Steps for Keeping Students ’ Skills Sharp Over Summer

Speech-language pathologists understand the havoc transitions can wreak on speech-language progress and performance. Everything from weather to a change in routine can produce obstacles to generalizing skills or bolstering performance. So when summer comes around, it’s key to give students tools to minimize the disruption caused by a few months away from treatment. Empowering our students and their families with creative, functional ideas to maintain and generalize skills into their daily routines can help them keep up skills over the summer break. Here are three steps that work for me in tackling the summer transition for students: Step 1. Make sure students understand their goals and the skills they should practice and why. Understanding of and active participation in the treatment process is critical to the transition of skills. Even our preschool students generally get why they need to work on their skills. For example, “You say a lot of important things. We need to work on your /k/ sound. I want to understand you when you are asking for a cookie or talking about your cars.” Step 2. Make sure students know how to self-monitor target skills, and give them assignments for skills in which they already exhibit proficiency. A proficiency of 80% accuracy at a given level is a good place to provide home activities. Even practicing a sound in isolation or scripting functional language by a parent or caregiver can be helpful in maintaining and generalizing skills. Use your c...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech-Language Pathology Authors: Tags: Private Practice Schools Slider Speech-Language Pathology Early Intervention Language Disorders Speech Disorders Source Type: blogs