Improvised Therapy

11/05/2024

Check out this new podcast today ☺️

10/14/2024

I can’t think of a school that aligns more with the Learn With Less Framework than SMPNS:
simple objects with a big impact; authentic connections between caregiver & child; emphasis on the whole child’s development through play… this is a school that ticked every one of my SLP/Mom boxes. I’m so proud to be able to serve on its Board and share it with the San Mateo community!

09/29/2024

Our preschool, San Mateo Parents' Nursery School, is gearing up for our annual auction! We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit, volunteer-run organization. We are looking for auction items! If you own a small business and would like to be a sponsor, donate a good or service, or create a Count Me In to promote your business or passion, feel free to fill out this form or DM me for details!! Let’s work as a community to grow and have FUN!

https://forms.gle/FKV1jodPGH4ZejpE9

Access Google Forms with a personal Google account or Google Workspace account (for business use).

06/09/2024

I wrote about the way San Mateo Parents' Nursery School fosters children’s development through play for the San Mateo Parents Club! Check out the blog post here!

San Mateo Parents Club is a community of parents with kids from birth to kindergarten age (or currently expecting) in San Mateo and surrounding areas. We are a group who encourage friendship, support, and advice on parenting of young children for both mothers and fathers.

05/20/2024

"I'm a Speech-Language Pathologist."

"So you teach people how to talk?"

"Sit back for a moment and let me tell you what a Speech-Language Pathologist pours their heart into day after day...

We help a person, whose brain can no longer send the correct signals to produce basic sentences, answer the simplest of questions so he can participate in social activities with others...

We help the 'smart but scattered' young adult find their first job...

We teach memory strategies to someone with dementia so she can remember the names of her grandchildren...

We help an autistic child with their goals, in the hopes that the world will become easier to navigate...

We rehab someone's swallowing muscles so they can have a sip of McAlister's ice tea, because it is their absolute favorite...

We give hope to the parents who have sought help for their child is delayed, after the doctor repeatedly tells them he is just a late talker...

We teach someone with new cochlear implants how to utilize them in the ways they want...
Is it this one?

We ease a stuttering child's anxiety when they are preparing to stand up in front of their class to give a book report...

We show someone how to apply a passy-muir valve to their tracheostomy so they can use their voice to tell their family "I love you."...

We have the difficult conversation with a family to tell them that grandma's cognitive impairments make her unsafe to go back to her home alone...

We help a child pronounce certain sounds correctly, giving them the ability to speak confidently and be understood clearly ...

We help a young, intelligent woman who has had a massive stroke learn to use a speech-generating device so that she can return to her vibrant and capable self...

We place voice prostheses to allow a Laryngeal Cancer survivor to tell his family he loves them after cancer so cruelly took his voice from him....

And we think about these people when we're falling asleep at night and we pray for them and we spend time off the clock and our own money on things that we think may help them even the slightest...

And we are often misunderstood and overlooked.

So if you know a Speech-Language Pathologist, tell them thank you and give them a hug, because I promise you, after spending their days pouring their hearts into others, they need someone to replenish theirs.”

❤ Happy National SLP Day! ❤️

- adapted from an unknown source

(Picture of an eager SLP about to drive 100 miles round trip to treat adults in rural nursing facilities!)

05/11/2024

Fantastic perspective

https://www.facebook.com/reel/310073881659306?fs=e&mibextid=0NULKw&fs=e&s=TIeQ9V

04/27/2024

Incredible news!

The AMA is removing its blanket support for ABA. This article includes the “whereas…” statements in the resolution.

The following is from the CEO of ICDL, Jeff Guenzel's, blog which can be found by clicking here. The American Medical Association Withdraws Support for ABA and Opens the Door for More Advocacy for DIR At the American Medical Association House of Delegates annual meeting last month, they adopted a

03/06/2024

It doesn’t get better than SMPNS for an evidence-based early childhood setting! I was introduced to it by an OT, and every day I see:
😃 Open-Ended Play!!!
💪 Opportunities for gross-motor development and core strengthening
👐🏾 Opportunities for fine-motor development
📖 Loads of early literacy and narrative development
🧠 Opportunities to problem solve and be curious about nature and the world around them
💕 An emphasis on social-emotional learning that encourages perspective taking and developmentally appropriate levels of sharing, negotiating, and navigating conflict.
👨🏾‍🎨 Multiple avenues for creative expression daily.
🎓 Seasoned teachers who guide co-op parents to become amazing volunteers and incredible parents.
🌈 An incredibly inclusive and welcoming community that strives to meet every family where they are.
Come see for yourself! Saturday, March 23rd from 2:00-4:00 pm!