How to Get Your MS and HS Students to SHOW UP for services!

Your materials are prepped for the session and you look at the clock and start the waiting game. Five minutes go by and you are getting annoyed, they're not showing up again! You weed through the mound of schedules to locate where your students may be. You wonder if you should call and disrupt the class, and decide against it so not to embarrass your students. The session is half way over by the time you get your group together. 

...If you work with middle or high school students you know this common scene all too well. 

I'm happy to share with you some tips and tricks to get your students to speech and/or special ed services during their scheduled times!

Before I provide specific tips, I want to share a few broad pointers. 

Be Mindful of Stigma: SLPs and Special Educators are considered cool to students in the younger grades. Students grab us in the classroom and ask to come to speech even when they are not on our caseload. This usually comes to a screeching halt when kids enter the pre-teen stage. Don't get offended. It's typical for students in middle and high school to not want to be seen as different. The stigma of special ed is real and we should not take it personally when our students avoid us like the plague. For more on this, check out my most popular blog post: Special Ed Stigma.  

Be Age Respectful: On the other hand, our space and expertise can extend a welcome mat for students to decompress and have fun while learning communication skills. Remember to be age respectful and empathetic to students at this critical time of development. Use materials and techniques that are trending and cool. Check out my Emoji Freebie as an example. Try using Siri during speech sessions (blog post- Get Siri-ous in Speech), bring in You Tube videos of favorite pastimes, and try Pixar clips for inferencing. I promise, you'll see increased motivation and participation. 

Ask Your Students: From special ed stigma to deficits in executive functioning skills, there are many reasons why students don't show up for services. Ask your students why they aren't showing up. Try this approach, "Hey Johnny, I've noticed you have trouble getting to your speech session on time, what's up?" We SLPs love to talk, but keep it quiet. The gift of the pause is golden. You may be surprised by your students' responses. 

Educate Your Students: Do your students understand themselves as learners and know why they come to work with you? Educate them on their strengths and weaknesses and help them to see why this work is important for their future. My IEP and Me product may help your students take ownership of their learning and increase attendance. 

Now to some of the more specific tips and tricks. 

1. Pass it on: Many SLPs and special educators use appointment cards for students. Once again, make it age respectful. Include service time, teacher name, and location, but leave out the cutsie pictures. You could also develop a hall pass for teacher classrooms. Students simply bring the pass with them when they transition to your service location. 

2. Classify it: Our local high school has the special ed services as an actual elective class called study skills. Students receive credit for their specialized instruction and it's built into the schedule. I really wish we had this model at the middle level, but there is no reason we can't write our service times onto our students' academic paper schedules. Students reference their schedules daily. You may also make a copy of this schedule in a reduced size for students to tape into their lockers. Write speech in the schedule as an actual class. Call it Communication Skills- ain't it the truth? 

3. Make it Natural: Okay, I know that scheduling is the hardest part of our jobs, but think about how awkward it feels to leave, say, in the middle of a meeting. Imagine being a middle school student and having to leave smack dab in the middle of math class and then having to return 10 minutes before the class is over. I let students have some input into when they would like to come see me. Try to make the service start or end time during a transition or when the student doesn't mind leaving his/her classroom. 

4. Technology Time- Do your students have a 1:1 laptop program, iPads, or are they allowed to use their iPhones in school? These are some favorite tech tips that give students more independence while using reminder alarms. There are a lot of favorite apps for reminding and Remind App or Remind 101 are on top of the list. You may also set up reoccurring emails for students. Use Mail Conductor and input your information only once. Students can use Google Calendars to input their schedules as well. Have your students bring their technology to their session and spend a few minutes setting up reminder alarms. They may even teach you something. 

5. Code the Call- I call the classroom as a last resort, which may be your best option for some students with severe organizational challenges. Set up a code system with the teacher and student. I let the phone ring once and the student and teacher know that it's my specialized instruction time. Your success will increase when you have more people involved in remembering service times. 

It's taken me years to get a steady flow of students arriving to speech and language services on time. I hope these tips and tricks are useful and that you see a huge improvement in attendance this year. 

You may also like my FREE Incentive Punch Cards for Attendance and to reduce tardiness. 

Change behaviors and relationships with this simple rule of thumb.

Here's a simple rule of thumb that you may have heard before.  

Maintaining a 3:1 ratio of positive to negative interactions positively changes the attitudes and climate of your classroom.  

  Click Here for a great YouTube video explaining what positive interactions may look like. 

The ratio of 10:1 for children of trauma is not research based, but I have seen a tremendous shift in attitude of my students when I am mindful of my interactions.  

Be sure to keep track of your negative interactions and counter them. Write your class list on chart paper and attach on a clip board for easy access. Simply chart +/- ratios. 

How do you measure YOUR progress?

If you are like most people, your New Year's Resolutions have not been going as planned. Maybe you even gave up? No worries, you are not alone. More importantly, you are not hopeless! Many times we set the bar too high. Our goals may be too great or we decide to quit because we aren't doing it perfectly. 

The biggest indicator of success is grit. The ability to get back on the horse. I'm writing this post because I have not met my goal more days this past week than I have. Just like our students, however, we need to measure success in slow steps and by not giving up.  

Remember that with two steps forward and one step back, you will still end up ahead in the end. 

Now forge ahead. I'm right there with ya.  

SLP bloggers ~ Our Weaknesses turned Strengths!

Thank you for stopping by my blog today! I was inspired to write about this topic after seeing a post on the Speech and Language collaborative FB page where an SLP belittled herself for not being strong in one of our many speciality areas.  Weakness is universal. No one is perfect . No one can do it all on their own. We need community, and we need to share in one another’s triumphs and continue to work on our challenges. This is a difficult topic for me to address because it exposes my weaknesses. I'm sure you can agree that few people relish the idea of feeling vulnerable.  But for the sake of growth and connection, I'm willing to set my fears aside and take the plunge! I hope that you will join me and we can explore this subject together. 

As educators, we tell our students that in order to grow and evolve, they need to step out of their comfort zones. Yet as adults, we often get stuck in our familiar ruts. We go along with what is comfortable and non-challenging. It's easy to do! Why fix what's not broken, right? However, there is always room for growth and development, no matter what your age or stage of life. I'm loving the Growth Mindset model and using it as a tool to help my students achieve, assist my own children in growing, and also to build my life as a progression of bettering myself. Many of us are hard pressed to admit our weaknesses for fear of ridicule and rejection. As human beings, we are prone to dislike and fear change. What we don't stop to consider is that change is necessary for growth. Did you know that every weakness has a corresponding strength? That's right; hidden in your weaknesses are your strengths! Feeling skeptical? Allow me to explain!

Knowing myself as I do, I can identify my weakness as having an ADD-type brain, which especially manifests itself during stressful situations.  I won't go into detail about how I took my husband's keys to work twice this week, but will share my challenge of responding in pressured situations. When put on the spot to answer a challenging question, I may freeze up and become anxious. All of these thoughts rush through my head, but it's a crap shoot whether or not the words will come out the way I want to articulate them. Earlier in my career this was more apparent as I would try to share my evaluation findings while using all of the clinical jargon and cohesively solidifying the information. I often found that I would put my foot in my mouth, as I quickly stammered out a response to a parent question. While this characteristic may be perceived as being impulsive  and disorganized, I have come to look at is as an opportunity to be methodical and analytical, which is a strength. I may not be able to react to a challenging question quickly, but I have learned that this is not necessarily a bad thing. I've learned that when I allow myself time to ponder and analyze; brainstorm and research; and collaborate with colleagues, that I come back to the table with many out-of-the-box ideas that really benefit the team and situation. Through the years, I have learned several tools and strategies that have served me well should I find myself in a situation that is out of my comfort zone. 

First, before I attend a meeting, I make certain I know the agenda being presented, and ask for any accompanying literature. Familiarizing yourself with the topic, and having the materials prior to the meeting, allows you the opportunity to review and study the information being discussed. 

Secondly, when asked for a response, I make it a point to take a deep breath, relax and speak calmly and clearly. Appearing confident is crucial. 

Next, I allow others to respond or ask their opinion before I chime in. This technique not only buys time, but also allows the opportunity to hear other thoughts and opinions. 
Finally, if I still don't have a response ready, I simply state that I need time to further consider the question and shape my response accordingly.  This last strategy came from a conference I attended in which a Harvard professor replied many times to audience members' questions stating "I don't have the answer to that question right now, but let me get back to you."  His response was professional and true which confirmed the fact that nobody knows it all and that the growing process for learning is a continuum that should never stop.  

Remember, hidden in every weakness is a corresponding strength. By identifying the areas in which you struggle, and developing some key strategies and coping mechanisms, we can turn our negatives into positives for ourselves and our students. Please check out my fellow SLP Bloggers who had the courage to share their weaknesses made strengths and consider challenging yourself to share in the comments.  Together we can work to help each other learn and grow! 

An InLinkz Link-up

Middle School linky party

Hey~ welcome to the Frenzied SLP blog party on Middle School Materials and Motivators! I've worked with middle level learners for 17 years and love this population! From the awkwardness to the crazy drama- these kids want nothing more than to be understood.  

Did you know that the middle school student goes through the most physical, emotional, and social development during the tween years?  I feel so fortunate to be a part of this impressionable time of my students' lives and want to share with you my top 5 keys to motivate your students!  

1. Make connections: Take genuine interest in your students.  Get to know their likes, hopes, and dreams. Connect learning to students' interests and make it relevant to their lives.  I've helped a student write rap songs (best apraxia progress), aided another student with her lines in the play, taught mnemonic devices to help upper grade students pass hunter's safety courses and driving tests. Students show up ready to learn when you care enough to make connections. 

2. Make it okay to fail: I am purposely goofy with my students.  I share so many stories of how I messed up, struggled, and failed that my students know it's okay be be themselves in my room. They are not afraid to take risks and understand that perseverance is more important than perfection.  

We work on growth mindset (based on the book Mindset). My students know their positive character traits and hear language that helps them to make progress.   

3. Incorporate movement: Our students' bones, muscles, and organs are growing at an accelerated rate. Students are awkward with these body changes, and they even have fluctuations in their basal metabolism. This can cause extreme restlessness at times and listlessness at other times. I'm lucky to work at a school that incorporates middle school philosophy. We have advisories, recess, block scheduling, and teach to the whole learner. We know that movement is critical to learning. My students may use brain breaks, dribble a basketball to multi-syllabic words, walk outside to incorporate EET tasks, or simply follow physical directions. You won't believe the difference a 2-minute movement break makes in attitude and focus.  

4. Keep it cool: Be aware and respectful of the stigma that goes hand-in-hand with special ed services. Sorry peeps, coming to speech isn't considered cool in middle school. But, you can do some things to make it semi-cool and fun. Check out my most popular blog post for tips on reducing special ed stigma HERE.  

5. Be creative:  Middle schoolers like to have fun. Motivate your students by incorporating lots of senses. Play games, create projects, listen to music, cook, and bring in new creative materials.  I have a lot of materials in my TpT store created specifically for my middle school students. Check out some of my best-sellers below: 

I had a real hard time narrowing down my many middle school products so I narrowed it down to my best-sellers.  

Topic Text incorporates sparkly smart phones with social pragmatic turn-taking, topic maintenance, and active listening skills. We always run out of time playing this very engaging game.  Like most of my products, this one includes social language rubrics for students to self monitor progress and SLPs to chart growth. 

 Taking Perspective is my all time best seller. It's a meta-cognitive activity which helps students to understand others emotions and identify what someone may be thinking or feeling in a given situation.  You will find work sample pages, rubrics, an emotion bank, and many situations for students to analyze. I have many perspective taking activities in my store, including one that specifically targets social media and the impact posts, likes, comments can have on others: Safebook HERE

 Here are a couple loves of mine that I ALWAYS pull out for my students and they NEVER get old.

Top Hits Figurative Language

 Brain Storm: Problem Solving, Safety, & Perspective Taking

So relax and have fun with your middle schoolers. And remember that you are an important part of their lives during these critical years.  

Check out the other link-ups for more tips and product ideas.  

An InLinkz Link-up

Rubber Chickens for Social Thinking!

Rubber chickens~ Well that's an unexpected post topic!  I attended Michelle Garcia Winner's Social Thinking Mentor Training Program a few years ago and have implemented many of the programs, tips, and strategies with my students.

I wanted to share with you a simple and fun cue that I use for my middle schoolers to identify when behavior is unexpected.  Here is my first and very amateur You Tube video.  

Chicken Soup for the SLP Soul - Blog Hop!

* Names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.  

"A good teacher is like a candle-it consumes itself to light the way for others." - Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

It was my first year working as an SLP in a school setting. The rehab settings provided a transitional atmosphere when working with patients struggling with medically based speech and language disorders. While these interractions provided me with valuable experience, nothing could prepare me for the lasting relationships I would experience with my students. The deep, emotional connections I'd come to make with my students, would leave an indelible mark on my heart that would not soon be forgotten. I'd like to share a story with you about a very special student named Matt, and how our sessions took speech therapy to a whole new level!

Matt was a fourth grader with a mild to moderate stutter. The year I worked with Matt, his loving and devoted mother, lost her battle with breast cancer. In addition to this trauma, Matt's father was suffering from a medical condition that rendered him physically impaired. Matt was only in fourth grade; far too young to be able to cope with the anguish and upheaval in his life. I made it my mission to not only give 100% to Matt as an SLP, but to also do my best to offer him a sense of stability and security, while providing him the comfort and care he desperately needed. I made sure that his group time with his friends was fun and focused. But it was during one of our individual sessions, that true magic occurred! During my personal sessions with Matt, I could see through the pain in his eyes, that he was yearning for someone to confide. After a small ice breaker, in which I told him that I remembered feeling the need to talk after a loved one passed away, I asked him if he felt the same. This gave Matt the opportunity to share what was on his mind and in his heart. The floodgates opened and he shared with me his heartache, his fears for the future, and the beautiful stories of his beloved mother. It was at that time, that scrapbooking had started to take off and become popular. Matt was a gifted artist, which gave me the idea to start a scrapbook, which we titled, "Memories Of My Mom." The special scrapbook we created, became the focus of our therapy time. I understood the importance of capturing Matt's memories of his mom before they faded with time. I assisted Matt with his speech, while he shared stories about his mom and documented them in his scrapbook. Matt shared a story about a special necklace that his mom often wore, and even brought it in to showcase some of his mom's favorite things. His spirits were lifted as he recalled humorous anecdotes and highlighted some of his mom's favorite things. We both became emotional as he input the poems and lullabies that she used to sing. 

Matt made tremendous progress that year, largely due to our personal connection. During our sessions, he felt free to be himself; to open up and share a special piece of his heart. The bond we created helped give him the motivation needed to succeed. We drill, collect data, and endlessly assess students. But it's the personal connection and bond you create with your students that really makes the difference. When you make that connection, it is THEN, that you will see the greatest and most meaningful results. 

I am now a married mom of three girls, the eldest being the same age as Matt was when I worked with him. The time I spent with Matt continues to hold a special place in my heart. When I think of Matt today, I hope he is doing well, and still has the scrapbook we made together. Even more, I hope that our time together made a memorable difference in his life.

 I've always had good luck with number 13 and am passing good fortunes on to you in your blog hopping adventure.  

Thanks Dabbling Speechie for putting this heartwarming blog hop together.  Click on the image below to get you to your next blog and thanks for visiting me.  

Or if you're a regular follower of my blog (thank you) and are starting here, go to the First Blog to find out all of the details on how to win some awesome prizes! 

Participating Blogs:

An InLinkz Link-up

Thanksgiving Soup - Freebie!

The youth classes at my church assembled 150 Thanksgiving Soup mixes for charity this past weekend.  My kids (ages 4-10) were all able to participate in making the soup mixes and it was so great to see how much fun and organized the process was.  There is my little one in the first picture.  

I thought that this would be a great activity for my Life Skills students as they work at so many different levels.  They say that the secret of happiness is giving to others.  What a great feeling to create something that can be so useful and appreciated by others!

I put together the ingredients and assembly instructions for you too!
 Click HERE to download. 

Enjoy!  

SLP Blog Hop- Topic: Student Accountability

Welcome SLP Blog Hoppers!

I'm so happy you've found my page.  We SLP bloggers have been working hard for the past month to get ready for this huge blog hop.  

Use the linky tools at the bottom of the page to hop from blog to blog collecting freebies, SLP ideas, and the secret code words.  When you have collected all 17 to form the secret message you will be able to enter and win some great prizes.  

About me:  My name is Jennifer Moses and I'm an SLP for grades 4-8 in a public school.

As my screen name (SLPrunner)would imply , I run.  I ran my first 1/2 marathon in March and am running one again in September.  The thing is, I have a hard time getting and staying motivated and I need accountability.  For this reason, I chose my screen name, have a bumper sticker on my car that reads "Runner Girl," and lately I've been engaging my Facebook Followers for weekly motivation, inspirational quotes, and tips.   The accountability helps me to stay on track (pun-haha).  I know how tough it is to stay focused on a goal and often think of my students on my runs.  

Many times our students don't know why they are receiving services and/or may not be motivated to make changes.  How do we increase student motivation, ownership, progress, and carry-over of skills?  I've found that student-directed rubrics and punch cards are great ways to accomplish this.

Student directed rubrics are developed with the student and for the student to have an active role in assessment.  In turn, the SLP has data documentation to share with parents, RTI groups, and IEP teams.  In addition, the generalization rate may improve as students, para-educators and classroom teachers use the rubrics in other settings.

If you haven't already downloaded my free student rubric for active listening click on the rubric below:  

Another fun idea to improve generalization is to use punch cards:  Here is a new freebie that may be used in and out of the SLP room.  

  

 

Many of my products include Common Core Aligned rubrics.  You can save time and start your year off in the right direction with this Pragmatic Language Rubric Collection: 

Click photo: $3.40

You won't want to miss more tips, promotions, freebies, and fun on my Facebook Page!  Follow me at:  https://www.facebook.com/slprunner

Teachers Pay Teachers followers receive 50% off all new products for the first 24 hours.  Here is my brand new product (click image).  

Thanks for hanging out with me and have fun on the rest of your blog hopping adventure.  

Blog Hop:
5 Winners will receive a goodie bundle of TpT products from our stores!
   
Here is my donation to the collection:  

$4.00: Targeting Language in Common Core
click schoolhouse to download

1 Grand Prize Winner will receive the above in addition to the following:               
TpT Gift Card for $50
Speech and Language Apps:  Little Bee Speech, Virtual Speech Center, and Kid In Story from LocoMotive Apps 

Contest rules:

*  You must decode a secret message
*  In order to complete this task, you will need to visit each of the 17
    blogs and find the OWL CLUE
*  When you enter the contest through Rafflecopter below, you will be  
    asked to type in the secret code. Have fun and enjoy blog Hopping with
    us!  

The contest will run from Aug. 11-17.
Good Luck Everyone!  

                         Find my secret code: 

Here are the 17 blog hop sites: 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Middle School Service Stigma

Middle Schoolers- I love em' but I know that sometimes they hate coming to me. 
I learned about "The Big Lie" in my Middle School Philosophy Course.    Adolescents often believe that everyone is watching them all of the time. They are very egocentric and want desperately to fit in.  Speech and Language Services don't fit in really well with that idea.

While "The Big Lie" is just that, I don't want my middle school students to feel singled out, stereotyped, or different from their peers.  

Here are some things that I do to be respectful and careful not to draw attention to the students whom I serve.

1.  Email:   I'm fortunate that all of my students have laptops with school e-mail which is checked daily. I can now email students their schedule, remind them if they miss a session,  and let them know if a schedule change has occurred.  I never enter the classroom of a middle school student to pull-out for services.  

2.  Follow the Leader: I let my students know that I will take their lead.  If they say "hi" to me in the hallway, I will respond appropriately.  If they don't acknowledge me, I will respond the same way and won't be offended or consider it rude.  We discuss this in length during our initial session.  I let the students know that this has nothing to do with social skills, but rather their confidentiality which brings respect to the service.

3.  Be a Seen SLP:  It's always good to get involved with the general education population.  I start the year in the classrooms so that I can connect with all students.  I want to be a familiar and friendly face, not "That Speech Lady." 

4.  Know What You Do:  Every year I'm asked by middle school students, "What do you do?" (teachers ask me this too but that's another blog).  I share that "I'm a Communication Specialist and all students can benefit from working with me on things like remembering information for tests, vocabulary, listening, working with others, etc".  I speak in their language with their school experiences.  

5.  Emphasize Strengths:  Most of our older students are very aware of their weaknesses. It is critical to help our students to learn about their strengths.  I teach Multiple Intelligences, Learning Styles, and talk about student strengths that aren't necessarily related to school i.e sports and hobbies.

6.  Disability Awareness:  I let students know that everybody has weaknesses.  By sharing inspirational quotes and success stories of famous people/athletes who have overcome difficulties, my students begin to realize that they are not alone, and that with work they can achieve their goals.    

7.  Connect:  It's okay to share personal experiences about your learning.  I became an SLP because I had a frontal lisp.  I have no ego in the speech office.  I let my guard down by allowing myself to be goofy and have fun, which in turn gives my students permission to do the same.  

8.  Space Escape:  Make your students want to escape to your room. Although it's tempting to post clowns and pirates on my door, I work hard to make my room warm, friendly, inviting, and middle-level appropriate.  It's especially inviting to add aroma therapy, plants, and possibly a fruit bowl.  I have a gumball machine in my office which I fill with M&Ms, Skittles, and Jelly Beans (I understand that there may be reasons that candy isn't the best option).  

9.  Fun:  My students love gadgets.  I have wind-up toys, fidget balls, and am ordering some ball and spin chairs for my active ever-growing middle students.  

I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to work with the unique and endearing population of middle-level students and hope that some of these techniques may help reduce student self-consciousness and aid in better connections with your students.  

You may also be interested in my motivating and age-appropriate materials for middle level learners.                              Click HERE for my store.