If you’ve been searching for some kind of developmental progression or hierarchy to help you organize your language therapy, and you haven’t found what you’re looking for… It’s because you’re looking for something that doesn’t exist. Many SLPs ask me for a hierarchy for language therapy. They want to know the developmental progression of language…
Author: DrKaren
From Starting Over to Stacking: Build a Language Therapy System Without Rebuilding It Every Year
One of the biggest frustrations experienced SLPs run into is that they have a lot of knowledge about language therapy and a lot of materials and protocols accumulated, but they don’t have them organized in to a strategic system. They’ve tried, but often default back to planning session-to-session and doing things “on-the-fly”. If you’re an…
I considered building a therapy app. Then I thought, “What’s the point?”.
Most of my products that include “language/cognitive therapy materials” are pretty basic. One might call them boring. Many of them outline steps in a therapy protocol so the clinician knows how to move through the activity, and some that include “work sheet” type things kids can interface with directly. I remember about 5 years ago…
I’m not that smart, I just know how to struggle. It made me an effective school SLP, but it’s also helped me live my life.
In the past few jobs I’ve held, I’ve managed to get to the point people would say, “I know I can come to you with a problem and you’ll get something done.” It makes me incredibly proud when people see me as the “Get shit done” person. When I was in the schools, it was…
Language and EF Systems Aren’t Built During Breaks. They’re Built in Protected Time Blocks.
There’s a quiet agreement many school clinicians make with themselves every year: “I’ll build my system this summer.”“Once things calm down after evaluations, I’ll map it out.”“Over winter break I’ll finally organize everything.”“Next year will be the year I get ahead.” And then summer fills with life.Breaks disappear into recovery.The school year starts fast.Referrals pile…
Five “clinical containers” to Design Your Language Therapy System
In episode 255 of De Facto Leaders, I elaborate on the concept of using vocabulary as a large “container”, so you can design sessions efficiently without sacrificing quality. I talk about why more experienced clinicians often struggle to make their interventions scalable, and why this gets in the way of carryover. I also share the…
Goals and Accommodations for Executive Functioning
Writing goals for executive functioning can be challenging because it’s very hard to quantify. Additionally, because executive functioning impacts almost every functional skill we engage in, almost every goal on any IEP or therapy plan is technically an executive functioning goal. When we’re focusing on other areas such as writing, reading, math, language, or other…
Resource List: Scaffolding syntax, semantics, language evaluations
I recently compiled a list of my top resources for syntax and semantics, and I wanted to share it on the blog. This list was designed with the following questions in mind: “What does a therapy session look like when you’re doing semantic feature analysis or studying definition syntax?” “How do you do syntax and…
Following directions goals have become controversial
One of the most disheartening things I’ve seen in clinical communities is how polarizing certain topics have become. A topic on that list would be “following directions” goals. While I’d agree that goals for following directions often end up being too compliance-focused in the way they’re implemented, I’d caution people from throwing the baby out with the…
2024: All-Time Top 5 Dr. Karen Pieces
One of my go-to, re-watchable comfort movies is High Fidelity. It’s definitely in my “all time top 5” (other High Fidelity nerds will get the reference). For those who haven’t seen it, the main character in the movie is constantly making “all time top 5” lists about various things (usually music, but sometimes career paths and other things). He…