Social Communication

Mrs. DeYoung and the social workers at Prairieview and Lakeview (Mrs. Amedeo and Mrs. Horeni) co- facilitate some social communication groups each week.  Students in the groups have IEP's for social work and speech therapy services.  The purpose of the groups is to improve conversation skills and cooperation with others. Lessons focus on establishing eye contact, observing nonverbal cues, initiating and maintaining conversation, staying on topic, and identifying other people's feelings.  These skills help students to develop an awareness of others and how to interact appropriately.  Students also practice problem-solving skills that will help them with day-to-day conflict situations.    

Speech Therapy

Mrs. DeYoung has completed speech screenings and has begun meeting with students for speech therapy .  Starting next week, some of her students will be assigned homework to practice articulation each week. If your child is working to improve specific speech sounds they will be given a speech pocket for their binder and a sticker chart to reinforce doing the homework.  The practice assignments need to be completed and signed by a parent in order for the child to earn their stickers.  Students will be able to pick prizes when they have acquired five stickers.  Please contact Mrs. DeYoung if you have questions about speech therapy services. Thank you for helping your children to improve their speech skills and for supporting the speech/language program!  

Have a Fun Break!

Self-Monitoring Speech

As we approach the end of the school year, many speech students are focusing on carryover skills. They are practicing using their clear speech in non-therapy situations. When speaking outside of speech class, they are encouraged to keep these ideas in mind to improve their speech:

I can think about:



Which words have my sound?



Which words were difficult to say?




How can I improve my speech?

ISAT Week March 5-9

Students will not be pulled for speech/language therapy during their ISAT testing periods.

Due to the ISATs, many teachers assign less homework this week than usual. It is a great time for students to review speech and language skills or visit some of the speech websites on Mrs. DeYoung's web page. Children who do not have therapy this week are especially encouraged to practice their skills at home!


Reminder: Parents may still sign up for conferences with Mrs. DeYoung: online http://www.SignUpGenius.com/go/20F044DA5A723A64-spring, email mdeyoung@ccsd66.org, or call (630) 783-5157.


Have a great week!

Conference Sign-Up

Dear Parents,

I will be happy to speak with you during spring conferences to discuss your child’s progress in Speech therapy or RTI Vocabulary group. My conference times are on Wednesday March 7th, or Thursday March 8th between 3:00-6:00pm. To sign up for a conference go online to
http://www.SignUpGenius.com/go/20F044DA5A723A64-spring
You will need to click “sign up” on the desired time slot, enter your information, and enter your child’s name in the Comments box.

You may contact me by phone (630) 783-5157 or email mdeyoung@ccsd66.org if you need to schedule a different day or prefer to talk over the telephone.

Sincerely,
Mrs. DeYoung

Spotlight on Storytelling

This week students in some of Mrs. DeYoung's language groups have practiced storytelling skills to describe personal experiences and develop narratives. Students have used the "5 W's," graphic organizers, and the internet to organize a story. Other children have identified words that can substitute for proper nouns and discovered how use of "vague" terms like "thing," "stuff," or even overusing common pronouns (he, her, it, etc.) can confuse the reader or listener. Groups are encouraged to use precise language and to sequence events in cause-effect order. These skills will help students to be better understood when speaking or writing.

The 5 "W's"

This week some of Mrs. DeYoung's students with language goals used the "Who, What, When, Where, and Why?" strategy to remember details from stories. They recalled information by asking themselves: Who are the characters? Where does the story take place? When does it occur? What happened? and Why? Mrs. DeYoung would hold up five fingers as a cue for the " Five W's."

This is also a great method for following directions and formulating sentences or narratives. Students can check their own stories to see if they have explained who, what happened, where, when, and why. The strategy works well for relating personal events or writing narratives. Students expand their oral and written expression by including details about the chracters, setting, and reasons for events. Children can also remember instructions by thinking Who is the direction for? What should they do? Where and when should they do it? Parents can utilize this questioning technique to help their children describe activities or to remember what they've been told.

January Update

January has been a month of listening activities in the speech room. In communication therapy students who are working to improve their articulation skills have been focusing on judging their speech production and self-monitoring. Children may rate their speech or listen for errors and correct their own mistakes. Some of the children have enjoyed listening to recordings of their voice to hear how they sound to other people. These activities help them to use clear speech and make corrections independently. Students are encouraged to rate their speech when completing speech homework.
Students with language goals have practiced listening to stories and retelling events. They have identified characters, setting, problems, and solutions in the narratives. Mrs. DeYoung may ask them questions to check comprehension and thinking skills. Students are beginning to develop their own stories with good story grammar. Other groups have worked on following oral directions and listening to descriptions. The groups have practiced listening to others and taking turns giving and receiving instructions. Children have been challenged to follow directions or answer questions without having the information repeated. Sometimes it is tricky to respond correctly on the first try!

Asperger Syndrome

Asperger's syndrome, a form of high functioning autism, is an increasingly common disorder seen in school-age students. There is some dispute among experts as to whether Asperger's syndrome and high functioning autism are the same thing, Tony Attwood - an authority in this area - believes that the terms are equivalent in clinical practice. (Attwood, 2007) Children with Asperger's syndrome have typically developing intellectual and language skills, but often have great difficulty with social language. On the face of it, the most recognizable problem these children display is an absence of empathy for the person they are talking with. Other prominent features of the syndrome are a fixation or obsession for one particular topic and flat, monotone voice prosody. For more information, see www.speechlanguage-resources.com

Attributes of a Critical Thinker

• asks pertinent questions


• assesses statements and arguments


• is able to admit a lack of understanding or information


• has a sense of curiosity


• is interested in finding new solutions


• is able to clearly define a set of criteria for analyzing ideas


• is willing to examine beliefs, assumptions, and opinions and weigh them against facts


• listens carefully to others and is able to give feedback


• sees that critical thinking is a lifelong process of self-assessment


• suspends judgment until all facts have been gathered and considered


• looks for evidence to support assumption and beliefs


• is able to adjust opinions when new facts are found


• looks for proof


• examines problems closely


• is able to reject information that is incorrect or irrelevant
  

Ferett, S. Peak Performance (1997)