SLP Coffee Talk – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, I reveal the secrets to creating a safe and supportive environment for older speech students, offering actionable strategies and insights. Learn how to boost engagement, confidence and learning outcomes by addressing common mistakes like overemphasizing correctness and neglecting personalization. Discover practical techniques for fostering a community-centric speech environment, promoting self-advocacy and incorporating relaxation methods. Tune in for a blend of practical advice, humor and inspiration that will leave you ready to make a positive difference in your students’ lives. 

Here’s what we learned:

• Importance of creating a safe, supportive environment for older speech students.
• Benefits include increased engagement, better learning outcomes, and improved self-esteem.
• Common SLP mistakes are overemphasizing correctness, lack of personalization, and insufficient positive reinforcement.
• Strategies to foster a nurturing space— build rapport, set clear expectations, encourage open communication and provide consistent feedback. 
• Promote peer support and collaboration.
• Teach self-advocacy, relaxation methods and social-emotional skills.
• Use “comfort contract” to maintain a positive and motivational speech room culture.
• Incorporate student interests and learning styles into sessions. 

Learn more about Hallie Sherman  and SLP:  

🎥 Check out the Famous Failures YouTube video

💜 Speech Time Fun

🎧 Check out the Secondary Secret Podcast here!

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets

In this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, we chat with Elise Mitchell, the founder of the Therapy Support Network, who shares her journey from burnout to thriving as an independent contractor. Elise, who graduated from Missouri State University in 2013 with an M.S. CCC-SLP, initially spent six years working for virtual staffing companies. She took on various roles, including an SLP, school salesperson, and manager. 

However, after years of managing virtual services and dealing with provider management, Elise experienced burnout and low job satisfaction, prompting her to stay away from the school staffing industry. It was then that an unexpected opportunity to directly contract with a school presented itself. Elise found a renewed passion for working with schools, but this time as an independent contractor rather than an employee, allowing her to fully enjoy her work and maximize her career potential. 

In 2019, Elise established The Therapist Support Network with the mission of equipping school-based SLP, OT, and PT contractors with essential resources, a supportive community, and ongoing assistance. She developed key tools such as “The School Contractor Packet,” “School Contractor Training,” and "The School Staffing Packet and Training."

Here’s what we learned:

• Transitioning from staffing agencies to independent contracting.
• Benefits of earning 100% of contract profits.
• Importance of entrepreneurial mindset.
• Pricing services competitively and sustainably.
• Unique challenges faced by SLPs compared to OTs and PTs.
• Building local relationships and exploring hybrid private practice models.
• Growing trend of therapists hiring other therapists, especially in underserved rural areas.
• Establishing fair rates that reflect experience and ensure sustainability.
•  Practical aspects of calculating service minutes and billing for direct and indirect time. 

Learn more about Elise Mitchell:

Elise's Website: The Therapist Support Network

Instagram: @thetherapistsupportnetwork

Free Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/schoolcontractors

Free School Contractor Checklist: www.thetherapistsupportnetwork.com

Learn more about Hallie Sherman  and SLP:  

💜 Speech Time Fun

🎧 Check out the Secondary Secret Podcast here!

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets

In this episode, we’ll talk about my personal journey and the valuable lessons I learned when I first started working with older speech students. From understanding the pivotal role of language comprehension in reading success to the game-changing power of building genuine rapport,  join me as I share my secrets to successfully working with older speech students and revolutionizing your approach with the knowledge I wish I had from the start.

Here’s what we learned:

• Using materials that match students' independent reading levels rather than their grade levels.
• How to boost students' confidence by initially removing the reading barrier.
• Guidance on when to continue speech therapy versus allowing students to participate in their regular classroom environment.
• The superiority of fostering intrinsic motivation over-relying on external rewards such as prize bins.
• Effective methods for teaching unfamiliar vocabulary and the balance between using games for engagement while ensuring educational value.

Learn more about Hallie Sherman  and SLP Elevate: 

💜Speech Time Fun

🎧 Check out the Secondary Secret Podcast here!

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets

Looking for some tips on working with high school speech students?

If you know me, you know that AAC is not my jam, but in this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, I sat down with Ashley Larisey to chat all about AAC and working with high school speech therapy students. 

Ashley Larisey is a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist and clinical educator. Ashley’s work experiences include public and private therapeutic day schools, speech/language clinics, and early intervention. Ashley also serves as an adjunct clinical supervisor at Saint Xavier University and teaches a module specific to the use of technology in the field of Speech/Language Pathology. 

Ashley has extensive experience working with children and adults who use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) systems, and has presented at local and national conferences on AAC and literacy.

Tune in to learn more from Ashley about tips for working with older speech students, transition planning, AR activities, working on literacy with nonverbal students, AAC, and so much more! 

Full show notes available at www.speechtimefun.com/140

Resources Mentioned: 

Follow Ashley on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrs.larisey/

Check out Comprehensive Literacy for All: https://www.amazon.com/Comprehensive-Literacy-All-Significant-Disabilities/dp/1598576577/

Sign up for the Speech Retreat: https://www.speechtimefunpd.com/speech-retreat-recharge

Where We Can Connect: 

Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/slp-coffee-talk/id1497341007

Follow Hallie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speechtimefun

Follow Hallie on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpeechTimeFun/

Follow Hallie on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/missspeechie/

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets

Do you work with the school psychologist? 

In this episode, I’m switching things up and talking with a bilingual school psychologist, Briana Wagner. She’s here to chat about how SLPs can collaborate with the school psychologist, social skills, and so much more! 

Briana Wagner is a bilingual school psychologist and the founder of @EducationallyPsyched, a community dedicated to easy-to-understand information about special education, school psychology, and supporting students with diverse needs. 

I have always said that when you start at a new school, the school psychologist is one of the most important people you need to develop a close working relationship with. There are so many important ways we can collaborate together to help our students get the best possible outcome when it comes to speech. 

Looking at things that the school psychologist looks at regularly might not be our domain, but it can help us greatly inside our therapy rooms to understand what type of help our students need and how we can set them up for more success in their regular classrooms as well.

Tune in to hear more about how to make the most of your relationship with the school psychologist and how you can work together to help your students succeed. 

Full show notes available at www.speechtimefun.com/139

Resources Mentioned: 

Follow Briana on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/educationallypsyched/

Get my FREE Critical Thinking Probes: https://speechtimefunpd.mykajabi.com/critical-thinking-probes

Where We Can Connect: 

Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/slp-coffee-talk/id1497341007

Follow Hallie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speechtimefun

Follow Hallie on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpeechTimeFun/

Follow Hallie on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/missspeechie/

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets

I do not take data during the entire session, and I’m sharing why in this episode. I know there are some exceptions to the rules because administrations or districts require one thing or another, but I want to convince you to think about data a little bit differently. 

I’m not saying not to take data, just not to take it the entire session. Imagine that as you’re working, someone came and observed you and jotted down notes the entire time. You would be pretty nervous right? Imagine how our students feel. If they are constantly being assessed, they’re going to have some anxiety and it could affect their ability to perform optimally.

If we are constantly evaluating our students, when will we have time to teach them? With things like articulation, studies show that the more drilling, the better. But you can’t do that if you’re evaluating them all the time. 

The more you focus on the child in front of you and the anecdotal data versus the data marks, the more they will be engaged. They are going to be more willing to take risks and have a better understanding of what it takes to be successful. That itself is so much more valuable than the data marks. 

Tune in to learn more about why I don’t take data the entire session and how you can start focusing on the child more for better outcomes. 

Full show notes available at www.speechtimefun.com/138

Resources Mentioned: 

Get my free group therapy data forms: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Group-Therapy-Data-Forms-FREEBIE-2032236

Where We Can Connect: 

Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/slp-coffee-talk/id1497341007

Follow Hallie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speechtimefun

Follow Hallie on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpeechTimeFun/

Follow Hallie on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/missspeechie/

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets

What prizes and reward systems do you use with your older students? 

This is a question I get asked pretty often, especially at the beginning of the year. I have had many different reward systems in my career, but as of now, I don’t actually have a reward system in place for my older speech therapy students. 

In today’s episode of SLP Coffee Talk, I’m sharing the systems I have used in the past, why they didn’t work, and why I stopped using them altogether. While I don’t use reward systems, there are other ways I like to motivate my students that work amazingly well without being a distraction. 

Speech can be fun and engaging without using prizes. Time is precious in the speech room, and we need to use it wisely. If we can motivate students in other ways while they’re there, we can build their confidence without giving them another sticker. 

Sometimes just giving students that verbal praise that they might not get throughout the day otherwise is enough motivation. Showing them that you’re listening and that you care about how they’re doing is enough. 

Tune in to learn more about how I keep my students motivated without stickers and prizes and how you can start intrinsically motivating your students to learn today. 

Full show notes available at www.speechtimefun.com/137

Resources Mentioned: 

Grab my free visuals: https://speechtimefun.com/must-have-visual-aids-for-working-on-critical-thinking-skills-in-speech-therapy/

Where We Can Connect: 

Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/slp-coffee-talk/id1497341007

Follow Hallie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speechtimefun

Follow Hallie on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpeechTimeFun/

Follow Hallie on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/missspeechie/

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets

Are you using visuals in your speech therapy classroom?

In this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, we are breaking away from only talking about older speech therapy students to talk about something that can be used with any age: visual supports! 

Visual supports are things like pictures, lists, or drawings that help students with autism communicate. They can make a huge difference in your students’ speech therapy outcomes. I sat down with Tara Tuchel from Autism Little Learners to dive into the topic of visuals and how she uses them to help her autistic students reach their goals. 

Tara is a speech/language pathologist who has been teaching young autistic children for over 2 decades. She has the unique position to run her own communication-based classroom and team-teach with a special education teacher. She started Autism Little Learners in March of 2019.

Tara now has a monthly product membership and an online course (Visual Schedules Made Easy) where she shares resources and activities for educators and parents of young autistic children.

Tune in to hear all of Tara’s top tips for using visual supports in speech therapy! 

Full show notes available at www.speechtimefun.com/136

Resources Mentioned: 

Check out Tara’s website: https://autismlittlelearners.com/

Get the free Visual Support Starter Set: https://mailchi.mp/af7297575815/visualsupportstarterset

Follow Tara on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/autismlittlelearners/

Follow Tara on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@autismlittlelearners?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

Check out her TpT shop: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Autism-Little-Learners

Get on the waitlist for Tara’s membership: https://autism-little-learners.mykajabi.com/membershippopup

Where We Can Connect: 

Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/slp-coffee-talk/id1497341007

Follow Hallie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speechtimefun

Follow Hallie on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpeechTimeFun/

Follow Hallie on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/missspeechie/

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets

Do you struggle to figure out where to go with your older speech students? 

If you’ve been following me for a while, you may have heard me talk about how language comprehension is such an integral part of learning and reading. In order to be successful readers, our students need good decoding skills. 

In this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, I’m sharing why I use Bloom’s Taxonomy to determine what to do with my older speech therapy students. They have to be able to engage with the text, think about it, and answer questions, and we as SLPs can help them get there. 

It’s so important that we determine a goal that is appropriate for our students, not just what they’re working on in the classroom. Thinking differently about how we determine the goal we're working on with our students can really help us feel confident about what we are working on and know that we can make a true difference.

Tune in to learn more about how I use Bloom’s Taxonomy to determine what my students need help with so that I can meet them where they are at and help them achieve their goals. 

Full show notes available at www.speechtimefun.com/135

Resources Mentioned: 

Check out SLP Elevate: https://www.speechtimefunpd.com/slp-elevate-aug

Where We Can Connect: 

Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/slp-coffee-talk/id1497341007

Follow Hallie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speechtimefun

Follow Hallie on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpeechTimeFun/

Follow Hallie on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/missspeechie/

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets

Are you familiar with neurodiversity-affirming teaching methods? 

Every day, I see so many questions from other SLPs on this topic, so today on SLP Coffee Talk, I sat down with Katja Piscitelli to talk about these methods so that you can get all of your questions answered and start the year off confident with autistic students on your caseload. 

Katja Piscitelli is a speech therapist, dog mom, and Disney lover. She supports autistic students and their families through neurodiversity-affirming, child-led therapy. She also specializes in supporting gestalt language development (echolalia). 

Katja believes in listening to the communities we serve to guide our practice, and she loves sharing what she learns from the Autistic community and her experiences with students with all of you!

There is a shift happening in the way we teach autistic students in speech therapy. Instead of teaching them to be more like us, we are learning to teach them differently in a way that affirms who they are and how their brains work. 

Katja has a wealth of knowledge and tips to share on this topic. Tune in to learn more about why listening to autistic voices is so important, tips for teaching self-advocacy and perspective taking, the top tips and tools for working with autistic students, and so much more. 

Full show notes available at www.speechtimefun.com/134

Resources Mentioned: 

Visit Katja’s website: https://www.totalspectrumtherapy.org/

Follow Katja on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bohospeechie/

Follow Katja on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Boho-Speechie/100064823717157/

Check out Katja’s Teachers Pay Teachers store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Boho-Speechie

Visit the NeuroClastic website: https://neuroclastic.com/its-a-spectrum-doesnt-mean-what-you-think/

Join the NeuroClastic Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheAspergian/

Where We Can Connect: 

Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/slp-coffee-talk/id1497341007

Follow Hallie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speechtimefun

Follow Hallie on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpeechTimeFun/

Follow Hallie on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/missspeechie/

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets