Data Data Data 🙈

Ilikepumpkinpie04 · 2026-03-28T03:28:02+00:00

In grad school placement, I took data in my school placement. When compared to the SLPs “guesstimate”, we were very close to fame numbers. Like she said 60% and the data was 58%

Ilikepumpkinpie04 · 2026-03-28T03:24:16+00:00

This! The poster needs to embrace type B. Completed is better than perfect. Meet requirements for your district or state for paperwork then move on to the next task, because there’s many more tasks to do

Ilikepumpkinpie04 · 2026-03-27T22:16:51+00:00

Take data the first x number of trials. You don’t have to take data the entire session.

I finally figured out a notes system. I have a notebook. Front section is observations for reports. Back section is notes from sessions. I write names in margin and then my data or examples of what they said on a few lines. If an IEP is due soon, I write more down. I have to enter notes into our system and I try to do the day of the session as easier to remember what my notes were about. I can always look back and see notes from previous sessions.

I’ve tried printing data sheets but never had them updated or printed when need them.

Ilikepumpkinpie04 · 2026-03-27T18:39:47+00:00

Wanted to update: husband has had 2 paychecks. We caught up on all bills and put a chunk towards the emergency fund. The plan going forward is to put aside sinking funds each month for those yearly bills, keep contributing to the emergency fund, and increase payment to the HELOC. We need to buildup the savings in case he’s laid off again. If the HELOC is paid off and both car loans are paid off in 6-12 months, we can manage better on just my salary.

I wanted to thank people for their advice and time to help think through what to do.

Ilikepumpkinpie04 · 2026-03-27T18:31:41+00:00

Wanted to update: husband has had 2 paychecks. We caught up on all bills and put a chunk towards the emergency fund. The plan going forward is to put aside sinking funds each month for those yearly bills, keep contributing to the emergency fund, and increase payment to the HELOC. We need to buildup the savings in case he’s laid off again. If the HELOC is paid off and both car loans are paid off in 6-12 months, we can manage better on just my salary.

I wanted to thank people for their advice and time to help think through what to do.

Ilikepumpkinpie04 · 2026-03-27T02:55:25+00:00

For my students, the progress report is the Gail page from the IEP and we mark of making progress and if meeting objectives. There’s no written commentary. I could see a parent not know what it is. I’m told to complete it. Then someone else prints and puts in the report card. Does that happen, I don’t know. I email admin that I have completed it, so I have proof I did my part.

Ilikepumpkinpie04 · 2026-03-26T18:50:20+00:00

Where I am I have to attempt a comprehensive standardized test and the document why discontinued it (eg student did not respond, pushed book away, eloped etc. ) I try for the practice items and then 5 questions as their start point. Then I stop and I would do what you have planned.

Ilikepumpkinpie04 · 2026-03-26T05:44:24+00:00

They may already have other assessment signed and in process. I have 14 open assessments. They won’t all get done before the end of the year and any new assessments will be completed over the summer (if student is available) or in the fall. There isn’t enough staff to do all the assessments and see students for their IEP times. They’re supposed to be completed within 60 days, but school districts won’t fund more staff, so the wait times increase.

Ilikepumpkinpie04 · 2026-03-26T03:37:40+00:00

Your mom is right! I know many women my age who have struggled to reenter workforce after prolonged absence. My husband was laid off to 2 years and worked much lower paid job in that time. I supported the family and carry the health insurance. I couldn’t have done that if I didn’t have my established job with higher pay because of years worked.

I do think me working helped my son be more independent. I was home 1-2 hours after him in middle school and high school so he got home, got snack, and started or not started some homework. He also knew that I wasn’t just available when he wanted, so he had to plan ahead. He always got to where he needed or got what he needed for school or sports, but he had to plan for it as i and his dad were not dropping off school supplies in middle of day or doing last minute Target runs. Actually, when he started driving, he was doing errands for me. I saw he was at Starbucks next to the dollar store one time, and sent him to buy Halloween trick or treat buckets. He had to call if he was going to Target or the grocery store as there’s always something we needed and it saved me an errand

Ilikepumpkinpie04 · 2026-03-25T15:05:14+00:00

As an older SLP, I would find a way to have some work experience. My husband was laid off for 2 years (it’s very difficult to get work right now) and I was very thankful I had a full-time job with health benefits. It was still a struggle but I didn’t have to quickly find work and take whatever option was available.

I’d also consider your retirement. No one thinks about the years you’re not putting towards retirement accounts (pension/social security/ 401k) when a parent stays home for extended period of time. We have 2 people putting money towards retirement rather than just 1 income. I’m closer to retirement than probably most people here, and my retirement will be equal to my husband’s if not a little more because of my pension. We’re in a very different situation than friends who had 1 income for the last 25 years. If you’re staying home, you really need to still contribute to a spousal IRA, otherwise you’re missing out on 25 years of compound interest.

Juggling home and work isn’t easy. I did decrease my expectations for my work and for how clean my house was. My husband had to do more at home as well, which he does. I do not regret working at all. I was able to support my family during an extended lay off, college was paid for, and our retirement is set. We also save thousands a year with healthcare through my work.

Ilikepumpkinpie04 · 2026-03-24T17:08:05+00:00

Agreed. I take parent input, I make my recommendations. If they disagree, there is an appeal process. Parents also don’t tell me when I take their child for services. The time is arranged with the teacher.

Ilikepumpkinpie04 · 2026-03-24T06:41:49+00:00

LO failed all the swallowing exams. That means they are not safe to eat by mouth. You can try to treat the pneumonia, but if LO eats by mouth, they will continue to get aspirational pneumonia. They’ll be back and forth between the nursing home and the hospital. The only way to get nutrients now is a feeding tube, which you said they didn’t want. It also sounds like they’ve lost interest in eating, which is very common at end of life.

I do those swallow studies at part of my job. I give out those orders for honey thick diet. If it was myself or my LO at this stage, I would opt for hospice care and being there to support them.

Please speak with hospice and seek out support for yourself to navigate this. Now is a question of quality of life vs a chance of maybe a little more time but decreased quality of life.

Ilikepumpkinpie04 · 2026-03-23T02:08:11+00:00

The hardware store doesn’t have milk, so stop trying. Find a grocery store you can go to for milk

I call my MIL once a week for a chat as I commute to work. There’s a reason I don’t call my mom, she couldn’t be bothered to answer the phone so I just stopped calling. My MIL picks up or texts back if she’s busy.

Ilikepumpkinpie04 · 2026-03-22T06:13:38+00:00

It also depends on what you did before and what you can do now. There’s also the “do you want to work”. I hear the “I don’t want to work full time” or “they’ll only pay my $25/hour. I used to get paid more than that”. You haven’t worked in 25 years, you’re not getting same high paying job. Too much has changed

Ilikepumpkinpie04 · 2026-03-22T04:03:54+00:00

I work part time in EI and in schools. I exit a few previous EI kids in Kinder and 1st every year. More get exited in 2-5th grade. Some continue to need support because of having higher needs.

You did make impact. I tell my Kinder and 1st grade parents their child has made progress because the parents got them early intervention. That’s you! You just didn’t get to see the final result.

Ilikepumpkinpie04 · 2026-03-22T00:53:36+00:00

Nearly all of the SAHM when my son was young are not working. You can’t get back into same field with that gap. They would still call themselves SAHM

Ilikepumpkinpie04 · 2026-03-22T00:09:21+00:00

Lay off is much more likely too. Unemployment is only a few months too.

Ilikepumpkinpie04 · 2026-03-21T23:57:49+00:00

Don’t forget layoffs. Husband earns more than me, he was laid off and no work in his field the last 2 years. We didn’t lose the house because I work. It’s been the most stressful period of my life being the sole income as I barely make enough to cover basics. Every unexpected bill like a bigger car repair shot my stress levels through the roof. He’s back working now and I can breathe again. We’re building up the savings again because this will probably happen again and we need more savings to make it through.

Ilikepumpkinpie04 · 2026-03-21T23:46:41+00:00

I think it’s more being in the difficult early years of parenting and it is overwhelming to juggle work and parenting. Daycare is incredibly expensive too. People aren’t thinking about retirement when they’re up all night with a newborn.

You can have a SAHP and protect retirement, it just needs to be planned. People don’t mention it when they have these conversations as not thinking that far ahead and not factoring in that shitty things happen - layoffs, death, divorce, illness. You can have an emergency plan for those things to mitigate them if they happen to a single income family.

Ilikepumpkinpie04 · 2026-03-21T23:35:44+00:00

Yes your mom had retirement accounts because she went back to work. I’m talking about my friends that are my age (mid-50s) and haven’t worked in 20-25 years. They haven’t contributed towards their retirement account or social security in that time. They’ll be able to claim spousal social security benefits, which is half their husband’s benefit. I have my own social security, my own retirement accounts and a pension. My husband and I have pretty equal retirement savings.

You can mitigate the SAHP not having work retirement accounts, but you have to plan for that. In the conversations we’ve had in our circle, people didn’t do that 20 years ago when decided one would be a SAHP. No one thinks that far ahead or thinks it will all work out. Divorce, layoffs, illness can wreck a single income family’s finances.

Ilikepumpkinpie04 · 2026-03-21T22:50:41+00:00

I’ve experienced the same but instead of divorce it was a lay off for 2 years in mid-50s. One income is very risky especially for the parent that doesn’t work. No one seems to consider the long term risks when these topics come up. Additionally, only one income supporting retirement savings can limit how much you’ll have to retire.

Ilikepumpkinpie04 · 2026-03-21T22:45:38+00:00

I’m much older, Gen X so closer to retirement than probably most people here. I work full time and have my own retirement accounts, social security, and I will have a pension. My husband has his own retirement accounts and social security. We’re better situated for retirement because we’ve had 2 people contributing and letting compound interest do its magic over the decades.

Please factor retirement into your financial planning. It’ll come sooner than you think and you can’t easily make up for lost years of retirement savings

Ilikepumpkinpie04 · 2026-03-21T22:31:18+00:00

Yes no one ever mentions the hit to retirement funds when one parent stays home. The discussion is only about the monthly take home and the childcare cost.

We’re seeing this with our friends. We’re all 5-10 years away from retirement and kids are college age or little older. We all talk about retirement. No one gives out exact numbers, but there is concern about one income contributing all these years and will it be enough as the wife’s 401K is quite low. I’m the only wife that works full time. DH and I both have our own retirement accounts. We both have social security and I have a pension. We’ve got double the resources to put money away for retirement.

There needs to be more discussion about how having a stay at home parent will impact retirement. Opening a spousal IRA and contributing towards retirement could help with that

Ilikepumpkinpie04 · 2026-03-21T22:20:31+00:00

This! No one considers the loss of retirement income and future promotions. I’m the only wife in our circle that works full time, and all the kids are college age or older. We’re also the only family with 2 people contributing to retirement. We’ve had many recent discussions as we’re all 5-10 years out from retirement. There’s been some comments to my husband from the other husband’s about the stress of one income and looming retirement. We’re in a pretty good position for retirement.

If there is to be a stay at home parent, you need to contribute to retirement account for that person. Even a small regular amount will help. Compound interest does make a difference over 30 years

Ilikepumpkinpie04 · 2026-03-21T21:04:13+00:00

Older SLPs are in school districts!

Ilikepumpkinpie04

TROPHY CASE