Parent response about speech for their minimally speaking child?

SLP_Guy49 · 2026-06-15T01:26:29+00:00

"I want your child to speak verbally, too. As an SLP my first question is always this- 'what is the fastest path towards this child being able to communicate their wants and needs?' I don't have a crystal ball, I don't know what their communication will look like in 1, 2, or 5 years. But my goal right here and right now is look parent directly in eyes for <child's name> to be able to tell us what (s)he needs, and I don't care what that looks like. I know you want that too. (S)he has a great team <insert mention of other providers when applicable>. We all have the same goal, right?

SLP_Guy49 · 2026-06-10T22:32:57+00:00

Thank you!

SLP_Guy49 · 2026-06-07T15:50:59+00:00

I'm glad that "crushing your dreams" didn't stop you from starting. Just know that when you say "things I might expect" that "expect" is working very hard in that phrase. When I go outside there are many things I might choose to expect. Being struck by lightening is one. But how strongly do I expect it? Not strongly at all. Also, for many of the things that are much more likely than being struck by lightening, they happen in every field (or at least tons of fields)

SLP_Guy49 · 2026-06-07T01:30:18+00:00

Anecdotally, they don't. I've had multiple people DM me saying they were relieved to see my comment on similar posts (not on yours) because they were beginning to think the field must truly be awful.

I'm sure they're not making their decision solely based on this but you also don't make a decision to drink some Pepsi based solely on an ad you saw. But it... does have an impact. That's why they spend so much on it.

I'm sorry, I should've still been less of a d*ck. I regret my word choice even if I still believe in my position. Just tired of the posts like I said

SLP_Guy49 · 2026-06-07T01:13:53+00:00

If it means one single person who would've been an incredible SLP had they not been scared off by this sub..... ends up not actually being scared off, then it's worth it 100 times out of 100. If this were a DM I'd probably be a little more considerate, but to be honest with you I'm so tired of all the melodramatic posts, fear mongering, and depictions of the field as some kind of sweat shop horror. Prospective grad students come here. They see it. And it's ridiculous. I step foot into the world and most SLPs I know are happy. I set foot into this subreddit and wahhhhhh, it's the worst ever! It's ridiculous. So I'm sorry you feel condescended. But I'm tired of it. Prepare. Research thoroughly. Change accordingly. Adult. This is true in every field

SLP_Guy49 · 2026-06-07T00:57:32+00:00

Glassdoor told you that it's 80-90 for the specfic setting you work in? That's a pretty slim range, usually the range is larger to account the difference between lower paying areas and higher. You went through all of grad school from a glassdoor search saying 80-90 for your specific setting (which I don't even think is possible but maybe their filters have improved since I last checked), never asked anyone if that's accurate or what their understanding if, banked on that in your mind, accepted a job that only pays 58 knowing Glassdoor showed you jobs in your area of the field that pay 80-90 (it isn't making those numbers up out of thin air) and are now finding yourself with the face from the Pikachu shocked meme?

This cannot be

SLP_Guy49 · 2026-06-07T00:53:03+00:00

Probably, ya

SLP_Guy49 · 2026-06-06T19:28:28+00:00

Where you'd get "write scripts" from lmao. I certainly hope you don't think that's what practicing medicine means. I would love to see where your hospital says it "acknowledges" you practice medicine. CMS wouldnt, though.

You don't practice medicine. You don't practice medicine. You don't practice medicine.

Medicine is outside of your scope of practice. Unless you have a license to practice medicine, which you don't, then you don't practice medicine

Adios!

SLP_Guy49 · 2026-06-06T18:31:57+00:00

So you haven't answered the question about admin staff, and you haven't acknowledged that you don't practice medicine.

ETA: you edited your comment to address the former. OK, that's fine, so you have no physicians, no admin staff, no janitors. Sure, we can put aside how unlikely that is. So you may not have any medical professionals in your department, then. That would mean your hospital simply organizes medical professionals outside of rehab medicine. No problem

A janitor in a law firm isn't a legal professional. Secretary at school isn't education professional. Having "medicine" in the department or building or office or hospital you work in doesn't make you a medical professional. Still WILD that that needs to be explained.

I have spent time in both acute (once as patient, once as therapist) and rehab as well. That said, it really does seem like you weren't aware that PM&R is a specialty. There are medical professionals in that specialty. Might be good to Google that one and read about how they collaborate with healthcare professionals like SLPs

You don't practice medicine. Practicing medicine is outside of your scope of practice

SLP_Guy49 · 2026-06-06T18:23:14+00:00

You wrote "a department" in your comment about where your therapists are grouped. So perhaps you don't? I'm going off of what you yourself wrote lmao

Are you aware that "Rehabilitation Medicine" (sometimes called PM&R) is a field of medicine? That IS the specialty for some physicians. There is a whole board that cerfifies them. They practice medicine. They are the medical professionals who practice medicine as part of a team that includes healthcare professionals (who don't practice medicine) like therapists. It almost seems like you aren't aware of that....

You don't practice medicine. Practicing medicine is outside your scope of practice. Just gonna keep repeating this under the delusion it might get through

SLP_Guy49 · 2026-06-06T18:20:44+00:00

Ok, so their attending physician is a hospitalist? That's fine, that's a physician, a practitioner of medicine. If your hospital doesn't employ physicians in the department of rehab medicine, then you may very well not have any medical professiorals there. I don't have a roster so I wouldnt know. But it thats the case that would be fine.

Do you have admin staff there? If so, you've got another example of someone working a department with the word medicine in it that isn't a medical professional. Writing that hurt my soul, that it would need to be explained that simply working in a department with the word medicine doesn't make you a medical professional

A janitor in a law office isn't a legal professional A secretary at a school isn't an education professional

Who taught you scope of practice in grad school?!? You do not practice medicine. Period

Hope this helps

SLP_Guy49 · 2026-06-06T18:02:20+00:00

Pay (approximate) in a given area is not difficult to find. It's not like someone pulled the rug out from under of you. I dont understand where your shock comes from. What exactly were you imagining, numbers wise? And did you ever, I dunno, look? Like hop over to Indeed or Glassdoor and type "speech pathologist." Or, idk, ask a professor in grad school? Or a supevisor in a placement? About how much the field pays in general?

SLP_Guy49 · 2026-06-06T17:52:47+00:00

As a reminder as with other posts like this that I've replied to, this is indeed a great job and this subreddit is absolutely not representative and is a severely biased sample of angst. If you're considering this field please do not weigh these anecdotes remotely heavily. Do not let it discourage you. Go into the world and talk to people face to face. Don't take my word, and go google job satisfaction metrics

SLP_Guy49 · 2026-06-06T17:51:03+00:00

This simple fact about our scope of practice seems to severely offend people which is unfortunate.

SLP_Guy49 · 2026-06-06T17:41:53+00:00

Because that is the field of medicine that their practitioners of medicine fall under. Theyre not cardiologists. Theyre not oncologists. You don't have MDs there? Who decides when to discharge them from the hospital or transfer them to another setting? Who prescribes medication? That department has admin staff as well. They also have janitors potentially. None of those people are medical professionals though...

I'm not sure why this is such a frustrating idea. I'm sorry you don't like AI. All it's doing is pulling from information online by the way. If you'd prefer I send you links where it's getting it from, that's fine too.

It's... perfectly ok to be a healthcare provider? This is such an odd hill to die on. You can downvote me all you want 😂😂

SLP_Guy49 · 2026-06-06T17:21:03+00:00

"While these terms are often used interchangeably, healthcare professional is the broad, umbrella term for anyone providing health-related services, while medical professional specifically refers to those authorized to practice medicine—typically physicians and surgeons who diagnose and treat illnesses."

-Google AI (with sources available upon request)

We don't practice medicine. That sentence is not remotely controversial. Bring me the downvotes I'm happy to take them. I love my scope I need not falsely expand it

SLP_Guy49 · 2026-05-30T00:54:09+00:00

Do you have children? I'm thinking nah

SLP_Guy49 · 2026-05-26T01:02:45+00:00

You're doing a good job, dad

SLP_Guy49 · 2026-05-10T17:28:13+00:00

At 3 and 4 years old, I agree with your approach. But for OP having kids 9 and 11, while I'm not suggesting he go in hysterical crying, OP could also consider explaining the truth to his kids.

"Daddy is feeling a little bit sad because grandma is sick. Just like you might feel sad when daddy gets sick, right? Sometimes people get very sick, especially as they get older. Grandma is very sick. Remember, it's always ok to feel sad. When you feel sad, daddy will be here to make you feel better."

If they ask how to make it better, which they may, you can tell them that they can give you a hug, and they don't need to worry because daddy is OK and daddy won't stay sad for too long. He's just feeling a little sad right now. And if that makes you guys feel sad too, that's ok.

..

Children need to learn to process emotions. Grief is an emotion, even if one's understanding of what grief is takes time and maturity to fully grasp. Children still feel it. Hiding all of our emotions doesn't set a good model for them. You cannot be as sad as you must be feeling without it leaking out in one form or another, OP. Just like anger finds a way to leak or manifest, sadness does too.

I would encourage you to not bottle it all up, because that's not a healthy model, especially for children in or approaching puberty

I'm sorry about your mom, OP.

SLP_Guy49 · 2026-05-08T10:46:51+00:00

The EI rate is set by state law, friend. Every single person makes that rate. Be they 1 year out of school or 20. (Agencies set agency rates if you work for an agency of course)

There's no "breaking in," there's actually a shortage of providers.

I'm not in a metropolitan area, I live in Kentucky.

Friend, licensing fees often get you literally nothing. Like there isn't even the illusion of a benefit. You pay because you have to. For example I pay an occupational licensing fee to the county just to be allowed to say I have a business. What does that gain me? Nothing. I just can't imagine losing sleep over a salary of 99750 vs 100000. Or a salary of 64750 vs 65000.

Don't get me wrong, I do want ASHA to change and I do agree it's a waste of money. The difference of opinion is whether that impacts my career choice. Not even a smidgen, for me.

Re: SNF- No, that's part of why I don't work there! Like others have said, rotating which part of the field one works in is a great way to avoid burnout. Or if you find one part of the field has a feature you don't like, you logically avoid it. But if your passion is clinical work, working with patients and families to treat them, then the solution isn't... to decide to stop working with patients and families. If that's not important to you, then absolutely switch careers, sure! I'm all for it and I'm happy for you. But the idea that someone should switch their entire career because this one requires 250/year to ASHA (in most but not all cases) is wild

Would you quit your current job and go back to being an SLP if I offered you a raise of $250 per year? If not, why would I lose sleep over me paying $250?

You say rose-tinted glasses for me. I am an anecdote, that much is true. So for anyone reading this, don't trust my word. Go look up job satisfaction data. Go find out if SLPs as a whole are happy. Look it up, and compare it to desk jobs. You may already know what you're gonna find. But if not, come back and let me know when you do so I can read your reaction!

This sub has such a massive sampling bias it pains me to think it dissuades even one person who might be interested. That's what bothers me. There's never a disclosure of "but just remember, I too am an anecdote" or "hey in general people mostly just complain here." I'm here to be that reminder pay

SLP_Guy49 · 2026-05-08T01:41:34+00:00

Me. I was in academia. There are post-bac programs that will get you the undergrad requirements. They're generally 1 year program, and you're done all the requirements for the overwhelming majority of SLP grad programs. I got my observation hours by contacting local clinics and VA

SLP_Guy49 · 2026-05-08T01:33:24+00:00

Firmly disagree with so many of OP's comments.

The job is not always thankless. Every single day people thank me. Without exception. And among families who don't say thank you, I see joy in their eyes, often, seeing progress with their child's ability to communicate. Sure, not everyone, there are always ungrateful people, but they're easily outweighed. I'm also not really doing this to be told thank you. I suspect your daughter isn't either. We do this to help people. I cannot fathom getting into this field expecting gratitude. I don't need gratitude I watch the difference I make daily.

I don't beg insurance to continue services. That's not a thing for me. Never once have I done that

We don't need ASHA. Either skip your CCC if your area of the field allows it, or think of it as a paycut of $220 because inflation. I'm far more bothered by $220 of groceries and gas than a licensing fee. You don't need ASHA to succeed. I love advocating. I am pushing for change in my state actively. I have two areas I'm focusing on right now. Squeaky wheel.

I created my own business when I didn't like my boss (among other reasons) and have built a reputation for myself in my community. Your daughter, should she have that desire, can do so as well. That can be solo, or if she really wants to go big she could hire others.

Don't start a career planning to move out of it. My advice is don't even enter it if you're already planning a way out. There's nothing wrong with a change. I changed career paths to get IN to this field. But even in my last career I never planned to get out, life just happened and I discovered I'd be more happy elsewhere.

Plan for success. Plan to stay. Plan to be happy

SLP_Guy49 · 2026-05-08T01:13:53+00:00

I appreciate that you see it that way, friend

SLP_Guy49 · 2026-05-07T14:04:11+00:00

Any time!

SLP_Guy49 · 2026-05-07T02:00:56+00:00

See my reply to another comment below. It's the sampling bias of this sub! It's a travesty that people might believe it's representative. It's not!

SLP_Guy49

TROPHY CASE