Hello 2016! I hope this year brings you a wonderful journey with learning and laughs! This is already a year of change for me! I recently decided to go back into the schools and to continue doing Early Intervention part time in the evenings. It has been a huge decision, but one that I am very glad that I have made!
If we’re going to be 100% honest with one another, I was a little hesitant about the move for one reason… being “just” a school SLP again. Now before you race to social media or your e-mail to blast me with hate mail for that sentence, hear me out. This is the dirty little SLP secret that is rarely spoken about except in hushed tones amongst SLPs… there is a huge misconception out there that school SLPs have it easy and are not complete and total rockstars like SLPs in other settings such as NICU, SNF, Rehab, etc. It was one reason that I initially left the schools for Early Intervention. I thought that working in more of a medical setting would bring with it a greater feeling of fulfillment and respect. To be honest, it did and it didn’t.
After nearly 2 years in EI, I am happily back within the schools. I’m “just” a school SLP again, and that is awesome.
Here’s what a lot of SLPs in other settings may not readily admit to school SLPs: They respect school SLPs and the job they do and they would NEVER want to do that job! There are many reasons why I’m proud to be “just” a school SLP again, here are just a few:
I love working with kids, and I’m pretty good at it. This may sound obvious but many SLPs in other settings prefer to work with adults. They may even have struggled in placements where they had to work with children/teens. It’s not easy to work with small humans. They sneeze in your face and have goals to work on /r/; two of the most feared things in the world of an SLP. Not everybody is equipped to handle these! School SLPs are incredible because they work with kids and they love it!
School SLPs are master collaborators. Collaboration, in some form, occurs in most work environments. When you work in schools you need to be a collaboration machine. Communication impacts children across their educational environments and the school SLP needs to be able to consult with teachers and other school personnel about ways to help children with their communication needs. This requires an ability to communicate with various adults in varying positions within the school environment. SLPs also collaborate on evaluations and IEPs. It’s not an easy job, but somebody needs to do it, and the school SLP is that person!
School SLPs are EXPERTS. Sometimes the level of expertise of school SLPs is misunderstood and/or underestimated. I’m here to tell you that school SLPs are experts in so many areas and ways. School SLPs are experts in articulation, language, fluency, AAC, autism, apraxia, technology, and so much more! These SLPs attend hours of continued training in these areas and are truly experts in our field.
I am adaptable, I am flexible, I am important. The HELP references aside, school SLPs are all of these things! SLPs working in schools are operating in a constantly changing environment. I am not referring to treatment, I’m referring to education. Between the common core, ever-changing curricula, staff changes, policy changes, school placement changes, and so much more, school SLPs need to be ready to adapt to what each school year brings with it. SLPs who work in schools are also very flexible. Schools and children are very unpredictable. Schedules change on a moment’s notice, student behaviors occur during transitions and within therapy, adjustments to therapy schedules and groups occur to accommodate for classroom and school activities, and much more. All this to say, school SLPs are very important!
School SLPs change lives. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to include this one. (That’s another thing school SLPs battle: self-doubt) However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it is absolutely true. It’s not an exaggeration. One reason that I became an SLP was to help people that could not communicate. As a school SLP we get to do that! We get to help students become effective communicators. Being an effective communicator can change a life. Maybe we help a student make their speech more intelligible or help them understand social language or help them to understand Wh questions… all of these things impact their lives. You don’t need to be in a medical setting or wear scrubs to change a life! School SLPs do this every day (even on jeans days!).
So, I’m incredibly proud to be “just” a school SLP again. However, if we’re going to be 100% honest with one another, we know that they aren’t “just school SLPs”…
They are Speech-Language Pathologists.
What a great post!
Thank you! This is a fantastic post!
Thank you for this post. Very motivating!
This is simply marvelous. Well written and “spot on” like they say in the UK. Thanks for your excellent post.
Loved this, thank you!
Thank you for this! I am very proud to be a school-based SLP!
Love this! As a CF in the schools I have had doubts about being “just a school slp” but reading this helped put some of those to rest, thank you!
As a SLP who has worked in a medical setting and private practice before landing in the schools, I agree with EVERY WORD!! Great post, thank you!
thank you for posting this! i am a CFY in the schools and got the message in grad school that working in the schools is a ‘lesser’ position. now however i dont think i would change a thing! i absolutely love my job, my coworkers, my students.. and my vacation!
Hey Danielle! This is such an awesome post! I have worked in a variety of settings over the years so I can definitely relate. This is my 9th year working as a school SLP and there are plenty of perks. Although I have maintained serving private practice peds clients or PRN hospital work through the years, I have truly developed my clinical skills as well working in the schools.
Thank you for this post! It was much needed. I sometimes feel less appreciated or think other jobs in the medical setting would be a better option, then I have a student who does something amazing and I remember why I chose the school setting.
True true
So inspiring and exactly how I feel!!!
School SLPs not only work with a variety of students with a variety of speech problems in many different settings, but they also serve as advisors on SL pathologies to the other professionals working with the same children. I always found them to be highly motivated and very capable and professional.
Thank you! I very much needed to hear that. I frequently feel that being “just” a school SLP I am less respected than medical or private practice SLPs
Thank you for a perfect post!
I’ve been a school SLP for 25 years. Although I have also worked in a clinical setting on a prn basis, and taught on the college level, I always come back to my first love, and that’s teaching in the schools. I don’t believe there is anything more fulfilling than seeing success in a young person.
One can’t have a bad day when a little “barnacle” grabs you and gives a big hug, or you get a word of thanks from a colleague or a parent.
Love this post! I have been a medically based SLP for the past 5 years, and I am considering entering the schools for the first time as my kids get older. I’m curious. ..what “did and didn’t” make the medical setting more fulfilling for you? Thanks for your feedback!
The school system is a great option if you have children in school. It will allow you similar breaks with them and the flexibility to continue PRN and such if you’d like. I found that in the EI setting, I felt generally more well respected by colleagues (OT/PT/etc.) and parents than I sometimes do in schools due to the misperception that school SLPs are less qualified than medical setting SLPs. It was not more fulfilling in the contact/sessions with families and working by myself all day. I did not find that at the end of the day I was feeling so much more fulfilled than I did after a day in the schools. It really is personal taste and “what makes you tick” as a therapist. I believe both can be fulfilling if they suit you. I hope you find what works best for you and your family!
I´m a middle school ESL teacher (in grad school to be an SLP) and one thing that I *think* might make school SLP more satisfying than the medical setting would be that in the medical setting your relationships are shorter and less personal. As a teacher, you see the same students grow and change as people. Even if they´re no longer receiving your services, the kiddos probably remember you and smile at you in the hallway or stop by your room to say hello long after you´re finished working with them.
One of the MOST satisfying things for me about working in education (it is truly heartwarming) is when students come back to visit and tell you how much they remember and enjoyed working with you.
Fantastic! I started in schools fresh out of college, cut my contract days to also work in a private clinic only to go back full time to schools (Title 1) and took on moonlighting in home health. Moved to a new state and unsure of Special Ed went to work in a private setting again, but felt it just wasn’t the right fit. Found my way back into a school and although days are long, non-working lunches are rare, I stay too late for IEPs, I love it. I still wonder if this is “it”. This article puts a great spin on being “just” an SLP in a school which I have said to myself more times than I can count. Thank you.
Thank you for this post, I too have gone from medical settings to a public school. I love it so much more. Everything is better- except the pay cut!!
Well put! It is nice to hear this “out loud”. This is a good start to a great morning!
I really needed to see this article. I’ve never believed that as a school-based SLP that I was lesser, but I see/hear that message frequently. I heard it in grad school, I hear it talking to some medical colleagues, and I read it in blogs. I just read one yesterday about medical SLPs being better and it was written by a school based SLP! We all have our strengths and weaknesses and none of us are “just” anything. Thanks for the encouraging read!
Thank you so much for putting into words the reason I love getting up and going to work each day. Honestly, I think it’s the best job ever.
I completely agree with the sentiment expressed one his post! I’ve been in the field for 32 years and the first 22 I worked in the private sector…home care, early intervention, hospitals, private preschools. I avoided public schools because of the many stories I heard: “sacrificing quality for quantity”, frustrated colleagues, stagnated clinicians, unhappy therapist! But life keeps turning and here I was considering a position in the schools. I can tell you, with the same honesty you shared, that I truly believe the school setting is the most challenging place I’ve ever worked at! I am constantly asking myself “what’s the most effective way to help my students succeed and be excited about communicating with others? How can I help these children who are learning English as a second language, who live below the poverty level, who have experience stress beyond their years, succeed? As you said, if you love children, are passionate about learning and helping other and absolutely love communication…we are not “just” school slp…we are proud to be Speech-Language Pathologists!
Thank YOU. Just the confirmation I needed to hear today.
Beautifully said- thank you!
You have no idea as to how timely your message was for me today-thank you. I will live to work in the school setting another day as “just” an SLP. Thank you fellow SLP Becky for forwarding this to me.
I enjoyed reading this. I can say that school SLPs have made a huge difference in my son’s life, and mine too! He is doing great. And this year I am starting leveling courses in order to get my masters and, hopefully, become a school SLP!
That’s so great to hear! Best of luck in your coursework!
I´m an #SLP2BE still about to enter grad school. Currently I´m an English teacher, and I´ve found myself considering “non-school-SLP” for after graduation for what seem like the same reasons you went to Early Intervention (an interest of mine!). I think it is great that you´re doing both and I found this post really encouraging 🙂
Thanks for sharing this! I love the idea of school-based therapists being master collaborators when working to better the lives of children. Having the ability to work with many different people toward the common goal of improving children’s lives is paramount, especially in the school environment.
This really helped me come to terms with what I really want. Thank you for making Grad School decisions a little less daunting. 🙂
Surely other SLP’s who were primarily medical based and decided to switch to the schools had similar fears of not feeling “current” on anything treatment related since the little experience in grad school! How do you make this huge jump without feeling completely incompetent and how did you convince employers that you can get the job done without having actual experience besides graduate school? Any tips or mentoring would be greatly accepted !!
A growth mindset is huge. Emphasize your personal qualities and willingness to learn. As far as not feeling overwhelmed… reach out! Find others in your district who can be of help. Perhaps set up some observations at the beginning of the year. It won’t be perfect but keep learning!