Back To School-Part 6- Scheduling Software

Good Monday Morning Everyone! Itʼs great to be alive and we are blessed to have a job!

This morning I want to talk about scheduling software. Even though I am no longer working in public schools, I was thrilled to see someone had created software that will make our schedules for us. WOOT! Scheduling our kids for therapy is the single most difficult task of our jobs. Donʼt you agree? Although there are a few other software systems other there, I will be talking specifically about Caselite Software only because that is the one Leah has been using.

The website for this software is www.caselitesoftware.com if you would like to go there and read more about it.

Leah says it is very time intensive to set up the first year, but thereafter does not require so much work as the childʼs information transfers with the child as they change grades. Initially you have to input your school(s), teachers, and students. Then for each student you have to input student name, teacher, grade, school, therapy plan (impairment, sessions/week, minutes/session, pullout or inclusive). Finally you input your custom groups, student availability and rotations (if their schedules periodically change). As she said, it is very time intensive initially to set up.

The software will track whether the student is present or absent for therapy. You can note whether the absence was due to an educational activity, holiday, inclement weather, personal leave, unrelated duty, or other item. It also offers a notes section.

Pros:
1.Makes a schedule almost instantly!
2.Allows for custom grouping
3.Easily tracks attendance
4.Breaks down why service was not provided (weather, holiday, absent, etc)
5.Gives percentage for attendance either by caseload or by individual

Cons:
1.Doesnʼt show student progress over time
2.Time intensive initially
3.You are tethered to the internet

Since we have not actually used any of the other software out there we cannot tell you about them. We can only share with you that, YAY, such a thing does exist! If you use a different software that works for you, please share your comments with us!

Next week we begin a new series on Organizational Tips and Tricks! You'll want to read those entries as the tips are very practical and will make your therapy day go smoother!

Until next week, enjoy your therapy with your kids!

Back to School-Mastery Guidelines-Part 5

Youʼll be glad to know this morningʼs topic has nothing to do with oral exams! Today I want to refresh you on mastery guidelines for speech acquisition. Once again this is geared more for the “dinosuar SLP” who is still working.

If you work in public schools, then you have state and federal guidelines you must follow. You cannot always do that which you professionally know to be developmentally appropriate for the child. A major frustration for all of us, but one each of us deals with in every state. You cannot place a child in Speech Therapy unless they meet your stateʼs stringent guidelines. In my workplace, I noticed that we, SLPs, were interpreting the articulation data differently in making decisions regarding whether the child qualified or not. The difference was due to our interpretation of age of acquisition for speech sounds. Having graduated from college a hundred years ago, I was still relying on my antiquated knowledge of sound acquisition to make my placement decisions and did not realize things have changed! So for you older SLPs, Iʼd like to bring you up to the 21st century!

The following information is from the research of Linda Mawhinney and Mary Scott McTeague,
Mastery Guidelines-2004.
2 Years of age- 90% of children have mastered: /p,d,m,w,h,n/
3 Years of age- 90% of children have mastered: /t,b,k,g/
4-5 Years of age- 90% of children have mastered: /f,v,y/ (typically at 4)
5-7 Years of age- 90% of children have mastered: /s,z,j,l,r,sh,ch,th/, blends (typically at 6)

WOW! My previous knowledge had no mastery of any sound until age 3 and all the sounds as developing later, so you can see how this would make a huge difference in my decisions on placement. So if youʼre out there, old as me, and are unaware of these changes please TAKE NOTE things have changed!

TIPS: When to be concerned....(Dr. Lonnie Harris)
1.When family and friends have a hard time understanding the child.
2.When the child exhibits frustration when you do not understand their speech.
3.When you, the SLP, do not understand the childʼs speech even if there is no frustration.
4.1st Grade Rule- a 1st grade child should sound adult-like.

Hopes this helps you. Unfortunately, if youʼre like I was, it will increase your caseload, but I was a better Speech Therapist for it.

Next Monday Iʼll be talking about some of the new scheduling software that is now on the market. Enjoy your time with your kids this week!