Letters to Those Who Inspire Us: a Frenzied SLP Linky

I have recently had an opportunity to write a "palanca letter." Palanca means lever in Spanish and is intended to uplift the recipient. They are often written to those who are on retreat or a journey, often spiritual, but frequently just life changing. I wondered why it would take a big event for me to tell someone who is or was instrumental in my life what they mean to me, to offer them encouragement as they have given encouragement to me.

The Frenzied SLPs posted a blog hop on kindness last week, so I think writing palanca letters the week of Valentine's Day is the perfect extension of kindness. We are linking up again to write letters to someone who inspires and encourages us. It may be a college professor, a mentor or supervisor, a relative, colleague or friend who has been the "lever" in both our professional and personal lives. To me it is my friend and colleague Allison. I want her to know what she means to me.

Allison and I have been working together since 2003. She is as ideologically different from me as fire is to water, and yet we are bound by a mutual respect and admiration for each other's passion and commitment. We are alike in the value we place on tolerance, kindness, love, respect, education, growth, perseverance and so much more. Personally, I think we are the poster children for how people of differing opinions should treat each other.

Here is my letter to Allison EET style!
My Dear Friend,

I was thinking about how to write this letter to you, one, because it is public and two, because my blog is often speech oriented. It occurred to me that a public expression of admiration is a practice we should all engage in from time to time and I have the perfect speech tool for describing! You know I love using the Expanding Expression Tool in speech. We use it to describe objects and also to develop writing summaries, writing from background knowledge and writing biographies or autobiographies. It is very handy little item and it provides a wonderful framework for describing you.

Green: You are my faithful friend, a strong woman, a caring and tender mother, an advocate for all and an insightful and gifted special educator. You are an athlete a writer, a visionary and one classy lady!

Blue: You are always there to act as my touchstone whether it is to problem solve on a student or process a more personal issue. You encourage me to exercise (something I'm not naturally drawn to) as well as to stretch myself professionally. When I am hesitant about my abilities you always say just the right thing to encourage me to leap. I'm not sure you even see how instrumental you have been in my life. When I was falling, you LITERALLY picked me up and held me. I watch you do so much for your boys. I saw what a grateful and loving daughter you were. I see how you commit to your relationships and it furthers my own commitment.

Eye: I recall watching the ABC Afterschool Specials. One movie in particular was a favorite and I've mentioned it to you before. Skinny and Fatty was a 1958 film directed by N. Terao and written by Mitsuo Wakasugi and Seiya Yoshida.  It originally aired as part of the 1967 CBS Children's Film Festival that was hosted by Kookla, Fran and Ollie. When I think of us I am reminded of that film. It was very inspirational to me because it was about unlikely friends who encouraged each other, but it's largely our height difference that reminds me of Skinny and Fatty. You are tall and lean and beautiful with curls so dense and lovely. I know you sometimes bemoan your height (as I do mine). I think it suits you.

Wooden bead: This is the part I like; your character! What makes you, you? Well you are faithful, an unfaltering friend. You are always honest. You listen without judgment. You are a yin and yang of traits; humble, yet beautiful, strong, yet kind, brilliant, yet eager to learn, serious, yet funny, adventurous, yet rooted. You're amazing!

Pink: I don't know all of the life events that have had an impact on your life. I do know about your experiences with competitive swimming and how the work taught you perseverance and sportsmanship. I understand how the loss of your father as a teen impacted you, in fact that loss connects us as I had a similar experience. Your life growing up in Miami gave you a broader perspective of life. Then of course a college education at Harvard and meeting the man who would become your husband. Moving across the country to California and then back to NH with two young boys must have been a challenging decision, but again like me it became a place where you could find solace in difficult times. As a daughter, building an addition for your mother was an act of love and devotion. I am sure your mother was full of love for you especially as you nursed her during her illness. Dealing with a parent's terminal illness is something I can't even imagine. What a gift that you were there with your mother. When things got even more difficult and you had to make even bigger changes in your life, you did so with grace and courage. Not one to be stagnant, you continue be a model for your three boys by to taking your life by the reins and growing. I am excited to be a part of the next phase of your life!

White: This is where I could edit. I wouldn't change a thing!

Orange: What else do I know? I have been blessed with an amazing friend. A person who can laugh with me and cry with me. I love our relationship, one where we both give to each other. I relish those long after school conversations where we process a situation or talk about trends in our professions. I love talking movies and curly hair and kids. I love how I can look at you and you know what I'm thinking. After all this I am left with a single question; "Will you marry me?" :)
Is there someone special who has been a lever for you? Let them know, I suspect it will mean the world to them.

An InLinkz Link-up

Sharing Kindness: A Frenzied SLP Blog Hop

I recently had a student tell me I should be teaching him about kindness. He felt kindness was more important than strategies. I agree. Kindness is an ultimate goal as it relates to social competency. I explained the strategies we are learning lead to kind behavior. He seemed satisfied with my explanation. 

It seems there is a disconnect between kindness and the way people are behaving these days. The tolerance and acceptance people are professing only exists to the extent that they think others should believe as they do and not vice versa. The prevailing sentiment is "If you don't agree, you're a fool. I am right." Society is stuck on needing to be right, rather than accepting differences of opinion. Americans are expressing their opinions with ad hominem attacks, violence and vulgarity and our witness children are learning this is how to behave.  Furthermore, people seem to believe opinions ARE facts! Don't we help our students learn the difference between fact and opinion? The truth is, we are all entitled to our own opinions, just not our own facts. My anxiety increases daily as I see the diminishing premium placed on kindness in our world. I pray that we as a society begin to understand that it takes a conscious effort to behave with kindness and compassion. That living with kindness means extending kindness to everyone; the colleague who annoys you, the person who voted for the other candidate, the driver who cut you off, the neighbor whose dog barks, and the demanding parent. I've seen the hashtag #kindnessnation. Hashtags are cool and trendy, however I believe actions and effort are what is needed. I'd like to see people posting how they acted on their kindness each day because I believe #kindnessiscontagious.

The Frenzied SLPs are coming together in sharing kindness this month in the way we know best! We have collaborated to create FREE materials all with a kindness theme. You'll be able to target a wonderful variety of speech and language skills with these products! We think you and your students are going to love them. Let's keep the kindness going! We graciously thank you for downloading and using these materials with your students/clients. If you would be so kind, please leave feedback in our TpT stores if you find a few spare moments!

My valentine treat for you is a social story about giving and receiving valentines. This freebie is a story social intended for use with children who need help understanding the process of giving and receiving Valentine's Day cards. The tradition of giving cards may be overwhelming and confusing for our children with social pragmatic challenges.
Included in the download are 6 sheets that can be cut in half for a 12 page story. There are also places where students can insert themselves into the story by drawing a picture or gluing a photo. I hope you find it useful.

You can download it for free here.

Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind. ~ Henry James

Check out The Frenzied SLPs Sharing Kindness Blog Hop for more freebies by starting here:

Talkin' with Twang

Putting Words in Your Mouth

Love Hurts

Valentine's Day is quickly approaching and thoughts turn to flowers, chocolates, jewelry and oh yes, sadness, disappointment, expectations. The Frenzied SLPs thought we would explore Valentine's Day from a different perspective; that of the SLP and how there are times "love hurts" quite literally.

If you are anything like me you take your job to heart. In fact, you view it as so much more than a job. It is a passion, a choice, so when a student or client goes for the soft white underbelly, it hurts. I have been clawed, kicked, scratched, bitten, insulted, belittled, and mocked. Ahhhh, memories! It's no wonder I go back to work!


Back in 1986 or 87 I was fresh out of graduate school and a newly ASHA certified SLP. The world was my oyster and I felt pretty good about the direction my life was heading. I was working in an inner city in a primary school, only K-2. There were 12 kindergartens in that school in addition to 7 each of first and second and four self-contained special education classes. I had over 80 students on my caseload, but I was young and idealistic.


I had one feisty little girl who was physically and verbally aggressive. One day she was in a particularly foul mood and was not having any speech therapy. I cajoled and encouraged and did my speechy thing when all of a sudden she hauled off and swung at me. I was 26 years old and fairly quick so I was able to move back. Unbeknownst to me she had wound up with another shot with the other hand and landed a closed fist punch on my jaw. That was followed up with some very colorful language. You can fill in the blanks, "_ucko a_hole!" Remember, however to substitute /th/ for /s/. This one screamed all the way to the principal's office, "Miss Polizzi's a b_____," (again, insert lisp, it makes me laugh).


At the time I was devastated. My jaw hurt, because she packed a wallop, my heart was broken and my confidence shattered. It was the first time I had been so physically and emotionally abused by a child. Sadly it wouldn't be the last time.


I learned from this experience though. I learned that for me it was over quickly. For a parent it is day in and day out and I have to remain compassionate about their lives with children who have behavior difficulties. I learned that when a child acts out it is never about me, but more likely something that happened at home or in another class or a thought or feeling that I have no control over. I learned that neurology is HUGE and sometimes these children are not making a conscious choice to be confrontational! I have learned that more often than not the trauma a child experiences happens from birth to age five, and it will impact them forever. These are the children with addiction and substance abuse issues, diabetes, heart conditions, anxiety and so much more. Their trauma makes them sick, literally. I learned I may be one of only handful of people who is kind to them on any given day.


While I can look back on this experience and chuckle and like the Rain Man, add it to my book of personal injuries, I often wonder what happened to this little girl. She would be 37 years old and may be a parent (or grandparent) herself. She may have continued the cycle or she may have healed. I pray for the latter, as I do for all my students with behavioral challenges, every night. Yes, love hurts. But it is only temporary.

How about you? When has #SLP Love Hurt? How did you deal with it? The Frenzied SLPs would love you to link up and share your experiences.

An InLinkz Link-up

Groundhogs, 100th Day of School, Super Bowl, Chinese New Year, Mardi Gras, Valentines, AND Leap Year!!

It's crazy! February is the shortest month of the year and it is chock full of holidays! Add to the holiday frenzy our winter break and we have three weeks to holiday it up! As I have made very clear I love to milk a theme. It makes lesson planning easy and therapy fun and different.

To "add a little lemon juice to the paper cut," as they say, I currently have ELEVEN evaluations in progress, our NHSLHA Spring Conference to help plan, a Medicaid in-service to coordinate, and a new group I am part of that is working toward building a track at our high school. Then there is the matter of family and remaining mindful of my needs. I am overwhelmed, but still want to keep to my commitment of blogging weekly. What's a stressed SLP to do? Keep it pithy!

Here is a only a small sample of the Groundhog Day activities happening in our speech room this month. I hope they inspire you (for next year)!

I whipped up some cards with vocabulary related to groundhogs and the corresponding definitions and we played go-fish and memory.

It was fun for my students to use these cards as an alternative to Sara Smith's Expanding Expression Tool beads.

I did a Google search for "funny groundhog photos" and hit pay dirt. I used these photos to develop narrative skills and sentence formulation. My students from first grade through eighth grade had great success formulating sentences using wh-question prompts. My eighth grade students further expanded their sentences with adjectives and adverbs. 

This craftivity was perfect for my articulation students. We made this craft over two sessions to be certain practice was the priority, not coloring. Again, Google came to the rescue in finding a groundhog worksheet and speech bubble. Ten words on the speech bubble times ten productions is one hundred productions!

Fortunately for me, Cajun girl, Mia McDaniel of Putting Words in Your Mouth has plenty of Mardi Gras materials. These are two of my favorites. Click the picture to go to Mia's Teachers Pay Teachers Store

It was probably 1986 when I created my original heart-o game using individually colored hearts! I gave this "beloved" game a facelift this year and cannot wait to play with my students. It is an all time favorite. You can find it here or by clicking the photo above.

Well, that's it for now. I suppose that wasn't very pithy, but there is a lot happening in our little speech room! What are you doing to celebrate the February holidays? Comment below; I am always looking for fun new ideas to share with my students.

Leap day clip art from: <a href="http://downloadclipart.org/f/leap-day-1492">Clip art image by http://downloadclipart.org/</a>