B-L-O-G… Who-What-When-Where-Why?

Posted by Emily Richardson in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Hello world!  I’ve debated for a while about whether or not to do this blog.  You know, those internal debates where you can rationalize the decision based solely on your mood and not really on any true lists of pros and cons.  It’s not like there is a shortage of blogs around.  Mine might be just sitting there without any readers (well, except of course my dad who will claim it is Pulitzer worthy).  So I brainstormed the reality of a blog in good-ol’ SLP style…with my WH- questions.

I have been an SLP in the public schools for the past 13 years.  I’ve worked pre-k through 8th grade and have shared as many as three schools at a time.  Currently I am settled in as the full time therapist at an elementary school.  No traveling-WHEW! I’ve been at this school for 11 of my years, and now my own kids are attending it.  My workplace is definitely a home, filled with many friends (big and little!).  I have many life and work experiences that make me the therapist that I am.  Having my own kids (ages 2, 5, 8) gives me an additional perspective when writing IEPs and making decisions with parents.  I often use my oldest son as a sounding board when creating materials, you know, to make sure that I get the content correct 🙂  In therapy I love just having fun.  At home I love to cook with my kids, travel, and nap.  Yes, naps are a luxury around here!

One aspect that makes my job so special is that I work with such a variety of students on their articulation, language, fluency, and communication goals.  Every 30 minutes I’ve got a new challenge sitting in front of me…a student with autism who is learning how to interact more socially, kiddos who just want to have an easy time saying “the girl thinks the pearls are out of this world”, or the non-verbal students who still have a lot to say!  So in any given day I will have many stories and therapy ideas to share.

I threw this blog out there as a possibility and before I finished my sentence my husband had already created the domain name.  Literally.  I was asking his opinion between two names and while he was answering me he reserved the website.  So decision made, no looking back now.  So I guess he is to blame thank for this little project.  I certainly would not have gotten this far without his tech support.  Before I was even able to ask any of my questions…how long it would take to set up, when would I have time to write…he had organized the site.  So I thought about WHEN I would have time for the blog in my already packed days.  My mind is constantly spinning about therapy ideas and I’ve started keeping a journal so that I’m not searching through multiple scrap pieces of paper to find “that” idea.  So I’ll just organize those thoughts along with my daily experiences, questions, and challenges into the blog.  And of course the WHEN will be after my kids go to sleep.  When do I get anything done?  I should have known the answer to that before I asked myself!

Where do I find inspiration for therapy?  From the world around me!  It’s in the tissue boxes at Target, the trinkets at the Dollar Store, or toys in my kids’ rooms.  Definitely from blogs and pins and colleagues.  Mostly, though, I am inspired by literature.  The illustrations and stories in kid’s books are so funny, creative, and engaging.  I can pick up any book and spin it into a lesson to match any speech/language goal.  I love stories…we can travel anywhere and be anyone.

Well, I guess because I want to!  It will serve as an outlet for me share with others and maybe be a spark for another therapy idea.  We definitely don’t need to recreate the therapy wheel!

So here is the beginning of The Speech Path, one step at a time!

 

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