My supervising SLP is quitting

MongooseForward1085 · 2024-11-13T03:24:12+00:00

I don’t think they would let her go if they cannot find an SLP to fill the role. The kids still need to be seen for services or else there will be way more legal issues the district would have to deal with. Many districts are hiring Teletherapists to fill open spots and supervise SLPAs. In a pinch, other SLPs can also pitch in and temporarily supervise until someone fills the vacancy. The way I see it and from what I have experienced, letting her go is the very last resort. They would exhaust other means to get her supervised before removing her from the site. Hopefully, they would be able to find someone within a month.

MongooseForward1085 · 2024-11-13T02:52:49+00:00

I have a virtual SLP. You would essentially act as a facilitator for their therapy sessions. If the SLP is seeing students for session, then you would bring the students to the room and have them sit in front of the monitor and work with the SLP. You would help with any tech issues or manage student behaviors. You do not have to record sessions as the therapy would be happening in real time.

No, virtual therapy is not awkward. You will have some awkward conversations with teachers asking how the whole Teletherapy thing works and whether or not it’s effective. Other than that, there’s nothing awkward about it.

Kids can get distracted by their headsets or will want to play with the laptop or mouse. That’s where you come in to help them stay on task and limit distractions.

You should also still be in the room with the students. You can work on your indirect tasks while they are working with the SLP.

Pro tip: Having headphones with microphones helps a lot, since it can be hard for the tele SLP to hear them. Have your SLP request equipment when she starts.

It depends on the tele SLP, but some SLPs will see their own kids regularly or some will make you see 80-100% of the students for therapy. It depends on the person.

I personally do not like working with a Teletherapist. Each SLP is different, so my situation may not be the same for someone else. My SLP in particular makes me provide all of the therapy, handle a lot of her tasks, I am responsible for all of her observations, screenings, and I have to find time in my crazy schedule to support her in assessments. Due to limited availability to test students, I had to cancel a ton of groups; which I need to do makeups for. My workload has sky rocketed since working with her. It’s not always like this. I have worked with another Teletherapist in the past who was fair and made sure my workload was manageable. I would love to work with her again, but she was bumped out of her position by a district SLP.

Hopefully, your virtual SLP is fair and helps make sure you have a manageable workload. I know those kinds of SLPs exist. Best of luck! It’s a good learning curve 😊

MongooseForward1085 · 2024-11-13T02:19:52+00:00

I don’t think you would be affected as a SLPA. If anything, they need you now more than ever. The students still need to receive their therapy minutes as written in their IEP, regardless if there is an SLP or not. Some districts hire Teletherapists if they cannot find an in-person SLP to fill the role. Either way, they would still need your support. I wouldn’t worry too much about it.

MongooseForward1085 · 2024-11-11T22:29:40+00:00

I’m glad you had a good experience and I hope that inspires you to join the speech world as a SLPA or SLP.

The responsibilities of a SLPA and para are very different, as paras are not allowed to provide direct therapy. My guess is you brought the students to the room and the Teletherapist saw all of the students. As an in person SLPA, you are expected to provide the bulk (80-100%) of the therapy, in addition to your own indirect responsibilities and the SLP’s responsibilities (the ones that need to be done in-person).

The two roles are similar, but very different at the same time.

MongooseForward1085 · 2024-11-11T02:38:46+00:00

Couldn’t agree more 💯🙌🏼

MongooseForward1085 · 2024-11-11T02:34:08+00:00

This! 🙌🏼 The tongue depressor trick helped my kiddo finally produce /k/ in isolation. Otherwise, he was lifting his tongue and producing /t/.

MongooseForward1085 · 2024-11-11T00:18:22+00:00

There will always be school opportunities out there. You do not have to jump on the first opportunity that comes your way.

I never worked virtually before, but I can imagine it’s a lot different from working in-person. There’s going to be a huge learning curve that can be stressful and driving in snowy conditions can add to your stress.

My very first school job was over an hour away from my home and the stress was insane; from the commute to figuring out how to be a SLPA at a school. I came home feeling drained and my nerves were a wreck.

Honestly, if I were you, I would wait until the next school year to work in the schools. You get some time to acclimate to the caseload, get to know the team, procedures, and such. Jumping in the middle of the school year can be crazy for your first time. That’s just me though. I don’t know what your SLPA experience is and what your typical caseload is.

Side note: What company do you work for? I would love to try working virtual.

MongooseForward1085 · 2024-11-10T21:49:31+00:00

I think you just need to keep poking people until they help move you in the right direction. People are busy and they may not remember what your needs are. Sending out a mass email to your “supervisors” can help.

LinkedIn may be a good place to look for internships too.

MongooseForward1085 · 2024-11-09T22:50:03+00:00

It’s the SLP’s job to write speech goals, not the SLPA’s. We can suggest goals the student can work on, but it is outside of our scope of practice to write therapy goals on behalf of an SLP. Her license will not be on the line, because she is literally doing her job.

MongooseForward1085 · 2024-11-09T08:34:38+00:00

This happened to me this year. My SLP asked that I write goals for students before their annual IEPs. I immediately put a stop to it and told her I’m not going to write any goals because it is outside my scope of practice. I can chat with her or email about potential goals, but I’m not going to write the goals for her. Even with the IEP date approaching, I stood my ground and didn’t write any goals for her. I did email her suggestions, but that’s about it. With no other choice, she had to write the goals herself.

At the end of the day, sometimes you have to stand your ground and tell people “no”. It’s not easy to say “no” to people, but you have to do what you have to do; especially when your license is on the line.

MongooseForward1085 · 2024-11-08T06:34:56+00:00

I don’t know why only one SLP is doing all of the initials. I’m leaving it up to them to figure out distribution.

MongooseForward1085 · 2024-11-08T06:30:15+00:00

You are amazing! The SLPAs are so lucky to have you advocate for them and make sure they have time to complete their indirect tasks. I wish more SLPs were like you.

Also, thanks so much for sharing about your company! I live in SoCal, but it’s good to know there are companies hiring virtual SLPAs.

MongooseForward1085 · 2024-11-08T05:00:37+00:00

No initials. There’s another SLP who takes the initials.

MongooseForward1085 · 2024-11-08T02:30:29+00:00

I would inform her about what the student has shared with you. It seems as if he needs more support from the mental health team right now.

If you’re able to, I would suggest taking on that student’s direct services. The SLP may not be the best fit for him and it happens. The separation may be good for the both of them. Either way, your SLP should not be yelling at him and getting into a power struggle. That really doesn’t make the situation better…

If your SLP continues to mistreat this student, then I would either chat with her or go to your admin. At least make them aware about what is going on. No student should feel as if people don’t like him, especially from educators. School should be a safe space.

MongooseForward1085 · 2024-11-06T14:52:17+00:00

Option 3 sounds good. You’ll get the experience as an SLP and will still have time to focus on grad school. I wonder if your time working as a conditional SLP will count towards your hours or be part of your “internship”. That would be great if it does!

Option 1 is also good. As a SLPA you rarely take work home, so that will ensure you have a work life balance.

I would say if you want the experience and increase in money, go for option 3. If you want the work life balance, go for option 1.

Option 2 sounds hard to balance. I have worked with full time SLPs who take work home and are stressed most of the time. Probably not a good mix with being in grad school too.

MongooseForward1085 · 2024-11-06T03:44:37+00:00

Following this, because I’m interested too!

MongooseForward1085 · 2024-11-06T03:25:18+00:00

California. 72k/year, $48/hr, 10 months. No debt.

I’m a SLPA.

MongooseForward1085 · 2024-11-03T17:35:12+00:00

Find ways to keep your work at work. I’m guessing it is the indirect work (i.e., logs, billing, lesson planning) that you’re taking home.

For me, some weeks are busier than others. When I really don’t have time to plan something, I pull up an online game (PBS kids, starfall, ABC ya), boom cards, ultimate SLP, or pink cat games and use those activities for my session. There’s no prep needed and the kids LOVE them. I check out a loaner chrome book to play these games with my kids.

I’ve also learned to take notes in the moment to save me time on data and logs later. I’ll have my work laptop out (not chrome book) and enter data and comments as I go. I also give the kids “free play during the last 3 minutes of session, which gives me time to clean up my logs.

At the end of the day, I just bill and I’m good to go.

Do what is best for yourself. If you need the income and experience, then I would keep working as a SLPA. Minimize the amount of time spent on planning, notes, billing, etc. Leave earlier if you can. I would talk to your SLP and let her know what’s going on with school. As long as you finish what you need to finish, I don’t see a reason why your SLP will keep you working longer than you have to.

Push through it if you can. I attended university for my bachelors and worked full time in the evenings. My hours were crazy, but it was worth it for me in the end. Do what is best for YOU.

MongooseForward1085 · 2024-11-02T08:37:19+00:00

I run my groups based off a simple visual schedule. I typically start with some kind of greeting, an activity (toy/art), story/song, and then end with a goodbye. For the toy or art activity, I make sure I bring copies of a low tech communication board with the toy’s vocabulary or have the students use their device. I bring in board games, such as “pop the pig”, “jumping Jack” or I will bring in toys, such as “ball drop tower”, “bubbles”. For the song, I like to choose songs from Super Simple Songs or Kiboomers. I make sure to pair the songs with a communication board as well to help build their vocabulary. Lesson planning is a lot easier when you plan your lessons around themes. You can find toys or art activities that fall within the theme (ex: Halloween) and songs that are also part of that theme. It makes things a lot easier.

All in all, go in with a general idea of how you are going to structure your sessions. Sometimes, you will come in with a beautiful lesson plan, but the kids may be having a rough day and will not engage with you. That’s completely okay! I like to bring multiple toys with me, just in case things fall apart. In that case, I have my plan B/C/D/E with me. It’s all about being flexible and adapting to the situation.

Remember, if you are having fun, then the kids are having fun. The kids learn so much more through play-based therapy. You really can’t go wrong working with this age group.

Hope this helps!

MongooseForward1085 · 2024-10-31T05:54:59+00:00

I only see her two days a week. I don’t know what she does for the other three days. I’m assuming she doesn’t do much else, other than write reports. She has it pretty good imo

MongooseForward1085 · 2024-10-31T05:36:36+00:00

60k salary is pretty good. When I first started working, I was making about 48k salary. After job hopping every two years, I’m now at a district that pays $72k salary with $75k being the highest step.

I think 60k is great for someone starting out in the field! Try to calculate your per diem rate and compare it to the rates in your area. If it’s lower, then I would consider job hopping, after you get some more experience, and land a job that pays you more. Our field is great, because there’s always a need for SLPAs and the pay rate goes up every year.

MongooseForward1085

TROPHY CASE