SLP Coffee Talk

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...

What are your favorite winter activities?    We are in the heart of wintertime now, so why not talk about some fun winter themed speech therapy activities that you can do with your students?    The ideas I’m sharing on today’s episode of SLP Coffee Talk can be used with any age level. These themed activities are created with as many groups as possible in mind so that you can make your planning and...

Have you heard of embedded speech in the classroom?    Embedded speech is basically when a speech therapist is in the classroom working with the teacher, or special education teacher, to reach student goals together. It’s a slightly more unique approach, but the collaboration is highly beneficial to our speech students.    By using this model, you can work together to help your students reach thos...

Are your students prepared to join the workforce when they leave speech? As SLP’s, we are always thinking of tools and strategies that students can use when they are in the real world outside of the speech classroom.    One of the most important things we can do is help prepare students with the skills they need to find jobs and learn to be independent. This means teaching them how to communicate...

Do you work on character traits during your speech therapy sessions?    You may be wondering why this is important in speech since students are already working on this in the classroom.    We want the things we are working on in speech to align with what students do in the classroom so that they can keep up with what is expected of them. It isn’t always as easy for our students as it is for other...

When most people think of the phrase “compare and contrast,” they think of using it to teach students to recognize the difference in colors and shapes.    As students age into upper grades, comparing and contrasting becomes even more important as they generalize the concept and make connections between what they are learning about in school and their own life.    In this episode of SLP Coffee Talk...

It’s the 100th episode of SLP Coffee Talk!   I can’t believe it, but we have officially made it! I never thought when I started this podcast that I would make it this far. You all have shown up every week to hear what I have to say, and I am so grateful for that.    I truly love hearing how this podcast has inspired you and how you all use these tips in your therapy practice. That is what gives me...

How do we decide what vocabulary words to work on in speech therapy?    This is probably the number one question I see asked in SLP Facebook groups, so I wanted to take some time to explain why I don’t rely on vocabulary lists, grade level lists, or classroom curriculum, and explain what I use instead.    The truth is that vocabulary lists and grade level lists aren’t perfect. They don’t account f...

Are you using wordless picture books in your speech therapy sessions?    If you have been following me for a while, you probably already know that I absolutely love wordless resources. Wordless videos and picture books make learning so much fun!    If you are new to this idea and wondering why you should use wordless picture books, you don’t want to miss this episode of SLP Coffee Talk. I sat down...

You come here every week to hear my interviews with the experts and my best tips about how to become the best SLP you can be, but have you ever wondered who I really am?    If you have ever wanted to learn more about me, you’re in for a treat.    In today’s episode of SLP Coffee Talk, I have a special guest- my daughter! Ella is 7 years old and she is joining me on the podcast to interview me in h...

Executive functioning is an important part of life for our students, but unfortunately, some of them really struggle with it.    Understanding what executive functioning really is and how to target it in speech therapy is a crucial step to helping them improve their impulse control and start achieving their goals.   In today’s episode of SLP Coffee Talk, I sat down with Tera Sumpter to learn all a...

Having background knowledge on a topic gives us a significant advantage in mastering unfamiliar tasks.    This applies to speech as well. Studies show that when students read, they have greater comprehension if they have background knowledge on the topic. They are better able to use context clues and thus, achieve greater success with comprehension and vocabulary.   So how do we target that in our...

As SLP’s, we work with students with many different diagnoses and needs educationally. It is important for us to understand those needs so we can best help them.    In this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, I sat down with Michael McLeod to discuss all things ADHD and executive functioning, as well as how we can help these students in our therapy practice.    Michael McLeod is a Speech-Language Patholog...

There’s nothing like a fun game to get students relaxed and engaged in learning!    Do you play games with your speech therapy students?    Playing games in your classroom has many benefits and can really improve social skills as well as executive functioning skills.    When you have older students like those in middle school and high school, it can be harder to come up with game ideas that are in...

Are your speech therapy sessions fun?   Today on SLP Coffee Talk, we are talking all about having fun with your students by playing games in speech!    Speech therapy can be challenging for students and making games out of your lessons can be a great way to boost their morale and increase engagement.    I sat down with Maria Kotsonis to chat about creative ways to make your therapy sessions fun an...

Have you ever wondered why we are working on reading comprehension or the main idea in speech?   It is something that many SLPs ask because it seems like it should be taught in the regular classroom, not in our therapy sessions.     The truth is that the skills needed to understand the main idea and reading comprehension all fall into our domain. Teachers may work on it in the classroom, but we ca...