Speech Therapy Push In Serivces | Make it Possible

Embrace change, step outside of your comfort zone, push speech therapy services into classrooms.   It is possible.

I made a commitment to push into classrooms regularly this year.  One week per month, I drop the lesson plans and materials organization in exchange for providing services in classrooms.  The result. I love it! I carry a clipboard with data sheets, a pen, and some comfy clothes to jump right into the mix or onto the floor.  My goals are simple.

Observe

Support

Promote Carryover

Collect

Observing students in their general education classrooms offers much more than I could have expected. Seeing my students as either active or passive participants and gaining a baseline of typical student performance offers ongoing assessment of student growth and needs.

Supporting both students and teachers is another goal. Just last month I pushed into a 3rd grade classroom while the teacher was prepping for state tests. While I like to think I can keep up with all the curriculum happenings and state mandated assessments, it's just not possible. Joining this classroom, I was able to play an active role in the discussion during the practice assessment. Earlier this year, I sat on the carpet with a student vying for teacher attention. While I am able to give students attention within my small groups within the speech room, the classroom teacher is spread so thin.  That day, I listened to reading, while sneaking in some vocabulary practice along the way.

Linking skills and strategies taught within the speech room to classroom tasks promotes carryover.  I had the opportunity to join a 2nd grade classroom practicing word reading fluency drills using an interactive SmartBoard activity. The word list contained consonant clusters (skr, st, bl, gr).  Among several students within that classroom, one student was working on /s/ blends within speech sessions. While she read fluently, she didn't attend to any of the blends. Guess what I grabbed on my way out...a copy of that word reading fluency list! Don't you know we worked on producing those words during our next pull-out session.

Which brings me to collecting. I collected that fluency list.  I jotted down Tier 2 words from a vocabulary discussion.  I took notes about strategies and skills that were important to the teacher/curriculum.  Of course I gathered data for those student objectives targeted and observed during my time.

Does every opportunity hit the jackpot? No. Neither does every pull-out group session. Yes, I said it! So, embrace change, step outside of your comfort zone, push into classrooms.  It is possible. It is beneficial.

If you haven't yet grabbed this Push In To Classroom Data Collection FREE resource head on over to my store, make yourself a set and attach to your clipboard. Exchange pull-out therapy for push-in once a month and let me know your thoughts!