Hi there! My name is Katie and I am the owner of Tiny Steps Speech Therapy as well as the owner and creator of Playing With Words 365, a blog dedicated to educating parents and other educators about speech and language development and intervention strategies. So who am I?
A Little About Me
I am a mother to two beautiful children (and one on the way) who keep me very busy. I am passionate about family, parenting, children’s literature and toys and educating others about speech and language development and intervention strategies.
I also love reading, photography, travel, Starbucks, good wine and good music. My first priority is my family, which is why I chose to stay home with my children and work part time for myself. We are animal lovers and have a pound puppy and two kitties that love to snuggle with us.
A Little About my Background
I have been working as an SLP for the last 8 years and have over 17 years experience working with children of all abilities. Though I have experience working with children of all ages, I specialize in the preschool ages: 2-5. I am certified in the Hanen It Takes Two to Talk program and have a HUGE passion for educating and empowering parents of children with speech and language delays. I will also be attending the Hanen Target Words Certification Workshop fall 2013. In addition to my credentials in speech pathology, my passion for behavior analysis led me to go back to school to get my graduate Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). My hope is to one day become a board certified behavior analyst (BCBA) in addition to being an SLP.
My work with children started 17 years ago in before and after school care through the county’s department of education (including summer camps for four summers) and I also worked in a similar program through a city recreation program years later in college. I have worked as a private tutor and as a teacher’s assistant in a communicationally handicapped classroom (elementary level) as well as with typically developing kids at the middle school level.
A Little About my Professional Training
As a Speech-Language Pathologist I have earned and maintain the following:
- Bachelor’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology
- Master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders
- State License in Speech Language Pathology
- Rehabilitation Services Credential
- Certificate in Clinical Competence (CCC) though the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA)
- Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
- Certification in the Hanen It Takes Two to Talk program (to read more about this please read HERE
To keep all of my credentials active, I need to maintain continuing education units. This means that I am continually attending workshops and conferences to stay up-to-date on current practices in my profession. Some of the conferences I have attended over the last several years had topics that included: Best Practices in Autism assessment and treatment, assessment and remediation of articulation, assessment and remediation of Apraxia, assessment and treatment of social behavior, social play group instruction, enhancing instruction for those with social-cognitive differences, as well as a an entire conference devoted to preschool language and literacy development.
A Little About My Philosophy of Care
I am dedicated to educating parents about their child’s speech and language development. I truly believe that my job as a speech language pathologist is to teach the PARENT to be the therapist. Language is not learned in a bubble…it is learned all day every day from that first diaper change in the morning to meal times to bath time to that last story right before bed. The best scenario for a child would be having language intervention during ALL of these activities! But how?
Simple: YOU. You the parent, can learn how to be your child’s therapist. And really, who better for the job? You know your child the best, right?
I strongly believe in getting back to basics in regards to our children and their learning tools. Toss the flash cards and those terrible loud, obnoxious “learning” toys. I believe that {most} children learn best during play and when having fun. However, I also firmly believe that if children are not learning the way we are teaching, that we should teach the way in which they learn (which is one reason I went back to school to get my certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis). I believe that technology and iPads have a time and place in speech therapy, but that we must take care with how, why, and how much we use these in the therapeutic environment and make sure to remember that communication is a human act.
A Little About my Blog
PWW365 had been my long time dream: a place bringing together parents and professionals in the name of speech and language development. My blog was started as a resource for both parents and professionals who work with children birth to 5 to provide information on speech and language development as well as intervention strategies and activity ideas that can be used to help promote and expand young children’s communication skills. I also sometimes post about parenting, share fun craft ideas, and share a little about my own children and our life. You can subscribe via email if you’d like to follow along or follow us on Facebook or Pinterest!