To my SLP readers – you are rock stars for the passion and energy that you give to your clients/students. Keep up the good work!

To my friends & family – thanks for supporting & cheering me on. Y’all are a blessing beyond belief.

All my best,
Haley

Most of my kids are emerging talkers.  Some are still just making vowels, some babble and some use single words.

Help, please!

5:15 – alarm clock (ugh…)

6:30 – took the obligatory first day of school pictures on the front porch & left the house with my new 1st grader, stopped at McD’s for a celebratory breakfast to go

6:50 – ate breakfast with my new 1st grader in the parking lot of the primary school to avoid first day of school traffic nightmares

7:20 – took Mr. First Grade inside the school with a bittersweet feeling – not for him…for me & the fact that this is the first time I’ve missed being an “insider” on the first day of school in 12 years

7:30 – Mr. First Grade decided he was okay to walk down the hall by himself (with a teacher) and (with an ever-so-cool fist bump), said goodbye

7:50 – I arrived at work with time to spare, clocked in and *thought* I was ready to tackle the day.  I looked at my roster on our computer program and there were names there I didn’t recognize.  (I spent the better part of the last week and a half reviewing the files of the kids I was expecting to have and gathering information about them.)  I spent the next 2 hours figuring out which classrooms my kids were in (they switched rooms today) and finding out when those classrooms have lunch and nap. 

10:00 – I finally picked up my first kiddo for therapy.  I followed that session with another and another until 1:30.  The only one left in that classroom had been checked out for the day.  Between my growling stomach and my exhausted brain, I couldn’t possibly sing “Wheels on the Bus” one more time.

I spent the next 3 hours doing paperwork, filling out purchase orders and talking with one of my colleagues who assured me it would get easier.  My company’s expectation is 22 units of therapy per day. I managed to get 14 today. Two-thirds of quota on my first day of therapy isn’t too bad…but it isn’t too great either. I just have to build my stamina and learn to make it a marathon, not a sprint. I’m going to shoot for more units tomorrow and by the end of the week, maybe I’ll be able to get through a whole day without wanting to take a nap under my desk.

4:30 (an hour and a half after I’m supposed to be off work) – I got in my car and went to pick up the kids.

5:15 – home with the 1st grader and his 2 1/2 year old sister…  dinner, play, baths, bedtime stories, kids in bed, kids out of bed, kids in bed, kids out of bed, kids in bed… (husband had band practice at the high school)

8:30 – upload pictures, social media, blog post

10:15 – hit publish and go to bed because tomorrow is another day!

Anybody else have a day like this?  It’s a crazy life we live, isn’t it?

Even though the preschool is a year-round facility, the kids change classes and begin a “new school year” next week.  We’re having our own version of “back to school!”  I decided to go with that and do WHEELS ON THE BUS for my first theme.  I’m thinking I might even do a different nursery rhyme or preschool song every week for a while.  We’ll see how that goes. 

Here are a few of the Wheels on the Bus resources that I’m planning to use:

I bought this board book at Books-A-Million today.

We’ll definitely start each session by watching this Starfall video.  It’s the best one I’ve found online. (I love Starfall!)

There are a TON of great ideas on this Squidoo site that I want to use!  Some of the items are size sequencing, matching shapes, coloring pages, and visuals for singing the song.  Their “free” printables require a paid Scribd account, so I made my own to share with y’all.   

Free printables: 

<— visuals for the song

I may try to do this schoolbus craft from DLTK, but I think it’s going to be a little too difficult for most of my kiddos.

I downloaded this app from Duck Duck Moose (99 cents) for my iPad. 

Of course, no Wheels on the Bus activity for toddlers would be complete without the Little People and their school bus!  I’ll be borrowing this from my daughter this week for sure.

I also think it would be really fun to make a school bus picture frame for the kids to take home, but I’m not sure we’ll have time for that.

Before I get to play Wheels on the Bus with my little kids, I get to take my big kid to first grade on Monday morning! 

Happy BACK TO SCHOOL, y’all!

Wednesday was my first day in my office.  I hauled all of my therapy stuff in from the car and wondered how in the world I would ever be able to find space for everything!  Here’s the “before” picture:

By lunchtime, I had the boxes unpacked and spent the afternoon touring the campus with my supervisor and getting a little .  I’m sure glad they didn’t test me on everyone’s names!

This morning, I had a little more orientation on paperwork.  (My brain is boggled!)  This afternoon, I put the finishing touches on my office and spent some time looking at information on my kiddos.  Since I can’t tell you about any of that, here’s a look at the “after” pictures of the office.

Welcome to Mrs. Haley’s speech room!

Looking in from the door…

I can’t help but “feather my nest”! If I’m supposed to spend my days in this space, I want it to be inviting and comfortable.

One of the overhead lights in my room has a blue filter on it. I love that I get to see my Blooming picture every time I leave the room or glance toward the door.

Language Leo moved too!

I think it turned out great.  I hope they don’t ask me to move to a different room any time soon!  I will have to work a little bit in a different room that’s in another building.  I’m definitely not going to decorate it much.

I’m supposed to spend next week reviewing files and meeting my kids.  I’d like to do some observation in the classrooms as well.  My goal is to start “real” (read: billable) therapy the week of the 20th.  I’ll keep y’all updated & I just might have some therapy plans to share!

As I was playing with my kids in my aunt’s pool today, surrounded by my family, I made a decision.  I’m giving myself permission to take a hiatus from blogging for the rest of the summer.  I know I haven’t actually written much this summer, so taking a hiatus isn’t really anything new.  However, while I haven’t been writing, I’ve been constantly thinking that I should be writing. 

I have a lot of SLP blogs in my Google Reader feed and while I’m amazed at the creativity and knowledge-base that these very talented people share, I have started to sense a little bit of a competition.  That isn’t what I’m here for.  I’m here to share what I come up with and what I find works with my students.  If it helps someone, that’s awesome.  If not and everyone thinks my ideas are completely lame, that’s okay too.  At least I’ve documented what I’ve done so that I can come back to this site down the road and see what book it was that I used for a firefly lesson or how I adapted an Eric Carle book to meet my student’s needs. 

I’ll admit that I was shocked at the way Say What, Y’all took off out of the starting gate. I was amazed to see the number of hits I got and how many pins started showing up on Pinterest.  I got a little caught up in comparing myself to other bloggers and how often they manage to create and share amazing ideas. (Really – where do y’all find the time???)  It began to distract me from why I started doing this in the first place and took the fun out of the whole blogging experience.

I start my new job 2 weeks from tomorrow.  For the next 2 weeks, I’ll be spending a lot of time with my kids, trying to get my daughter to the point of being officially potty trained, getting my son ready to start first grade, helping my husband transition into his new job smoothly, sitting with my mom while my stepdad has surgery and helping out as he recovers, and just enjoying the last few days of freedom before I’m back on a regular schedule.  I won’t be thinking about blogging and letting myself feel guilty because I haven’t written in a while.  I won’t sit down with the computer after my kids are in bed trying to put on my SLP hat that has been gathering dust since school dismissed on May 17th.  I’m just going to sit down, be still and enjoy the fact that for 13 more nights, there aren’t lunches to pack or backpacks to sort through. 

I’ll be back, y’all.  I’m not sure when, but when I decide my hiatus is over, I’ll be refreshed and ready to write about all of the wonderful new adventures that are bound to come!

This move was a giant leap of faith for me because I agreed to it without any inkling of a job.  (Not easy for a person who likes things mapped out.)  My husband accepted his new job in late April. School ended on May 17th. We moved on June 2nd. I was beating the bushes trying to find a job, but there was just nothing to be found. We went on a beach vacation with my parents the week of June 8th, then took our annual trip to visit family in St. Louis two weeks later.  Still no job and the nerves were starting to kick in.  Finally, the week of July 4th, there were two openings posted.  I applied for both and got interviews for both.  The snowball started rolling downhill fast (not a good metaphor when it’s 104* outside) and I was honored to be offered both positions.  Well, there’s a new dilemma in itself – albeit a very nice one to have.

One of the positions was school-based (what I know like the back of my hand) and the other position was in an early childhood facility (what I’ve always loved).  My husband and I weighed the pro’s and con’s of each for a very long time.  I prayed and talked to people I trust to help me make decisions.  In the end, it came down to making a decision based on what I love to do and I chose the early childhood facility.  I’m giving up having my summers off, but the company is wonderful and has a great reputation.  I’ll be working with my “littles” again, which will be a paradigm shift, but I think I can adapt my materials and my ideas to meet their needs.  One thing’s for sure – it’ll make for plenty to write about!  Expect some changes in my focus and my materials soon.

My husband and I took a celebratory trip to New Orleans this week.  (Had to show you my “Y’ALL” shirt!)  We spent 2 days and 3 nights enjoying the best food and music on the planet in our very favorite city.  The relief of knowing that I had a job to come home to was like having a ton of bricks lifted from my shoulders.  I still have a few weeks before I start to work.  I wonder if I can actually get some posts written before then…

Social stories can also be used to extinguish negative behaviors.  Here’s the catch, though…they won’t work when the child is in the middle of the negative behavior and they won’t work when the child has passed the point of self-control.  Social stories need to be used BEFORE the behavior happens.  I tend to set aside a time to review the stories with my students at the very beginning of our time together.  If I’m sharing a story with a teacher or a parent, I might suggest that they read the story every day at the same time (breakfast, bedtime, centers, etc).  I will read that same story over and over until the behavior either goes away or it’s evident to me that we need to try another tactic.  This can be a week, a month, sometimes even the whole semester. 

Note:  These types of social stories are incredibly helpful and easy for RTI committees to use!

Here is an example of a story that I wrote at the request of my school’s administration for a child who was having repeated difficulties with keeping his hands to himself:

This particular first-grader had significant difficulties with impulse control and self-awareness.  We also augmented this story, which was read to him at least once a day, with a strip of paper taped to his desk that simply said, “I keep my hands to myself.”  The teacher could pass by his desk and tap the paper when she saw that he needed a reminder.  She never even had to stop teaching the others and didn’t need to draw negative attention to the child.

The next story is a little gross, but working with kids is a little gross from time to time.  Ask anyone who spends time with kids.  I promise you they will confirm this fact & might even tell you it’s a good thing they are so cute…

Over the years, I’ve worked with lots of nose-pickers.  Most of these are my younger students who just haven’t grown out of it yet.  This story was written specifically for an older student on the Autism spectrum who did not have the self-awareness that it wasn’t an appropriate thing to do.  Unfortunately, the technique was not successful for him, but I’ve used this social story with other students since then and they have been able to extinguish the behavior just by having the subject brought to their attention in a non-threatening way.  I never dreamed I’d put my Master’s degree to use this way, but here it is…the nose picking social story.

Disclaimer: All of the images on these social stories are copied & pasted from Google images. I don’t have copyright on any of them. These are samples of social stories that would be used for personal and educational use, not for distribution or sale. Therefore, as much as I would like to, I am not uploading these Word documents for free download.

The previous post about social stories gives you some insight in how to write stories with the child as your co-author.  Here are a few basics that I covered in that post as well as some other suggestions:

1. Write the story in “first person” to make it easier for the child to process for himself.
2. Use the story as a tool, not a punishment.  Don’t react to the situation, but rather be proactive – planning ahead and reading the story outside of a time when the behavior is being demonstrated.
3. Keep the story handy.  When you see the child might need a “refresher,” make it available, but don’t force it.  It’s possible that just seeing the graphics will serve as a reminder.

Here’s the general format that I use for writing a behavior extinguishing story.  This is just the way I usually do it, not the only way!  I don’t always stick to this formula, but it tends to work this way.  Do what works and feels comfortable for you and your students…

I want to hear from you!  How do you write social stories?  Do you have success stories?  Have you found another way to use them besides encouraging/discouraging behaviors?

Back in May, Leslie Lindsay contacted me about writing a guest post for Say What, Y’all?  I was excited to hear what she had to say and now that I’m back online, I’m happy to share Leslie’s post with y’all.  I have to tell you that while I don’t know Leslie and I haven’t read her book (it’s on my to-read list!), her story is very familiar to me. 

In 2007, I met one of the single most amazing families I have ever met.  Ian and his mom came to me when Ian was just 3 years old.  He had been receiving early intervention services, but was still very limited in his verbalizations.  After working with him for a short while, I began to realize that Ian had CAS (Childhood Apraxia of Speech).  I shared my thoughts with his mom and she ran with it.  She researched and read everything she could on Apraxia.  She asked questions that I had to research before I could venture to answer.  She began giving him Omega-3 supplements and working with him on his speech every day.  She went so far as to contact Nancy Kaufman and ask questions.  (SLP friends – wouldn’t you just LOVE to have a whole caseload of families like this???)  I only had the blessing of working with Ian (and his awesome family) for one year, but saw progress like I’ve never seen before or since.  Now, almost 5 years later, his mom tells me that he no longer qualifies for therapy.  I keep a drawing of Ian’s on the wall in front of my desk to remind me why I do what I do.

Below, Leslie tells a similar story of her daughter Kate…

“Apraxia…You just gotta practice!”

by:  Leslie Lindsay

I am thrilled to have the opportunity to be a guest blogger on Haley’s blog, “Say What, Y’all?” Not only do I love the title of her blog, being a former Missourian myself, but I can totally relate to having said this euphemism so many times in my “career” of being an “apraxia mom.”

You won’t soon forget her. The red hair and blue eyes the size of saucers will linger in your memory. So, too will the fact that she is as fire-y and energetic as that copper hair that cascades down her back, framing her freckled face with possibility.

And when you hear her speak, you may have an inkling that she once suffered from moderate to severe childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), or you may be none the wiser. Although Kate is a bright, creative, and eager soon-to-be 2^nd grader, she has overcome a road block most of us never have to deal with: a struggle to communicate expressively.

I won’t bore you with the early days of suspicion and diagnosis and our first experiences with an SLP, but I will give you just a teensy bit of background: Kate didn’t say much of anything—expect a friendly “hi”—for the first 2 ½ years of her life. She was diagnosed with CAS at that time and began an extensive speech therapy regime 2-3 times a week for about 2+ years. She is speaking just fine now—with a few minor backslides here and there.

When I was in the midst of writing, “Speaking of Apraxia: A Parent’s Guide to Childhood Apraxia of Speech,” (Woodbine House, March 2012), I developed and facilitated a small parent education group called “Small Talk: All About Apraxia” in the Chicagoland suburbs. I wanted to connect with other parents also walking the apraxia path, hear their ideas and dilemmas, and facilitate their journey. On one occasion, I brought Kate along. Actually, she asked to join me!

“Mom, can I go to your [a]praxia group?” She inquired one afternoon.

I shrugged and bit the inside of my cheek, “Well, I guess so.” I replied. “But it might be a little boring for you…a bunch of mommies talking about apraxia…”

“I don’t care. I want to hear what you’re talking about,” she replied.

And so she came. But, beforehand, I asked her to think about what she might say to these parents. She pondered that a moment and then rushed off to her room where she sat at her desk drafting out a speech. She presented it to me just before we headed out that evening. It read:

“I have upraxea [apraxia]. It is not seryous [serious]. All you have to do is practis [practice] your words more. Don’t wory [worry]. Your kids will be ok.”

Pride coursed through my veins. I hugged my daughter and praised her for being able to communicate her thoughts on the disorder that has plagued her for most of her life. It’s not every child who has that insight at her age.

Once at our “Small Talk” meeting, I introduced Kate to the group. The mommies smiled encouragingly as she read from her paper in stilted English, much like we might if we were visiting a foreign country and reading from a Berlitz book. They beamed and applauded afterwards, some even dabbing their eyes.

You see, it took a lot of courage for her to come to the group that evening and speak to a group of adults she didn’t know about something so intimate and close to her—to us as a family. I couldn’t have been more proud.

As usual, she was on to something. Having apraxia really just means that one needs to practice speaking more than others. While I don’t want to oversimplify things—it’s hard, long practice—but if we as parents can reframe the diagnosis of CAS to “a-word-practicing-disorder,” we may have a lot less stress and anxiety.

Today—literally—we were talking about some words that are troublesome for Kate. She said, “I can’t really say shoulder. It sounds like soldier. And what’s a scone, anyway? You mean cone, right?” As a family, we laughed—we agreed—there are some words that are hard to say. But if you practice them, you just might learn to say them.

“ Apraxia. You just gotta practice.” –Kate L.

About the author:

Leslie Lindsay is a former child/adolescent psychiatric R.N. at the Mayo Clinic. It is because of her daughter that Leslie wrote the first book designed for parents on this complex neurologically-based motor speech disorder. Speaking of Apraxia: A Parent’s Guide to Childhood Apraxia of Speech (Woodbine House, 2012) is as much as labor of love as it is a resource to help others along their apraxia journey. She lives in Chicagoland with her husband, two daughters, and a basset hound where she writes full-time. She is currently at work on a women’s fiction novel. Follow her blog, www.leslie4kids.wordpress.com
“Practical Parenting with a Twist” in which she writes 5x/week on apraxia, education, parenting, and the writer’s life.