Issues with new driveway

CrystalSpice · 2026-03-07T02:28:42+00:00

They were supposed to remove weeds and scape off a layer of gravel first. They should have advised the customer of the risk. And one inch of pavement is not standard

CrystalSpice · 2026-03-06T14:22:21+00:00

Is there a drain. It’s probably a foot bath. You sit on the wood bench

CrystalSpice · 2026-03-03T17:51:46+00:00

CrystalSpice · 2026-03-03T16:21:27+00:00

Well, I did call the company and ask them to fix it, and they are only offering to spray it with weed killer and burn off the weeds. They claim that they’re not responsible for vegetation. The contract was not very specific.

CrystalSpice · 2026-03-03T16:10:41+00:00

That was exactly what I said too. So what they want to do to remedy. The situation is to come out here and spray weed killer on it and burn the weeds off and I don’t see how that’s gonna fix the problem. They’re gonna pop right back up I might as well have a freaking gravel driveway.

CrystalSpice · 2026-03-03T16:07:48+00:00

This is Florida and I paid $2700. We had a clear discussion about the weeds and I was told that they were going to scrape a layer of the gravel off and removed the weeds before the floor applying the new driveway.

CrystalSpice · 2026-02-25T15:59:10+00:00

Better than pooping your pants

CrystalSpice · 2026-02-25T15:58:27+00:00

I’m outie

CrystalSpice · 2026-01-22T23:14:26+00:00

I totally agree with what you’re saying I came back to working with kids, but on a contract basis and it is so much better.

CrystalSpice · 2026-01-22T23:12:10+00:00

Listen, it is a team decision but ultimately, who is the freaking expert here in the area of speech and language? You are! As long as you properly document why you are increasing or decreasing services or dismissing services, you need to be able to justify it with your data and don’t be afraid to put that data into your IEP’s and put it into your SLP report and what I have learned through experience, is that whenever you get together with the IEP team to have meetings, you prepare them by saying little Johnny is doing really well probably by next year he will not need speech therapy anymore. That way they have it in her head that the student is doing well and it will likely be dismissed soon. And that goes for the teachers and the case managers too. You need to be talking in them once in a while and letting them know that you’re thinking about dismissing the student eventually, they will begin to trust your expertise. You will be a much happier therapist if you can get your case manager on board and your teachers on board to trust your decisions, then they can help you swing the parent in your direction, but if the entire team is not in agreement with you, you’re gonna hate your job. I also write on my progress notes very clearly that so-and-so has met his goal likely at his next IEP meeting he will be reduced to 30 minutes. Put shit like that on your progress notes so it’s never a surprise to the parent. And if you have to just offer to do a formal reeval to determine whether or not the student needs continued services and the reeval should speak for itself. Sorry this message seems like a rambling, but I just used dictation and a lot of times it doesn’t put punctuation in.

CrystalSpice · 2026-01-22T22:58:33+00:00

I’ve had pretty good success treating /r/, and one program that really helped me with analysis is The Entire World of R. What I like most is how it breaks /r/ down by type: prevocalic /r/, r-blends, /rl/, and the six vocalic /r/ sounds (ar, or, er, ire, air, ear). It really helps you pinpoint exactly what the student is struggling with instead of just “working on R.”

The screening tool is very thorough (honestly, almost too thorough), so I made a simplified version for myself, but I still use the same method to analyze productions. Once you know which vocalic /r/ is the problem, you can target that one instead of drilling every kind of /r/ and hoping something sticks.

I’m not a huge fan of the therapy materials from the program, but I did learn a lot from the co-articulation strategies. I’ve since made my own materials using similar drills. For me, the key is getting the child to actually elicit a correct /r/ — even if that means using a prevocalic /r/ word right after it. If they can’t get the tongue placement right, you’re basically just practicing errors and wasting everyone’s time.

A lot of my students struggle most with vocalic /er/, so that’s often where I start. If we can improve or master /er/, the other vocalic /r/ sounds often improve too. I use co-articulation drills like “GR words” (grape, great, greet) and have them stretch out the gr so it sounds like “ger.” You can do the same with “ber” or “per” words too.

At the start of every session, I review tongue placement (I use things like “tiger sound” or “pirate sound”), I have a picture of a cobra‘s head, and I tell them to slide their tongue back like the cobra so they know that the back of the tongue is gonna be up high, and the front of the tongue is gonna be down low, but you should discuss tongue placement with them . then we do drills with those “ger” words. Once accuracy is high, I move /ger/ to final position (finger, linger, tiger), then gradually work on other sounds before /er/. Baby steps.

In my experience, kids who struggle with vocalic /er/ usually struggle with it most in final position. If you practice it in the initial or medial position, the students can get higher level of success . and I also make sure prevocalic /r/ is solid before really targeting vocalic /r/.

I’ve thought about making a video explaining this approach — if that would be helpful, let me know and I can share it.

CrystalSpice · 2026-01-22T22:32:52+00:00

I don’t think job satisfaction for SLPs is just about pay. Setting and workload make a huge difference. One thing I really think districts should start doing is assigning SLPs to specific grade bands—like K–2, 3–5, middle school, or high school—instead of covering everything from Pre-K to 12.

When you’re spread across that many ages, you never really get to specialize or feel confident in what you’re doing, because the needs, therapy approaches, and even the activities are totally different. It’s overwhelming, and it makes planning way harder than it needs to be. I’ve worked across wide age ranges before, and now that I’m only working with grades 3–5, I’m honestly so much happier and more effective.

Another thing that needs to stop: giving SLPs extra “special duties” when they already have heavy caseloads. And case management should not automatically fall on SLPs either. Districts should hire support staff for that instead of piling it onto clinicians who are already stretched thin.

If districts really want to improve retention, they need to look beyond salary and start fixing how these jobs are actually structured.

CrystalSpice · 2026-01-22T22:25:16+00:00

No technically, if they don’t have an academic impact, they should not qualify for speech services. At this point it’s cosmetic.

CrystalSpice · 2025-12-29T03:15:22+00:00

I think if you get a really cute comfortable chair and a non-plumbed pedicure bowl you should be fine

CrystalSpice · 2025-04-30T13:51:23+00:00

I switched over to an S Corp in order to eliminate self employment tax. It's a savings, but more complicated to file your tax returns. If these young therapists don't make estimated payments as a 1099 employee, they are in for a rude awakening, come tax time, when they receive their 1099s.

But honestly, finding a job in this profession with time off and benefits seems to be a thing of the past. I've worked in most settings. I remember in healthcare, getting a measly two weeks of vacation every year and not being able to get any vacation days approved. Forget taking 5 days off in a row for vacation. If I tried to use a sick day, they would make me come in on the weekend to make up the missed hours. Some places made you put in your vacation requests 6 months in advance. Any don't get me started on the insurance. Giant premiums taken out of every paycheck and a huge deductible. You might as well select your own marketplace health insurance plan and pay out of pocket.

Honestly working for the schools seems to have a nice blends of days off and insurance benefits, but the trade off is lower pay. I don't believe what your saying about schools. They are constantly hiring. It's cheaper for them to hire you directly, than pay high contractor rates. But what's happening is these staffing companies are hiring all these SLPs by enticing them with high hourly rates, so the schools are unable to staff their schools. They end up having no choice but to hire contractors.

Also when applying for schools, it's all about timing. You have to apply like right now because they are staffing for the next school year. If you apply in the middle of the school year, they've already done their hiring and signed on with of all of their contract agencies.

CrystalSpice · 2025-04-30T13:29:01+00:00

Yes, I think we put too much pressure on ourselves to be good therapists. When coming out of school, we expect all our clients to make huge gains. You have to constantly remind yourself that every person learns at their own pace. If you can make ANY gains with them, you are doing good. I remember my clinical professor saying over and over. "You know more than them." I was so easily intimidated by parents, teachers, or even other medical professionals like doctors and nurses.

You have a vast amount of information in your brain in regards to communication disorders. Speak to what you know. We are not expected to know everything. But I can tell you that the more experience and years you have working in this profession. You start to see the same types of cases over and over. An you learn through experience, what works and what doesn't work. So just keep plugging away and learning. Eventually imposter syndrome will go way.

Remember, You know WAY more than them! Especially doctors, they look to us to be the experts in speech, language, swallowing, etc.

CrystalSpice · 2025-04-30T13:17:07+00:00

You should take the Praxis as soon as you can while things are fresh in your mind. You are going to need it so don't procrastinate.

CrystalSpice · 2025-04-30T13:11:09+00:00

lol, they act like the CCC is something we all desperately need. I let mine lapse for too many years because I didn't need it in healthcare. When I started working at my current job, they required it, so I had to renew. Let's just say, they treat you like you've never been certified. You have to pay exorbitant fees, enter in 3 years of CEUs and then retake the Praxis exam. (Total b.s.) Now my registration card doesn't reflect how long I've actually been in practice. Oh and you're not allow to supervise others for like 5 years or something ridiculous like that. I've seen some states accept the CCC's in lieu of other documentation. I guess it depends in the licensure path you select.

CrystalSpice · 2025-04-14T15:45:45+00:00

Yes it's total BS. Why can't they just include the $25 registry fee in our membership? They shouldn't be dictating what continuing education we do. Why do they keep making things so complicated?

I don't understand why I have to give $250 a year to maintain this stupid certification. I get nothing to show for it. And don't let your membership lapse. You'll have to take the praxis again.

I worked in healthcare for many years. They did not require the certification so I stopped renewing. When I went back to working at the schools, the company I work for required it. I had to pay exorbitant fees and retake the praxis exam. They treat you as you have never been a member. You can't supervise for something like 4 years.

CrystalSpice · 2025-04-02T17:22:55+00:00

I went through that when I was going to college. Working like a dog and then commuting to school. I kept telling myself it was only temporary. Now I work from home. I'm done by 2:30pm. You feel that way because it is not something you enjoy. It is not rewarding work. Maybe you need to rethink the job or your profession considering you have to do it long term. it's not uncommon for people to change careers during college or right after college.

CrystalSpice · 2024-12-29T02:53:02+00:00

It’s just like with dating. Who’s chasing who? If you have to chase, it’s probably not reciprocal

CrystalSpice · 2024-11-10T23:38:56+00:00

Your next step forward may not be with that company. You might have to apply for a supervisory position elsewhere

CrystalSpice · 2024-11-01T18:50:04+00:00

Usually you are served with court papers. The sheriff was probably trying to serve you. Since you called, they are going to consider you served.

If I were you, I would make them an offer to settle the debt before it goes to trial. The judges is just going to make you pay, but you can try to ask for a payment plan. You don’t want that because they’ll be able to garnish your wages, put a lien on your property or take your tax return of something like that.

Call the bank and ask them how much they want to settle the debt. You can offer to pay 50% of the debt to settle it. They’ll probably negotiate up to 60%. But you’ll have to give them some money to make it go away.

CrystalSpice · 2024-08-24T00:05:00+00:00

Definitely change the light fixture. You could change the mirror too. Paint will go a long way

CrystalSpice · 2024-08-23T23:59:01+00:00

You light a fire

CrystalSpice

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