All Episodes
Displaying episodes 1 - 30 of 158 in total
Turning disagreements in to alliances in K-12 education (with Dr. Barb Flowers)
There’s a lot of "us vs. them" thinking happening relating to what’s going on in the school systems.Parents feeling like teachers don't want to accommodate students wi...
Comorbidities and Differential Diagnosis (ADHD, DLD, Dyslexia)
When kids need support with language, reading/writing, and executive functioning, they often have multiple diagnoses.This makes both treatment planning, diagnosis, and...
Literacy and background knowledge: Essential skills for life (with Dr. Pamela Snow)
The most effective reading instructional practices aren’t always the ones that gain traction.It’s the ones with the most successful marketing campaigns. The best marke...
Unpacking the early literacy debate and building a foundation in PreK (with Jane Gebers)
The literacy space has become increasingly polarizing since the reading wars began.There are a number of debates and questions that continue, including:Will kids learn...
Using AI to write IEP goals and manage service plans (with Sean Klamm)
No one working in special ed has ever said, “I chose this career so I could do paperwork all evening and weekend.”Yet many realize after getting into the field that ad...
Becoming a literacy leader and advocating for the right to read (with Brianna Guild)
Related service providers are often considered subject matter experts. Our role is to support other members of multidisciplinary teams like teachers, parents and admin...
Therapy session structure, narrative language, and commentary on gestalt language processing
In this episode, I share a special Q & A session I did with the members of Language Therapy Advance Foundations; my program that provides service providers with a rese...
Debriefing, de-escalation, and relationship repair (with Crissy Mombela)
Our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors don’t have to define us. This is an important thing to remember for adults dealing with professional burnout and compassion fatig...
The cost of caring: Compassion fatigue in education and healthcare (with Crissy Mombela)
People working in school or medical settings are in a position to be caring for others in their professional lives; which makes it difficult to leave work at work.When...
Does your SYSTEM support your policy and your curriculum? (with Jalita Johnson)
If we try to make schools in the US more like schools in other countries, will that result in more effective practices? Why do policies work in some districts, but not...
BONUS: SEEing to Lead: Seeing the whole staircase (with Dr. Karen Dudek-Brannan)
This week, I’m sharing an interview I did with another host on the BE podcast network because I think it’s something you’ll really enjoy. The episode is going live in ...
Am I influencing or trying to control? Reframing advocacy and clinical leadership (with Candice Noss)
There’s a difference between influence and control. Whether we’re making suggestions to a coworker, asking a supervisor for support, setting expectations with kids, or...
Audiobooks, homework research, and the "read for 20 minutes" rule
If the schools are devoting time and money to improving reading instruction, how should the rest of the day look for kids as it pertains to literacy? Should parents be...
Unlocking success through sensory processing and team collaboration (with Maude Le Roux)
When I first learned about the field of occupational therapy, I had a very superficial understanding of what it entailed. In the school systems, it seemed like referra...
High school language therapy: Do we still have time to make an impact? (with Tiffany Shahoumian-Ruiz)
Language therapy often focuses on early intervention; but what happens if students continue to struggle with language in the high school years? Many SLPs are pressured...
The six stages of financial independence for therapists and educators (with Ben Hockema)
In this conversation, Ben Hockema and I discuss how to create a solid financial plan in your career so you can focus your time and energy on the impact you can make. W...
Building financial literacy from elementary school through adulthood (with Ben Hockema)
Executive functioning and financial literacy go hand-in-hand; which is why money management should be a part of any K-12 curriculum. Much of this has to do with self-e...
Becoming a school founder and empowering students through project-based learning (with Tanya Sheckley)
Many people working in K-12 education have ambitions to start their own company where they have the ability to redesign the way student learning happens.The motivation...
Developing a cultural competemility mindset for educators and clinicians (with Melanie Evans)
Many clinicians are trained to focus on checklists and evaluations so we can walk in to work confident; knowing exactly what our protocols are. And while systems and p...
Are we being too child-focused in our therapy planning?
People working in the schools are often expected to make everything a priority all the time, without consideration of how they might be able to manage the backlog of p...
No, kids do not learn to read and write naturally (with Melanie Brethour)
Skeptics of the Science of Reading claim that the current push for evidence-based reading instruction is just another pendulum swing. Yet if you look at the research, ...
Creating an intentional career and life with alter egos (with Meg Niman)
Many leadership initiatives in education need to come from the top…But change can happen when direct service providers emerge as leaders on their teams without waiting...
Cell phones, 1:1 device initiatives, and homework policies in K-12 education (with Dr. John Burkey)
Learners in K-12 settings have changed over the past 25 years, and what were considered best practices in the 1990s may no longer work for learners in the 2020s.Much o...
Increasing access to instructional programs in rural districts (with Chris Dodge)
If you’re providing therapy or tutoring services, contracting with schools, or offering professional development to K-12 professionals, you won’t want to miss this epi...
Why aren’t my students generalizing? (social skills groups, organizing tools)
Social skills groups have been widely criticized recently. They’re often labeled as ableist and not neurodiversity-affirming.I also take issue with the way social skil...
BONUS: Accessible career exploration in K-12 education (with Matthew Chaussee)
Most of us still don’t know what we want to be when we grow up, but at least we know more than we did when we wanted to be pro athletes or “movie stars” (the old peopl...
Time blindness, anxiety, and behavior management
When kids have a poor sense of time, the common response is to give them a planner or some kind of a timer.While these tools may be a part of your strategy, they don't...
How to read the room, speak with confidence, and sell your ideas (with Roberta Ndlela)
If you want to learn how to present information to school boards, administration, or other leadership or land more speaking engagements, you won’t want to miss this ep...
How to help teens get comfortable with discomfort and pursue meaningful work (with Joey Mascio)
Teen’s brains are wired to seek pleasure, avoid pain, and conserve energy. On top of that their prefrontal cortex isn’t fully developed yet, which means they don’t alw...
Is K-12 education preparing kids for the workforce? (with The Fabulous Learning Nerds)
The whole point of school is to prepare kids for adult life, but many people worry we aren’t giving kids what they need.Whether kids go right into the workforce after ...