 I received an email last week and it was from a tutor who stated her juniors in high school use Futureslps.com as a resource. It really meant a lot to receive the email and also they shared a wonderful resource for College Prep, SAT and ACT Test Preparation Tips and Resources (http://www.studentscholarshipsearch.com/tips/college-test-prep.php) as a thank you to Futureslps.com. I wanted to say special thanks to Danielle for providing the resource and sharing. It is awesome that as a junior in high school that you are being proactive and taking the initiative to find resources that will be beneficial for your future. To Sarah, I commend you for all that you do, I am sure all of your students appreciate you as a mentor, tutor and teacher.
To all of my followers, I will continue to thank you all for all of your support and dedication. There are not enough ways to say thank you for my sincere appreciation to each of you. Your support means the world to me and it does not go unnoticed!
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The below information is a guest repost from the blog: "Let's Talk Speech and Language", I want to thank Ms. Sohan for providing "creative and affordable therapy tools" on her blog. Stay up to date on information by following Ms. Sohan on Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter.  Following Directions With Origami {Review} The free ‘How to Make Origami’ app is a fun, simple tool to utilize with students who are bored with worksheets. This app will walk you and your students through the steps of how to make over 70 popular origami figures (crane, rabbit, giraffe, goldfish, tulip, etc) while using 3D animation of the folding process. Steps range from a simple 6 step walk-through on how to make a boat all the way up to the 78 step ‘how-to’ on creating a spider! Users can easily go forward/backward through the steps as well as replay the animation. Each figure is rated for difficulty from easy to middle to hard. Directions for images rated easy and middle are provided for each step. For the images rated hard, no written directives are provided. This can be turned into a great pragmatic language lesson wherein a student can take the lead and instruct others on the next step, engaging in a back and forth dialogue. Students have the opportunity to ask for clarification, repetition, or assistance; necessary social skills a lot of my students do not possess. Additional IEP goals related to following directions, auditory memory, sequencing, sentence formulation, can also be targeted. For additional reinforcement related to the skills targeted, graphic organizer can be used to recall and organize steps used to create the origami image. Further working on receptive and expressive language. Below are a few screen shots of one my favorite figures from this app.... a pig! 
Each image is presented on the screen prior to steps being introduced.
Each step is animated and accompanied with written directives at the bottom of the screen (for easy and middle images only).
All steps can easily be replayed. Users can go forward or back through steps.
App Compatibility: The ‘How to make Origami’ App is available on all Apple products (iPhone and iPad) as well as all Android products (phone and tablet). I have the app on both my Android phone and iPad. In the therapy room setting I prefer using the iPad where it’s large screen is a perfect size for my small group sessions. Have fun folding! ___________________________________________________________________________  Author Bio: Ms.Sohan is a Middle School Speech-Language Pathologist from New York. She is the author of the blog Let’s Talk Speech and Language where she posts about behavior management, free apps, therapy techniques, and more.
 Carole and Robin are the creators of the website PrAActical AAC: Supports for Language Learning (http://praacticalaac.info/), they have compiled so many wonderful resources pertaining to Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) . Find out more about Carole and Robin by visiting their About us page.
Click on the links below to view some of the posts under the various topics. These are only some of posts, but it will get you started to exploring this great website with lots of information regarding AAC. If you are looking for a specific topic, there is a search bar to the far left on the website. The Temporary link to use to access this website is http://prAACticalAAC.blogspot.com. PrAActical Thinking -5 Different Gifts to Give to a Classroom -37 AAC Posts You May Have Missed, July 2012 -5 Ways to Elicit Language without Asking a Direct Question -7 Apps for Adolescents with Special Needs Strategy of the Month -Self-Calming Strategies: ‘Easier Seen’ -PrAACtical Supports for Behavior -AAC Language Facilitation Round-Up -F is for Feedback -Visual Schedule Wrap-Up -Ideas for Teaching the Use of Visual Schedules Video of the Week -Setting Clear Expectations -Building Conversational Skills with Visual Supports -Using Visual Supports to Promote Positive Behavior -Piggy’s AAC Phone -AAC at Home: Visual Schedules & Supports -Video of the Week: Object Schedules AAC e-Tool Box This is a list of handouts and other resources that pertain to the follow categories: AAC Tools and Strategies, Clinical Populations, Downloads, Organizations and Conferences, Products Worth Looking At, and Websites to Sign Up and Join. Join their Social Media Networks by Following them on Twitter and Pinterest (see below), and Like them on Facebook Special Thanks to Carole and Robin for collaborating and creating a wonderful resource for AAC!  Special Thanks to Leslie Lindsay, R.N. B.S.N. for her guest post on Futureslps.com regarding Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS). Follow her Tweets on Twitter and Like her Facebook Page. _______________________________________________ You won’t soon forget her. The red hair and blue eyes the size of saucers will linger in your memory. So, too will the fact that she is as fire-y and energetic as that copper hair that cascades down her back, framing her freckled face with possibility. And when you hear her speak, you may have an inkling that she once suffered from moderate to severe childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), or you may be none the wiser. Although Kate is a bright, creative, and eager soon-to-be 2nd grader, she has overcome a road block most of us never have to deal with: a struggle to communicate expressively. And why do I share this? Since you are about to embark into an exciting profession of working with children and their families, I’d like you to have an inside view of what it’s like to raise a child with CAS. · We are hurting. We feel a sense of loss in our child’s lack of verbal communication. We are grieving. We didn’t want this to happen. Heck, most of us don’t even know what CAS is! · We are frustrated. We don’t know what we are doing wrong (some of us blame ourselves on our child’s inability to speak). It’s hard to live a life where we only hear our child(ren) point and grunt to get their needs met. · We feel all alone. It’s not every day you run into someone else who is also struggling with CAS. It often feels like it is “us” against “the world.” If you know of anyone else who is open to connecting for play dates or support groups, hook us up! · We have a lot of other concerns. It may be that we have to take off work early—or stop working altogether to make sure our child gets to speech therapy. Money may be tight. Our insurance may be giving us a hard time. The demands of raising a family, running a household, and dealing with apraxia may have taken a toll on our relationships. · We have a full, busy life. Apraxia and speech therapy is a part of our life, but we are many things to many people. Please respect our time. · Deep down, we just want to have a “normal” kid. When we overhear a precocious 3-year old chatting with his mommy or daddy at the local park or coffee shop, our heart breaks. “Why can’t that be my kid?!” · We worry. Will this ever get better? Will my child be able to talk—when? What do I need to do? · We want to help. Let us into your speech-pathology world. You don’t have to give away all of the secrets to the trade, but let us be your partner. As a professional SLP, here’s what you can do to help smooth our path: · Give us homework, tips, ideas, and more information on childhood apraxia. Some folks may request this, others might not know what they need or want. Feel us out. If you come across something in your professional life you think will help, but all means, pass it on. ·Treat us with respect and compassion. We know a lot about our children and we want to help them. · But don’t tip-toe around our feelings. Go ahead, lay it on me. Tell me that CAS is serious and complex and can take years to remediate. Tell me, too that you will do all you can to help my child learn to speak verbally and that we are in this together. I need that right now. · Ask us about our home life. We may have some inside tips to help you with our child in therapy. For example, she really does get scared of bubbles; please do not blow them with her. She can’t go anywhere without her favorite stuffed puppy. Let her bring him to therapy and perhaps incorporate him into your activities. You see, as a former R.N. who worked with children day and night in an inpatient child psychiatry program at the Mayo Clinic, I know that children and their families matter. We are not simply a diagnosis who needs treatment. We are real people, with real feelings and real lives. It is because of my daughter Kate that I wrote the first book designed for parents on this complex neurologically-based motor speech disorder. SPEAKING OF APRAXIA: A PARENT’S GUIDE TO CHILDHOOD APRAXIA OF SPEECH (Woodbine House, 2012) is as much as labor of love as it is a resource to help others along their apraxia journey. The book is comprised of over 300 pages of tips, ideas, research, and more on various topics related—not just to CAS—but other speech disorders from suspecting a problem to getting treatment (what that treatment consists of), school challenges, what you can do at home, family coping, child coping, networking, advocating, and co-morbid conditions. Sprinkled throughout are quotes from parents speaking out about apraxia—what helped, what mattered, and what challenged them. Speaking of Apraxia is a must-have for every practicing pediatric SLP. Read what others are saying: " I was so excited to open up my Advance for SLPs magazine today and see your book advertised! Your ‘baby’ is out there. I wish you lots and lots of success with it!" --R.W. An SLP in Missouri shares this: "I already have a couple of families in mind that I am excited to tell about Speaking of Apraxia. What a great resource!" "I could feel your blood, sweat and tears as I flipped through the pages (wiping my eyes).Outstanding! I just shook my head in amazement...I am in awe and I am still kind of speechless...really! This book will be just one of your legacies...well done!!" --T.K.P., CCC-SLP in Minnesota And remember, our kids need your special touch. For without the “magic” of dedicated SLPs, our children with apraxia wouldn’t be able to make the gains they do. Thank you.  Bio: Leslie Lindsay is former child/adolescent psych R.N. at the Mayo Clinic-Rochester. She is the mother of two school-aged daughters and a basset hound, named Sally. Lindsay and her family reside in the Chicago suburbs where she writes full-time. She is the author of “Speaking of Apraxia: A Parents’ Guide to Childhood Apraxia of Speech” (Woodbine House, March 2012). Read more on her blog, “Practical Parenting…with a Twist” where she writes about apraxia, parenting, education, and more 5 days a week, www.leslie4kids.wordpress.com.
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