CBS Therapy

You have worked hard in school and reached the point where it is time to put your new knowledge into practice. Moving from the university classroom into a clinical fellowship is an exciting transition – giving you hands-on experience that will prepare you to start your new career. Not only is choosing the right CFY program critical to your success, but also consider how your intention and efforts will affect your results in the future. As you step into this new chapter, hold onto clear goals so you can gain the best knowledge and skills during your fellowship year. 5 Goals for Your Clinical Fellowship Year (CFY) This 36-week program prepares students to move into real-life career opportunities, with ongoing application and training that will support their future. This fellowship is required to achieve your Certificate of Clinical Competence for Speech-Language Pathologists (CCC-SLP) through ASHA, the American Speech and Hearing Association. While it’s essential to complete the requirem...

  Transitions are a part of everyday life at home and school. However, they can be challenging for children and adults alike, and the demands can be complex! During transitions, the sensory environment is more stimulating, and expectations are often higher than during lessons or structured activities. Often there is more noise in the room, lots of movement, and visual distractions. We expect students to follow multiple-step directions and navigate their bodies through the room while their peers do the same. The following strategies offer ideas to support our students during this frequent occurrence in the school day. 1. Calendar Younger classrooms often have a visual schedule, but older kiddos can benefit too! Offer a written plan for students who can read. When a child asks what is next, refer them to the schedule to teach them to use it. As adults, we often use our planners or apps to keep track of our days. Learning to check a calendar is a tool that kids can use in their childh...

  Children with ASD often qualify for an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or a Section 504 plan.  Each of these programs promotes support for students to access their learning environment. Anyone on the IEP team can suggest accommodations: Teachers, behavior analysts, Speech Language Pathology Clinical Fellowship , occupational therapists, and even parents and administrators.  Each student should have accommodations in place to best support their unique needs.  Common adaptations fall into the cognitive, sensory, behavioral, emotional, and communication domains. Cognitive Pre-teaching.  This involves giving children a heads-up before diving into a lesson or new routine.  You can use this accommodation to pre-teach an upcoming fire drill, a new teacher joining the classroom, or novel lesson concepts. Provide short, concise directions.  Clear directions that are understandable to the student can give a child a successful start and reduce confusio...

The expectation for kids to start writing is getting earlier and earlier all of the time.  However, the youngest children don’t have the physical development needed to use the small muscles in their fingers and hands to hold and control a pencil.  Writing is a foundational learning skill that helps requires  Speech Language Pathology Clinical Fellowship   visual-motor integration, bilateral coordination, midline crossing, etc.  It is correct that it is an important skill to master.  But how do you get young children started before jumping in with a pencil and paper?  Read on for several ideas to help kiddos get ready to write without actually writing.   Strengthen Big Muscles First For a person to write successfully, they need to be able to stabilize their upper arm.  If the movement comes from their shoulder joint when they write, they will get tired out quickly.  Use play to strengthen the upper body.  Wheelbarrow walkin...

  Many SLPs had to turn their practices upside down this past year, with a majority of students learning from home instead of in person. One silver lining from this pandemic was discovering how beneficial technology can be to teaching speech therapy . Even with students back in the classroom, there are so many resources that can’t be left behind. Technology isn’t a thing that was magnified during Covid and will dissipate. Online resources and live or asynchronous virtual classes are here to stay. They are convenient, accessible, and efficient. Use technology in your classroom in order to optimize your speech therapy practices. 4 Technology Ideas to Implement into Speech Therapy   Now is the time to embrace technology and implement it into your lessons with virtual and in-classroom students. Every child will be thrilled with the variety and familiarity. Take a look at some of these ideas:   Parent Involvement: Sending videos between speech therapy lessons or teaching onli...

The expectation for kids to start writing is getting earlier and earlier all of the time.  However, the youngest children don’t have the physical development needed to use the small muscles in their fingers and hands to hold and control a pencil.  Writing is a foundational learning skill that helps requires visual-motor integration, bilateral coordination, midline crossing, etc.  It is correct that it is an important skill to master.  But how do you get young children started before jumping in with a pencil and paper?  Read on for several ideas to help kiddos get ready to write without actually writing.   Strengthen Big Muscles First For a person to write successfully, they need to be able to stabilize their upper arm.  If the movement comes from their shoulder joint when they write, they will get tired out quickly.  Use play to strengthen the upper body.  Wheelbarrow walking, crawling, and animal walks all work well for this.  For...