Language Therapy and Leadership for Pediatric Clinicians
“Never start a sentence with a conjunction!” Have you ever heard this mantra? Or have you ever said it yourself? I confess I’m guilty as charged. There were times I’d try ANYTHING to get my students to understand something in the moment. But…the problem with that little conjunctions jingle I just mentioned is that it’s about…
Everyone loves an epic grammar or syntax fail. There’s this one that shows how a simple comma can be the difference between life and death: “Let’s eat Grandpa.” Or this one that’s been floating around the internet (which shows how important it is to know what is and isn’t a coordinating conjunction): “Everyone’s got a right to…
SLPs are in a position to make a huge impact on our students’ language skills. But here’s the challenge a lot of us face when it comes to helping our students: Most of us are so good at using language, we use it without thinking. Over time we lose the ability to explain HOW we…
Speech-language pathologists aren’t supposed to be working on spelling. Or are they? I’d make the argument that they should be. SLPs know they play a role in building literacy skills. But how that role plays out in day-to-day practice remains up for debate…especially when it comes to spelling. If you search through the vast amount…
If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me for some good “comprehension” and “inferencing” techniques for kids with language disorders, I could retire and buy a private island. If I had another dollar for every article I saw on Pinterest about “reading comprehension”, “main idea”, “inferencing” for language therapy I could probably…
Does it seem like your students never make REAL, measurable progress in language therapy? Do you want to finally start writing progress reports that look like this: Instead of writing updates that look like this: Let’s face it. A lot of us find ourselves writing “not making progress” on a lot of our language therapy…
Does the thought of sifting through your materials and planning for the next day feel like an insurmountable task? If so, join the club. Having to be “on” all day long in the therapist’s role is enough to leave anyone exhausted. The thought of doing any more work after all of that is the last…
If you’re an SLP, you have to collaborate with psychologists on a regular basis to evaluate struggling students. You also may find yourself in situations where you have to explain the eligibility process to people who have no background special education…which is no small task. Not only is this hard to explain to other people…it…
The Introverted Therapist: Are we “broken”? I can’t quite remember when I decided that being loud, outgoing, and extroverted was the “right” way to be. Maybe it was in elementary school when my teachers would scold me for talking too quietly when I was speaking in front of the class (while my classmates snickered). Maybe…
I have never been a natural “people person.” Back when I was a kid, my mom was seriously concerned about me. There was a time period she actually worried that I wouldn’t make friends, and she was frantically scheduling play dates to get me out of my comfort zone. And then…the awkward adolescent years. Through…