Show #93- Sharon Martin SLP, Part II

We're back after a brief hiatus for Podcamp Philly, a new media unconference I helped put together at Temple University. I'm really happy to report that we raised over $6,000 for the Sciece Leadrship Academy, a Philadelphia Public special admissions high school, run by Chris Lehmann, who I met at the Educon Conference, held at SLA last year.

Sharon and I continue our talk about when you might need a speech language pathologist; why the diagnosis may sometimes be irrelevant to the treatment; and how there's a general movement to try to get Speech-Language pathologists more involved in literacy. We can't emphasize too much how important good hearing and good speech are to the reading and writing process, and early intervention is critical for children. We also talk about the importance of the bond/relationship between a therapist and a child, and why there's got to be a good balance between work and fun, as well as follow-through on the part of parents and regular ed teachers.

I've been racking up a bunch of interviews, so the shows should not only be more regular, but there's some exciting things coming up-and we also want to hear from you!

Click here to download/listen to Sharon Martin, SLP Part II

Show # 80- Nancy Thomas- Early Childhood Education and Spotting Issues

Nancy Thomas (also my Mother In Law) is an expert in early childhood education. nancy has her master's in early childhood education from Wheelock Coolege in Boston, and has worked in the field for over thirty years. She has inspected day care centers and preschools for Broward and Dade County, Florida; she has owned her own center, and she teaches classes through Nova University.

When a child seems to be having some developmental delays or is not like the rest of the kids, where do you go for help, and what questions do you ask? Nancy was one of my primary resources, and we spoke about what it was like when my oldest son seemed to have some problems and how we handled that.

Nancy has always been a great source for me when I've been worried about my kids, and in this interview, we sit down and discuss how children develop over time and cognitive development; trusting a parent's intuition; why teachers hate giving bad news; contextual learning, the importance of story-telling as a learning tool; making family connections; and teaching children both to take the risks they need to learn as well as learning to be independent over time. Nancy is always thoughtful and provoking, and I know you will find her guidance as helpful as I have.

Sorry for the delay in shows- stomach flu has had us under the weather- but we're back!

As always, please email us at ldpodcast@gmail.com or you can contact me via skype at whitney.hoffman, or on twitter as Ldpodcast!

Click here to Download Show #80- Nancy Thomas- Early Childhood Education