Gemiini in the School and Private Practice Settings: A Speech and Language Pathologist Perspective
School supplies are on the shelves and kids are heading back to school, some virtually and some in person. For parents, teachers, and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) fall is a busy time of year. As a former school and private practice speech-language pathologist, I remember the excitement and change that came with the fall and the new school year. As a parent, I am also gearing up to get my own children back to school, while balancing life.
Life is busy. We live in a time when we are often on the go. When I worked in the schools, in order to balance a busy schedule and collaboration, I often utilized video modeling as a way to share progress with parents, teachers, private therapists, and school support staff. I also loved when parents sent me videos of their children. Video modeling allowed me to invite others into my therapy session on their own time. After using video modeling for several years, I was introduced to Gemiini, which took my video modeling to the next level.
Using Gemiini in the School and Private Practice
Speech-language pathologists are busier than ever with growing caseloads, increased productivity requirements, and let’s throw virtual therapy into the mix. How do we maximize the time outside of therapy in order to get the most results? The answer is Discrete Video Modeling and Gemiini.
Gemiini utilizes a form of video modeling called Discrete Video Modeling. Discrete Video Modeling is when the video model is presented in a way that minimizes distraction. For example, in Gemiini videos there is typically a white or non-distracting background. The video focuses on a particular concept or target. While Gemiini has many videos to choose from, it is also easy to upload specialized videos to the platform using a similar format.
Some of the perks of Gemiini include:
- Sending assignments via the Gemiini platform to your clients
- Playing assignments individually or for a small group
- Sharing video models of skills/targets with both private therapists and school staff
- Uploading videos of academic vocabulary or lessons to help target new vocabulary
Discrete Video Modeling, at its core, helps consistently model a targeted skill. The student can watch that targeted skill multiple times using the same model each time. An added bonus is that Discrete Video Modeling also allows caregivers and other professionals to watch that video in order for the entire team to be on the same page.
Who can benefit from Gemiini?
A common question is who can benefit from Gemiini? As with any program, different clients respond differently to Discrete Video Modeling. It is important to individualize Gemiini for each client’s needs. In my experience, a wide variety of clients can benefit from Discrete Video Modeling. Some of those areas include:
- Receptive language (understanding)
- Expressive language (producing speech)
- Apraxia or other speech sound disorders
- Intellectual disabilities
- Social skills
- Any client who benefits from repetition
An SLP’s time with face-to-face therapy is so valuable. It is time to increase skill practice outside of therapy. When I was initially starting out as an SLP, I would give paper homework. Some families would practice what I gave them, but even the best families found it hard to work a consistent “speech homework” time into their schedules. With Gemiini, I was able to assign tasks to clients and the parents could simply open up Gemiini and press play. I also liked that I could assign tasks for clients of all levels and monitor who was watching the assignments. If a family was not watching, we could work together to figure out the roadblocks. In some cases, that meant the child watching 5 minutes of Gemiini at school or prior to a session as a warmup. Gemiini allows parents to know exactly what skills are being targeted.
Gemiini’s Discrete Video Modeling is my primary tool to help clients carryover skills across environments. Having worked as both a school SLP and a private practice SLP, I know the importance of carryover outside of sessions in order to maximize outcomes. As SLPs continue to serve a wide variety of clients across different settings, it is helpful to rely on technology, like Gemiini, to help us work on skills both in and out of the therapy room.