Monday: Edgemont

Tuesday: Edgemont

Wednesday: Edgemont

Thursday: Edgemont

Friday: Edgemont

Phone: (734) 697 - 1661
Email: aslusher@vanburenschools.net

Degrees and Certifications:

Bachelors of Science in Communication Disorders (1993);

Masters of Science in Communication Disorders (1995);

Certificate of Clinical Competency from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (1996 - current);

Michigan License for Speech Language Pathology (2013- current)

My name is Amber Slusher, the kids call me Ms. Amber. I have been with Van Buren Public Schools since August 2005 and this is my sixth year at Edgemont Elementary. Prior to working at Edgemont, I worked 4 years at Tyler Elementary. I am looking forward to a wonderful year working with the students and staff at Edgemont!

Hello Parents and Students,

My name is Amber Slusher, the students call me Ms. Amber. I am a Speech-Language Pathologist and have been working in the school setting for thirteen years. This is the tenth year that I have been in the Van Buren School District. I have worked at Tyler Elementary (4 years) and Edgemont Elementary (6 years). The best way to contact me is by email, aslusher@vanburenschools.net or call me at Edgemont (734) 697-8002 ext 4026. I will try to respond to your email with in 24 hours (excluding weekends).

The first couple of weeks of school will be spent introducing myself to students, screening students already on caseload, screening new students referred by teachers/parents and developing a schedule. I have started seeing students on a limited schedule and plan to start the full schedule the last week of September. My schedule will be posted on my school website page once it has been completed.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions ( aslusher@vanburenschools.net).

I am looking forward to a wonderful school year!!!

Thank you,

Ms. Amber
Speech-Language Pathologist
Edgemont Elementary

Your Child's Communication Skills
Typical communication skills for a child when finishing kindergarten. Taken from the American Speech-Language Hearing Association website.

Parent Resources

Do 2 Learn
Provides thousands of free pages with social skill activities/behavior regulation activities and guidance, language songs and games, communication cards, academic materials, etc.

Mommy Speech Therapy
This site was created for parents. It explains the special education process and provides numerous activities and ideas.

Hubbard's Cupboard
Offers free reproducible mini-books for sight words and word families.

Making Learning Fun
This free website for educators/parents is filled with a variety of activities for educating all areas of the Pre-K-1st students.

Speaking of Speech
An interactive forum for educators/teachers to improve communication skills in our schools. Activities can be downloaded for free. 

Every student who receives speech/language services has an annual IEP. This IEP needs to be held on or before the previous IEP per the Special Education Regulations given to me by Wayne RESA (if the previous IEP was dated 10/1/2014, the next IEP needs to be scheduled before 10/1/2015). I will try to send out a letter or call 2 to 3 weeks before the IEP is due informing parents that an IEP needs to be scheduled and to contact me by a specific date. Please either contact by phone or email to set up the meeting. If I do not hear from you by the date in my letter, I will schedule the meeting with the teacher and send home an invitation and hope that you can make it. Approximately 1 to 2 days before the meeting I will send home a reminder letter about the meeting.

I try to schedule the IEPS during the school day during a time that fits with the parents schedule and hopefully during the teacher's prep time. If it is not during the teacher's prep time, I try to get someone to cover the classroom so the teacher can come in for 5-10 minutes of the meeting. If that is not an option, I will speak with the teacher regarding the student's progress in the classroom. Since I have 2 school aged children, I try to limit my before and after school meetings because I need to care for them. If I have enough notice I can make arrangements for childcare and hold the meeting before or after school.

If you feel your student has difficulty with speech and/or language and it is affecting his/her education please feel free to contact me at aslusher@vanburenschools.net or call me at (734) 697-8002 ext. 4026.

I will then screen the student within a week of your notice. The screening will comprise of talking with the classroom teacher and talking with the child. I will then contact you regarding the results of the screening. There are times when some speech and language difficulties are developmental in nature and are appropriate for the student's age.

Information in this category provides parents and educators with speech and language developmental milestones for children from birth to age 6. It also offers suggestions that you can use to help facilitate speech and language in your child.

What types of speech and language disorders affect school-age children?

Children may experience one or more of the following disorders:

• Speech sound disorders - (difficulty pronouncing sounds)

• Language disorders - (difficulty understanding what they hear as well as expressing themselves with words)

• Cognitive-communication disorders - (difficulty with thinking skills including perception, memory, awareness, reasoning, judgment, intellect and imagination)

• Stuttering (fluency) disorders - (interruption of the flow of speech that may include hesitations, repetitions, prolongations of sounds or words)

• Voice disorders - (quality of voice that may include hoarseness, nasality, volume (too loud or soft)

Do speech-language disorders affect learning?

Speech and language skills are essential to academic success and learning. Language is the basis of communication. Reading, writing, gesturing, listening, and speaking are all forms of language. Learning takes place through the process of communication. The ability to communicate with peers and adults in the educational setting is essential for a student to succeed in school.

How may a speech-language disorder affect school performance?

Children with communication disorders frequently do not perform at grade level. They may struggle with reading, have difficulty understanding and expressing language, misunderstand social cues, avoid attending school, show poor judgment, and have difficulty with tests.

Difficulty in learning to listen, speak, read, or write can result from problems in language development. Problems can occur in the production, comprehension, and awareness of language sounds, syllables, words, sentences, and conversation. Individuals with reading and writing problems also may have trouble using language to communicate, think, and learn.

How do parents and school personnel work together to insure that children get the speech-language support they need?

Parents and teachers should refer any student who shows signs of a speech-language disorder or delay to the school-based child study team. Screening, assessment, and treatment of communication problems may involve cooperative efforts with:

• parents,

• speech-language pathologists (SLPs),

• audiologists,

• psychologists,

• social workers,

• classroom teachers,

• special education teachers,

• guidance counselors,

• physicians,

• dentists, and

• nurses.

SLPs work with diagnostic and educational evaluation teams to provide comprehensive language and speech assessments for students. Services to students with speech-language disorders may be provided in individual or small group sessions, in classrooms when teaming with teachers or in a consultative model with teachers and parents. SLPs integrate students' speech-language goals with academic outcomes and functional performance.