.png)
.jpg)
Welcome to Speech and Language Therapy!
Patricia Avenue School has a team of three Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs) and one Speech and Language Therapy assistant (SLTA). We work with students individually, in class, and as a part of the wider school team.
Our Team
 |
Sam Brydon is the SLT for Rooms 5, 6 and 11 (the new entrants) at Base as well as at the Woodstock Satellite. She takes referrals at the Transition Unit and Fairfield Intermediate. |
 |
Helen Parker is the SLT in Rooms 1, 7 and 9 at the base school, and at Melville Primary Satellite. She also takes referrals for Room 4 and Cambridge Middle School. |
 |
Beverley Harris is the SLT in Rooms 2, 3, 8 at the Base school. She also sees Silverdale Primary and Marian Intermediate Satellites, as well as Melville High and Te Awamutu College Satellite units by referral. |
.JPG) |
Lynn Dring (SLTA) works in all classrooms to implement programmes. She also makes a lot of our resources including our beautiful core boards and PODD books. |
What does the Speech and Language Therapy Team do?
Aided Language- supporting students to communicate in any way they can!
We encourage students to communicate in all kinds of ways; whatever is manageable for them. This can include speech, sign, eye gaze, writing, or pointing to pictures, among other things. Our philosophy is to provide enough words for communication to happen all the time throughout the day, for a range of messages, across a range of topics, in a range of environments. Using PODD and core boards alongside other communication systems allows this to happen. We believe that real communication is messy and imperfect, and encourage everyone to use students' systems in a wide range of contexts (not just structured times), as we do the same with our words!
-PODD (Pragmatic Organisation Dynamic Display)
PODD is a way of organising words in a communication book for people to use when communicating with students, with a view for the child to use eventually. PODD stands for: Pragmatic – the ways that we use language socially; Organisation – the words and symbols are arranged in a systematic way; Dynamic Display – the pages move.
-Core Board
Another way of organising words for people to use when communicating with students, with a view for the child to use eventually- and many do! It is based on a grid full of common words and symbols as pictured below. Strips are attached to the core common words to be used in specific situations, with categories such as food, animals, number, transport and playdough. The pictures are pointed to to communicate a message.
Language Therapy
We support both receptive and expressive language development (often using core boards or PODD) to expand a student's vocabulary, and expand the reasons they communicate (such as greetings, comments, requests, humour and emotions) in order for them to express themselves and understand others. This is a large part of our work with students here at Pat Ave.
Articulation (Speech) Therapy
This focuses on teaching students the correct ways to make speech sounds, creating clearer and more easily understood speech.
Dysphagia (swallowing)
This involves observation, assessment, and management of students’ eating and drinking skills promoting swallowing safety, nutrition and quality of life. We will often liaise with SLTs in the health sector as well, to ensure a safe and nutritious way forward for our students that find eating and drinking a bit trickier.
SOS Approach to Feeding (Food Programme)
This is a programme for students who are extremely Picky Eaters, and uses a team approach- involving an SLT, OT, therapy assistants, classroom assistants, teachers, medical professionals, and of course the student and their whaanau. Currently we are not taking referrals for the intensive programme. However we are more than willing to provide training for parents and class staff to support learning around new foods, for students who would benefit from expanding their diet range.
Intensive Interaction (II)
This is an approach used to help people who are non-verbal learn to relate and communicate with others. II works towards teaching the basics of communication – e.g. eye contact, facial expression, and turn-taking. This might be as simple as the adult responding to the sounds, movements, and expressions the student makes, forming a social interaction and assigning meaning to a student's actions.
Hanging Out Programme (HOP)
This is a step-up from intensive interaction. It is used to teach students that their actions can be communicative and in turn give them greater control over their environment and outcomes. It also helps to build their engagement with others and their motivation to communicate things to the people around them. It uses fun, repetitive people games to motivate them, and give them opportunities to build on these fundamentals of communication.
Literacy support
This happens within the classroom, through programmes such as Colourful Semantics, Jolly Phonics, and helping implement literacy techniques as researched by Dr. Sally Clendon (senior lecturer in speech and language therapy at Massey University).
Our Role at Patricia Avenue School
• Contributing to IEPs (Individual Education Plans).
• Liaising with other professionals (both within and outside of school).
• Providing expert assessment and diagnosis of communication and swallowing disorders.
• Working with students individually or in class to improve their communication and/or eating and drinking abilities and range.
• Designing and implementing individually tailored programmes for children and their families and whanau.
• Providing staff and whaanau training.
• Providing therapy programmes for students.
• Supporting all staff to communicate with students effectively, and to understand the world around them.
