![](<p>This spring, we thought it would be fun to do a professional development event focused on our unique <a href="http://thehellofoundation.com/schools/services/">Hello There model</a>, and explore how it works in different settings. Hello There, for those of you who don’t already know, is our hybrid service model that combines telepractice and in-person services for students throughout the West. </p>
<p>Three THF’ers shared their experiences with Hello There – <a href="http://thehellofoundation.com/schools/our-people/">Sara Ecker</a>, who uses mostly teletherapy in remote Alaska; <a href="http://thehellofoundation.com/schools/our-people/">Lucinda Bowman</a>, who supervises multiple assistants in rural Montana; and <a href="http://thehellofoundation.com/schools/our-people/">Kira Wright</a>, who works with a licensed SLPA in Harney Co., Oregon. </p>
<p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-14671" src="http://thehellofoundation.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/sara-presenting.gif" alt="" width="275" height="490"></p>
<p>My key takeaways from the night:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Teletherapy and hybrid services do work.</strong> Clinicians who are flexible, and comfortable with supervision and technology have seen great success. It helps to have a sense of adventure as well!</li>
<li><strong>Get to know the culture of the community that you serve.</strong> Lucinda told stories of learning how to milk a cow in Montana, and Sara went for a ride on her friend’s “snow-go” (snowmobile) in Kotzebue, Alaska. These experiences allowed them to better understand the students they serve and help them earn the trust of their communities. </li>
<li><strong>No two districts are the same,</strong> so service models will differ depending on the needs of each district. The Hello There model allows clinicians to tailor services to fit each school that they serve, and that means that there are more options to meet students’ needs.</li>
</ul>
<p>[ngg_images source="galleries" container_ids="18" sortorder="326,328,323,325,324,327" display_type="photocrati-nextgen_basic_slideshow" gallery_width="600" gallery_height="400" cycle_effect="wipe" cycle_interval="6" show_thumbnail_link="1" order_by="sortorder" order_direction="ASC" returns="included" maximum_entity_count="500"]We also used this opportunity to put <a href="http://www.thehellofoundation.com/tag/give/">our core value of Give</a> into action! We encouraged everyone to bring a new board book or preschool game to kick off a toy and book drive for the <a href="https://irco.org/">Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization</a>. This is one of our favorite local organizations and we are happy to support them in any way we can (especially when we can help local kiddos <a href="http://thehellofoundation.com/schools/press-play/">Press Play</a> with new toys!).</p>
<p><img class="alignleft wp-image-14662" src="http://thehellofoundation.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IRCO-books.jpg" alt="Many Faces of Hello There" width="326" height="326"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-14663" src="http://thehellofoundation.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IRCO-toys-1.jpg" alt="Hello There PD" width="296" height="331"></p>
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This spring, we thought it would be fun to do a professional development event focused on our unique Hello There model, and explore how it works in different settings. Hello There, for those of you who don’t already know, is our hybrid service model that combines telepractice and in-person services for students throughout the West. … (read more)
So, it’s been a long winter. And we’re still in the thick of it. But we’re Oregonians! Rather than pine away for Hawaiian beaches or Palm Spring sunshine, we got our PD on at two events last month – movie night, and our annual winter retreat. At movie night, we watched and discussed Paper Tigers, a profound… (read more)
The Hello Foundation recently invited Dr. Tobias Ryan, PsyD, to come speak to our group for our Fall continuing education event. The topic? Practical use of psychological assessment. Although Hello is lucky enough to have two school psychologists on our team, most of our group consists of speech and occupational therapists. We sit in on… (read more)
After a summer chock full o’ road trips, barbecues, and splash pads, fall is the season for settling in, taking stock, and organizing for the year. Now’s a good time to review your professional development and make sure you have all your hours when your license is due. ASHA requires 30 hours of CEUs every… (read more)
It’s almost that time for school to start again . . . Aaaaaahhh! We wanted to help kick off the school year with an eye to the future, so we’ve pulled together a handful of upcoming conferences for school administrators (especially those in special education) to attend this year. Feel free to click on the… (read more)
![](<p>[caption id="attachment_9795" align="alignleft" width="392"]<img class="wp-image-9795 " src="http://thehellofoundation.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/2016-01-27-09.15.38-1-300x133.jpg" alt="2016-01-27 09.15.38 (1)" width="392" height="174" /> Hello group photo from the cabin![/caption]</p>
<p>Hello clinicians gathered last Saturday for our annual winter retreat up on Mt Hood, our beloved mountain about an hour from Portland. This is a low-key day of professional development for clinicians to gather, collaborate, and share expertise. We had a record number of attendees, and it might have been our best annual retreat yet.</p>
<p>[caption id="attachment_9798" align="alignleft" width="377"]<img class=" wp-image-9798" src="http://thehellofoundation.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/IMG_2375-300x104.jpeg" alt="Bob Buckendorf, PhD, CCC-SLP discusses best practice in working with children in autism" width="377" height="131" /> <a href="http://thehellofoundation.com/individuals/people/g-robert-buckendorf/" target="_blank">Bob Buckendorf, PhD, CCC-SLP </a>discusses best practices for working with children in autism[/caption]</p>
<p><a href="http://thehellofoundation.com/individuals/people/g-robert-buckendorf/" target="_blank">Bob Buckendorf</a> from the <a href="http://thehellofoundation.com/individuals/service/in-office-therapy/" target="_blank">Hello Clinic</a> shared current research on working with children with autism. In the afternoon, facilitators led discussions on a variety of topics including teletherapy, favorite apps for evaluation and treatment, and collaboration and problem solving.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><img class=" wp-image-9797 alignleft" src="http://thehellofoundation.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/2016-01-27-09.27.30-164x300.jpg" alt="2016-01-27 09.27.30" width="140" height="256" /></p>
<p>Getting your CEU’s while sipping coffee in your slippers is my kind of professional development! My 3 takeaways for the day:</p>
<ol>
<li>It’s okay for your therapy not to work the first time, as every child is different.</li>
<li>Apps such as <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/youre-storyteller-surprise/id527223436?mt=8" target="_blank">You’re the Story Teller</a>, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/drillaby-speech-therapy-game/id623566291?mt=8" target="_blank">Drillaby</a>, and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/my-playhome/id439628153?mt=8" target="_blank">My Play Home</a> are all great to target a variety of speech/language skills.</li>
<li>It is important for clinicians to use a workload model, not just caseload numbers, when advocating for individual and district-wide FTE.</li>
</ol>
<p>It was a fun day, and I can’t wait to see everyone at our next PD event this spring!</p>
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Hello clinicians gathered last Saturday for our annual winter retreat up on Mt Hood, our beloved mountain about an hour from Portland. This is a low-key day of professional development for clinicians to gather, collaborate, and share expertise. We had a record number of attendees, and it might have been our best annual retreat yet. Bob Buckendorf from the… (read more)