Last year was, different…
This last year SLP’s around the globe… pretty much every field…has had shifts to online services. As an SLP, I went from 100% in-person therapy to 100% telepractice; this was entirely new for me.
2020 pushed many of us out of our comfort zones. I went from an SLP who never imagined doing telepractice to passionate about the opportunities to support kiddos and families in an online environment.
Digital resources: Who does it work for?
Do I think telepractice is for every child? No, I do not. I did have some kiddos who could not participate in speech therapy via telepractice, but honestly, that was a small portion of my caseload. The little ones on my caseload were my biggest worry, but they did terrifically. I had to be way, way, way, more creative. Therapy is undeniably more challenging online. Although, all that I have learned and experienced has made me a better SLP.
What made telepractice work for me was Boom Cards from Boom Learning, digital resources like interactive PDFs (some I made and some I purchased on TeachersPayTeachers, Pink Cat Games, YouTube videos from fellow SLP’s like PlaySpark, and more!
Last March, when we went to telepractice, I converted some of my interactive PDFs and activities to Boom Cards. As a creator and an SLP, Boom Cards were my lifesaver. I loved that I could either purchase or easily create speech therapy activities for my students.
Flash forward to April 2021, I now have a combination of in-person and telepractice on my caseload. Also, what has been so incredible is that the activities that I used on Zoom have been perfect for in-person practice.
How to use digital resources in person:
- Magic wipe/whiteboard: I observed a student in her kindergarten class and saw the teacher making her generic wipe board into an interactive board. Essentially she used a screen projector and projected an activity onto her wipe board. She then had a student use a “magic pointer” to activate the screen. BRILLIANT!!!
- iPad/Tablet: I use an iPad to play games or work on sound games. I hold the iPad and share it like I would if I was doing a group book reading. The great thing about this is that it requires more expressive language than simply having them swipe away.
- Multiple devices: I am lucky that I could check out a couple of old iPad’s from our school’s tech department. They don’t run all the cool new apps but are perfect for digital PDFs, Boom Cards, etc. I can open different activities or targets depending on their goals. I am then able to wipe them down easily before the next group.
- What are some ways you use your digital resources in person?
I wanted to thank you to all the fabulous SLP’s that made this year possible. We could not have done this alone!