Speech and Language Disorders Blogs This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

Could Mindfulness Practice Be Helpful for People With Aphasia?
Aphasia therapy involves improving receptive and expressive language through traditional language approaches. Over the past few years, some research has started to indicate that non-linguistic factors may also affect auditory comprehension: Distractions that interfere with attention may negatively affect auditory comprehension in people with aphasia. While most treatment approaches focus solely on linguistic deficits, I believe it is helpful to consider how other areas of cognition impact a person’s ability to interpret and produce language. I look to techniques from other disciplines for solutions when working on att...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - January 3, 2017 Category: Speech Therapy Authors: Annie Gatziolis Tags: Speech-Language Pathology Aphasia Language Disorders Source Type: blogs

Games to Support Reasoning and Language Skills
Parents of elementary and middle school children always ask me what they can do at home to carry over skills they learned in treatment. Many of my students learn well through experiences—educational activities include sightseeing, concerts or plays, museum visits, or watching documentaries. Sometimes though, enjoying family-bonding time gets tricky with loud music and screaming fans all around you or while navigating crowds to see an exhibit. And cold winter days are fast approaching. A quiet game night can present an ideal option for a relaxing evening without sensory overload. I find the following language-building ga...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - December 13, 2016 Category: Speech Therapy Authors: Emily Jupiter Tags: Speech-Language Pathology Language Disorders Schools Source Type: blogs

Tips for Engaging a Person With Dementia in Conversation
People with Alzheimer’s or other types of dementia often struggle with initiating and maintaining conversations. As speech-language pathologists, we can help them by leading, prompting and guiding discussions using simple statements and questions. This technique engages the person in meaningful interactions and can yield relevant information. In turn, SLPs can share these details, along with practical tips, to family members and caregivers to help them engage in conversations with their loved one. The goal of treatment for people with dementia involves maintaining their engagement in life, and improving an individual�...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - December 6, 2016 Category: Speech Therapy Authors: Eileen Eisner Tags: Speech-Language Pathology Alzheimer's Attention Memory Training dementia Language Disorders Source Type: blogs

10 (Non-Tech) Holiday Gift Ideas to Promote Kids ’ Language, Learning
The holiday shopping season is upon us and wish lists from children of all ages likely include tablets, MP3 players, headphones and other technology gifts. But audiologists and speech-language pathologists should take advantage of this time to help clients, family and friends find a technology balance and spread awareness about high-quality off-line activities, too. Of course, children who use low- and high-tech augmentative and alternative communication devices (AAC) should continue to use them at all times—and in an interactive way. The holidays provide an ideal opportunity to get back to the basics in childhood play a...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - November 29, 2016 Category: Speech Therapy Authors: Diane Paul Tags: Audiology Speech-Language Pathology Language Disorders Speech Disorders Source Type: blogs

Don ’ t Just Teach the Speech
Co-articulation. Prosody. These are key terms when treating childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). A child with CAS exhibits three main criteria: Inconsistent productions with sounds and/or words. Difficulty with co-articulatory transitions. Errors with prosody (stress, intonation, pitch, rate, volume). SLPs who treat apraxia use principles of motor learning and focus on movement gestures or sound sequences. Recently, I’ve noticed an increase in information about CAS. I think ASHA’s addition of apraxia to its Practice Portal helped. The site states, “the majority of treatment approaches for CAS emphasize movement ...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - November 10, 2016 Category: Speech Therapy Authors: Laura Smith Tags: Speech-Language Pathology Childhood Apraxia of Speech Prosodic Disorders Speech Disorders Source Type: blogs

8 Approaches to In-Classroom Services
We all learn about the benefits of providing in-classroom services for children with speech and language delays. My most compelling reasons to provide services in this natural environment include improving generalization of learned skills and modeling strategies for classroom teachers to use when you’re not there. But how exactly do we do that? I found several different approaches to in-classroom—or even co-teaching—treatment that helped me get results with my students. SLP leads a class lesson. Plan a lesson and present to the whole class. Focus on a topic benefiting all students—including the child with commun...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - November 3, 2016 Category: Speech Therapy Authors: Carrie Clark Tags: Speech-Language Pathology in-classroom service delivery Language Disorders Schools Speech Disorders Source Type: blogs

An Unusual Case of Foreign Accent Syndrome Following TBI
A teenage boy spent three days in a coma after a severe kick to the head while playing goalie in a soccer match. He then woke up speaking Spanish—seemingly fluently—although his primary language is English. Rueben Nsemoh made global headlines recently for this unusual, but not singular, switch in language function after a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Nsemoh previously learned a few Spanish phrases from teammates and his brother, who studied in Spain. So he heard a lot of the language, but never really spoke it until after the TBI. Most of the numerous news outlets and publications that covered the story attribute t...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - November 2, 2016 Category: Speech Therapy Authors: Shelley D. Hutchins Tags: News Speech-Language Pathology Aphasia Language Disorders Traumatic Brain Injury Source Type: blogs

Video on Positive Adult-Child Communication Goes Viral
Atlanta Speech School’s video “Every Opportunity” has gone viral around the country and world. The video stars a young boy who explains how he feels when an adult ignores him or loses patience with him. The story goes on to demonstrate how positive changes in adults’ communication behavior can profoundly affect a child’s vocabulary, language, speech, spelling, reading and other literacy skills to help them prosper into adulthood. Initially picked up by the Huffington Post, the video was then featured on the Scary Mommy blog, and HLN’s Weekend Express interviewed Comer Yates, the school’s executive directo...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - October 6, 2016 Category: Speech Therapy Authors: Barbara Propst Tags: Advocacy Speech-Language Pathology Early Intervention Language Disorders Professional Development Schools Social Media social skils Speech Disorders Source Type: blogs

12 Skills and 5 Household Chores That Build Vocational Skills
Editor’s Note: This blog post originally appeared on Friendship Circle. As a speech-language pathologist, I worked with many older children and adults with varying developmental disabilities without any experience in vocational skills. Why? Most of these individuals can complete these types tasks, but lack the experience. They often lacked encouragement at home to learn basic chores. Successfully completing chores can lead to greater success in vocational settings, especially with regard to taking responsibility and learning to respect authority. Encourage clients and their caregivers to try these five chores at home. T...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - October 4, 2016 Category: Speech Therapy Authors: Rebecca Eisenberg Tags: Speech-Language Pathology Autism Spectrum Disorder Executive Functions Language Disorders Traumatic Brain Injury Source Type: blogs

Create a Path to ASHA Leadership Via Related Professional Organizations
Have you ever wondered how to become a member of the ASHA Board of Directors … or ASHA president, for that matter? It won’t happen overnight, but you can move step-by-step along the long path to leadership. There are a number of pathways for achieving an ASHA leadership position; one travels through related professional organizations (RPOs). Several RPOs focus on constituents in communication sciences and disorders. These professional groups collaborate with ASHA. Some examples include the National Black Association for Speech-Language and Hearing (NBASLH), Council on Academic Programs in Communication Sciences and Dis...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - September 29, 2016 Category: Speech Therapy Authors: Tommie Robinson, Jr. Tags: Advocacy leadership Professional Development Source Type: blogs

Use the Presidential Debates to Connect With Older Students and the Common Core
Editor’s note: The final round of presidential and vice-presidential debates begin on September 26, so we’re sharing a timely post that originally appeared in February 2016. As a speech-language pathologist fascinated by social language, I recently thought about how I might incorporate the language from the presidential debates into treatment. The debates and campaign ads provide an engaging way to work with older students on reading nonverbal language, identifying emotions and connecting the presidential race to the Common Core State Standards, particularly in social studies. You can search YouTube (of...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - September 20, 2016 Category: Speech Therapy Authors: Heidi Britz Tags: Speech-Language Pathology Autism Spectrum Disorder Language Disorders social skils Speech Disorders Source Type: blogs

Lessons Learned from Our SLP and ESL Teacher Collaboration —Part 3
Editor’s note: This is part three of a series on SLP-ESL educator collaboration. Read the first part, “Partnering With ESL Teachers to Better Serve Multilingual Children,” which appeared in December 2015; and the second part, “SLP and ESL Teacher Raise Awareness About Multilingual Needs and Benefits,” from July 2016. This is my third and final blog on the ESL/speech-language pathologist partnership my colleague, Lauren Harrison, and I developed. This last installment shares lessons learned and tips about creating and running our “BiG” (Bilingualism is a Gift) campaign. I want to emphasize how one idea can m...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - September 15, 2016 Category: Speech Therapy Authors: Maryann MacDougall Tags: Advocacy Speech-Language Pathology Bilingual assessment bilingual service delivery interdisciplinary collaboration Language Disorders Professional Development Source Type: blogs

Parsing the Candidates ’ Persuasion Strategies
During this general election season, the presidential and vice-presidential candidates will try hard to persuade voters. The way politicians communicate verbally and nonverbally plays a major role in how they influence us. Speech-language pathologists, with their expertise in pragmatics and communication, uniquely understand the intentions underlying candidates’ messages—their word choice, facial expressions, gestures and tone of voice—and can explore their diverse communication styles. SLPs can use their knowledge of persuasion strategies to help clients and students improve their discourse skills. Here are some of...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - September 6, 2016 Category: Speech Therapy Authors: ASHA Staff Tags: Speech-Language Pathology Autism Spectrum Disorder Fluency Disorders Language Disorders Prosodic Disorders Schools social skils Speech Disorders Source Type: blogs

6 Tips for Creating Your Own Communication Caf é
“What’s in the bag?” The students—sitting at the cooking table—are talking to the resident expert, puppet Chef Talkie. Next, they shriek with laughter as Chef Talkie dives into the grocery bag, offering clues as the students determine each ingredient for this weekly “Cooking With Communication” intervention. Incorporating food and cooking processes, this treatment approach whips up student enthusiasm and communication. I see, hear and feel the learning taking place. Katie Bell, AKA Chef Talkie As a school-based SLP treating children with significant cognitive, communication, behavioral and physical challenge...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - August 11, 2016 Category: Speech Therapy Authors: Katie Bell Tags: Speech-Language Pathology Augmentative Alternative Communication Autism Spectrum Disorder Language Disorders Schools social skils Speech Disorders Source Type: blogs

Assessing Students: Why Background History Matters
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt of a post written by Tatyana Elleseff for her Smart Speech Therapy blog. Her full post can be read here. As a speech-language pathologist who works in an outpatient psychiatric, school-based setting, I frequently review previous evaluations on incoming students. I notice several common threads in these reports. In this post, I share my thoughts regarding the lack of background information in student assessment reports. Despite its key role in assessment, this section often gets left empty or includes only minimal details about the student’s age, grade level and reasons for referral. ...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - July 19, 2016 Category: Speech Therapy Authors: Tatyana Elleseff Tags: Speech-Language Pathology Bilingual assessment Language Disorders Speech Disorders Source Type: blogs