Greetings from Mrs. Patten

Hello and welcome to Tales from the Therapy Room!  I am so glad that you have found your way to our collaborative therapy blog and hope that you find some helpful information while you are here.  

My name is Amanda Patten, and I am the speech-language pathologist for Coal City Elementary, Intermediate and Middle Schools.  I received my undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois and my master’s degree from Northern Illinois University.  This is the start of my 12^th year working with the students in Coal City.  This is my fourth year as an employee of Coal City; prior to that I was employed by the Grundy County Special Education Co-Operative.  It is a joy and honor to work with the students, staff, and administration of this district.  My students teach me something new everyday and always put a smile on my face.  

In speech this year I am asking my students to work hard during their therapy sessions to in order to gain new “superpowers”.  Those superpowers are the goals and objectives that have been written for them in their IEP and include tasks like answering questions following a story, describing by attributes, improving expressive and receptive vocabulary, and expanding their use of age appropriate speech sounds in their conversational speech. 

Last week students identified one “ultimate superpower” that they want to master before the end of the year.  It was a great activity for helping students recognize and understand their learning objectives when they are in speech.  My students this year are very motivated, and I have no doubts that they will all do their very best at obtaining new superpowers in the speech room and beyond!

Make sure you bookmark this blog and check back often for updates from the therapy rooms throughout the district.  My contact information is located on the right sidebar of this blog - please do not hesitate to get in touch with me if you ever have any questions or concerns about your child's speech and language development!