The Speech Umbrella

This episode reviews Dr. Damon Korb’s book, Raising an Organized Child. Dr. Korb not only explains organized thinking in an accessible way, but has suggestions for how to get there, from birth through high school. He describes how to implement five steps for organized thinking for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, school aged children, and teens. The five steps are

•    Be consistent

•    Introduce order

•    Give everything a place

•    Practice forward thinking

•    Promote problem solving

This is a terrific book for SLPs and for parents! 

 | We know how important it is to teach our clients to read social cues. But that’s so much easier said than done! Making the implicit explicit can be a real challenge for us.  Here’s how Episode 53 can help:

You’ll find
•    Several strategies for using books and video clips to teach social skills
•    Ways to teach clients to understand what it means to “notice” social clues
•    An explanation for parents about what it means to be a social detective and why it’s critical 

The list of strategies is available on the Free Resource Library at thespeechumbrella.com

Wouldn’t it be handy to have a template for choosing the most effective books for therapy?

That’s exactly what you’ll get in Episode 52, Choose Your Books Wisely. This episode covers:

Four criteria for choosing an effective book

• What adds to a book’s complexity
• A comparison of two books, one that is effective and one that isn’t, and why. 

But that’s not all— check out the Free Resource Library  on thespeechumbrella.com for 

1. a list of favorite books to use in therapy and 
2. Bingo games to use when talking about or retelling stories. 

This episode covers four simple, but effective, ways to help children of all abilities learn. My guest, Jacquie Johnson, shares her recipe for success both in the classroom and at home. Plus she shares how SLP’s can collaborate effectively with classroom teachers. You don’t want to miss  Jacquie’s insights!

--- Useful Links ---
Episode 11: Tracking Phonological Awareness
Episode 10: Under the Umbrella of Phonological Awareness
Episode 4: Developmental Sequence of Phonemic Awareness

Music: Simple Gifts performed by Ted Yoder, used with permission

If you’re looking for a method to teach natural, spontaneous conversation, look no further than The Conversation Game. This episode describes how to improve an often overlooked skill needed for conversation. 

What is Word Dancing? Possibly the single best thing families can do to dramatically and positively impact their children’s speech and language,  and their academic future. The research showing the relationship between word dancing and academic prowess is extremely robust. Find out more on Episode 49 of the The Mindful SLP.

--- Useful Links ---
A Parent, A child, and Autism, Interview with Rebecca 

Video by Dr. Todd Risely

Dancing with Words, Mindful SLP blog post

It’s Never Too Early and It’s Never Too Late by Bradley D Foster

What is a vital, but often overlook component of stuttering therapy? Do you feel like there’s a missing piece with some clients who stutter, but you can’t put your finger on it? Find that missing piece in Episode 48 of The Mindful SLP.

--- Useful Links ---
Treating the School Age Child Who Stutters by Carl W Dell Jr.

Avoidance Reduction Therapy in a Group Setting, seminar by Vivian Sisken

Dancing the Macarena on an Iceberg

Impossible R Made Possible 

What do icebergs and the Macarena have to do with speech therapy? Episode 47 describes a case history of a fluency client, underlying issues that needed to be addressed before stuttering therapy could be effective, and how mindfulness can be one of your best tools.  

Let’s hear it for Narrative Intervention! Kids learn so much language with narrative therapy. But what if they seem ready for stories, but still can’t quite grasp narratives?  Even when you use the most basic story they still struggle. Maybe they need to work on sequencing. In this podcast we discuss how to get our not-quite-ready-clients from here to there, by following the narrative road.

--- Podcast Links ---
Picture the Sentence 
Balloon Car 
The Story of My Life by Helen Keller

Phonological Awareness Tracking Form

Related Podcast Episodes
How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? 
Narrative Language with Doug Petersen Part 1 
Narrative Language with Doug Petersen Part 2

Basic listening skills are critical to language and reading development, but if they’re missing how do you begin to work on them? Episode 45, “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?” is full of ideas and activities for building this foundational skill. This is one of the most useful things I do with young clients!

--- Podcast Links ---
Phonological Awareness Tracking Form
Simple Tools with Denise B-I-N-G-O!