{"id":8918,"date":"2014-10-23T16:41:03","date_gmt":"2014-10-23T23:41:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/?p=8918"},"modified":"2023-11-08T10:28:16","modified_gmt":"2023-11-08T18:28:16","slug":"parent-teacher-conference-questions-for-school-speech-therapy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/school\/parent-teacher-conference-questions-for-school-speech-therapy\/","title":{"rendered":"Parent Teacher Conference Questions for School Speech Therapy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019m always filled with a tiny modicum of dread whenever I really <em>feel<\/em> the passage of time, even if it\u2019s only a couple of months\u2019 time. This is how I feel about the fact that parent-teacher conferences are upon us \u2013 my kindergartner\u2019s conference (and personally, as a parent, my first ever!) is scheduled for Nov. 7th. I\u2019ve spent much more time on the other side of this interaction, as a school-based speech-language pathologist (SLP) primarily in NYC charter schools. Here are 7 critical parent teacher conference questions so\u00a0parents can\u00a0get the most out of these crucial and relatively infrequent interactions with their child\u2019s SLP.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #808080;\">[image by <a style=\"color: #808080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/wwworks\/7170098685\/in\/faves-18919017@N00\/\">woodleywonderworks<\/a>]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h2>1. Include your\u00a0SLP<\/h2>\n<p>Some schools and school districts specifically schedule conference time with staff SLPs, others leave it up to parents to take the initiative and carve out time with their child\u2019s school SLP. Either way, I strongly recommend parents <strong>make\u00a0extra time to check in with their SLP<\/strong>, either directly or indirectly, via their child\u2019s classroom teacher.\u00a0This is especially important if:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>your\u00a0child has a number of speech and language goals to address<\/li>\n<li>you have\u00a0noticed minimal or moderate progress toward goals<\/li>\n<li>your\u00a0child is showing frustration or academic difficulty related to speech and language challenges<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Although the SLP is a specialist within the child\u2019s overall curriculum, he or she is an integral part of the academic team and should be consulted and included in any parent interaction, whenever possible. The following tips will help you, the parent, get best prepared for your conference with your school SLP to help keep your child\u2019s speech goals on track.<\/p>\n<h2>2. Bring your IEP Checklist, and Check-up<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_8931\" style=\"width: 235px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/3437630552_6f2b679d0a_z.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8931\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-8931 lazyload\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/3437630552_6f2b679d0a_z-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"Kid's to do list\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/3437630552_6f2b679d0a_z-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/3437630552_6f2b679d0a_z-470x626.jpg 470w, https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/3437630552_6f2b679d0a_z-350x466.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/3437630552_6f2b679d0a_z.jpg 480w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 225px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 225\/300;\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-8931\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/rog2bark\/3437630552\/in\/photolist-hDbsKg-Arm7i-6MBfxn-itJaGC-6eLKNh-5UDreC-4cpJwh-bEPm7E-6tQG1N-7YFeSB-82Z8Cz-CdE9B-8QzzeL-87uSWj-2v76ZB-hfeWM-4d2PMz-9np26t-7S3bUw-fBHKmY-8yZxtY-7pHc1U-4tGweV-5sn96z-9fv65v-7MD3dV-fJL71z-8aWuJs-f4tB4-amKEAF-5raao6-7kRcJ2-4tLxTC-8yTnut-gcq9mk-7Mfehz-9Tc4PR-57JGWQ-6wqgMN-xkmcD-8RzPo1-6kr1hu-nxudx-h2zehB-5okhYJ-6o5YLE-7iiwfN-wQYgi-4HUmVE-6hG6pZ\">Carissa Rogers<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>Bring a copy of your child\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/legal-issues\/navigating-the-individualized-education-program-iep\/\">Individualized Education Program<\/a> (IEP) to the meeting! As you probably know, this document sets out your child\u2019s speech service plan and is the foundation of everything your SLP does with your child in sessions. Simply go through each IEP annual goal and each short-term objective\u00a0&#8212;\u00a0literally one by one\u00a0&#8212;\u00a0and get a very quick summary of progress. Of course, if any goal is considered \u201cmastered\u201d by your SLP, then you can put that one behind you. For\u00a0goals currently being targeted,<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>ask specifically how your child did on this goal in the most recent session in which this goal was targeted.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>This is also an excellent opportunity to ask for direct and specific guidance on that goal.<\/p>\n<h2>3. Ask about Home Reinforcement<\/h2>\n<p>A few weeks ago, I wrote about\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/games-and-activities\/short-sweet-fun-fresh-great-games-for-practicing-speech-sounds-at-home\/\">games that can help facilitate home-based speech practice<\/a>\u00a0for a variety of speech and language goals. Ask your SLP for guidance on\u00a0home-based follow-up strategies tailor-made for your child. If any IEP goals have not been targeted yet, it is also helpful to get a proposed (albeit very \u201cballpark\u201d) timetable for when your school IEP anticipates targeting that goal. Finally, while the IEP is an appropriate framework for your discussion with your SLP, the IEP is not &#8220;cut in stone.&#8221; Sometimes, child academic and social development can take us by surprise and sessions may need to focus on high-priority goals or skills that are not expressly listed on an IEP. For the long-term, there may be annual goals or even short-term objectives your SLP foresees eventually becoming an integral part of your child\u2019s IEP. This conference would be a good place to raise this.<\/p>\n<p>(Our downloadable Parent&#8217;s Guide to Home Reinforcement has more info on this topic.)<\/p>\n<h2>4. How\u00a0is the Group Dynamic?<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-8927 lazyload\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/group-dynamics-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"sch\u00e4fer dog demonstrates group dynamics\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/group-dynamics-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/group-dynamics-470x352.jpg 470w, https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/group-dynamics-350x262.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/group-dynamics.jpg 640w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/225;\" \/>School-based therapy services are generally conducted in groups of three students, though occasionally there are\u00a0groups of five or\u00a0individual sessions. Given this, it is absolutely vital to have a handle on how the group dynamic is playing out in sessions. I don\u2019t mean you need to ask about\u00a0things like behavior and how the kids in a group are getting along with one another. Although these factors are indeed very important, it is crucial for the parent to ensure that their child\u2019s goals are not getting lost in the chaos of the group. In other words,<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Do the children in your child\u2019s group have similar goals?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>If not, how is the SLP spending\u00a0their time together effectively so some kids aren\u2019t &#8220;twiddling their thumbs&#8221; &#8212; so to speak? If your child doesn\u2019t fit well in\u00a0their current group, would be possible to switch groups? It can be tricky straddling the line between\u00a0being a vocal advocate for your child and being seen as\u00a0burden, but your SLP will be honest and often, it isn\u2019t too hard to make a change in group structure. Catching, and perhaps changing, poor group dynamics\u00a0early in the school year could have a huge impact on the course of therapy.<\/p>\n<h2>5. Does\u00a0the\u00a0Schedule Support\u00a0Academic Development?<\/h2>\n<p>One simple consideration is to ask\u00a0whether\u00a0the class periods your child is missing, in order to attend speech sessions, put your child\u2019s academic development at risk? For example, if your child is struggling with early reading decoding and\/or comprehension skills, make sure that speech services are not taking him or her out of reading. Or, if your child is missing two recess periods per week for speech sessions, this could be hurting your child\u2019s engagement level or motivation \u2013 although not &#8220;academic,&#8221; recess is a crucial time for a child to \u201clet off steam\u201d and develop socially. If the therapy group configuration could be improved, I would advocate seeing if your SLP would be able to make a positive change.<\/p>\n<h2>6. Understand the Teacher and SLP Relationship<\/h2>\n<p>How effective is your SLP communicating with your child\u2019s homeroom teacher? Although your school SLP is the point person for targeting speech and language goals, don&#8217;t\u00a0underestimate the\u00a0importance of keeping the\u00a0classroom teacher informed and empowered. Just as your child spends a lot more time with you than with your SLP, they\u00a0also spend considerably more time with their classroom teacher. In many ways, this is a good question for your classroom teacher.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Has the SLP suggested\u00a0one or two specific goals for the classroom teacher to target?<\/li>\n<li>Have they shared\u00a0strategies to target those goals?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Ask your classroom teacher how they implement these strategies, though remember\u00a0that homeroom teachers are <em>very<\/em> busy and juggling the needs of <em>many<\/em> students at once. Our expectations on the actual time allotted to a single student should be very modest. But, it is equally important to have a sense of your teacher\u2019s plan. Does the teacher have dedicated, short sessions of say 2-3 minutes focused on a particular speech and language goals? Or, is the teacher giving more summary feedback at the end of a classroom period or at the end of a school day according to your child\u2019s performance on a particular goal?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/parent-teacher-conference-questions.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8932 lazyload\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/parent-teacher-conference-questions.jpg\" alt=\"I'm so misunderstood\" width=\"418\" height=\"426\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/parent-teacher-conference-questions.jpg 418w, https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/parent-teacher-conference-questions-294x300.jpg 294w, https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/parent-teacher-conference-questions-350x356.jpg 350w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 418px) 100vw, 418px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 418px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 418\/426;\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This information could also empower you, the parent, to follow up in a similar manner at home. Either way, doing your best to verify that consistent and effective communication is indeed happening between your SLP and your child\u2019s classroom teachers can make a clear difference in speech and language therapy outcomes.<\/p>\n<h2>7. How is Your Child\u2019s Speech, Socially?<\/h2>\n<p>This is another good question for\u00a0your child\u2019s classroom teacher. Your SLP is the person to provide you with progress on the more objective, data-driven side of your child\u2019s speech and language therapy plan, but\u00a0the classroom teacher can discuss\u00a0how speech skills are generalizing into real-life contexts, as well as how these improvements may be impacting social functioning. Your classroom teacher would be likely the first person to note if your child is experiencing frustration or social difficulty related to communication challenges.<\/p>\n<p>Parent-teacher conferences are an ideal time for hearing about\u00a0the progress your child is making according to more subjective, social, and emotional metrics. Even though your SLP or teacher may not have much\u00a0data to support what they\u2019re saying here, do not underestimate the importance of these more subjective impressions.\u00a0After all, this is the ultimate goal: to not only improve your child\u2019s ability to communicate effectively, but also to improve their\u00a0<strong>belief in themselves as effective communicators<\/strong> in every possible social and academic situation.<\/p>\n    <span class=\"hs-cta-wrapper\" id=\"\">\n    <span class=\"hs-cta-node \" id=\"\">\n        <!--[if lte IE 8]><div id=\"hs-cta-ie-element\"><\/div><![endif]-->\n        <a href=\"http:\/\/speechbuddy.com\/guides\/speech-in-schools\"  target=\"_blank\" ><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"hs-cta-img lazyload\" id=\"\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 655px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 655\/211;border-width:0px;\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/3e676eec-ea09-4f7d-af12-2ee5ed1f06c4.png\"  alt=\"Parents' Guide to Speech Therapy in School\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" \/><\/a>\n    <\/span>\n    <\/span>\n    \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019m always filled with a tiny modicum of dread whenever I really feel the passage of time, even if it\u2019s only a couple of months\u2019 time. This is how I feel about the fact that parent-teacher conferences are upon us \u2013 my kindergartner\u2019s conference (and personally, as a parent, my first ever!) is scheduled for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":8928,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[826],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-school"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/7170098685_380f3eb494_k.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8918"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8918\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12289,"href":"https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8918\/revisions\/12289"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}