The Speech Therapy Blog

I had a really meaningful exchange with an SLP Impact Member in California asking some really spot-on questions about bilingualism and its influence on speech, speech sounds, general vs. special education focuses and requirements, and much more. I want to share the...

When it comes to unnecessary speech referrals, we would be remiss if we didn’t talk about the source of most of our referrals – the teachers. And we’re here to say that if teachers are not making great referrals, it probably isn’t their fault and there is a lot we can...

As speech-language pathologists report that the demands on their time are increasing, it is critical that we eliminate unnecessary work. One of the biggest contributors to the increase in SLP workloads is speech referrals for students from diverse background who do...

Almost without exception, speech language pathologists are constantly looking for more numerical and better data. We want ways to measure aspects of our job and balance it against what is typical. We want to know how many kids we should be working with and how long it...

I had a campus once that I hung onto year-after-year because, I reasoned, I liked the staff and the kids. Truthfully? It was a huge commute to a hugely problematic, huge caseload. I was even given the option to change each year, which I declined! A contract change led...

The complexity of working with students from diverse backgrounds with diverse language learning needs makes collaboration essential. While we know this, we’ve all experienced challenges when attempting to collaborate with others on a child’s team. Whether it’s due to...

How many of you have completely misjudged the amount of time it will take to finish something such as writing up an eval, testing a child, or completing your progress notes? For me, I chronically suffer from such optimism but after all these years can I really be this...

How often have we sat in meetings with other professionals such as OTs, PTs, reading specialists, and diagnosticians, nodding our heads along with their descriptions of the goals that our shared clients and students are working on. Yes, we “share” children. To think...

I think that many speech language pathologists have had the experience where you are around your nieces and nephews or typically developing kids at a party, and are just blown away by how brilliant they are. Their language, their words, or how they navigate a social...

Imagine standing at a crossroads, faced with two seemingly identical options. One path gleams with promises of success and prosperity, while the other looms with warnings of failure and despair. How do you decide? Welcome to the world of the framing effect, where the...

Have you ever been here? You are staring down your caseload size or the amount of work you have and a sense of injustice starts to creep. Sometimes work levels or compensation seem tolerable, but then you go to a conference or hear about another SLP and their...

The experience of being a supervisor for speech language pathology can be one of the most rewarding experiences in our careers. It is an amazing way to give back to a field that has done so much for us and to welcome new colleagues into the field. For some of us, we...

Have you ever been stuck in a sticky situation where you are advocating for what you believe to be right for a child (and all children) but the opinion of the campus or the district might not be caught up to what best practices would indicate? Without knowing what...

As we travel around to different districts to help out with testing, there are often times when we go to do a language or speech reevaluation and the DNQ (does not qualify) comes so quickly and is so obvious that it makes you wonder why the student wasn’t dismissed...

You can ask any educator at any level what they think are the greatest problems in education and they will have an immediate answer for you. Whether it’s the teachers and speech language pathologists in the schools, the speech leads and principals we work under, or...

I received an email from one of our SLP Impact members about speech therapy caseloads and a heavy workload in the school setting, and decided to put together a post to answer her question. I know her concern is shared by many SLPs in our profession. She wrote: I am...

We had an amazing conversation with members of our SLP Impact Community where veteran SLPs shared speech and language therapy techniques they use to continue to have great results even as their caseloads and workloads are increasing. These are not suggestions to...

Many undergraduates happily stumble upon the field of speech-language pathology through required science courses, like Language and the Brain. They may not realize right away what a speech-language pathologist (SLP) does and what education is required to get...

As a speech-language pathologist who has worked across many settings all over the United States, and as a longtime integrative health coach, I think a lot about positive mindset. Our work as speech-language pathologists and educators can be overwhelming, and we have...

Considerations for African American English Dialect in Speech-Language Therapy help us correctly diagnose and choose accurate goals.

Central to the learning of any SLP who wants to provide more equitable services is an understanding of African American English articulation differences and language characteristics in comparison to Standardized American English...

In our series highlighting the work of clinicians researching AAE and advocating for our Black clients, we will introduce you to a few SLPs who are on a mission to increase diversity and inclusion for minority groups in therapy.  How often do we tie learning new...

Dear SLP,  Where do you get your information to support your Black students?  Who do you turn to with tricky questions about African American English vs Standardized American English, and other dialectal and cultural differences?  How do you navigate...

We have all romanticized how working from home would be and what our teletherapy home office would look like.  It might be time spent scrolling through Pottery Barn, Ikea, or something more chic...lunches with our partner or roommate... Then, most of us got the...

Concerns about SLP Burnout are at an all-time high and have not been helped by the global health pandemic.  That’s why we wanted to get this essay out to you before we head into an increasingly stressful time of year.  And you will see by the end of this...

When I fantasize about my perfect SLP day, so much about it comes down to how I and other SLPs save time. I want enough time to plan therapy so I can have great sessions because the therapy is what I love most about this job. I want to arrive at a perfect diagnosis...

How is it that speech-language pathologists have years of undergraduate and graduate work, hundreds of clinical practicum hours, a full year with supervision, and we can still be years into our career feeling a lack of confidence about what we do?  Now with the...

Learn how to get buy-in and everyone in agreement when you are working towards dismissal from speech therapy.

We all have been there.  We think we have the perfect therapy materials together for the perfect goals.  Maybe, usually, we had a lot of fun putting the therapy materials together. Then the student comes in… and the therapy session goes sideways pretty fast....

This post is dedicated to my parents.  To the mothers, fathers, grandparents, foster parents, family members and caretakers who care so very much.  Thank you for letting us into your lives.  It is truly an honor to serve in this capacity. Woes of the...

The following post is written by Chelsea Cornejo, a Bilinguistics team member.  We share her sentiments with gratitude for the narrative she brings to our professional and human community.  Latinx Perspective I am Mexican-American. Spanish was my first language, and I...

Let's Talk, Parents Recently, I reached out to the families I have supported in my professional career over the last two decades.  I spoke to Anne.  I met her son, John, in 2002 when I was in graduate school.  I spoke to the families I serve now,...

SLP Report Writing - A clinical observation You're sitting there.  Actually you have been for more than 45 minutes. Nothing more is coming in your email to save you. Two trips to the candy jar.  Check! You give a pleading look to your coworker saying "interrupt me!"...

SLP Past Yesterday afternoon, I was gifted the highest honor in speech-language pathology—to witness the humanly outcomes of our work.   After 16 years, I was in the same space as my John and my Anne. While in graduate school, I would spend several hours a...

The following content is a collaboration between Dr. Amanda Johnson, psychologist, and Phuong Lien Palafox, speech-language pathologist, on the topic of the mental health of speech-language pathologists. Why Should We Talk About the Mental Health of Speech-Language...

For those of us who work with students in special education, we have the opportunity to participate in IEP meetings at least once per year.  Sometimes IEP meetings are very positive and productive experiences. Other times they are not.  When they are really...

SLP Voices Do you hear that, SLPs?  It's the crescendo of voices coming together, voices increasing in volume and voices speaking in cadence to a valuable message.   These are the voices of speech-language pathologists.  "We work hard.  Our...

We the (Immigrant) People “It’s ‘we the people’, Má,” I said. “Cai Constitution bắt đầu với/the Constitution begins with ‘we the people.” Our naturalization appointment was coming up soon, and I was helping my má study. It was 1986, and I was in first grade. In class...

The Hope in Being a Speech-Language Pathologist Here I am smiling despite the impending Wisconsin winter. In this picture, I was a first year graduate student at UW-Madison. My excitement for becoming a speech-language pathologist was sizable. This 22-year-old grin...

Let Another School Year Begin The sun is showing off, and the school bells are starting to ring.  SLPs, another start to the school year is beginning.  There is always an air of excitement and newness as we decorate our new space, buy new supplies and find...

The Situation Going in, I knew my Internship year was going to be hard- like graduate school, but with more real-world consequences. Having an anxiety disorder, my brain raced through thousands of worst-case scenarios. What it did not imagine was a 60+ caseload across...

The Confession Dear School-Based SLP, I need to apologize to each of you.  I often find myself standing in front of you and telling you all that it is going to be okay.  You will be okay, SLP, and your efforts are always worth it.  You come up to me after...

Thinking about switching to an SLP school based setting? If you answered yes to that question, then you might be in for an experience similar to the one I had this past August of 2018. I came to work at Bilinguistics after completing my clinical fellowship in a...

Today I write as the mother of Thomas, who has an awesome speech-language pathologist named Phuong Palafox. Phuong has been Thomas’s speech-language pathologist for the past five years and in those five years he’s made tremendous progress.  Phuong is presenting at the...

I met Anne during a Wisconsin winter in 2002.  She opened the door and welcomed me into her home.  It was my first day as a Behavioral Treatment Technician for the Wisconsin Early Autism Project.  I assumed that this part-time job during my...

I just got off the phone with John, a student from the University of Virginia taking an introductory course in Communicative Disorders.  He asked questions about being a speech-language pathologist, and I answered them.  His final question addressed the one lesson...

Self-esteem drives school performance I want to share a story of how the role of self-esteem was so apparent when I went out to a rural district recently to evaluate a bilingual pre-Kindergarten student.  He spent a solid 100 minutes with me working hard and doing...

TED Teaches I was listening to AJ Jacob’s TED Talk this morning on my drive into work. He began by talking about how the brain is wired to focus on the negative. It’s a strategy for self-preservation. This skill definitely came in handy during the caveman days. “Oh...

I’ll be honest, I was supposed to write about using Non-Word Repetition tasks in  the assessment process for today’s blog but something I read in the ASHA Leader this past week riled me up so I had to switch to talking about working with families. There was an...

IEP Woes I had my first IEP meeting in the winter of 2003.  My teacher was running late, my administrator could not be found and the parent, an attorney, pulled out books to refute her child's ineligibility for speech services.  Since my inaugural meeting, I...

Bilingual Speech-Language Pathologists Unite How do we find bilingual speech language pathologists?  Years ago, as a district lead, I sat in front of a group of bilingual SLPs.  It was our first official meeting, and I was pumped.  We had always had our monthly...

I don’t know about all of you, but I came out of my master’s program in speech pathology with ZERO skills to address challenging behaviors.  I don’t remember having a single classroom discussion about challenging behaviors.  Maybe I was lucky that the clients I saw at...

What's missing? I think have figured out the secret to better speech-language therapy, and I learned it 15 years into my career.  A year ago, I sat in an audience and listened to Stacey Chang, the Executive Director of the Design Institute for Health, a...

What's it like to be a speech-language pathologist?  Well, it's the month of May.  For some, it's merely the fifth month of the year.  For us as SLPs, we are in the thick of it.  Evaluations and reports are amping up, timelines are getting much too...

Good or Bad? I spent most of my day in the backyard.  The kids played, and I shuffled between my motherly duties of laundering/cleaning/sitting idly.  At one point, the three-year-old thoughtfully placed blooms into a container.  Language used to...

As our workload increases, we need to find better practices. The 3:1 service delivery model might be the answer. The ASHA Schools Survey 2014 reports that caseload size over the last couple of years has remained the same (47).  However, the responsibilities of...

Dear Phuong, You just walked out of your first graduate school class, and you’re on your own in Badger country.  You are 22, and I, on the other hand, exist 16 years later as the 39-year-old version of you.   You are about to dive into your chosen profession as a...

There are more than 75,000 school-based SLPs in the United States, and we are working too hard.   I identify as a glass-three-quarters-full person, and I can find the positives, the bright side and the out-of-the-box thinking.  I thrive on this...

Can I do this? During my college days, I spent time thinking about my team's football schedule, listened to the woes of Matchbox 20 and heard the adamant cries of using evidence-based practices (EBP) from my professors.  Somewhere along the way, this sole task made me...

I’ve spent approximately 9,720 hours doing speech-language therapy, and I’ve discovered the secret to a great speech therapy session.  Evidence-based practices are essential to our success.  However, to me, there is something else that supersedes the...

Say My Name Beyoncé and I have so much in common: our love for Texas, mutual respect for Sir Jay-Z and difficult-to-pronounce names. Now, I admit that Queen Bey (with 17.2+ million albums sold) might now be a household name. However, I’m confident that 8-year-old...

Where:  ASHA Connect I just returned from ASHA Connect 2017 in New Orleans, and I am floored.  I now know the secret of how to be a successful speech-language pathologist.  So, here's what happened.  I, along with 5 fellow SLPs, were given the task...

I knew Katherine Johnson when her Spanish was just at college level.  Then I watched as she independently left for Guatemala and came back, able to serve as a bilingual speech pathologist. I knew Katherine when she did really good therapy.  Then I watched...

In this video I share 5 tips on how to use the classroom curriculum to reduce speech therapy planning time, improve relationships with teachers, and increase how fast your students move through their goals.  Watch above or here is a quick recap. Click above for...

Speech therapy data collection makes me nervous.  Sure, I know it’s good for me, but I question it every step of the way. Then, I start adding kids to my groups, and SLP-perspiration ensues.  As I step over my buckets of sweat to grab a pen and scrap piece...

We all have our areas that we geek out on, and we also have areas that we know very little about and need information fast!  We polled SLPs to find out which speech therapy blog they adored or flew to in times of crisis and updated them for the current year. Best...

Speech Therapy and Work-Life Balance What’s the number one question I get from the readers of our speech-language pathology blog?  How do you maintain a job doing speech therapy and work-life balance?  I admit that there is an abundance of questions related to speech...

Does anyone else feel a disconnect between research  and clinical practice in the field of speech-language pathology?  Do you ever get to the end of a research article and think, "Now, how do I apply that clinically?"  I know I am not alone in this.  So many people...

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For those of you who don’t know me well, I have to admit that I am a bit of a tortured soul.  I love working with clients and making gains in therapy. When I see ways in which our field can improve, I feel a real compulsion to act. Here is where the torture comes in....

Dear SLP-to-be and SLPs, Hey, you. I am talking to you—the one thinking about applying to graduate school and becoming a speech language pathologist, the one who was just told that you should quit your program by your clinical supervisor, the one...

My husband and I celebrated our 20th anniversary recently with two of the things we love most—great food and travel. We shared dinner at a community table one night with two other couples in southern France. It was a table full of polyglots—well except for us. As we...

The SLP-Life can feel overwhelming--IEP meetings, evaluations, report writing, trainings, making materials, programming devices.  At times, we sometimes find ourselves losing sight of why we are in this profession.  We are keeping it light this week with a poem by...

During my time as a speech-language pathologist (SLP), I’ve had the pleasure of working with fantastic families.  I’ve often marveled at how parents and caregivers give so much of their time and resources to support their children’s communication.  For...

My First Speech Therapy Session While in graduate school, I learned about the Neural Mechanisms of Speech, Language and Hearing.  I don’t want to brag, but I also studied Acquired Language & Cognitive-Communication in Adults. I would soon find out that this didn't...

It was not until my sophomore year of college that I realized that I needed to go to graduate school to become a speech-language pathologist? What?! Two more years of school? No one told me about this part of the plan. A few years later, I started working in a school,...

The Goals of the 3:1 Service Delivery Model Many of the school districts we work with have shifted to a 3:1 service delivery model in which there are three weeks of direct services and one week of indirect services. Research on this model suggests that it makes for...

I have a confession.  On the outside, I appear to be a (somewhat) competent SLP.  Once you get past the exterior, folks, I am a big ball of worry.  And, you know what?  My biggest fears have to do with what I have done for 40-50 hours a week for...

After a decade and a half of working in the field of speech language pathology, I finally discovered the key to SLP happiness.   This is our final, and most important, installment of our five-part series:  How to Happily be an SLP.  We have talked about...

In our fourth installment of this series, I want to share a secret I have for making my SLP-life easier. I interact with teachers! Sure, I gabbed with teachers when I was a school-based SLP.  You know what?  I still talk to teachers as a clinic-based SLP. Sometimes,...

In our last two posts, we talked how to be a more effective, efficient and happier SLP by making your efforts more cumulative and doing intensive speech therapy.  Today, let’s talk about where we can get great speech therapy materials.  Here’s the...

In our last post, we talked how making your SLP-efforts cumulative helps you be a more effective, efficient, and happier SLP. Today, we are going to talk about how one articulation method can: 1. Get students to generalize their sounds and graduate from speech therapy...

As a former school-based SLP, I have lived and reveled in the life of working in the schools.  As a former district and regional lead, I have supported many (happy and unhappy) SLPs.  And, now, I currently serve clients through our clinic.  I would like to share my...

Do you want to improve the field by creating great products for fellow speech pathologists?  Demographic information on speech pathology and its professionals is crucial to helping you get there. We share demographic information below that highlights how many...

Here is an honest look as to why you might want or not want to become a speech pathologist. Do you want to get a speech pathologist talking?  Ask them why they like their job.  The reasons abound as to why becoming a speech pathologist is a great idea and we...

Competent about Communication Styles? All about those Analyticals! In the previous posts, we've discussed improving our people skills by adapting our way of communicating to coincide with others' communication styles. In the first post about communication styles,...

Competent about Communication Styles? (All about those Expressives!) In the previous posts, we discussed the characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses of 4 communication styles from the Boltons' People Styles at Work and Beyond, 2nd Edition: Drivers,...

Competent about Communication Styles? All about those Amiables! In the previous post, we continued to work on our people skills. We focused on Analyticals and how they can communicate more effectively with Drivers, Expressives, and Amiables.   If you haven’t yet...

Twelve years ago, I was ready to dive into the world of speech-language pathology with enthusiasm, fervor and a toolkit of assessment and therapy materials.  I had worked hard in the cold and snowy deciduous forests of Madison, Wisconsin to earn my degree. ...

A few weeks ago, we talked about graduate school programs for speech-language pathologists.  This week, let's get a bit more personal.  Below is honest, valuable and personalized feedback about a few graduate programs across the nation.  All of our experiences were...

Competent about Communication Styles? (All about those Drivers!) In the previous post, we highlighted the characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses of 4 communication styles from the Boltons' People Styles at Work and Beyond, 2nd Edition: Drivers, Expressives,...

Today we are continuing our dialogue on the field of speech-language pathology.  Is speech-language pathology right for you?  For those of you considering this awesome profession, we want to provide real, honest feedback on what we do and how we feel as...

Competent about Communication Styles? As speech-language pathologists, WE ARE the communication experts. We’re trained to hone in on our clients’ communication strengths and weaknesses to determine if there is a delay/disorder. We’re trained to support our clients’...

Making a decision to become something is hard.  I made a choice to become a speech-language pathologist almost two decades ago as a junior in high school.  Though my daily SLP-shenanigans could not exist without my educational journey, I forget all of the thoughts,...

Congratulations on your recent graduation!  You have studied, read research papers and seen clients.  You are ready to tackle the best profession on earth.  Likely, you are looking for a job that suits your SLP mind and heart needs.  Regardless of your placement...

If the profession of speech-language pathology no longer existed, I would choose to be a timekeeper. For the last decade, I have thought about speech sounds, literacy-based interventions and theory of mind activities.  Regardless of my setting and caseload, I...

Why I became a Speech Language Pathologist.  I got into this profession because of my junior class prom date. He was and still is a person who stutters. My closest friend during my teenage years, I observed his daily challenges. Ordering at a restaurant was...

You’re a communication expert. Why is it often so challenging to communicate productively with colleagues and parents? Because you’re human, and effective communication, like any other acquired skill, must be explicitly learned. As speech-language pathologists we:...

A long time ago, in a setting not too, too far away…   After graduate school, I knew I would be a school-based speech-language pathologist. With the letters M.S. after my name, a bag filled with speech and language therapy goodness and a firm grasp on the...

As of last month, I had a caseload of 60 students across two districts, three campuses and a presentation to complete. All was controllable until 10 evaluations and a few new students were added to my serving-platter-sized-plate. Welcome to end-of-year stress.   I...

In this post, I want to explore why some of us choose to be SLPs and why we are choosing to continue to be SLPs. WHAT WE THINK WE WILL DO I’m sure many of you are familiar with the popular ‘What people think I do/What I really do’ meme that went on not too long ago...

Go to Best Apps for Speech Therapy Page Our SLPs at Bilinguistics have been using iPads in therapy for a while now, and we've all encountered both the benefits of the technology and the challenges of using it well. Benefits: iPads are FUN! They are LIGHTWEIGHT! There...

As an undergraduate SLP student, I was given the opportunity to work with a child fluency client at the University of Texas Speech and Hearing Center. This chance was especially exciting for me because I am a PWS myself (or “Person Who Stutters” for those of you...

By:Farinam M. Pletka I just started my clinical fellowship in August and man has it been quite the experience! Even though I am only 3 months into my CF, I can already say that I have learned tons and I want to share that knowledge with you. This blog isn’t about how...

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With IEP meetings, last minute evaluations, holidays, fieldtrips, and statewide testing, great therapy planning often gets pushed to the lower rung of importance.   Rather than lament over the difficulty to provide services, EMBRACE THE CHAOS! The month of May offers...

For many SLPs, the CF year can be a rough one.  After surviving my first few months as a CF in the schools, I thought it might be helpful to share some of my observations and experiences. Things I wish I had known: Save your materials from graduate school!  The...

Here is a pretty neat list of reasons why literacy-based intervention is a great way to go when working with children with speech and language impairments. Storybooks – provide structure for addressing goals – can be used with all ages and cultures – can be used to...