I work with elementary students who are sweet, funny, engaging, and optimistic. They are eager to communicate, joke, laugh, and talk with their teachers and friends.
Unfortunately, interacting with other people isn't always easy for my students to do.
They all have communication disabilities, such as articulation impairments, language delays, and stuttering disorders. Their speaking difficulties make it difficult for them to participate in class, ask and answer questions, and even have simple conversations with friends during lunch and recess.
As a speech therapist, I work with 35 students each week during group or individual therapy sessions. We take the time to focus on the skills they need to improve their overall communication. It's hard work for all of us, and every day I feel proud of the big and small accomplishments that my students achieve!
My Project
I am a school-based speech therapist who travels between multiple sites to work with elementary children in special education who have communication disabilities.
I always joke that I spend half of my time at work doing my job and half of my time documentating what I did; it doesn't need to be this way!
My students deserve a speech therapist who has more time to plan for therapy sessions, research evidence-based practice, create individualized materials to target their needs, and interact with them face-to-face as much as possible.
As a speech therapist, I have to document my students' progress after each therapy session. Of course, because it is 2019, the documentation system is all online. I also use an online platform to write my students' Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), which outline their special education goals and progress.
I currently use a clunker of a laptop that is almost 10 years old. It takes 20 minutes just to start up. Because I work at multiple locations, I cannot just leave it plugged in all the time. I waste HOURS every week just watching my computer take forever to "think" when asked to do the simplest of tasks, like opening a website or word document. I have requested a newer, faster laptop multiple times from my school system and have been told that there is just no money for that right now.
Please help me give my students back the quality time they deserve from their speech therapist!
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Landry and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
