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I can’t believe February is already over! Right before Winter Break I was so stressed out! So, I had decided in December to try something new with my kids come the first of the year. I made these cool signs. One said “Look what I can do…” and then there are 2 skills on each of the other posters (supine flexion/prone extension; jumping jacks/ski jumps; table/crab; sit ups/push ups; jump rope/juggling).

In my school district, we are not supposed to pull students for therapy sessions during lunch or recess times, but sometimes this guideline gets overlooked. At a recent IEP meeting, I was recommending reducing a student’s PT service frequency because she had made so much progress in PT. I told her parents...

Here are some more useful websites I have found that work well with the netbook in therapy sessions. Most are interactive to some degree, others are just free materials that you can use online which may not be interactive but can still be used during sessions on a netbook.

Are you approaching your career with a positive attitude? Are you a positive person? If not, any task is going to be more difficult. Your job performance is directly influenced by the way you think and feel. The more you can remain positive and motivated the more success you're likely to have. This month, I want to provide some advice and insight about staying positive borrowed from a few great thinkers and leaders in this world.

Now that we are settled into the New Year, if you are like me, you are starting to think about getting some of your CEU requirements out of the way. You may be trying to meet the requirements for your professional association such as ASHA or your state licensure requirements. I have found one of the most efficient ways to accomplish this task is using www.speechpathology.com.

One of last year's New Leader's assignments was to reach out to an expert in the field whom we admired and ask them questions about their career path and tips for success. The interaction with the expert I selected was very positive. I remember Dr. Jean Blosser coaching us and encouraging us to never be intimidated to seek guidance from professionals whom we perceived to be accomplished and well established in the field.

How can you magically create more time and avoid feeling burnt-out?   As typical of many “therapist-types,” it is easy to get excited about opportunities to help others and it’s very difficult to say “no” even though you may not have the time to add more responsibilities. Admittedly I haven’t been very good at the “just say no” part but I have discovered that I can get more people helping on projects than I realized. The project suddenly becomes much more manageable.

Recently, I was observing a preschool classroom. They were participating in a circle-time activity with a silly song that had motions for the students to follow. I found myself looking on in amazement; my students were attempting to participate and imitate the motions. I wondered why they were doing so much better in circle time than they do in my pull out therapy sessions. Could it be the music?

Brrrrr – it’s cold outside! And in some parts of the county that means the winter blahs! It’s a great time of year to create a “new look” for your therapy room. Add some pizzazz by creating some new bulletin boards. You can create bulletin boards that are seasonal, reinforce the skills you are targeting, or motivate students to perform well

With the start of the new year, I have been hearing so much about organization and decluttering. And, as a result it got me thinking about CASELITE. I have been a school based therapist for 11 years and I have always done my schedule the traditional way. After seeing a Caselite demonstration and actually speaking with one of the founders of the program, I decided that I was going to take the leap of faith this year to make life less hectic and more organized.

Planning is of utmost importance in a leader’s mind. Nothing happens without a good plan, and a good plan requires well-established goals and objectives. As the New Leaders Program is in its pilot years, getting organized has been a challenge for many of its participants. I thought I would share a helpful resource for creating and sticking to a good plan of action, whatever your goal may be.

The start of a new year is always a good time to think about goals. You may be coming up with personal resolutions at the start of the year such as losing weight or saving up more money.   Professional goals should be an equal priority.

At the beginning of the school year this past July, I asked each clinician on my team to write up a couple professional goals for themselves and a couple for our team. I review these goals every quarter to see how we’re doing and what progress we have made.

 Where did the year go? As the holiday season hits us full force and the days become even more hectic, I sometimes find it helpful to step back and reflect on what a great year we have had.  My first thoughts begin with family.  

For all you netbook users within Progressus, I am happy to help in finding and providing possible websites and activities that can be used within therapy. The netbook pilot program can hopefully decrease some planning for sessions and the amount of materials we all carry around each and everyday.

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Net-erials Net-erials

The 2010 ASHA convention was a whirlwind of excitement!  New Leader Maria Ekedel and myself attended as special guests of Progressus Therapy. We were honored to attend as presenters and exhibitors. Our presentation on Friday morning was much more fun and relaxed than we had anticipated. Lead by Jean Blosser and Holly Kaiser of Progressus, the session brought together several members of the Progressus team to talk about the New Leaders Program…and put our acting skills to the test.

Two weeks ago, Progressus had the opportunity to once again be a part of the ASHA Convention in New Orleans.  As always, the event was fantastic – filled with energy and excitement.  As I walked around and spoke with some of you as well as some of our clients, prospective candidates and even some of our competitors, I was blown away....

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From the President From the President

 Throughout my many years of working in the schools, one of my biggest frustrations has been lack of parental involvement.  Sure, there are some schools I have worked in during my career, where I prayed for privacy from some parents.  However, I can say that unfortunately, the norm for me, has been the uninvolved parent.   So, I find myself trying to figure out the optimal method to really reach out to these folks and help them to understand how their participation is essential in their child's progress. 

Why should I get involved with my professional association? How can I benefit from membership? Won’t it just set up unreasonable expectations for me to volunteer my time?  What can I contribute when there are others with more experience?

I already have to juggle my personal life with work. Why add more to that delicate balance? I was once afraid… no… very afraid, to get involved as an active member. Sure,  I paid my dues faithfully for 30 years....

I’m sure that by now many of the teachers in your buildings are approaching you with questions about kids in their classes who are having difficulty in their classrroms. Red flags are probably rising as the fourth grade teacher notices that Johnny can’t organize his thoughts to tell a story, or Jennifer has difficulty paying attention, or Jamie loses balance and falls a lot....

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Advice from the Experts Advice from the Experts

As a seasoned therapist, I sometimes find myself challenged as to where to obtain materials and ideas for therapy.  Of course, there's always Super Duper, but sometimes I just don't have the funds.  So, in times like these, I start to get resourceful.  Over the years, I have found the web to be one of the most valuable tools out there.  There are a plethora of websites, loaded with FREE downloadable takeaways, therapy ideas, and lesson plans.