The Speech Umbrella: It's Not Just About Talking Good

Show Notes

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The mysterious world of speech therapy extends far beyond correcting pronunciation errors. In this eye-opening conversation with Speech Language Pathologist Eliana Rodriguez, we discover the vast "speech umbrella" covering everything from articulation and grammar to social language and alternative communication methods.

Rodriguez reveals how speech therapists serve as crucial "gatekeepers" in child development, often being the first professionals to identify communication challenges in young children. She dispels common misconceptions, particularly the fear that augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices might prevent verbal speech development. Using a brilliant comparison, she explains how children who repeat phrases from videos can similarly learn from communication devices, opening worlds of expression for those who struggle to communicate verbally.

The magic of effective speech therapy lies in meeting children where they are. Rodriguez describes getting down on the floor with nonverbal children, following their interests to build rapport, and creating personalized interventions based on what motivates each child. These child-led approaches transform therapy into engaging play while achieving critical communication goals.

Parents struggling with whether to pursue speech services will find reassurance in Rodriguez's compassionate advice: trust your instincts, seek early intervention, and don't let pride or misconceptions stand in the way of getting help. The collaboration between speech therapists, teachers, and parents creates a powerful support system that can dramatically improve a child's ability to connect with the world.

Have concerns about your child's communication development? May is AAC Awareness Month with devices up to 50% off. Don't wait to explore resources that could transform your child's ability to express themselves and engage with others.

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What is Life in the IEP Tribe?

Join us as we dive into the world of special education with two educators who have walked the same path as many of you. In addition to teaching in self-contained and collaborative settings, our hosts bring a unique perspective to the challenges and triumphs of raising a special needs child. From classroom strategies to heartfelt family moments, they offer practical advice, empathy, and a community of support. Discover how their personal experiences can shed light on your journey and gain valuable insights into navigating the complexities of special education both in and out of the classroom. Welcome to the tribe!

Speaker 1: we are now currently
uh, let's see midway through

april.

Down here where we live in
southeast georgia, we are less

than a month of school days away
from summer, and for that I'm

incredibly grateful.

It's not that I don't like the
kids I do.

I love the kids Most of them,
no, all of them.

I really do love the kids.

I love all of them.

But you know, it's really funny
.

I remember when I was younger
thinking, wow, teachers are so

lucky, they like work for the
school year and they get off all

summer.

And yeah, now I understand it a
little bit better.

But something else that is
really cool is that in the

misery of the last month of
school, as we claw and fight and

scrape and scratch our way
through, we get to do that

alongside some really great
people.

Yes, sir, and before we started
, or before I started, working

in the school system, I had no
idea the amount of supports that

are out there for students with
special needs and I always

thought, okay, well, there's a
teacher here and maybe a speech

therapist there.

But what we're finding out, the
more and more we talk about

this stuff and get people to
come talk with us, is that there

is an entire nation of people
out there that are like linking

arms to help support these
students, and it's super cool

Just yet another one of the
fantastic people that we get to

do this whole loving kids with
and walk in hand in hand and

sometimes dragging each other
across the finish line, because

you know what it's a hard job
working with kids.

And so, laura, I'm going to let
you go ahead and introduce this

week's guest, All right.

Speaker 2: So this week we are
talking with one of our

co-workers slash friends at work
.

She's a speech and language
pathologist that works with many

of our kids.

We call her Miss Ellie Eliana
Rodriguez and I tell you,

everybody loves to go to Miss
Ellie's class.

We even have kids that cry when
they have to leave.

Everybody loves to go to Miss
Ellie's class.

Speaker 1: We even have kids
that cry when they have to leave

, because Miss Ellie, she'll get
on the floor with the kids and

she will just tap into their
needs and their wants and their

abilities and it's infectious,
because even kids that she

doesn't serve want to go see her
.

Speaker 2: It's like, well, come
on, it's true, so yeah.

So this episode we have Miss
Ellie and we'll probably call

you that all episode.

Speaker 1: That's how it's going
to roll.

Speaker 2: Miss Ellie.

So, just like I called Jared Mr
Curtis a lot too, that's fine,

well good, um, well good.

So you know, you were talking
about not knowing that before

you started working in the
school system, jared, that you

didn't realize the amount of
support, and, um, I think that I

think that's a common thing and
I know that me, when I was a

young parent and my child went
to school and they did the

kindergarten screening, that
they were like, well, I think

that maybe he could benefit from
some speech services, because

he kind of is a little nasal and
I'm like, ok, well, first of

all, it's, if it's, I think it's
hereditary, I think it's

hereditary.

And second, I don't think I
need him pulled out of classroom

because he, you know, has a
speaks through his nose a little

bit and I didn't understand
what it was.

So, but I think a lot of people
have that also, that

misconception that that, miss
Ellie, that all you do is help

kids talk, right, I don't think
that they understand.

Speaker 1: Send them to Ellie so
they can talk good yeah.

Speaker 2: We're just going to
teach them how to talk.

I don't think they understand
the vast array of the

multifaceted thing of speech and
language pathology.

So probably throwing a
curveball a little bit, but you

go ahead and let us know, tell
us what you do with our kids and

not just telling them, you know
, teaching them how to use their

words, like speak, correctly.

Speaker 3: Yeah, so speech, we
have such a huge scope of

practice, like we call it the
speech umbrella, where we do

like we can target so many
different things and that's how

we learned it in grad school.

Like the speech umbrella you
have, yes, helping kids speak

correctly because they have the
sound errors, then they're hard

to understand.

Um, that goes under like
articulation and phonology,

because there's some patterns
and there's some letter

recognition and phonemic
awareness that they don't have

and that's just like in one
little segment.

And then we have more like
grammar and syntax, where they

don't use the correct verb
tenses or leave the S at the end

of plurals and using the
correct pronouns for certain

things.

Like it's a whole language is
just such a huge.

There's so many things in
language and then we can talk

about like social skills and
social language and the

pragmatic stuff and
comprehension questions, and

speech and language is a huge.

We have a huge scope of
practice is the short answer to

that.

And and yes, most of the time
when people think speech like oh

, it's just sound errors, right,
or my kid doesn't speak at all,

like it's just like those two
things and that's it.

And that's where we first come
in and I like to say, like

speech language pathologists are
like the gatekeepers.

Because that's yeah, seriously,
because when you first see a

kid in kindergarten because
luckily this school district

does mass screeners for pre K
and kindergarten, so we do get

to see these kids like really
early on, and the first thing

that we see is like, oh, there's
a need in speech or language or

both at the same time.

And we do look at fluency,
which is like stuttering and

stuff like that, and we do
listen to your voice and your

nasality, because there's can be
some structural things going on

in there, but not that we can
see, but we can hear it.

And we can then tell parents
like, hey, you might want to go

see an ENT for this or you know,
but like that's why I say we're

like the gatekeepers, because
we get to see these kids first

and then we can help parents and
refer them out and see where

they need to go from there.

Does that answer that question?

Absolutely it does nasality.

Speaker 1: I think that's gonna
be the name of my next band,

nasality, right opening for
metallica you can't talk like

that.

Speaker 2: if your band's
nasality though, You're going to

have to talk like me.

Speaker 1: Okay, well, I'll do
my best.

Speaker 2: So, talking about the
mass screenings, what do you

typically find that is the most
common speech and language

challenge for our elementary age
students.

Speaker 3: A lot of these kids
have never received services

before, so like they've never
received early intervention at

all.

And then we catch them in pre-K
or we catch them in

kindergarten, because some kids
here in Georgia there's a pre-K

lottery and not everyone gets in
, so then we don't really see

them until kindergarten, so
that's like a whole like we

don't see them until they're
five years old.

You still have from birth to
five, and they're just behind on

their sounds, or they're behind
on, you know, following simple

directions or stating opposites,
you know, or they don't know

their colors or their letters or
their letter sounds.

There's like so many things
that we catch in kindergarten

from these mass screeners and
when we tell parents like, hey,

they, you know, they failed this
area of the language screener,

we're going to recommend some
interventions and we'll see how

those interventions go.

If the data comes back where
they haven't made progress,

we're going to move up and then
we might recommend even testing.

And some parents get caught off
guard when you, when you tell

them this you know, right, yeah.

Speaker 1: I think one of the
things that we see often and I'm

sure you do too is that there's
kind of this natural response

by parents.

I'm going to call it natural
because I think we do see it

often that there's this kind of
pushback because you're telling

me there's something wrong with
my child and, oddly enough,

while it is, while we are
pinpointing certain areas that

they need some assistance in,
the help and the extra support

that they're going to get can
help them to succeed.

And so it's not a you have a
broken child, let us fix you.

It's a hey.

Here's some things that we can
do to help better position your

child for success to help better
position your child for success

, and there's probably some
guilt there too.

Speaker 2: Like you said, it's
not till kindergarten.

Sometimes the parents might say
, oh well, why didn't I catch

this?

But that kind of brings me back
to what Ms McMillan said.

Well, we've gone to school for
this.

We've been trained how to look
for these things where parents

have not.

So I shouldn't feel bad about
that, and I would think that the

parents would kind of you
probably have a broad spectrum

or not a broad spectrum, like
two polar opposites.

So you probably either have the
pushback or the parents are

like do everything you need to
do.

There's probably not a whole
lot in the middle.

Speaker 3: No, I completely
agree, and I was going to say

that, like some parents are like
what my child has what, or

they're having issues with what,
and then they, you know, I'm

like, hey, you can ask me
whatever you want, like call me,

email me and we can go from
there.

But I was like this these are.

I try to inform them as much as
possible of the process, like

from screener to like evaluation
, to after, if they need an IEP

and stuff like that.

I explain the whole process and
and I also tell them, like you

know, depending on what it is
right, if it's like articulation

, phonology, like our goal is to
hopefully have them graduated

by the time they go to middle
school, like that is our goal,

you know.

Um, there's other kids, of
course, that would have to be in

speech a little bit longer, but
there's certain goals that we

tailor to each kid, that we try
to meet them, and some kids get

to be in speeches for a little
bit because they've met, you

know, that gap, and then we get
to dismiss them, and then some

kids that just need a little bit
more time, and then parents

that gives parents a little bit
more time also to come to the

idea, you know that.

Or they have speech, but you
know, maybe there's something

else going on too.

And then so luckily, in this
county we've had parents where

they've been very supportive of
if anything, like yeah, if they

need to pull out more, like,
yeah, let's do it.

Oh, do I need to go to the
doctor?

I'm like, yeah, that's a great
idea.

Always talk to your
pediatrician if you have

concerns.

That's where they catch them
first.

They're supposed to be doing
developmental screeners every so

often and those screeners
answer them, you know,

truthfully.

And that's when they flag
certain things and they tell you

, hey, we should probably refer
your child to speech or

occupational therapy or PT.

Um, and I think some parents
don't always answer those um a

hundred percent truthfully.

Or you know they're like, oh,
yeah, they do them, then do it,

but then they might not do it in
public.

You know there's just a whole
lot of different things that go

into it, but yeah, Right, um,
and like I said, I didn't.

Speaker 2: I didn't understand
it when mine were in elementary

school and you talked about the
interventions and you start with

the interventions and then see
where that goes.

So talk to us a little bit
about that intervention.

What is it?

How do you tailor those
interventions to meet the

students' needs?

Is it something you do?

Do the teachers do it,
everybody do it.

Speaker 3: Yeah.

So it's so funny because each
state has their own process of

RTI or MTSS, now that it's
called.

Each state is different.

Okay, and I I worked in three
different states, so

particularly in this state of
Georgia and in this county, the

way we do that they miss.

Let's just say it's
comprehension questions or WH

questions.

Then we tell the teacher like,
hey, are you seeing this in the

classroom too?

And they're like, yeah, like he
has, they have a really hard

time answering basic questions.

We're like, okay, cool.

So then we write a data sheet
with certain, you know, say

student will answer what
questions, and you know three

out of five opportunities or
something like that, and we

provide a whole packet to the
teachers to do them in the

classroom.

So the teacher will go ahead
and pull that student in small

group and provide those
interventions and collect data.

And that usually takes about.

You know, we try to do six
weeks and then check in and then

if they haven't made any
progress and sometimes we're

like, and sometimes we can tell
with years of experience if kids

need to continue in the tiers
or if we just need to go ahead

and do a straight language
evaluation then we're like, okay

, this is enough to support that
.

We need to go to have a
straight speech and language

eval and get parent consent, and
from there we go ahead and test

them.

But once we get consent, we
have to have a passing vision

and hearing, because we can't
continue testing unless those

two things have passed.

So then that's how the process
will go.

Speaker 2: Okay, I'm just
listening.

I'm like, hey, I'm down with it
.

Yeah, so you also talked about
a lot of times.

The pediatricians are supposed
to be kind of catching the.

You know, maybe we need speech,
maybe we need OT, maybe we need

PT.

So if a child is getting
outside services, can they still

get in-school services?

Absolutely.

Speaker 1: Is it the same thing?

Speaker 3: Yes and no.

You get services by speech
language pathologists who's been

trained and licensed versus by
speech language pathologist

who's been trained and licensed.

Um, the only difference is in
speech, like in school, we

tailor it more to school setting
and then private speech is more

like a functional you know,
life's like functional skills

for life um so, um, so, yeah,
sometimes both of those line up.

So sometimes we might have very
similar goals.

But if you have a student who's
like private speech and you

have a school speech, we look at
the private speech eval.

But we try to have our goals a
little bit different, for

insurance purposes, from the
private setting.

They don't want them to match.

So we have to change ours a
little bit in the school setting

.

Speaker 2: Is it beneficial for
them to have outside and inside

in school therapy?

Speaker 3: I would say the more
the merrier, because in school

we only have a certain amount of
time during the day and you

know, depending on it, we might
see kids two times a week,

sometimes one time a week and if
parents want, you know, to

progress a little bit more, they
need, or some kids are very

severe, they just need that
extra time and the schools.

Unfortunately we can't give
your kids speech therapy five

days a week Because we see like
over 100 and something kids,

versus in private practice you
have a clinician who only sees

like 20 kids, you know, or
something like that.

They can see them two times a
week, three times a week, as

long as your insurance covers it
.

So I say the more the merrier.

Speaker 1: Well, I've always
like one of the things I think I

said this last time too, though
and my dad's always said for

years and years and years you
can never over communicate, and

so I guess getting support to
learn to communicate is equally

beneficial as much as you can
get it Because you know, like we

were saying earlier, it's real
easy to hear speech and think,

okay, you're teaching somebody
how to talk, but it really

doesn't encompass all of
communication, what comes out of

the child's mouth as well as
what goes into their ears and

what they process, and so I
think it's safe to say that.

You know it's okay to ask the
questions and ask the

pediatrician and to talk about
all different, because I know

we've worked together a lot.

You mentioned the WH questions.

A lot of our population that we
work with.

They really struggle with that,
you know.

I don't know how many times, you
know I ask I'll ask a student

how this or where this, and get
the answer yes and no, and it

just doesn't quite match up,
because there's this processing

delay that's coming, you know,
from the person saying you know,

once it hits their ears and
travels to their brain, there's

some things going on there that
are kind of causing speed bumps

and so, and so, yeah, I mean, we
as parents, as teachers, talk

to whoever it is that you want
to talk to, that is in that

field, and allow them to assist
you.

Because one thing that I know
I've learned over my 20 years of

having a son with autism is
that you got to ask questions,

like there is no shame in not
knowing, and so, yeah, if

there's any question whatsoever,
please contact your, your local

authorities.

Where did that come from?

Like that just rolled up in my
head, but it doesn't even make

sense well, I mean authorities,
not necessary police officers,

but the local authorities on.

See, I like how you try to help
me because sometimes I hear

myself talk and I just want to
flog myself.

Local authorities on.

See, I like how you try to help
me, because sometimes I hear

myself talk and I just want to
flog myself.

Anyway, I'm sorry, go ahead.

Speaker 2: Well, and, as Miss
Allie said, the importance of

early interventions.

If they can catch this before
they get to pre-K or

kindergarten, before they're
four or five years old, what's

the benefits of that, miss Ellie
?

Speaker 3: Well, I mean, we just
see, like with any early

intervention, the quicker they
get it, you see progress also at

a better rate.

You know, I know sometimes kids
are very unique and each kid

has its own challenge and their
own rate of you know progress.

So I can't just say a blanket
statement.

But if you catch it early, you
get more help earlier.

Right, parents are more
informed earlier.

They can seek out more help,
more support groups If they need

to.

They can do their own research
ahead of time too.

Um, they can work with their
own child at home as well.

But usually what we see is, with
the early intervention,

depending on what area of speech
, they make progress at a

quicker rate and then they don't
have to be in speech for their

whole life.

For some of the kids, you know
and it's not all of them because

, like I said, there's so many
diagnoses out there A lot of

kids just progress at a
different rate and their

severity is very different.

So I just think early
intervention is good so we can

get these kids communicating the
way they're going to

communicate, because we have
some communicators that are not

verbal communicators but they're
different communicators and

what we like to, you know, I
like to say use your preferred

communication method, right Sign
language.

It can be pictures, what we
call PECs, a picture exchange

communication system, where it's
like a certain picture and you

put it on a board, or you can
put it on certain things or on

buttons, and they just use that.

Or, you know, if it's a more
high-tech communication system,

it can be like an AAC device you
know, and I, you know, a tablet

.

You know there's different ways
of communicating, just not just

a verbal way as well.

Speaker 2: Are there any
strategies that you have found

that or technique that you found
that will help the students

develop their own preferred
method of communication?

Speaker 3: So I try everything.

I think honestly I do.

We start with, you know, signs
first, right, everyone, baby

signs are amazing and great.

You start with those and if the
kid takes off, you continue and

then you start introducing
pictures.

You, the kid takes off, you
continue and then you start

introducing pictures.

You know, it's like kind of
like a tier you know, baby signs

, because signs and gestures are
there.

Then you go with pictures and
then you can do like a button

where it's pushing and then you
go ahead and do like a tablet

and then hopefully from there
it's hopefully verbal right,

because all parents want their
kids, if they're nonverbal, to

eventually be verbal.

Everyone's like parents go and
I'm like, yes, that's obviously

my goal too.

However, sometimes it takes a
long time to get to the verbal

part and we need something in
the meantime.

Speaker 2: Right.

Speaker 3: And those other
communication systems.

Helps, because it helps reduce
frustrations on both ends you

know the kids and the parents.

Then, because the parents are
just doing 21 questions or or,

luckily, some parents are so in
tuned with their kid that they

just know like hey, he's looking
this way, this is what he?

Wants you know, or they know, a
certain tone and all that.

He wants this you know, parents
are just so in tune with their

kid that they don't even use
communication systems.

And then you have to educate
them on the benefits of using a

communication system.

So it's a lot of education that
we do.

Speaker 2: Right, well, and I
know we talked, when we talked

to Marley last week about this,
and so Xander, didn't?

We, as we were uneducated,
thought that it would hinder him

becoming verbal.

What can you tell us about that
?

Speaker 3: him becoming verbal.

What can you tell us about that
?

Yes, and that's a very common
feeling that a lot of parents

have.

Like, every time I present that
to them, they're like oh no,

like, no, this is going to make
them stop speaking.

They're not going to want to
speak, and I always have to show

them like an example.

I'm like, well, does your kid
like watch a video on the TV, on

YouTube, and just imitate that.

And they're like, yeah, I'm like
, well, that's the same concept,

but in a smaller screen and
more functional, right, because

you they see, and I'm just going
to say, like kids on the

spectrum, right, they see, let's
say a video or let's just say a

show on TV, and they will mimic
that.

They this is called gestalt
language, so they just phrase

and then they just keep saying
it and they use it in everyday

language and they'll say it.

So they're imitating that stuff
.

So why not give them a tablet
that has language already in it,

set up for them to be
successful, for a functional

communication language for them
to use?

So it has some buds, like I
want juice, you know, please,

like, help me, like you know, to
get those core language, like

core language words and stuff
like that in their vocabulary so

they can use it and they you'll
be amazed at so many kids that

will push it and then later on
some kids like will immediately

push the button and then imitate
it.

Some kids will just push it and
they are so happy that you just

know what they want.

So eventually it does help with
their vocabulary and their

expressive language.

Speaker 1: That was a fantastic
way to describe it, because I

would never have thought.

I mean, we see kids with
electronic devices all the time

and they'll say the same things
that their favorite YouTuber or

whatever says, and they'll just
repeat it over and over and it's

like oh, wow, yeah, why
wouldn't they do that with this

device, Especially as they learn
.

Hey, when I say what this is
saying or when this says what I

want it to say, oftentimes I can
get what I want and then, like

you said, at the very least I
know I'm being understood and

that's huge.

So one time we were leaving our
oldest son's house.

He lives down in Ocean Way,
Jacksonville, whatever it is.

Anyway, we're leaving his house
and I'm driving and Xander's in

the back seat and Laura's in
the passenger seat, and we drive

down the road and we come to
the road where we need to take a

right.

Well, there's about two or three
Jeeps that pass by and then I

pull in behind them.

And you know, I am not saying
that people need to speed.

What I do ask is that you at
least come close to the speed

limit, close to it.

So I'm behind these Jeeps,
they're not doing the speed

limit and so I'm like you know
what?

It's time for me to pass them.

So I stomp on the gas, we pass
them, and from the back seat I

hear, oh, you need to calm down.

I mean like a whole sentence of
Xander, Xander, what are you

talking?

Because he's seen that on, I
think one of his movies, Was it

Shrek I think it might have been
.

Shrek, but yeah, and that's what
came out and he understood the

context of it and he used it
properly.

Yeah, but so now take that idea
and, like you said, this device

is repeating these words every
day.

I'm hearing it every day and
I'm starting to repeat them and

just the freedom that that can
give any child that struggles

with communicating, that's a
really—I've never thought about

it that way.

Speaker 2: Well, like we talked
last week with Marley, and she

shares, she works with us.

Miss Ellie knows Carson as well
and the difference is made in

his life and his one.

His frustration level has gone
way down.

Two, his communication has gone
way up and the kid's

conjugating verbs on his tablet.

It's like oh, my goodness, so
it's not.

You know, these devices aren't
just like you were saying, it's

not just I want juice.

They can have conversations
with people, with them.

Speaker 3: And we've seen
academic progress as well, and

so yeah, and you know there's
other disorders out there that

your language, you might be
cognitively there and then later

on your regress.

You know, like Stephen Hawking,
you know and you are so

brilliant and so smart and then
your language, your ability to

speak, is gone.

But it's all in your brain.

You just need something to help
you express it.

And he would use a
communication system, absolutely

.

I was like I forget what he had,
like ALS or whatever, and all

his limbs and ability were lost.

But he could eye gaze, you know
, and there's so many different

devices out there Like you use
eye gazing, or you can use like

a um, a little toggle with,
toggle with your hands and you

can move things around, or
there's one with your mouth

where you can blow and certain
amount of movement moves, and

there's so many things out there
.

So it's just, it doesn't hinder
, it just opens up a whole world

for people who just can't
verbally express it.

Speaker 1: Well, and I think we
can all.

Well, I don't say I think we
can all agree.

I'm not a big fan of the
statement that everybody should

have a voice, because there's
people that I hear talk

sometimes and I think to myself
I don't, I don't want to hear

you anymore.

But I will say this when it
comes to our kids and it comes

to their development, just
providing a voice can make a

night and day difference in
their lives, in your life, and

so I would again highly
recommend, if there's any

question, talk to your teachers,
talk to your doctors, and I

also know this is that it is so
much easier to teach somebody to

do something than it is to
un-teach them the wrong way and

then try to re-teach.

And so I think that goes along
with what you were saying, miss

Ellie, about the early
intervention as soon as possible

, and don't do not allow pride
to get in the way.

It's okay to walk up to somebody
that knows about that stuff and

say I don't have a clue.

That's what we're there for,
that's what we want to hear, and

I love the fact that I can go
to other people and say that

very same thing.

I have no idea what I'm
supposed to do in this situation

?

Any direction would help.

So where are we at?

I mean, I know where we're at,
it's just I was looking at our.

Speaker 2: Our cheat sheet.

Our cheat sheet yeah Well, yeah
, I mentioned earlier about how

our kids love going to see Miss
Ellie.

They hate leaving her room.

She gets on the floor and she
meets them where they are.

She gets on the floor and she
meets them where they are.

One of the things that Miss
Ellie is fantastic at doing is

we're incorporating our kids'
interests into their therapy

sessions and to help keep them
engaged and motivated.

Can you talk a little bit about
that, miss Ellie?

Speaker 3: Yeah, it's taken me
some time right, experience that

one out.

But, um, because when first
starting off from, you know,

grad school I've been in this
now for eight years but for

starting off, I'm like, oh,
we're going to do X, y and Z

because this is what the, you
know, assessment says and this

is what we're going to do, and
we're going to write goals this

way.

And you have a kid come in and
they're like, and like they

don't want to answer WH
questions.

I'm like, oh, what am I gonna
do?

Like, how can I get this kid
engaged?

And some, you know, some kids
are super easy.

We're like, hey, we're doing
this, and you know, and other

kids are just not interested in
the task at all.

So what I've learned from all
the years is establishing a good

report.

So, like the first couple of
sessions, I just get to know the

kids.

So I, you know, I ask them, hey
, like, what do you like?

Like, tell me about this, tell
me that you know.

If they're able to, um, and
they can, then I figure out ways

to incorporate those likes into
speech therapy.

So it might be like one kid, um
, is obsessed with mario and um,

I'm like okay, how can I put
mario into speech therapy, um,

so we've done a system where I'm
like, hey, let's work on this,

let's have Mario.

Sometimes I have a printout of
Mario and we move them across

the board and he has to answer
each question and as he answers

these questions he moves on to
the next and at the very end he

gets to color the Mario and take
it home.

Um, so that's one way, but some
of the kids who can't tell me

what they want or need is that's
when you find me on the floor

playing with them.

Um, I I like to say I'm child
led, a child led therapist, so

it's what they like.

I use that and incorporate it
into therapy where they don't

really know that they're giving
you know therapy.

They just think, oh, oh, we're
playing, we're having fun.

What'd you do today?

We just played, just play.

Guys like your parents are
gonna think that's all we do.

But that's kind of how I get
them to engage in therapy, want

to come to therapy, and those
kids are non-verbal.

I'm on the ground and I pull
out all these toys, like I pull

out one toy and see if they like
, and if they don't take it out,

here's another toy until I find
one that they really like and

I'm like, yes, okay, I can build
my rapport, my connection with

this kid, off of this one thing.

And that's kind of what I've
been, you know, using and it's

kind of been really helpful
because they're more, like I

said, eager when they see me,
they want to come and then they

stay and they willing to do the
work.

Um, and then, you know, get to
kick them out.

You still got to go.

Don't want to leave, like you
said, and and for those that

don't, because transitions can
be hard you know I put a timer

on, I'm like, hey, when this
timer's up, that means what and

they all know.

Like what's been really helpful
too is having like set rules and

you set them at the very
beginning of the year, at the

very beginning of each session.

I have my speech room rules
that I go over with every single

new kid that I get and they
don't change.

I'm like this is the same at
the beginning of the year,

middle of the year, end of the
year.

I do not change.

Consistency in that, and they
know.

And a big thing too in speech
is like behavior.

You wouldn't think that we
would have to deal with

behaviors, but we have to deal
with a lot of behaviors and not

just kids who have other
diagnosis.

Sometimes these kids are just
speech only kids and they have

severe behaviors too.

Incorporating like a reward
system has also been very

helpful.

I have a treasure box and I use
like a punch card and I'm like,

if you do all your work, you
follow my rules, you get a hole

punch.

And I'm like, eight hole
punches is a treasure box.

And they seem to be very
motivated by that and and I tell

them like, hey, you, you didn't
follow my rules today, you're

not going to get one and they
know like, oh, I'm so sorry.

I'm so sorry, miss Sally, I'm
like next time let's try to do

it next time.

So I think those key things are
.

What I've learned that worked
for me across the years is kind

of how I get them to engage and
do the stuff and meet them where

they're at too.

Speaker 2: And it seems like
that those good strategies help

you overcome those obstacles.

Like you said, the behaviors or
the not knowing how to

communicate Are there.

Do you have any other?

Are those your major obstacles
or do you have other obstacles

when working with them?

Speaker 3: No, there I mean,
there's a lot of obstacles that

sometimes are new obstacles that
I've never seen in my life.

I'm like, oh, this is a new one
and I have to figure it out.

And what helps is their
teachers too.

I go to them like, hey, I can't
figure out what they like.

I've tried everything.

And I also talk to their
parents too.

And then that's when I get a
list of things like oh, they

like this and this at home.

Or the teacher's like hey, I've
really noticed that they like

this.

And they give me ideas on what I
can use and pull, and sometimes

I have to go out and get some
stuff just for a particular

student, who become a challenge
in figuring it out.

Um, so I would say I use, I use
the parents input on the child,

I use the teachers.

Like there's a specific kid
that we work with that sometimes

I feel like I got them down and
then and then they changed next

week and they don't like
anything.

Speaker 2: Yeah, and that
collaboration is important and

as part of when we share our
students, you're part of our

team as a teacher, as a general
education teacher, and the

parents and any other service
providers, and that

collaboration is is important
because I know there's times

you've come to me and said hey,
so-and-so, really did great in

this today and I said, do what
they can do what.

And so you know, knowing,
sharing, sharing those ideas are

key to serving those students
the way they effectively,

because it takes all of us.

Speaker 3: Yeah, no, I agree,
and I like, like after I have a

session, I always like to talk
to you guys or their teachers

and tell them how they did or
what they did that day, Kind of

on the same page, and that seems
to be very, very helpful, you

know, for the student and then
you know for our relationship to

build to upon.

I think that really, really
helps in the collaborative

setting.

Speaker 1: So, Miss Ellie, if
you could only say one thing to

all three of our listeners that
would stand the test of time,

what would it be?

What would be your one major
piece of advice?

Speaker 3: Become a speech
therapist.

Speaker 2: We definitely need
them.

All the cool kids are doing it.

Speaker 3: Oh no, I mean, I
guess for parents you know, if

you have a gut feeling or
something like that, just go

seek out help, go to your
pediatrician with your concerns,

ask around, find those
resources.

Early intervention, like I said
, is the best you know.

I guess for parents that would
be my first one For teachers,

talk to your speech therapist.

If you just have a concern on a
certain child and you're not

really sure if it's speech
related or something else, you

know we're always available and
we have so much information and

knowledge that we can share and
we're willing to share because

we love to talk.

Speaker 2: While you got into it
right.

Speaker 3: So like if a teacher
would say, hey, if you have a

concern or question, like come,
come see us and we can tell you

which way to go, and if we need
to screen them, we'll do this

and we'll go X, y and Z, so
that's.

And if someone's out there like
, oh, I don't know what to do

with my life, you know, I say,
oh, speech therapy is a great

career path.

Speaker 2: I even, I think that
we even had one of our

administrators say man, I think
I chose the wrong thing.

Speaker 1: Maybe I need to go be
a speech teacher.

Well, what's great, though, is,
at the end of the day you know

all of these titles we all do
come together the parents, the

SLPs, ptot, the teachers we all
come together for the benefit of

that child.

Nobody's driving home in their
Ferraris or anything like that.

We are all about seeing the
progress of these kids and see

them become everything that they
possibly can and get the most

out of life.

Miss Ellie, thank you so much
for hanging out with us.

Speaker 2: We're going to wrap
up this conversation and one

more thing Like we said last
week, don't forget this month

and part of next month they have
the AAC programs.

Yes, Some of them up to half
off.

We posted the flyer on social
media.

Speaker 1: Yeah.

Speaker 2: And we'll probably
share it again after this one

comes out Little secret.

Speaker 1: Miss Ellie was the
one that showed us that.

Speaker 2: She's the one that
gave us that.

We don't tell anybody.

I know I told you so much
information she does.

She's got a wealth of
information.

Speaker 1: All right.

Well, thank you again, miss
Ellie, and we will talk to you

later.

Speaker 2: All right.

Speaker 1: Well, thank you again
, miss Ellie, and we will talk

to you later.