As SLPs, we have the opportunity to embed social-emotional learning into traditional language therapy, and a holistic approach to speech-language pathology would encourage us to take it! 

An easy way we can do this is by building on the concepts that we are already teaching. For instance, we often target "wh questions" (e.g., who, what, when, where, why), but we don't always take the step further to delve into how we can *feel* these concepts in our bodies, and how we can express them with our emotions.

Example: In this reel, I'm working on 'when' questions with a group virtual session. Notice how I'm using the SLP topic to talk about social-emotional learning and identifying emotions. This is not an activity in identifying good vs. bad emotions, but simply highlighting different strategies that we can use when we feel certain things.

This is going to be a vulnerable post, because part of reducing stigmatization involves being vocal and encouraging healthy discussion! 

I've struggled with anxiety and intrusive thoughts my whole life. While the earliest memories that I have are from age 7, my mom remembers my symptoms appearing as early as age 2. I had periods of time that were "easy" and periods of time that were… really hard.

I didn't understand that this was obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) until I was 23, and it was even later that I identified as neurodivergent.

The larger neurodiversity movement helped me identify my own neurodivergence (i.e., being on the obsessive compulsive spectrum), and this has brought me more inner peace than I can articulate (but if I were to try, I'd say I finally started to feel seen, validated, affirmed, reassured, and understood).

I never thought I could (or would!) share this information with the public. Over the years, I've felt a lot of shame and masked a lot of my feelings and symptoms because I wanted to appear "normal." At other times, I felt like I wasn’t neurodivergent *enough* to seek the supports/information that would help me thrive. But understanding that my brain is just wired differently, that my caudate nucleus (along with other areas in my orbital cortex) is hyperactive — and that other people experience the same thing!?! — has been life-changing.

I now view my OCD as information (about me and about my brain) and it is something (neutral, neither good nor bad) that I simply have to manage as I move through life. Since it is a part of me, though, it also contributes to who I am as a clinician.

I feel like I can better relate to my clients who have anxiety and sensory preferences. My attention to detail is a strength. I can use my own neurodiversity to help my clients feel empowered by theirs. I can demonstrate how to focus on one's strengths, and to give grace to areas that may need more support. Most importantly, I can create a therapeutic environment that will prevent the internalization of shame.

Because there is nothing shameful about it.

In my experience, the BIGGEST predictor of AAC success is if the child experiences JOY from communicating with the device. 

Too often, AAC is treated like "work" for the learner, and they are expected to use it in a certain way (e.g., they have to say how they feel or what their name is). We know that is approach of adding expectations doesn't work for late-talkers (and why it is common practice in the SLP world to discourage parents from insisting that their child "say X" and "say Y").

The exact same approach is needed with our AAC learners.

We need to create situations that are intrinsically motivating for our learners, and show them that communication does lead to shared joy!

For a learner like this, I have modelled bubbles many times, and if she is struggling to find it, I would not insist that she needs to. I'd show her where it is again, and continue to model other words. However, she is showing us all her intent and ability to communicate about something that brings her so much joy.

Video shared with consent.

Requesting is a very common strategy and goal used in speech therapy, but there's a lot more to language than just that!

I believe that kids of all abilities should be exposed to and taught how to use all sorts of different functions of communication, from telling stories and answering questions to saying no and arguing! This of course includes AAC users.

Having access to colourful language simply means that a variety of kinds of language should be modelled for them throughout the day. 

Requests are often focused on because they result in a reward, however, communication is its own reward, and it's our job to show them that. 

Although I focus a lot of my content on AAC and GLP, I also LOVE working with children with speech sound difficulties, including articulation difficulties. 

Since taking the Play-based Speech Therapy Course by @anna.dee.slp and @wordsmatterslp, my articulation sessions have become mostly play-based and I have noticed increased engagement and motivation, which has led to increased success (don't you learn better too when you're enjoying it?!).

I also learned that articulation therapy can be *more* successful by including fewer targets, including multiple target sounds in one activity, and using targets and activities that have more carry-over to the child's everyday life. Not to mention how movement can help regulate kids while learning!

(Mini items are from @speechtreeco, which I may have a slight obessession with...)

Many autistic children are gestalt language processors. Since they pick up on speech that is rich in intonation, it is no surprise that many of them LOVE songs. 

... But what if all you are hearing is songs?

It is important to honour and validate those song gestalts, just as you would speech. We can model that different songs can be used for different things, such as "going up" or "going down". Check out how I use songs with my gestalt language processors in this vid. 

All AAC learners (regardless of skill level) need to see what it looks like to communicate using their AAC system in real conversations. Just as we don't expect any child to learn to talk without seeing or hearing the adults around them talking and communicating, *modelling* the use of the AAC device is just as crucial.

Modelling is a fancy term used by SLPs that simply means showing the child how to use the device without expecting or forcing them to copy.

The best way to start doing this is by finding a word or two on their AAC system or device for each sentence you want to say, and pressing the symbols as you say the word.

Here are some strategies for effective modelling:

• Start small and use the child's strengths
• Encourage exploration/babbling
• Be a translator and narrator for the child
• Build AAC use into routines
• Focus on *core words* (all-purpose words we use most frequently in our daily speech)
• Share in their joy as much as possible!

While it's important to include fringe words (words with very specific meanings) so children can better describe their world, the best approach when starting AAC is to keep the focus on core words. Then, incorporate personal fringe words as needed to help kids talk about what's important to them.

I travel to remote, fly-in only communities in northern Canada, and have had to adapt my assessment skills and goal planning immensely to be appropriate and culturally relevant to the children I serve. 

Speech therapists are trained extensively on administering tests and analyzing how children are doing with their speech and language skills, but there are many cases where standardized tests should simply not be used.

These tests are often created for white, middle class American children. Using these tests for Indigenous or Autistic children is, evidently, not appropriate.

There are currently NO standardized tests that are normed for Indigenous children - which puts them at a disadvantage. Of course they will continue to score poorly on standardized tests when the content is NOT RELEVANT to them. These tests do not take into consideration geographical dialects, second language learning, or parts of language that may be more meaningful to these populations (e.g., oral story telling). 

We also need to be aware that students carry generational trauma due to the residential schools’ practice of forced English language assimilation.

I am humbled to work as an SLP in northern communities, and my job is to listen and make suggestions where I am able. These suggestions are: to build on the children’s strengths, and invest in the inherent capacity within the community, so they can continue to help their students grow. 

If you couldn't already tell, I love what I do.

Children learn best through play, so the more fun we get to have during our sessions, the more motivated they are to participate and learn. I strive for communication itself to be intrinsically motivating for my clients!

SLP is more than just diagnosing and correcting difficulties with speech. By bridging the gap between verbal and (seemingly) non-verbal, SLP sessions can provide children with a safe and comfortable environment to fully express themselves and to grow as little communicative humans.

We as SLPs can then inspire and motivate ALL children to succeed -- neurodivergent and neurotypical alike. That is why I'm an SLP. 

To me, individuals having access to and appropriate training with AAC (when needed) is a matter of equality and human rights.

This quote has always stuck with me. 84 years versus just 1.5.

If we don’t encourage the use of, give access to, and teach AAC to children so that it can be used outside of their SLP sessions, then it will take YEARS (84, to be exact!) for them to gain equivalent exposure to language (in their learning style) as children who are verbal do by age 1.5. If you ask me, that is a massive discrepancy.

AAC can only be as effective as we make it—which is why continual and immersive modelling is so important.

Modelling is a term used by SLPs that simply means showing the child how to use the device without expecting or forcing them to copy. The best way to do this is by finding a word or two on their AAC system or device for each sentence you want to say and pressing the symbols as you say the word.

In order for AAC to truly assist children in communicating to their full potential, then, they must see their AAC system being used—in real situations, for real reasons, by the people around them. In other words, we must model, interact with, and use AAC as often as we can *outside* of SLP sessions, as well.

This is how we bridge the gap between 84, and 1.5.