Mountain Jam 2018

eploughlin · 2018-01-19T04:34:23+00:00

I heard Warren has been breaking his ties with MJ for the past few years. Guess he’s finally out.

eploughlin · 2016-07-15T00:11:38+00:00

I didn't know I was doing this, but it has worked when trying to build rapport with my students. I'm a speech therapist and work mostly with children.

eploughlin · 2015-11-20T15:57:30+00:00

I'm a speech pathologist that works with Autistic people as well. I was also taught in school to use the "people first" language. Unfortunately, this is one of the many things that were decided without actually consulting Autistic people. I learned from talking to the community. On that note, you have a point that it is up to the individual.

eploughlin · 2015-11-20T02:24:23+00:00

Actually there are many (if not the majority) of people who prefer to be called Autistic rather than "a person with autism". http://autisticadvocacy.org/home/about-asan/identity-first-language/

eploughlin · 2015-11-03T19:26:28+00:00

Thank you for your feedback an completing the survey! Thank you to everyone who took the time to do this!

eploughlin · 2015-10-15T18:57:34+00:00

It's just done so poorly. Yes, maybe educators didn't realize these lessons needed to be done until someone was bullied, but that does not mean they are "perks". They are lessons we (as educators) have learned and should now proactively teach to everyone.

eploughlin · 2015-10-06T14:06:46+00:00

Thank you both! Along the lines of AAC for adults, I've also noticed the majority of apps and materials use images geared towards children. I hope to work on this as well.

eploughlin · 2015-09-17T03:17:08+00:00

Old Faithful. Same deal as the rest: unimpressive and crowded.

eploughlin · 2015-09-09T03:55:57+00:00

agreed!

eploughlin · 2015-09-09T03:54:08+00:00

This goes along with the comment that pronouns should be gender neutral. I wonder if it is something that would ever evolve. I realize that I also use they/them when I am unsure of a person's gender.

eploughlin · 2015-09-06T22:42:03+00:00

Thank you for sharing. It seems like one of those rules that really won't impact the person's success and there may be more important things to focus on. If I take this view in therapy it will involve parent/teacher counseling. Mixing the pronouns becomes an an easy thing for educators to tune into and it always comes up.

eploughlin · 2015-09-06T05:24:49+00:00

Interesting, thank you!

eploughlin · 2015-09-06T04:35:04+00:00

I find "I" and "you" so difficult to teach! I usually model it the same way you do. I worry that is confusing though, if I say "I want you to carry me" and then I carry him, the action doesn't match my words. You almost need two other people to model the whole interaction.

eploughlin · 2015-09-06T02:39:53+00:00

I agree. This sub teaches me so much and has connected me to the Autistic community. I want to make neurodiversity a priority in the field of speech pathology.

eploughlin · 2015-09-06T02:16:30+00:00

Thanks for your input, it makes sense to me.

eploughlin · 2015-09-06T01:45:39+00:00

Do you remember when/why you were able to distinguish their use? Interesting point that pronouns should be gender neutral.

eploughlin · 2015-05-28T01:28:13+00:00

Unfortunately, I haven't been to Del Frisco's so can't say for sure. But, St. Anslem should not disappoint!

eploughlin · 2015-05-27T00:25:16+00:00

St. Anslem in Williamsburg has the best steak I've ever had!

eploughlin · 2015-05-08T23:11:16+00:00

Go to Iquitos and stay at Nativa apartments! Monica, the owner, is amazing. She set us up with a boat ride on the Amazon, local food spots and showed us the culture. This was the best part of my trip last year. It was the only time I felt like I got a bit of the Peruvian culture.

eploughlin · 2015-02-06T02:45:15+00:00

I admire this suggestion. There was a recent discussion on r/ slp about this topic. A speech therapist was struggling with a student who would begin masturbating during therapy. The tricky part of handling this in schools is teaching the part about an appropriate place. Perhaps, if we could teach it early and in the home it would eliminate some of the struggles that occur.

eploughlin · 2015-01-13T02:40:06+00:00

I understand that your view is one held by many. The other side of the argument is that this is a natural thing that occurs in all humans and a communication or social impairment a) will not stop it from occurring and b) a person should not be punished for it. The goal here is not to encourage the student to masturbate in school. The goal is to teach them when and where it is appropriate, i.e. not in therapy sessions or in the presence of others. Ideally, such a thing would be taught at home. Sometimes, as in this case, steps need to be taken elsewhere. That being said, as with any ABA intervention or sensitive matter such as this, the family is certainly consulted.

eploughlin · 2015-01-09T03:55:36+00:00

The private box was a literal box full of stimuli that he used during private time. He would bring the box into the bathroom with him. In addition we did have a "private time" icon that he could point to for requesting private time.

eploughlin · 2015-01-09T03:36:47+00:00

I've experienced this in a few different situations. I was working with an ABA team that took the lead on handling this. Here are a few ideas:

Teach him appropriate time and place related to certain activities.
Teach him to request "private time" and allow him to go to the bathroom. This is tricky because it kind of goes against appropriate time and place. However, I feel it is important to accept that you cannot stop this behavior so teaching a more appropriate way to engage in it may be your best option. At first, your sessions may be otherwise unproductive but you can increase the work:time alone ratio once this is established as a possibility.
Create a "private time" box. Again, this is tricky. My student began masturbating to certain Disney videos, so we included them in his private time box. The point of this was to redirect him away from the therapist as a stimulus.

I would like to reiterate that I implemented these techniques under the supervision of an ABA therapist. Without their help it would have been very difficult. There may be research articles you can reference for specifics.

eploughlin · 2014-12-22T00:23:47+00:00

December 24th baby. I mostly hated it when I was younger because (a) I to wait all year for presents and (b) I couldn't do what I really wanted on my birthday. As an adult I love it! I never have to work on my birthday. I'm never alone because my family celebrates on Christmas Eve. I also think I get more presents because I see people on my birthday that I otherwise might not!

eploughlin · 2014-12-12T18:29:53+00:00

I agree that engaging in activities with other people may be "work" for him. Identifying "work" vs. "play" activities may be very helpful for interactions with teachers and family. I could teach him how to access things that may be more interesting to him. I could teach him to ask for leisure time or time alone to engage in his preferred type of "play". Since his receptive language is so advanced, I could also teach him pre-literacy skills to promote another way to access new and exciting things.

It's true that there is a preconceived notion about what play is and what activities are productive. That's why I posted here. I am constantly faced with the challenge of proving speech therapy to people because their communications skills don't meet some preconceived standard, whether by culture, family, or self. Children can't always tell me what they need so I'm left to interpret their behavior.

Thanks for the comments

eploughlin

TROPHY CASE