The SLP Next Door Podcast

Let's talk about expressive language delays, late talkers, late bloomers, and language explosion. Which statement is true about language development? Which statement is true about language development? A. toddlers should have 50 words by 24 months B. Toddlers can go from saying a few words to a bunch of words and phrases seemingly overnight C. Toddlers who are late talkers are demonstrating expres...

I want to share some things I wish I had known when starting out as a home health SLP. I'm sharing practical tips for organizing and managing your caseload, storing materials, making the most of toys, and managing your time. Priority 1: Staying Organized when Scheduling Your Caseload The world of home health SLP can be incredibly rewarding, but it also comes with unique challenges, especially when...

In this episode, I'm answering the question of what to ask in a job interview. When interviewing for a new job, it is your opportunity to gather information about the position, the work environment, and what you can expect from the position. What to Ask in a Job Interview Firstly, you want to ensure you understand the specifics of the job. For example, home health SLP positions are different compa...

Advocating for yourself and setting professional boundaries requires a lot of self-awareness and practice. As you start your SLP CF job, it's super important that you recognize the challenges you will face when navigating these boundaries. It just comes with the territory. Anytime you start doing something new, there are learning curves and finding the balance may take a while. You can get ahead o...

It's better speech and hearing month! What better way to celebrate than offering up advice for SLP CF jobs? The beautiful thing about this field is the flexibility of work settings. As an SLP, you can work independently, own your own company, work for a company, contract or work for a school district, do teletherapy, work in a hospital, SNF, clinic, home health, research, college/university, super...

This is the final part of a conversation between Tara from Autism Little Learners and me about Autism in toddlers. In this episode, Tara discusses play in autism and gives tips for helping Autistic children start school! If you haven't done so, listen to the first 3 episodes. There's a ton of information and insight in each episode building to this one, so you don't want to miss out! Episode 1- Ea...

In this episode, Tara talks about gestalt language processing in early childhood. Gestalt language processing in Autism is often seen in early childhood and typically occurs with Echolalia.   This is part 3 of a 4 part conversation between Megan and Tara from Autism Little Learners. Be sure to go back and listen to the first 2 episodes!  Ep 1. Early Signs of Autism in Toddlers Ep 2. Parents Autism...

In this episode, Megan and Tara discuss different ways to approach parents Autism and the neurodiversity affirming approaches in speech therapy for toddlers. This episode is part 2 of Megan's conversation with Tara from Autism Little Learners. In Part 1 of the conversation, they discussed traits of Autism in 2 year olds and other early signs of Autism in toddlers. If you haven't, be sure to check...

This episode is Part 1 of a four-part conversation between Tara and Megan about autistic toddlers. Megan and Tara discuss typical vs. atypical toddler development, traits of Autism in 2 year olds, and other early signs of Autism. This is an important conversation for SLP Early Intervention and speech therapy for toddlers.  Tara Phillips, the founder of Autism Little Learners, is an expert on Autis...

If there's one thing I know for sure, it's that working with toddlers can be a real challenge. And it can be so hard to find resources tailored specifically for toddler speech therapy. The truth is, when I first started working with toddlers, I experienced those same frustrations. I even questioned myself as a SLP! I felt so discouraged. The toddlers on my caseload didn't want to do the activities...

Welcome back, friend! I've got to be honest with you… when I started to write this week's episode- I had a plan of hyping up my brand-new SLP early intervention guide, which is set to release soon… but something came up that changed all of that.  I kept seeing a post shared by other therapists and, honestly, I have a few thoughts.  We clinicians take for granted our prior knowledge of these questi...

As much as I love working with toddlers, I also understand that it can be a challenge. I have soo many tips for SLP early intervention. The early intervention age group is an important population, but it's also one that is often overlooked. Today, I'm going to share five tips I give anyone who is jumping into the world of speech therapy for toddlers.  These tips for SLP early intervention, that, i...

What happened when I applied to 10 grad schools with speech pathology programs?  Every year, the months of February, March, and April remind bring me back to applying to grad school. It's the time of year that letters of acceptance are making their way into inboxes (or mailboxes) across the nation...and so are the rejections. I will never forget those days of searching for schools with speech path...

What is one thing, or more than one thing that you didn't learn in grad school for speech language pathology?  I can think of a lot of "things" I didn't learn in SLP grad school (or undergrad for that matter!). The most important was understanding speech therapy for toddlers. One language development class discussed  language development  from infancy to adolescence. That's a lot of information to...

In  recent episodes,  we've talked about the importance of reading to babies and toddlers, covering pre-reading skills, early literacy development, and tips for engaging little ones. In this episode, we're focusing on practical ways to encourage reading in daily routines for parents. For starters, we should always approach caregivers with empathy and understanding. We must respect their existing r...

"Being intentional about embedding literacy experiences in babies' everyday routines creates joyful, loving moments in the short-term and builds critical skills in the long-term." [Gillespie, 2019] Just because a child doesn't want to sit still and read through a book doesn't mean you shouldn't continue to try. When it comes to encouraging language development, shared storybook reading is often pr...

Did you know that literacy development begins in infancy? Let's talk about why early literacy matters so much. It's not just about ABCs and 123s; early literacy skills lay the groundwork for a lifetime of reading and writing success. As speech-language pathologists, we have a unique role in nurturing these skills right from the start. In this podcast episode, we dive into early literacy developmen...

Friends, literacy and language development should be supported as early as infancy! In today's episode, we are going to dive deeper into the importance of literacy and language development in infancy to toddlerhood and chat about how these skills can impact later reading success. So often, I think we think of reading as something that we don't have to concern ourselves   about until a child starts...

We've been talking about the importance of working together in speech therapy for toddlers. Collaboration is important. We want to collaborate with parents, caregivers, and the other therapists on a child's team. In this episode, we are talking about another important member of the team, daycare teachers.  In addition to parents and other caregivers in the child's life- we have to remember their d...

Did you know the phrase "Teamwork makes the dream work" has only existed since 2002? I want you to think about a big goal you'd like to accomplish. It can be anything- exercising more, eating healthier, renovating a room in your home, graduating with your master's… Can you accomplish the goal by yourself? I mean, truly. Can you do it alone? No. You can't. There must be people along the way to make...

Welcome back, friends! Today, we are putting our words into action. You'll leave this episode with four ways to have conversations and (hopefully) a new perspective on parent involvement. This includes the importance of having a servant's heart when providing speech therapy for toddlers. The 2 nd most important relationship you should build when it comes to speech therapy for toddlers is building...

I spent several years as a school-based Speech Language Pathologist before working in home health. If you've worked in schools, then you know there's not a lot of interaction with parents. So, when I started in the home health world, I was terrified. I felt less than confident with my skills for treating toddlers and equally terrified of having to talk to parents and explain what I was doing and w...

Let's chat about one of the most intimidating topics when it comes to the world of speech therapy for toddlers: communicating with and encouraging parent involvement. For the sake of this series "parent" refers to the primary caretaker of a patient. Talking to and relating with parents can feel awkward and is something some people try to avoid- [whether you want to admit that aloud or not]. Howeve...

Welcome back, friends! In today's episode, Megan introduces the topic of a new series for the SLP Next Door Podcast: How to talk to parents/caregivers about speech therapy for toddlers. Today's topic? Encouraging parents (and clinicians) to keep moving forward.  One of my favorite things about life is that we don't get to go back. Even in the good moments. We are always moving forward. It's someth...

Welcome back to The SLP Next Door Podcast! Today's episode is a bit different from our usual talk about speech therapy for toddlers. Megan dives into something personal, so if you're not up for it today, that's totally fine. You can always catch up on our past episodes, and we'll be back with the regular content next week. We are going to be talking about dealing with grief when you have depressio...