From the mouths of SLPs

Don't know where I got this idea, but I thought it would be good to post things that therapists would say to parents if they could say it in complete anonymity.  I have to say that the older I get and the longer I do this there is not much that I hold back from families, but I can remember thinking back when I first started working "I can't tell them that. I don't have any children of my own and they will think I am judging them".

In my graduate work and career I have met some of the most genuine and hard-working SLPs.  People who lose sleep over their patients and dedicate their lives to helping others.  I thought why not ask some of these fantastic folks..."what do you find yourself saying over and over to families...whether out loud or in your head"?  Here are some of their answers:

- No matter how much your child loves the toys we play with in therapy that does not mean you should go out and buy every one of them.

- Don't be afraid to ask questions or interrupt something you don't understand.

- Be silly!

- You don't deserve to be judged by anyone that works with your kid.  If you feel it is not a good fit, then say something.

- Have realistic expectations of your child and their disorder and the time frame in which progress will occur. this means understanding typical development and your child's disorder.


- Read books daily


- Talk, Talk, Break, Talk


- Play.. (I mean sit on the floor and do nothing else) play with your kid.


- Consistency is key.


- I may not have all the answers, but we can work together to find them.


- Please PLEASE take that pacy away from your child.  

So there you have it.  And just because I think I need to add some more pictures to my post...Here is a picture of me with some of my fav SLPs.  

So...What's the Difference?

For all you faithful readers out there (little chuckle), sorry I have been so bad about posting.  I have been so busy and out of town.  I have been networking like crazy.  I joke that it is probably a bit like Chinese Water Torture for all the people in the networking groups to hear me over and over again "My name is Ginger Jones and I am a speech-language pathologist and I am the owner of Jones Speech-Language Pathology Services".

As I have said before most people don't even know what a speech-language pathologist is so I thought I would post a helpful explanation about the difference between speech and language.

Check out this link from the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association.

http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/language_speech.htm

ASHA has great resources for professionals as well as the general public.  Check them out on the web.  You can find a link under my helpful links at the top of the page.