Hello! What are your favorite resources and techniques to learn about gestalt processor students?

Have you heard of the Expanding Expressive Tool (EET)?

The Expanding Expressive Tool is a great resource for achieving various language goals! As EET Resources explain, can help students with the following language skills:

Verbal expression
Written expression
Comprehension of vocabulary
Defining and depicting
Establishing connections
Describing the functions of objects
Sorting into categories
Identifying similarities and disparities

I encourage you to use EET with your language kiddos!

Learn more about EET here:
ARTICLE: What is EET (Columbus Speech Center, 2023)
RESEARCH ARTICLE: The Expanding Expression Tool's Impact on Expressive Language in Preschool (Owens, 2022)

I interviewed with a social worker last Wednesday who told me she has to educate her SLP colleagues on the nuances of African-American English. This shocked me because we should be the language experts! However, I understand a lot of graduate programs do not take the time to truly teach this concept.

If you relate to this, I encourage you to take 5 minutes today to research the dialectal features of AAE! You can start here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227605544_Phonological_and_phonetic_characteristics_of_AAVE

Closing academic achievement gaps as speech pathologists should be a collaborative effort. As language experts, we're required to advocate for cultural linguistic diversity. I wrote an article with Dr. Valencia Perry about specific steps we can take to support the communicative behaviors of Black and Latinx children. You can check out our articles on ASHA Leader here: https://leader.pubs.asha.org/do/10.1044/2021-0223-cultural-responsiveness/full/

I am a new SLP about to work at a high school for the first time. Can someone offer different kinds of language activities for this population? Anything helps! Thank you

A fascinating new study, involving around 7,000 participants, has found that excessive screen time is associated with both communication and problem-solving delays.

https://futurism.com/neoscope/children-screen-time-developmental-delays

Environmental Influence on AAC Device Use and Research Insights

AAC devices aren't just about tech; the environment and personal interactions matter a lot, too.

Vocabulary Limits: Many AAC devices focus on nouns, missing out on other essential words. This restricts conversations to basic functions such as requests and leaves out vital functions such as refusing or asking questions. Also, in standard English, creating a grammatically correct and clear sentence using only nouns in the positions of subject, verb, and object is challenging, if not impossible, without resorting to creative or non-standard interpretations. Crafting full sentences with a heavy noun emphasis, therefore, becomes tricky -- if not impossible.

Latency Time: Sometimes, users need a bit more time to find the right words on their device. However, this can sometimes disrupt the flow of a conversation, leading to potential awkward pauses -- which can sometimes cause a partner to interpret, non verbally, what a user might be trying to say.

Helpful, but...: Occasionally, people might step in to assist AAC users finish their thoughts. While the intent is kind, it can unintentionally overshadow what the AAC user is trying to express.

Ways to Improve:

Tweak the Device: Make it user-friendly. With faster word-finding, conversations become more fluid.

Broaden Word Choices: AAC devices should include a variety of core and fringe vocabulary — not just nouns but also verbs, adjectives, and more. Remember: you can rarely create sentences with only nouns, which are often fringe vocabulary words (e.g. YouTube). A diverse word selection paves the way for richer conversations.

Training for Friends & Family: Educating familiar conversation partners to be patient and allow the AAC user to lead can foster a more inclusive communication environment. When a new AAC user starts school, both their family and the school staff should receive training on how to use, model, and respond to the device in relevant situations.

Research Validates This...

There's strong research supporting these points. Works by Beukelman and Mirenda shed light on AAC's nuances, emphasizing the importance of a vast vocabulary and nurturing conversations. Many clinicians concur: understanding and addressing these aspects are pivotal for AAC users to engage in successful conversations.

How can we support Spanish ELL students in their language development? Specifically birth-8 years old?

Happy belated Juneteenth! For those who aren't familiar with the holiday, Juneteenth is otherwise known as the "Black Independence Day," when slaves in Texas learned about their freedom TWO YEARS after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

For those who are interested in discussing this topic in pediatric speech therapy, I included a mini book with Wh- questions to get you started! You can download it for FREE here: tinyurl.com/juneteenthminibook. Be sure to share with your SLP friends!