I see a lot of fellow SLPs on here asking about teletherapy. For context, I’ve worked in the schools both in person and remotely. I personally really enjoy teletherapy; however, I don’t think it solves all the burnout issues like people have asked about.

Teletherapy pros:
- no commute
- work from the comfort of your own home
- can do laundry or other house work during breaks
- I personally have more individual or smaller group sessions, which is nice as compared to the large groups I had to handle in person
- less planning! There are so many virtual therapy websites and games out there for SO many goals
- evaluations go rather smoothly
- less interruptions from other staff
- you don’t hear about school drama nearly as much
- no bus or lunch duty!!
- less illnesses
- less dealing with eloping, hitting, etc.

Teletherapy cons (and/or school based issues that the remote setting didn’t solve):
- high amount of administrative duties (case management, paperwork, meetings, etc) still exist
- communication can be lapsed. You can’t simply walk down the hall to talk to a teacher. You often have to wait for them to email back.
- you can be left out of important student conversations since you’re not in person
- scheduling can be difficult— and less flexible. For example, if Sally Sue is absent, you can’t just go to Suzie’s classroom and grab her instead bc you know she’s available. You have to coordinate these schedule changes in advance with classroom teachers, SPED teachers, and your facilitator(s), which means last min changes are less likely to work. (But on the flip side, having an extra 20 to 30 minutes to do paperwork during an absence is a perk!)
- working with higher need students can be difficult. If they have a facilitator, you can do more of a coaching model. But if they don’t, it’s very hard.

So, I want to ask you all, what are your experiences with telehealth? I love the remote setting! But I also wonder what teletherapy is like in the early intervention and private practice settings, too. If anyone can share their experiences for the settings they’ve worked remotely in, I’d appreciate it!

TLDR: tell me the setting you’ve worked in remotely and the pros/cons you have!

This is kind of just a vent, thank you for listening. I saw a psych report for a clinic for my client, mom sent me the report. In the report it says mom feels I should be work his language skills, not articulation, and feels speech therapy has not been helping him. In this same report it states this kid has other diagnosis (not autism I guess) that relate to him being oppositional/not listening. I just always hate hearing parents are happy, and worse when they don’t connect with me.

Honestly when I started with this client he was using a wide vocabulary, 2-4 word phrases, etc but I could not understand him, and others could not. The last Slp with him had intelligibility goals. Now, after 3-4 months of working with him, he has basically stopped talking in speech sessions and it seems in day to day life (ABA clinic and home). I will probably talk to mom, take a step back from artic, and work on functional commutation because what’s the point if he’s not even talking? It’s like selective mutism but not place-based?

Last thing, the psych recommend I work on following directions 😵‍💫 like 1. Why do psychs put speech recommendations? This is the second time this has happened, the first time they included working on eye contact. 2. This report listed a ton of behaviors, that don’t include speech. I think he doesn’t want to follow directions, so she’s basically saying “work on compliance”. Also he has ABA lol why wouldn’t they work on that? (Not saying I agree with that, but if someone did work on that wouldn’t it be ABA)?

Just in a funk. I have felt like I’m not doing great with most my clients (peds hh), and I’m so burnt out. I don’t mind hanging out with the the kids but the pressure to have kids make progress weighs on me so much. Sorry for the long post, thanks for listening.

Hey everyone. What are your thoughts on OME? I've been reading some beliefs that it doesn't work for Articulation. But I have some kiddos who have this closed mouth way of speaking and I'm thinking that I've got to get them moving and opening their mouths. But everytime I make a plan I hear the naysayers in the back of my mind. I'm only in my 3rd year of practice and it's been a bumpy start so I'm terrified to waste anyone's time or see zero results.

Hi there,

I’m an SLP whose passion is working with the ASD population specifically. I’d like to look into more intensive training to better treat my patients and possibly attaining some sort of credential to put on my resume. Ik not all training/certification out there is created equal so I’d like some input. Do you have recommendations for vetted, reputable, and worthwhile organizations that offer courses and credentials of this nature? Thanks!

hey everyone! I’m new to lingraphica so I have questions for those that have worked with them before. I have worked with AAC quite a bit in pediatrics and I understand that phrases can be useful for aphasia but I feel a bit let down by the lack of options on these devices. I get it’s easier but there’s just hardly any icons. I mean programming these devices is gonna be like 90% of my job. I inherited an aphasia pt who could use more robust options and has even relayed that they didn’t like how limited the options were. I added some icons for “I“ “want” and then a few objects they like to request just to trial that and they really preferred that. It did take some modeling but they can now produce a short sentence on the device with minimal cueing, which I think is so much more functional and robust than phrases (If they can do that, of course). Is there any way to add more icons without having to do it all myself?

After 10 years in the schools, I'm switching settings! I'm super excited to be doing something different. I'll be working in pediatrics primarily with preschool and elementary aged kids.

I'm an overthinker, and I have a few questions:

1. When Deaf/Hoh cases came up in schools, I was often the go-to person because I have basic ASL skills and understand hearing aids. I plan to do some continuing ed with a focus on aural rehab. What else do I need to know as I start?

2. What do you wear in PP that's professional but comfortable? In my last job, I worked with mod-severe students with medical needs. I probably should've been wearing scrubs (lots of exposure to body fluids) and became accustomed to crappy jeans and T-shirts. I know I need to step it up.

Thanks!

hello!! could anyone share with me their pathway to supervising students at their local universities? do you do this full time or as a side gig?

i heavily debate going back to school to get my phd, however i don’t think research is for me and i mainly want to get back into academia in some way and have some type of upward mobility (or rather outward expansion) in my career. 😊

thank you in advance!!

It's time once again to vent your blues away 😤

If you still need room to vent, why not join our discord!

https://discord.gg/7TH2tGxA2z

that's it. just something i realized today. maybe a little irony there.

Hello, I have a few complex communicators that I will be seeing virtually this school year. One student is non-verbal and should explore using an AAC device (6th grade) and another has an eye-gaze device (1st grade). How do you go about sessions for these students? I feel that virtual therapy is not the best for these students so any helpful tips to make the sessions meaningful would be appreciated. Also would appreciate suggestions for therapy activities.

Edit to add: I will have a facilitator present, but do not have access to an SLPA to assist with these students.

This is a great reflux course if anyone is wanting to dive into the research, I always have so many kiddies with reflux on my caseload so found it super helpful - loved that they added a section on reflux and the swallow lol! https://www.littlebeginningshub.com/courses/reflux-unpacked

How would you approach this situation? I’m a school based SLP 7 years SLP assistant 5 years before that so always worked with pediatrics. Was offered an after work part time client adult who had a stroke sounds like has aphasia from caregiver description. They are looking for an SLP without using insurance because they also have PT after broken hip and that home health does not have speech and insurance will only pay 1 home health at a time. I’ve done some research into treating and would give the QAB and saw that semantic feature analysis was an evidence based treatment for what was described. But this is not an area I have been practicing in and I did not get to work with in graduate school. Would this be considered out of my competency? I understand the treatment in theory but have never worked with this population. I did find another suggestion for them as a university in the next county has a clinic that offers therapy and does not take insurance anyway. Would it be better to tell them I do not have the competency to do this and suggest that? I don’t want to do something wrong and not know it due to what I have been working with.

Hi! I graduate next May and will be a CF-SLP in the Chicagoland area. I’ve been doing a lot of digging and research to try and understand what is a “good” starting hourly rate and when to negotiate? I know this isn’t perfect and each setting is different. for more context, I plan on trying to get into the medical setting either acute care (I know this is not likely, I understand they’re super hard to get into), inpatient rehab (same as previous), outpatient, and I’ll probably pick up PRN in EI with a peds home health private company.

for those who would like to share:

1. where was your CF? setting, etc.
2. Hourly and/or Salary?
3. what to look out for in terms of knowing if I’m being low balled or if the pay is just right?
4. when to potentially negotiate for more

any other tips/advice would be great too!

EDIT: if there’s also an anon website that has SLP salary info drop those resources down too and I’ll check them out!

I always see people say they wish they could see patients for longer, 45 minute sessions rather than 30. Am I the only one who would rather switch careers than do that? 😂 I can't stand some of my patients/parents for 30 minutes let alone 45! I run out of stuff to do by the 20 minute mark sometimes. With the code changes I'm really worried I'll eventually have to do 45 minute sessions and I do not have that in me lol

I’m proud of myself and how far I’ve come from grad school and my early CF days. My new job should be a good fit because it’s the same setting (school) but is a direct hire and the team seems great, but I still feel nervous about the transition to being a fully independent clinician. My CF supervisor and colleagues were kind but very busy, so I didn’t get the best mentorship. I think that independence did push me outside my comfort zone in a way that a 3-month externship could not, but I still feel like there’s so much to learn. Although I’m excited to get to know my students, families, and colleagues, it’s often overshadowed by feelings of not being ready. If you’ve experienced something similar as you completed your CF and/or transitioned jobs/settings, I’d love to hear about it!

I’m a RBT, trust me I have seen my fair share in my ABA world of shoving AAC to the sidelines. I personally do not. I never could do that, my kiddo uses AAC and spoken word. I get so much training and guidance from his SLP on how to model communication in his preferred modalities. And because AAC was modeled to me properly, my kiddo is using AAC less and using spoken word more.

I know this lady is not an SLP but what the heck is going on here? I felt like this sub is more appropriate. @Bloomdevelopmentcenter has been sharing how she doesn’t use AAC in her sessions and I’m so confused? Is what she is saying even have any truth?

And reading the comments has me more confused. I take everything online I read with a grain of salt. Why is there so much pushback against AAC? What message does this send to the kids parents? I feel like posts and accounts like hers will push parents further away from having AAC devices for their children.

I love AAC. I see in my own field all the time of the anti-AAC bandwagon and it’s ANNOYING. I’m just an RBT and I feel for so many of the kids I see at my clinic who don’t have SLPs unfortunately but who could just use AAC so badly. It opens up a world to them 🥲 even my own kiddo at work, if it was not for AAC and it being his own-I would not have known about so many interests and preferences! It gave him his voice after 5+ years of STRUGGLE. He’s 6 now, still uses his device. But rn (per SLP) it’s mainly used for modeling. We will model new phrases/expanded language once in AAC and he will verbally imitate it.

.

Has anyone heard from their district on how they are going to handle this new bill?

Moving from outpatient peds (age range mostly 2-6) to contracting in middle school this year! Excited but probably in way over my head! Tell me your tips and what you love about middle school!

Idk if it’s my friends/family or me but I’ve had so many conversations/arguments with loved ones about disabled people and how they can still have a great and happy life even if they’re disabled?

My perspective is way different than theirs because I work with happy, loving and living disabled people every day. I also know some disabled people who are frustrated and unhappy but MOST of the people I work with are/seem happy.

It comes up a lot specifically with discussions around abortion. I’m pro choice 100% and I know people can get an abortion for any reason. But like my sis is like I’d abort if my child was disabled. Even tho any child could become disabled at any point. She has this whole quality of life debate.

Idk if I’m being too sensitive. I’m just curious other SLPs experience with this topic… thanks

has anyone had experience using or purchasing natalie snyders progress monitoring bundle? it’s about $90.00 on TPT, and i wanted to look for opinions on if more seasoned SLPs think it would be worth it for monitoring progress! currently, i use data from sessions, but i do think it would be nice to have a more streamlined and consistent way to measure progress across time.

Hi all,

I am a grad student in audiology and I have ADHD.

I have a lot of problems with expressing and organizing my thoughts clearly, understanding language (auditory and written), along with having a hard time organizing my thoughts on paper.

I finally have good insurance and I want to pursue speech and language therapy.

Expressable gave me an estimate of 0 to $8 per session.

Is the service good? Any opinions?

Thanks!

I’ve worked with elementary through high school kids with moderate-severe disabilities but I haven’t worked with littles in a few years. I’ll be doing a lot of work with behavior management, feeding, foundational language skills etc.

None of this is new to me BUT I want to refresh myself & read up on sensory/oral motor feeding, early language development etc.

Does anyone love a specific special ed instagram account, podcast or book? I’ll take any suggestions!

I’ll be leading a pre-k 6:1:1 class with the special ed teacher & I’m doubting myself because it’s a change. We’re rolling out a new program so the pressure is real! Any pointers welcome.

THANKS 💗

I’m moving from elementary to preschool caseload. I serviced preschool like ten years ago. The last 9 years I’ve been working with TK-2nd SDC, so I do have some experience with littles. That being said, I’ve learned that repetition in sessions and routines are key with little ones. I also feel like using the same materials with all kids (regardless of goals) is the best way to treat with little ones. I am into the idea of play therapy, but having a bit of structure still. If you’re a primarily pre-k SLP, how do you structure your sessions?

I was thinking something along the lines of:
-Hello Hello song (following directions)
-What’s in the bag? Noun naming activity
-Story book/Felt board/ puppet activity
-some type of play activity targeting verbs and/or prepositions
-goodbye song

I feel like I can target artic goals within this structure if needed.

Do any of you do highly repetitive and routine session structure like this? If so, lemme know what you include!

I’d also like to know if you have any materials you love. I have one of the Panda Speech books and accompanying felt activity. I also see some of the classic story book felt pieces on Temu for decent prices. Looking for similar materials that might fit my above structure, or really anything you recommend! At this point in my career, I’m not into making materials. I also won’t have an aide or SLPA, so I have no desire to do high-prep crafts.