I’m converting my after-school appointments to 30-minute sessions starting in 2026. I’ve been thinking about doing this for a while as I’ve seen my waiting list for after-school appointments climb to 50 families while my during-school list has remained at 5. I decided to go for it when my student loan payments skyrocketed from $30/month …
This is, by far, the question I get asked most frequently. It’s a bit of a loaded question for me as a neurodiversity-affirming therapist. I don’t see my job as helping children who “need” treatment – I see it as helping children learn new choices for how they communicate. That being said (or typed?), whether …
I’ve been considering boycotting social media ever since a social media site prioritized free speech over my safety back in 2013. As we often do, I shrugged off the incident as an isolated event and personal failing, but since reading The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt I can no longer shake my misgivings about social …
My office has new paint and I’ve moved some things around. Originally Posted on 06/13/2024.
I’ve had to make the very difficult decision to retire my speech therapy dog, Zooey, when she almost bit a couple kids in a single day. This is very unlike Zooey and all my families who’ve been working with her for years have been as surprised as I was. I think her behavior might be …
I started using Toca Boca World in 2021 when all my appointments were still on telehealth (until I got my first round of COVID shots). I have patients who still request it during in-person appointments. This open-ended video game is packed with things to explore and it’s really useful for speech and langauge treatment. I …
Each month I switch out the apps, websites, and videos I use during treatment. Here are the ones I’m using this month… Toys/Board Games/Apps Books Videos Also: here are some ideas for using Disney shorts in speech & language treatment. You can find my other themed naturalistic activities here.
When I was in graduate school there was a lot of information about the difference between an “articulation disorder” and a “phonological disorder.” Then I started my internship and found that in order for an insurance company to pay for speech & langauge treatment the child needs a medical diagnosis and that these are found …
Following directions is a common goal for my patients of all ages. I try to keep these activities fun and play-based, but for the older kids that’s an especially challenging endeavor. Here are some of my favorite activities for working on following directions… Here are some more ideas for using Toca Kitchen Monsters in speech …
In 2021 I found that my graduate student clinicians were having a hard time learning all the treatment techniques I use on top of all the activities I use. I started this blog to help them by creating an organized database of techniques and activities. Now that I’ve done most of that I’m reducing my …
