Major Speech Pathology Fun with a Side of Gluten Free: The "I didn't go" ASHA Blog Hop!

This was a fun blog hop made up of some of the bloggers that couldn't make it to ASHA this year! We are all so jealous! I've always wanted to go to ASHA! Maybe next year! My sister lives in Denver, so it might be a good opportunity to visit her AND attend ASHA =)

If I were to present at ASHA, I would present on the topic of adapting materials to fit every student. It's amazing what I can do with any material and any student. Often the items I buy from big box companies or TPT, I adapt to fit all the students in a particular group even their particular goal isn't addressed in that particular activity. For example, take my emotions packet that just entered my TPT store. I used that all day with my junior high students. The packet obviously addresses primarily social skills/emotions, however, in the packet there are areas where questions are asked. I had all the students complete a section of the packet. We spoke about all the answers written. If a student was working on grammar, then I might collect data that session on their grammatical accuracy when writing sentences. If a student is working on articulation, then when the student states the answer to one of the questions, I assess their intelligibility with whichever speech sound the student is working on. Of course, I do not do this every session, BUT it is nice when I am using a themed activity or an activity that all of my students can benefit from even though their particular IEP goals aren't specifically targeted. Another reason I feel this benefits my students is because I feel that this makes addressing their goals more "real life". Sometimes the biggest learning opportunities come from working on a goal indirectly ESPECIALLY with my junior high students.

I hope this little bit helps you in your speech room! I really do feel like flexibility is the easiest way to make your life as a speech pathologist 1000X easier =)

OK now for your letter =)