In light of new research and emphasis on Least Restrictive Environment (LRE), a lot of SPED departments are wanting to move towards a push-in model of services for speech and language, particularly for preschool students. This is how I provide push-in services to my Preschool students in Special Day Classes and how it can be adapted to fit general ed preschools as well.

If you are blessed to be a part of molding the minds of tomorrow by working in a school system, you will be juggling multiple responsibilities, for multiple children, with multiple disorders. The most important thing I can tell you is to budget your energy.

We all have some memories of our first day at school as a student, but do we remember our first day and the first assignment as a SLP at a new school?

What is National School Backpack Awareness Day you ask? Who is involved? The American Occupational Therapy Association’s National School Backpack Awareness Day is when multiple resources (Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, Teachers, etc.) across the county help others to “Live Life To Its Fullest” by avoiding the pain or injury that comes with carrying heavy backpack or bags of any kind. Students are taught multiple safety tips and different ways they can be protected from getting an injury, and to protect their back. With around 55% of students carrying backpacks that are much heavier than what they’re supposed to, this results in injuries. Backpack-related injuries send approximately 5,000 students a year to emergency rooms, which can progress throughout school year into adulthood.

My grandma used to say, “Boredom is a choice. So, if you don’t know what to do one day, help someone.”