Saratoga Speech Center

10/22/2021

Sit up front???

I had an interesting experience recently in an elementary school classroom.

I sat in the front of the room, by the teacher's desk.

The student I was there to see was absent, so I sat at their desk.

When I was in school as a student, I was a fidgeter. My legs were in constant motion and my books, covered with perfectly taped brown paper bags (thanks, mom) were plastered with the best pediatric graffiti I could produce.

My last name begins with S, so I often sat in the back because of 'alphabetical order' seating. It allowed me to tune out and tune in as I needed to, without drawing attention to myself.

I immediately noticed that there was an intensity to sitting so close. I felt like the teacher's eyes were on me all the time. Everything was brighter, louder and bigger. When I turned around, everyone made eye contact with me. Uh oh! They're watching my every move, too! I felt the need to be "on" a lot more than when I used to sit in the back of the room as a kid.

The dysregulation kicked in fairly quickly. The fidgeting increased. I hated it.

Fast forward. I did another class observation and sat in the back of the room. The stress was much less. I felt like I could let my hair down a little bit (figuratively, of course) and fidget as needed, which I did. It was a little harder to hear the teacher, so I wish she had a microphone, but I was still able to get everything. She came by for a check-in every so often. Even at my age, I still sat up when she was heading towards me, but I loved the connection. Yep, the back of the room with some check-ins was definitely for me. AND, it lead to a GREAT conversation about the flexibility we need to have when we write "preferential seating" in an IEP or 504 plan.

We shouldn't assume that the front of the room is the best fit for a student who needs support. It certainly may be, but it also may increase the student's stress.

The best solution to finding the right location for learning? Get the student involved in the decision-making process!

I would love for you to share your thoughts in the comments! Where did YOU (or your child) like to sit and why? Let's learn from each other!

10/14/2021

THANK YOU to everyone who has liked our page, shared our page, given us a review and shared your thoughts with others about our therapists. Please continue to share. We know there are a lot of families out there, who are looking for speech therapy for their children.

10/05/2021

We have not posted in quite some time. We are reminding parents that speech therapy is often covered through private health insurance or could be provided free of charge based on your child’s age and need for service. If you have questions or concerns please reach out to our therapists. We would be happy to talk with you.

Speech therapy is a treatment for speech disorders. Both children and adults may benefits from speech therapy. During speech therapy you may perform speech exercises, work on language comprehension, and practice speech rhythm and flow.

09/18/2020

The new school year is upon us and although it looks different, I hope everyone is feeling safe and keeping positive. Our office is currently open, offering both Teletherapy and Face To Face services. If your child is in need of speech therapy, we have 3 therapists who can work one on one, face to face or remotely with your child. We provide services through CPSE and we participate with many health insurance companies. YES! SPEECH THERAPY IS A COVERED BENEFIT WITH SOME INSURANCE PLANS. We serve early intervention through school age children. Please contact us at 518-450-0297 with any questions or to schedule an appointment.

03/22/2020

My families......This afternoon we play outside together.

For my kiddos working on new words: Set out all their clothes, shoes, coat, hat etc. "To go outside we need shoes. Get your shoes. Shoes. Your shoes. Shoes on." Label and repeat everything!!!! Outside, we work on action words, run, hop, skip, spin.......

My articulation kiddos: scavenger hunt!!! find at least 5 things that have your sound and 5 things that don't! You might even find shapes in the clouds that have your sound. Be creative!

My language kiddos: Pretend Play! Pretend you are going to order the biggest ice cream sundae ever!!! Use all your words and answer all the questions. Your "server" might ask you funny questions like "Do you want an elephant on your ice cream" and if you say yes, that would be sooooo silly!

03/19/2020

Online speech therapy resources offer your child a way to refine and practice their speech and language skills at home. Here are 6 of favorite sites.

03/19/2020

Research shows that shorter, more frequent sessions are more effective for learning and retention than longer, less frequent sessions.