Ep 167: 5 Tips for Building a Sustainable SLP Career

In this episode with Kim Lewis from Activity Tailor, we discuss 5 ways to build a sustainable SLP career.

✅ 5 Tips for Building a Sustainable SLP Career

  1. Communicate with caregivers, don’t put pressure for progress all on your own shoulders.

  2. Identify what “good enough” work for you means and what that looks like.

  3. Separate your identity from your job, your title isn’t who you are. Think about your strengths and your values - who you are isn’t only your professional role.

  4. What you do today is enough.

  5. Make it simple whenever possible.

💡 Quotes from Kim

“I cannot be the only person responsible for the effort.”

“As we get better and more expert…it (the job) feels a lot easier for us, but you don’t always appreciate how much butter you’ve gotten. Your B- effort in year 10 might look a lot like A+ effort in year 1.”

“I think that we need to stop telling ourselves that the measure of how good of a job we’re doing is how much effort we are putting in.”

Resources:

Newsletter (for easy lesson ideas, this month I’ll send out a printable of tips from this episode)

Review the Podcast

Ep 164: SSD Private Practice Case Study - SSDs for Toddlers w/ Suzanne from Playing Speech

In this episode with Suzanne Aldrich (IG: playing speech) we discuss Suzanne’s private practice, focusing on SSDs for children ages birth-5.

We discuss:

  • Suzanne’s transition from medical practice, to early intervention, to private practice

  • Tips for starting working with toddlers and preschool students

  • How to notice when you need to make a professional change & get started with that change

  • How to resource yourself and believe in yourself when you need to change

Review the podcast

From Suzanne:

“I don’t want to wake up and not like what I do everyday…I don’t want to feel trapped.”

“I don’t believe that any of us are stuck anywhere. I feel like there’s always a way we can change.”

“Change always takes longer than we want. A lot of SLPs are Type A, we want what we want when we want them…the timeline is never up to us.”

“My personal peace trumps everything.”

From Sarah:

“I can do a little but I cannot do a lot, and the little I can do might not change this outcome.”

“If we have a job that has limitations, where within those limitations can we practice implementing our own needs and boundaries?”


Resources

Apraxia Bundle

IG Cari Ebert, Bright Expressions, Early and Bright, Bondar Speech

Courses: Free DTTC training (Dr Strand), Apraxia Kids Motor Webinar

Ep 163: Effective Treatments for SSD & Managing SSD Overwhelm w/Klaire Brumbaugh

In this episode w/ Klaire Brumbaugh (IG: slpwithdr.b), the following topics are discussed:

  • Managing treatment overwhelm (all the SSD approaches!)

  • Choosing an SSD approach

  • Are we supposed to do these approaches as outlined in the studies? How do we implement them in the real world of therapy sessions?

Quotes

"Our jobs span as wide as we let them span, so as SLPs we really need to prioritize. Each year my focus gets narrower and narrower...as I protect myself, my work and my goals." Klaire

"It's impossible to replicate (research) studies. As somebody who does research...I know that I wouldn't have had 50 minutes twice a week to do this (approach). Klaire

"I think we need to understand and recognize that 100 trials (per session) isn't always attainable." Klaire

Resources

Scip App (Sound Contrasts in Phonology)

StaRt App (for /r/ sound)

Informed SLP SSD Article

Ulster University SSD Approaches Choice Tool