Wednesday, October 22, 2014

You Know You're a LSLS When...

You Know You're a LSLS When...


10.  You just read LSLS as "lissels" and not "L-S-L-S."

9.  You (finally) realize the importance of speech acoustics; and actually find it fun and exciting to apply it!

8.  You are in awe of Beebe, Pollack and Ling for being so ahead of their time.

7.  You are diligent about obtaining and tracking LSLS CEUs because the possibility of your credentials expiring and having to retake the exam is unthinkable!

6.  You are actually thrilled when a parent tells you about their child swearing or repeating private information they've obviously overheard.

5.  You have a strong impulse to track your own toddler's language on the CASLLS.

4.  All of your reusable shopping bags and pens advertise cochlear implant and hearing aid manufacturers, Oral Deaf Ed, and AG Bell.

3.  Your well-intentioned friends and family members send you links to every cochlear implant activation video on the Web.

2.  Just perusing the toy aisle begins a major brainstorm of how each toy could elicit listening and spoken language.

1.  You get to witness, first-hand, the amazing impact of early detection, early intervention, advancing technology and motivated parents!

List created by K. Ratliff of listening4language.blogspot.com

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Happy Fall!

I love a good seasonal theme!  It sure makes planning for sessions easy!!!  Are you looking for fun Halloween activities to promote listening and spoken language?  I've pinned a few... check them out!

http://www.pinterest.com/ratliffkristine/halloween-listening-language/

My favorite Halloween book has to be The Hallo-Wiener by Dav Pilkey.  I created a book companion to go with this cute story.  My students have really enjoyed it!


I also love Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson, which was released last year.  This book is GREAT for sequencing and retelling.  Many of my kiddos have the goal from the Auditory Learning Guide to sequence a retell a story.  This book is great for targeting that!






Next week, we are moving on to the Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams...a true classic...



I love seasonal-themed activities, but do have some kiddos who don't celebrate Halloween.  I'm still using a fall-theme with them, but steering clear of jack-o-lanterns, ghosts and all things Halloween...

http://www.pinterest.com/ratliffkristine/fall-activities-for-listening-language/

I'm also using a couple of books and book companions...





...and follow-up Strega Nona worksheets (FREE!)...


Happy Fall!

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Renew Your LSLS Certification with ALL FREE CEUs!

After an extremely extended hiatus (!), I am returning to my long-lost blog!  I have lots of ideas for posts, so hopefully I can keep with it!

Are you in the midst of continuing education to renew or obtain your LSLS Certification?  If so, you’re in luck with lots of opportunities for FREE CEUs.  Taking the online courses below, you will have more than enough hours to renew!  (Taking all the courses below will give you 17 LSLS credits.  You need 15 LSLS credits to renew certification.)

1.  The first course—which you need to put at the top of your list due availability—is the National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management’s course, “Parent Training and Support” course.  It is only available through October 22, 2014.  This free course, presented in four portions, offers 5 hours or .5 LSLS CEUs of credit!  You can access it at


Scroll down to “Workshops in Session” to find “Parent Training and Support.”  You will sign up using the first link, Parent Training and Support Workshop With CEUs and Certificate of Completion.”  Following completion of the online training, they’ll send you a LSLS CEU form and certificate of completion.  Note:  They’ll also give you ASHA or AAA, too!

2.  The second set of courses is an online series, offered by ESC 11 out of Texas.  You don’t have to be a Texas professional to take advantage of these courses!  You can find these at


At the top right side, you’ll see a “search” option.  Type in “Listening” and click search.  (There might be an easier way to find them, but this is the easies way for me!)  The first 8 courses you see compromise the LSL Series.  Each module is 1 hour, so a total of 8 hours or .8 LSLS CEUs are offered for completing the entire series.   Again, all FREE!  The topics are:

Module 1:  Auditory-Verbal Practices in the Educational Setting
Module 2:  Developing Listening Skills in Children with Hearing Loss
Module 3:  Creating an Acoustic Environment for Children with Hearing Loss
Module 4:  Developing Language in Children with Hearing Loss
Module 5:  Developing Speech in Children with Hearing Loss
Module 6:  Developing Early Emergent Literacy in Children with Hearing Loss
Module 7:  Developing Vocabulary Skills in Children with Hearing Loss
Module 8:  Working with Parents and Infants with Hearing Loss

You will need to sign up for a free account with ESC 11.  After creating your account, you can enroll in the courses and take them at your convenience.  Upon completion, you can find the certificates of completion under “My Profile” à “My Transcripts.” You will send those to Susie Tiggs, Statewide Lead for Deaf/Hard of Hearing Services, at stiggs@esc11.net.

These modules are a great review…or could be great in preparation for the LSLS exam. 

3.  The last set of courses are webinars offered by the Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech.  There are a total of four workshops, which award 1 hour or .1 LSLS CEU each.  Three are available in the archives and the fourth will be offered live on November 5, 2014 at noon.  (If you can’t watch that live, it will be available in the archives by mid-November.)  These webinars can be found at


The topics are of the archived webinars (available now) are:

Webinar 1: Brick by Brick: Building a Thriving Network of Listening and Spoken Language Professionals




At the completion of each webinar, you’ll fill out a brief questionnaire, asking your information, how you heard about the course, what you learned and what you’ll use.  They’ll also ask if you want them to email you a certificate or a LSLS CEU form.  Within a couple of days, they will!

Good luck with the above courses!  Again, if you complete all of the above, you will have 17 hours or 1.7 LSLS CEUs, more than you need to renew!  I have taken all of them and found that I was able to take away good info from each.  I love the option of taking them in my home at my convenience…and the fact that they’re all free is the cherry on top!