Speech Buddies {Product Review}

Speech Buddies are a set of instruments (i.e. Buddies) that provides kinesthetic awareness to those with decreased articulatory precision. There are 5 Buddies, they target R, S, L, CH and SH.

Below is a diagram of how they work:

In my own use, I found it to be a wonderful tool that helps clients determine the accurate placement and motor plans for difficult sounds. Many sounds we produce are difficult to explain, the Speech Buddies seem to be a great way to bridge the gap between the abstract explanation of sound production and the actual target production.

The complete set includes 5 tools

What I liked:

• The Speech Buddy sight offers free online games through Speech Buddies University for users to practice their sounds while having fun on the computer. 
• For those who are reluctant to take the plunge, Speech Buddy offers a 30 day trail. 
• Tools come in a cute carrying case for easy transport.

What I did not like:

• This is a pricey item. Costing $299 for 5 tools (includes tools for R, S, L, CH, and SH).

Overall, I think the Speech Buddy is a great addition to any SLP's toolkit. Just like any tool, they aren't right for every child, but they really have cut down on overall treatment time for a client I've been treating this summer. Although parents can use the Buddy to help their child while at home, it is not a substitution for therapy or an SLP.

To see Speech Buddies in action, take a look at this video below: 

Disclosure Statement: I was provided a set of the Speech Buddy tools. No other compensation was provided. This review includes solely my opinions.

Auditory Processing of Higher-Level Language Skills & Comprehending More Complex Auditory Information (Sequencing, Concrete Details, Subtle Clues, Social Language) {Review}

As this is my first post for 2013 let me just start off by wishing you all a Happy New Year! 

I will be reviewing 2 items from Great Ideas for Teaching that can be utilized to target auditory processing skills for those with higher level abilities. 

Auditory Processing of Higher-Level Language Skills ($32) is meant to assist students in learning to interpret events, gaining an understanding of concrete and subtle interpretations, and helping to grasp the main points of each event. Students who have may have trouble working through Auditory Processing of Higher-Level Language Skills should check out my review of Auditory Processing of Early Language Comprehension Skills to determine if it would be a better fit.

While looking at an image, students are read a story about the picture. Various questions that gauge specific comprehension skills are then asked. Questions are related to sequencing, context clues, inferencing, as well as time and spatial concepts. 

The review questions are simple and straightforward, requiring students to recall important details from the brief passages (e.g. What is the horse's name?) Questions get progressively difficult as they prompt students to form their own conclusions, separate subtle information amongst stories, make predictions, and retell the story. See below for sample pages. 

               

Comprehending More Complex Auditory Information (Sequencing, Concrete Details, Subtle Clues, Social Language) ($32) includes questions that target similar skills as Auditory Processing of Higher-Level Language Skills with an emphasis on sequencing. Images are provided to students as they listen to a two or three part story. There is an abundance of questions provided for users, which I personally appreciated as it saved me some preparation time. Take a look below for a few sample pages. 

I use both books with my students to aggressively target note-taking skills. Middle school is a time to develop and hone the skills needed to succeed in high school, college, and beyond! Instead of having students listen to me read each of the stories, I require them to jot down salient information. Once their notes have been taken, they are encouraged to recap the passage using the information they have recorded. Afterwards, I have a student read the passage back to me while I take my own notes on the whiteboard. This models how students should be taking notes themselves. As a group, we compare their notes with mine and discuss ways to improve upon their notation skills. 

Another important skill I impress upon my students when note-taking is the use of symbols and abbreviations. It was surprising to see how many of my kiddos were trying to write down the sentences verbatim. Text messaging language is a frequent example I use to drive home the benefits of using shorthand. I also found a handout from the University of North Dakota to be a helpful way to introduce and review abbreviations.

There are an infinite amount of resources available for us to utilize with students, but there is also an infinite amount of ways to utilize the resources we already have. Auditory Processing of Higher-Level Language Skills and Comprehending More Complex Auditory Information (Sequencing, Concrete Details, Subtle Clues, Social Language) are both easy to modify and extend into lessons targeting critical thinking, memory, visualization, and so much more!



Disclosure Statement: Great Ideas for Teaching, Inc. provided resources for testing in exchange for a review. The opinions expressed in this review are mine. No other compensation was provided.   

Processing Auditory Messages Exactly and Totally {Review}

For those of you who are fans of my Facebook page you know that my district recently provided me with therapy materials to use with students. Over the next few weeks, I will be posting reviews of those materials. There is an overwhelming amount of products to choose from out there, hopefully, my posts will provide you with info regarding  items you deem worthy enough to add to your SLP toolkit.

Processing Auditory Messages Exactly and Totally (PAMET) is a 60 page workbook meant to target auditory memory and processing via black and white reproducible illustrations.

Cover

Two instructional levels are provided (I and II). Level I (below) contains simple directives such as, "Circle the bug" or "Underline the chipmunk that is holding the mushrooms."

Level II (below) contains longer more detailed directives such as, "Find something that can move even though it has no legs or hands. Color its eyes green"

A variety of language skills can be targeted through the use of this unit.  Additionally, the comprehension and use of: vocabulary words, prepositions, verbs,"wh" questions, as well as strategies to aid with memory can all be addressed with this simple and straightforward workbook.

Despite being presented as an activity for younger ages (2nd - 5th grade), I find that my students lack many, if not all of the skills targeted by PAMET ($26.55).

In many cases, the idea of coloring may seem rather juvenile to your middle schoolers. As such, I use highlighters instead of crayons/markers, as they serve to "mature" the activity. Also, to add an element of competition (and curb "cheating") to my therapy group, students set up barriers using their speech folders.

What activities/materials do you use with your students to target processing/comprehension/memory?