Activities for Public School Speech Language Pathologists (and others who work with children)

This program is offered for .5 CEUs or 5 hours of continuing professional development (Intermediate Level: Professional Area). Price: $110.00

Having spent the last ten years in clinical medical Speech Pathology, I was excited and delighted to return to the public school setting. The twenty years spent in that service delivery model were demanding, and in the early years there were NO commercial materials available to augment therapy. My basic stock in trade was poster board, construction paper, markers and glue. The limited materials for articulation therapy (I took one of the first Language Therapy college courses ever offered) were run on the unpleasantly smelling and difficult to read mimeograph machines. Ah, the “good old days”. I had 155 children and 7 schools my first year in the profession. 5 Elementary, 1 middle, 1 high school, and the Catholic parochial school! For 13 years in Florida, I was fortunate to have a 5 day elementary school and average about 90-100 children each year. Nirvana to me. Each year I built up my library of materials with my meager budget, but it was all adding up to a very comprehensive collection of therapy ideas, games, and ways to incorporate a lot of fun and excellent positive speech and language practice.

Ten years passed as I went into Geriatrics, first as a Rehab director in a long term care facility, and then as Clinical Faculty in the Department of Communicative Disorders at the University of Florida. There, I was totally immersed in the communication and swallowing problems of patients in the acute, subacute, and outpatient rehab setting. I wrote books, lectured nationally, and helped to initiate and put on the Florida Dysphagia Institute for the last six years.

Returning gladly to work with children, it became evident immediately how much the world had changed in ten years!! Although I returned to the same county schools, my colleagues who preceded me in schools I was assigned did not collect the materials that I had in my prior tenure. Caseloads were smaller (hooray!!) and opportunities for truly individualizing programs much more available. But where to get materials? There is LESS $ available!!

Arrive---the INTERNET!! Many of you may have already found some of the wonderful resources I have encountered. I have gotten permission from each site to use samples of their materials that I have adapted for Speech and Language Therapy. Some sites are a minimal cost. MUCH less than commercial materials and very adaptable. MANY are FREE!! For the cost of paper and ink, perhaps some laminating film, I have made activities for each of my groups and/or individual kiddos that keep them, and me, engaged and intrigued. I am able to totally correlate my activities with “No Child Left Behind” and “Success For All” concepts. I have been able to easily incorporate reading into the Speech and Language Activities. Each day is exciting for me, and the children love these activities.

At the successful completion of the course, participants should be able to:

• List 4 websites named in the course that offer free materials to SLPs and others
• List 4 activities from different websites in the course that they found to adapt for speech
• List 4 activities from different websites in the course that they found to adapt for language
• List two behavior management strategies from the course

Cynthia D. Barnett, M.A., CCC-SLP, Board Recognized Specialist in Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders. Cindy is presently working with school age children in the Alachua County Schools, in Gainesville, Florida, as well as performing diagnostic videofluorographic swallowing evaluations and treatment for an area ENT group, and PRN in an acute care hospital.Read more

ProCourse is approved by the Continuing Education Board of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) to provide continuing education activities in speech-language pathology and audiology. This program is offered for .5 CEUs (Intermediate Level, Professional Area) ASHA approval of CE Provider status does not imply endorsement of course content, specific products, or clinical procedures. This course is approved by the State of Florida for 5 hours credit. Your 5 hours of credit will be registered on CE Broker. ProCourse Provider #SPA-115

Other professionals, please contact your state licensing board for information on continuing education requirements. You will be able to print a copy of the CE certificate at the end of each course. It is recommended that you keep a copy of the certificate to show that you completed the necessary requirements.

CEUs are based on attainment of learning outcomes. Participants must complete the course, pass the assessment test with 80% accuracy and fill out the evaluation form in order to receive their certificate on-line.

Participants' satisfaction is assured. The request for a refund and justifiable reason must be stated in writing within 2 weeks of taking the course at which tuition will be fully refunded.

Contact Cynthia D. Barnett for any further questions about this course.