When everything depends on your real-time decisions, you can’t replicate the progress, scale the outcomes, or lead others through your process. 

Even when it’s working.

In this episode, I share what that looked like in my own career.

As a speech-language pathologist in the schools, I had the training and instincts to support students with complex language and learning needs. But when referrals surged and our team looked to me for leadership, I realized I didn’t have a framework. My sessions were effective, but my tools weren’t replicable. 

There was no way to take what was working and make it repeatable at the team, building, or district level.

What started as a need in my own practice and doctoral work led to a research-informed framework that has now supported thousands of professionals across the country through my Language Therapy Advance Foundations program. 

Here’s what we explore in this episode:

 • What it really costs to rely on instinct alone

 • Why generalization stalls without scalable systems in place

 • How “therapy homework” often lives inside what you're already doing

 • Why leadership begins long before you speak up in a meeting

 • How vocabulary can serve as a container for essential, transferable language skills

If you’re doing great work in direct language therapy sessions but struggling with generalization, this episode is for you.

If your therapy is working, but hard to explain, scale, or share with your team, Language Therapy Advance Foundations will help you change that. 

You’ll build a 5-component system that strengthens vocabulary, supports critical thinking, and works across goals and grade levels. Start building your framework today: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy

In this episode, I’m sharing my top resources for clinicians to explain why we do what we do in language therapy, and how parents and colleagues can support skills outside of sessions.

I share:

How to answer the dreaded “Is there an app for that?” question. 

Why language therapy doesn’t come in a standard curriculum (plus resources you can share to explain the essentials behind vocabulary intervention).

How parents can reinforce language at home (and when and if tech actually helps)

Plus I share an opportunity for therapists who want to learn the “Essential 5” framework and who are also interested in getting referrals for private clients. 

Resources mentioned in this episode:

The Language Therapy Success Path article that shows how to cycle through a set of strategies to hit both higher level language (inferencing, problem-solving) as well as foundational language skills (vocabulary, syntax): https://drkarenspeech.com/the-language-therapy-success-path-for-slps/

The Ultimate Guide to Language Therapy article that defines the "Essential 5" components (morphology, phonology, orthography, semantics, syntax) and explains why there isn't a boxed curriculum for language therapy: https://drkarenspeech.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-language-therapy/

Semantic Feature Analysis for Adjectives article that shares two videos from Language Therapy Advance Foundations that provide a walkthrough of how to do word study with adjectives in a way that builds deep understanding: https://drkarenspeech.com/semantic-feature-analysis-adjectives/

Ultimate Guide to Sentence Structure: My free guide that explains the "how" and the "why" behind studying sentence structure in a way that's digestible for parents and professionals without a speech pathology background: https://drkarenspeech.com/sentencestructure

In this episode, I mentioned Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that gives speech pathologists a framework for building language skills needed to thrive in school, social situations, and daily life. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy

When you’re teaching storytelling with students, do your lessons feel kind of…random?

I used to feel like this a lot when I was a school SLP, so if you’ve ever had a “throw spaghetti at the wall” therapy session that felt all over the place, I get it.

The truth is, repetition and drill is not the enemy. If you ONLY focus on unstructured activities, you’re probably seeing students getting overwhelmed, not remembering to apply important language skills (like syntax, vocabulary words, etc). 

But if you ONLY stick with structured activities, kids never get the chance to apply and practice. 

That’s why leveraging books and story grammar as part of your “therapy toolkit” can be such a powerful tool to bridge this gap…even though many storytelling activities look like simple “cutesy” activities on the surface.

(and if you understand the “why” it’s much easier to apply for older kids who are kind of over coming to therapy). 

In this second half of my interview with my colleague Jane Gebers, we talk about how to use tools like dynamic assessment and narrative intervention to make therapy structured, rigorous, and functional.

Jane L. Gebers is the author of the popular resource, Books Are for Talking, Too!, first published in 1990, and now in its 4th edition as of March 2023. A practicing speech-language pathologist for over 40 years, she has worked in public school, hospital, private, and clinical settings. She has been an adjunct professor at St. Mary’s College of California and other universities where she taught Language Development, Assessment, and Intervention courses to students pursuing special education credentials. She currently holds a private practice in Northern California.

You can connect with Jane on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-l-gebers-53856119/

Email her at [email protected]

Learn more about her book, Books Are For Talking, Too! here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C2SG8J58?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_RR4P3SB19A92WD6FPD3R

Learn more about her storytelling resources and speech therapy services on her website here: http://soundingyourbest.com/

In this episode, I mentioned Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that gives speech pathologists a framework for building language skills needed to thrive in school, social situations, and daily life. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy

I also mentioned the Art and Science of Narrative Language, my program that gives speech pathologists and educational professionals a process for evaluating and supporting narrative language. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarenspeech.lpages.co/art-science-narratives-blog-297/

Why are we so obsessed with “storytelling”?

In education, we talk about it when we’re working on language and reading comprehension. 

It’s also referred to in sales and copy writing as a tool for generating more leads and customers. And of course, people writing books or films think about it all the time. 

We all know storytelling is an important life skill. But do we remember HOW MUCH it can impact our ability to communicate and function? 

And do we know how to support students who don’t have this skill?

I invited my colleague Jane Gebers to the De Facto Leaders podcast to discuss this topic. 

If you’re helping students build skills for functional daily tasks, challenging academic work, or in social situations, you won’t want to miss this conversation. 

In this first half of the interview, we talk about the “why” behind teaching narrative discourse, plus specific examples of how we’ve both used narrative structure to build our own comprehension.

Jane L. Gebers is the author of the popular resource, Books Are for Talking, Too!, first published in 1990, and now in its 4th edition as of March 2023. A practicing speech-language pathologist for over 40 years, she has worked in public school, hospital, private, and clinical settings. She has been an adjunct professor at St. Mary’s College of California and other universities where she taught Language Development, Assessment, and Intervention courses to students pursuing special education credentials. She currently holds a private practice in Northern California.

You can connect with Jane on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-l-gebers-53856119/

Email her at [email protected]

Learn more about her book, Books Are For Talking, Too! here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C2SG8J58?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_RR4P3SB19A92WD6FPD3R

Learn more about her storytelling resources and speech therapy services on her website here: http://soundingyourbest.com/

In this episode, I mentioned Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that gives speech pathologists a framework for building language skills needed to thrive in school, social situations, and daily life. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy

I also mentioned the Art and Science of Narrative Language, my program that gives speech pathologists and educational professionals a process for evaluating and supporting narrative language. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarenspeech.lpages.co/art-science-narratives-blog-297/

If your therapy techniques only work when you’re in the room, that’s a problem.

Many therapists unintentionally “gatekeep” their expertise and miss opportunities to boost carryover.
It’s the unexpected downside of being really good at direct clinical work. 

Don’t get me wrong. Clinical judgment does matter. And some things can only be addressed by a trained clinician in a therapy room.

But when every decision depends on your personal expertise and physical presence, you’ve made yourself the bottleneck.

In this episode, I’ll share how to make the shift towards clear, repeatable systems that others can follow. When you make your methods easier to teach, you make your work scalable, easier to delegate, and far more convincing to leadership.

I’ll tackle common misconceptions like:

✅ “I can’t delegate; I don’t have direct reports.”

✅ “I don’t have time for consultation.”

✅ “We never get enough time to work on skills.”

Plus I share the three steps to making intervention “scalable” so your session plans can start doubling as consultation guides and training tools for others.

In this episode, I mentioned Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that gives speech pathologists a framework for building language skills needed to thrive in school, social situations, and daily life. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy

I also mentioned the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers develop scalable executive functioning strategies they can turn into schoolwide initiatives. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership

Where did arbitrary cut scores for norm-referenced language assessments come from, and why do they feel “safer” than relying on clinical judgement?

I discuss this question and more in this third part of a three-part series, bilingual SLPs Destiny Johnson and Tiffany Shahoumian-Ruiz join me to continue our conversation about advocating for effective language evaluation practices in schools.

Across these conversations, we explore:

• Sensitivity, specificity, reference standards, and diagnostic accuracy

• How test development has evolved over time and why this matters 

• Why the same cut-off score shouldn’t apply across all tests

• The math behind using two norm-referenced tests, and why it may complicate rather than clarify in some cases

• Other reasons we test beyond diagnosis (treatment planning, severity, monitoring progress)

• How do we do we to “sell” the concept of dynamic assessment to administrators

• Case studies that show the pitfalls of over-reliance on standardized scores

• Misconceptions clinicians often hold, and what they should know about assessment

• Differences in state eligibility standards, and what this means for service decisions

This series is part myth-busting, part practical strategies, and part advocacy playbook—perfect for clinicians who want to move beyond compliance-driven evaluations toward assessments that truly reflect students’ needs.

Destiny Johnson, M.S., CCC-SLP, is a bilingual speech-language pathologist (English/Spanish) with a deep passion for culturally responsive assessment and treatment practices, as well as advocating for policy change. She has presented on dynamic assessment at the CSHA Convergence 2024, focusing on the importance of dynamic assessment in bilingual children. Destiny has experience working as a school-based SLP, in private practice, and in early intervention. She is also the founder and CEO of Multimodal Communication Speech Clinic P.C.

Connect with Destiny on Instagram @destinyjohnsonslp, on her private practice website here, and on LinkedIn here.

Listen to Destiny’s previous episode on De Facto Leaders here: EP 187: Dynamic Assessment: Evaluations are a process, not a test (with Destiny Johnson)

Tiffany Shahoumian-Ruiz is a bilingual high school SLP from Southern California who has primarily worked in the school systems and has experience at both the elementary and secondary level. She’s also a member of Language Therapy Advance Foundations, and is involved in state and local advocacy work relating to dynamic assessments and special education eligibility.

Connect with Tiffany on Instagram @tiffany.shahoumian

Listen to Tiffany’s previous episode on De Facto Leaders here: High school language therapy: Do we still have time to make an impact? (with Tiffany Shahoumian-Ruiz)

In this episode, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that gives SLPs and other service providers a system for language therapy. You can learn more about the program here.

Additional Resources Mentioned in the episode:

Daub, O., Cunningham, B. J., Bagatto, M. P., Johnson, A. M., Kwok, E. Y., Smyth, R. E., & Oram Cardy, J. (2021). Adopting a conceptual validity framework for testing in speech-language pathology. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 30(4), 1894–1908. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_AJSLP-20-00032

Spaulding, T. J., Plante, E., & Farinella, K. A. (2006). Eligibility criteria for language impairment: Is the low end of normal always appropriate? Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 37(1), 61–72. https://doi.org/10.1044/0161-1461(2006/007)

DYMOND Norm-Referenced Dynamic Assessment

Bilingual English-Spanish Assessment (BESA)

When we choose evaluation tools for language, are we clear on WHY we’re assessing? 

Most people think of diagnosis, but that’s not the only reason we assess students. 

I discuss this question and more in this second part of a three-part series, bilingual SLPs Destiny Johnson and Tiffany Shahoumian-Ruiz join me to continue our conversation about language evaluation practices in schools.

Across these conversations, we explore:

• Sensitivity, specificity, reference standards, and diagnostic accuracy

• How test development has evolved over time and why this matters 

• Why the same cut-off score shouldn’t apply across all tests

• The math behind using two norm-referenced tests, and why it may complicate rather than clarify in some cases

• Other reasons we test beyond diagnosis (treatment planning, severity, monitoring progress)

• How do we do we to “sell” the concept of dynamic assessment to administrators

• Case studies that show the pitfalls of over-reliance on standardized scores

• Misconceptions clinicians often hold, and what they should know about assessment

• Differences in state eligibility standards, and what this means for service decisions

This series is part myth-busting, part practical strategies, and part advocacy playbook—perfect for clinicians who want to move beyond compliance-driven evaluations toward assessments that truly reflect students’ needs.

Destiny Johnson, M.S., CCC-SLP, is a bilingual speech-language pathologist (English/Spanish) with a deep passion for culturally responsive assessment and treatment practices, as well as advocating for policy change. She has presented on dynamic assessment at the CSHA Convergence 2024, focusing on the importance of dynamic assessment in bilingual children. Destiny has experience working as a school-based SLP, in private practice, and in early intervention. She is also the founder and CEO of Multimodal Communication Speech Clinic P.C.

Connect with Destiny on Instagram @destinyjohnsonslp, on her private practice website here, and on LinkedIn here.

Listen to Destiny’s previous episode on De Facto Leaders here: EP 187: Dynamic Assessment: Evaluations are a process, not a test (with Destiny Johnson)

Tiffany Shahoumian-Ruiz is a bilingual high school SLP from Southern California who has primarily worked in the school systems and has experience at both the elementary and secondary level. She’s also a member of Language Therapy Advance Foundations, and is involved in state and local advocacy work relating to dynamic assessments and special education eligibility.

Connect with Tiffany on Instagram @tiffany.shahoumian

Listen to Tiffany’s previous episode on De Facto Leaders here: High school language therapy: Do we still have time to make an impact? (with Tiffany Shahoumian-Ruiz)

In this episode, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that gives SLPs and other service providers create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about the program here.

Additional Resources Mentioned in the episode:

Daub, O., Cunningham, B. J., Bagatto, M. P., Johnson, A. M., Kwok, E. Y., Smyth, R. E., & Oram Cardy, J. (2021). Adopting a conceptual validity framework for testing in speech-language pathology. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 30(4), 1894–1908. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_AJSLP-20-00032

Spaulding, T. J., Plante, E., & Farinella, K. A. (2006). Eligibility criteria for language impairment: Is the low end of normal always appropriate? Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 37(1), 61–72. https://doi.org/10.1044/0161-1461(2006/007)

DYMOND Norm-Referenced Dynamic Assessment

Bilingual English-Spanish Assessment (BESA)

Language assessments shape who gets services, how goals are written, and how progress is measured, but there are many misconceptions about how to follow best-practices when doing an evaluation. In this three-part series, bilingual SLPs Destiny Johnson and Tiffany Shahoumian-Ruiz join me to dig into the science, the myths, and the policies that shape evaluation practices in schools.

Across these conversations, we explore:

• Sensitivity, specificity, reference standards, and diagnostic accuracy

• How test development has evolved over time and why this matters 

• Why the same cut-off score shouldn’t apply across all tests

• The math behind using two norm-referenced tests, and why it may complicate rather than clarify in some cases

• Other reasons we test beyond diagnosis (treatment planning, severity, monitoring progress)

• How do we do we to “sell” the concept of dynamic assessment to administrators

• Case studies that show the pitfalls of over-reliance on standardized scores

• Misconceptions clinicians often hold, and what they should know about assessment

• Differences in state eligibility standards, and what this means for service decisions

This series is part myth-busting, part practical strategies, and part advocacy playbook—perfect for clinicians who want to move beyond compliance-driven evaluations toward assessments that truly reflect students’ needs.

You can listen to Part 1 of the series here.

Destiny Johnson, M.S., CCC-SLP, is a bilingual speech-language pathologist (English/Spanish) with a deep passion for culturally responsive assessment and treatment practices, as well as advocating for policy change. She has presented on dynamic assessment at the CSHA Convergence 2024, focusing on the importance of dynamic assessment in bilingual children. Destiny has experience working as a school-based SLP, in private practice, and in early intervention. She is also the founder and CEO of Multimodal Communication Speech Clinic P.C.

Connect with Destiny on Instagram @destinyjohnsonslp, on her private practice website here, and on LinkedIn here.

Listen to Destiny’s previous episode on De Facto Leaders here: EP 187: Dynamic Assessment: Evaluations are a process, not a test (with Destiny Johnson)

Tiffany Shahoumian-Ruiz is a bilingual high school SLP from Southern California who has primarily worked in the school systems and has experience at both the elementary and secondary level. She’s also a member of Language Therapy Advance Foundations, and is involved in state and local advocacy work relating to dynamic assessments and special education eligibility.

Connect with Tiffany on Instagram @tiffany.shahoumian

Listen to Tiffany’s previous episode on De Facto Leaders here: High school language therapy: Do we still have time to make an impact? (with Tiffany Shahoumian-Ruiz)

In this episode, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that gives SLPs and other service providers create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about the program here.

Additional Resources Mentioned in the episode:

Daub, O., Cunningham, B. J., Bagatto, M. P., Johnson, A. M., Kwok, E. Y., Smyth, R. E., & Oram Cardy, J. (2021). Adopting a conceptual validity framework for testing in speech-language pathology. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 30(4), 1894–1908. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_AJSLP-20-00032

Spaulding, T. J., Plante, E., & Farinella, K. A. (2006). Eligibility criteria for language impairment: Is the low end of normal always appropriate? Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 37(1), 61–72. https://doi.org/10.1044/0161-1461(2006/007)

DYMOND Norm-Referenced Dynamic Assessment

Bilingual English-Spanish Assessment (BESA)

Every few years, conversations about education in the U.S. circle back to the same refrain: Why can’t we be more like Finland?

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Chrishawn Finister from Your Joy Psychological, PLLC to unpack this comparison.

We dig into the nuanced relationship between educational eligibility and clinical diagnosis, which often overlap but aren’t interchangeable. From there, we widen the lens to explore the broader systems-level challenges that shape how students are identified, supported, and served.

Some key themes we discuss:

✅ Orthographic density and literacy: Why differences in written language systems matter when comparing reading outcomes across countries.

✅ Population homogeneity and “education tracks”: When we look at instructional outcomes data, the students included in the education system and the numbers matter. Are the same individuals “counting” when we compare results across countries? 

✅ Teacher pay and professional identity: What Finland’s investment in teacher preparation and salary looks like compared to the U.S. (spoiler alert: Dr. Finister and I both think the US should be more like Finland on this one). 

✅ Cultural perceptions of medicine vs. education: Why recommendations from evaluations are perceived differently depending on the setting and who is making decisions about services.

✅ Housing instability and socioeconomic factors: We’re educating students with complex needs in the US who have varying experiences outside of school. With this in mind, has the education system made more progress than what the media is saying? 

Rather than looking for a one-size-fits-all solution, we highlight why U.S. educators, policymakers, and clinicians need to understand the challenges and opportunities when designing systems of support.

If you’ve ever wondered where the lines between clinical diagnosis and educational eligibility blur, this conversation will give you a grounded perspective.

Dr. Chrishawn Finister is an Independent Practicing Licensed Psychological Associate and a Licensed Specialist in School Psychology, possessing over a decade of experience in the role of School Psychologist. Recognized as a Nationally Certified School Psychologist, she is committed to utilizing diagnostically sound assessments to identify learning barriers and implementing research-based interventions to amend challenging behaviors effectively. Dr. Finister is an advocate of culturally competent practices and is dedicated to training future practitioners in the field. She received her foundational training in psychological pedagogy and assessments at Texas Woman’s University, where she completed her Master’s degree in 2010. While working in a prominent North Texas public school district, she advanced her education by earning a Doctoral degree in Educational Leadership and Policy from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2019. Her contributions to the field extend to academia, where she has served as a guest lecturer at the College of Education at Texas Christian University.

Places to connect with Dr. Finister:

Her private practice, Your Joy Psychological, PLLC

Website: https://yourjoypsych.com/

Business Instagram: @yourjoypsych

Her NonProfit, Texas Psychological Hive: https://thetexaspsychhive.org/

Non-profit Instagram: @texaxpsychhive

Additional Resources Mentioned in this episode:

Steven Pinker: https://stevenpinker.com/

Mark Manson: https://markmanson.net/

Dr. Tim Shanahan: https://www.shanahanonliteracy.com/

In this episode, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that gives SLPs and other service providers a system for language therapy. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/

Most of us know that it’s important to work on vocabulary in language and literacy intervention.

But how do we know what words to pick? Should we be working on specific words, or should we be focusing on strategies?

If we DO work on words, how can we possibly keep up with the pace of the curriculum (and should we even try)?

I get these questions ALL the time from SLPs and other professionals supporting language and literacy, which is why this is something I help you navigate in both my Vocabulary Foundation and Language Therapy Advance Foundations program.

In episode 240 of De Facto Leaders, I share how I answer these questions about prioritization, vocabulary selection, and word-learning strategies. 

In this episode, I mentioned Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs and other service providers create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/

You can check out the Vocabulary Foundation and other programs in my language therapy suite on my products and services page here: https://drkarenspeech.com/products-and-services/