The movie character that best represents your SLP confidence is…
ELLE WOODS From “Legally Blonde”
You’re the positive, energetic force that everyone loves — thanks to your fake-it-till-you-make-it mentality.
“What, like it’s hard?” ← that’s your surprising approach to life, much like when Elle proved Warner wrong by getting into law school! With a touch less sass, you believe that any problem is figureoutable if you bring a positive attitude and glass-half-full approach to the table… And your peers and students don’t doubt you for a second.
When you step into the courtroom therapy room, you instantly lift spirits — and it’s not just because you might be wearing hot pink.
Your students are progressing everyday, everyone thinks you know what you’re doing (even if you figure it out on the fly occasionally).
Overall, you feel like you’re in a good place with your work, but don’t have the time or confidence to dig deeper.
You’re in this for the long haul: to keep growing as an SLP changing lives, and supporting your students every single day.
Let’s take a moment to dig into what makes you so…
Personable
Fearless
Creative
Positive
What part of your Elle personality traits are major SLP strengths?
Your embrace-any-challenge attitude has totally filtered down into how you approach your work as an SLP! Combined with an unstoppable passion for what you do (you may have called it “the best job in the world” at some point), not much stands in your way.
Your quirky and colorful approach to activities keeps students inspired. Out-of-the-box thinking? You’ll do one better and break the box altogether with your fresh lesson plans.
Much like the aspiring lawyer in Elle, you continue to show others that a sunny exterior doesn’t mean you should be underestimated. With students making real progress and an engaged therapy room keeping your administrators happy, you’re a creative and positive force to be reckoned with.
So, what’s standing in the way of *feeling* 100% confident as an SLP?
Well, we both know that even Elle didn’t have all the time to memorize every single case in her law books…
Even though everyone thinks you know exactly what you’re doing, you secretly know that *if* you could carve out extra time in your day, you could be going a little deeper in your work.
And I totally get it — your caseload is probably changing constantly and there’s no way you can know every single thing about every single student — even though you’d love to!
But being the positive SLP that you are, you know you’re capable of addressing the little gaps in knowledge that are starting to crop up in the therapy room: whether it’s deeply understanding how to treat every disorder, trying out more innovative activities, or building a hierarchy of goals for each student.
And no — you won’t have to do a ton of extra work or give up your evening glass of vino (or chocolate, your choice) to make it happen! So grab Bruiser (or your own doggo) and hop in — I’ll show you what to do next.
Here are more fun, foolproof ideas to plan engaging lessons with total confidence!
1. QUICK WIN: CHANGE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH DATA COLLECTION
All SLPs seem to debate this constantly — how much time do you spend teaching *and* collecting data? There’s a way to ensure you’re collecting useful data without compromising the quality of teaching. Better yet, data can help you adjust and adapt your methods to serve your students. If you want to find out how to find the perfect balance of data collection and teaching...
2. JOIN SLP ELEVATE TO MASTER PLANNING WITH EASE & CONFIDENCE
Your winning confidence has gotten you so close to feeling like a star SLP. Yet there’s no time to dig deeper into things like treating specific disorders or planning out a hierarchy of goals. You could use some consistent monthly support to boost your professional growth.
If you want to *seriously* crush all doubts in the courtroom classroom, SLP Elevate delivers...
- A monthly bundle of awesome resources for older students
- Coaching on HOW to use resources and WHY they’re relevant for different goals
- Everything you need to quickly plan the majority of your monthly lessons (including a “how-to-plan” video!) as you develop your understanding of deeper SLP concepts.
- An active community of SLPs for encouragement and questions, monthly trainings and support from me, and more bonuses!
Take some planning time back to spend on professional growth (and with your family!) as you watch your students laugh and learn!
MEET HALLIE
Lover of all things purple, Starbucks coffee addict, author of Ella Bella Just Can’t Tell Ya, Bravo binge-watcher and full-time in the trenches with you as an M.S. CCC-SLP in New York.
Since 2007, I’ve worked with children from preschool to high school, in both schools and home-based agencies. I’ve been at my current New York public school district for almost a decade, handling a caseload of 65+ fifth and sixth graders every year.
What I’ve found is that both new and veteran SLPs are struggling.
Our caseloads are staggering, our resources are thin, and we can’t find enough ways to reach our students. On top of that, we have to juggle everything else: bus duty, paperwork, progress meetings, PD, activities prep, and our own personal lives.
Ever see a GIF of a hamster that gets flattened on their wheel from running so fast and out of control?
That’s us!
Makes me want to just curl up with my Cabernet, Hershey’s chocolate and binge watch Real Housewives all night. Why work so hard for so little results?
Like me, I know that YOU are incredibly passionate about what we do. Helping “our kids” reach their goals is beyond fulfilling! I knew that there had to be a better way than that hamster wheel…
But how can we plan for what each student needs in the moment without spending hours on individualized prep?
Back in 2012, I realized that online resources were practically non-existent, especially for those of us with older students. You might be able to find a few cute activities here and there on Pinterest, but nowhere could I find low-prep, engaging activities – and more importantly, info on how to use them!
So I started putting together fun, engaging lessons that I simply modified through my questioning as needed. Many times, I was able to use one lesson, with one prep, for an entire day.
Boom. Game changer.
Before I knew it, I was creating resources that give SLPs exactly what they need: low prep, effective, engaging activities that work with all students, even mixed groups.
And that’s how I became an accidental entrepreneur!
As Speech Time Fun grew, I saw the impact I could make on SLPs like you.
I’ve discovered how to make it simple yet effective by creating low-prep activities that truly work with older speech students, and now I’m devoted to helping other SLPs succeed through low prep, engaging therapy options that keep your students motivated and that keep you sane.
Here’s to helping you reclaim your time, increase your confidence and banish overwhelm!
Hallie
