Well, as of this writing, I am officially done with my first full year as a school SLP. I’ve been at this, off and on, for over a decade, but somehow, this is the first year that I consider a real, true year in the schools. Yes, I have worked in the schools, but for two half years (one end and one start). Yes, I worked a full school year or two in teletherapy, but it wasn’t quite the same as going into the building and knowing my groups and doing the traditional set up of school-based theory (in some ways it was easier and in some ways it was so much harder). And yes, I worked part-time this year, but it was 3 days, sometimes 4 or 5, and I never felt like a “contractor” or “part-timer”, I just felt like part of the school.

And with this being my first full year, the one where I really felt I was connected and “in” it – sometimes a pile of paperwork, a shit-storm of evals, or just loving every moment – there are so any thoughts and tidbits and things I want to share with you. Things that worked, things I learned, things that I will try differently, things I want to do more of, things I want to keep doing, what I loved, what I could do without, and why I enjoyed it so, so much this time around. 

So in the next few posts and episodes, this is exactly what I’ll be doing, sharing all about my first full year as a school SLP, specifically my experience as someone who really and truly loathed being a school based SLP a decade ago and absolutely love it now (I cried on the last day of school… a lot). No secret tricks or magic “just do this”, because that is all bullshit, but instead my experiences, my thoughts, and what I would like to share with you if we sat down together for coffee (or tea, because caffeine has been kicking my butt lately!). Nothing for you to do or change, but maybe just something to help you feel not alone, to give you some hope, or to inspire you for the next school year.

There were so many things that I did that I wouldn’t necessarily call mistakes, but I would try to do them differently the next time around. As I sit here writing this, I have COVID, for the second time this half of the school year, and my plans to go in and finish filing and paperwork on the teacher workday are awash and I will be going in next week, if the buildings open. It will make it a true full YEAR, since I started working last summer doing comp services, and will be finishing up the year in the same week, a year later. 

Paperwork, not knowing where the records room was until the last three days of school (eek!), scheduling and not checking the cancels, waiting until progress report week to start progress reports – there are a lot of things that I would do differently. They aren’t mistakes – just part of seeing how it worked and making some notes to shift it the next year. 

I found myself sitting one day, ready for a meeting, waiting on the LEA to sign in. I waited, chatted with the teacher, chatted with the parents (thankfully we were virtual), and then realized the LEA had marked they weren’t able to attend and I had overlooked the email that was sent out. Ouch. It was a little embarrassing and not a great first (second?) impression to be making with the parents. So what could I do? I had to just fess up, apologize for them stepping away from their day to sign in, and make a plan with them for when we would meet the following week. I sucked it up (my embarrassment), made a plan, and confirmed with all the team members that we would be able to meet on the next date scheduled. It was not perfect, was utterly un-smooth of me, and, for a moment, made me feel like an idiot. 

But then I realized, we all make small mistakes, we are human, and we don’t have to be perfect. Nothing happened. No big bad fairy came down and deemed me unworthy of being an SLP. No one scolded me for messing it all up. Honestly, it  wasn’t just no big deal, it was not even a blip. Rescheduled, got it done, thanked everyone, and moved on. 

There were a TON of little things like this that probably happened throughout the year – not knowing to file something, forgetting to send something home, not knowing that I needed to hold an ENTIRE PART OF A MEETING and then needing to go back and do it all again. It happens. 

It helped that the district SLP’s motto for us all was “Don’t look back and try to fix it. Once you learn something, use it going forward”. No need to dwell on the past, just do it from now on. 

What I learned as in my first full year as a School-Based SLP

Here are a few times I majorly goofed, but really it was just a learning lesson:

Forgot to hold an entire part of a meeting and had to go back and hold it again

In my first Speech-only IEP meeting, I unknowingly skipped an entire part. I had to do a three year re-eval. I gathered all the previous info and present levels. I held the re-eval part of the meeting where we determined we would continue with therapy. I held the annual IEP meeting and updated it. And then it wouldn’t clear from my system or show it was completed. So I looked through a few things and realized I forgot the important part – where we do the actual checkboxes and submit that, yes, they are still eligible. Facepalm for sure. So I called my supervisor, a bit embarrassed, and she reassured me, letting me know that even people who have been working for years make mistakes and goof up. She said to just own it, hold that part, and move forward. So I did and I didn’t miss that part again for the rest of the year. 

Didn’t realize not all team members had confirmed until we were in the meeting with the parents and had to reschedule. 

Oof. Later in the year, I thought everyone had confirmed, or at least not declined, an IEP meeting. 5 minutes into, still waiting for the last member, I realized they had declined and I missed the email. So once I found myself mucking up an IEP meeting. I apologized, we rescheduled, and I made sure everyone confirmed and was onboard the next time we held the meeting and all was well. 

Had no idea about folders until the end of the year.

You can’t know what you don’t even know you should know – or something like that 😉 I didn’t realize until well into the 4th quarter that we were supposed to file everything in two separate places. So, I had two choices – being super embarrassed and awkward about it, and feel bad for myself, OR, own it, laugh about it (while being awkward for sure), and get it done. Next year, I know I won’t have to wait until the end to file AND I’ll know exactly where to go each time. 

Probably another thousand things that I will continue to learn about as the years go on, no matter what job or where I am. For one, things are constantly updating and changing, so everyone is learning. But also, it’s a lot to learn. If you expect yourself to be perfect, or your leaders expect it, then you will never live up to it and always feel you are not enough. 

Why even bother sharing these muck-ups? Because I know I am not the only one, and I know that in the past I would have criticized, internalized, and felt like a complete ass about them. And you might be feeling that way, too. Graduate school and clinicals like to push this you – be perfect, no mistakes, be the best and by best we mean idealistic. You don’t have to be that way, and you will still be a damn good SLP.

Instead of looking at these as mistakes and places I failed, I look at them as things I learned and grew through. They are all the things I learned in my first full year as a school based SLP. They are new skills, new tools, and new insights that I can use and don’t have to struggle with going forward. 

What is a place you faltered in and learned from this year? I’d love to hear! Share in the comments or send me a message on IG @jessiandricks

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With Love and Light, 

Jessi