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Speech and Language

Springwell School Speech Therapy Assistant

Hello,

Just a quick message to introduce myself and tell you a little bit about what I do in school.

 

My name is Cheryl DeCosemo. After working in Springwell School for 8 years as a Teaching Assistant, the opportunity for me to train as a Speech Therapy Assistant became available, and I haven't looked back since. That was 8 years ago now.

 

My role in school is to liaise with parents and carers, teachers, teaching assistants, NHS speech therapists and any other professionals who may be involved with the child.

 

I currently have many children on my case load. I see children on a 1-1 basis, group therapy and whole class sessions.

 

These sessions are structured around the assessments which the child's NHS therapist has carried out.

I try to make each session fun and engaging, no matter what my objectives are. This way the children are eager to join in and learn new strategies to help them with their communication and understanding, without realising.

 

At the moment my sessions include:

* two focused communication groups

* one peer communication group, which two classes participate in

* two sensory groups

* 1-1 therapy

* three ASD communication groups

* communication aid support around school

* Makaton signing support around school

* Lego therapy

* The Listening Programm

* staff training in Makaton, Eye Gaze, Communicate in Print

* make resources for school, as well as for in the home

and more to be added in September.

 

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me on the school number 01429 280600

I will always try my best to help.

 

 

One afternoon every week I get to spend the afternoon with the amazing pupils and staff in Caimen Class.

I plan a variety of different exciting activities for the children to take part in which enables them to build their skills in areas such as answering questions/asking questions, problem solving, taking turns, attending to an activity which was chosen by a peer, requesting objects, following instructions and much much more.

WE TALK MAKATON

We try to use Makaton signing as often as we possibly can, as it is a great form of communication.

We signed up to the 'sign of the week' programme which is supplied by the We Talk Makaton charity.

Each week the staff and children will be shown the sign of the week and we all try to use it as much as possible...

EXCITING NEWS............We have a new assistant joining the team. 

 

Hi my name is Kyra George some of you will of known me from working in various classes around school as I have worked at Springwell for over 15 years as a Teaching Assistant, I am new to the role of Speech and Language Therapy Assistant.  I will be working alongside and under the watchful-eye of Cheryl and the NHS Speech Therapists to provide additional support for the children.

I am really excited to be given this opportunity for a new adventure/challenge within school and cant wait to get started.

 

NO PENS WEDNESDAY 2020.

We had some great fun today putting our pens down and finding other ways to communicate.

Panda Class had been reading the book called 'The Gingerbread Man'. They played pass the parcel and everyone uncovered a character from the story. They then had to describe their character the best they could to see if anyone knew which book they were from. Then they had to sequence the characters as they appeared in the book. They had great fun and Leo guessed the book after the second character was uncovered. Well done Leo.

Elephant Class watched Louise use Makaton to sign the different characters from two books they have been reading in class, 'What the Ladybird heard' and 'What the Ladybird heard on holiday'. The children showed their understanding of the sings by having a hunt in the yard and in the classroom for the correct figures that represented the characters. They had lots of fun and were all amazing with their signs. Well done Elephant Class.

Shark Class used some amazing adjectives to describe the items they chose from the feely bag. They really thought hard about which clues to use. Well done Shark Class.

Pangolin Class had a busy afternoon searching through crushed Weetabix, different coloured ice shapes, crunchy crisps and sugar free jelly to find all of the animals that they have been reading about in class. The animals are from the book 'Giraffes can't Dance'. Well done Pangolin Class. You all looked like you were working very hard.

Jaguar Class went fishing today. They looked at the symbol that was is their captured fish then looked around the classroom for the matching symbol and then the real object. Well done Jaguar Class. You all were great at catching fish.

Toucan Class worked on their Phase 1 PECS. They did some amazing exchanges for their favourite things.

Evie -Eliana loved the bubbles today.

*******CHERYL'S STAR OF THE WEEK*******

****I have many stars this week. I chose all 4 of them as it was our last session together this week and once again they all worked extemely hard. All of them are going off to new schools and I wish them all the luck in the world. Keep up the hard work Sharks. I'm really proud of you all ****

My star of the week this week left me speechless. He has worked so so hard in his sessions and his hard work is paying off. Keep up this amazing work.****

My star of the week this week has worked so hard. He always makes me giggle with his cheeky personality and he is making so much progress. Keep up the great work.

My star of the week this week is a full class. Elephant Class you all were amazing singing and signing "It's Coming Home" to support England in their football match this Sunday. Well done everyone. You are all brilliant.

England Song -** IT'S COMING HOME**

**This is why Elephant Class were my stars of the week. You are all amazing**

Friday 11TH June 2021. This weeks star of the week works so hard every single session we have, but this week he was exceptionally brilliant. Keep up the fantastic work.

Friday 28TH May 2021. This young lady has worked so hard in all her sessions this week. She has had 100% focus and astonished me with her spontanious signing. Well done and keep up with the great work *******

Friday 21ST May 2021. This weeks star worked really hard on Monday and impressed me so much she had to have the Star of the Week certificate today. Well done and keep up the great work.

Friday 14TH May 2021. My star of the week has worked very hard in his sessions this week and he always makes me giggle. Keep up the good work.

Friday 07TH May 2021. There was no doubt that this young lady deserved a certificate this week. She has worked so hard and has began to sound out initial sounds of words. Well done and keep up the good work.

Friday April 30TH 2021. This young man has impressed me so much. He hasn't been in our school very long but since he started Springwell School and began having sessions with me he has always tried his best and works really hard. WELL DONE. Keep up the good work.

Friday 23RD April 2021. My star this week has been chosen because she has worked so so hard on learning and understanding emotions/feeling. She comes to the sessions very 'excited', she works so hard that she goes back to Elephant Class feeling 'tired' but she always makes me 'happy and proud'. Well done Evie-Eliana. Keep up the good work.

Friday 16TH April 2021. My star of the week has worked so hard in both of his sessions with me this week. He hasn't complained once about the amount of work I gave him and he completed everything I asked of him. Well done Brodie. You have been a super star this week. Keep up the good work.

Friday 26TH March 2021. My star of the week is a young lady who really impressed me in session thos week. She always tries her best and somethimes needs a little reminder, but not this week. She needed no help at all. From start to finish she worked independently. Well done Emily. You're amazing.

Friday 19TH March 2021. My Star of the Week this week is a young man who hasn't been working long with me for very long. When we began working together he was very shy and didn't really like to talk to me too much. In our Monday session he made some beautiful long sentences that included lots of verbs. WELL DONE WILLIAM. Keep up the great work.

Friday 12TH March 2021. My star of the week this week is Joseph. He was amazing in his sessions. He had really good, he had some amazing exchanges for his favourite Peppa Pig book and he worked so so hard.Well done Joseph.

Friday 11TH December 2020. My star of the week this week is a little girl who giggles her way through her sessions. She is always happy and always works very hard. Well done Darcy, you were a mazing on today. Keep up the good work.

Friday 27TH November 2020. My star of the week this week is Emmie. She has been working so so hard using her device to communicate and her quiet waiting has been amazing. Keep up the good work Emmie.

20TH November 2020. My star of the week is... Isabelle. She was an absolute super star in our session this week. Her eye contact was amazing and her shared attention was so focused. She also gave a lot of beautiful smiles. *** WELL DONE ISABELLE***.

13TH November 2020. My star of the week this week has settled into her sessions really well and always tries to do a little bit better each time. She tried especially hard today to add more adjectives into her sentences to make them more exciting and interesting. WELL DONE CHARDONNAY. Keep up the hard work.

22ND October 2020. My star of the week this week goes to Harry. He only started at Springwell School in September 2020, and I have seen so much progress in our sessions since then. He is a delight to work with. Keep up the hard work Harry. Harry really didn't like posing for this picture with his certificate.

Friday 2ND October 2020. My star of the week is a young man who has worked the hardest I have ever seen him work this week. He put 110% into his session and made me so proud. This weeks star is ........Isaac. Well done Isaac.

Friday 25TH September 2020. My star of the week is a young lady who impressed me so much during her session. She always tries her best, but this week she was amazing. Well done LILLY.

HERE ARE SOME PHOTOGRAPHS OF OUR THERAPY SESSIONS.

Therapy sessions 05-09TH July 2021.

Therapy session 28TH June - 02ND July 2021.

Take a look.

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Click on play.

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Therapy session 21ST-25TH June 2021.

He loves 'We're going on a Bear Hunt'

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Therapy sessions 14TH-18TH June 2021.

Take a look.

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Sorting initial sounds using both the name of the letter and the sound. Amazing work.

Have a peek.

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One to watch.

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Therapy sessions 07TH-11TH June 2021.

I love listening to this song.

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Therapy sessions 24TH-28TH May 2021.

Our vocalisations are improving every day.

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Take a look.

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Working hard...

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then enjoying his reward.

She has been a super star in her session this morning.

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Her signing continued to impress me throughout.

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Therapy sessions 17TH-21ST May 2021.

Please have a look.

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Press play.

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Take a peek.

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Therapy sessions 10TH-14TH May 2021.

Take a look...

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We have some new toys to explore this week.

You must take a look at this...

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Press play...

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This young lady works so hard every session...

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Following instructions

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Therapy sessions 3RD-7TH May 2021.

Click on play...

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Take a look...

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Therapy sessions 26TH-30TH April 2021.

I love her giggle...

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 Therapy sessions. 19th-23rd April 2021.

Alex is showing us how he uses his Pecs to get the squidgy octopus.

We have finally found a toy that Aleisha chooses more than bubbles.

Olly worked so hard this week. We have only been working together for 3 weeks but I already see a huge improvement. Especially in his confidence and willingness to work.

Logan always exchanges for the vibrating mouse. He giggles when it falls off the edge of the table.

Jaxon was showing me how strong he is today as he was squeezing the squidy dinosaur.

12th -16th April 2021.

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This week I chose to video the children who are using Pecs (Picture Exchange Communication System) as their form of communication. They have progressed so much. Most of our Pecs users are now travelling to get their needs met.

Aleisha showing off her travelling skills.

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Logan using Pecs to get the squidgy dinosaur. As you can see, nothing distracts him.

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Maisie really concentrating and working hard.

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Ryan listening very carefully and following instructions.

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Sidney choosing a toy by pointing and reaching out.

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Monday 15th March - Friday 19th March. Here are some of our sessions from this week.

Friday 12th March 2021.We are all so happy to be back to school full time. I have took so many photographs this week I had to put them in a slide show instead of the individual photographs.

I thought I'd share some lovely pictures which were taken during our first full week back. The children from Pangolin Class, Jaguar Class and Panda Class have enjoyed getting back to their sessions.

A shared session today. It was lovely to see the turn taking and interaction between them both.

Always trying their best.

While sorting this little girls likes and dislikes, using her device she told me she was having oven baked salmon at nana's house for tea. Working with her always puts a smile on my face.

Here is a selection of pictures from some of this weeks sessions.          Week beginning Monday 28TH September 2020.

Coen independently exchanged for every sword to try and make the pirate pop up. He got a shock when it did.

Hugo sat for a very long time and explored this toy.

Harry navigated the page of symbols until he found the correct one. He loves the posting pig and sometimes has a little dance to the music.

A shared Listening Program session with Lola and Isaac. Playing Pop up Pirate in silence. Lola was the champ this session.

Logan is always happy during his sessions and has his favorite item he exchanges for.

Isaac was very busy catching the fish and matching the initial sounds of the picture he'd caught to the people in his class and different foods.

Mila navigates through her book to find one of the symbols she loves the most....her bubbles. Good work Mila.

Harry looks through the symbol book to find his favorite item...the posting pig. He exchanged the symbol for the item...

and then he has a little dance to the songs.

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Emmie using her communication device to get the coloured swords she wants while playing Pop up Pirate.

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No matter how long Mitchell looks through the symbols of what items are available, he always chooses the koosh ball.

Evie-Eliana loved the mouse today. You can see the anticipation on her face. She never stopped giggling throughout the session.

She also had a little dance too.

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I'm not sure who got more of a shock when the pirate popped...by the wobbly camera work I think it was me.

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Some lovely symbol exchanges from Maisie this morning. She enjoyed flicking through the Peppa Pig book at her leisure.

Some beautiful spoken language during our symbol exchange session this morning. Well done Logan.

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The boys were exploring some sensory toys while having a Listening Program session at the end of the day.

Aleisha becomes so animated when she exchanges for bubbles. I love to see the anticipation on her face.

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Sidney studied this toy for such a long time during our session this week. He really focused on the colours and the motions.

Sidney sat spinning and exploring the toy for around 5 minutes without losing focus.

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Logan liked the feeling of the gel oozing through the netting, he also liked pushing the balls back through the net. He exchanged for the squidgy dino many times today.

Evie-Eliana wasn't able to continue to request more bubbles using either her Communication Device or Makaton signing. She had her hands full. I had to ask her and she would reply with a nod and a cheecky giggle. It took a while to get the photographs because every time I asked her to wait, she clapped her hands before I'd unlocked the Ipad haha.

Sign of the week............

Monday 21ST June 2021. This week's sign is...last.

Monday 14TH June 2021. This week's sign is...the letter 'L'.

Monday 07TH June 2021. This weeks sign is...to kick.

Monday 24TH May 2021. This week's sign is...jump.

Monday 17TH May 2021. This wee's sign is the letter...'J j'.

Monday 10TH May 2021. This week's sign is...Integrity

Monday 3RD May 2021. This weeks sign is...Innovation.

Monday 26TH April 2021. This weeks sign is...

Monday 19TH April 2021. This weeks sign is... home.

Monday 12TH April 2021. This weeks sign is the letter Hh.

Monday 22nd March 2021. This weeks sign is...First.

Monday 15th March 2021. This weeks sign is the letter...Ff.

Monday 08th March 2021. This weeks sign is...excellence.

Monday 01st March. This weeks sign is... the letter E e.

Monday 22nd February 2021. This weeks sign is 'dirty'.

Monday 11th January 2021. This weeks sign is...'and'.

Monday 04th January 2021. This weeks sign is...'a'.

Monday 30th November 2020. Todays sign is... 'Chocolate'.

Monday 16th November 2020. This week's sign is....children

Monday 09TH November 2020. This weeks sign is...Diwali.

Monday 2ND November 2020. This weeks sign is...shop.

Monday 26TH October 2020. This week's sign is...Pumpkin.

19TH October 2020. This weeks sign is 'to cut with a knife'.

12TH October 2020. This weeks sign is 'swing'.

5TH October 2020. This weeks sign is...'slide'.

Monday 28th September 2020. This weeks sign is 'marathon'.

Monday 21st September 2020. This weeks sign is water (to drink).

Monday 14th September 2020. This weeks sign is drama.

Monday 7th September 2020. This weeks sign is 'To learn'.

31st August 2020. Sign of the week. This weeks sign is...To think

Over this term Zebra Class have been working on their turn taking skills and their symbol recognition

Over this term Caiman Class have been working on their question and answering skills, their turn taking skills and their symbol recognition skills during their Speech and Language sessions.

Lion Class have been working on object recognition and picture descriptions

Anaconda Class have been working on their question and answering skills in different games and completing different adventures during Duplo Therapy.

This term Dragon Class have been working on their question and answering skills and their description skills

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