Fearless Fire Drill

We are so excited to introduce you to a fellow SLP Libby Pittman! We had the pleasure of hearing her present at a conference this spring and we couldn't wait to share what we learned! She has helped to create an amazing program, Fearless Fire Drill and I think so many of our kids could benefit from it!  If you would like to read more about what we learned at the SHAA conference go here and here! And be sure to follow her Facebook page and stop by her website!

When the speech ladies asked if I would write a blog on the fearless fire drill I was excited about this opportunity to share information about what has grown to be my passion.  However, I quickly realized it is much easier to present information about the Fearless Fire Drill program in real life than in a blog.  The main reason for this is because there are so many factors that went into how and why we created this program that it is hard to explain in an article.  To make a long story short, I was in a hotel fire about five years ago, which not only scared me half to death but also started my wheels turning about how we handle fire drills in our school.  The next fall we had a first grade student who would not enter the building on the first day of school, because he was afraid we were going to have a fire drill.  After trying to write social stories and trying to do my best social coaching; I realized we had to go deeper with this life saving skill.  It was at this time that I made a phone call to the Fire Marshal in our town to discuss the best way to prepare children for the fire alarm. The bottom line is we created this program out of a need to teach our students a basic life saving skill that they are capable of learning but had never been given the proper tools to master this task.

As we tested, then piloted this program, we learned that schools not only in Alabama; but also all over the United States are not requiring special needs students to participate in the fire drill.  The majority of special education students are either forewarned about the drill or taken out of the building before the alarm sounds.  This does little to prepare these children for real life situations.

So what is the Fearless Fire Drill Program?  It is a program written by a school based SLP and occupational therapist that provided a systematic approach to teaching children how to cope with and participate in fire drills with their peers.  It includes lessons, social stories, data sheets, video modeling clips, a real working fire drill and earphones.  Years of developing and revising the lessons have yielded positive results.  The Fearless Fire Drill kits are lightweight and a good size to tote to several schools.  

Taken from Fearless Fire Drill's Facebook Page

The lessons are user friendly and can be led by a SLP, OT, resource teacher or behaviorist.  Each lesson takes anywhere from 15 to 25 minutes depending on the size of the group of students who are participating.

The program has been extremely successful with the over 100 students who have participated in it.  It has been used in public and private schools with students on the spectrum and those who only exhibit sensory issues.  All children who have participated in the lessons are able to participate in the fire drill with their peers with no signs of anxiety.

Last year a research study was conducted that confirmed all of the data we have gathered in the past 3 years on this program.  The study included typical and inclusion kindergarten classes from Mitchell’s Place and four other local public schools.  One of the most striking findings during the study was the need for the program with several typical students.  We were expecting the students who were diagnosed with special needs to have a learning curve but were surprised to find typical students who benefited greatly from being exposed to the program. 

Since we developed the program we have been asked to speak at numerous conventions, parent education groups, first responders and other in-services.  It has been an exciting journey but more than that we are thrilled to be providing our children with a means to learn this life skill in a way that is safe and effective.

You may be asking how can I learn more about the kit, where can I get one, how much do they cost? 

If you are interested in purchasing a kit or learning more about it you can go to skillsforsuccess.net or contact our business manager, Priss Pittman at priss@bellsouth.net.  Each kit is 289.00.

To see a testimonial video go here!

Summer Gift Tags

I always try to give my students a little end of the year gift. They have worked so hard all year and I want to be sure to encourage them and let them know how proud I am!

Earlier this week I walked into Dollar General and saw a box of 24 bubbles for $3. Score! I was able to get a little treat for all 48 of my students for only $6! Score!

My gift this year will be a small bottle of bubbles with a tag that says ‘You blew me away this year!’

Last year I put together a package of KoolAide and a crazy straw with a tag that said ‘Have a Kool Summer!’ 

I have also seen on Pinterest giving a beach ball with a tag that reads 'Have a ball this summer!'

Go here to grab our summer gift tags for FREE!

What do you do for your students at the end of the year?

I Dare You to Enter a Giveaway!

For the GIVEAWAY scroll to bottom.

Erik X. Raj has done it again! His new app I Dare You Articulation is out for only $4.99! (If you haven’t heard of his other app Multiple Choice Articulation go HERE.) 

I am always on the lookout for activities to target the conversation/ carryover level, especially this time of year when I am assessing end of the year progress! It is also great because it keeps my little guys active! And boy are they FULL of energy here at the end. 

What does this app do? Well first choose a phoneme (S, Z, R, L, SH, CH, TH). 

Then choose initial, medial or final.

Next Have your student read the ‘dare’ using their good speech! Next act out the dare!

Your kids will have fun and you will get a kick out of watching them act out the dare!

Now it is your turn to try it out! Enter to win this app for free!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

TpT Giveaway

I hope you all were able to stop by TpT’s Teacher Appreciation Sale and stock up on some goodies for the end of the year!


If you missed out, don’t worry!

In honor of BSHM and Teacher Appreciation week we have decided to do a giveaway!

You can win the product of your choice from The Speech Ladies TpT store! To enter, just leave a comment with the product you would like and your email address!

Happy May!

Digital Problem Solver App

*This is not an official app review. Social Express did not contact me to write about the DPS app, I just like it and wanted to share with you!

I am a big fan of The Social Express! My kids love using their app and it opens up great opportunities to talk about different pragmatic situations. In this app the characters use a DPS (digital problem solver) that helps them identify their feelings and allows them to select a coping strategy. 

This March I attended the SHAA conference and learned that there was a real Digital Problem Solving app you can purchase for .99 cents! I have been using it with a few of my students and it has been great! 

Students choose an emotion.

Then they can scroll through different coping strategies and choose the one they want to use. The Social Express character then demonstrates how to use that coping strategy. 

Mostly I find it effective because it forces my kids to slow down and process through their emotions (how they feel, what triggered that feeling, what to do with the feeling, ect.).

What apps do you like use when teaching your kiddos about feelings?

Teacher Appreciation Sale

Today and tomorrow TpT is having a site wide sale in honor of teacher appreciation week! Use code TAD13 for an additional 10% off!

To honor all the SLPs who work in schools, we are calling this the ‘Speecher Appreciation Sale’!

Stop by The Speech Ladies store to rack up on products that are 20% off! (28% off with your special code!)

Some of our new items include:

 

 

Articulation Process Posters (to learn about this product see this post.)

 

 

 

 

WH Question Scramble Card Game

This product includes 60 WH question cards, 12 bonus cards and an answer key. As usual, print, cut and laminate. Mix cards up and lay card stack face down on the table. Students draw one card at a time. The questions on the card are scrambled. The student must unscramble the words to ask the question, then other students may answer. Watch out for cats who may steal your cards! Whoever has the most cards in the end wins!

Enjoy the sale!

Articualtion Process Posters

15 DAYS TILL SUMMER! I don’t know about you, but summer can’t get here fast enough! I can tell my students feel the same way. Around this time of year, they tend to give up and seem to need a little extra motivation. 

My kiddos tend to be very visual, so I was brainstorming ways to create a visual chart so they could take an active part in their progress. Thus the Articulation Process Chart was born!

The idea is very simple. I took 6 steps SLPs use in articulation therapy and wrote out student friendly definitions. (I realize that you could break this down into more than 6 steps but my goal here was to keep it simple.) The 6 steps I used were generalization, conversation, reading, sentences, words and isolation.

I printed out the pages, laminated them and hot glued them to a ribbon. Then I attached the ribbon to a ring and displayed it in my classroom! It comes in 2 fonts - leopard print letters and pink polka dot letters. 

To grab this product go to Articulation Process Posters!

Each student was given a clothespin with their name and sound written on it. (If they are working on more than one sound they were given multiple clothespins.) The students put their clothespins on the current level they were working on. This has worked as a great visual to show how far they have come with their sound and how much farther they have to go. 

I wish I had done this at the beginning of the year so that they could have been focusing on reaching the top of the ribbon all year! I think that when they get to the top (generalization) I will let them pick a special prize form the treasure box as a reward!

As an added bonus, this has been a helpful visual for my teachers and administrators to see. So few of them understand articulation therapy and how it works. It has opened up opportunities for me to talk about what I am doing with my students and how far they have come!

What are you doing to motivate your students at the end of the year?

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