Honest Thoughts
Hello and Happy Holidays! Let’s get the cliche out of the way—can you believe it’s the holiday season already?
I have to admit, I’ve been feeling distinctly disconnected from the holiday season so far this year. People were decorating for Christmas quickly after Halloween ended and while I never decorate before Thanksgiving but don’t begrudge people who do, this year it’s really messing with my sense of time. I’m hoping that as December starts swinging, I’ll feel a little more festive. But if not… I’m determined not to fret.
From My Desk
This past month, I faced the same question from at least two of my middle school students: “Why am I in speech?” One of these students doesn’t really need services anymore, which I had already planned to express at our next meeting. The other student does need support but doesn’t want it. I had very candid conversations with both of them, explaining why they were still receiving speech, giving my opinion on whether or not they still needed it, and, most importantly, asking them how they felt about that. The student who doesn’t need services still enjoys speech—they just want to miss less class. The student who doesn’t want speech agrees that he has needs but the things he’s done in speech aren’t meeting them.
These conversations have brought to mind some questions to ask (yourself, students, and others) about when services are and are not the best option.
What do you (the student) need help with?
How do you (the student) feel about coming to speech?
What am I doing with the student and why?
Is there any research I need to do to better address these needs?
Is my materials toolbox running low or been overused?
Can you (the teachers) address these needs with my help?
Can I address these needs effectively in less time?
Did I build a relationship with the student first?
Have I explained what we’re working on and why?
Is it time for an assessment and/or a meeting?
While I was writing this, I received an email from the parents of the second student. In it, she thanked me for being willing to admit things weren’t working. I think we need to remember that more often. SLPs tend to have a, “I can save the world!” complex, when the truth is… we can’t. We can certainly make a huge difference in people’s lives, but it is dependent on so, so many different factors of which we are only one.
Month’s Most Used Therapy Materials
Pink Cat Games
I would not have thought this website would go over with my middle schoolers, but it’s amazing how something as simple as spinning a wheel for points can motivate a student! I haven’t done this yet, but I love that you can create your own question sets. I’m planning to spend some time soon creating sets that are more middle school appropriate.
Creature Campers and Cat Ninja on Epic! Books
I’ve been doing a lot of book reading this month. I can’t lie, my energy is significantly lower this school year for a host of reasons, so I’m taking advantage of things that can take a little bit off of me! Epic! is great for that because of its Read to Me section of books. I can’t read aloud quite as much as usual, so Creature Campers and Cat Ninja have been godsends!
Plans for Next Month
✨My Halloween and Thanksgiving Boom decks have been well received the last couple of months, and I was thinking of making another version for December but… I really didn’t want to only release something that was strictly Christmas. I decided that, ideally, I would have a Christmas deck and a winter deck. I didn’t have time to create both this year, so I plan to have two versions next year!
✨ After a big holiday, I like to do a big ole therapy reset. For me, that looks like:
Spending the first couple weeks progress monitoring the exact goals on the IEP
Triple checking upcoming IEP and eligibility dates and making sure they’re on my calendar
Doing a bulk therapy buy to restock my therapy materials for spring
What’s Giving Me Life
Cozy mysteries a la Myrtlewood Mysteries
My Kindle stand and remote set up. I can’t vouch for their longevity as I just got them a week or so ago but boy, am I in my cozy era with it.
My traveler’s notebook set up. This one I can vouch for—it’s amazing! I have the leather cover, weekly planner, blank notebooks, extra connecting bands, and zipper pouch. My notebook consists of a pouch of pens, a weekly planner, a collections notebook (Bullet Journal style), and a long form journal.
And also, I started journaling using different color pens for my cycle recently (one for menstruation, one for follicular stage/ovulation, and one for the luteal phase). I love getting to look through my journals and easily catch patterns based on where I am in my cycle. I adapted this idea from Claire Baker.
Rooibos tea. I’m three months into my caffeine-free life, subbing rooibos for my Yorkshire and I’ve officially reached the point where I really want it in the morning. The ritual feels restored.
“Wisdom comes with winters.”
I hope you all have such a warm and festive holiday season.
Christin
I’ve made the intentional choice to keep The Calm SLP ad-free. If you appreciate what I do here, there are a couple of ways to support me.
You can check out the products I offer in my TpT store. This will hopefully help you also!
You can also visit my Buy Me a Coffee link, though I’ll openly admit your donation will go to tea and books instead.
The Lost Quarter
Hello, all!
I write to you from the beginning of the second quarter of the school year, having just completed progress reports for the first. And I’ll be honest—I barely remember this quarter. If you read my last note, you’ll know that September started off crazily for me. Yesterday afternoon, I sat down to transfer information from my most recent Bullet Journal into the newest and took some time to read through my thoughts and notes for the last few months.
It was a pretty surreal experience. And it’s really no wonder that the beginning of the school year is a complete blur. But still, we’re chugging along, doing our things.
From My Desk
This month, I had a meeting and communication that reminded me how important it is to be neurodivergent affirming and how important it is to provide instruction. One of my Autistic students hates coming to speech (although I’m slowly winning him over). Last year, he was removed from therapy altogether, but his family was convinced to give it another try this year. After a month of services, we had an IEP meeting to review what we were doing, what was working, etc… I came to the meeting with only my observations and a desire to listen to his parents and teachers. What I heard echoed and built upon what I was seeing in therapy: a student who wants to do good, fit in, etc… but just doesn’t understand the reasons behind neurotypical expectations and behaviors… and uses a lot of humor and behavior to mask it.
After the meeting, I reached out to the team to find out if they thought writing goals focused on education would be a good fit. I wanted him to know what made him tick versus what made neurotypicals tick. I wanted him to know how Autism makes things a little difficult but more importantly, how it makes him unique. I wanted him to use that knowledge to advocate for himself more effectively.
The feedback I got was very similar: last year, they would have said no way. This year, though…. maybe he’s ready. They shared things that had happened just recently and how having some of that understanding could have changed things.
It reminds me of speaking to someone I know personally about an acquaintance we believe may be autistic. This person told me that they hoped our acquaintance wasn’t tested for Autism because it “might make them feel bad.” I countered, “What if it makes them feel better?”
When I was diagnosed with ADHD several months ago, I elected not to take stimulants. Instead, I delved into various research about other things that can help me manage the areas of impact. Some might think my diagnosis was pointless if I wasn’t going to treat it, but treatment was never the point. Understanding was the point. Education was the point. With a diagnosis firmly in hand, I can pursue knowledge, try things out, adapt, and just, at the end of the day, not beat myself up about things I have minimal control over. It’s frustrating, yes, but also freeing.
I’ll probably write more about how to teach students about neurodivergence soon, so stay tuned!
Month’s Most Used Therapy Materials
Speechy Musings Compare and Contrast Activities
I’ve had a lot of comparing and contrasting goals this quarter. What I loved about this one is the differentiation. I could work with comparing/contrasting objects by having students sort characteristics or come up with their own, AND we could work with comparing and contrasting elements from a text. Simple, well-rounded, and good for teletherapy with a fillable PDF.
Semantic Relationships Boom Cards
I wish I’d had these last year! Semantic relationships is a section on the CELF, which translates to it being a goal on some IEPs. I’ve also found it very hard to target specifically, so these have been a lifesaver!
My Social and Executive Function Skills Task Cards
These have been great for checking in with my variety of social skills goals. I’ve found them useful for both some quick practice and for determining where we need to go next.
Plans for Next Month
My Halloween Boom Cards have been flying this month, which surprised me for some reason! I threw them together last year based on the specific goals I was targeting at the time. Seeing how well they did, I’m planning on making a Thanksgiving version too, so stay tuned for that!
I’m also planning on updating my Synonyms and Antonyms Unit because finding materials for synonyms and antonyms (for older kiddos) is hard!
What’s Giving Me Life
🎶 Listening to IDK How ahead of going to see them in concert next weekend
📚 Reading all the Agatha Christie and loving The Mysterious Benedict Society. I’m also reading The Happiness Trap and finding it pretty transformative right now.
🍷☕️ I made a quick simple syrup using fruit teas from Celestial Seasonings to make a spooky cocktail a few weeks ago, but I’ve been loving it most stirred into some sparkling water. Also, since abandoning caffeine, I’ve been loving rooibos. It’s perfect with honey and a splash of half and half, just like my beloved Yorkshire.
🍂 Fall in general! I’m not sure that I would have made it through the last couple of months if it wasn’t for Fall. The slowly turning leaves and breezy walks (even when it’s still very warm) are keeping me sane. The earlier evenings are, for the first time in my life, bumming me out rather than making me feel cozy. It’s the daytime hours that my body and mind are loving right now.
“It doesn’t have to be the blue iris, it could be weeds in a vacant lot, or a few words together and don’t try to make them elaborate, this isn’t a contest but the doorway into thanks and a silence in which another voice may speak.””
I hope you’ve had a lovely fall so far! Remember that, whatever is going on personally, and however you feel it’s affecting your work, you are a wonderful SLP. Whatever it is you have to give your students right now, it’s plenty and it’s good.
I’ve made the intentional choice to keep The Calm SLP ad-free. If you appreciate what I do here, there are a couple of ways to support me.
You can check out the products I offer in my TpT store. This will hopefully help you also!
You can also visit my Buy Me a Coffee link, though I’ll openly admit your donation will go to tea and books instead.
Hi there, autumn.
I’m writing this little note on September 20, two days ahead of the official beginning of fall. But really, I’ve been easing into an autumnal space since September 1.
And boy, have I needed it.
This school year has not started off in the best way for me. Without going into too much detail, my nervous system imploded on September 1 (Hogwarts Day, of all the days). This was after about six weeks of increasingly less subtle signs that something was up (night time panics, migraines, fatigue, days I can’t even remember through the blur, shortness of breath, feeling overwhelmed and on edge). It all culminated in about three days of extreme nervous system dysregulation and two weeks of painfully slow recovery.
In fact, it was just yesterday that I looked at my husband over breakfast and told him that the day before had been the first day I had made it the entire day feeling like myself. The simplest, smallest things suddenly became huge wins.
I ate an entire omelette!
I had a stuffy nose and didn’t have a panic attack!
I slept through the night!
I enjoyed a cup of tea!
It’s been extremely difficult and it has impacted my work. In fact, I experienced a work first this month: I missed my first due date in ten years.
And you know what? I was so completely and utterly exhausted, I almost didn’t care at all. SLP Christin of years past cannot even begin to imagine the nonchalance with which I proceeded to rectify the situation. In the face of everything I had been through in the previous few days, being a few days behind on paperwork suddenly seemed like a drop in the ocean.
That’s perhaps the most valuable thing I learned over the last 20 days. There were days I believed I would never feel normal and happy again. And when I began waking up in the morning without a feeling of dread sitting on my chest and taking long, sweaty walks while a few fall leaves breezed by me and dancing in the kitchen while I chopped vegetables that I could actually make myself eat, I was reminded afresh of how important the little things are. And how unimportant some of the big things are.
Last night, I wrote in my journal: It’s little things but life is primarily small moments not big events.
I don’t say this to suggest that you should ignore your due dates and coast. I do say this to remind you that your life is so, so much more than work. You can give yourself grace and ask forgiveness and the world will continue to spin and students’s needs will continue to be met without you neglecting your own in the process.
If you need grace for yourself right now, please take it.
If your body is trying to tell you something, please pay attention.
If you’re feeling low, please know that the sun can shine again.
If someone near you is struggling, please take their hand.
It’s the little things that matter. The big things will be forgotten before you know it.
I’ve made the intentional choice to keep The Calm SLP ad-free. If you appreciate what I do here, there are a couple of ways to support me.
You can check out the products I offer in my TpT store. This will hopefully help you also!
You can also visit my Buy Me a Coffee link, though I’ll openly admit your donation will go to tea and books instead.
Pruning
The world is noisy. I don’t want to make it noisier.
I’ve been thinking this week about the ways we use social media. More often than not, I look to mine (Instagram, specifically) with inspiration in mind. The expectation is always to find new ideas. Strategies I haven’t thought of. Tips that might come in handy.
The problem, I’ve realized, is that when I go to places like Instagram with only inspiration in mind, I tend to end up with overwhelm instead.
There’s a difference, for me at least, between purposefully looking for creative ways to address a clinical query I have at the moment and scrolling through Instagram being fed strategies and tips that, while I’m sure are helpful when you need them, are nothing but overwhelming when I don’t.
Within that vein, I was searching the other day for the pros and cons of TikTok and YouTube as a creator. One of the differences reminded me of the difference between social media and blogs—the ability to search for and easily access information as desired.
My own musings, combined with this article, made me wonder about the benefits of participating in social media as an SLP.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m sure that for some people, the fast-paced nature of social media with ideas flowing constantly is really helpful!
But I also imagine that there are other people like me—people who thrive on the slower, more intentional sharing of information online.
Maybe, just maybe I need to change how I share information.
What are your thoughts? How do you like to consume information and insights about being an SLP?
I’ve made the intentional choice to keep The Calm SLP ad-free. If you appreciate what I do here, there are a couple of ways to support me.
You can check out the products I offer in my TpT store. This will hopefully help you also!
You can also visit my Buy Me a Coffee link, though I’ll openly admit your donation will go to tea and books instead.