It occurred to me this week that there are many extra tasks associated with being a speech language pathologist besides delivering speech therapy. As I look at my week and tuck in extra calls, blogs, reports and parent conferences, I realize the extra time I need to set aside for activities that enrich my practice. Many therapists are blogging and providing us with terrific, practical therapy ideas in articulation, word-finding, language, autism and technology. It has been fun to watch different therapists in our profession begin to specialize in an area and be the go-to blog for fresh ideas. I encourage any of you to try it, just start talking about what you did today with kids, obviously protecting their privacy, but share ideas, activities or articles that are helpful to you.
In the last few days, I went to the library to search the “new” picture books to use with several of my kids with language difficulties, word-finding and autism. Some days it’s a goldmine and some it isn’t. I scoured the New York Times’ “Notable Children’s Books of 2014.” I find this far more valuable than the NYT Best Seller List for picture books as the same authors dominate on that list, and they aren’t always the best language rich books for our students.
Today I had a conference call with a Neuropsychologist who tested one of my students who I just began working with, finished writing up an evaluation, wrote two blogs, bought Christmas presents for my students, sent a scheduling letter out to my parents and saw several kids. Phew, maybe I’ll get off the computer now:)
