How an SLP and OT Collaborate Long-Distance

  As speech-language pathologists, we all experience stories of working as an interdisciplinary team. In this story,  co-treatment brought us together and keeps us in touch today. Our relationship naturally affected us professionally, but personally as well. This story shares some of my adventures—I’m Stephanie Sigal, an SLP in Manhattan, with my friend and colleague Michelle Bonang, an occupational therapist in Vermont. Together, we teach each other invaluable skills. First During the winter of 2005, we both provided in-home treatment to children in Manhattan. A father of a client we both saw asked us to collaborate. “Ethan,” age 2, worked on fine and sensory motor skills with Michelle, while I worked with him on articulation and oral motor skills. Michelle and I instantly clicked and started carrying over each other’s treatment activities to meet Ethan’s goals. Michelle helped emphasize speech goals by addressing target articulation sounds in play. She already used Chewy Tubes for sensory purposes, but now, instead of asking Ethan to simply chew on the tubes, he followed regimented rules to improve jaw strength, stability, symmetry and tongue retraction. In addition, Michelle taught me positioning and seating necessary for increasing Ethan’s core strength and posture. These modifications increased his breath control for speech. I began using a therapy ball for sensory-based input to improve overall affect, attention and speech. We addressed Ethan’s goa...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech Therapy Authors: Tags: Speech-Language Pathology Apraxia of Speech Childhood Apraxia of Speech Early Intervention Language Disorders Professional Development Speech Disorders Source Type: blogs