try to get through the day. It’s important to keep this in mind when deciding what actions you will put into place for the parents and caregivers of the little ones on your caseload.
For example, if you meet a mom with 3 children under the age of 3- their list of “achievable home goals” will likely play out differently than an only child with a stay at home mom. The overall goal of increasing or enhancing functional communication and language development will be the same- you will use different strategies.
Let's talk about 3 ways you can encourage parent involvement
Some examples of activities for parent involvement include:
Start by implementing small tasks and gradually work toward more steps.
Encouraging parent involvement isn’t a quick process. Like our speech therapy with toddlers, parent involvement will take a lot of trial and error, brainstorming different ideas, and encouraging open communication about what is working vs what isn’t. Be flexible with your strategies and empathetic to parent situations. When you begin to truly see things from the parent’s perspective and try to fit what you’re doing into their routine... I promise they’ll notice and buy in with your actions.
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When it comes to speech therapy for toddlers and early intervention speech and language, parents and caregivers are very important to a child's success. This episode is a follow-up to the previous two episodes: Strategies for Parent Involvement and Compassion vs. Empathy.
In this episode, we are talking about educating and empowering parents when it comes to their participation in speech therapy sessions. It's important for us, the clinicians, to remember that parents must know the why behind what we are doing so they can begin to brainstorm ideas and implement strategies outside of speech therapy sessions with toddlers.
Educating and empowering parents is all about open conversations and building relationships. It's important to encourage parent input and offer up simple, concrete suggestions of techniques and strategies they can implement into their daily routine without causing huge amounts of overwhelm.
Asking parents open ended questions opens the floor for their input. It invites them into the moment and provides an opportunity for you to empower them and give them the tools they can use when you’re not there to help them encourage communication in their child.
It also allows an opportunity for you to talk about the different goals their child has, what techniques you’re using, and how these work to encourage communication/language development.
Always remember, the main goal of speech therapy with this population is to encourage their functional communication skills. By doing this, we improve their vocabulary, teach them social skills, encourage play development, and build the foundation for later language success.
In this episode, you'll also find tips for encouraging parents and caregivers that can be difficult to motivate in sessions, and an easy strategy to increase parent-therapist communication when seeing children in the daycare and preschool setting!
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Today, we’re diving deep into one of the most challenging aspects of our role as SLPs in early intervention and speech therapy—bridging the gap between the therapy and carry-over using compassion and empathy.
Y’all, this isn’t just about therapy techniques. This is about building trust, understanding, and empowering parents to be their child’s biggest advocate. Whether you’re a seasoned SLP or just starting out, this episode is going to change the way you approach parent involvement.
Let's discuss the difference between empathy and compassion. These two concepts actually play distinct roles in our work when it comes to parent involvement.
What is empathy, and why is it important?Empathy is about feeling what another person is feeling. Empathizing with someone allows you to place yourself in their shoes and understand their emotions from their perspective. You can empathize with other SLPs because you know what it’s like to work hard for your degree (grad school or SLPA)
Compassion, on the other hand, is empathy in action. It’s taking that understanding and using it to help, support, or uplift the person in need. For example, if you know a current grad student, you can offer support and different ways you survived those tough and stressful days of your grad program
There are different reasons why parents are hesitant to get involved in our therapy sessions: including a parent's fear of "getting in the way", they're overwhelmed and uncertain about speech therapy, or parents themselves are facing some emotional challenges.
How do we approach these situations while offering the support parents need?
Acknowledge their feelings, empower them, normalize their asking questions, use compassionate language, and, if all else fails, relate to them from the lens of the communication expert.
As clinicians in early intervention and speech therapy, our compassion and empathy are some of our greatest tools. By using them to encourage parent involvement, we can make a huge difference in a toddler’s language and communication development.
Remember, it’s not just about guiding the child—it’s about empowering the parents, too. Sometimes, that means building parent's self-esteem and belief in themselves.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out! I would love to continue this conversation and support each other. Send me an email: [email protected] I can’t wait to chat with you!
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Working in early intervention speech and language, we meet a lot of parents. As therapists, we know that parents play a massive role in their child's development, but how do we effectively engage them in speech therapy sessions?
When parents are involved, they feel empowered! Research shows that when parents are engaged, therapy outcomes improve significantly.
Here are 6 strategies I've found to be very effective:
1. Start with Empathy and UnderstandingParent involvement begins with meeting parents where they’re at.
2. Educate and Empower Parents Parents need to understand the "why" behind what techniques we are doing and how they encourage their toddler's development.
3. Make it Mangeable Keep expectations reasonable
4. Create a Collaborative Environment Collaboration is the key to success. Create open communication so parents feel validated and heard
5. Provide Resources In addition to telling parents strategies, demonstrate techniques and provide resources for parents and caregivers
6. Celebrate Parent Efforts A simple acknowledgment can go a long way in encouraging them to stay engaged.
As SLPs, we have the unique opportunity to work with our young clients and empower parents to be their children’s first and most important teachers. By encouraging parent involvement, we’re setting the stage for long-term success beyond our therapy sessions.
Do you know how to help a parent get special education services for their child? Are you confident in explaining the steps in IEP process to a parent? You might not think this conversation is relative to you and your caseload, but if you’re working in early intervention speech and language… it actually is.
We are often on the front lines of intervention when it comes to speech therapy for toddlers. In SLP early intervention, we identify communication delays and language disorders. We may help parents navigate the world of “this is something more than speech or language delay”.
Sometimes we also have the opportunity to help them set up early childhood special education services for school.
The theory behind an IEP is that is will be put into place so that a child can have an equal opportunity as their peers to attend school. Parents can have their children evaluated to get these services started when they turn 3 years old.
How do you start the IEP referral process?
If a child is receiving services through ECI, those services will provide the information to help transition the child into school.
The other way to request special education services is by parent request.
Parents can contact their local school district special education department and request a full and individual evaluation for their child.
The school district has 15 school days to respond (contact the parents and get scheduled). Once things have been scheduled, the school has 45 school days to complete the evaluation. From the date of a completed report, the school then has an additional 30 school days to hold and complete the IEP meeting to get services started.
When the IEP meeting is held, parents and other professionals that will be on the child’s team will discuss evaluation results and talk about different goals and accommodations they are putting into place. Once the meeting is complete a start date for the child is set and services begin!
If you'd like to find out more about the IEP process, check out this blog post!
Several months ago I put out a brand new resource into the world for SLP Early Intervention and speech therapy for toddlers. Today I wanted to take you on a personal tour of this handbook and tell you all about what’s inside!
Here’s the story behind Communicate & Connect, a guide for early intervention and speech therapy.
This SLP Early Intervention handbook is perfect for your early intervention speech and language caseload! Backed by research, each topic includes handouts that can be used as a quick reference for SLPs or printed handouts to be shared with parents and caregivers!
This includes information & milestones on a variety of developmental subjects, including:
You'll also gain access to FREE resources you can immediately use with your caseload: communication core boards, visuals for: language expansion, making request, asking questions, answering questions, and using descriptions. Additionally, you get printable handouts to encourage language and communication carry-over.
Here's what you can expect to see included in the future:
There are 2 places you can find the handbook: my TPT store, The SLP Next Door www.theslpnextdoor.com/handbook
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Today I’m changing things up a little bit. I want to talk to you about one of the ways I use one resource to work with a lot of toddlers on my caseload. This is something that I use across multiple patients, pair it with a variety of toys and books, and target a ton of goals.
Grab your free busy book and follow along in this episode!
Learning to condense and make the most of the toys you have is definitely a learning curve. I learned very quickly that just because a toy was popular and flashy, it didn’t mean it was practical. Making the most of your supplies is especially important when it comes to home health. Cars and bags can quickly become filled and overrun with supplies.
One of my absolute favorite must-have, multi-use resources? It's a busy book.
What is a busy book? Busy books are interactive learning books for toddlers and children. They are one of my favorites and a staple in my therapy bag.
Here are just a few concepts I’ve targeted using busy books:
Busy books can be paired with other books, language development toys like farm sets, puzzles, Mr. Potato Head, and just about anything else you already use.
I chat about the different ways I use my free busy book in a variety of sessions in speech therapy for toddlers and talk about how I use each page with other resources! After you download your free copy, come back and follow along!
Grab your free busy book today!
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