Have you ever used the Nuffield program for Childh Have you ever used the Nuffield program for Childhood Apraxia or Speech?

We’re working on quiet plosives in CV and VC positions. I love that the program contains four cards for each word!

I’m also using @bjoremspeech cards to cue for the /p/ sound.

The reinforcer activity was to give felt pieces that then make a tangram picture!

#apraxiaofspeech #speechpathologist #childhoodapraxiaofspeech #slpa #speechtherapy #apraxiakids #adventuresinspeechpathology
This page always gets a lot of laughs!!! Using th This page always gets a lot of laughs!!!

Using the metaphor of “tail sounds” is such a fun way to talk about final consonant deletion with your kids ❤️

#adventuresinspeechpathology #speechpathology #speechtherapy #slp #slpeeps #phonology #minimalpairs
First therapy session for /r/. No, I did not focu First therapy session for /r/.

No, I did not focus on isolation.

I found words that the child COULD SAY correctly, and practiced those 🙌🏻

Can you see any patterns of where they are most accurate?

#articulation #speechtherapy #adventuresinspeechpathology #speechsounddisorders #articulationdelay
Love being able to SEE how much we have practiced, Love being able to SEE how much we have practiced, and what words the child can say correctly!

ALSO... THIS PAGE IS 100 TRIALS 🥳

Which means it’s one of my favourite pages to send for home practice!

#speechtherapyactivities #speechtherapy #slp #slpa #slpeeps #articulation #articulationtherapy
Simple therapy activity. You don’t need to be re Simple therapy activity. You don’t need to be really fun.

🥳 Just be fun enough! 🥳

We used a simple dinosaur mouth to practice our words. He was engaged, and we got 13 practices in a minute 🙌🏻That’s all that matters!!

Please don’t think that you need every fancy toy! Simple activities can be so effective.

FYI: two weeks ago I taught this little one /kl/ and /gl/ blends and they have generalised to final position!!! 💪🏻💪🏻

#articulationtherapy #Speechtherapy #Speechsounddisorders #spla #slpeeps #speechsounds #Adventuresinspeechpathology
Cues and syllables. At around the age of 4, I real Cues and syllables. At around the age of 4, I really like to check those early phonological awareness skills, especially for those kids who have been seeing me for a little while due to a severe speech sound delay.

Many of my kids show weak syllable deletion, difficulties perceiving and identifying sounds, or just lack awareness of “syllableness”.

While I love to use the body to clap and tap the syllables in words, I also little to use real objects to represent the “beats”. With this little one, I use Cued Articulation gestures to help them “see” the sounds.

What’s your fave thing to use to work on beats?

#articulation #phonologicalawareness #preschoolslp #speechsounddisorders #Adventuresinspeechpathology
Any guesses what this is?? I am LOVING making new Any guesses what this is??

I am LOVING making new metaphors for speech patterns and substitutions that you see in your caseload.

I think I have 5 new Minimal Pair Toolkits that I’m halfway through 🤗 it’s been so fun to get back to creating (vs. attending meetings, replying to emails and fixing problems 😅).

#minimalpairs #speechtherapy #phonology #articulation #slpsontpt
I saw a psychologist yesterday! And I was excited I saw a psychologist yesterday!

And I was excited. I have ups and downs. High expectations of myself. Difficulties balancing being a mum, SLP, wife and small business owner.

I have mum guilt. I’m stressed. I love working... maybe too much.

Anyway. It’s okay to admit that you need someone to help ❤️

FYI: before you ask, my jumper is from @beetheslp

#adventuresinspeechpathology #itsokaynottobeokay
Why do the SLOW way when you can make BIG CHANGES Why do the SLOW way when you can make BIG CHANGES and maybe have a child in and out of your door in three sessions?

👉🏻 I posted this last year, but I want to remind you all again!

So it might not always go like this, but for some kids, it is literally like you flicked a switch and their sound system almost instantly goes, “ohhhhhh.... L and W are different sounds so I should be saying them differently”. With this little example, I DID have to give placement cues in my first session as he wasn’t stimulable for /l/. And you’re allowed to!

But I stuck to my guns with the minimal pairs approach to help him understand that he has to contrast the sounds so that they make sense to people like me ☺️ At the end of the day, we shouldn’t be keeping our kids longer in therapy than they need to. Choosing an approach that thinks ‘big picture’ and can make big changes can speed up how long they’re on your caseload.

#phonology #speechtherapy #slp #preschoolslp #ashaweb #slp2b #speechlanguagepathology #slpeeps #schoolslp #slpbloggers #speechies #adventuresinspeechpathology
One set of cards, one type of gesture, one special One set of cards, one type of gesture, one special trick that you learned WILL NOT WORK for every child!!!

I get asked a lot what I’d do for kids who can’t say /k/, /r/, or a frontal lisp.

And it’s different every time, because what my kids do is different!

So don’t keep using the same cue and wondering why it isn’t working. Try DIFFERENT visuals, see how metaphors, orthographic and pragmatic cues work.

Try a mirror, give phonetic placement cues, facilitate using vowels, and trial the sound in different positions including clusters!

Your bag of tricks need to be BIG!

#articulationtherapy #slpa #slpgradstudent #speechsounddisorders #slpeeps #slpsofinstagram #slpbloggers #articulation #speechsounds #adventuresinspeechpathology
Have you ever used the Nuffield program for Childh Have you ever used the Nuffield program for Childhood Apraxia or Speech?

We’re working on quiet plosives in CV and VC positions. I love that the program contains four cards for each word!

I’m also using @bjoremspeech cards to cue for the /p/ sound.

The reinforcer activity was to give felt pieces that then make a tangram picture!

#apraxiaofspeech #speechpathologist #childhoodapraxiaofspeech #slpa #speechtherapy #apraxiakids #adventuresinspeechpathology
This page always gets a lot of laughs!!! Using th This page always gets a lot of laughs!!!

Using the metaphor of “tail sounds” is such a fun way to talk about final consonant deletion with your kids ❤️

#adventuresinspeechpathology #speechpathology #speechtherapy #slp #slpeeps #phonology #minimalpairs
First therapy session for /r/. No, I did not focu First therapy session for /r/.

No, I did not focus on isolation.

I found words that the child COULD SAY correctly, and practiced those 🙌🏻

Can you see any patterns of where they are most accurate?

#articulation #speechtherapy #adventuresinspeechpathology #speechsounddisorders #articulationdelay
Love being able to SEE how much we have practiced, Love being able to SEE how much we have practiced, and what words the child can say correctly!

ALSO... THIS PAGE IS 100 TRIALS 🥳

Which means it’s one of my favourite pages to send for home practice!

#speechtherapyactivities #speechtherapy #slp #slpa #slpeeps #articulation #articulationtherapy
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Adventures in Speech Pathology

Feel confident treating speech sound disorders

Uncategorized · May 17, 2018

Ten SLP things I wouldn’t normally tell you

We all have our things that we don’t want anyone to know. That we’re a little afraid to speak out about and definitely won’t share on social media. Aussie’s are known for their blatant honesty. We can be a bit offensive and say things you shouldn’t really say. I know. My American husband has told me this many times.

So in the spirit of being real, these are some SLP things I wouldn’t normally tell you…

I stutter. Apparently I was pretty bad as a 2 year old and would say ‘wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh- wheeeeeeeeere…’ to ask a question. These days I typically stutter when I’m excited or I see a spider (which, come on, I live in Australia, so that stutter increases frequently). The funny part is that I can only ‘stop’ the stutter by swearing. And by swearing, I mean I drop the f-bomb. I don’t look forward to the day when there’s a spider in my therapy room.

When I started my degree I told everyone that I didn’t like kids and would never work with them. It was a well known fact. I think some people are still surprised that I not only chose to work with kids, but that I have one of my own.

I’m embarrassed about my teeth. And as an SLP, our mouths are constantly open with our teeth on show. I adjust my mouth position when I use a mirror with my speech kids, I am still too shy to record close-up videos because all I see are my teeth and I smile with my lips shut when I can. It’s a mix of embarrassment and frustration because I was that awkward teen with shiny silver braces and now they are worse than before. I currently wear an invisible plate and speak with a mild lisp in a bid to correct it.

I’m super possessive of my stickers. I don’t mean to be. I’ve got heaps of them but I just CAN’T let them go. Fact: Scratch and sniff stickers STILL smell 7 years later. I wouldn’t say I’m a hoarder, but that I like to save things for ‘just in case’… but in this case, that ‘case’ doesn’t come!!!

I failed at ‘R’ therapy. Yep, for two whole years when I was working in the USA, this Aussie SLP who is hopeless at saying /r/ at the end of her words failed miserably. Don’t get me wrong – their /r/ initial, medial and blends were awesome. I just couldn’t say those darn /r/’s in my speech let alone teach them.

I don’t always read full journal articles. I know I’m supposed to. And I know why. The introduction gives me the background knowledge. I’m supposed to scrutinize the method, picking holes in the sample size and design. My brain seemingly shuts down when it sees the word ‘ANOVA’ in results so I kinda keep scrolling. But I love me that abstract and discussion – I think my brain loves to see the big picture first. Anyway, this IS a goal of mine and I’m going to keep perservering!

I haven’t used my iPad in weeks. The iPad was a huge fad for a while there, but ever since I had baby, took 6 months off and went back to work, I find that I just don’t use it. And you know what? I don’t really miss it! I’ve found that getting kids away from devices has actually been refreshing.

Sometimes I think I can be too tough on my kids. I pride myself on reaching my kid’s goals and hitting them hard. I weave drills and high repetitions in all the time. I do play games, but they have slightly decreased somewhat and sometimes I end a session thinking ‘am I not as fun as I used to be? Has working as an SLP for 11 years taken the enthusiasm out of me?’. But then I read the literature about dose, intensity and frequency and feel that I have research on my side.

I get bored in my SLP job and have pretty much changed jobs every two years. I’m that go-getter, loves a challenge, let’s mix things up kinda person. I like to see new kids, get thrown out of my comfort zone and push my skills. Hence why my first 4 jobs were in the Aussie outback, Samoa, USA and Sydney, Australia. One thing I will say about job hopping is that I have such a broad range of skills and experience in so many areas. I honestly encourage you to consider getting a new SLP gig if you’re bored and unmotivated and get that spritz back!

I’m still not confident in therapy despite having 11 years experience. I’m kinda scared of little kids and early intervention, AAC has always been put in the too hard basket and I’m always second guessing myself on various aspects of literacy and stuttering intervention. It’s a good thing my two passions are speech sound disorders and social communication… I could see that caseload all day long!

So I’ve bared my secrets… are you willing to share yours? Are you also a former child disliking, sticker hoarding SLP who stutters while reading abstracts? Comment below or reach out to me via email at adventuresinspeechpathology@gmail.com and let’s embrace our imperfections 🙂

 

 

 

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Comments

  1. Heather says

    May 22, 2018 at 11:31 am

    Great post! Definitely makes me take a look at my own way of practice and see what areas I shy away from and where my comfort done lies. I love AAC and could do it all day long but social communication is trickier for me! Got to say that stickers are basically cash, so I’ll join you on that one ?

    Reply
    • Rebecca Reinking says

      May 23, 2018 at 8:26 am

      Haha… ‘stickers are like cash’, so true 😉 Isn’t it funny what you realise when you take a good look at yourself?

      Reply
  2. Heather Eisenman says

    October 27, 2019 at 8:13 am

    I too am bored by the day to day minutia of doing speech therapy. I love learning and talking about it though! I find it endlessly fascinating! I’m not much fun in therapy either — it’s all business especially for artic and phono disorders. I always feel like an imposter! Except in the area of social pragmatics. That’s my jam.

    Reply
    • Rebecca Reinking says

      October 30, 2019 at 7:19 pm

      Yes! Social pragmatics is where my dramatic flair shines through 😉 those sessions are FUN!

      Reply

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Hi, I'm Rebecca.
I encourage SLPs to feel more confident treating speech sound disorders, and make faster progress with their students.

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