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Putting Louisiana in Your Mouth

Putting Words in Your Mouth

A place for all things speech and language...with a Cajun twist

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It’s Monday and it’s the holidays which means we could all use a group hug. Plus, we SLPs should know more than anyone that words are POWERFUL.
🗣
This is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, but for many, it’s a painful time. If that’s you, my heart goes out to you.
❤️
Also, if you work in schools (and many other workplaces I’m sure), it’s a STRESSFUL time. As the Beatles said, we get by with a little help from our friends. Kids aren’t the only humans who need lots of positive reinforcement. We all do! Spread some encouragement today (and everyday).
🤗
If you want to send encouragement to someone you won’t see today, you’re welcome to TAG them HERE and make their day with some words of support.

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Isn’t play therapy the best? You might remember my little wooden Halloween houses. I was able to find some Christmas ones (and Santa’s sleigh) too! Scroll to see some nice $1 alternatives from @dollartree, too! This week I used these to work on tons of articulation and language skills using tiny figurines and mini objects. I’ll share how I used them with my clients in hopes you might be able to take away something you can use with yours!
1️⃣ 1 & 2 part directions “Put Woody in Santa’s sleigh” or “Put Pikachu in Santa’s sleigh and fly it to the window.” 2️⃣ Directions with modifiers..”Put the kitten inside and the turtle on top.” I like to model similar scenarios first. “Oh I’m putting the mouse behind the triangle house.” Or “Look, I put all the animals on top of the elves’ workshop! Don’t fall down, animals!”
3️⃣ Who questions...”oh I wish I could get some hot chocolate at the hot cocoa café. Who is there?” or “Who is in Santa’s sleigh now?” Always model the correct answer if they don’t respond or don’t answer correctly. Then ask again!
4️⃣ Where questions...”Oh no, where is Dora? I can’t find her.” So many of my kids say “THERE she is!” That’s the perfect time to say, “Yes, she was under the sleigh. WHERE was she?” Repetition, repetition, repetition. Little minds need time for concepts to soak in.
5️⃣ Articulation...for my artic & phono clients, we play hide & seek with minis. I hide my eyes & let them hide an animal or figure. Then I guess where it is. They can tell me yes/no/wrong/right/correct/incorrect or even “no way, José!” I give them response choices that match their phoneme goals. Sometimes it’s wacky,and that’s okay. If they’re working at the phrase or sentence level, I condition them to respond “Yes, it’s..” or “No, it’s not in the _______” to increase the likelihood of their phoneme being used and this also comes in handy when they have to start answering in complete sentences at school. We both take turns hiding & finding while I take data. It never gets old for them. Don’t forget that play is also a great way to take data regarding articulation in spontaneous conversation.🗣🗣🗣
Any other ideas? I’d love to hear yours!

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We are trying to be intentional about giving & serving this Christmas. I thought you may want some ideas, too. 💚❤️ I have to admit, though, that I don’t plan to offer a neighbor to hang their Christmas lights today.🤷🏻‍♀️ I’ll start back up tomorrow. 😉 #loveoneanother #putchristinchristmas

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Thank you for supporting mine. Let me tell you about what you’ve done for my family. I haven’t told this story anywhere, but today seems to be the right day to do it. One year ago my husband (unexpectedly and through no fault of his own) lost his job. He has a college degree and works in the medical field. We thought he’d have a new job within a week. That didn’t happen. In fact, despite an impressive resume and decades of experience, it took 3 months for him to even get an interview. Louisiana has the highest unemployment rate in the country, you see. A new job (with significantly less pay) didn’t happen for over 3 scary months. This was at the same time I was on medical leave recovering from spine surgery. We spent the holidays and rang in the New Year with heavy hearts and a very scant income. That’s where YOU came in. If it were not for your support of my small business & lots of Jesus, I truly don’t know how we would be. Your purchases paid my son’s college tuition and expenses (which is so appropriate since he is a future SLP). Your purchases allowed me to later retire without fear of the future. Your purchases validate me as a working speech language pathologist. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I truly say a prayer of thanks for every purchase big and small. ❤️
#smallbusinesssaturday #smallbusinesssaturday @tpthq #tpt #schoolslp #slpblogger #slpsontpt

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I hope you were surrounded by family or friends today ❤️ and basked in the glow of gratitude, butter and brown sugar 😛. Boy, am I thankful for my cooking crew! We came, we cooked, we conquered, we toasted, we loved up on each other, and we gave thanks. 🙏🏻Noticed I’ve been off of IG this week? I took some time off to just BE. Happy holidays to all reading this. I’m thankful you’re here. 🥰

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Good morning! Who else is off today!? 🙋‍♀️
I’ve got my:
Blanket✅
Coffee in cup from hubby✅
Fire going🔥✅
Good book✅
This is my kind of morning! What are YOU up to this morn?
Just out of curiosity, any other @reidromance fans out there? (@gypsyslp turned me on to this greatness) 📚❤️

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It’s #therapythursday & here is a mini recap of this week!
1️⃣ I used a big cup & some figures (Woody, Dora, & some girls) to work on positional concepts, pronouns, answering “where,” & asking questions.My kids thought it was so amusing.I put the figures in locations while my clients closed their eyes. BTW, yes, they totally peeked. We targeted in/inside, next to/beside, behind, under, on top, & off. After placing the figures, I would ask “Where is Woody?,” (etc.) I reinforced correct answers & shaped incorrect answers or modeled/taught the concept as needed.Then I would close my eyes and let them position the figures & tell me when they were “ready!”(They loved when it was time for me to close my eyes. I was just thankful no one ran from the room.)For children also working on asking questions, if needed, I would prompt, “What do you want to know?”or“What can you ask me?” When I answered, it was the ideal opportunity to model pronouns: “She is in front of the cup, and he is inside the cup!” or “They are in the cup, and he is next to the cup.” Before long one little guy was using the pronouns, too! I love when kids soak up modeling! OH, be sure to answer incorrectly sometimes. The way they respond is eye opening. This was a fun, low prep activity that had them giggling and spurred lots of language.
2️⃣ For my little princesses, I stuffed a “princess purse” full of mini objects so we could work on final consonant deletion & plosives. Pulling objects out of the purse one at a time was simple but exciting for them & it got them tons of practice with their goals.
3️⃣ We also fed the turkey lots of yummy words.It’s fun to use any artic cards on hand- or objects- they don’t have the be the cards that come with the activity. Those turkeys will eat anything apparently. This is another activity that can get you those 100 trials in a session. Yes, even with a preschooler.
4️⃣ Finally, we dotted turkeys with artic targets on them. It’s easy, mess free & got me all the reps!! I sent those home to practice all during Thanksgiving week. I’m currently so grateful for parents who really do the speech homework! 💚 I’m also thankful for YOU. Thanks for following along!

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This doormat at one of the daycares I go to tickles me every single time! 👶👭👬
😂
It would be perfect for a school or private practice, too! Any of you need this at your own house?

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I’m a bit alarmed by how many #schoolslp friends needed talking off the ledge today. The last few days before a break are 🤪!! It doesn’t help that our state IEP system got hacked 😱. Y’all, listen up... just do the best you can. That’s all you can do. Besides, Friday is coming to save you. Take a hot bath, have an adult beverage (or a cookie), and {insert your own coping mechanism here}. Joy comes in the morning (and if not, at least you’re better equipped to shovel the BS).
💙
Drop a 👍🏼 if you’re doing okay, and your emoji of choice if you’re NOT 😳.
Y’all got momma Mia all worried over here!

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