SLP Coffee Talk

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...

As SLPs, it’s important for us to work with other professionals and specialists so that we can better understand the bigger picture when it comes to the educational needs of our students.   This is how we truly make a difference!   In this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, we are chatting with Corey Pollard from Ascend Smarter Intervention about how we can work together with structured literacy professi...

How do you come up with relevant, functional goals for your speech students?    If you are just choosing random goals for your students, you may struggle to see progress.    It can be so discouraging!     When it comes to determining goals that are actually achievable, it is important to look at the students and evaluate their needs before setting those goals.    There are several things you want...

Are you excited about the thought of IEPs meetings?    Today we are talking to Catherine Whitcher, the Master IEP Coach about all things IEP and making sure we are helping students reach their educational goals.    Catherine Whitcher, M.ED, founder of the Master IEP Coach® Mentorship + Network, has been building IEPs for the real world for over 20 years. With experience as a special education teac...

As SLP’s, we know that students all develop and think differently.    In this episode, we are talking with Danielle Kent about self-regulation, co-regulation, and how to better support our students whose brains work differently.    Danielle is a mom, wife, and multi-passionate entrepreneur. She is wild about equipping parents and professionals to confidently teach communication and problem-solving...

As SLP’s in school settings, we collaborate with many people including teachers, paras, social workers, and parents.   Many people forget about the specials teachers, but they are important too!   These teachers may not have the background knowledge needed to modify and assist our students, so that is where we come in.    In this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, we are talking about how to collaborate...

Team collaboration and communication are so important between SLPs and special education teachers. We work with them quite a bit!    In this episode of SLP Coffee Talk,  I am chatting with Heather Cacioppo. Heather is a middle school self-contained life skills special education teacher with a Master’s degree in Teacher Leadership.    Heather has spent many years in the middle school special educat...

Are you wondering what virtual tools you can use to remain contactless or are you looking to incorporate a little more technology into your classroom?   In this episode, I am sharing my five favorite virtual tools to use with my students!   These tools are incredibly useful, and they will make your planning so much easier. They include interactive games and stories that students will be so engaged...

So many of us took on the challenge of teletherapy over the last year…   Some of us are even still doing teletherapy!   That’s why I am interviewing Kendra Allison in this episode. She is talking to us about how to stay motivated and positive when it comes to teletherapy.   Kendra T. Allison is a licensed speech-language pathologist, teletherapist, School SLP coach and course creator, and owner of...

The number one question I get asked is “how do I know what to work on?” when it comes to working with older speech students.   Do you ask yourself this question? Don’t be ashamed if you don’t know what to work on! This can be difficult to decide on, but it doesn’t have to be.   In this episode, I am helping you take a step back and decide how to make your goals and materials more specific and atta...

Whether we like it or not, a lot of older speech students don’t necessarily like to come to speech...    It is super common for older speech students to not be enthusiastic about coming to see us, so this is why it is so important to build rapport with our students.   We want our students to feel like they are in a warm and comfortable environment because then they are willing to take more risks,...