The Rebecca Listener: Recent Episodes

Rebecca School

Therapeutic day school for children 3-21 with neurodevelopmental delays of relating and communicating.

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Do Floortime principles compliment traditional Physical Therapy approaches? Let's find out!!!

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Let's dive into the world of AAC devices and how integrating DIRFLoortime can foster meaningful connections and promote developmental growth.

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This episode is a school update episode. It is intended to let listeners know the monthly happenings here at the school and what types of episodes to look forward to throughout the month.

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AAC syands for augmentative and alternative communication. But, what does it encompass? What are its benefits? Learn about AAC and how Rebecca School students benefit from this form of communication.

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Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. But how can the art of Tap Dance be used within an educational group setting? Arielle Jackson (Physical Therapist) and Lindsay Altman (Occupational Therapist) join the podcast to provide some updates and insights into their interdisciplinary tap group.

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Commuting, cooking food, and working all have something in common. They are all life skills that at one point or another we learn. How does the Rebecca School help with encouraging the growth of these skills? The Answer: Travel training.

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Social Stories: What are they? In this episode we talk about using a tool called social stories to help students understand and anticipate events in their lives. From pictures, to details about an event, and even the time of day; social stories can help students understand themselves and the world around them.

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Welcome to season 2 of the Rebecca Listener!!! We know everyone has been excited for the Podcasts return and here we are! Stay tuned and hit that subscribe button!!!

Questions: https://bit.ly/2ZWtHey

ICDL DIR Conference: https://www.icdl.com/conferences/2021

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Chris interviews a teaching assistant, Haley R., and the two discuss how improv & Floortime lineup. Haley has used her skills in improv comedy to both help teach students through DIRFloortime and help staff realize their true potential in play.

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Chris interviews ToniAnn Loftus,MS, CCC-SLP/TSSLD, and Liza Bernabeo, MS, CCC-SLP/TSSLD, about their recent Journal Article "Food for Thought: Preparing the Brain to Eat New Foods through "Messy" Play." The article was originally a presentation that won "best presentation" at the London Conference.

Want to read the article? You can find it here: https://publications.waset.org/10010994/pdf

Liza Bernabeo MS, CCC-SLP/TSSLD was born in Stony Brook, New York. She received a B.S. in Communicative Disorders and Sciences from the State University of New York College at Geneseo in Geneseo, New York, USA in 2008 and her masters in Speech-Language Pathology from Adelphi University, in Garden City, New York, USA in 2010. She is currently a full time employee of the Rebecca School in New York , New York, USA. Liza is also a paid training leader for the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental Learning. She is also expertly trained in DIR/Floortime and has been working with in model since 2011. Her special interests include expressive and receptive language disorders, oral motor & feeding, DIR/Floortime, and neurodevelopmental communication disorders. Ms. Bernabeo is a is an active member of the American Speech Language and Hearing Association.

ToniAnn Gambella Loftus, MS. CCC-SLP/TSSLD was born in Goldsboro, North Carolina, USA. She received her bachelors degree from Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA in 2008 and her master’s degree in speech language pathology from Seton Hall University in South Orange New Jersey, USA in 2010. She is currently a full time employee of the Rebecca School in New York , New York, USA. ToniAnn is also a paid training leading for the Interdisciplinary Counsel on Developmental Learning. She is also expertly trained in DIR/Floortime and has been working with in model since 2011. ToniAnn has a special interest in neurodevelopment, feeding and hearing. Mrs. Loftus is an active member of the American Speech Language and Hearing Association.

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On this special episode of the Rebecca Listener, a student joins the podcast to talk about their experience in transition prepping. He explains who the most important people are in his school transition plan and what he hopes to accomplish after graduation.

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On today's short episode, we say goodbye to 2019 and talk about some of the years memorable moments as well as what we have to look forward to in 2020.

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On this episode Chris is accompanied by Donal Welch, the Rebecca School creative writing teacher. The two take a deeper dive into explaining concerns that revolve around media literacy.

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Tina and Chris talk briefly about media literacy and why it is important to understand what we consume from our electronic devices.

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Graduation group is a transitions group that helps students understand what it means to graduate school and where they will going post Rebecca School.

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To celebrate Physical Therapy month, the Rebecca School's PT department joins Chris to talk about what physical therapy looks like in the DIR Floortime model.

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The Rebecca Listener is back with more content than before! This short episode is our season two podcast kickoff! Tina and Chris talk about the first month of school, what new changes are in store for this year, and much more!

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On this episode, Tina & Chris wrap up their discussion on DIR Floortime®. 

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Although it's June, our Speech department has come together to talk about their work and promote Better Speech and Hearing Month (May). The therapists talk about assisted hearing devices, different ways of communication, staff collaboration, and so much more.

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Clinical Director Toni Tortora takes over as host for this week's podcast. She interviews Chris, Allison, and Morgan about the Tech/Science groups that several students participate in here at Rebecca School. Groups centered around technology and computers help foster critical thinking skills as well as shared attention when used appropriately.

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On today's episode, Tina & Chris continue the conversation of breaking down DIR Floortime® by explaining the I (Individual Differences) in DIR.

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It's World Autism Awareness Month and we have a special podcast episode just for you! Listen in as our Occupational Therapy department speak about what it's like to be an OT at Rebecca School.

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On today's Tina Talks episode, Tina and Chris talk about development and the basic functional emotional developmental capacities. 

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From learning to navigate the neighborhood, navigating to the store, and learning how to travel to an internship; travel training helps guide students towards their independence.

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Handwriting is a skill that is often taught in a singular manner. Learn how an occupational therapist and teacher are switching up how handwriting is learned by using sensory play. 

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Today's episode is an open forum in which Chris and the transitions team talks in regards to fostering relationships outside of a school setting.

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Sergio, a teaching assistant here at the Rebecca School, discusses his chess groups that he facilitates for students.

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Taking a step back and taking a deep breath can help us to self regulate/self soothe. Today's episode involves three therapists who co-run a breathing group, here at Rebecca School, which is helping students learn to self regulate, co regulate, and engage with each other.

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Let's recap this past months episodes as well as shed some light on various upcoming events and happenings at the school.

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On today's episode, transition coordinators Josh and Shelby talk about preparing students for post Rebecca School.

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On today's episode a few members of our education department take the time to talk about what DIR Floortime looks like in a classroom setting.

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In today's episode we look into one of the many groups that are run here at Rebecca School. The group we will be discussing today is poetry group.

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Rebecca School's occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech and language therapy supervisors talk about how each of their disciplines integrate into the DIR Floortime Model.

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To start off our podcast Tina, our Director, talks about Rebecca School in order to set the overall tone of future episodes.