Therapy Wins: Growing Together

I have been working with Sidekick as a CF-SLP since August. There have been some challenging days and sessions, but overall, in the past few months I have seen so much growth in my children, as well as myself. The biggest therapy win I have had so far was with one of my nonverbal preschool CDC students. Because she is a preschooler she has frequencies for push-in and pull-out services. For a while she was perfectly fine transitioning from the classroom to the sensory room where we would do therapy. When we returned to school after Fall Break, I went to her classroom to take her to the sensory room and she refused to go with me. This continued for about 4 sessions. I talked to her teachers and her PT at the school, they told me how much she loved Mickey and Minnie Mouse. My wonderful mom found a ton of Mickey and Minnie Mouse toys for me to begin using in therapy. As soon as I pulled out the first one, Mickey and Minnie figurines with a car, she immediately took my hand and began walking towards the door. Now we use Mickey and Minnie toys in every one of our sessions. She has started to imitate single words verbally and on her AAC device when we are playing. Through collaboration with my colleagues, I was able to use something my student loved to create a bond with her!

One of the biggest ways I have grown, is by doing things like this blog!! The thought of putting myself and the knowledge I have out there for everyone to see is a bit scary, especially as someone just starting out in their career. However, there are so many people at Sidekick who have encouraged me and boosted my confidence. One of my favorite things about Sidekick is that it’s not about who can be the best therapist but rather how can we as a whole best serve our children.

I am so thankful for the children I serve, the people I work with at my schools, and Sidekick!

Bella Barrett M.S., CF-SLP