Pacific Coast Speech Services Newsletter December 2023
It’s the Season of Gratitude and there is so much that we at Pacific Coast Speech Services are grateful for, both personally and professionally in 2023!
Grateful for a New Partnership
Annette Crotty and Louise Valente, the founders and directors of Pacific Coast Speech Services, are proud to announce that Pacific Coast Speech Services has joined the Point Quest Group. We chose Point Quest because of their shared passion for treating both our employees, and our district partners with respect and honor. We’ve experienced a burst of collaborative energy! As one of our key SLPs said at our holiday celebration, “We’re still the same team, but everything is EVEN BETTER!”
Louise and Annette remain in place as Directors, with Missy Seeley & Staci Steward continuing to round out our longstanding “Core 4” administrative team. We are incredibly grateful for the support of our district partners, past and present, and for 36 years of unbelievably amazing clinicians.
We are looking forward to the future, as we will be adding the capacity for AAC evaluations, as well as additional related service disciplines for your contracted needs. Point Quest is particularly known for its superior behavioral support, from BCBAs to classroom behavioral aides. If you need service providers, or are interested in exploring a position, we’re here for you!
Grateful for the Open Access Grant Program
With the change in perspective on using technology, the possibilities for supporting ALL learners is exploding. We are learning to channel readily available tools to meet specific student needs, whether it is listening to material as they read or introducing an AAC device.
Our teams are hungry for instruction. If you are a speech pathologist or a district leader, we want to HIGHLY encourage you to investigate the low cost CA Open Access Grant program. Our team has attended trainings through the Regional Teams specializing in Assistive Technology, AAC, and Universal Design for Learning, which we highly recommended for their immediate applicability.
Every clinician/district that has attended this program is lit on fire with enthusiasm. While waiting for the class, if you are seeking resources to support a student, or group of students, check the Open Access website. In particular, investigate the three carefully designed FlipKits by strategic need: the UDL Flipkit, the AAC Resource FlipKit, and the AT Resource FlipKit. Most of the recommended resources are easily available for your iPads, Chrome Books, or PCs.
Grateful for our Students
We’re grateful for our students! We bet on them, and let them know it! We are experts at data collection, but have you collected data on how often you encourage your families and students? What would it mean to them to hear these words: “I am betting on you. I believe you are resilient. I believe you have the grit to handle this challenge.I believe you have the ability to gather facts to form your own perspective.“ Put a Post-it note on your desk today, and start a tally! How would it affect you to hear these words from someone you admire? You are uniquely powerful in the lives of your families.
Grateful for the Scribe Transcription Tool
How do you quickly demonstrate a computer task? Scribe is an amazing tool for step-by-step instructions that you can save forever. Recently, an CF/RPE SLP asked how to check their license on the California Licensing website. It’s not especially intuitive! We opened Scribe on Google Chrome, hit record on Scribe, navigated to where the license status is displayed, and hit stop recording.
Magically, we had a PDF of the process, notated with the places to “click” highlighted. You can save these Scribe instructions, and easily remember how to access licensing information. This tool can be used to show all kinds of procedures to groups or individuals. Caution: do not use this tool for records with identifying student information. If you want to see how the directions look, or need to check your own license, click HERE.
Grateful for YOU!
Finally, we are grateful for YOU, our community members. Whether you are a district administrator or a clinician, we want to acknowledge your daily challenges and thank you for your dedication to your student families. Have a fantastic Winter Break!
