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October 29,
2010: Issue 10, Volume 4
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It's All About the Choices!
Greetings!
Hello There! Hope everyone is ready for the ghouls and
goblins. We have a jam packed issue for you this month. At last
count we had twenty-one items to share with you. Hope you enjoy
it - and share it with a friend!
News Items:
- Input Needed From Parents, Teens and SLPs for Survey on the
Experiences of Young People Who Stutter
- Too Young for School, but Ready for Irony
- Paralyzed Dog Travels on Wheels; is in Training to Become
Therapy Dog
- Left Brain Talks To The Right Hand, Study Finds
- Girls With Rett Syndrome Find Their "Voice" In Eye-Gaze
Technology
- Rare Disorders of Childhood in the News: Schizencephaly
Tips, Activities
and Resources:
- Pumpkin Bread Recipe: Fine Motor Skill Activity
- Book Review: Attention Games by Barbara Sher
- UCLA School Mental Health Project
- WordFinding.com (this resource is discussed in the blog post
"It's on the Tip of my Tongue")
Upcoming Events/CEU
Opportunities:
- The 2010 ASHA Convention
- The Kaufman Speech to Language Protocol
- Assesment and Treatment of Selective Mutism: Beyond the
Basics
Articles and Blogs
Please note: Much of our content here is
provided by wonderful contributing authors and organizations.
Please support our contributors and visit their websites. Links
and bios are featured on each article!
Is there anything you would like to see us do differently here with
our newsletter? If you don't get our weekly edition, you can sign
up by emailing me directly at heidi@pediastaff.com
Have a great weekend and see you next month!
Heidi
Kay, Newsletter Editor
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The Career Center
The links to the right are "live" and reflect all open jobs with
PediaStaff. To further narrow your search by state use the drop
down menus on the search page to select a specific state. If a
particular search is returning no hits it is  possible that we do not currently have
openings
for you in that state.
If any of your information (geographic, population or setting
preference) has changed since we've last spoken, please let us
know. See an opening that interests you? Just apply to that job
and one of our staff will contact you right away.
Remember, one of the things that makes PediaStaff unique is
that we will actively "market" your skills to prospective employers
of pediatric and school based therapists, so if you don't see a
position that interests you make sure you let us know what you are
looking for. |
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| SLPs Your Help is Needed: Input Needed From Parents, Teens
and SLPs for Survey on the Experiences of Young People Who
Stutter |
Editor's Note: Please forward to
anyone you know that might like to participate!
[Source: National Stuttering Association]
PARENTS, TEENS AND SLP's WE NEED YOUR INPUT!
The National Stuttering Association and Friends, The Association of
Young People Who Stutter, are conducting a survey on the experience
of children, teens and young adults who stutter. If you're a parent
or teen we invite you to participate.
The questionnaire should take about 7-10 minutes to complete. You
will be asked about the impact of stuttering on your (or your
child's) life, and about your experience with stuttering treatment
and support.
The web-based survey is online, and you may begin the questionnaire
by clicking on this link: Parents and Teens Click
Here
If you are a speech-language pathologist, we hope you will
encourage parents of children on your caseload to participate in
the survey. You may preview the questionnaire at this link: SLP's Click Here
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| Developmental Psychology in the News
- Too
Young for School, but Ready for Irony |
Editor's Note: Late last week,
the New York Times ran this article about a study conducted by the
British Journal of Developmental Psychology, and while it is not
specifically about our special kiddos, we thought it was
fascinating and wanted to share it with you.
[Source: The New York Times]
When a 12-year-old's mother asks him "How many times do I have to
tell you to stop?" he will understand that the answer, if any is
required, had better not include a number.
But that insight requires a sophisticated understanding of ironic
language that develops long after fluent speech. At what age do
children begin to sense the meaning of such a question, and to what
degree can they respond appropriately to other kinds of
irony?
In laboratory research on the subject, children demonstrate almost
no comprehension of ironic speech before they are 6 years old, and
little before they are 10 or 11. When asked, younger children
generally interpret rhetorical questions as literal, deliberate
exaggeration as a mistake and sarcasm as a lie.
Read the Rest of this Article
Through a Link on our Blog
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Feel Good Story/Video of the Week
- Paralyzed
Dog Travels on Wheels; is in Training to Become Therapy
Dog
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Special
Thanks to the Christopher and Dana Reeve Spinal
Cord Injury and Paralysis Foundation for blogging
this story. Please share this story with the kiddos in wheelchairs
that you work with.
Whether it's two legs or two wheels, this California pooch is full
of energy and love.
Daphne the Chihuahua (pictured) does not seem to notice that she is
not like other dogs. She runs with the other dogs, she plays in the
grass, and she occasionally disobeys her owner. Daphne doesn't seem
to notice that she only walks with the help of a special
wheelchair, she only plays where the grass is not too long to stop
her wheels, and she relies on her owner for full time care. She is
a happy dog, and for the first time in over a year she is able to
wag her tail to show it.
Read the Rest of this Story and
Watch the Video Through a Link on our Blog
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Origins of Language in the News
- Left
Brain Talks To The Right Hand, Study Finds
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Thanks
to our friends at Avocado Technologies for posting this link for us
to see and share with you. Please support our contributors and
visit Avocado Technologies on
Facebook and on Twitter
[Source: NPR.org]
Our ability to speak and communicate seems to have its origin in
the unlikely pairing of the left brain and the right hand. At
least that's the conclusion of a team of French researchers who
looked at how our brains process syllables, as well as mouth and
hand movements. And it supports the theory that human speech
evolved from sounds and hand gestures.
The team followed the brain activity of 16 right-handed people
while they rested or watched a video. When the people heard
syllables, areas in the left side of the brain involved in speech
fired neurons in time with areas involved in hand and mouth
motions.
But when the subjects heard smaller units of speech, called
phonemes, these two areas were not synchronized.
Read the Rest of this
Article Through a Link on our Blog
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Rett
Syndrome in the News
- Girls
With Rett Syndrome Find Their "Voice" In Eye-Gaze
Technology
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[Source:
Medical News Today]
Special eye-gaze technology now being used in the Department of
Neurology at The Children's Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM) is
revealing the hidden, inner world of children who have Rett
Syndrome, a rare and severe autism spectrum disorder that primarily
affects little girls. It is a neurological disease in which
mobility and autonomic functions are severely impaired, seizures
and orthopedic problems are common, and the children lose
functional hand use and the ability to speak.
"These girls are imprisoned in their own bodies," said Aleksandra
Djukic, MD, Director of the Rett Syndrome Center at CHAM, which
currently treats 120 girls and is the tri-state's only specialty
center for this genetic disease. "They cannot communicate with the
world in normal ways such as talking or using gestures. The
eye-gaze technology is helping us to unlock the girls' minds. It
brings smiles to us and to their parents, because for the first
time we have proof of their mental activities. But it also imposes
a huge obligation to properly advocate for these children."
Read the Rest of this Article
Through a Link on our Blog
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Rare
Disorders of Childhood in the News - Schizencephaly
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[Source:
The Daily Mail and the Irish Times]
A young boy who couldn't play in his garden due to a rare 'texture
sensitive' reaction to grass is enjoying the outdoors again after
well-wishers donated an artificial lawn. Harley Noble, four, has
schizencephaly, a rare form of cerebral palsy known to affect just
70 people worldwide.
He suffers from extreme texture sensitivity, which means he is
physically sick if he touches a single blade of grass. The
youngster from north Wales suffers a similar reaction to fluff,
hair and Play-Do.
His mother Christina Lace, 24, said: 'He's never been able to play
outside on grass. But now he's got artificial turf he's absolutely
loving it. 'He loves the rough and tumble of playing with his
sister Lily, who is three. And being able crawl around on it and
whizz round the garden in his powered wheelchair.'
Harley can't walk or talk, but is doing 'really well' at a
mainstream school, and uses a touchscreen computer to communicate.
Ms Lace said: 'When he was about a year old and a girl put a few
blades of grass on the tray of his buggy. He pulled a face,
dribbled and then he was physically sick.
Read the Rest of this Article,
Another Article that Appeared this Week in the Irish Times and an
NINDS Fact Sheet on Schizencephaly Through a Link on our
Blog
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Therapy Activity of the Week -
Pumpkin
Bread Recipe: Fine Motor Skill Activity
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Special
Thanks to Barbara Boucher of TherExtras for permission to reprint this
wonderful activity. Please support our contributors and visit her
website!
I love making some
homemade pumpkin bread! Cooking is an excellent activity for
adults and children. Measuring and mixing are physical and
functional hand skills. Measuring and mixing require important
cognitive skills.
The satisfaction of eating and sharing the results (mmmm!) is
emotionally gratifying while mentally connecting work to results
(aka learning).
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Book Review - Attention
Games by Barbara Sher
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Attention
Games - by Barbara Sher is a great book for parents,
caregivers and therapists. This book provides creative activities
that help you gain and maintain a child's attention from infants to
teenagers. Many of the activities are simple and don't require any
extra materials other than yourself. Barbara provides you with a
fun way to interact with your child at different stages of life
while explaining "What's Being Learned". She also gives alternative
example and ideas. This book is a must have for any parent and I
will use this as a fellow therapist in my practice as well. Hats
off to Barbara for providing us with a sensational resource!
Learn More About/Order this Book
Through a Link on our Blog
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Therapy Resource of the Week -
UCLA
School Mental Health Project
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The
School Mental Health Project (SMHP) was created in 1986 to pursue
theory, research, practice and training related to addressing
mental health and psychosocial concerns through school-based
interventions. To these ends, SMHP works closely with school
districts, local and state agencies, special initiatives, and
organizations and colleagues across the country. In 1995 the
project established its national Center for Mental Health in
Schools as part of the federal mental health in schools
program.
Within this tremendous site you will find an enormous number of
resources!
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Upcoming Event -The 2010 ASHA National Convention -
November 18-20, Philadelphia PA
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- Stop by our Booth and Meet the
PediaStaff Team in Person;
- Let us Know you Follow our
Newsletter;
- and Pick up Your Free
Toobaloo!
Learn More about the 2010 ASHA
Convention
Learn About CEU Opportunities in
Philadelphia
We will have booth both in the main exhibit hall and in the Career
Center. You can find us in the main hall at Booth 232 and in the
Career Fair at Booths 2310/2312
Our Career Center specialists are scheduling interviews now. Come
talk to us about all your options in school based and pediatric
speech language pathology. PediaStaff has a wide variety of
options for for experienced SLPs as well as young therapists just
starting out!
Please contact Sue Steger in our office at sue@pediastaff.com or call 866-733-4278 to
secure your slot!
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CEU Opportunity -The Kaufman Speech to Language
Protocol
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The
K-SLP Instructional DVD explains evidence-based evaluation and
treatment procedures to help children to become effective vocal,
verbal communicators.
With over four hours of instruction and showcasing over 40
children who struggle to speak, SLPs can learn how to employ the
K-SLP and how to best utilize the many materials that were
developed by Nancy R. Kaufman, M.A., CCC-SLP, owner and director of
the Kaufman Children's Center in West Bloomfield, MI. SLPs can
earn 0.4 ASHA CEUs through Northern Speech and National
Rehabilitation Services (www.northernspeech.com).
Learn More About this Great Program and CEU
Opportunity
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| Upcoming Event/CEU Opportunity -
Assesment
and Treatment of Selective Mutism: Beyond the
Basics |
Date:
November 12, 2010
Time:
8:45 am - 4:15 pm
Where: Newark, NJ
This conference is just being launched and is meant to be the 'next
step' after Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum's Selective Mutism conference
presented in the past few years. This conference will focus on the
assessment of SM using researched-based data; more detailed step by
step treatment strategies and school plans using a case study
format with videos.
Learn More About/Register for this
Conference HERE
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| Speech Language Pathology Corner - Stuttering Therapy: The Focus of
Increased Communication |
Today there are many stuttering
therapy options, and research is being completed on numerous ways
to approach stuttering therapy. It is important to rely on expert
and evidence based practices when deciding on the course of
treatment for a client who stutters. As a speech-language
pathologist (SLP) who has a stutter, I have found that it is
pertinent to remember that the most important goal of therapy is to
increase communication rather than increase speech fluency. If
eliminating stuttering is not an option, then ultimately we want
our clients to be able to communicate in a variety of environments
with a variety of communication partners. Stuttering therapy often
includes stuttering modification, fluency shaping, positive
communication attitudes, and education about stuttering. The
balance of these strategies depends on the individual needs of a
child and the child's age.
I often begin stuttering
therapy with education about stuttering. The first steps may
include teaching how speech is produced and about different types
of stutters. It is essential for children to have a clear
understanding of the speech mechanism and stuttering to be able to
learn how to change and shape their stuttering. Here are a few ways
to teach the different types of stutters.
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Train tracks: repetition of
stutter sounds, syllables, words, and phrases. You can also
describe it as a ball bouncing.
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Bridge: prolongation stutter; you
can also describe it as stretching.
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Brick wall: A block stutter; you
can also describe it as opening your mouth and nothing comes
out.
Read the Rest of this
Article on our Blog
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Occupational
Therapy Corner: Foundations
for Visual Perception (Activity ideas)
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By: Melanie Lambert OTR/L
A.M. Skeffington, an American optometrist known to some as "the
father of behavioral optometry", believed that vision cannot be
separated from the total individual nor from any of the sensory
systems because it is integrated into all human performance. His
model describes how visual processes mesh with auditory input,
proprioception, kinesthesia and body sense. Visual perception is,
therefore, not obtained from vision alone. It comes from combining
visual skills with all other sensory modalities, including the
vestibular and proprioceptive systems.
It is important that a child experiences visual perception through
their own body before progressing to 3D activities (blocks, shape
games etc.) and pen and paper tasks (worksheets). Here are some
activity ideas that can be used during therapy sessions or
incorporated as part of a program for home or school.
Form Constancy and Visual Discrimination
Form Constancy is the ability to accurately recognize and interpret
that a form or object remains the same despite changes in its
presentation such as size, direction, orientation, color, texture
or context.
Read the Rest of this Article on
our Blog
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Pediatric Therapy Corner: Benefit of Co-Treatment
Sessions
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By: Kelli Ellenbaum, MS
CCC-SLP
There are endless benefits to
co-treatment therapy sessions with the pediatric population.
Co-treatments are sessions conducted with 2 or more
therapists/disciplines to maximize therapeutic collaboration. At
Red Door Pediatric Therapy, co-treatments are performed when
therapeutic goals are similar or complimentary. The benefits can be
meaningful and increase functional gains.
In pediatric therapy, there is often a hierarchy of skill
acquisition. For example, in order to take a successful bite of
food from a fork (OT), one must be able to complete lip closure
(ST). This hierarchy lends itself nicely to co-treat sessions, as
multiple goals can be targeted cohesively with the same functional
activity. In order to best explain specific benefits for children,
here are two examples of co-treatment sessions.
Speech/Occupational
Therapy "Feeding" Session
During a feeding session, there are many oral motor sequences that
take place in order for a child to be successful from the start to
the finish of a meal. A meal involves several sequences of fine
motor and oral motor control, strength, and coordination. There are
also several language components present which are not limited to
vocabulary, following directions, understanding and implementing
sequences, making requests, understanding and use of directional
concepts, etc. Positive outcomes include:
Read the Rest of this Article on
our Blog
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Ask the Expert
- Sensational Homeschooling:
Weaving in a Sensory Diet
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What can I do about......?
By: by Tiffani Lawton, RN, Publisher/Editor of Our Journey Thru
Autism
Why are so many of my clients embarking on
homeschool?
Many parents are choosing to homeschool their special needs child
and the list of reasons is endless. Among the top reasons is that
parents can create an accurate individualized education plan and
customize the learning environment specific to their child's needs.
Parents can offer a sensory diet throughout the entire day and as
needed providing the child with a consistent sensory diet.
Sensational children have a hard time fitting into the typical
classroom setting. In the homeschool setting, a child does not have
to feel like the square peg crammed into a round hole. The
environment is conducive to the child's specific learning style and
needs, so the pressure to conform to the rigidity in a classroom
setting is removed. In doing this, the child's self esteem grows
and expands exponentially. Another reason is that parents can weave
in various therapy appointments into their homeschool week,
offering increased therapeutic opportunities for the child who may
not be receiving regular and consistent therapy within the school
environment. Another big reason is that there is a rise in the use
of restraints and seclusion with special needs children in our
nation's schools.
How can we as OT's best support the homeschooling
family?
Although most OT's work in the clinical setting, it would be very
beneficial to homeschooling families to have their OT offer a
sensory home assessment. An OT can look at the environment with
sensory lenses on and make suggestions and recommendations that
would work in the child's home and learning environment.
Read the Rest of this
Article on our Blog
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Focus on Bilingualism - Communication is Key
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By: Alejandro Brice, Ph.D, CCC-SLP,
Roanne Brice, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, and Ellen Kester, Ph.D.,
CCC-SLP
This month's feature again comes from a series of observations
affecting our bilingual clients.
Communication
This week I am having my gall bladder removed after receiving a
sonogram, CT scan, nuclear EF imaging, and endoscopy. In each of
those tests I have asked numerous questions about the procedure and
what information it gives in my diagnosis. I, an educated
professional fully fluent in English and at times had difficulty
understanding everything that was being communicated. English was
not the problem; the medical professionals were speaking
medical-ese. The first main relation to working with bilingual
clients is the vast amount of information that is exchanged in the
interactions with medical professionals.
The second issue that affects communication is the person's level
of English proficiency. Length of residence is not always an
indicator of ability. For example, there have been instances where
I have conversed with bilingual individuals who have resided in the
U.S. for many years, yet spoke English with limited abilities. The
second point in communication is that one cannot assume that
English language learners fully understand what is being
communicated. Hence, accommodate your client's language ability by
making technical speech-language-ese or audiology-ese
understandable. Second, accommodate by checking for understanding.
Ask your client to repeat what has been said.
Read the Rest of this Article
Online on our Blog
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Guest Blogs This Week:
SpeechGadget, Sensational Brain
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It's
on the Tip of My Tongue - Word Retrieval Difficulties in Children -
By: Deb Tomarakos, CCC-SLP
I am the absolute worst person when it comes to remembering
people's names. As I grow older, my problem seems to be increasing.
It has migrated from forgetting names of people I have met, toward
multiple "on the tip of my tongue" moments throughout my days.
These moments may crop up when trying to recall an artist or song
from the 80's, or the name of a teacher I had in grade school, or
even a professional vocabulary word for a diagnostic
assessment.
Word retrieval issues are something we expect to see in ourselves
and others as we age. It has been my experience, however, that word
retrieval issues are not usually at the top of our thought process
when diagnosing children with language and learning issues.
Read the Rest of this
great post on our Blog
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Equipment
for Home-Based Sensory Diets? - By: Gwen Wild, OTR/L
Question: I service a lot of
children (birth through preschool) at home where there is limited
space and equipment. Many of your cards show activities using large
equipment such as a ball pit, platform swings, etc. Do you have
suggestions or additional cards that could be made up for home
based therapy?
Gwen's Answer: We will work on getting some more cards added that
are applicable for home-based therapy. For now, here are some easy
sensory diet equipment substitutions that
Read the Rest of this
post on our Blog
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Worth Repeating
- Down Syndrome and
Exercise
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By: The National Center on Physical
Activity and Disability
Exercise is for every body. Children born with Down syndrome, the
most recognizable form of mental retardation, is analyzed by the
variable of age (Down Syndrome Stats). The inclusion of physical
activity daily life will improve overall health. For individuals
with Down syndrome, physical activity has important implications
impacting on health, longevity, and productivity (Fernhall et al.,
1989, Pitetti et al., 1991). With approximately 54 million
Americans with disabilities (McNeil, 1997), it is important to
assemble information regarding exercise guidelines for special
populations into comprehensive reviews and to educate professionals
on their special needs. In this review, the (a) background of Down
syndrome, (b) current research published to date, © and guidelines
for exercise will be discussed.
Read the Rest of this Article
Through a Link on our Blog
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Also Worth
Repeating: The Art and Science
of Home Visits
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By: Arlene Stredler Brown
A basic tenet of family-centered intervention is a commitment to
help families-to navigate the early intervention system, to
identify resources, to learn new information, and to adopt
strategies to use at home with their young child. In
family-centered intervention, the early interventionist establishes
a relationship with family members and becomes their consultant.
Through this relationship, family members discover their natural
strengths. They then capitalize on these strengths as they learn
what they need to do to facilitate their child's growth.
Family members also engage in a reciprocal relationship with their
early interventionist. This relationship between equal partners
depends on establishing trust. Serving as a coach, the early
interventionist helps family members actualize their roles as
primary facilitators of their child's development.
Read the Rest of this
Article On our Blog
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The PediaStaff Website - is "Not Just for
Job Searching Anymore"
|
If
you haven't been to the our website lately you are in for a treat.
Not only have we completely redesigned it and added a whole lot of
great information about our company, services and philosophy but we
are stuffing it jam packed with fantastic pediatric and school
based therapy resources for you and your staff to use
everyday.
There you will find links to resources, organizations and websites
on topics in pediatric speech, occupational and physical therapy
including dozens of articles and videos. Topics are organized by
therapy discipline and include Stuttering, Bilingualism, Autism,
Down Syndrome, Pediatric Stroke, Oral Motor Issues, Speech
Language Delay and much more. All articles and videos are
resident on our site. No abstracts, no fees.
We hope you enjoy it! It is still very much a work in progress,
but we think there is enough there to suggest that you check it out
at your earliest convenience.
Visit our Resources Pages
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Weekly News, Videos, & More - Sign
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Have you signed up for our new and improved weekly newsletter
yet?
Formerly just a weekly bulletin of newest jobs with PediaStaff, we
have changed the format of our weekly newsletter bring you News,
Video and stories from the world of pediatric therapy compiled from
our daily internet research.
Check out our Archived Newsletters
and See What You've Missed!
Want to check it out? Click HERE to subscribe to our Weekly
Newsletter. The form will ask you for your email address and then
give you the option to sign up for the weekly edition.
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