Bilinguistics

Levels of Cueing

Administrator — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:00:32 +0000

When we talk about cueing, what does minimum/moderate/maximum mean exactly? Our team put together a quick description of the levels of cueing so we could all be on the same page. Please see the attached and feel free to respond with your thoughts!

https://bilinguistics.box.com/s/phkkhv1tszvb20imomol

Supervising Graduate Clinicians

Administrator — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:22:46 +0000

Many of us have the opportunity to supervise graduate students as part of their clinical training. As they begin this semester’s placements, they may need guidance in planning for group therapy and writing reports that are designed for the school setting. Here are a lesson plan template and an outline for writing school reports that they, and you as a supervisor, may find to be helpful. Good luck!

https://bilinguistics.box.com/s/hfqozmiaj0idukxhonzz

https://bilinguistics.box.com/s/ne2y2ogybh14l4gon6hi

iPad Apps and Autism

Administrator — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 09:00:55 +0000

Many of us have been trying to incorporate recent advances in technology into our therapy sessions and evaluations. Recently, 60 Minutes ran an interesting segment related to the use of iPads and tablet computers with children and adults who have Autism. You can find their report here:

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7385686n&tag=mncol;lst;1

Are you HIPAA Compliant?

Administrator — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:02:57 +0000

Take a look at the questions and answers below for a quick refresher.

-In HIPAA, “Covered Entities” are: “covered by” – or regulated by – HIPAA law

-One of HIPAA’s “Five Overall Objectives” is: to protect personal medical information

-The highest fine for the worst HIPAA violation is: $50,000 per violation, with a maximum of $1.5 million per year

-Do disclosures of PHI for treatment usually need an authorization? No

-Does HIPAA allow Covered Entities to disclose PHI that came from other providers? Yes

-HIPAA is needed for these two main reasons: to protect personal privacy and to prevent crime

-PHI stands for: Protected Health Information

For more answers to FAQs, check out the ”official central governmental hub for all HIPAA issues including rules, standards and implementation guides” at http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/faq/index.html.

COMMENT on Posts and SUBSCRIBE to our Blog!

Administrator — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 09:30:52 +0000

Hey everyone,

Happy New Year! We have now added new functionality to our blog to allow you to Comment more easily and also to Subscribe to receive our once-a-week postings on topics related to bilingualism and speech-language pathology. Just add your email address to the subscribe bar on the right. We’d love to hear from you.

Best Regards,

The Bilinguistics Team

Holiday Fun

Administrator — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 08:00:38 +0000

Here are two very cool websites for holilday fun! Some of your parents may have been asking for some things like this too!

The Polar Express! Great language activities and print-outs too! http://www.busyteacherscafe.com/literature_guides/polarexpress.html

The Very Hungry Reindeer- really cute, and perfect for younger kiddos or even older, lower level students. www.playingwithwords365.com

Happy Holidays!

The McGurk Effect

Administrator — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 10:00:49 +0000

Hi everyone,

Here is an interesting video clip on the McGurk Effect from NPR’s website. It has to do with how much visual input influences how we hear a sound. Test out your SLP senses and see if you can not be fooled!

http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2011/09/23/140704746/whats-he-saying-bahh-or-fahh-a-brain-mystery

Today I worked on . . .

Administrator — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 09:00:46 +0000

Here’s a quick idea for working on syntax and personal experience retell, as well as an easy way to communicate with parents about therapy. At the beginning of a session, review one goal with each student that he/she will work on by having them complete this sentence:

“Today, I will work on …. (saying the /g/ sound, answering questions, etc.).”

At the end of the session, have the student complete the following sentence:

“Today, I worked on …. (saying the /g/ sound, answering questions, etc.).”

Send this sheet home with the student so his/her parents can see what was done in therapy that day. You may wish to have the student illustrate the page, draw a G, etc. A sample take-home page in English and Spanish is available at the link below.

https://bilinguistics.box.com/s/lamczcy4ogs36no01bc5

The Perils and Value of the Home Language Survey

Administrator — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 09:00:03 +0000

Attached is an article that Ellen Kester, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, and Scott Prath, M.A., CCC-SLP, co-authored dealing with the home-language survey and language dominance. It highlights the different uses for this information in speech-language assessments and the testing done by diagnosticians and Licensed Specialists in School Psychology (LSSPs). Here is an excerpt followed by a link to the full document:

What language do we test in?

This question is difficult to answer not because of its complexity but because the question itself is inherently flawed. The way the question is framed leads one to believe that we will make a choice between two languages for testing purposes, when in fact; it is the combination of data from all languages that determines typicality or disorder. We will highlight two influences that cause us to incorrectly consider testing in one language and discuss how speech-language pathologists can get back on track in identifying children from bilingual backgrounds with language disorders.

https://bilinguistics.box.com/s/kca4zxtfxxbuo6s2zf2t

Correlating LD and Speech-Language Referrals

Administrator — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 09:00:48 +0000

About a year ago, we (SLPs) were experiencing a high number of speech-language referrals that came out of school assessments for Learning Disability (LD), but the students were not qualifying as Speech Impaired (SI). Basically, LD testing was indicating a communication deficit that was not present when we tested. We gathered the data on all referrals for the semester and looked for correlations between the referrals that resulted in qualifications. We found that there were 7 areas of concern that created great predictive value for speech impairment (listed below). We did not interact with the Licensed Specialist in School Psychology (LSSP) during their evaluation but treated the speech-language referral as a separate process that came out of their evaluation.

7 areas of concern that create the greatest predictive value for proper evaluation:

1. Prior academic history

2. Current academic history

3. Current speech/language concerns

4. Teacher Concerns

5. Parent Concern

6. Medical History (to include hearing data)

7. Oral Language Achievement Scores

Attached is a presentation and a small research study that we did on this issue last year.

https://bilinguistics.box.net/s/yv80hoknt73e44rpvk7u