De Facto Leaders

In this episode, I’m sharing a special conversation with my mentor, friend, and business consultant, Stephanie Hayes. Stephanie specializes in building businesses from the ground up by focusing on creating assets that allow small business owners to earn income and serve in a way that feels aligned and fulfilling to them. Even though she is technically like a “business coach/consultant”, many of her clients say that working with her is more like having a business partner. What she’s really amazing at doing is truly seeing the talent and vision in her clients before THEY even see it…and then finding a way to pull it out of them so they can create something that “feeds their brain” and keeps them excited about the work that they do. Stephanie and I have been working on creating a program called the School of Clinical Leadership which is launching in September 2022; which is a program designed to guide pediatric clinicians through creating a customized career path aligned with their strengths and their mission. Over the past month or so, we’ve been documenting the progress of this program development in a weekly series called Live Til Launch; and I wanted to share one of our episodes on the podcast. In this episode, we talk about the conception of the “micro-experiment” strategy and why it’s an essential part of the way I mentor clinicians going through a career transition. We also talk about the internal struggle we all go through when we’re doing something new that pushes us; how I’ve worked through that personally, and how to tame feelings of self-doubt when you’re getting out of your comfort zone. In this episode, I mentioned the Clinical Leadership Roundtable, an ongoing event for pediatric clinicians that want to plan a career path that finally allows you to serve in a way that feels aligned and impactful.  You can join the Clinical Leadership Roundtable here. I also mentioned the School of Clinical Leadership, my program designed to help clinicians launch the next stage of their career. You can learn more about the program here. Finally, to connect with Stephanie and learn more about what she does, connect with her on LinkedIn here, follow her on YouTube here, or check out her website here. The De Facto Leaders podcast was formerly the “Are they 18 yet?®” podcast. As of November 2022, the name of the show has changed, and we’ve shifted from a focus on parenting to a focus on supporting clinicians and educators to design effective services for kids (but parents are still welcome to listen). Episodes published before November 24, 2022 will still contain some of our old branding.  Learn more about today's sponsors, Playworks, IXL and Renaissance:Learn more about Renaissance:As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation. We’re also thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

There’s often a typical expected career path for pediatric clinicians, regardless of the discipline. It can often feel a bit constraining, especially if it doesn’t fully align with your strengths; or if the system you’re working in limits the way you serve your caseload. But what if you weren’t limited to the typical model, or the traditional job postings? What if you could design a clinical career on your own terms? This idea is exciting…but scary. Especially if you’re in a job that you enjoy and that feels “almost” in line with what you’d want to be doing. Many clinicians have this nagging feeling. They love what they do…but they wonder if they could be doing more for their field and in their career. I felt this way when I was nearing the end of my doctoral program and was working the school systems. I knew the next stage of my career was coming…but I wasn’t exactly sure what direction I should go. Private practice? Higher ed? School administration? Something else? To answer this question, I did what I refer to as career “micro-experiments”. This is one of the strategies I used to launch my business while I was working in the schools full time. In this episode, I share: ✅Why doing “test-runs” can help you discover your strengths, build your resume and skills, and serve your current caseload at the same time✅Why I turned down a job interview that could have led me towards what I thought was a “dream job”✅How to start building your leadership experience NOW, without leaving the security of your current job. In this episode, I mentioned the Clinical Leadership Roundtable, an ongoing event for pediatric clinicians that want to plan a career path that finally allows you to serve in a way that feels aligned and impactful.  You can join the Clinical Leadership Roundtable here. The De Facto Leaders podcast was formerly the “Are they 18 yet?®” podcast. As of November 2022, the name of the show has changed, and we’ve shifted from a focus on parenting to a focus on supporting clinicians and educators to design effective services for kids (but parents are still welcome to listen). Episodes published before November 24, 2022 will still contain some of our old branding.  Learn more about today's sponsors, Playworks, IXL and Renaissance:Learn more about Renaissance:As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation. We’re also thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

A lot of the clinicians I work with feel very “boxed in” when it comes to the typical career path for therapists. They’re boxed in by the way they have to provide services within the system, which often dictates how, when, and how often they see students/clients. They may feel boxed in by their schedule, their setting, or even their earning potential. Usually, they enjoy what they do, but have a nagging feeling that they could be doing more for their caseload, their field, and their community. What I’ve observed over the last 5 years of mentoring clinicians is that they often go through “levels” of clinical practice. I like to refer to this as “Clinical Leadership”. Many therapists don’t think of themselves as leaders; especially if they aren’t in an “official” leadership position…but I think that every clinician has an opportunity to be a leader regardless of their official job title. Once therapists get comfortable with the traditional model of therapy, they’re often ready to transcend to the next stage of their career. So many of them are super talented, creative individuals; but they feel limited by what they see in the standard job postings. I’ve designed what I refer to as the “Pillars of Clinical Leadership” to help people get out of this career rut, so they can create a career unique to their own skills, talents, and preferences…and so they can make a bigger impact with the way they serve. In episode 78, I outline the common stages of leadership people go through, as well as the pillars for successful clinical leadership. If you don’t feel fully aligned or excited by the typical career path for clinicians, or if you love your job but want to discover creative ways to be of service, you won’t want to miss this episode. In this episode, I mentioned the Clinical Leadership Roundtable, an ongoing event for pediatric clinicians that take you through a series of exercises designed to help you craft your career path based on your unique skills, talents, and preferences.  You can join the Clinical Leadership Roundtable here. The De Facto Leaders podcast was formerly the “Are they 18 yet?®” podcast. As of November 2022, the name of the show has changed, and we’ve shifted from a focus on parenting to a focus on supporting clinicians and educators to design effective services for kids (but parents are still welcome to listen). Episodes published before November 24, 2022 will still contain some of our old branding.  Learn more about today's sponsors, Playworks, IXL and Renaissance:Learn more about Renaissance:As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation. We’re also thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

There are a lot of challenges that we face as therapists; but not all of them need to prevent us from delivering quality services. By facing our problems head on, often we can mitigate them or eliminate them completely. This doesn’t happen from avoiding or ignoring them. Instead, we need to get them all out on the table to figure out how to minimize them. This is also key in determining if you’re on the right career path, or if it’s time to pivot. I talk about how to think through this risk mitigation process in episode 77. Getting this “risk mitigation” process out of the way is often the key to freeing up mental resources that allow you to think bigger about the way you show up for your caseload. In this episode, I mentioned the Clinical Leadership Roundtable, a special event for pediatric therapists who want to make a bigger impact with their services. When you’ll be taken through a 3-stage process where you’ll start to design a plan for feeling more empowered in your work. You can join the Clinical Leadership Roundtable here. The De Facto Leaders podcast was formerly the “Are they 18 yet?®” podcast. As of November 2022, the name of the show has changed, and we’ve shifted from a focus on parenting to a focus on supporting clinicians and educators to design effective services for kids (but parents are still welcome to listen). Episodes published before November 24, 2022 will still contain some of our old branding.  Learn more about today's sponsors, Playworks, IXL and Renaissance:Learn more about Renaissance:As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation. We’re also thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

When people talk about assets, they’re often thinking about personal finance. They’re talking about things like real estate, index funds, crypto and other things aimed at giving you some kind of return on your investment. But I want to talk about how therapists can apply this concept to what they do, because it's the key to making a bigger impact. When we make the “leadership shift” and start thinking about service delivery in the broader sense, we have to start thinking about how to coordinate an entire service plan for a student. This means utilizing other people and thinking creatively about how we can ensure that kids are getting the support they need across the day; rather than just focusing on what’s going on when they’re in a therapy session or in your classroom. One of the biggest challenges therapists face is that they don’t have enough time with their clients to address all the skills they need to cover. This is exactly why we need to stop functioning in silos and instead see ourselves as part of the bigger picture, like puzzle pieces that fit together seamlessly. It’s remiss to imply that people working in education and healthcare have endless resources at their disposal. But many times, they have more power than they realize. And when they use their time the right way, they can actually create more time, resources, relationships, and impact. In this episode, I mentioned that I’m about to open the doors to my Clinical Leadership program. This program is designed to help pediatric therapists be better leaders, so they can make a bigger impact with their services. If you’re a therapist or an educator working with kids, and you want to think bigger about how you serve your caseload, community, and your field, then this program is for you. You can join the waiting list here to be notified when program enrollment is open. The De Facto Leaders podcast was formerly the “Are they 18 yet?®” podcast. As of November 2022, the name of the show has changed, and we’ve shifted from a focus on parenting to a focus on supporting clinicians and educators to design effective services for kids (but parents are still welcome to listen). Episodes published before November 24, 2022 will still contain some of our old branding.  Learn more about today's sponsors, Playworks, IXL and Renaissance:Learn more about Renaissance:As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation. We’re also thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

One of the most common questions I get is “What am I supposed to do in therapy with students/clients?” Many of my readers want to know what strategies and techniques they need to do in therapy in order to help move their students forward. They’re very focused on “planning for therapy” or “lesson planning”; especially if they’re in the school systems. I think it makes sense to focus on these things some of the time. The way we’re trained often focuses on that “medical model” of service delivery. A lot can be accomplished with this model, and it’s a part of what some kids need to be successful; depending on what their needs are. It’s easy to start with the question, “What is MY role and what should I be doing in my sessions to support this student?” But I think we need to look at things in reverse. Instead of saying “What do I do in therapy?” we need to be asking “What does this student need, and how do I make sure they get it?” In this episode, I mentioned that I’m about to open the doors to my Clinical Leadership program. This program is designed to help pediatric therapists be better leaders, so they can make a bigger impact with their services. If you’re a therapist or an educator working with kids, and you want to think bigger about how you serve your caseload, community, and your field, then this program is for you. You can join the waiting list here to be notified when program enrollment is open. The De Facto Leaders podcast was formerly the “Are they 18 yet?®” podcast. As of November 2022, the name of the show has changed, and we’ve shifted from a focus on parenting to a focus on supporting clinicians and educators to design effective services for kids (but parents are still welcome to listen). Episodes published before November 24, 2022 will still contain some of our old branding.  Learn more about today's sponsors, Playworks, IXL and Renaissance:Learn more about Renaissance:As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation. We’re also thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Therapists and teachers (and anyone else in a “helping people” profession) always have to take care of OTHER people…which is hard to do if you’re burnt out all the time. But most of the advice they’re given about “self-care” and achieving a “work-life” balance is unhelpful. There are a lot of “tips and tools” out there for stress relief and productivity. In the self-care realm, it ranges from reasonable suggestions like gratitude journaling or meditation to more questionable things like “crying in your car” or “hide in the bathtub with a bottle of wine and drown your sorrows”. Perhaps the biggest issue of all is the myth of a “work-life” balance. When people say they want a “work-life” balance, what they’re really saying is: “I don’t have enough energy and time to devote to things that matter to me.” We don’t accomplish this by striving for “work-life” balance, nor do we get there with a disjointed list of superficial tips. In episode 73, I share an alternative way of looking at “balance”, fulfillment, and career satisfaction. This is what I used to maintain some sense of peace while I was working on my dissertation and working full time in the school systems. It’s the opposite of what most people do, and I believe it’s why 60% of the people in my doctoral program end up ABD (“all but dissertation”). It’s always why so many talented therapists and teachers leave “passion projects” on the backburner and get stuck in the day-to-day hustle. In this episode, I mentioned that I’m about to open the doors to my Clinical Leadership program. This program is designed to help pediatric therapists be better leaders, so they can make a bigger impact with their services. If you’re a therapist or an educator working with kids, and you want to think bigger about how you serve your caseload, community, and your field, then this program is for you. You can join the waiting list here to be notified when program enrollment is open. The De Facto Leaders podcast was formerly the “Are they 18 yet?®” podcast. As of November 2022, the name of the show has changed, and we’ve shifted from a focus on parenting to a focus on supporting clinicians and educators to design effective services for kids (but parents are still welcome to listen). Episodes published before November 24, 2022 will still contain some of our old branding.  Learn more about today's sponsors, Playworks, IXL and Renaissance:Learn more about Renaissance:As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation. We’re also thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Therapists and educators supporting K-12 literacy have a lot of diagnoses and labels to navigate, and some of them are controversial. In some debates, the diagnosis itself is in question; Central Auditory Processing Disorder being one example. With hyperlexia, some people suggest that there is a certain way hyperlexic people need to learn to read; but the verdict is still out as to whether there is one specific method that is more effective for them. Diagnoses and labels can give us a roadmap. But this roadmap is often incomplete, with unclear directions for getting to our end destination. That means that clinicians need to have a good clinical problem-solving process to navigate all these debates. I believe that labels are useful; but only when we know what to do with them. That’s why in this episode, I talk about 4 specific labels/diagnoses (DLD, CAPD, hyperlexia, dyslexia) and what they mean for literacy instruction/intervention. Specifically, I discuss: ✅The DLD vs CAPD debate: The case for DLD and why some people are skeptical about the CAPD diagnosis  ✅Why I don't teach "working memory drills" and how I go about addressing working memory issues in a functional way ✅How professionals can engage in healthy discussions about debates in the field without getting defensive  ✅A discussion on dyslexia vs hyperlexia and intervention planning for each.  ✅Current research on hyperlexia and red flags for misinformation. In this episode, I mentioned an article called Why is it so hard to reach agreement on terminology? The case of developmental language disorder (DLD) by Dr. Dorothy Bishop. Please note I made an error in the original recording and said she was an SLP. I was incorrect; she is a psychologist. I’m talking about this topic because it inspired me to create the system I teach in my online course that teaches pediatric SLPs a system for boosting comprehension and processing,  Language Therapy Advance Foundations. I’m doing some extra live Q & A sessions in the members group and also opening up some 1:1 consult availability for members in July 2022, so if you’ve been on the fence about joining, now’s the perfect time to take the leap. If you’re an SLP who wants to learn a framework that will allow you to streamline your therapy so you can show up to sessions confident you’re giving your students the skills they need to thrive,  check out our enrollment page and learn more about how to become a member here. The De Facto Leaders podcast was formerly the “Are they 18 yet?®” podcast. As of November 2022, the name of the show has changed, and we’ve shifted from a focus on parenting to a focus on supporting clinicians and educators to design effective services for kids (but parents are still welcome to listen). Episodes published before November 24, 2022 will still contain some of our old branding.  Learn more about today's sponsors, Playworks, IXL and Renaissance:Learn more about Renaissance:As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation. We’re also thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Schools often get criticized for not teaching enough “real world” skills to kids, and there’s a lot of truth to that statement. Most of the therapists I work with are worried that what they do in therapy isn’t functional enough to transfer to day-to-day skills; and this is a legitimate concern. A lot of the clinicians I mentor have somewhere between 30-40 minutes with students; which means they have to make every second count. Some of them wonder if the traditional “pull out” therapy model is even useful at all. The truth is that there are certain skills that can be effectively addressed in more of an “academic”, small group or 1:1 situation. When we think about the language skills needed to support reading and literacy, it’s actually ideal to address some of the foundational skills in this “school” format. Otherwise kids don’t get the intensity they need to develop automaticity. So when we ask the question of whether language skills should be taught in an “academic” format vs. a “functional, real-world” format…it’s not a black or white, either/or kind of a thing. School-age kids need a blend of BOTH. With that in mind, schools and the people working in them are doing a lot of things right. This is why I feel disheartened when I see negativity directed towards schools suggesting that they’re not teaching kids anything useful.  We don’t need to burn it all to the ground; we need to find out which things schools are doing right and do more of it. That’s why I aim to help clinicians focus on high-impact skills, and ways to address skills from multiple angles: From very structured situations that isolate skills, to highly functional situations that require kids to integrate many skills at once. (which is what they’ll have to do in the “real world”). I recently got some great questions from readers about how to do this with syntax skills. Syntax is definitely one of those “high-impact” skills; but the key to making it functional is teaching it in a way that allows kids to learn new language patterns AND develop the internal dialogue needed to learn new words and sentence structures independently. In this episode, I share how to do that. I’m talking about this topic because it inspired me to create the system I teach in my online course that teaches pediatric SLPs a system for boosting comprehension and processing,  Language Therapy Advance Foundations. I’m doing some extra live Q & A sessions in the members group and also opening up some 1:1 consult availability for members in July 2022, so if you’ve been on the fence about joining, now’s the perfect time to take the leap. If you’re an SLP who wants to learn a framework that will allow you to streamline your therapy so you can show up to sessions confident you’re giving your students the skills they need to thrive,  check out our enrollment page and learn more about how to become a member here. The De Facto Leaders podcast was formerly the “Are they 18 yet?®” podcast. As of November 2022, the name of the show has changed, and we’ve shifted from a focus on parenting to a focus on supporting clinicians and educators to design effective services for kids (but parents are still welcome to listen). Episodes published before November 24, 2022 will still contain some of our old branding.  Learn more about today's sponsors, Playworks, IXL and Renaissance:Learn more about Renaissance:As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation. We’re also thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Topic maintenance is a skill I’ve seen on many language therapy IEPs in the category of “pragmatic language”, but often it’s a surface-level symptom of something else. When we’re talking about “topic maintenance” we’re often referring to someone’s ability to stay on a topic during a conversational exchange. Yet when we focus only on what we’re seeing externally, intervention can end up being unproductive. In some cases, it can even reinforce a negative self-image. That’s why in episode 69, I wanted to talk about the root causes behind topic maintenance issues and how we can support students in a way that builds connection and self-esteem. I’m talking about this topic because it inspired me to create the system I teach in my online course that teaches pediatric SLPs a system for boosting comprehension and processing,  Language Therapy Advance Foundations. I’m doing some extra live Q & A sessions in the members group and also opening up some 1:1 consult availability for members in July 2022, so if you’ve been on the fence about joining, now’s the perfect time to take the leap. If you’re an SLP who wants to learn a framework that will allow you to streamline your therapy so you can show up to sessions confident you’re giving your students the skills they need to thrive,  check out our enrollment page and learn more about how to become a member here. The De Facto Leaders podcast was formerly the “Are they 18 yet?®” podcast. As of November 2022, the name of the show has changed, and we’ve shifted from a focus on parenting to a focus on supporting clinicians and educators to design effective services for kids (but parents are still welcome to listen). Episodes published before November 24, 2022 will still contain some of our old branding.  Learn more about today's sponsors, Playworks, IXL and Renaissance:Learn more about Renaissance:As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation. We’re also thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.