SLP Coffee Talk

Selective mutism is a topic that I know many SLPs have lots of questions about, and I haven’t had the right answers. Luckily, in this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, I have special guest Joleen Fernald on to talk about everything you need to know about selective mutism.  Joleen R. Fernald, Ph. D., CCC-SLP was awarded Board Specialty Recognition in Child Language from the American Speech-Language-Heari...

Wondering what you need for your CFY?    With back-to-school time quickly approaching for some, I wanted to chat on this episode of SLP Coffee Talk about some things that you need as a brand new CF.    Now, if you aren’t a CF, don’t skip this episode! All of the things I’m sharing with you could apply to you too. These things have been essential in my time as an SLP and I want you to go into your...

Have you heard of Gestalt Language Processing?    This is something that many SLPs don’t actually know a lot about but understanding it can make a huge impact on your students.  We have always been told to redirect echolalia, but kids that communicate that way are gestalt language processors, and it’s important to understand how to help them.    In this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, I sat down with...

Have you ever struggled to diagnose an English language learner because you aren’t sure if it’s a difference or a disorder?    Many SLPs struggle with this because we don’t want to be wrong about a diagnosis just because our student is learning the English language. The most effective way for us to really understand our ELLs is to use dynamic assessments and language sampling instead of standardiz...

Do you work with a lot of students with communication difficulties?    It can be so hard to watch a child struggle to tell you what they need. We have strategies in place to help them learn, but it takes time and it can be frustrating for children in those situations. In this week’s episode of SLP Coffee Talk, I sat down with Natashia Kletter to talk about how she created books that help children...

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 s...

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...

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 r...

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...

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 kn...

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...

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...

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...

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 t...

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...

Let’s talk about activities you can do while reading in speech therapy!    This episode of SLP Coffee Talk is part two of my three-part series on literacy-based therapy activities. In the last episode, we talked about different activities you can do before starting a book or text in your speech therapy classroom.  In this episode, we are diving into what to do while they are reading.   There are s...

If you know me, you know that I love incorporating books and literacy-based activities into my speech therapy sessions!    It allows me to plan easily, quickly, and effectively. I can use one resource with as many groups as possible or even with mixed groups with many different goals. It also allows me to correlate what we do in speech therapy with what they are doing in their classrooms. This mea...

Do you have students that love music?    In this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, I am sharing one of my favorite tools to use in speech therapy, and it’s something that you might not have thought of before: song lyrics!    I use them all the time during my speech therapy sessions because it’s super fun and motivating, and it allows me to work on a ton of speech therapy goals.    I know that it can be...

Have you ever felt lost or powerless in your career?    Unfortunately, many new SLPs end up getting discouraged and lose their inspiration after they begin their career. It’s easy to feel this way when you don’t feel supported, valued, or paid adequately.    So what do you do to get out of this funk? In today’s episode of SLP Coffee Talk, I sat down with Mattie Murrey-Tegels to talk about how you...

A couple of weeks ago, I shared my favorite YouTube channels for using nonfiction during speech therapy sessions. Now, I am sharing my all-time favorite YouTube Channel—Simon’s Cat!    If you aren’t familiar with this channel, it is full of videos that are no more than ten minutes long. They are all black and white and share the stories and adventures of a man and his cat. So why do I love it so m...

Do you write strength-based goals for your autistic students?    The neurodiversity movement is bringing a lot of awareness to the fact that all brains are different. It is increasing our ability to work with our autistic students in a way that makes sense for them and sparks their interest.    In this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, Rachel Dorsey is joining me to talk more about how we can improve ou...

Do you use videos in your speech therapy sessions?   A couple of weeks ago, I shared all about why I think you should be using nonfiction in your speech therapy sessions.    I know it is easy to reach for those favorite fiction resources, but studies show that using nonfiction is extremely valuable to students! It builds their background knowledge and improves their comprehension skills as well as...

Let’s talk about grad school!    If you are preparing for grad school or currently applying for it, this episode of SLP Coffee Talk is for you!   Once you start grad school, you may think that your whole life should revolve around it and you won’t be able to do anything else, but that’s not the case! It will take up as much time as you give it, but you are not just a student, you’re a person too. ...

Are you using nonfiction texts in speech?    I know as speech-language pathologists, we love our storybooks. It’s so easy to reach for a comforting story for any activity in the classroom. However, there is a ton of evidence to back up the idea that nonfiction texts are more beneficial to our speech therapy students than fiction texts are.    One of the main reasons they are more beneficial is tha...

Do you ever struggle with imposter syndrome?    Many SLPs, myself included, struggle with this feeling of not being good enough. That’s okay though! No one feels like they have it together all the time. It’s important that you self-reflect and remember those times when you knew you did an amazing job. This is the key to powering through those moments of doubt.    Today’s guest on SLP Coffee Talk i...