Today I’m sharing an interview I did with Amy Baugh, a member of Language Therapy Advance Foundations. Amy Baugh is an experienced SLP, a life-long learner and truly enjoys listening to podcasts, joining SLP groups on social media and collaborating with her besties about all things’ speech, language and being a business owner. She is the proud mother of two college aged daughters and enjoys learning and practicing functional health, working out, reading, and cooking. She is the owner of Elation ...
Mar 05, 2025•57 min•Ep. 205
Finding the right amount of therapy materials is a struggle for many clinicians. It’s hard to find the balance between having enough options, without having so many choices it feels overwhelming. Now that we have access to digital resources, we also have to think about how to use technology responsibly and effectively. That’s why I invited Dr. Karen Rose to episode 204 of the De Facto Leaders podcast to discuss how digital platforms can minimize cognitive fatigue and improve communication on mul...
Feb 26, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 204
In this episode, I’m answering FAQs from the School of Clinical Leadership members about supporting students’ executive functioning. I answer the following questions: What is frontloading, and why is it useful for students experiencing executive dysfunction and anxiety? When is it best to use structured, explicit instruction, and when is it best to let students figure things out on their own? How do you help students who won’t complete work unless they have an adult sitting next to them? How do ...
Feb 19, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 203
A good school leader knows how to protect their staff from initiatives and fires they may need to put out on a regular basis. In many cases if you’re unaware of everything your school administrator is dealing with, it means they’re doing their job well. This lack of awareness of what happens behind-the-scenes may mean little appreciation for everything administrators are dealing with. While negative perceptions exist towards teachers and other school staff members as well, the public tends to be...
Feb 12, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 202
Many people classify swallowing and feeding intervention as a “medical” service that shouldn’t be addressed in the schools. This is a very black and white (and inaccurate) way of thinking. Children with complex medical needs have a right to FAPE. Measuring whether or not students are accessing their curriculum can’t be solely based on grades; which is unfortunately what many teams default to when it comes to determining if services and accommodations are educationally relevant. That’s why I invi...
Feb 05, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 201
Helping families feel involved in their child’s school experience is a challenge; and underrepresented populations may often feel like their voices aren’t being heard. While it can help if school staff buy in to the idea of family engagement, it’s difficult for schools to make it happen without the right systems in place. That’s why I invited Ari Gerzon-Kessler to episode 200 of De Facto Leaders to talk about the “Families and Educators Together”, or FET team framework he’s developed. Ari Gerzon...
Jan 29, 2025•59 min•Ep. 200
Finding the resources and funding for learning tools and enriching events is a consistent challenge for many districts. The PTO is often a largely underutilized resource, but most people cringe at the thought of having to attend one more committee meeting, especially in the evenings. Yet a well-run PTO can help take some of the load off of school staff and leverage resources in the community. That’s why I was excited to talk to Christina Hidek from PTO Answers about how school staff and PTOs can...
Jan 22, 2025•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 199
Teachers and school leaders often feel like they have to be “everything to everyone”. Not only are educators expected to deliver high-quality instruction in traditional academic areas, they’re also expected to provide social-emotional support, vocational training, and everything in between. When it comes to supporting mental health, this can be a tricky ethical line to walk when you’re trained as a teacher and not as a clinician. Additionally, school staff are constantly trying to manage their o...
Jan 15, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 198
“Scaffolding” has become a buzzword when it comes to helping kids become more independent with academic and functional tasks, but it's only useful if people know what it means. Watching students or your own children struggle to transition or complete daily tasks can be uncomfortable for both the adults and children. As a result, it can be easy to get pulled in to a situation where kids become prompt-dependent. That’s why I invited Rebecca Robbins to De Facto Leaders to talk about how to use decl...
Jan 08, 2025•56 min•Ep. 197
For episode 196 of De Facto Leaders , I share a Q & A session where I talk through how to write language therapy goals that are both trackable and functional. This is just one of many Q & A sessions I’m planning on sharing where I talk through how to find the balance between focusing on external behaviors that allow us to document progress and internal cognitive processes. I also talk about when to focus on “observable” language skills vs. strategy-based goals ; especially when addressin...
Jan 01, 2025•46 min•Ep. 196
For episode 195 of De Facto Leaders, I share a Q & A session where I talk through ways to navigate evaluations; including considering a test's psychometric properties, how detailed it gets, and how to supplement with non-standardized protocols. In the second half, I talked about SLP career transitions and things to think about if you want to explore other ways to use your clinical credentials or are considering getting a doctorate or additional certifications. *This discussion on career path...
Dec 25, 2024•48 min•Ep. 195
Many therapists feel as though they have limited upward mobility in their careers. Graduate programs understandably focus on direct clinical practice and understanding evidence-based practices. Unfortunately, this leaves many clinicians unprepared to navigate policy work , salary negotiations, or running a business . This makes many therapists less confident in advocating for reasonable caseloads or better compensation because they feel they have limited options for earning a living. That’s why ...
Dec 18, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 194
Most people agree that the “online learning” that happened during COVID was a challenge for many students; especially those with disabilities. However, what happened during the pandemic wasn’t a true version of what “distance learning” or “telehealth” should be. There’s a difference between leveraging technology to enhance in-person experiences vs. using it as a temporary solution in an emergency situation. There’s also a difference between using technology to provide opportunities that wouldn’t...
Dec 11, 2024•59 min•Ep. 193
The writing process comes with internal resistance, even for strong writers. Most people who say they enjoy writing don’t enjoy the entire process; particularly the “getting started” part. This is why writing is a common challenge when executive functioning is impacted. Layer on issues with background knowledge, language, and decoding, and it becomes even more complex. Kids need support with the “puzzle pieces” that fit together to support writing. Things like vocabulary, syntax, the ability to ...
Dec 04, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 192
High-impact tutoring has a wide body of evidence to support its efficacy, but how do you know what is and isn’t “high-impact”? Is it better to brand yourself as an academic coach or an executive functioning coach? Should “executive functioning” be a class in school, or should it be embedded into all the classes? I invited my colleague David Schipper to episode 191 of De Facto Leaders to ponder some of these questions. David Schipper is the director of Strategic Learning Clinic, a position he has...
Nov 27, 2024•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 191
Many of my colleagues working in the public sector are skeptical of companies selling products to school districts. I’ve felt some of this skepticism myself as I’ve seen certain approaches gain traction because they’re well-marketed (yet not evidence-based). So it’s understandable to me that people would question the motives of companies selling products; especially in the for-profit space. The elephant in the room, of course, is that Dr. Karen, LLC is a for-profit EdTech company. I’ve also spen...
Nov 20, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 190
Many people treat social skills groups as if they’re the complete package, when in fact they’re just one part of a bigger service plan. When we “lesson plan” we can’t think of our intervention as something that starts and ends with a 20-minute therapy session. Instead, we should think of it as a “planning” or a “priming” session. That’s why one of the very first things I teach clinicians in the School of Clinical Leadership is how to utilize multiple service delivery models when supporting execu...
Nov 13, 2024•48 min•Ep. 189
Syntactic use is considered an “academic” skill that’s useful for reading comprehension and writing , but the impact of sentence comprehension goes way beyond school. Our ability to comprehend messages at the word and sentence level in oral and written language has a huge impact on our ability to function. So when clinicians ask me, “Should I focus on syntax, or should I focus on life skills?” , my response is that syntax IS a life skill. The same is true about semantic knowledge because of the ...
Nov 06, 2024•39 min•Ep. 188
I regularly hear from therapists who ask me questions about how to evaluate language in a way that gives detailed, meaningful, and accurate information. Most people know standardized tests only show a small fraction of what we need to know when it comes to language and cognition, yet many clinicians still don’t consistently utilize a complete portfolio evaluation. A lot barriers get in the way, including: 👉Lack of clarity on what “dynamic assessment” means. 👉Misconceptions about how a robust p...
Oct 30, 2024•52 min•Ep. 187
Language evaluations are challenging enough; but when we’re evaluating multilingual and bilingual students, they become even more complex. When clinicians ask me about language evaluations, the questions are typically: What tools/protocols can I use? Who can I go to for help? How can I advocate for change if current policies don’t support best practices? That’s why I invited Prabhu Eswaran and Puja Goel to episode 186 of De Facto Leaders to help answer some of these questions as they relate to m...
Oct 23, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 186
In this interview, I revisit conversations surrounding the school-to-confinement pipeline, giving students’ the language skills to understand their rights, the link between language, literacy and “behavior problems”, and how to get started with policy work. I share my commentary on the following: ✅ Why students who’ve received repeated detentions or suspensions should be screened or evaluated to rule out language and literacy issues. ✅ Saying “developmental language disorder” is ALLOWED in the s...
Oct 16, 2024•30 min•Ep. 185
In this interview, I revisit conversations surrounding the use of the term “dyslexia” in the schools, the use of technology, and equitable access to books. I share my commentary on the following: ✅Saying “dyslexia” in the schools: Both the positive and negative consequences ✅Educational technology definitions: What “counts” as technology? What’s the difference between instructional and assistive technology? ✅The tech tools are not the strategy: What’s happening when kids don’t use technology eff...
Oct 09, 2024•37 min•Ep. 184
How much do we need to know about morphology and etymology to effectively help students? Is etymology an essential component to spelling and reading instruction? Will phonics instruction bore students? Is exposure to interesting books enough to foster a love of reading for people who don’t have solid word decoding skills? I revisit my conversations with Anna Gieger (Episode 177) and Dr. Jan Wasowicz (Episode 176) in this episode and share my thoughts on these questions. This episode is a follow-...
Oct 02, 2024•23 min•Ep. 183
Many skeptics of the science of reading are concerned that structured approaches will bore kids and make it less likely they’ll enjoy reading. These concerns are unfounded for a number of reasons. First, structured approaches help reach students who don’t learn through implicit learning (which is a lot of kids). It’s hard to develop a love of something when you’ve failed repeatedly and no one has given you the tools to do it. Enjoyment comes with competence and confidence. Second, many people as...
Sep 25, 2024•56 min•Ep. 182
Students who meet the criteria for developmental language disorder (DLD) are often categorized as “speech only” in the school systems. In many cases, these students qualify for special education services under the eligibility category of “speech and language impaired” , which puts speech-language pathologists who serve as case managers in a difficult position ethically. Sometimes students may qualify for services under other eligibility categories, but there’s still a lack of awareness about the...
Sep 20, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 181
There is a disproportionate number of individuals with communication disorders and reading disabilities involved with the justice system for both children and adults. Past research suggests that more than 40% of incarcerated people have some type of nonpsychiatric disability (Berzofsky et al., 2015; Bixby et al., 2022; Thompson, 2022) Additionally, once youth are involved in the justice system, it becomes more difficult for them to access the education and therapeutic services they need. Both li...
Sep 18, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 180
How can school leaders make informed decisions about reading curriculum when they know the home environments among their student body vary widely? I don’t envy people tasked with these kinds of decisions. My opinion is that schools should ensure students get their instructional needs met during the school day, because it’s difficult to control what happens to students once they leave the school campus. Direct instruction of reading has to fall on the plate of educators. If we assume certain prac...
Sep 13, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 179
In 2015, the Office of Special Education Programs published a letter stating that school teams were “not prohibited” from using the term “dyslexia”. Unfortunately, this letter left many questions unanswered and is often misinterpreted. Parents seeking out services for their children are still unsure how to advocate for appropriate services in their schools and communities. School teams are still unsure about what they’re “permitted” vs. “required” to do. Professionals are unsure who is qualified...
Sep 11, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 178
There are many “science of reading” terms being used right now (including the “science of reading” itself). Yet debates about how to help kids become literate continues; and part of that is because of common logical fallacies applied to education. That’s why I invited Anna Geiger to episode 177 of De Facto Leaders to define important literacy terms and discuss myths associated with teaching reading. Anna Geiger is a former teacher, mom of six, the founder and owner of The Measured Mom, host of t...
Sep 06, 2024•54 min•Ep. 177
The “science of reading” is trending; but in order for professionals to engage in effective instruction, they need to understand that literacy also includes spelling and writing. Writing, spelling, and reading are interconnected, and the growing body of research continues to show us that these skills need to be taught explicitly. That’s why I invited Dr. Jan Wasowicz to episode 176 of the De Facto Leaders podcast to discuss the Language Literacy Network (Link here: https://learningbydesign.com/w...
Sep 04, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 176
