As a
school-based SLP, I know I'm not alone in feeling like the public setting can
sometimes be a burden getting in the way of my super awesome therapy...
overflowing caseloads, mountains of paperwork, scheduling nightmares, lots of
personalities - Oy! But even with all that going on, I've always known that
being in the schools is a huge advantage. I get excited just thinking about it!
That's why I'm writing this post on how to make the most of the school setting
and start using it as your "edge" rather than that big ol' thorn in
your side.
A
huge benefit of working in a school is the opportunity to see kids in a natural
context, rather than stuck in an office for hour long appointments once or
twice a week. Many of us share the same space with our clients, 7 hours a day,
5 days per week. And yet, most SLPs continue to see students in 20-30 minutes
pull-out sessions, 1-2 times per week, regardless of disorder type/severity and
despite a lack of evidence to suggest that is the most effective dosage or
delivery model (Brandel & Loeb, 2011). That seems a little nuts, right?!
We’ve been stuck in the medical model with our heads down and hands over our
ears. And this is certainly not a new observation... A 1987 article in Communication
Disorders Quarterly titled, "Out of the Broom Closet and Into the
Classroom: The Emerging SLP," aimed to "address the changing role of
the SLP by arguing that 1) as a profession we need to engage in better PR in
the public schools and 2) we cannot expect to be employed by a school if we
only provide limited services within a medical model" (Simon, p. 42).
Adding
to the issue, we’re increasingly sucked into using materials that seem to
fulfill our own desire for cutesy clip art and fonts, rather than striving for
integration of curricular content into functional therapy (this observation
comes to you via my extensive Pinterest-based research, not actual empirical
evidence!). Notice I'm saying "we" here because I know we have
all been there. It seems like the further I get from grad school, the more
alluring pre-made pirate themed therapy week becomes! Rebecca Visintin
from the blog Adventures in Speech Pathology offered some honest words about
the problem in her 2013 article, "Connecting with the Curriculum," for
the ASHA Leader:
"I
couldn’t understand that with Pinterest, TpT stores and school-based SLP blogs inspiring many of us
to don our creative hats, that there was not more school based resources out
there. I couldn’t help but think “Pirates are pretty cool…. but where do
pirates fit into the curriculum?” Why do speech pathology materials constantly
revolving around seasons and holidays such as Valentine’s Day, winter and St
Patrick’s Day? We know that our students need repetition after repetition after
repetition to cement their learning, so why are we introducing our own themes
and topics with new vocabulary if it will not help our students succeed with
the language and knowledge that they are learning in their classroom?"
One of my ongoing personal goals has been to bring my school-based speech/language therapy in line with what's going on in the classroom. Some SLPs love this idea and others are very resistant to it. And let me tell you, I completely hear both sides! With 60+ students spread among 6 grade levels and 15 teachers, it feels nearly impossible to know what is going on in every classroom, much less feel prepared to use the curriculum in my therapy. Teresa Sadowski talks about the "common core pull" and the "push to push in" (as I've coined the issues) frequently on her blog, TheSchoolSpeechTherapist. My favorite article offers a frank commentary on the plug-in model: "Are You Really A Co-Teacher or Just A Glorified Aid?" I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been the glorified aide! On the flip side, I’ve also had plenty of opportunities to be successful working within the classroom and carrying curriculum over into my pull-out sessions.
One of my ongoing personal goals has been to bring my school-based speech/language therapy in line with what's going on in the classroom. Some SLPs love this idea and others are very resistant to it. And let me tell you, I completely hear both sides! With 60+ students spread among 6 grade levels and 15 teachers, it feels nearly impossible to know what is going on in every classroom, much less feel prepared to use the curriculum in my therapy. Teresa Sadowski talks about the "common core pull" and the "push to push in" (as I've coined the issues) frequently on her blog, TheSchoolSpeechTherapist. My favorite article offers a frank commentary on the plug-in model: "Are You Really A Co-Teacher or Just A Glorified Aid?" I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been the glorified aide! On the flip side, I’ve also had plenty of opportunities to be successful working within the classroom and carrying curriculum over into my pull-out sessions.
I
think it helps to know that you are not alone in this... Shifting out of the
medical mentality and experimenting with new delivery models, collaborative
ventures, and materials is new and uncomfortable but definitely exciting! You
want benefits? I've got plenty! Read your way through this list to hear the
voices joining me in the push-in chorus:
- Service Delivery Models: Push-in
- The 21st Century Speech Language Pathologist and
Integrated Services in Classrooms
- Making "Push-In" Services Work
- Are You Pushing In?! (Inclusion Tips)
Alright,
now that we've talked about the benefits and the drawbacks, let's get to the
good stuff! See below for a collection of tips from myself and other SLPs for
using your "public school edge":
1) Forget about the common core already. Okay, this may seem to
directly contradict my rant above, but bear with me. There’s so much hype and
polarizing talk about the CCSS, which I think turns a lot of SLPs off from
investigating them. If you're writing good goals, they are already
individualized and developmentally appropriate, right? So let's start with the
goals, and then connect the dots to how the standards come in. Would you work
on interpreting idioms with a kindergartener? No... And the standards wouldn't
indicate teaching them in that grade. But for a fifth grader? Totally relevant
- You know this without looking up the alphabet soup string from the CCSS
(CCSS.ELA-Lit.L.5.5.B, if you really must know). Now once you've forgotten
about the CCSS, let's revisit it, bearing in mind that you do NOT write goals
to align with standards. They can be useful when justifying the educational
impact of a communication impairment in the classroom, but that's as far as
I'll go with it. We write goals based on need, not educational standards. If
you're feeling better from your common core blues, hop on over to check
out these resources (if you're still feeling under the weather, keep resting
far far away from the CCSS until the pain subsides):
- The Chapel
Hill-Carrboro SLPs have made some great checklists for teachers that align with
the standards. These are super useful for demonstrating education impact
of speech and language impairments. Thank you to those brilliant SLPs to
making these available for free!
- Recycle those
paper manuals and look up the standards with this handy dandy app if you need them. The interface is
lovely and makes me feel calmer. Ahhhhh :)
- The ASHA
Leader came out with a great article authored by heavy-hitters
in the SLP research world - I like that the article opened with the big
questions that folks in the field need answered (e.g., "Would it ever
be appropriate to target the CCSS for chronically younger
children?"). It could have offered some more practical solutions, but
it is a great place to start and get yourself feeling pumped up.
- Get creative as you scout the curriculum for ways to tie in language therapy. This year, I've put "Look Out For Language" folders for each grade in my mailbox, which is conveniently located next to the copier. The cover of the folder highlights a few language concepts that come up a lot in classwork. Some teachers don't use them at all, but other teachers have gotten in the habit of slipping articles and worksheets that may be relevant for language therapy in the folder. I love discovering the curriculum gems in the folders and thinking up ways to use them when I do pull students out!
2)
Be strategic with student clusters and convince admin of the importance of
grouping students. Pushing in would be a lot easier if you could get several children
with similar disorder types in the same classroom! Even if it didn't work out
this school year, keep a list going of your ideal clusters so when the end of
the year rolls around, you're ready to present a thoughtful plan for who should
go where the following year. Below are some sample groupings that I
orchestrated to facilitate more plugging in to the gen ed classroom:
- Two 4th grade articulation-only students: These guys have been humming right along for the last couple years with pull-out speech once a week. But then they started to plateau in third grade. Although the /r/ and /s/ sounded great in the speech room, I knew I was failing them with carryover after I heard glaring /w/ and /th/ substitutions over the morning announcements one day. By grouping these two in the same classroom, I’m able to pop in whenever (in no more than ten minute increments) and listen to the students read to me (directions on a math worksheet, the book they’re reading, etc.), and work with peers in small groups. Often times just seeing my face provides a reminder to “think about their sounds.”
- Three higher-level 4th grade language students: I made sure these guys got a teacher that I work well with and have co-taught successfully with before. Twice a week I come in during literacy circles and highlight a language skill within the small group, using the book they are reading as inspiration. The students love hearing the other teacher and I modeling our thinking to one another and they have started doing the same kind of thinking aloud within the group (e.g., SLP: I think I see an idiom in here. It’s funny but I don’t know exactly what it means... the passage doesn’t quite make sense when I read it. Teacher: Oh yeah, I noticed that too! Like why would cats and dogs really fall through the sky when it’s raining? SLP: Oh my gosh I know! So funny. I think “raining cats and dogs” must just be an expression that means “raining really hard”). We extend the conversation with a typical speech activity that you might do in pull-out (e.g., highlighting idioms in short paragraphs and then taking turns explaining what they mean using the context clues). As a result, their reading group takes a bit longer than it would if I wasn't in there, but the teacher knows the trade offs - The kids aren't being pulled as much, their language skills and academic skills are supported by using authentic context, and she gets a little bit of a break (at the very least, some interaction with another adult during the middle of the day).
- Two higher level 3rd pragmatics students: Again, these guys did great in the speech room but fell apart with problem solving in the classroom. Our school does tons of hands-on group work during science so that’s the time I chose to push-in for these students. I bring with me the problem solving mat I created as part of a TpT packet. If a problem arises, I can pull the student aside and talk through the size of the problem, help them consider multiple perspectives and practice verbalizing solutions. This “real-time” practice is great for our kids! We can also talk about real problems that other students might be having in the class - there are always verbal negotiations and quick perspective shifts that go on during group work. Our kids might miss the opportunity to learn from their peers without this adult-mediated experience.
- Four 1st grade articulation students: Daily 5 is a another great time to plug-in. I’ve become a “center” in some of the classrooms for my artic kids. I try to use what they are working on (e.g., forming sentences with spelling words that have artic targets) but I always bring some back-up materials if it looks like what they’re doing isn’t going to jive with the speech goals.
- Four 2nd grade students: I have found a lovely general ed teacher who welcomes my presence in her room. Once a week, I got in to do a whole group lesson. We chat briefly (often as we finding ourselves passing on the way to the microwave or bathroom!) about what is coming up in reading and relevant oral language concepts that we could highlight. One of my latest lessons was a hit with the whole class and really targeted the sentence expansion goals of my four speech and language students in her room. I used this genius powerpoint by Eve Coates with the whole group on the carpet, then used my own worksheet as seat work. I loved that the gen ed teacher and I took turns running through the slides and got to pop around to check in with the students as they worked independently.
3)
Get out of your room and be friendly. That will lead to opportunities for
collaboration! I hope it goes without saying, but building relationships with
other staff members can only help you work more closely with them
professionally.
- It doesn't
matter how long or how successfully you've been collaborating, you need to
read this whole article from the Indiana Resource
Center for Autism. Ms. Vickers does a great job laying out practical
advice for collaboration with staff, admin, and families.
- While you're
at it, why not read some books that will help with more integrated and
collaborative service delivery? My two favorites (I swear both are
worthwhile) are Contextualized Language Intervention and Bringing Words to
Life. Bringing Words to Life really helped me
think about how to use read-aloud books (whether those from the classroom
curriculum or ones I use independent of the curriculum) to build
vocabulary. Best of all, it is super short and readable. Even before I
finished, I had great ideas to bring into my pull-out and plug-in
therapy. Contextualized
Language Intervention is much longer and not as easy to
get through, but I know it will be a great reference for many years to
come.
- My most important
tip - Go to happy hour! No articles to read for this suggestion... Go let
loose and have drinks while getting to know your co-workers. :)
4)
Take it slow. You have to be realistic when trying to change your own practices
and influence others to do the same. All the SLPs I know are super ambitious
and full of energy, but can take it really hard when things don't go according
to plan. Be willing to laugh at yourself, push your comfort zone, and expect
changes to be gradual and bumpy. The best advice I can give is to find just one
teacher you can work closer with. Build some rapport and then go from there!
How are you using the curriculum in therapy? Have you tried "plugging in?" Share your thoughts in the comments!
References:
Beck,
I.L., McKeown, M.G., & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words to life.New York,
NY: The Guilford Press.
Blosser, J., Roth, F.P., Paul, D.R., Ehren, B., Nelson, N.W., Sturm, J.M. (2012). Integrating the Core. The ASHA Leader, 17, 12-15. Retrieved from http://leader.pubs.asha.org/article.aspx?articleid=2280595&resultClick=3
Brandel,
J., & Loeb, D. F. (2011). Program Intensity and Service Delivery Models in
the Schools: SLP Survey Results. Language, Speech & Hearing
Services In Schools, 42(4), 461-490.
Clapsaddle,
K. & Palafox, P. (2013). Make it work: Steps to save our sanity. The ASHA
Leader, 18(8) p. 26-27. doi: 10.1044/leader.MIW.18082013.26.
Lamb,
K. (2013). Are you pushing in?! Inclusion tips. Retrieved
from http://livelovespeechkl.blogspot.com/2013/10/are-you-pushing-in-inclusion-tips.html
Sadowski,
T. (2013, January 12). Are You Really A Co-Teacher or Just A Glorified
Aid? Retrieved from http://www.theschoolspeechtherapist.com/
Simon,
C.S. (1987). Out of the Broom Closet and Into the Classroom: The Emerging SLP. Communication
Disorders Quarterly, 11, 41-66.
Speech
Language Literacy Lab (2014). Making "push-in" services work.
Retrieved
from http://www.sl3lab.com/new-blog/2014/11/24/making-push-in-services-work
Ukrainetz, T. A. (2006). Contexualized language intervention:
Scaffolding pre-k-12 literacy achievement. Eau Claire, WI: Thinking
Publications.
Vicker,
B. (2009). The 21st century speech language pathologist and integrated
services in classrooms. Retrieved
from http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/pages/The-21st-Century-Speech-Language-Pathologist-and-Integrated-Services-in-Classrooms
Visintin, R. (2013). Connecting with the curriculum. Retrieved from http://blog.asha.org/2013/03/05/connecting-with-the-curriculum/
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