Speckled Speech

I have a Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University Long Beach in Communicative Disorders. I worked as a Speech and Language Therapy Assistant (SLPA) for over 5 years in a fast-paced elementary school environment in Huntington Beach, California, which led to the need to make my own hand-drawn speech therapy materials!

Whatever it takes, Flexibility, Drawing, Communicating, Acting like a kid at the right time, Relating to the kids, Having fun, Setting clear boundaries, Giving chances, Smiling when you're happy, Explaining how certain behaviors could make people feel, Teaching and taking perspective, BOARD GAMES are the best resource because they give great opportunity to teach communication, turn-taking, sharing, good sportsmanship, friendship, coping skills for losing, perspective, empathy, compassion, dealing with various and quickly changing emotions, language, numbers, shapes, math, volume and voice control, self-esteem! Those are just the benefits off the top of my head!

Honor Roll, Dean's List and Presidents List at College and University

Working as a Speech and Language Pathology Assistant in an elementary school for over 5 years gave me the opportunity to come up with creative therapy materials in order to engage students with speech, language and communication disorders grades kindergarten through fifth grade. I used all of my materials regularly, and hope that others will see the value in these straightforward, kid friendly, fun, interactive, engaging, and educational speech therapy materials. Working in an elementary school is fast paced and you have to be super flexible and able to think quickly on your toes! I am in need of new and exciting ways to teach speech on a daily basis. Supplies which are easy to reproduce and easily accessible are a must! I found myself constantly searching for materials specific to each child's needs, but didn't have anything that was quite right. One day, I was attempting to teach a very squirmy boy how to say S's in words with s-blends, like, /sp/aghetti, /sm/ile and /Sp/ongeBob (I'm sure many can relate to trying to keep a kindergartner to sit in a chair and pay attention for any length of time, let alone a full half hour!) :) At that moment, I recalled often spending time with my grandmother, Babi, as a little girl. Babi would draw these little forest animals for me. Quick sketches...scribbles, really. They were so cute and simple, yet very engaging! I remember the feeling of being completely calm and focused. So, I scribbled a /sp/oon for the jiggly boy. And the boy said "ssspoon," then he colored the spoon. Then, I drew a slide, and the boy said, "ssslide," then he colored the slide. That was it...he was sitting in his chair, listening to me, waiting for the next word, repeating the word and actually producing the correct sound! He was hooked! And that was the beginning of my journey in drawing articulation therapy materials! Since then, I have made many other materials for speech and even for a few co-workers. I'm no Picasso-ette, but hey, simple scribbles work :) Yay! Thank you, Babi! Throughout my life, I have taken many random courses in Art, Language, Storytelling and Child Development. I have earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communicative Disorders, from and amazing team of professors at California State University Long Beach, and hold a California Speech-Language Pathology Assistant License. I owe all of my practical education to a group of amazing women, between two campuses in the school district. I've learned to be flexible and deal well with my time, materials, lesson, assemblies, schedule changes, the kids moods, tech stuff, lack of resources, asbestos scare, kids moving schools, my own son changing schools due to asbestos, their moods, my moods, everybody else's moods and with all sorts of changes in SLP's, I think I have a widespread understanding about how to do therapy in an fun, relaxed, yet rigorous and effective way! I get an idea spur of the moment or when something is in need, but we don't have the right materials. I draw it out and then am eager to share it so other can use these materials.

Engaging, Hand Drawn Therapy Materials and Stories. My passions are drawing, photography, fulfilling creative ideas and using art to educate and help children. In the future, I hope to create an organization which will meld art and therapy into one.