Beyond Traditional Therapy: How Stanbridge's Speech and Language Program Brings Learning to Life

At Stanbridge Academy, speech and language support happens in classrooms, through collaborative projects, and in moments of genuine student engagement that make learning stick.

We recently sat down with Mark Engler, CCC-SLP, our speech and language pathologist, to learn about the innovative approaches he's bringing to students across all grade levels. What emerged was a picture of therapy that's thematic, experiential and deeply connected to real-world skills.

Teaching Students to Ask Better Questions
One of Mark's current focus areas is helping students develop what he calls "social questioning" skills - the ability to ask meaningful questions about the world around them, rather than defaulting to simple yes/no questions or asking about things they already know.

In his "Spooky Speakers" thematic unit, students practiced asking open-ended questions that demonstrate genuine curiosity. What made it spooky was that the speakers were wearing masks and students had to ask questions that would help them identify the speaker. This unit helped students engage more deeply with their peers and their environment.

This work extends into small group sessions where students explore the concept of "I'm curious about..." as a framework for inquiry. By learning to identify what they genuinely want to know, students develop both their language skills and their capacity for authentic social connection.

The Interview Project: Building Real-World Communication Skills
Perhaps the most ambitious current initiative is Mark's interview project, where students are learning the art of conducting and participating in interviews - a skill that will serve them throughout their academic and professional lives.

The project begins with students watching examples of interviews with diverse subjects, from deaf individuals to zookeepers. Students record what they already know about a topic, then craft strategic questions that build on that foundation. It's deductive reasoning meets communication practice.

The culmination? Each student conducts a five-minute interview in front of their classmates. This spring, Mark is planning a finale day where everyone will be interviewed on the same day - a celebration of how far their questioning and communication skills have come.

For Lower and Middle Elementary students, Mark is still in the priming phase, introducing them to interview examples and building their foundational skills. The pacing is intentional, ensuring students at every level are appropriately challenged.

Making It Experiential: From Board Games to Bridge Building
​Mark's approach recognizes that some students learn best through doing. His ever-expanding Monday boys group has become a laboratory for social communication through play - board games, card games, even building forts and constructing bridges to drive remote-controlled cars across.

For the middle and high school group of 10 boys, these hands-on activities create natural opportunities for collaboration, problem-solving communication, and the kind of informal language practice that often proves most valuable.

Looking ahead, Mark is partnering with the occupational therapist to take Lower Elementary groups into more nature-based, experiential learning. Students will practice organizing how to get to a destination, orienting themselves in space, describing what they're seeing, and collaborating on projects like building sandcastles. It's speech therapy that feels like adventure.

Classroom Integration: Meeting Students Where They Are
Mark maintains regular classroom "pushins,” integrated sessions where he works with students in their natural learning environment. These sessions focus on helping students develop the language skills to describe details about what they've learned and to organize and share information effectively. It's not separate from their academic work - it's woven directly into it.

For Lower Elementary students, Mark is also running focused groups: a phonological awareness group and asocial communication group, ensuring targeted support for specific skill development.

The Case of the Missing Coffee: Making Deduction Fun
In Upper Elementary, Mark introduced a mystery-based activity called "The Case of the Missing Coffee," where students practiced deductive questioning and strategic inquiry. It's Sherlock Holmes meets speech therapy, and students were fully engaged in solving the puzzle through careful, thoughtful questioning.

A Holistic Approach to Student Growth
What stands out across all of Mark's work is the integration of communication skills with critical thinking, social awareness, and real-world application. Students aren't just learning to speak more clearly or use correct grammar - they're learning to be curious, to collaborate, to think strategically about how they communicate.

This is what specialized support looks like at Stanbridge Academy: individualized, creative, and always focused on helping students develop skills that will serve them far beyond the classroom.