In this episode, I’m sharing my top resources for clinicians to explain why we do what we do in language therapy, and how parents and colleagues can support skills outside of sessions.
I share:
How to answer the dreaded “Is there an app for that?” question.
Why language therapy doesn’t come in a standard curriculum (plus resources you can share to explain the essentials behind vocabulary intervention).
How parents can reinforce language at home (and when and if tech actually helps)
Plus I share an opportunity for therapists who want to learn the “Essential 5” framework and who are also interested in getting referrals for private clients.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
The Language Therapy Success Path article that shows how to cycle through a set of strategies to hit both higher level language (inferencing, problem-solving) as well as foundational language skills (vocabulary, syntax): https://drkarenspeech.com/the-language-therapy-success-path-for-slps/
The Ultimate Guide to Language Therapy article that defines the "Essential 5" components (morphology, phonology, orthography, semantics, syntax) and explains why there isn't a boxed curriculum for language therapy: https://drkarenspeech.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-language-therapy/
Semantic Feature Analysis for Adjectives article that shares two videos from Language Therapy Advance Foundations that provide a walkthrough of how to do word study with adjectives in a way that builds deep understanding: https://drkarenspeech.com/semantic-feature-analysis-adjectives/
Ultimate Guide to Sentence Structure: My free guide that explains the "how" and the "why" behind studying sentence structure in a way that's digestible for parents and professionals without a speech pathology background: https://drkarenspeech.com/sentencestructure
In this episode, I mentioned Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that gives speech pathologists a framework for building language skills needed to thrive in school, social situations, and daily life. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy
When you’re teaching storytelling with students, do your lessons feel kind of…random?
I used to feel like this a lot when I was a school SLP, so if you’ve ever had a “throw spaghetti at the wall” therapy session that felt all over the place, I get it.
The truth is, repetition and drill is not the enemy. If you ONLY focus on unstructured activities, you’re probably seeing students getting overwhelmed, not remembering to apply important language skills (like syntax, vocabulary words, etc).
But if you ONLY stick with structured activities, kids never get the chance to apply and practice.
That’s why leveraging books and story grammar as part of your “therapy toolkit” can be such a powerful tool to bridge this gap…even though many storytelling activities look like simple “cutesy” activities on the surface.
(and if you understand the “why” it’s much easier to apply for older kids who are kind of over coming to therapy).
In this second half of my interview with my colleague Jane Gebers, we talk about how to use tools like dynamic assessment and narrative intervention to make therapy structured, rigorous, and functional.
Jane L. Gebers is the author of the popular resource, Books Are for Talking, Too!, first published in 1990, and now in its 4th edition as of March 2023. A practicing speech-language pathologist for over 40 years, she has worked in public school, hospital, private, and clinical settings. She has been an adjunct professor at St. Mary’s College of California and other universities where she taught Language Development, Assessment, and Intervention courses to students pursuing special education credentials. She currently holds a private practice in Northern California.
You can connect with Jane on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-l-gebers-53856119/
Email her at jane@soundingyourbest.com
Learn more about her book, Books Are For Talking, Too! here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C2SG8J58?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_RR4P3SB19A92WD6FPD3R
Learn more about her storytelling resources and speech therapy services on her website here: http://soundingyourbest.com/
In this episode, I mentioned Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that gives speech pathologists a framework for building language skills needed to thrive in school, social situations, and daily life. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy
I also mentioned the Art and Science of Narrative Language, my program that gives speech pathologists and educational professionals a process for evaluating and supporting narrative language. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarenspeech.lpages.co/art-science-narratives-blog-297/
We’re 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:
🚀 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.
Why are we so obsessed with “storytelling”?
In education, we talk about it when we’re working on language and reading comprehension.
It’s also referred to in sales and copy writing as a tool for generating more leads and customers. And of course, people writing books or films think about it all the time.
We all know storytelling is an important life skill. But do we remember HOW MUCH it can impact our ability to communicate and function?
And do we know how to support students who don’t have this skill?
I invited my colleague Jane Gebers to the De Facto Leaders podcast to discuss this topic.
If you’re helping students build skills for functional daily tasks, challenging academic work, or in social situations, you won’t want to miss this conversation.
In this first half of the interview, we talk about the “why” behind teaching narrative discourse, plus specific examples of how we’ve both used narrative structure to build our own comprehension.
Jane L. Gebers is the author of the popular resource, Books Are for Talking, Too!, first published in 1990, and now in its 4th edition as of March 2023. A practicing speech-language pathologist for over 40 years, she has worked in public school, hospital, private, and clinical settings. She has been an adjunct professor at St. Mary’s College of California and other universities where she taught Language Development, Assessment, and Intervention courses to students pursuing special education credentials. She currently holds a private practice in Northern California.
You can connect with Jane on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-l-gebers-53856119/
Email her at jane@soundingyourbest.com
Learn more about her book, Books Are For Talking, Too! here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C2SG8J58?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_RR4P3SB19A92WD6FPD3R
Learn more about her storytelling resources and speech therapy services on her website here: http://soundingyourbest.com/
In this episode, I mentioned Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that gives speech pathologists a framework for building language skills needed to thrive in school, social situations, and daily life. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy
I also mentioned the Art and Science of Narrative Language, my program that gives speech pathologists and educational professionals a process for evaluating and supporting narrative language. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarenspeech.lpages.co/art-science-narratives-blog-297/
We’re 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:
🚀 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.
If your therapy techniques only work when you’re in the room, that’s a problem.
Many therapists unintentionally “gatekeep” their expertise and miss opportunities to boost carryover.
It’s the unexpected downside of being really good at direct clinical work.
Don’t get me wrong. Clinical judgment does matter. And some things can only be addressed by a trained clinician in a therapy room.
But when every decision depends on your personal expertise and physical presence, you’ve made yourself the bottleneck.
In this episode, I’ll share how to make the shift towards clear, repeatable systems that others can follow. When you make your methods easier to teach, you make your work scalable, easier to delegate, and far more convincing to leadership.
I’ll tackle common misconceptions like:
✅ “I can’t delegate; I don’t have direct reports.”
✅ “I don’t have time for consultation.”
✅ “We never get enough time to work on skills.”
Plus I share the three steps to making intervention “scalable” so your session plans can start doubling as consultation guides and training tools for others.
In this episode, I mentioned Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that gives speech pathologists a framework for building language skills needed to thrive in school, social situations, and daily life. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy
I also mentioned the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers develop scalable executive functioning strategies they can turn into schoolwide initiatives. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership
We’re 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:
🚀 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.
Where did arbitrary cut scores for norm-referenced language assessments come from, and why do they feel “safer” than relying on clinical judgement?
I discuss this question and more in this third part of a three-part series, bilingual SLPs Destiny Johnson and Tiffany Shahoumian-Ruiz join me to continue our conversation about advocating for effective language evaluation practices in schools.
Across these conversations, we explore:
This series is part myth-busting, part practical strategies, and part advocacy playbook—perfect for clinicians who want to move beyond compliance-driven evaluations toward assessments that truly reflect students’ needs.
Destiny Johnson, M.S., CCC-SLP, is a bilingual speech-language pathologist (English/Spanish) with a deep passion for culturally responsive assessment and treatment practices, as well as advocating for policy change. She has presented on dynamic assessment at the CSHA Convergence 2024, focusing on the importance of dynamic assessment in bilingual children. Destiny has experience working as a school-based SLP, in private practice, and in early intervention. She is also the founder and CEO of Multimodal Communication Speech Clinic P.C.
Connect with Destiny on Instagram @destinyjohnsonslp, on her private practice website here, and on LinkedIn here.
Listen to Destiny’s previous episode on De Facto Leaders here: EP 187: Dynamic Assessment: Evaluations are a process, not a test (with Destiny Johnson)
Tiffany Shahoumian-Ruiz is a bilingual high school SLP from Southern California who has primarily worked in the school systems and has experience at both the elementary and secondary level. She’s also a member of Language Therapy Advance Foundations, and is involved in state and local advocacy work relating to dynamic assessments and special education eligibility.
Connect with Tiffany on Instagram @tiffany.shahoumian
Listen to Tiffany’s previous episode on De Facto Leaders here: High school language therapy: Do we still have time to make an impact? (with Tiffany Shahoumian-Ruiz)
In this episode, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that gives SLPs and other service providers a system for language therapy. You can learn more about the program here.
Additional Resources Mentioned in the episode:
Daub, O., Cunningham, B. J., Bagatto, M. P., Johnson, A. M., Kwok, E. Y., Smyth, R. E., & Oram Cardy, J. (2021). Adopting a conceptual validity framework for testing in speech-language pathology. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 30(4), 1894–1908. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_AJSLP-20-00032
Spaulding, T. J., Plante, E., & Farinella, K. A. (2006). Eligibility criteria for language impairment: Is the low end of normal always appropriate? Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 37(1), 61–72. https://doi.org/10.1044/0161-1461(2006/007)
DYMOND Norm-Referenced Dynamic Assessment
Bilingual English-Spanish Assessment (BESA)
We’re 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:
🚀 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 we choose evaluation tools for language, are we clear on WHY we’re assessing?
Most people think of diagnosis, but that’s not the only reason we assess students.
I discuss this question and more in this second part of a three-part series, bilingual SLPs Destiny Johnson and Tiffany Shahoumian-Ruiz join me to continue our conversation about language evaluation practices in schools.
Across these conversations, we explore:
This series is part myth-busting, part practical strategies, and part advocacy playbook—perfect for clinicians who want to move beyond compliance-driven evaluations toward assessments that truly reflect students’ needs.
Destiny Johnson, M.S., CCC-SLP, is a bilingual speech-language pathologist (English/Spanish) with a deep passion for culturally responsive assessment and treatment practices, as well as advocating for policy change. She has presented on dynamic assessment at the CSHA Convergence 2024, focusing on the importance of dynamic assessment in bilingual children. Destiny has experience working as a school-based SLP, in private practice, and in early intervention. She is also the founder and CEO of Multimodal Communication Speech Clinic P.C.
Connect with Destiny on Instagram @destinyjohnsonslp, on her private practice website here, and on LinkedIn here.
Listen to Destiny’s previous episode on De Facto Leaders here: EP 187: Dynamic Assessment: Evaluations are a process, not a test (with Destiny Johnson)
Tiffany Shahoumian-Ruiz is a bilingual high school SLP from Southern California who has primarily worked in the school systems and has experience at both the elementary and secondary level. She’s also a member of Language Therapy Advance Foundations, and is involved in state and local advocacy work relating to dynamic assessments and special education eligibility.
Connect with Tiffany on Instagram @tiffany.shahoumian
Listen to Tiffany’s previous episode on De Facto Leaders here: High school language therapy: Do we still have time to make an impact? (with Tiffany Shahoumian-Ruiz)
In this episode, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that gives SLPs and other service providers create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about the program here.
Additional Resources Mentioned in the episode:
Daub, O., Cunningham, B. J., Bagatto, M. P., Johnson, A. M., Kwok, E. Y., Smyth, R. E., & Oram Cardy, J. (2021). Adopting a conceptual validity framework for testing in speech-language pathology. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 30(4), 1894–1908. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_AJSLP-20-00032
Spaulding, T. J., Plante, E., & Farinella, K. A. (2006). Eligibility criteria for language impairment: Is the low end of normal always appropriate? Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 37(1), 61–72. https://doi.org/10.1044/0161-1461(2006/007)
DYMOND Norm-Referenced Dynamic Assessment
Bilingual English-Spanish Assessment (BESA)
We’re 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:
🚀 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.
Language assessments shape who gets services, how goals are written, and how progress is measured, but there are many misconceptions about how to follow best-practices when doing an evaluation. In this three-part series, bilingual SLPs Destiny Johnson and Tiffany Shahoumian-Ruiz join me to dig into the science, the myths, and the policies that shape evaluation practices in schools.
Across these conversations, we explore:
This series is part myth-busting, part practical strategies, and part advocacy playbook—perfect for clinicians who want to move beyond compliance-driven evaluations toward assessments that truly reflect students’ needs.
You can listen to Part 1 of the series here.
Destiny Johnson, M.S., CCC-SLP, is a bilingual speech-language pathologist (English/Spanish) with a deep passion for culturally responsive assessment and treatment practices, as well as advocating for policy change. She has presented on dynamic assessment at the CSHA Convergence 2024, focusing on the importance of dynamic assessment in bilingual children. Destiny has experience working as a school-based SLP, in private practice, and in early intervention. She is also the founder and CEO of Multimodal Communication Speech Clinic P.C.
Connect with Destiny on Instagram @destinyjohnsonslp, on her private practice website here, and on LinkedIn here.
Listen to Destiny’s previous episode on De Facto Leaders here: EP 187: Dynamic Assessment: Evaluations are a process, not a test (with Destiny Johnson)
Tiffany Shahoumian-Ruiz is a bilingual high school SLP from Southern California who has primarily worked in the school systems and has experience at both the elementary and secondary level. She’s also a member of Language Therapy Advance Foundations, and is involved in state and local advocacy work relating to dynamic assessments and special education eligibility.
Connect with Tiffany on Instagram @tiffany.shahoumian
Listen to Tiffany’s previous episode on De Facto Leaders here: High school language therapy: Do we still have time to make an impact? (with Tiffany Shahoumian-Ruiz)
In this episode, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that gives SLPs and other service providers create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about the program here.
Additional Resources Mentioned in the episode:
Daub, O., Cunningham, B. J., Bagatto, M. P., Johnson, A. M., Kwok, E. Y., Smyth, R. E., & Oram Cardy, J. (2021). Adopting a conceptual validity framework for testing in speech-language pathology. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 30(4), 1894–1908. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_AJSLP-20-00032
Spaulding, T. J., Plante, E., & Farinella, K. A. (2006). Eligibility criteria for language impairment: Is the low end of normal always appropriate? Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 37(1), 61–72. https://doi.org/10.1044/0161-1461(2006/007)
DYMOND Norm-Referenced Dynamic Assessment
Bilingual English-Spanish Assessment (BESA)
We’re 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:
🚀 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.
Every few years, conversations about education in the U.S. circle back to the same refrain: Why can’t we be more like Finland?
In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Chrishawn Finister from Your Joy Psychological, PLLC to unpack this comparison.
We dig into the nuanced relationship between educational eligibility and clinical diagnosis, which often overlap but aren’t interchangeable. From there, we widen the lens to explore the broader systems-level challenges that shape how students are identified, supported, and served.
Some key themes we discuss:
✅ Orthographic density and literacy: Why differences in written language systems matter when comparing reading outcomes across countries.
✅ Population homogeneity and “education tracks”: When we look at instructional outcomes data, the students included in the education system and the numbers matter. Are the same individuals “counting” when we compare results across countries?
✅ Teacher pay and professional identity: What Finland’s investment in teacher preparation and salary looks like compared to the U.S. (spoiler alert: Dr. Finister and I both think the US should be more like Finland on this one).
✅ Cultural perceptions of medicine vs. education: Why recommendations from evaluations are perceived differently depending on the setting and who is making decisions about services.
✅ Housing instability and socioeconomic factors: We’re educating students with complex needs in the US who have varying experiences outside of school. With this in mind, has the education system made more progress than what the media is saying?
Rather than looking for a one-size-fits-all solution, we highlight why U.S. educators, policymakers, and clinicians need to understand the challenges and opportunities when designing systems of support.
If you’ve ever wondered where the lines between clinical diagnosis and educational eligibility blur, this conversation will give you a grounded perspective.
Dr. Chrishawn Finister is an Independent Practicing Licensed Psychological Associate and a Licensed Specialist in School Psychology, possessing over a decade of experience in the role of School Psychologist. Recognized as a Nationally Certified School Psychologist, she is committed to utilizing diagnostically sound assessments to identify learning barriers and implementing research-based interventions to amend challenging behaviors effectively. Dr. Finister is an advocate of culturally competent practices and is dedicated to training future practitioners in the field. She received her foundational training in psychological pedagogy and assessments at Texas Woman’s University, where she completed her Master’s degree in 2010. While working in a prominent North Texas public school district, she advanced her education by earning a Doctoral degree in Educational Leadership and Policy from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2019. Her contributions to the field extend to academia, where she has served as a guest lecturer at the College of Education at Texas Christian University.
Places to connect with Dr. Finister:
Her private practice, Your Joy Psychological, PLLC
Website: https://yourjoypsych.com/
Business Instagram: @yourjoypsych
Her NonProfit, Texas Psychological Hive: https://thetexaspsychhive.org/
Non-profit Instagram: @texaxpsychhive
Additional Resources Mentioned in this episode:
Steven Pinker: https://stevenpinker.com/
Mark Manson: https://markmanson.net/
Dr. Tim Shanahan: https://www.shanahanonliteracy.com/
In this episode, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that gives SLPs and other service providers a system for language therapy. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/
We’re 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:
🚀 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.
Most of us know that it’s important to work on vocabulary in language and literacy intervention?
But how do we know what words to pick? Should we be working on specific words, or should we be focusing on strategies?
If we DO work on words, how can we possibly keep up with the pace of the curriculum (and should we even try)?
I get these questions ALL the time from SLPs and other professionals supporting language and literacy, which is why this is something I help you navigate in both my Vocabulary Foundation and Language Therapy Advance Foundations program.
In episode 240 of De Facto Leaders, I share how I answer these questions about prioritization, vocabulary selection, and word-learning strategies.
In this episode, I mentioned Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs and other service providers create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/
You can check out the Vocabulary Foundation and other programs in my language therapy suite on my products and services page here: https://drkarenspeech.com/products-and-services/
We’re 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:
🚀 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.
Every time I look into research on the summer slide, I get more confused. It’s no wonder professionals and families are scrambling every May as they think about how kids should be spending their time in the summer.
I’ve intended to do a deep dive into the research and gain a better understanding of how significant the “slide” is, for who, and what, exactly, is sliding. At the time I’m writing this, I still don’t feel I’ve done that.
What I can do is speak to what I DO understand, which is why I wanted to share my commentary and a clip from my interview with my colleague, David Schipper, as we discuss our conclusions on the “summer slide”.
At the end of the interview, I ended up with more questions than answers, but we both came to the conclusion that kids who are already behind will benefit from consistent, explicit intervention, and that we’d both want to take advantage of time available to close gaps in students who are already behind at the end of the school year.
David Schipper is the director of Strategic Learning Clinic, a position he has held since 2013. David obtained a B.A. in English Literature from Concordia University in 1998 as well as a B.Ed. in Secondary Education (English and History) from McGill University in 2002. After some work as a local teacher in Montreal, David founded 2Torial Educational Centre in 2007. Aside from his ability to put both parents and students at ease, David is able to help families get to the root of the problem(s) and propose the most suitable programs to resolve these issues. As a father of two children, David knows how to relate to the concerns of parents and as an experienced educator and passionately understands the struggles of students. His passion and dedication to teaching and learning is second to none.
Here are some questions and discussion points from this episode:
✅ Why we need to think about the summer in the preceding fall, not in May.
✅ Looking at cumulative gains over the entire year rather than focusing on ONE time period.
✅ Some students are already behind when summer starts. So how much time should we spend debating if a “slide” exists”?
In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program for related service providers who want to take a leadership role in implementing executive functioning support. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/efleadership
I also mentioned Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that gives SLPs and other service providers a system for language therapy. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/
You can connect with David on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-schipper-1537972a/
You can learn more about Strategic Learning Clinic on their website here: https://strategiclearning.ca/, on their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/SLCStrategicLearningClinic, or on Instagram @strategiclearningclinic (https://www.instagram.com/strategiclearningclinic/).
We’re 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:
🚀 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.
The idea that exposing kids to enriching literacy and play-based experiences will effectively teach them to read and write sounds nice on paper.
Unfortunately, it’s not in-line with the large and growing body of evidence that suggests that kids need direct, explicit instruction to learn to read, write, and spell.
Sure, a select group of fortunate students will learn to read and write implicitly through exposure alone. But curricular decisions shouldn’t be based on what benefits a small percentage of their student population.
That’s why in this episode, I share a clip and my commentary on my interview with Dr. Pamela Snow.
Pamela Snow is a Professor of Cognitive Psychology in the School of Education at the Bendigo campus of La Trobe University, Australia. She is also Co-Director of the Science of Language and Reading (SOLAR) Lab. Pamela is a registered psychologist, having qualified originally in speech-language pathology and has taught a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate education and health professionals. Her research has been funded by nationally competitive schemes such as the ARC Discovery Program, ARC Linkage Program, and the Criminology Research Council, and concerns the role of language and literacy skills as academic and mental health protective factors in childhood and adolescence. She has conducted research on the profiles and needs of high-risk groups such as youth offenders, children and adolescents in the state care system and flexible education systems, as well as research advancing evidence in the language-to-literacy transition in the early years of school.
In this conversation, we discuss the need for nuance as it pertains to practices such as play-based instruction and project-based learning, and why these methods should be used in conjunction with direct reading instruction, not instead of.
Dr. Snow also explains the difference between biologically primary and biologically secondary skills, and why this distinction matters when it comes to literacy instruction.
Discussion points from this episode:
✅ Play-based learning vs. early reading instruction: Why they aren’t in opposition.
✅ Using explicit instruction to build skills needed for problem-solving and successful project-based learning.
✅ Whose job is it to work on reading? How much is the responsibility of the schools, and what is the parent’s job?
You can listen to my original interview with Dr. Snow on the De Facto Leaders podcast here: EP 158: Literacy and background knowledge: Essential skills for life (with Dr. Pamela Snow) Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-158-literacy-and-background-knowledge-essential-skills-for-life-with-dr-pamela-snow/
You can connect with Dr. Snow on X (formerly Twitter) @pamelasnow2 (https://twitter.com/PamelaSnow2) or on her blog at: http://pamelasnow.blogspot.com/
You can also learn more about her work on her La Trobe University page at: https://scholars.latrobe.edu.au/pcsnow
You can learn more about the Science of Language and Reading (SOLAR) lab at: https://www.latrobe.edu.au/school-education/about/spotlight
In this episode, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs and other service providers create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/
We’re 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:
🚀 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 schools respond to “behavior problems” in students, the focus is often on the symptom, not the cause.
Failing to look beyond the surface behavior does a disservice to students, which is why in this episode I share commentary and a clip from my conversation with Dr. Shameka Stewart on the school-to-confinement pipeline.
Dr. Shameka Stewart is an Associate Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders and the Juvenile Forensic Speech-Language Pathologist(r). Dr. Stewart is also a special education advocate trained by the Wright’s Law training center. Dr. Stewart’s clinical and scholarly work specializes in Juvenile Forensics, Law Enforcement Interaction with youth with CD, child language disorders, and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Her primary research focuses on the Confluence and Impact of cognitive and communication disorders on the school-to-confinement pipeline, status offenses, involvement with the criminal justice system, law enforcement interaction, and criminal recidivism in youth placed at-risk for delinquency and crime (especially Black and Brown youth from under-resourced areas). Dr. Stewart is also a clinically certified and licensed speech-language pathologist and is licensed to practice in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and multiple other states. Through her work, Dr. Stewart has created cutting edge social justice and juvenile justice specialty courses for graduate CSD students, nationally known training programs for law enforcement and legal counsel, and national and international CE workshops and training for licensed SLP clinicians, students, and families of children with special needs.
Discussion points from this episode include:
✅The relationship between reading challenges and the school-to-confinement pipeline.
✅Why “behavior problems” could be related to language processing, reading, or writing challenges.
✅“They should know better”: Why we can’t assume kids comprehend language in the school discipline handbook.
If you’re working with students in K-12 of any age, this episode is a must-listen.
You can listen to the original interview with Dr. Stewart on the De Facto Leaders podcast here: EP 180: The relationship of literacy and language skills and involvement with the justice system (with Dr. Shameka Stewart) Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-180-the-relationship-of-literacy-and-language-skills-and-involvement-with-the-justice-system-with-dr-shameka-stewart/
You can connect with Dr. Stewart on her website here: www.juvforensicslp.com
Connect with her on Instagram @drjuvenile_forensicslp (link here: http://drjuvenile_forensicslp/)
Join her Facebook group SLPs 4 Juvenile Justice here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1226771284165745/members
In this episode, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs and other service providers create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/
We’re 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:
🚀 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.
“We don’t need to work on decoding because students have access to assistive technology and accommodations.”
“We don’t work on word-decoding in high school.”
“Working on reading in high school is too little too late.”
If you’ve ever heard any of these arguments, you’re not alone. Unfortunately, beliefs like these do students a huge disservice.
That’s why in this conversation, I share a clip from my interview with Tom Parton, an SLP with a long-career of experience in secondary education, as well as literacy advocacy work.
Tom Parton is a private Speech Language Pathologist in Normal, Illinois. He retired after 35 years of public-school practice. Tom is President of Everyone Reading Illinois and is a member of ERI’s Legislative Committee. Tom has presented on autism and language/literacy topics at local, state, and national conferences. Tom participated in the ISBE Reading Instruction Advisory Group and Teachers of Reading Certification task forces. He is currently a member of the ISBE Dyslexia Handbook revision team. He is past-president of the Illinois Speech-Language-Hearing Association and is ISHA Honors Committee co-chair and a member of ISHA’s Leadership Development Committee. Tom is the 2024 chair of the American Speech Language Hearing Association Committee of Ambassadors.
In my commentary and the clip from the interview, you’ll hear discussion on:
✅ Why providing access to technology alone won’t solve access issues if kids lack adequate reading and spelling skills.
✅ Why accommodations and modifications aren’t a substitute for reading instruction, even in secondary school.
✅ The impact of word-decoding on activities of daily living.
If you’re serving students in secondary school, you won’t want to miss this episode.
You can listen to the original interview with Tom on De Facto Leaders here: EP 178: Are we allowed to say “dyslexia” in the schools? (with Tom Parton) Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-178-are-we-allowed-to-say-dyslexia-in-the-schools-with-tom-parton/
In this episode, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs and other service providers create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/
We’re 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:
🚀 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.
In this episode, I reflect on my conversation with my colleague Cassandra Williams as we discuss book and resource deserts, as well as how to engage with school communities.
In the interview clip I share, Cassandra shares a story of how one of her colleagues found a surprising way to increase attendance at parent-teacher conferences when he took the time to ask members of the community what their needs were.
Additionally, I share my commentary on how technology can both help and hinder literacy skills.
Cassandra Williams is a true innovator in the education field, having dedicated over 25 years of her life to revolutionizing existing systems and setting new standards of excellence. With a degree in Elementary Education from Southern Illinois University and a Master’s from California State University, she is also the founder of two successful elementary schools in Indianapolis. Her research has focused on coaching teachers to accelerate student achievement, often utilizing video and other technologies as learning tools. Her most recent passion is the Educational Innovation 360° (Link here: https://www.educationalinnovation360.com/) e-Instructional Coaching System, which she designed and developed in 2018.
Topics covered in this episode:
✅ When parents aren’t engaging, are you addressing the issue from a place of curiosity or judgement?
✅ Is technology a solution when schools lack access to books or curriculum materials?
✅ Using technology for professional development and training: Balancing efficiency with connection.
You can connect with Cassandra on LinkedIn here (https://www.linkedin.com/in/cassandra-williams-777b7927/), on Twitter here (https://twitter.com/Edinnovation360), and on Facebook here (https://www.facebook.com/Educationalinnovation360/), on Instagram @educationalinnovation360 (https://www.instagram.com/educationalinnovation360/)
You can learn more about her coaching and professional development for schools and individuals at Educationalinnovation360.com (https://www.educationalinnovation360.com/).
You can listen to the original interview with Cassandra on the De Facto Leaders podcast here: EP 113: Making literacy accessible and equitable (with Cassandra Williams) Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-113-making-literacy-accessible-and-equitable-with-cassandra-williams/
You can listen to Cassandra’s interview on SEEing to Lead with Dr. Chris Jones here where they discuss using video as a tool for teacher training and development: Educational Innovation 360 (Link here: https://stl.bepodcast.network/s3/24)
In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program for related service providers who want to take a leadership role in implementing executive functioning support. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/efleadership
I also mentioned Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs and other service providers create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/
We’re 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:
🚀 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.
Ever feel overwhelmed being the only SLP in your district without a network of fellow clinicians for support? You're not alone; many in similar situations face these challenges.
In this episode, I’m sharing a case study of an SLP who, despite being the sole clinician in her district, felt the pressure of not having a trusted system she could rely on for language therapy. Searching for a structured, effective approach, she turned to the Language Therapy Advance Foundations program. There, she developed a reliable system she could bring to her team, transforming her therapy sessions and instilling confidence in her practice.
I also reflect on ways you can gain a sense of belonging, even if you’re the only one in your discipline.
In this episode, I’ll share:
✅ Managing the challenges and isolation of being the only SLP in a district while building a trustworthy framework for therapy.
✅ Developing a system that empowers you to handle your caseload with confidence, even without peer support.
✅ Creating a dependable, efficient approach to language therapy that benefits both the clinician's peace of mind and the students' progress.
Join us as we explore how this solo SLP navigated her unique situation and emerged with a structured system she could trust and share with her team.
In this episode, I mentioned this previous podcast interview: EP 109: Can my principal evaluate me if they’ve never done my job? (with Eric Makelky) here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-109-can-my-principal-evaluate-me-if-theyve-never-done-my-job-with-eric-makelky/
This case study came from a member of Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that gives SLPs and other service providers create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/
We’re 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:
🚀 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.
Ever feel like you should have language therapy figured out by now, but you're still struggling? Even experienced clinicians can feel that way.
In this episode, I’m sharing a case study of a seasoned SLP who, despite years of experience, felt like she was missing a key piece of the puzzle when it came to language therapy. Battling decision fatigue and a lack of a reliable system, she joined my Language Therapy Advance Foundations program and created a reliable system that made her feel confident showing up to sessions.
In this episode, we’ll discuss:
✅ Overcoming the feeling of inadequacy as a veteran clinician and acknowledging the need for a more structured approach to language therapy.
✅ How streamlining decision-making allowed for more focused therapy sessions.
✅ Strategies for working on language skills that support executive functioning.
✅ Creating a predictable, efficient system for building language skills that support reading and writing.
This case study came from a member of Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that gives SLPs and other service providers create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/
We’re 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:
🚀 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.
What if choosing between language and executive functioning for your students wasn't an "either/or" decision? And how can we effectively balance academic content with broader cognitive skills? It's a complex challenge, and the answer isn't always obvious.
In this episode, I share commentary and a clip of my conversation with Jill Fahy, where we discuss the impact of executive functioning skills on the college experience.
Jill is a licensed speech-language pathologist and professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Eastern Illinois University. She is also the co-director of the Autism Center and Director of the Students with Autism Transitional Education Program, where she develops and delivers transitional programming in social skills and executive functions for college students.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
✅ Should we work on language or executive functioning first? The answer isn’t straightforward.
✅ Balancing academic content areas and broader cognitive skills: Why both parents and professionals need to learn about executive functioning as it relates to their context.
✅ Educating the public on cognition and evidence-based practices, and why it’s so easy for vulnerable individuals to grasp on to pseudoscience.
✅ How to use “asset stacking” to address the need to work on multiple interconnected areas at once (e.g., content area skills, language, cognition).
You can connect with Jill via email at jkfahy@eiu.edu. You can read her article, Assessment of Executive Functions in School-Aged Children: Challenges and Solutions for the SLP from ASHA Perspectives here: https://pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/sbi15.4.151
You can learn more about the Students Transitional Education Program at Eastern Illinois University here: https://www.eiu.edu/step/ and the Autism Center here: https://www.eiu.edu/autismcenter/
In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program for related service providers who want to take a leadership role in implementing executive functioning support. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/efleadership
We’re 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:
🚀 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.
In this episode of De Facto Leaders, I’m joined by speech-language therapist Natalie Yona from Cognishine to explore one of the most nuanced conversations happening in today: Where does AI actually belong in therapy?
Cognishine is a multilingual, multidisciplinary digital intervention platform designed for therapists, educators, and care professionals—offering a rich library of evidence-based, culturally tailored activities and tools that streamline workflows, boost engagement, and support both in-person and remote therapy without replacing clinicians.
Natalie Yona, M.A., is a Speech-Language Therapist (SLT) with over 16 years of extensive experience in pediatric and adult communication disorders, with specialization in neurological rehabilitation, early childhood development, fluency, and voice disorders. She currently holds the position of VP of Clinical Strategy, where she leads the development and integration of innovative digital tools designed to support cognitive and linguistic rehabilitation across hospitals, clinics, and community care settings. Her work emphasizes the creation of clinically grounded, accessible solutions that empower therapists and significantly enhance patient outcomes across age groups and medical conditions.
As technology becomes more embedded in clinical work, therapists and educators are facing a delicate balancing act. On one hand, AI has the potential to streamline workflows, reduce administrative burden, and alleviate the decision fatigue so many clinicians experience. On the other hand, there's growing concern about over-reliance on AI in ways that could compromise clinical judgment or even try to replace the therapist entirely.
We discuss:
✅ Why AI shouldn’t be used to make clinical decisions—and what it can do instead.
✅ How technology can serve as a delivery mechanism for interventions and parent engagement activities, rather than a substitute for human connection.
✅ What it looks like to embed AI tools in to your product development cycle while preserving clinical expertise and quality assurance.
✅ The book desert challenge: Does AI have a place in ensuring our clients have access to high-quality reading passages?
Whether you’re a therapist, supervisor, or administrator trying to make sense of AI’s role in mental health services, this episode offers a grounded, thoughtful look at how we can harness technology with intention.
You can learn more about Natalie’s work at Cognishine on their website here: https://www.cognishine.com/
You can listen to my episode with Dr. Karen Rose (former VP of Research and Clinical Development from Cognishine) here: EP 204: Using Digital Resources to Combat Therapist Burnout (with Dr. Karen Rose): https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-204-using-digital-resources-to-improve-team-collaboration-and-combat-therapist-burnout-with-dr-karen-rose/
In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program for related service providers who want to take a leadership role in implementing executive functioning support. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/efleadership
We’re 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:
🚀 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 my favorite “hooks” or titles to use when I’m talking about executive functioning centers around the idea that executive functioning intervention is about “more than just checklists”.
I like this title so much because one of the go-to interventions or accommodations for students with executive functioning difficulties includes some type of visual strategy or “checklist” to help them remember steps to important tasks.
Yet many teams are finding that students don’t use the visuals or supports they’re given, and they still aren’t able to keep up with transitions, classroom routines, or turn their assignments in on time.
That’s why in this fifth episode of my podcast series on “Five Skills to Create Your Executive Functioning Intervention Framework”, I talked about the final skill: Encoding
What I uncover in this episode:
✅ How we use encoding when making a list or planning for the future.
✅ How weak encoding skills limit a student’s ability to use supports like visual schedules, checklists, or self-talk effectively.
✅ How adults unintentionally inhibit the development of encoding when introducing cognitive tools like planners or lists.
✅ Why students may appear unmotivated or resistant when the real issue is an inability to visualize future events and transfer that mental imagery into words.
In this episode, I mentioned my free training for school leaders who want to create a research-based executive functioning implementation plan for their school teams. You can sign up for the training here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/efleadership
We’re 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:
🚀 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.
Every time I give a session on executive functioning, I have clinicians and teachers ask me the same thing:
“How can I motivate students who don’t seem to care or don’t want to try new things?”
Or something like “How can I convince students why this (insert task) is going to be important to them in the future?”
The short answer is that you don’t “convince” them of anything. At least not in the moment.
Instead, you create the experiences and opportunities that are going to help the student acquire the skills, experience the consequences, and develop the confidence to deal with uncertainty/unfamiliar situations.
When students appear resistant to try things, or seem to “not learn from past mistakes”, this can often be tied to weak episodic memory.
Episodic memory—the ability to see a mental picture of a past event, allows students to think back on past experiences and use them to prepare for the future.
When you struggle to do this, it’s difficult to recall past mistakes or feedback in the moment.
It’s also difficult to think back on past experiences when you might have done something well, which may make you feel less prepared for tasks that are challenging or less familiar.
This may cause nervousness or resistance toward difficult tasks if you can’t “see” back into the past (episode memory) or think into the future to know what you should be doing now (future pacing).
Unfortunately, on the surface, this may look like defiance, apathy, or lack of motivation.
That’s why in fourth episode in my “Five Skills to Create Your Executive Functioning Intervention Framework”, I discuss the fourth skill: Episodic Memory
What I’ll uncover in this episode:
✅ The critical role episodic memory plays in executive functioning: applying prior knowledge, anticipating consequences, and adjusting behavior.
✅ How difficulties with episodic memory impact a student’s confidence and willingness to try new things, or their persistence with challenging tasks.
✅ Why episodic memory interacts with other executive functioning skills, including future pacing, time perception, and self-talk.
In this episode, I mentioned my free training for school leaders who want to create a research-based executive functioning implementation plan for their school teams. You can sign up for the training here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/efleadership
We’re 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:
🚀 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.