5 Things I Learned in My 1st Semester as a High School SLP

It's all fun and games until someone starts to question your credentials and scope of practice...

Some brief background: I moved to Redding, CA at the end of July 2022 after I finished my final externship in Denver, CO. I accepted the job offer from the school district in early-ish August. I officially graduated from my Master's program on August 15, 2022. School started August 16. Extremely quick turnaround. My school district has 3 high schools and 2 other full-time SLPs, one of whom was covering 2 schools. They had been trying to fill this position for over 6 years. My CF supervisor, Lisa, was the SLP working at 2 different high schools for over 6 years. So now, each high school has its own designated SLP, which is great! As the new, young SLP, I definitely ruffled some feathers during my first semester, but what's high school without a little drama?

#1: Don't try to be something you're not.

Coming into a school where there were already certain expectations for how I should do things is hard. Lisa is a great SLP and very much loved by staff and students alike. Lisa provided me with lots of advice and insight into how she did things at my high school, but she encouraged me to do whatever I felt was best based on my clinical expertise. *Cue imposter syndrome*. My clinical expertise? Did she forget that I just graduated? What if I mess up and how will I know if I mess up if no one is there to tell me? This is a common fear for CFs since we are so used to having an SLP supervisor with us 90% of the time. We get so used to that safety net that it's hard to remember that we barely needed it during those last 100 clinical hours. So, naturally, I thought to myself, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," and tried to do things like Lisa had in the past. I was stressed and nervous every time I worked with students in front of other teachers. I was always worried they were comparing me to Lisa. That was not sustainable if I wanted to be successful. Yes, Lisa is a great SLP, but I am also a great SLP. I needed to just be myself. I reminded myself that just because someone did it one way does not mean it is the only way. By Mid-October, I started feeling more confident in my clinical abilities and judgment. And guess what? I did mess up, but I didn't mess up any of my students. I learned from those mess ups and gained professional experience!

#2: Don't care more than your students care.

This sounds harsh, but it's true. This is different than trying to find buy-in with a student. I care about all of my patients. I am an empath through and through. Most of the students I work with have a rough home life, which just tugs on my heart strings even more. I had one student in particular who I wanted to succeed so much more than he cared about. At the very beginning of the semester, he emailed me requesting to be dropped from speech therapy because he felt like it never benefitted him in the past. I requested that he at least meet with me once before deciding to completely quit. He agreed, and I scheduled for us to meet Thursday during his Access class, the last class of the day. Thursday rolls around and he had ditched most of his classes already, but he showed up to my office for speech therapy. I told him it was a low pressure situation; I just wanted to get to know him and see what he liked to do in his free time. Near the end of our 30 minutes, I explained my observations and my plans for therapy, and he agreed to continue seeing me. His main concern was how he sounded when he talked (lots of misarticulations), and by the 3rd week, we had nearly remediated his lateral lisp. As the semester progressed, he ditched more classes but still attended speech therapy. He requested to increase his speech time because I had created a safe space for him. I felt like this kid was someone who just needed someone to care about him, so that's what I did. I checked in with his teachers frequently, monitored his attendance, and supported him in speech therapy.

There was a glimmer of promise, but he continued to ditch class and disrespect other teachers. This student had nearly 0% in ALL classes, including his Access class (which is basically study hall). At the end of October, I received an email from him requesting to quit speech therapy again, and I was so hurt. I cared too much at this point. I had to take a moment to reset, set my sensitivities aside, and read the email like a clinician. I needed to remember that this request was not personal. It did not mean that I was a bad clinician. This student was struggling in life and that was more important than speech therapy. I couldn't care more about his speech therapy than he did. He liked it, but it just wasn't a priority. By mid-November, he had disenrolled from the high school. After he left, I realized how emotionally drained I was. It's difficult, but important, to find that balance between caring about your patients and caring too much.

#3: Don't take things personally.

This one builds on #2. When we take things personally, we can't look at them objectively. During my inpatient rehab hospital externship, I had patients refuse my services upon my arrival. The first one felt like a gut punch and I had no idea what to say in response ("Oh... uh... are you sure? okay"). By the fifth one, I was able formulate a professional response that explained the benefits of speech therapy in the rehab setting and, when the answer was still 'no', I looked at it objectively ("Thank you for your time. It was nice meeting you"). At the high school, I teach 2 social communication classes and not all of the kids are on my caseload, but they benefit from the instruction. I have a few kids in those classes (some on my caseload, some not) that do not want to be there. They don't like it when I talk to them, they don't want me near them (no, it's not because I'm stinky. I asked them.). Initially, it didn't feel good to be rejected so blatantly, but I had to remember my past experiences with this. They aren't saying 'no' to you. They are saying 'no' to speech therapy because they have different priorities right now. And that's their right.

#4: Make friends.

This one was especially important to me since I moved across the country and only had my boyfriend to rely on for socialization. But making friends at any job is important! I am the only SLP at my high school and many of the teachers have no idea who I am or what I do (shocking, I know). Get out of your speech room and talk to people! At the beginning of the semester, I would make a point to go to the teacher lounge and show face. No one knew who I was, so everyone was curious when they saw me. I went from no one acknowledging me on campus to numerous welcoming faces daily! Plus, more teachers started collaborating with me and asking for ways to support students in the classrooms. This really helped me feel less isolated and more part of the community. Now, I have a group of friends to be social with outside of work, which is crucial for my sanity as an extrovert.

#5: Advocate for yourself and your profession.

The SLP scope of practice is huge! Articulation, voice, expressive language, receptive language, literacy, cognition, swallowing -- the list goes on, and as you can see, it's very diverse. My most asked question when I tell people I'm an SLP is, "So, what do you do?". Most people have never even heard of it, or if they have heard of it, I am reduced down to helping kids say their /r/. I am always happy to educate people on the wonderful world of SLP, if they are interested. I have learned that when explaining my profession, it is best to keep it simple initially: I help people communicate efficiently and effectively as well as eat and drink safely. When I am working with other professionals, I tend to go into more detail so they are more aware of my scope of practice for collaborative purposes.

By my 4th month at the high school, I was feeling confident in my clinical abilities -- I was getting good feedback about my performance in IEP meetings, my students all liked me (bless), and parents were reaching out to me, personally, to tell me about their child's speech therapy carryover in the home!! Then, it happened... During an IEP meeting, I proposed a phonological awareness goal for a student who had difficulty with word decoding, spelling, and reading comprehension. Because of my lighter caseload and this student's desire to become a better reader and writer, I wanted to provide her with more individualized literacy and phonic instruction. Apparently, my school was unfamiliar with the role of SLPs in literacy. The backlash I received about this goal during the meeting, with a parent present, was shocking. The school psychologist questioned my scope of practice and told me to 'check' my credentials. With a parent present! I was aghast. This was so unprofessional, and I had no idea how to respond! I left the meeting feeling defeated and embarrassed. She was so abrasive that I questioned my scope of practice! I spent a few minutes on the ASHA website to confirm that I was not crazy -- yes, reading and writing (aka literacy) is in fact language and communication. I decided to write an email to her, hoping to clear up any confusion about SLPs and literacy. Long story short, I received a couple of long-winded 5 paragraph email essentially telling me I am an immature SLP (referenced my CF licensure) who needs to stay in her lane. This turned into a bigger deal since the other SLPs reported similar occurrences over the course of their 20-something years working with this school psych. We informed our boss of the situation, and she acknowledged the unprofessionalism. In the end, I was encouraged to continue doing things the way had been and accoladed for my enthusiasm to help my students as much as I could. Moral of the story: Advocate for yourself and your profession! It may be the first time, but it definitely won't be the last. Also, I am now a consultant for the literacy committee in my district ;) .

While I have learned so much more in my 1 semester of high school, the 5 I listed have allowed me to feel excited and ready to take on the spring semester! I used my 1st semester as a way to learn about myself as an SLP and how I want to conduct speech therapy in the school. Students come back to campus on January 10, and I can't wait to help them succeed academically and socially! And who knows what other