The Preschool SLP: KellyVessSLP

Kelly Vess, MA, CCC-SLP
  • 4.7 (31)
  • Language Learning
  • Weekly

Get ready for all things speech pathology: AAC, ADHD, Apraxia, Articulation Therapy, Autism, Behavior, Early Intervention, Executive Function, Evidence-Based Practice, Gestalt Language, Literacy Intervention, Movement, Multi-Modal Cueing, Narratives, Partnerships, Phonological Awareness, Sensory, Speech Strategies, Target Selection, Technology, Telehealth, and Self-care. Be better. Do better. Create better. Make the world a better place, one person at a time. You're first. Join Kelly every Thursday and at the drawing board. Do better with easy step-by-step 'how-to's' with ready-for-use printables and over 100 video clips of best practices, check out Kelly's book "Speech Sound Disorders: Comprehensive Evaluation and Treatment." It is available at Amazon and major booksellers internationally. If you learn from doing and work with children with special needs, join Kelly's Sparkle in School Membership. Make intervention EASY with weekly ready-for-use materials and Google Slides Decks sent to your inbox. Check it out today at kellyvess.com. Thoughts to share? Email: Kelly@KellyVess.com

  1. 3d ago

    Is “Just Model” Enough? Rethinking AAC with M.O.D.E.L. (+ Free AAC Toolkit)

    Is “Just Model” Enough? Rethinking AAC with M.O.D.E.L. 🎁 FREE AAC TOOLKIT: Take the survey before November 1 👉https://ufl.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1NvKjuuNyAfMHRQ I’ve reopened my AAC survey for one final week. I already have the numbers. What I need now is your voice. If you support even one child who uses a high-tech AAC device, I want to hear from you. ⏱ 15 minutes 🔒 100% anonymous: no name, no email tied to your answers 📅 Closes November 1 at midnight ET YOUR FREE TOOLKIT (delivered the moment you finish): ✅ AAC Goal Bank: 25 pages, 70+ goals, each with 2 objectives, from emergent to independent ✅ Parent Handout: 13 common AAC myths, answered with research ✅ Video Training: 17 minutes on using M.O.D.E.L. with storybooks ✅ Goal bank and handout in English, Spanish, and Arabic ✅ Ready to share with colleagues, parents, and caregivers IN THIS EPISODE Is “just model” enough? We learn language through interaction Speak their language Slide the device, take turns THE M.O.D.E.L. APPROACH M: Model. Speak their language; touch while talking. O: Offer. Pause and wait, with no pressure. D: Demonstrate. Use gestures, objects, and song. E: Expand. Add a word; vary your vocabulary. L: Like? Comment, comment, comment. KEY TAKEAWAYS Speech is always free Wait times vary (3–10 seconds) Diverse words beat repetition Commenting predicts better outcomes AAC devices aren’t requesting machines Challenge: a session of only comments SEE ME AT ASHA 2026 IN INDIANAPOLIS Clinical session: AAC with storybooks Research session: findings from this survey Grounded research poster ASHA Clinical Session Bonus: my favorite AAC storybooks list ⏰ LAST CALL: The survey closes November 1 at midnight ET. Give me 15 minutes, and get back hours of goal writing, parent training, and IEP prep. Share your back-porch story anonymously, and the toolkit is yours. 👉 Take the survey now: https://ufl.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1NvKjuuNyAfMHRQ 00:00 Is Modeling Enough 01:07 Survey Reopens Call 04:11 Free AAC Goal Bank 06:39 Parent Handout Training 08:24 Confidential Survey How 09:48 ASHA Presentations Preview 13:48 MODEL Approach Intro 16:15 M Speak Their Language 19:09 O Offer A Turn 20:12 D Demonstrate Multimodal 21:46 E Expand Vocabulary 22:49 L Love Commenting 26:04 Final Reminder And Close

  2. Oct 21

    Hypernasal Kids & Speech Sound Disorders: What SLPs Must Do Differently (VPD Assessment + Therapy)I238

    Have you ever had a preschooler who’s producing /k/, /g/, and glottal stops… but can’t give you a /p/ or a /t/? Who has an /l/ and an /r/ but no early stops? Who sounds like they have a never-ending cold? Friends, that child is not following the typical developmental sequence. They’re holding the phone to the other ear, and that tells us something physiological is going on. In this episode, we’re diving into hypernasality and how velopharyngeal dysfunction (VPD), both insufficiency and incompetence, impacts articulation. Odds are you didn’t learn this in grad school, and it’s rare to find a CEU on speech sound disorders with VPD. So I’m giving you my 4-step must-do process so you can roll up your sleeves and feel confident you’re moving in the right direction. I’ll be honest with you: the research base here is small. We’re talking about studies with around 20 preschoolers, not 1,000. So we’re taking what we have and putting it into Monday morning practice. And yes, this is one time I’m going to tell you to DSD, do something differently than the complexity approach. In this episode, you’ll learn: 1-The atypical sound patterns that are red flags for VPD on your artic assessment (backing, missing oral stops, later sounds before earlier ones) 2-Why voiceless stops are harder than voiced stops for these kiddos 3-What to listen and look for in the connected speech sample: nasalized vowels and liquids, “Cookie Monster mouth” jaw movement, shorter and breathier utterances, neck strain, and the nose-pinch test 4-What to ask in the case history (adenoidectomy, ear infections, ear tubes) and what to share with the ENT 5-My two intervention goals: increase oral manner and move placement forward How to choose the next step sound target (hint: the “fire hose” /ʃ/ sound) and why going zero to 100 frustrates these children 6-How to adapt Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing (DTTC) for VPD, staying at that 80% challenge point 7-Responsive strategies like recasting, expansion, and linguistic mapping, all with an emphasis on oral airflow and front-of-mouth placement 8-A simple keyword home program parents can embed in daily routines Intro 00:44 Hypernasality Overview 03:09 Assessment Must Dos 03:24 Atypical Sound Patterns 07:21 Connected Speech Clues 10:35 Referral and Case History 13:24 Intervention Goals 14:31 Next Step Sound Targets 19:52 DTTC for VPD 25:42 Home Practice and Wrap Up Ready to go deeper? *Join the SIS Membership today!  If this episode lit a fire under you, imagine what we can create together inside the SIS Membership. Get the tools, the training, and the community you need to treat the whole child and walk into every session confident that what you’re doing is evidence-based. Stop guessing and start growing. Your clients deserve the shiniest version of you. 👉 Join now: https://www.kellyvess.com/sis #SpeechTherapy #SLP #Hypernasality #VPD #SpeechSoundDisorders #DTTC #CleftPalate #SLPeeps #PediatricSLP

  3. Oct 15

    Fight, Flight, Freeze, Fawn, or Flop? What to Do in the Moment (and How to Prevent It)

    When a child feels unsafe, their brain downshifts into survival mode, and you’ll see it as fight, flight, freeze, fawn, or flop. In this episode, I share five evidence-based strategies for responding in the moment and building skills that last, whether you’re in therapy, the classroom, or doing home visits. You’ll learn: Why your calm is the first intervention, and how to lower your voice, pace, and body position Why lectures, questions, and “what’s your choice?” don’t work during a meltdown, and the short phrases that do When to do emotion coaching (hint: not in the middle of it) and how to build “gray” emotion words beyond angry How to match your response to each state: movement and heavy work for fight/flight, less stimulation for freeze/flop, reassurance for fawn How to teach a self-regulation toolbox using “I do, we do, you do” Breathing with imagination, the calming corner, and the 4-step Problem, Plan, Action, Check routine Why flopping isn’t laziness and fawning isn’t something to praise Why 99.99% of your energy belongs in prevention through connection and “time in” Teach these strategies when the child is calm, make them part of your routine, and they’ll be there when the child needs them most. Teach these strategies when the child is calm, make them part of your routine, and they’ll be there when the child needs them most. 🌟 Ready to put this into practice? Join the SIS Membership! You don’t have to build all of this from scratch. Inside the SIS Membership, you’ll get ready-to-use activities that treat the whole child, building communication and social-emotional skills together, the way kids actually learn. Every week you’ll get: Literacy- and movement-based obstacle courses that get kids moving, talking, and engaged The Problem, Plan, Action, Check routine built right in, so children practice problem solving and self-regulation while they’re calm, and can use it when they’re not Themed, task-oriented activities that target language, executive function, and emotional regulation in one session Done-for-you plans that save you hours of prep and fit into therapy, classrooms, and home visits Stop spending your evenings planning and start spending your sessions connecting. Give your kids the tools to stay regulated, communicate, and thrive. 👉 Join the SIS Membership today: https://www.kellyvess.com/sis Your kids deserve to feel safe, related to, and ready to learn, and you deserve activities that make it easier. Chapters: 00:00 Intro: The 5 downshift behaviors 01:00 Strategy 1: Regulate yourself first (co-regulation) 03:01 Strategy 2: Safety before teaching 05:39 Strategy 3: Emotion coaching after the child is calm 08:43 Strategy 4: Match your response to the child’s state 11:41 Strategy 5: Build a self-regulation toolbox (“I do, we do, you do”) 13:35 Connection first: Time in, not time out 14:41 Breathing with imagination (“If you have big feelings and you know it”) 16:37 Creating a calming corner 17:55 Problem, Plan, Action, Check: Teaching problem solving 22:52 How to respond to fawning 23:23 How to respond to flopping 24:29 How to respond to freezing 25:41 How to respond to flight 26:09 How to respond to fight 26:44 Why 99.99% of your energy belongs in prevention 28:35 Grounding with colors, letters, and numbers 28:40 Wrap-up and key takeaways

  4. Oct 7

    236. The Real 3 R's Every SLP Is Missing (It's Not Reading, Writing & Arithmetic)

    You know your targets. You know your cueing hierarchy. You know exactly how to get that sound out. So why does your client suddenly flop, freeze, or turn silly halfway through the session? In this episode, Ms. Kelly takes "back to basics" one level deeper. The real 3 R's are Regulate, Relate, and Reason, and your speech and language goals live only at the top level. If the child doesn't feel safe and loved, the needle won't move. As Kelly puts it, you can't work on the top floor when the basement is flooded. She also shares her own biggest therapy mistake, one many driven SLPs make without realizing it. Once you hear it, you'll never ask for "just 10 more reps" the same way again. In this episode, you'll learn: The 3 brain levels (brainstem, limbic, prefrontal) and how kids shift between them moment to moment The "third dial": how to adjust regulation and connection alongside task difficulty and cueing level The predictable 4-step session routine that helps anxious kids feel safe, including those with post-COVID anxiety and selective mutism Why cause-and-effect toys, familiar songs, and a slow, calm voice are powerful regulation tools How to build connection by following the child's lead, using linguistic mapping, and expanding with complex sentences Why "connection before correction" (aim for 90 to 100% positive interactions early on) speeds up progress The case for a full month of relationship-building, and the "compounding interest" it pays for years Key takeaway: You aren't treating a mouth or a brain. You're treating a child with a heart. Front-load regulation and connection, and the reasoning work becomes much easier. 🎁 Join the SIS Membership Ready to bring regulation and connection into every session? Join the SIS Membership for done-for-you movement activities, social-emotional literacy materials, and therapy resources that treat the whole child. Don't delay and join me today at the intervention drawing board: https://www.kellyvess.com/sis October Bonus: Members get the Emotion Check-In materials Kelly uses to open every session. Join for just one month, and this month's bonus and the treatment target are yours to keep (worth more than a $47 value)! 👉 Join now: https://www.kellyvess.com/sis If this episode changed how you'll walk into your next session, follow the show and leave a quick rating. It helps more SLPs find us. Now roll up your sleeves and make the world a better place, one child at a time.

  5. Sep 30

    235. The 4-Step Routine That Builds Visual Motor Skills in Every Single Speech Session

    What if one small routine could quietly build the skills your speech and language kids need to read and write, without adding a single minute to your session? Today I'm taking you behind the scenes on my back porch to share the 4-step process I use with nearly every child I work with to improve visual-motor integration, where the eyes guide what the hands do. Children with speech and language delays are at greater risk for visual motor difficulties, and the risk climbs for children with autism, ADHD, Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy, Developmental Coordination Disorder, and those born preterm. Using a 'Pete the Cat Wheels on the Bus' activity, I'll walk you through each step: Step 1: The treatment target. How hand gestures and entrainment (the mouth does what the body does) strengthen sounds, and how fading verbal prompts turns kids into the teacher. Step 2: Find the sticker. Function, feature, and class clues that build comprehension while the eyes guide the hands. Step 3: Match it on the wall. A task-oriented movement activity with a purpose: get all the parts on the bus so it can go to school. Step 4: Check it off. Tracing an X, a check mark, or a number to build the pre-writing skills that support letter formation. You'll also learn the two dials I'm always adjusting (task difficulty and prompt level) to keep kids at about 80% accuracy, and why visual motor integration matters so much from preschool through first grade: it affects letter knowledge and print knowledge, and those who have it get access to richer literacy experiences. Join the SIS Membership this October and get the SEL Bonus: https://www.kellyvess.com/sis Weekly task-oriented movement activities and materials are waiting for you inside the SIS Membership. Stop spending your evenings prepping and start walking into sessions with a predictable, whole-child routine your kids love and that changes lives. Join during the month of October, and you'll also receive the exclusive SEL Bonus, so you can bake social-emotional learning into your sessions, small groups, and large groups. This SEL bonus includes a daily feelings check-in and an emotion scavenger hunt kit. The SEL kit is only available as a Bonus in October, so don't wait. 👉 Join today: https://www.kellyvess.com/sis Thank you for stepping onto my back porch with me. Now go do what you do best: make the world a better place, one child at a time on yours.💚Kelly

  6. Sep 24

    234. Spice Up Social-Emotional Literacy in Speech Therapy with This Dollar Store Hack

    "Happy, sad, mad" isn't enough. Research suggests that when children learn the gradations of emotion words, they can pinpoint their own feelings and other people's more precisely. That precision is linked to stronger social skills, better emotional regulation, and deeper emotional knowledge. Language is a container of thought, and the more feeling words kids have, the better. In this episode, Kelly walks you through the Big Feelings Scavenger Hunt she field-tested with her kiddos on her back porch. It's hands-on, multisensory, and built on Universal Design for Learning. It also doubles as a movement break and a dose of "vitamin N" (nature) before you dive back into challenging treatment targets. In this episode: -Why expanding emotional vocabulary beyond the basics matters, and what the research says -How to make color-coded magnifying glasses for the Zones of Regulation (4 colors) or an 8-color emotion system -Teaching emotion gradations, like "tired," "sick," and "bored" under the blue/sad family -The dollar store SLP hack: why crinkly, squeaky pet toys beat plain plushies -Setting up the hunt for a group of 12 with Velcro emotion cards, a teacher chart, and a completion checklist -Using simple call-outs to explain complex feelings words in plain language -Moving kids from receiving input to producing their own examples over the school year -Adapting a familiar chant each week to a letter-themed hunt (bear hunt, cat hike, dinosaur hike) so it stays fresh -Why this is a weekly routine, not a one-and-done "emotion week" Timestamps: 00:41 – Why social-emotional vocabulary matters 02:02 – Step one: color-coded magnifying glasses 02:24 – Teaching emotion gradations 02:52 – The dollar store pet toy hack 04:08 – Setting up for a group of 12 04:46 – Finding emotions and reviewing them with simple call-outs 05:40 – From input to output across the year 06:48 – The weekly hunt chant and letter themes 07:49 – Universal Design for Learning in action 08:35 – Why it's not one-and-done, plus the movement break benefit 09:13 – October SIS bonus October SIS bonus: The Social-Emotional Learning Scavenger Hunt plus the "Hey, How Do You Feel Today?" emotion check-in chart. Not a member yet? Join SIS for a month, get instant access to the full Treatment Target Library, and keep going or cancel anytime: https://www.kellyvess.com/sis Roll up your sleeves and make the world a better place, one child at a time.

  7. Sep 17

    233. SPOT and Zones of Regulation? Which to choose?

    In this episode, we take a deep dive into social-emotional literacy by comparing two of the most widely used interventions at the preschool and elementary level: the SPOT approach (Diane Alber) and Zones of Regulation (Leah Kuypers). Rather than jumping on the next "shiny object" in EBP fads, we explore how to blend the best of both, swallowing the milk and spitting out the dirt, to build a more comprehensive, whole-child approach to regulation and emotional literacy. What We Cover: 🧠 The neuroscience behind regulation. Why kids can't access logical, prefrontal-cortex thinking while stuck in a fight/flight/freeze brain state, and how both interventions aim to shift kids out of survival mode 🎨 How each program uses color differently. SPOT assigns a personality and character to each of 8 colors; Zones of Regulation uses a 4-color "thermometer" tied to physiological and emotional regulation states 📚 Materials vs. theory. SPOT is parent- and teacher-friendly, ready-to-use, and story-driven; Zones of Regulation is built on stronger research and a "why" that supports school-wide, cross-disciplinary implementation 🗣️ The power of emotional vocabulary. Why teaching only 4 basic emotions is a disservice, and how "gray" emotion words (nervous, worried, uncomfortable) give kids a richer emotional container 🧩 The "size of the problem" framework. Using logical, executive-function-based steps (name the problem, make a plan, take action, check for completion) once a child is calm 🎈 Combining both approaches in practice. Using SPOT's colors and characters paired with Zones-style emotional gradations, and sequencing calming strategies (like balloon breathing) before problem-solving conversations 👨‍👩‍👧 A caution on modeling calm. Why being matter-of-fact and steady, rather than dramatizing a child's distress, can help kids feel safe and secure Key Takeaway: Don't discard one intervention for another. Combine them. Use SPOT's engaging, ready-made materials and character-driven delivery alongside Zones of Regulation's research-backed theory and emotional-gradation vocabulary to create a richer, more effective regulation toolkit for your students or clients. 🎁 Want the Ready-to-Use Version of This Combined Approach? If you loved this blended framework but don't want to build it from scratch, you don't have to. Inside the SIS Membership, next month's bonus drop includes a done-for-you combination of SPOT and Zones of Regulation, complete with color-coded emotion cards featuring gradations of feeling, so kids can express far more than "happy, sad, mad, and scared." 👉 Join the SIS Membership today to get instant access to these ready-to-implement social-emotional literacy materials designed to help you treat the whole child. If not now, then when? Be the agent of change you're meant to be today: https://www.kellyvess.com/sis

  8. Sep 10

    232. Behind the Curtain: How to Build a Pragmatic Communication Group That Actually Works

    Ever feel like your general speech and language groups just aren't cutting it for kids with pragmatic communication challenges? In this episode, I'm pulling back the curtain to show you exactly how to build a social communication group. It's a trauma-informed, multifaceted, once-weekly two-hour group for 3-4 year olds that targets executive function, self-regulation, empathy, and peer relationships all at once. What You'll Learn... Why predictable routine is the foundation of trauma-informed practice, and how it unlocks higher-level thinking How to structure your opening routine, including our "How Are You Feeling Today?" song and emotion check-in Why teaching "gray vocabulary" (nervous, disappointed, anxious) matters more than just happy/sad/mad How to build a monthly emotion/color theme into your group for repeated, explicit practice How to set up a 4-station rotation that hits relationship skills, emotional regulation, executive function, and perspective-taking, all in 8-10 minute blocks My favorite breathing/calming techniques kids actually use How to close a group so kids leave feeling successful, and why the mirror activity works Key Takeaway Treating the whole child means going beyond speech and language targets. When you explicitly and repeatedly teach self-regulation, executive function, and social-emotional skills alongside communication, you're setting kids up for lifelong success, not just group success. 📣 Call to Action... Want the exact slides, songs, and activities I use in this group, done for you? Everything I described in this episode, including the "How Are You Feeling Today?" Google Slide deck, the monthly emotion/color themes, the task-oriented movement activities, and the story elements resources, is already built and waiting for you inside the SIS Membership. You don't have to build this from scratch. Join the SIS Membership today and get instant access to ready-to-use, trauma-informed materials so you can start running a pragmatic communication group like this one, for your kiddos, starting this week. 👉 Join the SIS Membership now and start treating the whole child, one session at a time: https://www.kellyvess.com/sis 00:00 Behind the Scenes Setup 00:50 Predictable Routine Matters 01:38 Choosing Game Changer Skills 02:46 Emotion Check In Song 04:25 Movement and Emotion Lesson 05:42 Monthly Theme and Breathing 08:15 Station Rotations Overview 09:50 Cooperative Play Station 13:32 Executive Function and Storytelling 19:32 Closing Songs and Wrap Up

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4.7
out of 5
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About

Get ready for all things speech pathology: AAC, ADHD, Apraxia, Articulation Therapy, Autism, Behavior, Early Intervention, Executive Function, Evidence-Based Practice, Gestalt Language, Literacy Intervention, Movement, Multi-Modal Cueing, Narratives, Partnerships, Phonological Awareness, Sensory, Speech Strategies, Target Selection, Technology, Telehealth, and Self-care. Be better. Do better. Create better. Make the world a better place, one person at a time. You're first. Join Kelly every Thursday and at the drawing board. Do better with easy step-by-step 'how-to's' with ready-for-use printables and over 100 video clips of best practices, check out Kelly's book "Speech Sound Disorders: Comprehensive Evaluation and Treatment." It is available at Amazon and major booksellers internationally. If you learn from doing and work with children with special needs, join Kelly's Sparkle in School Membership. Make intervention EASY with weekly ready-for-use materials and Google Slides Decks sent to your inbox. Check it out today at kellyvess.com. Thoughts to share? Email: Kelly@KellyVess.com

Information

  • Creator
    Kelly Vess, MA, CCC-SLP
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    240
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Research to Practice Preschool SLP LLC
  • Show Website
    The Preschool SLP: KellyVessSLP

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