Why I Became an OT
In honor of National Occupational Therapy Month, three of our Clinical Directors, Larysa, Candice, and Jen, talk about why they became OTs. Why I Became an OT Candice Donnelly-Knox, OTR/L:…
Speech Therapy & Science Experiments
Kelly McLendon, M.S., CCC-SLP, a lead SLP in one of our districts reminds us that not all sessions need to be about data, some can be fun while still targeting…
Everyone Can Give Back
PTS OT, Jodi, talks about her idea to implement interventions that benefit others, including our furry friends! Everyone Can Give Back I’ve found that many students genuinely seem engaged and…
GJPQY – Go Below Song
Mary Adolf, M.S, OTR/L talks about the song she co-created to help teach students about descender letters, the letters that "go below" the main body of the letter.
Mindfulness
I had the opportunity to see Jenny Mills, M. ED speak last week at the Eastern PA Special Education conference. Her topic was one that’s been gaining a lot of…
Research Update: Early Life Stresses, Physical Activity & Families, Health Disparities & Disability
Early life stress can leave lasting impacts on the brain Researchers at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, have taken a close look at the amygdala and hippocampus of children…
Lesson Planning (From a Therapist’s Point of View) – Speech and Language Therapy
In our previous post we looked at a classroom through an occupational therapist's point of view. In our second post, we will look at the classroom through a new set of eyes - in this case, the speech and language therapist! Speech and language pathologists work to support children who are experiencing difficulties with communication. The areas that a speech and language pathologist may address include: articulation, language, voice, fluency, and swallowing. Per the American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA), children with a speech and/or language impairment may struggle with participating in classroom activities, interacting with others, developing literacy, and learning.
Lesson Planning (From A Therapist’s Point of View) – Occupational Therapy
Education is a complicated task, and it can take a team of professionals to help some of our students succeed, particularly when they are working to overcome learning challenges. But all students can benefit when the classroom is examined through the eyes of a developmental expert, including speech language therapists, physical therapists, and occupational therapists. In this series of posts, we bring a few different sets of eyes to the classroom, and hope that this "x-ray" will help therapists recognize and take ownership of their specialized knowledge, as well as inform teachers about the potential benefits of partnering with their school-based related service professionals!The Classroom Through an OT's Eyes
Increasing Our Impact: Related Services Breaking Out of the Therapy Room!
As we all know, engineering change in our students in the confines of 30 minutes a week can be an uphill battle! How can we share our knowledge and achieve…
AAC: Collaborating for Success!
Some of our students with special needs may have impairments in oral-motor structure or function, difficulty motor planning, or apraxia, or other conditions that impede typical communication development. When it…