Did you grab a fresh cup of coffee? Maybe you are snacking while browsing the web to find another speech therapy resource? Or perhaps you already know me and came across my first blog post?
Either way, welcome to the Blog about "Net" Speech!
Hi! I'm Annette, a speech-language pathologist providing online speech therapy to preschool and elementary kids. "A Net Speech Blog" is where you'll get my latest news and valuable information about teletherapy.
So get ready to dive into a treasure trove of information about speech therapy in general, as well as tips about online speech therapy and the general development of speech and language skills in children.
Annette at AnetSpeech
I grew up as an army brat in both the US and overseas. I am the middle child of seven kids. My personality is introverted and analytical by nature, but I definitely have a big dash of play enjoyment thrown in to the mix.
I had the privilege of a first career in the field of linguistics. While overseas, as an adult, I collaborated with two different teams to create literacy programs for both adults and children and turn them over to local leadership.
Returning to the US after linguistic field work, I transitioned to speech-language therapy. I graduated from Eastern Michigan University with my Masters degree, then accepted a 3-month maternity leave coverage position as a Clinical Fellow SLP in Washington. Following my certification with ASHA, I then gained experience with both geriatrics and school-aged children. After falling in love with its green beauty, I became a permanent resident of western Washington and am now focused on speech therapy for children between the ages of 4 and 10. I absolutely love helping these children and their parents get a solid footing for communication.
The pandemic and online speech therapy at AnetSpeech
When the pandemic hit, SLPs and parents everywhere frantically turned to teletherapy. We all gained tech skills while transitioning our experience and knowledge to a screen. Teletherapy had already become a proven tool for therapy effectiveness. Now this tool expanded across the world.
Although an incredibly stressful time for therapy providers, parents, and kids alike, the pandemic I taught me that telepractice was a perfect fit for the nerdy, game-playing, research-browsing SLP I had already become.
My new virtual clinic, AnetSpeech, was finally established in 2020, with a goal of providing excellent online speech therapy services to school students and private clients where an in-person SLP was not accessible.
Ever since graduate school I had wanted to set up my own speech therapy business. So my new virtual clinic, AnetSpeech, was finally established in 2020, with the goal of providing excellent speech services to school students and private clients where an in-person SLP was not accessible.
Online speech therapy and linguistics at AnetSpeech
Many SLPs have many varied amazing skills, but what sets me apart from most is my previous experience and ongoing love of the linguistic aspects of speech and language.
Most pediatric SLPs are great at games. I, too, am always looking for new games, fresh visuals, or quick reinforcers to adapt to teletherapy. Here's a little snapshot of some recently used materials in my virtual sessions.
Any SLP worth their salt will keep up on research, be willing to change a therapy approach when a client stalls in progress, and just plain enjoy their clients and their families. I do those things, too!
Many SLPs have amazing skills, but what sets me apart from most is my previous experience and ongoing love of the linguistic aspects of speech and language.
I also pull from my linguistic experience to deeply target all things speech sounds (think: making sounds and increasing speech clarity) and language development (think: sentence grammar and story level skills). All this can easily be accomplished in a virtual setting.
Linguistics (the study of language and its structure) gave me a solid foundation for specific speech therapy techniques. One example is the phonetic context technique. With this technique, I may elicit an 'sh' sound by putting it before or after a long 'ee' sound (like 'she' or 'eesh'), because the tongue position for both is in a similar position..
Or I may pull from my anatomy training to give clients a solid grasp of terminology so they easily understand an instruction to "keep the tongue tip down" for a /k/ sound.
Linguistics also informs my assessments of speech errors, helping identify when there are patterns of error (for example, another sound always intrudes and becomes a substitution for another sound).
Having a linguistic mindset, of course I annotate many of my tools with the International Phonetic Alphabet. Here are some of my favorite speech sound therapy tools, the Bjorem Speech Sound Cue Cards (by the way, you can buy them here). I absolutely had to add the phonetic transcription on the back! so my eyes can quickly scan and locate just the card I need!
More about "A Net Speech Blog"
What will you find here? AnetSpeech's blog will have up-to-date of information about speech therapy in general, as well as tips about online speech therapy and about the general development of speech and language skills in children.
Some of the topics to be covered in my blog posts are:
Differences between speech and language
What does a speech therapist do
What does online therapy look like
Intelligibility norms
What sounds should your child have
Three things you need for teletherapy
Benefits of teletherapy for speech
How to know if your child needs speech therapy
My aim in publishing a blog is to provide parent-friendly explanations and resources. Sometimes I will feature a download, like informational handouts or seasonal at-home activities. Other times I will share tips I'm incorporating into some of my online sessions.
Many parents may be unsure about teletherapy and hesitant to try it with their child.
Many parents may be unsure about teletherapy and hesitant to try it with their child.
But the secret sauce for successful speech therapy progress lies far more in the non-technical, in the human, aspects of therapy.
Some of the human aspects that make both in-person and online speech therapy effective are:
Client-SLP rapport and connection
SLP's expertise in choosing an effective therapy approach
Tapping into the client's interests
Use of dynamic, specific cues and feedback to support client skills growth
Appropriate target-selection to support goal progress
Read the testimonials of some of my more-than-pleased parents here!
Thank you for joining me today!
So now you have a good picture of your upcoming journey at "A Net Speech Blog". You'll learn more about speech therapy, about teletherapy, and get answers to many common and frequently asked parent questions. You'll get links to free downloads, and tips on speech sounds and language skills for children. Your comments will help me get to know you, as well!
Did you finish your cup of coffee or your snack already? If not, click the Home button above to explore the website for AnetSpeech.
Thank you for joining me on the first blog post!
Send me your questions - I'm happy to pull information together to answer some of your questions with a fuller answer in a post.
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