Regions 5 & 7 Speech/Language Community of Practice
Supporting speech and language needs in low-incidence disability areas
The Regions 5 & 7 Low-Incidence Project supports 15 educational agencies encompassing 61 Minnesota school districts. The overall mission of the LI Project is to ensure that students with low-incidence disabilities receive services from licensed staff who are trained in evidence-based practices.
Examples of LI disabilities include: Deaf/Hard of Hearing, Blind/Visually Impaired, Deaf/Blind, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Physically Impaired, Developmentally-Cognitively Impaired, and Traumatic Brain Injury.
The focus of the Speech/Language Community of Practice is to support the mission of the LI Project through resources and trainings for speech-language pathologists and other licensed staff. Check out the links on our home page below or in the Resources tab for a compilation of resources we hope you find useful in working with LI students.
Our goals this year include providing information on Gestalt Language Processing and Neurodiversity-Affirming Practices in Speech-Language Pathology. Stay tuned for resources and trainings as we dig into these topics!
FREE!
Thanks to the Low-Incidence Project, all staff across Regions 5&7 have FREE access to the STAR Media Center. If you or your collegues don't already have an account, reach out to Reid Druck at reid.druck@starautismsupport.com to set one up.
If you are interested in weekly tips on for your classroom, you can sign up for Tuesday Tips and Tricks, a weekly email from the state Evidence-Based Practice Coach for ASD. Click here for past topics. Interested? Sign up here!
Service Models
The committee has had many discussions about how to manage increasing caseload demands and continue to provide quality services to students in low-incidence populations. Check out two options we've explored here.
E-Learning Days?
Is your district planning to move to e-learning days in place of snow days? Take a look at the Distance Learning and Teletherapy resources linked to the "Digital Resources" button below.
Let's Get Digital
In order to support our SLP peeps out there, we are working to assemble and share resources for working with low-incidence populations during the COVID pandemic and subsequent distance learning periods. Check out what we've found so far in the link below. These are great resources for anyone who is venturing into teletherapy practice.
There are also a few great resources that you can continue to use for in-person therapy, especially if you need low to no-prep options.
