Jeanette went on a podcast known for promoting Spelling to Communicate. The podcast host, David Kaufer, objects to ASHA for their position statement against S2C, so the two discuss their shared disdain for ASHA. I won't summarize the episode, as you all can listen yourselves, but I'll leave you with two teaser quotes:

On why ASHA opposes S2C, Jeanette says, "I have to suspect it starts from someone who doesn't like it for a specific reason who's on that committee that has something to protect. That's my guess because it all comes down to money with them. Everything is about money. Nothing that I see is for the best of the community or the people who receive our services."

In her defense of S2C, Jeanette makes no mention of the fact that the primary objection to S2C comes down to authorship: who is authoring the messages. She says, "Our job is to help your kid communicate, right? Like, it doesn't matter what my opinion is. It matters what's working to get your kid to communicate. And and that's that's kind of the stance I've taken. It doesn't matter what the research says. If there are this many families saying like, 'Hey, this is working for us.' Then we need to believe them, right?"

For those of you looking for more information on Spelling to Communicate, I suggest:
-www.facilitatedcommunication.org
-https://www.asha.org/slp/asha-warns-against-rapid-prompting-method-or-spelling-to-communicate/
-Interrogating neurotypical bias in Facilitated Communication: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40474-024-00296-w

Aaaaand go! I’m in pediatric outpatient. We don’t accept Medicaid

So long story short, I had a baby in April and went out on leave. I signed my contract for this year in May. I have been there since Feb 2025. Lo and behold a dream part-time position came up a week and a half ago. It’s an old supervisor of mine that reached out to me trying to fill the position. (20/hours guaranteed a week in an early intervention program housed in a special needs school, specialist/consultant type role for AAC and feeding, no IEPs!, paid for paperwork, can make the hours whatever I want) Since this can work me financially, I love the flexibility and the opportunity to stay home with my baby more. I just hate giving a notice after telling everyone I’m coming back and being so sure of it. I’m honestly not even sure how to go about resigning when it’s still summer and there are so many people involved (principal, EC director, lead SLP, EC chair).
Any advice?

Hello all,

I am currently working at a school district in California and applied to a new district before the school year let out. The new district did not get back to me until the very last day of June, and so I ended up resigning July 2nd. Unbeknownst to me, per California Ed. Code (i.e. not in our contract or even found on my districts website, but still state law) June 30th is the latest an employee can resign or else their contract is held until a replacement is found.

I have been repeatedly told that there is absolutely no way that they will release me from my contract even though I have good cause according to the CTCs own guidelines. They are telling me my only option is to wait until they find someone OR that I can petition the CTC to not hold my certificate when I do not show up for the first day of school (which I will not be, because I am moving) IF the school decides to actually file a complaint against my credential.

My problem is that my current district took WEEKS to notify me that they were refusing to release me, and the new district wants to pause the onboarding process until the situation with the current district is resolved. So, I am in employment limbo. Everyone in HR on both sides seems confident they will find someone before the new year begins and that I will be released, but I do not trust that that is possible.

My question to everyone is this- are my only options truly to wait? Has anyone been in this situation before and found a way to get the district to release you?

Thank you for any advice you might have!

I recently applied to a position where I did one of my clinical rotations as a grad student (job #1). I accepted the offer and was supposed to start within 2 weeks. I never signed the employee agreement. Cancellations aren’t paid and it’s a per billable rate model.

A week before my start date, I stumbled upon another opportunity at a newer clinic (job #2). They offered me significantly more per billable hr, paid indirect time, and paid cancellations I would also have close mentorship and work closely with the owner who is also an SLP. Not only financially but for future career development- this position felt more aligned.

I ultimately ended up withdrawing my acceptance from job #1. As a result they let me know that I am now “not re-hireable” as they had already told patients I would be seeing them.

I understand the inconvenience and frustration. But I’m really bummed by their response since I truly loved the relationships and experience there as a student. I also feel awful that I disappointed some people that I really admire.

I have a job offer for a school CF position in Louisiana at $50,000. I was told there isn’t room to negotiate pay with the district. This pay seems really low for a Masters degree but I really want to work in the school system. Is this really how low pay is in Louisiana? Will it go up significantly once I get my C’s?

Has anyone started a private practice with the intention to only complete evals?

I’ve had my CCCs for about 4 years and have primarily worked in Peds both in the schools or in other private practices. I’ve realized that, while treatment can be fulfilling, I much prefer the idea of solely facilitating evaluations and then sending kids on their way to get services with another clinic.

If anyone knows anything about this business model or has some experience, I’d appreciate it!

I’m curious, what is your favorite setting to work in? What about your least favorite? Why? (Include info on caseload, paperwork, case management, hours worked, stress, etc).

What’s making you smile lately? 😃

Share some love and positivity!

Why not share your happiness with our discord?

https://discord.gg/7TH2tGxA2z

hi! I’m currently looking for a CF and I’m torn between a middle school placement and an SNF. i really liked my SNF experience but I also feel like middle school would burn me out less since SNFs can be a bit depressing and emphasize productivity so much. has anyone had experience doing a CF in one area and switching to another for their full time position? I won’t feel as bad either way making a choice if it’s not impossible to switch after… i just don’t know which to do!

My spla has been driving me crazy since starting. If it’s not one thing it’s another. I’ve tried everything to help the situation however I’m just at a loss.

( I’m the supervising Slp )

If yall have any horror stories and what helped yall that would be great

Supervisers, what do you expect of your CF in your first observation of them. I have my first observation coming up. I'm nervous partly because I simply get nervous when I know I'm being watched. I have been working a couple months now and I feel like I've gotten better than day 1 and more comfortable, but also I don't really know what I'm doing a lot of the time (this wasn't the population I expected to be working with); So, I'm a little nervous as well for that reason. But I am more so eager to get some feedback so I can improve- I really want to know what I am doing well, what I'm doing poorly, and how to improve. I'm a lifelong learner and I take feedback well.

I guess I'm just looking for some encouragement and I'm also wondering what you expect of your clinicians in the first observation. There is a small destructive part of me that hopes I don't totally suck and my supervisor is like omg wth... (I'm in pediatrics btw- ASD)

I am an in person SLP sharing one school caseload with a tele SLP next year. I am hoping to make things run more smoothly this year. I try to be as accommodating as possible but often end up with the bulk of the workload due to issues with tele services. Any advice is appreciated from on site or tele therapists!

School info:
PK classroom
No self contained classrooms
Separate elementary and MS schedules (MS has bells throughout the day that do not align with the elementary master schedule)
No in person aid/support person hired (yet) to log students in to tele sessions

Things that have worked well in the past:
Separating by grade level/grade level chunks for ease of scheduling and planning
Split by total student minutes based on the amount of time we are contracted at the school site
Consult on each new case to make sure we are continuing to share the workload

Things that have not worked well:
A previous SLP refused to work with the oldest AND youngest grades.. leaving all MS/HS transition meetings and initial evaluations to me
A previous teletherapist refused to support with AAC

I’ve always been curious to know if slps can work three days a week 12 hour shifts like nurses do…if your an slp that works 3x12 or know anyone please comment down below I’m curious to know if this exists or is possible

Thoughts on applying for maternity leave positions as a CFY? Am I able to finish my cf after completing a leave position?

Hi, I am from nyc. Finished my Cf few weeks ago and now waiting for my state license to be processed. I work in the DOE ( currently working DOE this summer as well) and would love to work after school. I truly enjoy teletherapy but also love EI. kinda wanna do both… anyone do teletherapy here in nyc and what agencies or private practices you guys work with ?

Thanks!!!

Hi - I have been working in schools in the general education setting for 5 years. I have covered our secondary and elementary MoCI self-contained classrooms intermittently throughout my time there, but I was not involved with AAC evaluations, trialing devices, or working with companies to get student devices.

I was recently offered a job with higher pay and lower caseload numbers but I would be covering our ISD center based programs with most of my caseload being non speaking students from elementary to secondary.

I am hesitant to accept the job because I am concerned about how steep the learning curve will be for me to learn how to do AAC evaluations, learn AAC systems, etc. I have two little kids at home, so I do not have extra time to devote at home to learning/refreshing this skill set.

I am open to hearing from the SLP perspective on this type of job change and what type of learning curve may be ahead of me, especially from those working with this setting/population.

Thank you all!!

Anyone in this sub work as an oral myofunctional therapist for a dental practice or work in a medical practice doing photobiomodulation? I’m looking to make a pivot from running my own business and trying to see if this scenario even exists. Thanks!

Ok I know rates are the one thing nobody wants to talk about here, but I’d rater ask and feel a little awkward than get lowballed. So, taboo acknowledged, go easy on me lol.

A SNF reached out to me directly about doing contract speech therapy, no agency involved, straight up 1099/independent contractor. I’m in early in talks with them.

Some stuff working against me:

• no guaranteed minimum hours
• 30 to 45 min drive each way
• they’ll do federal mileage rate reimbursement but that’s it so far

im trying to figure out:

1. If you’ve contracted directly with a SNF (not through a staffing agency), what hourly or day rate did you actually negotiate?
2. Did you do straight hourly, a day rate, or hourly with some kind of minimum built in to cover travel/no shows?
3. Is mileage reimbursement enough on its own, or did you also get them to pay separately for drive time?

Basically, I’m trying not to end up in the situation where I drive 40 min, get there, and the patient’s at an appointment or refuses, and I just ate the whole day for nothing.

If you’d rather not post numbers publicly, feel free to DM me instead, totally get it. Any advice, contract language, or “wish I’d asked for X” hindsight appreciated.