I’ve had a post on pseudoscience drifting around in my head for a while now and it just isn’t coming together the way I want. I won’t bore you with the particulars of it, but know that there will be one coming…sometime. In the meantime, while pursuing those elusive thoughts, I’ve been trying to figure out WHY we have such an influx of pseudoscience cropping up. Continue reading
Tag Archives: advocacy
Adventures with despair,happiness, and change!
No matter where we turn in the last few days, we are surrounded by news on the inauguration, cabinet choices, fashion sense, and people in general expressing great pleasure and equally great despair. On Facebook there are posts proudly proclaiming marching in peaceful protests for women’s rights and/or against the current president (note: they are not necessarily one and the same). There are an equal number of people telling those marching to “get over it.”
There are posts against the president’s pick for cabinet members. There are an equal number of posts saying “give it time, give them a chance.”
There’s one thing ALL of these posts have in common… Continue reading
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Blurred Lines
I feel the strong need to preface this post, mainly because I suspect it will anger many people. However, before you get too angry, please read all the way to the end…and then if you want to comment – walk away for a few minutes before you hit send. I’d love a discussion, but don’t really want a debate, and I won’t argue. I’ve been considering this post for a while and I’ve resisted it for a couple of reasons. One, I’m not sure I’ve fully considered all aspects. Two, I’m not sure I have a solution (and I hate to be a part of a problem with out a solution). And three, the alternatives suck. If that hasn’t scared you off… Continue reading
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Musings about Assessments and things
I recently read a great post by another SLP, Tatyana Elleseff, over at Smart Speech Therapy LLC.
I strongly recommend that you go read it. It’s a great post about WHY she does what she does, and why some parents (and schools) request her to do it. Intrigued yet? What are you waiting for – go read it. It’s titled: Special Education Disputes and Comprehensive Language Testing: What Parents, Attorneys, and Advocates Need to Know.
Tatyana’s post gave me some pause for thought…and then of course I had to follow the rabbit trail my mind seems to take sometimes. Ultimately, I came away with some questions and deep thoughts about our profession. Continue reading
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Frustrations, Fights, and Futility
Every so often, on social media, there’s a resurgence of “old” discussions: caseload vs workload, pseudoscience vs science, baseball vs football (okay, not really or if it is I don’t listen). Usually these resurgences are pretty regular, every 5-6 months or so on twitter and every couple of weeks on Facebook.
A couple of months ago, I created an online survey to ask SLPs about their workload manageability and what they’ve done to alleviate the situation (if it was negative). The results…astounded me…
and saddened me…
and, to be honest, disheartened me. The results are below:
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Advocacy in SLP, part I
Advocacy…Advocacy…who has the Advocacy…
Also known as 7 Habits of the Burnt-Out SLP
In preparation for a new series of posts on advocacy (SLPs and caseloads really), I have decided to repost the July 2012 post on Adventures in Advocacy. There are two other Advocacy posts here and here. Please take a moment and check them out…They are relevant.
In the not too distant future (hopefully), I will be posting the results of a survey I conducted in April. To say the results were disturbing is an understatement. But…there’s always hope…right? 
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Where’s the Union? Where’s the Advocacy?
Periodically, ugly topics raise their heads, and everyone gasps, and commiserates, and does absolutely nothing but whine.
**Raises hand** I’m guilty. I admit it…
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Adventures in Advocacy (again)
When a group of school-based SLPs get together, there are a few things that will happen for certain.
First, they will talk non-stop. That’s what we do and I have yet to see an SLP that doesn’t love language and the use of it. Continue reading
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Adventures in Surfing
No, not THAT kind of surfing (remember, I’m in a landlocked state).
Adventures in SUBWAY surfing…
Also known as OMG, she’s talking about a non-speech app? What the heck?
Alternately known as Speech-language therapy is NOT supposed to be about games and having fun.
Wait a minute. That doesn’t sound right. Continue reading
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Adventures in Advocacy…part two
Creatively known as How many ways can we fail a student?
Alternately known as Let’s describe Educational Impact.
Otherwise known as What do you mean it’s my fault he can’t get a job?
Hmmm. Did that last one get your attention?
One topic of conversation that’s popped up here, on Facebook, on the ASHA forums, etc. has been eligibility requirements for schools based services. Many SLPs have the understanding that children with only one or two speech errors are not eligible for services because they are not “severe” enough. I have been told that some schools do not do ‘articulation’ therapy at all as it’s not educationally impacting. Or the students were dismissed because of “time constraints.” I realize it’s not the SLPs that are doing this, it’s administration…but wow. What a way to fail our students.
Speech Adventures 