Angela Saus Rogue 244

Name- Angela Saus Content Area- Special Education Location- MO   USA Current School- Gerner Family Early Education Grade Level- Elementary Teaching Since- 1999 Twitter- @crisscrossapplesaus Website- crisscrossapplesaus.com

Angela Saus, M.A., CCC-SLP/L is a nationally certified and state-licensed speech-language pathologist based in the Kansas City area. She has specialized in school-based and private pediatric speech and language services for 17 years, but also has a background in adult services, having completed her graduate degree and Master's Thesis with an emphasis on adult rehabilitation. Angela has presented multiple seminars and workshops at local schools, universities, and state conventions on co-treatment and incorporation of sensory activities to enhance speech and language therapy.

Angela lives with her husband, son, two spoiled-rotten kitties and a loving & loyal old puppy. She is a runner and lover of nerdy things, pancakes, and M&Ms. When not inundated with school responsibilities, she enjoys reading and writing, watching movies, listening to music, and numerous craft projects (even a costume build or two).

I'm an early-childhood based speech-language pathologist (I teach 3-5 year old students, but the menu didn't go down that low!) I serve students in a variety of environments at my center, from full pull-out services in my therapy room, to push-in services within a self-contained classroom, to anything in-between and with a little bit of both. Star Wars has been a motivator for a number of my students since I began teaching, with the drop of movies I, II, and III and my students having older siblings/parents talking about it or watching it with them. If anything, my knowledge of - and love for - Star Wars is a commonality, a connection, and provides great opportunities for social language, answering questions, recalling details, making predictions/wishes...I could keep going. Homemade character cards have provided opportunities for matching practice, descriptive words, even letter/name/print awareness if using the name cards that correspond. Action figures have provided opportunities for motivating ways to practice follow directions and listening to position/direction (preposition) concepts. Star Wars stickers are a hot-ticket reward in my therapy room. We've made mini Star Wars (and many others) flip books for students to handle/look at during long wait times and transitions that would otherwise be very difficult for them. Most recently, students had to practice their targeted speech sounds in order to earn pieces for their very own paper-doll Jedi that now hangs on our speech room door to celebrate Better Hearing and Speech Month (because the [speech] Force is strong with my young padawans). We've popped Darth Vader's bubbles with lightsabers and answered questions in order to move our various Star Wars ships across a made-up galactic race board. So, while these may not seem like traditional educational uses, it's how it rolls in early childhood, and is relevant to the students' educational level and the concepts they are targeting. Have I mentioned that - in spite of some odd looks from some - I have a lot of jealous colleagues who would like to join us in speech therapy? :)

Halloween Fun!

Star Wars Day Celebration/Better Hearing and Speech Month Star Wars Door for the therapy room this year!

For those going through the rigors of the Continuous Classroom Improvement (CCI) Framework and using Quality Tools in their school, this is how I was able to adapt and use Quality Tools with my very young, special education students: (it's a consensogram!)

**All information shared with permission.