Ladybug Artic

Hi, guys! This is just going to be a quick post while I sip my green tea and listen to Ava (my cat) cry in the kitchen because I won't let her eat leftover pizza. It's a hard life.

This week (lol "week", it's Wednesday already) I'm going to start a ladybug theme. I only have three kiddos this morning so I wanted to find a quick printable for this and found it.

Bilingual Ladybug Worksheet

I'm planning on using this for artic today two ways:

1) Having the kids glue on spots for productions; and

2) Placing pennies on top of their spots afterwards for a fun "cover-up" game.

Yes folks, gettin real fancy with the therapy activities today. Sometimes simple is best!

Hope you all have a fabulous Wednesday. 

"Sometimes you just have to put on lipgloss and pretend to be psyched." - Mindy Kaling

What A Crazy World

Good morning, guys!

It has been a crazy week so far and I am starting my day a bit later today, albeit with green tea in hand, like I always do. I was pleasantly surprised to get on Blogger this morning and see some surprising traffic on my dear blog here and it warmed my heart. So thank you!

Today I'll be going to see my most furthest away kiddos and ironically, they all are toddlers or younger, so many of the Easter activities I've been using lately just won't cut it. I'm mourning the loss of a couple pieces of Mr. Potato Head's body but the kids don't seem to care. I think this is maybe the fifth Mr. Potato Head that has been a part of my traveling therapy circus since 2011. :)

Anyways, yesterday was one of those days that I didn't have anything *new* for therapy really but I was proud to be able to make a few things "work" for my kiddos in a new way.

Take the cult favorite, "Articulation Chipper Chat" from Super Duper- I used it with a kindergarten friend who is working on an odd goal in my opinion, word-finding. We played a version of "I Spy" in which she both had to work at using descriptive terms to help me find objects and vice-versa, and then had to name all of the objects suggested. I purposely picked non-everyday vocabulary in each photo scene. Yes, it is struck me as very odd that I have found myself using some of the same strategies I used in grad school for my adult Wernicke's patients with a 5 year-old and it's actually been working. I might do a little more research into this as time goes on.

For the rest of my kiddos, we played with the Articulation Easter Basket Hunt game again, this time looking for the carrots. I'm for real, this game has been a hit and I can't believe I've already gotten 2-3 sessions out of it. I even was able to use it for grammar and language goals.

I also decided to make a visual for one of my kids working on using appropriate volume at home...it has a picture of a "loud lion" and "quiet mouse" to help them learn to self-identify their own vocal behaviors. You can get it for free right now for download in my Teachers Pay Teachers store!

                                                         Mouse/Lion Voice Poster 

I just want to encourage you guys, wherever you are, to keep doing what you can, with what you have, where you are, to quote one of my favorite sayings. If you are anything like me, your heart may be feeling a little heavy right now, but it is not anything you are not equipped to handle, no matter how much you may feel otherwise. Dig in your heels, do some killer therapy, and worry about the rest later.

The only things I can really control are my songs, and my behavior. The rest? If I focused on it, that would lead to insanity.” — Taylor Swift, in Glamour UK

Bunny Body Parts + A Sad Tail (I Mean Tale)

I'm going to start this post off with a sad tale.

When I was 11, I had a German lop-eared rabbit named Nibbles. She was my pet and parent's answer to me and my brother's severe fear of dogs following the trauma of a dog attack. I fed her spinach, chocolate rice-krispie treats, and included her in family home videos over the course of a year together. 

We were a good fit.

One day, she got spooked by a cat outside and attempted to make a break for it through the closed door of her wire hatch, which didn't go so well. Nibbles paralyzed herself from the neck down and spent the remainder of her days watching me from pillow where she could only wiggle her little brown nose and gaze up at me adoringly.

Nibbles had a short life but a good one, despite a freakish and unfortunate demise. 

Moral of the story: you can't rehabilitate a paralyzed rabbit. Also, rabbits are good companions and fun for children.

They're cute, they're cuddly, and they're also an endless source of inspiration for April-themed speech and language activities. 

That being said, this morning I decided to get creative and put together a new printable activity called "Bunny Body Parts"! You can find in my Teachers Pay Teachers store here.

I chose to use this today to put together puppets with my kids to target some of the following goals:

Age 2-3:

- Receptive/expressive body parts

- Imitation of gross actions (pointing to body parts in imitation, placing corresponding picture to body part on self, actions such as "hopping")

- Requesting 

- Imitation of single syllables/words

- Spring vocabulary

Age 4-5:

- Articulation: /f/ in initial position of words ("Do his eyes go on his /f/ace or body?"); drill to receive each body part; received an "egg" for the bunny for each page of drill completed

- Possessives: "Who's eyes are these? His eyes." 

- Expanded sentence structure: "I want to glue the __________."

- Verbs/actions

- Pronouns: pick a verb card: "I jump. Do you jump? Do bunnies jump? They jump." 

Here is the final product also seen with some Spanish verb cards I used to target expanded sentences and actions. The kids thought it was hilarious to imagine bunnies doing some of the things we identified only people do, such as driving. 

I also brought along Play-Doh and Spring-time cookie cutters for a corresponding sensory/language activity. 

This download comes with all the pieces you need to make a puppet along with three bonus Easter eggs and a carrot for further reinforcement or activities.

You could also make each piece into a magnet and make a fun cookie sheet activity, too.

A couple things I should have done in advance to prep this activity:

a) Cut out all the pieces in advance and put them in baggies (unless your kids are older and can help, there are several body parts and the process is too time-consuming), and

b) Limit the number of body parts for little ones (i.e., only necessary parts such as the nose, eyes, etc.) 

Over all, these puppets got big "wow's" from all my kiddos. I used .39 cent white bags from Michael's which paired with the light/pastel coloring in the document made the activity very-cost effective.

Feel free to check out "Bunny Body Parts" and leave me any feedback if you decide to use it! 

Also, do you have any sad or strange Easter pet stories?

Home-Health vs. Private Therapy Settings: A Review

Good morning everyone!

I am back with a monstrous headache today, that as the SLP part of my brain identified, is running from my frontal lobe all the way to my left temporal lobe. The weekend was just a little too crazy (in other words, non-routine) and I think my brain spent most of Monday trying to integrate everything and re-orient to the usual schedule. Man, change really screws me up. Sometimes I really identify with some of my kiddos in that way. :)

Anyways, as I have been fortunate to have been able to dip my toes into several SLP settings thus far, I wanted to give you all a short "review" of home health and compare it to a clinic or private setting if you are curious about switching to either.

First just let me say, I love home-health. But I truly believe (like any setting) that the company, district, or management makes all the difference. It is definitely possible I would not be quite as happy working for another home-health company. And as we all know, every setting has their horror stories. The company I work for, however, is extremely ethical, caring, and an advocate for their therapists on a professional and personal level. I have been with them since my first semester of grad school starting out as an SLPA, through my Clinical Fellowship, and now as a certified SLP. I am blessed to be a part of the work they are doing. We offer ST, OT and PT, but the majority of our therapists are SLPs and SLPAs.

Pros:
- You can set your own schedule.
Only want to work 4 days a week? Only want to work mornings from 8-1? You got it. Provided you stay within the guidelines set by insurance (some require 2 sessions per week from day Y to day Z, cough cough, TMHP) and work with parent schedules, you can make clients fit into your preferred work hours.

- You can work as little or as much as you want to.
This is ideal for therapists who have children or want to split home-health with another setting. You can take on a part-time or full-time caseload depending on your availability. Full-time caseload is currently around 15 kiddos in my world. You can also pick up evaluations for extra money in nearby locations for treating therapists who do not have time to evaluate for whatever reason.

- You can choose to accept or decline a client (within reason).
Even if you choose to evaluate a child, you may be able to decline accepting them onto your caseload if you feel your caseload is too heavy or time restraints currently make it difficult to fit them in.

- Sessions are typically shorter.
In my experience, I found that while all my home-health sessions lasted 30 minutes in length, often my private setting sessions lasted up to 45.

- Compensation rates may be higher, depending on the company.
This may be relative on a case-by-case basis, but I hear many home-health therapists agree with this statement.

- You can target goals in the child's natural setting.
To me, this is one of the biggest pros. I love being able to show a parent how to integrate HEP (Home Exercise Program) into activities using the child's own toys and environment.

- Scrubs.
One word: comfy.

- You can stop at Starbucks in the middle of the day.
Self-explanatory.


Cons:
- You're in the car. All. The. Time.
Sure, you get to have some great car dance sessions, and you better believe I've had the time of my life during the summers belting out some Blink-182 while sipping an Icee on the way to sessions. But believe me, it gets old, and when your friends/boyfriend/husband mentions driving somewhere after work, even if it's 20 minutes away, you'll feel like bursting into tears.

- Some companies may not reimburse you for gas or travel expenses.
My company does not. However, I do believe my session rate is higher to compensate for this. I also use my personal vehicle for visits which obviously puts me at a greater risk for traffic violations, accidents, etc.

- You may not have access to a wide-range of materials or more expensive programs such as Boardmaker, like you would in a clinic.
Seriously, I am dying to get my hands on a copy of Boardmaker.

- The rooms of your home and backseats/trunk of your car will be filled with toys.
As I tell my boyfriend, I am a traveling preschool. I miss having an adult bedroom.

- You are isolated from other therapists/adults.
One thing I definitely miss about the private/clinical setting is daily interaction with other therapists, including OTs and PTs. Home-health can be lonely and you will have to make the effort to stay in contact with friends and other therapists so you don't get too bummed out.

- Parents may take advantage of the fact you are coming to them instead of the other way around.
I have experienced more cancellations in home-health than in private settings, in general. Because my company works with Medicaid only, I believe some families take advantage of the "free" nature of the evaluations, sessions, etc. and will cancel moments before you arrive.

- Every home is different in terms of cleanliness and overall atmosphere.
I have been in homes where I have fought off roaches while reading a story as well as homes that are nicer than those in North Dallas. It really is hit or miss. You just have to be willing to deal.

- You may have to fight the urge to stop at Starbucks in the middle of the day.
You don't need a grande Java Chip frappucino with no whip and extra drizzle every day after that session with Little Johnny but by golly yes you DO.

So there you have it. For me, the pros definitely out weight the cons currently in home-health. I know at some point I will attempt the schools again (I only did my internship there in grad school) but for now I am happy right where I am.

What setting are ya'll a part of right now? I'd love to hear along with a pro/con or two:)