SLP Coffee Talk

Have you ever heard of the neurodiversity-affirming approach to therapy? 

 

For many years, we have been taught to teach students how to adapt to the world around them, but what if we approach it differently? The neurodiversity-affirming approach means that you work with autistic kids in a way that doesn’t ask them to fundamentally change who they are. 

 

In today’s episode of SLP Coffee Talk, I sat down with Meg Proctor to talk about how you can start offering therapy that is respectful towards the autistic community and doesn’t teach them to be inauthentic to themselves. 

 

Meg offers neurodiversity-affirming, strengths-based trainings to OTs and SLPs who want to be more confident, effective, and affirming in their work with autistic kids.  

 

Meg also hosts the podcast Two Sides of the Spectrum, designed to help neurotypical therapists better take the perspective of our autistic clients. Meg’s website, learnplaythrive.com, hosts a variety of free resources as well as CE trainings registered for AOTA and ASHA CEUs. 

 

We have to let go of our neurotypical biases when working with autistic children. By teaching our students in the way that they need to be taught, we can get much better results and more motivation from them. 

 

Tune in to learn more about the neurodiversity-affirming approach to therapy and how you can start utilizing this method in your therapy practice today. 

 

Full show notes available at www.speechtimefun.com/125

 

Resources Mentioned: 

Check out Meg’s website: https://learnplaythrive.com/

Follow Meg on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/learnplaythrive/

Listen to the Two Sides of the Spectrum podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/two-sides-of-the-spectrum/id1514489746

Join Meg’s Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/OTandAutism

Listen to Rachel Dorsey’s episode: https://speechtimefun.com/role-of-goals-for-autistic-students-with-rachel-dorsey/

 

Where We Can Connect: 

Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/slp-coffee-talk/id1497341007

Follow Hallie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speec

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets

As SLPs, we work with students with all different backgrounds, and for some, that means hearing difficulties. For many SLPs, this is a challenge because students that need hearing aids have unique needs that we may not always feel qualified to assist with. 

 

On this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, I sat down with Madison Levine, a hearing instrument specialist, to talk about hearing services for our students and how we can take an active role in helping students make the most of their hearing aids. 

 

Madison Levine founded her audiology practice, Levine Hearing, in Charlotte, NC, in 2015. She followed in the footsteps of her mother, who showed her what it looked like to have a successful career and balance a family as well. 

 

Besides feeling unprepared to help with hearing aids, one of the biggest challenges is when students are reluctant to use them. Hearing aids can make things feel uncomfortably loud in a way they aren’t used to and it can be jarring, however, this isn’t something that they can avoid. 

 

The key to working with students like this is trust. Building rapport is the best way to get through to them when they are struggling to come around to their hearing aids. By building a good relationship, you can get through to them and help them understand why their hearing aids are important. 

 

Tune in to learn more about how you can embrace learning about hearing instruments and help your students in the best way possible. 

 

Full show notes available at www.speechtimefun.com/124

 

Resources Mentioned: 

Follow Madison on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madisonlistens/

Visit Madison’s website: https://levinehearing.com/

 

 

Where We Can Connect: 

Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/slp-coffee-talk/id1497341007

Follow Hallie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speechtimefun

Follow Hallie on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpeechTimeFun/

Follow Hallie on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/missspeechie/

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets

There is an unfortunate lack of diversity within the speech-language pathology profession.  

 

With it being a predominantly white profession, that means that a large majority of SLP materials lack diversity as well. In today’s episode of SLP Coffee Talk, I sat down with Christina Royster and Courtney Overton from DiveryCity SLP to discuss the things that they are doing to increase diversity and representation within the field so that all children feel included. 

 

In 2018, Ana-Maria Jaramillo, Courtney Overton, and Christina Royster created DiverCity SLP in order to increase diversity in the field of speech-language pathology. DiverCity SLP presents at local high schools with a high enrollment of underrepresented communities. 

 

They speak with students about the need for more speech-language pathologists of color. Since the pandemic, DiverCity SLP has evolved to include workshops and seminars on a national level. Topics include anti-racist practices, appropriate evaluations and treatment techniques for diverse populations, culturally and linguistically sustaining approaches, and high school career outreach programs.

 

Just because the profession lacks diversity now doesn’t mean that it has to stay that way! There are tools, resources, and other things you can do within your SLP practice that will improve the inclusivity of your lessons. 

 

Tune in to hear more about dynamic assessments, the importance of understanding your students’ culture, where to find resources that are more representative of all people and cultures, and so much more. 

 

Full show notes available at www.speechtimefun.com/123

 

Resources Mentioned: 

Get the Diversifying The Field Google Drive Resources: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1FhpF-g27XjOvvufPMMUqO1rG9Ic9XZ_H

Follow DiverCity SLP on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/divercityslp/

Follow Speech Of Cake, Inc on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/speechofcakeinc/

Follow Play on Words Therapy LLC on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/playonwordstherapyllc/

Follow Voz Speech Therapy DC on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vozspeechtherapydc/

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets

Do you have routines established for your speech room? 

 

There are so many benefits to having an established routine in place in your speech therapy practice that many don’t think of. Routines help students get the practice they need to reach their goals faster, and it helps you with planning and progress monitoring. 

 

In this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, I sat down with Amanda Wilp to talk about collaborating with classroom teachers, teaching strategies, and how to establish effective routines that will set you up for success all year long. 

 

Amanda has been teaching for ten years and she loves what she does. As a resource room teacher, she loves having her students year after year and getting to know their strengths, weaknesses, interests, and families. She’s currently teaching 2nd and 3rd grade special education but has spent most of her time with kindergarten through 3rd grade students. 

 

After years of basically living at school, she decided that something had to give. She needed to develop a set of interventions to help resource room teachers deliver great intervention without living at school every. single. day. 

 

Tune in to learn more about why routines matter, how they help you and your students, tips for working with classroom teachers, organization ideas, and so much more. 

 

Full show notes available at www.speechtimefun.com/122

 

Resources Mentioned: 

Check out Amanda’s website: https://theprimarygal.com/

Free Resource Room Reading Lesson Plans: https://quiet-moon-3462.ck.page/d407fe4df5

Follow The Primary Gal on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePrimaryGal/

Check out The Primary Gal on Teachers Pay Teachers: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Primary-Gal

Follow The Primary Gal on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theprimarygal/

Listen to The Resource Room Podcast: ​​https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-resource-room/id1547444481

Join The Resource Room Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheResourceRoom

SLP Elevate Membership: https://www.speechtimefunpd.com/slp-elevate-aug

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets

How do you feel about AAC devices? 

 

If you think everything surrounding AAC is a little scary, you’re not alone! Many SLPs feel this way, but it doesn't have to be scary! AAC devices can benefit our students in so many ways, you just have to understand it and be patient. 

 

In this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, I sat down with Kate Thomson to dive into the topic of AAC and what you need to know about using these devices to help your students reach their speech goals. 

 

Kate is a go-getter who established the first SpeechEase clinic in Townsville two days a week while still working full-time in her government job. She saw a huge need for speech therapy services in Mackay when the NDIS started and began providing services there on the weekends until there was enough demand to open a second clinic. Kate is also Branch Chair for the Queensland Branch of Speech Pathology Australia and regularly provides supervision and mentorship to early career and senior Speech Pathologists. 

 

As a speechie, Kate loved helping unlock a clients’ communication abilities using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) so they could show the world who they are and what they know.

 

Make sure to tune in to learn more about the magic of AAC devices, how to use them, and how to help your students flourish with them. 

 

Full show notes available at www.speechtimefun.com/121

 

Resources Mentioned: 

Check out the SpeechEase website: https://www.speechease.net.au/

Follow Kate on Instagram: ​​​​https://www.instagram.com/speechease/

Where We Can Connect: 

Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/slp-coffee-talk/id1497341007

Follow Hallie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speechtimefun

Follow Hallie on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpeechTimeFun/

Follow Hallie on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/missspeechie/

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets

How are SLPs different than reading teachers?   

 

This is a question I see a lot in my SLP Elevate membership. People want to know how we can differentiate ourselves from a standard reading teacher and show our value without just doing the same thing over and over. Some even wonder why students even come to us for things like this. 

 

In this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, I want to really dive into this question. I want to share how we as SLPs are, in fact, very different from reading teachers, and how we can differentiate our instruction. 

 

Yes, our students are working on things like the main idea, summarizing, inferencing, and answering questions in their regular classroom. What you have to remember is that decoding times language comprehension equals reading comprehension. A student can’t be an effective reader if they do not have adequate language skills, and that is where we fit into the puzzle. 

 

We are the ones that focus on that integral piece of education. We work on sentence structure, categorization, syntax, vocabulary, auditory memory, and so much more. We are the ones going deep into those skills and strategies that our students really need to succeed. 

 

Make sure to tune in today to hear my best tips for differentiating your lessons to highlight your unique position in your students' educational experience. 

 

Full show notes available at www.speechtimefun.com/120

 

Resources Mentioned: 

Get my free Critical Thinking Probes: https://www.speechtimefunpd.com/critical-thinking-probes

Join my membership to plan with ease and confidence: https://www.speechtimefunpd.com/slp-elevate-aug

 

Where We Can Connect: 

Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/slp-coffee-talk/id1497341007

Follow Hallie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speechtimefun

Follow Hallie on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpeechTimeFun/

Follow Hallie on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/missspeechie/

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets

Let’s talk about special education! 

 

As SLPs, many of us work closely with special education teachers. Collaboration is an important part of helping students reach their goals. Sometimes that’s easier said than done though. There is a lot that goes into each role, and it can be easy to lose sight of that and get frustrated when things don’t go as planned. 

 

The key is to come up with a strategy that works for you and your SPED teacher. In this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, I sat down with a special education teacher, Ashley Lutz, to talk about things like working collaboratively, how SPED views speech therapy, and so much more. 

 

Ashley has been working in Special Education for 10 years. She was a middle school self-contained teacher for 8 years working with students with intellectual disabilities. She just began her third year as a special education inclusion teacher in an elementary setting. 

 

If you are ready to ditch the overwhelm and frustration when it comes to collaborating with the SPED teacher and focusing on your students' needs, you don’t want to miss this episode because Ashley is sharing her top tips for making that happen. 

 

Full show notes available at www.speechtimefun.com/119

 

Resources Mentioned: 

Check out my tips and tricks for the new SLP: http://bit.ly/STF-newSLPblog

Visit Spedtacular Days website: https://spedtaculardays.com/

Follow Spedtacular Days on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spedtaculardays/

Follow Spedtacular Days on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spedtaculardays

Where We Can Connect: 

Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/slp-coffee-talk/id1497341007

Follow Hallie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speechtimefun

Follow Hallie on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpeechTimeFun/

Follow Hallie on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/missspeechie/

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets

Do you use gaming and technology in speech therapy? 

 

One of the keys to getting students more engaged in their speech therapy sessions is utilizing their interests, and for many kids, that’s gaming and technology. A lot of SLPs are wary about incorporating those though because they don’t want to give children too much screen time. However, there is a difference between playing games or watching YouTube and participating in speech therapy on a screen. 

 

In this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, I sat down with Barbara Fernandes to talk about her app, Speech & Language Academy, and why it is so beneficial in the speech classroom. 

 

Barbara Fernandes, founder, and CEO of Smarty Ears is well known for her innovative and breakthrough product development for speech and communication disorders. For over a decade, Barbara has translated science into user-friendly and powerful technology to support individuals with communication disorders. Barbara transformed an entire industry to adopt mobile technologies through the design and development of over sixty mobile applications and an entire symbol library: Smarty Symbols. 

 

As the founder of Smarty Symbols, Barbara also created the most inclusive, diverse, and comprehensive symbol library and developed a powerful new technology that is disrupting the special education field by providing a platform for custom visual support creation. Smarty Symbols has been adopted as the symbol of choice in many other technologies developed in the field.

 

Make sure to tune in to learn more about her app, how it works, and why you should start using it in your therapy practice today. 

 

Full show notes available at www.speechtimefun.com/118

 

Resources Mentioned: 

Check out Speech & Language Academy: https://speechandlanguageacademy.com/

Get 20% OFF Speech & Language Academy with promo code: SLPCoffeeTalk

Check out the Smarty Ears website: https://www.smartyearsapps.com/

Follow Barbara on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geekbarbara/

 

Where We Can Connect: 

Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/slp-coffee-talk/id1497341007

Follow Hallie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speechtimefun

Follow Hallie on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpeechTimeFun/

Follow Hallie on Pinterest:

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets

We know that working together with other professionals in the school is an amazing way to get better outcomes for our students, so in this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, we are talking about how to get more buy-in from teachers in order to better support our students.

 

When I first started working as a speech therapist, I had a lot of grand ideas of how I would collaborate and communicate with the teachers to help my students ace their tests and hit their goals. I went out of my way to check in with them so we could work together and…crickets! 

 

When following up with them, I found that it was because they really didn’t understand what I do as an SLP and how I help students. They assume that all we do is help them with their speech and articulation, but we all know that’s not true. 

 

Speech therapy can drastically improve a student’s educational outcomes when the teachers and SLPs work together. But how do we do that?

 

Tune in to this week’s episode to hear my top three tips for opening up the conversion with the teachers without making them feel like even more work is being thrown at them. 

 

Full show notes available at www.speechtimefun.com/117

 

Resources Mentioned: 

Check out SLP Elevate: https://www.speechtimefunpd.com/slp-elevate-aug

 

Where We Can Connect: 

Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/slp-coffee-talk/id1497341007

Follow Hallie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speechtimefun

Follow Hallie on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpeechTimeFun/

Follow Hallie on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/missspeechie/

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets

Let’s talk about after-reading activities for speech therapy! 

 

This is the last part of a three-part series all about literacy-based therapy. In the last episode, I covered during-reading activities that you can do to make sure your students are understanding what they’re reading, critically thinking, and taking good notes. In the episode before that, I shared some before-reading activities that would get your students excited about reading and assess their background knowledge. 

 

Stretching out your reading lessons before, during, and after reading is a great way to really dive deep into the text and help your students grasp important elements and concepts. 

 

In this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, we are diving into my favorite activities to do after reading a text. This allows your students to have a more in-depth understanding of what they read and what they learned. 

 

Reading strategies that take place after reading are used to summarize, wrap up, and finalize the information that they have learned or should have learned while reading. We don’t want to teach students that you're done with a book after reading it. We want them to think deeply and learn from it! 

 

After-reading strategies are just as important as the ones you did before and during. This isn’t something that you want to skip over! Make sure to tune in to hear my favorite strategies, ideas, and tools to complete after-reading activities in my speech therapy sessions.

 

Full show notes available at www.speechtimefun.com/116

 

Resources Mentioned: 

Before-Reading Activities: http://www.speechtimefun.com/114

After-Reading Activities: http://www.speechtimefun.com/115

SLP Elevate: https://www.speechtimefunpd.com/slp-elevate-aug

Where We Can Connect: 

Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/slp-coffee-talk/id1497341007

Follow Hallie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speechtimefun

Follow Hallie on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpeechTimeFun/

Follow Hallie on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/missspeechie/

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets