May is National Speech-Language-Hearing Month
Do teachers in your building know what your role is as a speech and language pathologist? Do they still question why kids get speech if they “speak just fine?” Well, it’s our month to spread awareness of what we actually do when working with our students. We want our colleagues to know we not only support our students, but how helpful we can be to them as well.Do teachers in your building know what your role is as a speech and language pathologist? Do they still question why kids get speech if they “speak just fine?” Well, it’s our month to spread awareness of what we actually do when working with our students. We want our colleagues to know we not only support our students, but how helpful we can be to them as well.
May is National Speech-Language-Hearing month (formally known as Better Speech and Hearing Month). May provides us with an opportunity to raise awareness about communication disorders and the role of speech language pathologists working in the school setting.
Here are some ideas to spread awareness about our profession during the month of May:
Pamphlet: This is the perfect resource to hand out to administrators and teachers. This informative pamphlet includes information about:
- Role of the SLP
- Communication Problems in School
- Difference between Speech and Language
- Classroom Acoustics
- Protecting Your Voice
- Strategies for the Classroom
Our National Speech-Language-Hearing handout has similar information to the pamphlet, but the handout also includes an at-risk speech and language questionnaire for teachers to fill out if they have concerns about a student in their class.
Presentation: Ask administration if you can present at a faculty meeting or during a professional development opportunity. When we’ve presented to colleagues, we’ve made sure to share strategies that teachers can easily use in their classrooms the very next day. Teachers also love handouts of the strategies, this way they can photocopy them and share with the students in their classes. Some popular strategies that all content teachers can benefit from are context clues, annotation symbols, paraphrasing, proofreading (edit and revise), and note taking.
Gift: Everyone loves coming into work and finding a treat on their desk or in their mailbox. We created several tags that you can choose from and attach to a special treat. Even better, the tags are FREE. All you need to do is buy the items. We like to buy in bulk to keep the cost down. Not only are these items super cute, they are informative and bring awareness to National Speech-Language-Hearing Month.
Host a get-together: Find a time when you are available to host an SLP meet and greet in your office or you can even reserve an empty classroom. Pick up a tray of cookies, put out a bowl of candy, or brew up some coffee (but don’t forget to tell your colleagues to bring their own coffee mug!). The treats will lure them in and then you can share with them all the fabulous things about YOU! At your get-together, you can share all of the incredible work that you do, especially if they have no idea who you are or what you do. This also gives you the opportunity to talk about students you have in common. You may even make them aware of students in their classes who receive speech and language services that they had no idea about. Your colleagues might have concerns about students that they can bring to your attention. In this case, have an ‘at risk’ speech and language form available to distribute. Once teachers understand your role in the school, they will realize how valuable you are.
No matter how you get the word out that May is National Speech-Language-Hearing Month, it’s important that you make your colleagues aware of how we are here to support them and their students. Our role in the school is important and many times our colleagues don’t know we exist, let alone know what we do. It’s our job to inform them of how we support our students and how valuable we are to our students’ academic growth. Don’t forget to grab our FREEBIE and let us know how you’re advocating for SLPs during the month of May.
