Show Me the DATA Linky

I finally have the chance to participate in the Show Me the DATA linky that Jenn over at Crazy Speech World started.

Everyone has their own style of data.  I'm a firm believer that you simply have to find the right way for you.  I am so happy that Jenn started this so that you can get some ideas!!

First, I start a binder for every semester.  Here's one from this spring.  I have to have cute covers.  Plus, I think it helps me with motivation.

Like most people, I have a tab for each student.  It helps me keep everything straight.

As far as forms go, I have been using one I found awhile ago from Let's Talk Speech-Language Pathology.  Here's the form in action:

I put the date, the activity we're working on in the columns on the left.  In the data section, you'll see a bunch of numbers.  You're probably thinking "What the heck do those mean??"  I'm glad you asked!  I was taught NOT to use the + and - system.  You're probably thinking WHAT? WHY?   I know.  That's what I said that first day, too.  Let me show you what the numbers mean and maybe it'll start to make sense.

1= No response.
2= Response, but error
3=Correct with clinician cue
4=Correct without cue
5= Complete

The difference between 4 and 5 is this: 4 is correct but it is not as fully detailed as it could be.  5 is fully detailed.  For example, a 4 would be, "This is a toothbrush."  A 5 would be, "This is a toothbrush, and you can use it to clean your teeth."  Make sense?

NOTE: You can modify this to 0 through 4 if you wanted.

The reason I was taught to use this system is that it gives you way more information about a child's abilities than plus/minus can ever give you.  This system shows when they need a cue, that they're almost there but not quite, or that they have it.  I, of course, write what type of cue they needed in addition to these numbers.

I know that's so totally different than what most people do.  What do you think?  By the way- it's ok if you don't like it. It's just one way I was taught at school this year and want to know your thoughts!

1000 Likes Finale- Winners and Another Giveaway!!

Thanks for making this week so much fun! I truly hope you enjoyed it!!

Here's a list of winners from the giveaways this week!  I will email you TODAY so be looking for it.

Chalkboard and  Brights Bulletin Board Set- Deidre Kesler
SLP Binder Organizer- Breana Orland
Space Hero Social Skills- Natalie Snyders
Building Conversation- Alison Welgand
Mega Fluency Binder- Carly Fowler
Fluency Tools- Candace Webb
Articulation for Reading and Conversation- Julie Graham
Greetings from Summer Camp-Crissy Beach
Pool Time Auditory Memory-Sue Blankenship
ASL Flash Cards- Anne, who left this comment " "Fun" should be the 5th sign!!"

Now I have a surprise for you all.  I actually have one more giveaway for you! I'm teaming up with my friend Erik over at erikxraj.com  to bring you a big giveaway as a final celebration! Here's the deal:

The 1st place winner will receive one $10 gift card to iTunes AND 3 products from my TpT store.

The 2nd place winner will receive 2 products from my TpT store.

The 3rd place winner will receive 1 product from my TpT store.

Enter the giveaway below!

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5 Signs Your Summer Needs Something New, 5 Benefits of Signing for SLPs, the 5 Signs of Summer! {Day 6 of 1000 Likes Celebration

Welcome to Day 6 and the final day of the 1000 Likes Celebration!! Hope you enjoyed your "sweet" treat.  Today, I have Kristy from Hear My Hands, LLC writing a great post about summer, SLPs, and signing!  It's a great post, so I hope you enjoy it!! 

Yesterday's winner was Julie G. Congrats! You will be emailed by the end of the week! 

We all know summer is a blast at first right? But when the honeymoon period is over, the 5 signs your summer’s honeymoon period is over kick in like …

1.      You feel like you’re forgetting all the little things that made you an unique SLP

2.      The sun is too hot or the TV is boring

3.      You can only handle so many summer reading books

4.      Your slush fund is wearing thin from all your extra curricular activities

5.      You’re bored!

So now what?  We want something fresh, something new ... what do can you do? Learn the 5 Signs of Summer!

Sign Language is a great way to keep you mind active and your interest high. Kids love to learn it and it has a benefit for everyone! As a speech language pathologist I use it in so many avenues – I don’t think a day goes by that I’m not signing!

Five Benefits of signing for a Speech Language Pathologist

1.      Bridge communication gaps.  For my students who are Deaf / Hard-of-Hearing sign language is sometimes a necessities or an additional support that helps them communicate. We all contrive to be competent communicators!

2.      A great resume booster.  Let’s be honest, who doesn't like to have that one thing that separates you from the rest!? Learning another language certainly helps.

3.      Visual attention. Using sign language helps hold the attention of my all students big and small. I have interest from my Early Intervention two year olds and my 16 year old high schoolers. Moving my hands peaks the interest of everyone.

4.      Brain active.  I’m a big proponent of motor planning. Sign Language needs significant motor planning [motor planning – like brushing your teeth aimlessly without effort or texting without looking!). You might find that signing is difficult at first and with more practice, believe it or not, you are working parts of your brain that you don’t typically work! Who needs the Brain Trainer on the Nintendo DS – just sign!

5.      Multimodality approach. I have quite a few students who use ‘talkers,’ (a.k.a. communication devices), signs, verbal approximations, and written text. Whatever method is most convenient for them at that moment in communication is what’s best.

Signing has benefits for everyone. So what are the 5 signs for the summer.

1.      SUMMER

2.      HOT

3.      WATER

4.      SUN

5.      (you decide! Comment below with what you think the 5^th sign should be. Not only will you get to vote on the 5^th sign, but you’re entry will put you in the running for a free Sign Language Flash Card set!)

Thanks for reading! Enjoy your SUMMER and stay cool from this HOT SUN!

~ Kristy

HearMyHands, LLC

Circle graphics from The Hazel Owl http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Hazel-Owl

Signing Simon character © 2013 HearMyHands

Signs: HOT, SUMMER, and SUN from Sign2Me 

Thanks, Kristy!  That was a great post! 

Now, we have a few giveaways today!  First, be sure to comment below about your sign for summer.  One lucky winner will win a set of flash cards from Hear My Hands.  

The second one is Pool Time Auditory Memory from wordnerdspeechteach!  Lindsey is giving away one copy to a lucky reader! Enter the rafflecopter below for a chance to win! 

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The third one is from Carrie at Carrie's Speech Corner.  She is giving away one copy of Greetings from Summer Camp to one lucky reader.  Enter the rafflecopter below for a chance to win! 

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Articulation Made Fun! {1000 Likes Celebration Day 5}

Day 5 of 1000 Likes Celebration Week!! Thank you so much for your love and support throughout this blogging adventure and this week!  I hope you're enjoying your "SWEET" treats this week!!   Thanks to Carly from Happily SLP for writing a post today about articulation! 

Yesterday's winners- Candace W. won Fluency Tools, and Carly F. won Mega Fluency Binder! Congrats, ladies!  You will get an email by the end of the week! 

Hello, my name is Carly, and I just completed my CFY in rural Nebraska.  I am so excited to be guest blogger for Carissa at Home Sweet Speech Room. Carissa was kind enough to ask me to talk a little bit about articulation therapy. Articulation can get very repetitive and dare I say, boring?!?!?  Kidding aside, I really enjoy articulation therapy because of all the many activities you can do with your students.

Articulation never looks the same in my speech room, and I like keep the students active and engaged during therapy, so I try to have many ideas and games at my disposal. I always take the time to go over speech goals with my students, so they know what sound(s) they are working on, and understand what level they are at and what they are working towards. I have made a “Stair Steps to Good Speech” worksheet available in my newly opened  Teachers Pay Teachers (tpt) store, it is a freebie made just for this post (click here to download it now).

Another way to keep students accountable for their speech goals is to have them graph their accuracy. I give students pieces of graph paper to record accuracy levels on a regular basis. This is great to incorporate math skills into speech therapy. Students are able to see progress they made and when they are ready to move up the stair case of articulation levels.

Since accountability encourages students’ success, I  have my students tell me how they make the sound. For example, how do their articulations act (is their tongue up, do their lips go together, where their teeth are at), are their voices on or off, what are the brother sounds. I use this for students that are just beginning speech therapy and if they are able to do so (think about their speech and language abilities before using this strategy).  I find that if students can review how to make the sounds they are able to better produce the sound.

My go to articulation materials are my drill cards. Whether they are brand name, Teachers Pay Teachers materials, or homemade you can do a lot with these. Target dollar spot is another place to find flash cards, any of the phonic or alphabet cards have pictures to help elicit speech sounds. Also, I like mommyspeechtherapy.com for quick print off words and worksheets.  Another great resource is the book: 40,000 Select Words by Blockcolsky, Fraizer and Frazer you can purchase it here. I use a mixture of materials to keep the words novel and interesting for my students.

Something else I try to do in my articulation sessions is incorporating language activities. Scheduling doesn’t allow for separate groups or one-on-one sessions; often, I have mixed speech groups where I have students with speech goals, others with language goals, and some with both speech and language goals. Extra language practice is a positive to target language goals, challenge students, and since I was traveling a lot last year it cut down materials I needed to pack.

Now, that you have an idea of what I use in my articulation sessions and what I expect from my students, I have compiled a list of various activities I use in my speech room. I have included activities to keep students engaged and active for students who just can’t sit still or need to get energy out. I also have listed activities for creative/artistic students and activities for mixed speech groups.

25 Fun Articulation Session Ideas

1)      Print two copies of tpt articulation cards or an articulation card deck to play go fish.  This is great for the word level up to the sentence level. Also for any students working on /g/ or “sh” because there are many repetitions of the phrase “Go Fish”.

2)      You can also use target articulation cards to play memory match .

3)      Articulation Race is another fun activity I like to do with my students. I place cards into four corners of the gym and tell them to run to a corner and run back to me to practice their sounds.

4)      Toss/bounce a ball back and forth while saying sound.  Another great activity to keep the students active and engaged. Make sure to have ground rules before doing this activity otherwise things can get out of hand. I have several light-up balls that are the students’ favorite.

5)      Build a puzzle. Either have a set number of sounds to say before racing to put a puzzle together or give a puzzle piece after the student says each sound.

6)      Place each card into a group/category after practicing the sound. This could be used at the phrase or sentence level (e.g. “A kangaroo is an animal”). This is great for mixed speech groups.

7)      Track the number of words, phrases or sentences the student can produce in a speech session. This can be done with a clicker/counter. Have the student try to beat their record each time they practice using the best speech sounds they can.

8)      Read a book together. Alternate sentences or paragraphs. Even my middle school students enjoy this one. If you want to send homework have the student write down words with their sound they encounter or encourage them to read more to a speech homework helper and write those words down.

9)       Describe words with their sound in them to the student. Have them guess what the word is. This is another great activity for mixed speech groups and students can take turns describing each other’s words.

10)   Another great mixed group activity is having students name 2-3 words in a category that have their sound. For /s/ students working at the sentence level they can name things that are sweet, sour or salty (e.g. Pretzels are salty but suckers are sweet).

11)  For students working on /r/ have them name something that is brown, purple, orange, red, or green and have the student to tell you its color.

12)  I have so many students that love to color. I try to have coloring sheets available or copies of Webber’s Jumbo Articulation Drill pages when students ask to color. I have my students practice their sounds a certain number of times while other students are coloring and then they alternate between coloring and practicing.

13)   During holidays, I try to have a craft available for students to complete. I do this several ways with articulation students. They either practice sounds at the level they are working on a certain number of times before completing a step to the project or I have the students glue articulation pictures on their project or write articulation sounds on them. I have a bunch of Webber Jumbo Articulation Drill pages cut and sorted into sounds.

14)   Have students string beads as they practice target words.

15)  Play tic-tac-toe using target words.

16)  Have students play hangman with their target words. If you don’t feel like they are getting enough practice in, have them practice articulation words 3-5 times before guessing a letter.

17)   After a student practices a word have them give an antonym, synonym or definition of the word. Another good activity for mixed groups.

18)   Play games in speech! There are so many that can be easily adapted to fit speech goals. Just have the student practice their sounds before taking their turn.

19)   Use Webber Jumbo Articulation Drill pages or MommySpeechTherapy worksheets as bingo cards. Have an extra copy to cut up and use as call cards.

20)   Build a face, snowman, block tower or Lego creation as students practice their sounds.

21)  Have the students build their own sound book. If you have old magazines they can cut out pictures with their sound and glue into a notebook. Another way is to have students look up images on a search engine and copy and paste to a word document or PowerPoint. I have made mini sound books for younger students as well. Students are excited to take these home and share them with their family (also, it encourages them to share as speech homework).

22)   Have the students practice their words using silly voices (just make sure they don’t strain or hurt their voices)

23)   Go on a scavenger hunt for speech cards around the room. This can be also done in the dark with a flashlight.

24)   Have the students draw pictures of their speech sounds. Encourage them to draw as many as they can. This is also another easy speech homework activity.

25)   Build a story is a popular game for my students working at the sentence level or carry over. This can be done in a group or one-on-one. To play I have a ball or stuffed animal to toss around as each person builds a story. I have students that are working at the conversational level say 3-5 sentences of a story before passing the item to the next person. My students have wild imaginations and the stories never come out how you would expect them to. This is another wonderful activity for mixed groups as it helps build narratives and language organization process.

I hope these activities keep your speech sessions fun and I would love to hear any activities you use in your speech room. You can comment or connect with me at: www.facebook.com/HappilySLP.

Thanks so much to Carly for a fabulous post!! You have a TON of ideas for this school year now. Yay!! 

Now for an amazing giveaway from Nicole at Speech Peeps.  I know I say that every time....but I truly mean it.  These bloggers create amazing products, and Nicole is no exception.  She is giving away one copy of her Articulation for Reading and Conversation Speech Therapy Intervention packet!  Check out a full description and more pictures here.  Enter the rafflecopter below for a chance to win. 

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Fluency Basics {1000 Likes Celebration Day 4}

Fluency is an area that some people never get to work with.  I was fortunate enough to have a fluency client in the fall.  I was blessed to have the opportunity with him because he taught me SO much about treating fluency and how important fluent speech is.  Today, I'm going to be talking about my experience with him for Day 4 of 1000 Likes Celebration Week!

Yesterday's winners- Natalie S. won Space Hero Social Skills and Alison L. won Building Conversation! Congrats to you both.  You will be emailed by the end of the week!

The number one thing I learned while working with this client is that PATIENCE IS THE KEY! I mean it.  Our field takes patience no matter what client we're working with.  I believe fluency requires a little extra.  It requires patience on the client's part because they get frustrated with lack of instant progress and get frustrated that they actually have to practice to become more fluent (shocker....).  It also requires patience on the clinician's part to work with the client.  I had to deal with the client not showing up or cancelling at the last minute.  I learned from my supervisors that stuttering clients aren't necessarily the most consistent.  It took me awhile to get him to buy into therapy.

That being said, be patient with them, because it will be fun and worthwhile if they stick with it!!

Another piece of advice I have is to make therapy activities somehow relate to their interests.  Obviously this is the goal all of the time with every client.  I tried to explain to my client that practice was necessary and that he wasn't going to become more fluent until he practiced and put effort into it.  Well he didn't buy that.  So what did I do?  Explain it to him in football terms.  The coach wants you to do a new play at Friday's game.  Do you just walk onto the field and expect it to happen? No. You practice it over and over and over and over and over and over...sometimes until you feel like you're going to fall over.  That's when he started to finally get it!  Make it relevant and fun.

Now, I want to make this as practical for you as possible.  Let's start with assessment.  A complete diagnostic for stuttering should include these elements:
1. Case history, including how long they have been stuttering and at what point it started
2. Speech testing- articulation, informal speech sample, rate, disfluencies
3. Language- receptive and expressive language, vocabulary, pragmatic skills
4. Voice
5. Prosody
6. Other fluency behaviors- primary and secondary
7. Hearing Screening
8. Oral Mech Exam
9. Cognition
10. Behavioral observations- any concomitants?

You will write up your report using the information from those assessments above.  You will also include types of stutters, strengths and weaknesses, secondary behaviors, level or stage of stuttering, risk factors, and temperament.

For treatment, I believe it's important to discuss the client's beliefs about stuttering.  What is stuttering in his/her own words? What fears do they have?  It's important for the client to be open and honest about it and for you, as a clinician, to be open and honest back.

Some treatment goals for you to consider:
1.  For fluency shaping- reduce the frequency of stuttering.  This would be carried out by increasing awareness of stuttering, modeling new speech behaviors, and using positive reinforcement.

2. For stuttering modification- reduce the abnormality of stuttering.  This would be carried out by encouraging the person to correct the stutter immediately, change it while it's happening, or teaching them how to start a word smoothly to begin with.

Ok those are the BASICS!  I am NOT an expert on this topic at all.  This is just what I have learned from one client I had this year.  For more information, please consult The Stuttering Foundation.

Today I have TWO amazing giveaways for you.  The first is from my friend Shannon over at Speechy Musings.  She created this huge packet just for fluency goals.  There are really cute graphics to use as visual aids too!  Check it out here.

Enter the rafflecopter here:
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The second giveaway is from my friend Lauren over at Busy Bee Speech!  She has another great fluency packet!!  This one is called Fluency Tools, which is another great visual aid for our fluency friends!! Check it out here.

Want this packet? Enter the rafflecopter below:

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Evidence-Based Practice for Social Skills {1000 Likes Celebration Day 3}

Continuing on with the celebration for 1000 likes, I asked Abby to talk about some strategies for social skills and pragmatics.  This is an awesome post with lots of evidence-based practice ideas!! So here we go with Day 3- take it away, Abby! 

Yesterday's winner-Breana O.  Congrats!  You will be emailed by the end of the week! 

Hi! I'm Abby and I am the author of Schoolhouse Talk! I was thrilled when Carissa reached out to me and asked if I would help her celebrate reaching 1000 'likes' on her facebook page. What an awesome milestone Carissa - congratulations! Today I will be sharing a brief overview of some strategies for training social skills.

Social Skills are defined as socially acceptable learned behaviors. These skills are important because they bring about positive responses from others when we interact. Many children want to form meaningful relationships but may not have the skills to do so. A lack of such skills can result in anxiety and social isolation, poor academics, substance abuse, and even suicide in extreme cases. Social skills are not just for students with autism spectrum disorder, and should be taught in every environment a child enters.
The students we work with can have difficulty in skill acquisition (i.e. learning the skills they don't have) as well as skill performance (using the trained skills they have). When training skill acquisition, the best instruction stays within the zone of proximal development (ZPD). The ZPD is the range of skills between what a child is able to do independently, and the skills the child can do with support.

SOCIAL NARRATIVES:
Social narratives is a strategy for teaching specific social skills or concepts by presenting the skill in the form of a story. Social narratives are perfect for serving as a primer, which helps make a child aware of a skill, transition, new activity, or routine. Social narratives are often written by breaking a task down into smaller steps. Narratives should be written so the child wants to read them, should be written at the same level a child is reading at or able to understand, and should use flexible terms such as "may" or "might" instead of more rigid terms such as "must" or "will". Carol Gray has many examples of well-written Social Stories on her website.

We can combine social narratives with behavioral rehearsal, or role-playing, for maximum effectiveness. When incorporating role-playing into training, we are then able to target both "thinking" about a skill and "doing" the skill.

If you'd like to learn more, this website does a nice job explaining social narratives, and also provides links to additional resources.

PROMPTING:
Prompts are support and assistance that is provided to help a student experience success. Prompts can take many forms, such as physical touch, modeling, verbal prompts, gestural prompts, or natural prompts. An example of a natural prompt is someone saying, "Hello." When working with your students, you want to use the least supportive prompt necessary in order to ensure success. Remember, students need to be attending to a situation in order to perform the appropriate or expected response. So many times, students' attention should be prompted prior to prompting their behavior. That prompt for attention may be all the student needs to refocus and perform the desired behavior. Fade your prompts as quickly as possible once a student is responding. An easy way to fade prompts is to pair a more supportive prompt with a less supportive prompt, then fade away the more supportive prompt.

PEER MENTORS:
Peer mentors are another great way to help train social skills in a more natural set-up than child/therapist interactions can provide. Basically, peer mentors are trained to appropriately initiate and respond to their peer. Now the adult therapist can facilitate the play, but is not directly part of the interactions, resulting in significantly reduced prompts to the student! Peer mentors should be a similar age to the student, should demonstrate adequate social skills, and should also have a history of getting along well with your student. I think this is such a great way to train social skills! When I go to a classroom to pull students, there are always some peers who beg me to take them too. Now I have a good excuse to agree! Remember to get parent permission before selecting peer mentors to train. Another good idea is to choose a couple "generalization peers" to see how trained skills and interactions transfer to other 'novel' children. This publication from the Vanderbilt-Minnesota Social Interaction Project is an excellent explanation of incorporating social skills training and peer mentors in the classroom. Are any of you using peer mentors in your practice?

VIDEO MODELING & VIDEO SELF-MODELING
Video modeling is a highly effective strategy for students with autism due to the strength of visual cues vs. auditory cues for these students. Students are shown short videos which demonstrate appropriate and successful target behaviors. Much like athletic teams have been studying videos, this technique is now moving into the classroom! These videos should be positive and focus on success, and should be 1-2 minutes in length so your students can retain the information in memory.
When using video self-modeling, your students are the stars! You can record your student participating in social interactions. You can even provide prompts and instructions to the student while recording, but then edit those prompts out before showing the video to your student. That way, the final cut that your student watches shows him or her performing a desired behavior successfully. How powerful for a student to see! Remember, keep the videos positive and focus on performing behaviors successfully!


So that's it - four effective evidence-based techniques for introducing social skills and training behaviors! Thank you so much for allowing me to share on Home Sweet Speech Room today! Congratulations on 1000 Facebook 'likes' - WOW! (Schoolhouse Talk is also on facebook, twitter, and instagram!)

Thanks so much, Abby!  Hope you all learned a lot from this post and that it will be helpful to you!! 

Today, I also have TWO great giveaways for you- One from If Only I Had Super Powers and another from Let's Talk Speech Therapy.

CC from If Only I Had Super Powers generously donated her new Space Hero Social Skills unit for one lucky reader to win!  It looks awesome!! Check it out here for more pictures and info.  Enter the rafflecopter below for a chance to win!

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Rachel at Let's Talk Speech Therapy is giving away one copy of Building Conversation to a lucky reader!! It's simply adorable.  Check out more pictures and info here and enter the rafflecopter below for a chance to win!

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Classroom Organization Part 2 {1000 Likes Celebration Day 2}

Day 2 of 1000 Likes Celebration Week!! Thank you so much for your love and support throughout this blogging adventure and this week!  I hope you're enjoying your "SWEET" treats this week!!   Thanks to Kristine from Speak Listen Play for writing a post today about classroom organization! 

Yesterday's winner is: Deidre E.  You will be emailed by the end of the week! Congrats! 

I first want to congratulate Home Sweet Speech Room on 1,000 Facebook Likes! What a HUGE accomplishment! Our SLP online community rocks and we are proud to be apart of it!

Let's talk about organization. I know speechies tend to be type A, OCD and I am no different. Am I the only one who is always looking for the most efficient ways to organize and set-up my classroom? I love looking inside other SLP's offices or classrooms! Here is a peak at mine:

I am blessed and have a huge classroom! I don't necessarily have a theme, but I love bright colors and polka dots. This past year I hung lanterns and the kids have really enjoyed them. My biggest tip is to LABEL everything. If you look closely at the pictures, you will be able to see I have labels everywhere.

 
Along the counter, I store language games/materials by different goals we target in therapy (following directions, sequencing, categories, verbs, pronouns, etc). The file folder organizer stores articulation games by month/season. I love being able to quickly grab materials for therapy. I also find that by keeping things out in the open, I don't forget to use materials I have printed/laminated.

The vanilla folders in the back are sorted by sound and contain homework for students. This allows me to be able to quickly grab individual homework for kiddos when I have no planned ahead.

Check out my blue homework box. I keep student's completed homework in here. Sometimes it is nice to share with parents at IEPs or conferences how much (or how little) is returned. The green bin contains pens, pencils, notepads, etc. The pink bin stores extra sticker charts and stickers as well as extra homework folders for new students. Dry erase markers and boards are kept in the blue bin. The orange bin has all the articulation games for the previous months (I have too many to store in one spot!).

I love the shelves! I am actually in the process of making curtains for them. The shelves store all of the game pieces, oral motor tools, articulation cards and fun decks. On top of the shelves, you can see master artic binders, my attendance / goals book, and common core vocab binders. The master articulation binders were put together by my speech department as one of our professional goals. These allow me to make copies of the sounds I need without going through all my workbooks/cds. In the stacked 3 black trays, I keep extra attendance sheets and data forms as well as homework for the current week.

As I take attendance, we do a quick 3-5 minute phonemic awareness activity. This can be anything from initial sound fluency, rhyming, or sounding out words. I call this time "Sound Factory". It is meant to keep the student's engaged while I am prepping for therapy. It also helps me know how the students are coming along with these skills that can be affected by speech and language disorders (I work with Kindergarteners).

I'm a little embarrassed to show you my desk.. things can get messy here despite my efforts to keep things organized! My desk is where I keep student files and current evals (and anything else I throw on it). On top of the file cabinet behind me I keep all the special education forms, screening/eval forms, the screening binder. Make sure you highlight MASTER on all of your originals. There is nothing worse than using your last copy.

Inside the filing cabinet, I store therapy materials by themes/goals, parent resources, and a few random stuff. Things that I do not have time to get to goes in the colored boxes (labeled:) - things like filing, copying, laminating. This helps me stay a little more organized.

The first picture is where I keep all my visual aide stuff (pecs books, velcro, pictures, bulletin board sets, posters I've made, decorations). The second picture is of the cupboards behind my desk. In here I keep preschool toys that I do not use often, graduate school info, and games.

The cool down spot is for any friend who may need some time to think about their choices or calm down. There is a timer the student can set (this gives the student more control and helps them learn responsibility/ownership of their coices) and they can return to our activity when they are ready. The bookshelf holds various books, workbooks, and binders. I have supervised many students and I recommend typing up a master inventory list and numbering them. That way when people borrow materials it is much easier to keep track of what you are missing.

I have a few more shelves in the next picture, but I wanted to show you the charts along the white board. I loved the idea from Heard In Speech and so do my students! They color in their progress after each session - this is a great visual to help them understand how they are doing in therapy.

There is my speech room! Thanks for checking it out! How do you organize/set-up? I hope you have found the pictures/tips helpful! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

About the author
Kristine is a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist that works in the schools in Grand Rapids, MI and coauthor of Speak Listen Play. You can find her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and TeachersPayTeachers.

Now for a giveaway--organization related!  Natalie Snyders generously donated a copy of her SLP Binder Organizer for one of you to win!! Check out more details here and enter the rafflecopter below for a chance! 

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Classroom Organization Part 1 {1000 Likes Celebration Day 1}

Day 1 of 1000 Likes Celebration Week!! Thank you so much for your love and support throughout this blogging adventure!  I have some "SWEET" things lined up for you this week, so please check back daily for giveaways and helpful posts!  Thanks to Maureen from The Speech Bubble for writing a post today about classroom organization! 

A place for everything and everything in its place. Isn't that a lovely thought. In reality thought, it becomes more like organized chaos and hoping that what your looking for is where you think you left it. So how can we tame our rooms? Here are a few easy ways to set up your speech room to make things easier to find and manage.

Cabinets and Shelves

If you have cabinets in your room, you are a lucky SLP! These are great space savers and easy to organize. If not, no worries. If you have a book shelf it will work just as well. I recommend allocating each shelf for a specific area: artic, language, games, books, etc. Since these tend to have a good amount of height and depth between the shelves you can maximize the space quite well. Start by using a piece of masking tape with the shelf type ( artic, language, etc ) written on it. Then simply sort your materials onto the proper shelves. If you have enough height you can use mesh, wire bins that you can get from Target, Walmart, Office Max, etc. These can be stackable and great storage for little items in these spaces like extra chipper chat chips, dry erase markers, card decks, etc.

           

If the cabinets or shelves in your office are metal you can use that your advantage as well. You can find little magnets at just about any craft store. They come with and without adhesive, use the without adhesive kind. Even though they are small, they have holding power. If you have any Fun Decks ( those great activity cards from Super Duper ) that you frequently use, you can use the magnets to place them on the outside of your cabinet or bookshelf for quick, easy access. Over the door shoe organizers are also great for storing Fun Decks. Here is a post from Speech Room News for a great example. If you do not have cabinets or shelves in your room you can find some great deals on plastic shelving units at Walmart. I got some right after I graduated and they are still in one piece.

Filing Cabinets

It can sound like a no brainer but labeling your filing cabinets is a huge help. Make sure that each cabinet is labeled with what it holds: screening and testing forms, student files, handouts, etc. It really does help when your in a hurry.

Storing TpT Materials

      
I love the activities I get from TpT! How can we store them since they don't come in nice, sturdy boxes you can stack up? I have seen a couple of ways of storing them that I really like. First off, LAMINATE! I know laminating sheets can be expensive by it is worth it. You can find great deals on them at wholesale stores like Sam's Club and Costco. Next place your activity in either a gallon, ziploc bag or large manila envelope. If you use the envelope, tape or staple the cover page of the activity to the outside of it so you can find it quickly. So you are all laminated and bagged, now what? First, decide how you want your activities grouped, all language, all artic, seasonal, etc. Here are some great examples of how to store your activities. 1. You can use plastic milk crates to organize your activities. Just put a label on each crate so you know what it holds: artic, pronouns, pragmatics... 2. You can get some awesome Rubbermaid bins that have an inner lip. They are great for holding file hangers. You can put your file hangers in the bin and the activities in the file hangers. I like these containers because they come with lids, so if you travel these are great. Crazy Speech World has a great post about using these, check it out HERE.

  Speech Table
            
 We all know that table. Kidney table, horseshoe table, table where you spend 95% of your day, etc. Keep a small basket with post its, markers/crayons, pens, pencils, scissors, and glue sticks on it for quick easy access. The less you have to get up for items the better.

 Desk/Bulletin Board
          
Getting some stackable, mesh, wire baskets can help keep the clutter way down. Busy Bee Speech has some cute and free labels you can use to help organize and keep things in there place. Click HERE to check them out. If you have a bulletin board make sure you tack up important phone numbers and contact information, calendars, flyers, etc. You can get some really cute thumb tacks to use too, because hey, we still want our rooms to be cute :)    

A BIG thanks to Maureen for that amazing post.  I hope you found it helpful!  

Now.....an AWESOME giveaway from All Y'all Need.  They are giving away one copy of their new Chalkboard and Bright Bulletin Board Set to a lucky reader!!  To see more pictures of this product, click here. Enter the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win it!! Note: You only have ONE day to enter!  

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