Social Communication On Your Feet Part Two

By Hanna Bogen, M.S., CCC-SLP

In the part one post I introduced readers to the fundamental principles of improvisation (“improv”) and the connections between improv and social-regulation. Again, they include:

•  Principle One:        Be prepared
•  Principle Two:       Willingness (to fail spectacularly)
• Principle Three:    Stay in the moment
• Principle Four:      Quiet down and listen
• Principle Five:       Action beats inaction
• Principle Six:         Be honest
• Principle Seven:    Let go of your need to control
• Principle Eight:     There are no mistakes
• Principle Nine:      Trust
• Principle Ten:        Teamwork

These principles of improv (Peter Bromberg, 2007) demonstrate the value of flexibility, perspective taking, and reciprocity in successful social interactions. This blog post will take a deeper look at three of the principles and their necessity in the world of social-regulation, specifically: willingness, stay in the moment, and “Yes, and…”

Willingness:  One constant we can count on time and again is that social behaviors have consequences — others either have comfortable, positive thoughts about us or uncomfortable, negative thoughts about us based on the things we do. While the brain is inclined to stick with reliable behaviors with predictable outcomes, social situations often require us to push the comfort zone and try something new. Individuals with social-regulation challenges may struggle to shift away from predictable behaviors, even when they have socially-unexpected outcomes. Willingness to ask new questions, attempt new connections, and risk the possibility of failure is key to learning and adapting to increasingly more mature forms of communication. In improv, the structure and rules of the games offer a safe place to try new things because it is ok to make mistakes; mistakes are often celebrated with shared laughter, which builds confidence in in students. Along with this willingness to evolve is the need to reflect on one’s social experiences: “Did the interaction go as planned?” “How did the conversation partner react to the comment?” “What might I do differently next time to have a more socially-expected outcome?” Acknowledging that mistakes are inevitable in social development, and engaging in thoughtful reflection on social behaviors and their consequences, provide a context for successful social growth.

Stay in the Moment:  Successful executive functioning hinges on one’s ability to engage in “mental time travel” (i.e., the ability to use foresight and hindsight to make decisions in the present moment).  That being said, mindful, nonjudgmental awareness of the present moment allows individuals to make intentional decisions about how to behave at any given moment, rather than simply being carried away by impulses and emotion.  The mindful practice of staying in the moment, even when that requires regularly redirecting thought and attention from the past or future to the present, strengthens our brain’s ability to “insert the pause” between stimulus and response, thus improving self-regulation skills.  This “pause” represents an individual’s opportunity to decide whether (s)he wants to continue with a social behavior, or redirect to a new, more socially-expected one.

“Yes, and…”:  Acknowledging and validating one’s emotionally dysregulated experience does not imply inherent agreement with that dysregulated state. As stated by the Emotional ABC’s curriculum (Venice West Productions, Inc., 2012), “emotions are like the weather.” Like the weather, we don’t strive to control our emotions; instead we strive to equip ourselves with tools and strategies to cope with the emotions that appear in various social situations. Acknowledging and validating one’s emotional experience is critical to bringing awareness to the emotional state, and providing an opportunity to engage in regulating strategies. Identifying one’s emotion(s) and moving forward to initiate a regulation strategy (i.e., “Yes, and…”) embodies the process of emotional regulation, a critical component of social-regulation (e.g., Example of self-talk: “Yes, I am feeling anxious and I can use my focus tool to calm myself.”). The social landscape is complex and dynamic, often requiring individuals to demonstrate flexibility, reciprocity, and adaptation to changing social rules. The principles of improv highlight many of the skills required for successful social experiences, and practice with improv games and activities can help to build the skills needed for social success.

Social Communication on your Feet

By Hanna Bogen

(This will be the first in a two part series of posts on “Improv”)

Improvisation (improv) is often mistaken for stand-up comedy, though the two are fundamentally different. Stand-up comedy typically involves pre-written jokes, memorization, and a polished performance. In other words, it’s the “performance” we wish we could give every time we engage in a social situation. With some realistic reflection, though, one realizes that social situations are intrinsically unpredictable. Scripting is a wonderful way to prepare for the social world, and practice with fundamental concepts of social communication can boost confidence, awareness, and overall success. That being said, there is also great benefit to strengthening our students’ abilities to demonstrate flexibility during social encounters. The fundamentals of improvisation speak directly to building that flexibility, as well as countless other core social communication and social-regulation skills:

• Principle One: Be prepared
• Principle Two: Willingness (to fail spectacularly)
• Principle Three: Stay in the moment
• Principle Four: Quiet down and listen
• Principle Five: Action beats inaction
• Principle Six: Be honest
• Principle Seven: Let go of your need to control
• Principle Eight: There are no mistakes
• Principle Nine: Trust
• Principle Ten: Teamwork

In addition to these ten principles, there is an ultimate, overarching principle of improv that runs, like a golden thread, through each of the other principles: “Yes, and…” The “Yes, and…” principle implies that each social experience is an offer for engagement and successful interaction. It acknowledges that all individuals bring a unique and valuable perspective to the interaction. Practice with improvisational games and activities can strengthen our students’ cognitive flexibility, perspective taking, creativity and shared interest, thereby readying them for greater success in their future social interactions.

One improv game to get you started at home is called “The Imaginary Object.”  While best played in a group, this game can be played with as few as two people.  One person begins the game by pretending to use an imaginary object; they engage in actions that would be typical of using the object.  After a moment of demonstrating the imaginary object, they “pass” the object to the next person, who must continue on with using it.  This “passing” continues until all participants have modeled use of the object. At the end, everyone can announce what object they thought they were “holding” or “using.”  This game hones awareness and use of nonverbal communication cues including gestures, facial expressions, and body positioning.  Participants can talk about which nonverbal cues were helpful in identifying the imaginary object during the game, and/or which cues they would add next time to make understanding of the object more clear.

7 Self-Regulation Tips to Reduce Homework Battles With Your Child

I originally wrote this post for Beyond BookSmart, and it appeared on their blog on October 17, 2016: http://www.beyondbooksmart.com/executive-functioning-strategies-blog/7-self-regulation-tips-to-reduce-homework-battles-with-your-child. For other GREAT resources on executive functioning, planning and prioritizing, improving confidence, emotional regulation strategies, and focusing and attention strategies, check out the rest of the wonderful blog posts: http://www.beyondbooksmart.com/executive-functioning-strategies-blog

Few tasks test self-regulation skills like homework time. Self-regulation is critical to one’s ability to manage challenging or complex situations, and homework time is no exception. Strong self-regulation is multifaceted; it involves regulation of one’s thoughts, emotions, actions, and motivation. Although these skills continue to develop into adulthood, building and strengthening them from an early age can reduce stress and provide the drive to attempt new experiences. Students can integrate practices into home and school activities that strengthen and support a foundation of self-regulation. Below are seven tips students can use in their daily routines to promote happier homework time.

1: Make a homework plan

It doesn’t always make sense for your child to start with the homework assignment from his first class of the day. Some students feel more motivated when they get the biggest assignment out of the way first, while others need to get started with a small task in order to avoid a state of emotional overload. Encourage your child to first make a list of all tasks on deck for the day, and then arrange them into an order that will promote success. Setting aside a few minutes to make a homework plan before getting started can save time, frustration, and stress in the long run.

2: Stock your homework space ahead of time

A quick trip to find a sharp pencil can easily turn into an hour-long distraction. Before getting started, consider what supplies are needed to complete the homework and stock the workspace. Some students benefit from a tri-fold poster board used as a makeshift study station to reduce visual distractions. Wherever your child plans to complete homework, make sure the area is distraction-free and that the necessary supplies are readily available so precious work time isn’t wasted looking for more graph paper.

3: Support basic (subcortical) needs

The brain’s sub-cortex involves the “downstairs,” lower-level brain structures that manage emotions and generate seek and avoid impulses. When the sub-cortex is dysregulated, the brain devotes most or all of its cognitive resources to those structures in order to ensure that we feel safe and comfortable. This leads to decreased cognitive energy reaching the prefrontal, “thinking” parts of the brain that students need to successfully complete homework. Your child can support subcortical regulation by ensuring that he/she has had enough sleep, hydration, food, and movement.

4: Know your triggers and plan ahead

If a certain type of task is a consistent emotional trigger for homework battles with your child, encourage him/her to pre-regulate. This might involve intentionally setting up the environment to be as calming as possible, using a favorite pen or pencil to add a little fun to the task, taking some deep breaths prior to starting, identifying a small reward for completing the task, or setting aside time for a break mid-way through the homework. Anticipating the likelihood of dysregulation and planning ahead helps to avoid the emotional hijacking that otherwise feels like it sneaks up out of nowhere when students are working through an assignment they don’t enjoy.

5: Use future emotion to motivate present action

Often, students get stuck in a “now bubble” about how annoyed, frustrated, bored, or overwhelmed they feel at the thought of starting homework right now. It’s no surprise that these uncomfortable emotional states don’t provide much motivation to get started. Encourage students to shift their focus from how they feelright now to how they will feel when the homework is complete. Proud? Relieved? Accomplished? Use this future emotion to motivate the present action of getting started.

6: Snack smarter

Not all foods impact the brain’s endurance equally, and choosing the wrong snack can lead to a major blood sugar crash mid-homework time. Fueling up for homework is a great way to support the brain’s sub-cortex, and students should consider snacks that provide consistent energy to the brain and/or feed their sensory processing needs. Snacks with complex carbohydrates and protein-rich foods provide slow-release energy for the brain without the intense low soon after consumption. Chewy foods (e.g., dried fruit) and crunchy foods (e.g., nuts, whole-grain crackers, raw veggies) can provide sensory input for students who might otherwise feel distracted by sensory-seeking impulses.

7: Plan breaks wisely

The brain is most attentive for fifteen to twenty-minute increments. While some students can make it through marathon homework sessions, many need to break up the time to give their brains a rest. Breaks can be wonderful, but only if the student can successfully shift back to the homework task. Avoid break activities that involve nebulous timing (e.g., playing outside for a while) or ones that can’t be easily paused (e.g., video games that require the player to reach the next level before stopping). To avoid the drama of transitioning from a break back to homework, consider break activities that have explicit start and end boundaries(e.g., a five-minute YouTube video, twenty jumping jacks, listening to three songs, etc.). If vague end times can’t be avoided, set a timer to create a strict cut-off time.

Regulation by the Numbers

Making the Case for the Role of Objective Data in the Subjective World of Emotional-Regulation

Emotional-regulation is inherently subjective: my emotions are mine and mine alone. You may agree or disagree with how I should feel, though you can no more control emotions than the weather. When it comes to emotional-regulation, the goal is all about regulating the way you respond (i.e., behave), despite how you may be feeling, in order to meet the demands of the situation.

If the emotions we feel are out of our conscious control, it follows that asking a child to control his/her emotions is a recipe for failure, anxiety, frustration, and disillusionment. The focus, then, must shift to improving intentional, mindful, conscious control over behavioral responses in the midst of strong emotions. For many individuals, increased activity in the limbic, emotional brain is mirrored by decreased engagement of the cortical, thinking brain. In other words, stronger emotions = less critical thinking and more impulsive reacting.

The challenge with emotional-regulation is that however aware you might be that a situation demands certain calm and collected behaviors, parts of the logical brain want to justify the experiences of the emotional brain. This is why we feel so good and justified (in the moment) when we yell at someone who has said something that triggers a strong, angry emotion. No one likes being told to “calm down” or “take a deep breath” at the height of experiencing a dysregulating emotion (however helpful those suggestions might be). In fact, for many children, the feeling of invalidation that comes with being told to “calm down” ultimately triggers greater emotional dysregulation. Kids, especially those who tend towards the impulsive side of the spectrum, are at a developmental disadvantage when it comes to emotional-regulation; the maturity and brain development that comes with reaching adulthood helps to create a bank of personal experience, world knowledge, and anticipation of future consequences that makes it easier to pause one’s initial reactions in order to devise a more useful response during emotionally triggering situations. While we, as adults, might have great regulation advice for a triggered child, the state of dysregulation can make it impossible for him/her to hear and process the advice. The subjective nature of emotions makes for rocky regulation-coaching terrain.

So what’s the solution? Turn a subjective process into what feels like a data-driven, objective process! Words and advice may feel biased, but numbers don’t lie. The Charting Re-Regulation worksheet is a simple way to help a child objectively see his/her patterns of regulation, and how long it typically takes to go from “super triggered” to “re-regulated.” Here’s how it works:

Step 1: Note the triggering situation and emotion(s) being felt (if this is too triggering in the moment, save this step until later).

Step 2: Mark the intensity of the emotion(s)…

• At the time of the trigger
• After one minute
• After two minutes
• Etc.

Step 3: Notice when the emotional intensity reaches 30% or below. This is usually an indication of being mostly re-regulated and ready to logically process and/or problem-solve.

Step 4 (optional): Record what tools/strategies you used at each phase of re-regulation. In other words, what helped at the 80%-100% range? What helped at the 60%-80% range? What helped at the 30%-60% range? Identifying helpful strategies provides a bank of regulating tools for future triggering situations.

Fill out a new worksheet for each of five or more triggering situations in order to have enough data to determine a pattern for how long it typically takes to feel re-regulated. Three minutes? Eight minutes? What children can glean from their own data is the time frame they need to fill with regulating tools before they can expect to feel calm. An average of three to four minutes in the 80%-100% zone might mean a quick labeling of the emotion(s) with three to four minutes of a distracting brain break (i.e., Daniel Siegel’s Connect and Redirect strategy). Does the re-regulation go pretty fast once the child is below the 80% mark? That might mean that he/she needs some quick, simple sensory and/or mindfulness tools to take up the remaining few minutes in the countdown to calm. Does re-regulation tend to take longer? Strategies like a reading or drawing break might be a better fit for a child who needs more time to truly return to a calm, regulated state.

In the examples included here, the child tends to remain highly dysregulated (80%-100% intensity) for two to three minutes across all situations. He reaches a re-regulated state (30% intensity or below) after six to seven minutes. Using the data he generated and collected, we collaboratively determined that an adult should wait at least seven minutes following a triggering situation to talk with him about what went wrong or how things could have been handled differently. In the meantime, he could pull from his bank of previously useful strategies to remain safe and mindful during the re-regulation process. After seven(ish) minutes, his thinking brain was more engaged and he felt ready to strategize with a peer or adult.

How else can charting re-regulating be beneficial?

• Children receive concrete, visual feedback about the abstract, subjective process of emotional de-escalation. This feedback can be an important reminder to a frequently dysregulated child that he/she can successfully re-regulate!
• Using a simple graph to chart the re-regulation process provides opportunities for children to note whether their emotion(s) changed throughout the process. Did they feel varying “shades” of angry the entire time, or did the emotion change to disappointed or confused? It’s important to remind children that emotions can change, and that we often feel multiple emotions at the same time.

You can access the worksheets using the PDF links below:

Charting Re-Regulation 1-10 min. intervals

Charting Re-Regulation write-in min. intervals

Know of other benefits? Share in the comments!

The Present NOW versus the NOW Bubble

 How is mindful awareness of now different from being stuck in a NOW Bubble?

 

TANG YAU HOONG

“There are only two ways to time travel (that we know of): to look at the stars and to think with the front of your brain.”

 

I heard this from a friend years ago while on a camping trip that offered some of the best stargazing I’d ever done. Although she was actually referencing a conversation about delayed light coming from the stars, this statement was the start of a deep fascination with the human brain’s ability to shift between awareness of the past, present and future. This phenomenon, known as mental time travel, encompasses our unique ability to use past experience, and future interest, to impact our decisions about present action. Mental time travel heavily involves the frontal lobe of the brain, especially the prefrontal cortex, and is at the crux of successful self-regulation. One’s ability to self-regulate is ultimately judged by how they act in the present moment. The integration of mental time travel into responding is dependent upon how well someone can expand his/her NOW Bubble long enough to self-assess his/her current state, past experiences, and future interests before acting.

Understanding the NOW Bubble

In Brain Talk, the curriculum I co-created with Carrie Lindemuth, the NOW Bubble is the immediate moment following a trigger or stimulus. In this moment, impulses are activated in order to drive action that seems most in line with the brain’s seek and/or avoid urges. For example, if someone cuts you off on the freeway, you may feel the impulse to yell out your car window in the NOW Bubble. For some, that impulse takes over and drives a reaction; they find themselves moving faster than the speed of thought. In this case, action is driven only by what would feel good right now; past experience and future interest are not considered.

Understanding mindful awareness of now

According to Jon Kabat-Zinn, mindfulness is openhearted, moment-to-moment, nonjudgmental awareness of now (i.e., the present moment). Mindful awareness of now involves observational, curious examination of present emotions, sensations, and thoughts. For example, mindful awareness of now following news about a promotion at work might involve nonjudgmental identification of your emotional state (e.g., elated, proud, excited), sensations (e.g., warm, energetic, heart racing), thoughts (e.g., “This is going to be such a great opportunity!”), and impulses (e.g., desire to celebrate, wanting to share news with friends).

How do the now’s compare?

Being stuck in your rigid NOW Bubble makes you a hostage to your present impulses rather than an empowered participant in the present experience. One of the goals of mindfulness is to “insert the pause” between stimulus and response to allow for choice in how to respond rather than feeling “along for the ride” with your reaction. When practicing mindful awareness, you remain in control of your engagement with the now as opposed to the now is controlling you. The more effectively you can mindfully observe the now, the more you can expand your NOW Bubble to incorporate past experience and future goals. In other words, you are less likely to react faster than the speed of thought.

Often, one’s awareness of their present experience is rooted in his/her emotion(s) in the moment. Emotions are like the weather: you can’t control whether you have calm, gentle emotions or strong, stormy emotions. You can, however, control how you respond to your emotions. This is the core of emotional-regulation. Although you can’t control the forecast (emotional or weather forecast), you can engage mental time travel to sometimes predict your emotional experiences based on your past memories of a triggering situation. Acknowledging that similar triggers create similar emotional climates allows individuals, especially those with strong capacities for mental time travel, to anticipate how they might feel going into a situation. This creates a platform to proactively plan, practice, and master emotional coping strategies to help make uncomfortable situations a bit more comfortable.

Without awareness of your emotional state, your reactions are driven by the intensity of the feelings. In a highly triggering situation, the limbic (i.e., emotional, survival) brain shuts down communication with cortical thinking areas of the brain. This occurs as part of the brain’s survival mechanism: staying alive in a threatening situation is more important than engaging in critical thinking. The problem with this survival safeguard is that not all triggering situations are life threatening. Tests, public speaking, arguments with friends, schedule changes…while emotionally triggering, none of these lead to eminent demise. In triggering situations like these, cortical shut down prevents the brain from engaging in mental time travel to consider the past and future in order to manage the present. Mindful awareness of now allows you to be in a dynamic, aware, open, flexible cognitive “head space.” The cortical thinking brain remains online, meaning you are able to access present awareness (i.e., “What do I notice right now?”), past experience (i.e., “What do I know from the past?”), and future thinking (i.e., goal identification, anticipating consequences, awareness of emotional and/or physical motivation), in order to choose: do I follow my impulse and react, or do I consider my options and respond?

 

 

Brain Talk Curriculum is Officially HERE!

www.braintalktherapy.com

It’s live y’all!

Carrie Lindemuth and I couldn’t be more excited to announce that the Brain Talk curriculum and its official, new website, are finally here!

After countless hours of research, design and development, we can’t wait for you to begin using this new approach to metacognitive and executive functioning instruction, all for the introductory price of $50.00 for an annual subscription. Our “price point goal” is to (hopefully) make Brain Talk affordable and attainable for therapists, teachers, other professionals, and parents alike…without breaking the bank! The Brain Talk curriculum consists of eight units that introduce key components of the brain and build the narrative of neural integration. Each unit of the Brain Talk curriculum builds upon the previous unit, and includes a whiteboard animated video, lesson plans, and accompanying materials targeted to the students with whom you are working. Separate lesson plans and materials for each unit exist for early elementary, upper elementary, middle/high school, and a therapy model. An annual subscription to Brain Talk provides access to all units and curriculum materials, as well as new materials as they are added throughout the year.

All unit videos, as well as all instructional materials for units one through four, are currently available for download through the new site once you have purchased your subscription. The instructional materials for units five through eight are receiving their final touches, and will be available to subscribers by February 14th (A happy Valentine’s Day from Brain Talk). You can visit the Brain Talk website at www.braintalktherapy.com to make the curriculum yours today!

We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your interest and support, and can’t wait to have you as part of the Brain Talk family!

Sorry I’m Not Sorry

It’s been a long time since I last posted. As in, really long. You could have watched every episode of Bones, Friday Night Lights, and, probably, Dr.Who on Netflix since I last posted. You’re welcome (and also, my apologies). My main rationale for my MIA status is a little thing called my clinical fellowship. The real world is crazy and busy and hard, but oh so rewarding! Even on my worst days, I love what I do (and that’s a hard position to beat)! The good news is that my CF is officially over! I’m a real, live SLP now. The bad news is that my caseload and workload didn’t suddenly dip, so I get to stay as busy as before. That being said, I wake up each morning with the privilege of knowing that something I do that day might actually help someone. So cool.

This post is all about apologies, which is timely for a few reasons. For one, I owe my readers an apology for my absence. Explanations for our unexpected behaviors are nice, but they don’t necessary fix the situation. Just because I gave you my (really good) reason for not writing, it doesn’t mean you didn’t lament my absence (at least, that’s what I tell myself). Secondly, my consulting role in a K-8 school this year has given me a lot to think about when it comes to apologies. Kids (AND adults) do unexpected things all the time. We may say and do things that we immediately regret, but can’t take back. In those moments, all we have to fall back on is the skill of a genuine apology that reveals not just an acknowledgement of our behaviors, but also an action plan for the future. Third, Jonah Hill gave an amazing apology on Jimmy Fallon’s show this week in response to a not-so-nice thing he said to a not-so-nice paparazzi dude.

I bet that if you counted up all the apologies you’ve given in your lifetime, they would outweigh a lot of things you wish you did more often (like eating watermelon, laying on a sunny beach, or playing with puppies). Despite how that may manifest for you, I don’t say this because I think we are inherently bad people who are inclined to do unkind things all the time. I say this simply to point out how often we engage in apologies. Yet considering the number of times we do this action, we don’t spend much time actually teaching our children how to apologize. As a result, we’ve ended up with the drive-by apology; the “sorry I’m not sorry” apology.

Apologizing is a critical social communication and social regulation skill. It’s the verbal attempt to repair a social breakdown, and requires relatively in-tact cognitive flexibility, emotional regulation, and perspective taking. Not only are these tough skills for children with existing social regulation or social cognitive challenges, but these are tough skills for just about anyone. I would argue that our responsibility as adults with (more or less) developed executive brains is to teach children how, when, and why to apologize in order to support their social successes. My script for apologies may seem simple, but it targets 2 critical cognitive processes: hindsight and foresight. Once an unexpected situation has been identified for all parties (and everyone is re-regulated enough to engage in a social repair), I recommend the following script:

1. “I’m sorry for [unexpected behavior], which caused you to feel [emotion of other(s)]”

• This step involves hindsight. Hindsight is the ability to recognize past situations (what you did and how someone felt as a result). Children may need support and mediation to reach this level of awareness, but it’s a critical step before starting an apology. I recommend using a social behavior map to help children understand the relationship between their actions and the feelings of others.

2. “Next time I will [description of expected behavior]”

• This step involves foresight. Foresight is the ability to anticipate how the future might be same/different when compared to the past, or how new situations might be same/different when compared to past experiences. Anticipation of future consequences allows us to manage our present decisions so they align us with our ultimate goals. You can think of this step in the apology as the mental re-do; a chance to script a more expected behavior for next time.

So what does this look like all put together? Here’s an example from my own heart: “I’m sorry for being away from my blog for so long, which may have caused you to feel confused or disappointed. Next time I anticipate taking a break, I will share those plans with my readers so you know what to expect.” How do you feel? Validated? Appreciated? Perhaps a bit more understood and acknowledged? That’s my hope.

I said it before and I’ll say it again, apologies are hard. They’re uncomfortable, embarrassing, and humbling. AND they’re a critical social repair skill we need to master in order to make it through this tricky world. Just as it benefits children to receive explicit instruction in emotional and behavioral regulation, all children benefit from scripting and support for effective apologies. If you work with older students, I recommend showing the Jonah Hill apology clip, and creating some space to discuss students’ reactions and thoughts.

Until the next post, I wish you all a happy Thursday!

 

 

 

With the End in Mind

What does it look like when it’s done?

Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC-SLP brings us this fabulous question from her executive function-directed therapy. The concept is rather simple: start with the end in mind…then go back and figure out how to get there. Despite its simplicity, I am finding that structuring tasks around this one little question can radically alter the outcomes for the better. Although it’s often promoted as a great strategy for working with kids who have social cognition and executive functioning deficits, I would argue that Sarah’s method is relevant in just about every nook and cranny of our lives!

Toddler, child, adult…we rely on this structure all the time. “You’re done with dinner when your broccoli is gone.” “I’ll know you’re ready to have a cookie when all the toys are put away.” “We’ll leave the house when you’re completely ready to go…not with only one shoe on.” I even came across an example while walking through the hair-care aisle at Walgreens: boxed hair dye! The first thing you’d consider when buying a box of hair dye is: What’s the end result? Or as Sarah Ward would say: What does it look like when it’s done? Not only is this question paramount in helping you decide whether to buy the dye in the first place (yes, blond and purple are verrrrrrry different colors), but it also gives the critical visual cue of “See this little swatch of color on the bottom? We call that Maple Walnut Espresso Chocolate Surprise. That is what your hair shall look like in a mere 25 minutes. If it’s lighter than Maple Walnut Espresso Chocolate Surprise, leave it on longer. If it’s darker…oops.” Only after you’ve internalized the end result do you go back and figure out what tools you need for those luscious new locks (dye kit, towel, comb, etc.) and the steps you should follow to get to the end result.

College courses are on board with “What does it look like when it’s done?” every time a professor passes out a syllabus. As professors, we give syllabi to our students to tell them: “This is what your quarter/semester will look like! These are the projects you must complete, here are the dates for their completion, and these are the specific instructions for each project.” The students know what the expectations are before class 1 even begins, theoretically giving them a chance to organize their time to meet those expectations.

So why do we use this structure in so many parts of our lives? Because it works! In my very humble opinion, recognizing the power of starting with the end in mind should be pervasive in how we plan and present our therapy each and every day. For those already working with kids who have executive functioning deficits, this is your jam! For those who work with other populations, though, here are a couple simple ways you can begin to embed Sarah Ward’s “What does it look like when it’s done?” mindset into your daily routines:

1. Before starting therapy with any new client, take the time to tell them and/or their parent (or guardian) what it will look like when it’s time to exit from therapy. None of us have crystal balls that can confidently determine how much progress every child or adult can make. That being said, I lately have been hearing from parents that they go into into therapy with no clear idea of what their child is supposed to look like at the end. Although this is a great strategy for kids with clear-cut challenges (e.g., “We’ll know Dudefriend is ready to leave therapy when he can say his “s” sound correctly in conversations.”), it may be even more important for clients with more pervasive impairments. What does the end of therapy look like for a child with moderate autism? Or Down syndrome? Does it look like a typically developing child? I don’t think so. Instead of leaving parents and clients in this realm of uncertainly, “What does it look like when it’s done?” can more clearly outline therapy benchmarks or exit times for everyone on board! If it doesn’t make sense to define the very end of therapy right at the get-go, start by defining your first benchmark: “We’ll know it’s time to move onto new goals when Dudefriend looks like X/can do X/ meets X expectations…”
2. Use the “What does it look like when it’s done” strategy to provide clients with clear expectations for a task. Instead of saying, “Now I want you to use your skinny “s” to read this sentence,” you can say “Here’s what reading looks like when it’s done…” with a model of the skinny “s” in all the target words in a similar sentence. Kids with social-cognition challenges benefit from this structure ten-fold. I go so far as to take a picture on my iPad of what the task looks like when it’s done so we have an extremely clear model available. What does reviewing Social Detective terms look like when it’s done? It looks like all the visuals are put back into my client’s paper tool kit and he’s sitting with a calm body (I literally take a picture of that before we start actually reviewing the term). Only when that model is in place do we go back and gather the tools we’ll need for completing the task, determine the necessary steps, and begin working. It should be no shocker to anyone that kids perform better when they understand the expectations being placed on them ahead of time. We should never assume that our clients can read our minds to know what we want them to do (I mean, come ON, when has that ever worked with a kid?!?). Working with them to determine what the end result looks like at the onset can be the difference between success and significant frustration!

I highly encourage readers who are unfamiliar with the rest of Sarah Ward’s Get Ready, Do, Done method to learn more about it and begin implementing it with your clients. This structure for completing tasks can be replicated in the clinic, in the classroom, at home…you name it! I am a big proponent of strategies that are applicable in all settings for a given client, and this is one that’s right on the mark! 

Nominations for the 2012 Edublog Awards

As the excitement of ASHA 2012 settles, it’s time to turn our attention to another exciting time for all those social media guru’s out there with the Edublog Awards! If you’re not familiar with these awards, they were originally started in 2004 to “promote and demonstrate the educational values of these social media.” For more information about how you can nominate your favorite blogs and sites, check out the Edublog Awards website. Considering how much I rely on and benefit from my social media family, it’s nearly impossible to nominate just one blog/person/site for each of these categories. That being said, I’ve done the (nearly) impossible and my nominations are as follows:

Best individual blog: There are so many fabulous blogs out there, but Jeremy Legaspi’s blog, The Speech Guy: Tech Savvy Speech Therapy rises to the top. Jeremy shares the ideal mix of app reviews, career-related information (job searching, salary expectations, etc.), assistive technology tips, and (best of all) functional ways to adapt apps to be excellent therapy tools! I have certainly become a more tech-savvy clinician from reading Jeremy’s blog and am always impressed by the new ideas he brings to the table!

Best group blog: My vote in this category goes to the ASHAsphere blog. Maggie McGary has done (and continues to do) and amazing job compiling great posts from various bloggers in the field to create a blog that’s educational, relevant, creative, and all in all a nice resource for sharing SLP ideas!

Best student blog: Being an SLP grad student myself, I put a lot of stock in high-quality blogs written by fellow grad students, and Katie Millican’s blog, SLP_Echo: Just Another SLP in the Making is not to be missed! Katie’s posts range from helping readers learn about the wonderful world of social media to offering countless ideas and recommendations for students getting ready to apply to an SLP grad program!

Best ed tech / resource sharing blog: Sean Sweeney has emerged as our field’s expert when it comes to integrating technology into awesome therapy and his blog, Speech Techie is the golden ticket to learning more about the amazing benefits technology can offer. I never thought it was possible to find a blog where every single post is well-written, interesting, and beneficial…until I found Sean’s Speech Techie!

Best individual tweeter: Tara Roehl, better known on Twitter as @SpeechyKeenSLP, makes me feel ever-connected to the SLP world through her regular tweets. Each and every day she can be counted on to tweet about the latest news in the field, great therapy ideas, thought-provoking questions, and the occasional morale booster for a fellow SLPeep. Thanks to her awesome tweeting, I felt like I was right alongside her in her ASHA convention sessions, learning about her sessions and mine!

Best twitter hashtag: No competition here: the one and only #slpeeps! This hashtag is a gateway to an amazing community of speech-language pathologists and speech-language pathology graduate students! On any given day, you can follow #SLPeeps to learn about new apps, ask and answer questions, engage in professional discussions/debates, and network with friends across the country (and even world)!

Best educational use of a social network: PediaStaff’s Pinterest boards are an incredible resource for speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, special education teachers, general education teachers,…you get the idea! They are amazingly well organized and span so many categories that you just might get dizzy with all that scrolling!

Best Mobile App: Custom Boards Premium by Smarty Ears is the app that gets the most use on my iPad each and every quarter. Between the countless layouts, thousands of Smarty symbols, ability to tap into saved photos on the iPad, and access to Google images, there’s no better or faster way to make visual schedules, games, articulation boards, etc.!

Writing this post on Thanksgiving makes me extra thankful for the amazing contributions the above people and blogs have made to the field of speech-language pathology. I am constantly awed to be a part of this great community!

Dora the Explorer…Like You’ve Never Seen Before!

I don’t know if it’s the sun, the pool, vacation as a whole, or just the mere fact that I have one year of grad school down and 5 weeks free of lectures, tests, and report-writing, but I am pretty sure the blog could use a good, old-fashioned dose of awesome-hilarious-ness right about now. If you work with kids (like…even for 1 second), you have heard of Dora the Explorer. In fact, you could probably sing along to the opening song and might have picked up some Español in the interim (although it’s more or less limited to hola, vámanos, and lo hicímos).

I would bet that most of the pediatric therapists out there have at least one DTE (oh yeah, I totally abbreviated right there) game, reinforcement toy, or coloring book lying around for those youngin’ clients. Anywho, for your viewing pleasure I have decided to share a link to one of my favorite College Humor videos of all time: <;a href="http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6789072/dora-the-explorer-movie-trailer-with-ariel-winter“>;.

If only Dora and Diego really were this intense and awesome…