Collaborating with Teachers to Support Student Progress
How often does a classroom teacher ask, “what exactly do you do?” or have a student receiving services in their classroom, yet they have no idea why the student attends speech? Teacher collaboration with SLPs is extremely important in a students plan to remediate a skill or a sound and it is vital to the generalization of that skill. Here are a few easy, stress-free ways to engage teachers in the identification and remediation process.
BEFORE THE REFERRAL PROCESS:
- Educate Your Staff: At the beginning of the year, give a quick staff presentation. What is your role on campus? What are common red flags? Also, what are recommendations when taking to parents?
- Be Proactive: Complete “Letter of the Week” lessons with the Kindergarten teachers to help model the sound.
- Follow-Up: Provide a teacher handout at the beginning of the year and middle of the year.
Collecting teacher and parent information during the referral process is an important part in the evaluation. The information they provide with help you know how to best support the student in multiple environments.
DURING THE REMEDIATION PROCESS:
- Team Effort: Let teachers and staff members know that they are important individuals in the student’s progress and carry over of the skills.
- Access the Curriculum: Use classroom resources to reinforce the curriculum during your therapy sessions- story/novel the class is reading, spelling lists for articulation, weekly vocabulary, etc.
- Provide Materials: Use sound task card boxes for early finishers and “Word of the Week” to help streamline the language and vocabulary.
Check out this video to learn more about teacher collaboration with SLPs.
Don’t forget to grab your FREE download! This download is EDITABLE and available for grades Kindergarten to 5th.
