Empathy, Compassion, Generosity, & Empowerment

Motivational Mondays:

I was finishing up my ASHA Leader for August (I know... it took me a week to read it lol) and came across a super inspiring article by Drew Dudley discussing leadership, which will be the theme for this year's national convention in Philadelphia, PA. It encourages us a speech-language pathologists to maintain and demonstrate core values throughout our practices, interactions and involvement with the populations we serve and their families. I thought it was especially interesting that some of the questions that he proposed, are questions and concepts that Rush and Shelden encouraged in my most recent continuing education course on the Coaching Interaction Style approach to early intervention. The questions were as follows:

1. What have I done today to help a vulnerable client feel empowered?
2. What I have I done today to recognize another's leadership?

As professionals, the ball is in our court to empower families through our knowledge, skills, and practices and to respect their role as the primary caregiver and/or family members. We must respect boundaries, cultural and religious beliefs, and family dynamics. In addition, we have to be sure to teach the skills to the family in order to assist the family in achieving  and addressing the functional outcomes and priorities in a way that they can confident to conduct effective and consistent carryover, and we are not seen as "magical" but as a facilitators, communication & developmental coaches, and an equal team player. Lastly, we must recognize that although we may go into their homes every week, and interact with their child and engage in their family dynamics through routines-based play, they will always be the expert in knowing their child's interests, reactions, dislikes, etc. and the person ensuring skills are met through carryover during all of the thousands of hours we are not present. I try to remember when a family or caregiver lacks confidence or did not follow up with the joint plan, it is my responsibility to dig deeper into why the plan was not conducive enough to incorporate into daily routines and ultimately why the parent was not confident or empowered enough to be consistent in moving forward with the joint plan. Let's all (me included) strive to ask these questions daily so that we are maximizing children's development potential and work diligently to collaborate with families in helping their children :).

May I remind you that MAY is Better Hearing & Speech Month #BHSM?

Hey there SMLers!! It's been a very busy and productive start to Spring. I am still recovering from my drive from DC to our NJ headquarters for our quarterly early intervention meeting, which was extremely productive and empowering. Needless to say, I am feeling extremely #speechie this month and as usual very excited to bring awareness to #BHSM. I got super exciting news that I may be getting a #clinicalfellow (CF) to supervise by the end of the summer. While this is very exciting, I am also a little anxious, as my only supervision and mentor experience in my field has been through my new/current clinical director position and more recently, an #ASHA #STEPmentor. So, to prepare for my upcoming opportunity on helping a future #SLP to develop a sound foundation in their lucrative and dynamic chosen career of a speech-language pathologist, I'm reading several books, chatting with colleagues who've had this experience, and reading articles, to include one from the most recent #ASHALeader. My favorite tips and most helpful takeaways are these:

1. www.asha.org/Certification/CFSupervisors

2. Determining expectations at the beginning of the #CFY during the first month or orientation period

3. Help to channel knowledge and skills from graduate school to the workplace 

4. Establish outcomes and goals for the CF 

Please let me know any suggestions you may have from experience as an SLP/CF supervisor. I'll be sure to keep you all posted on my newest and very exciting adventure :).

Spring Forward!

Happy Spring!! Spring is my absolute favorite season :). I especially love how we get extra daylight, blooming flowers, my birthday, and a fresh start which leads to new beginnings and new growth. I have decided to share two new ideas that I have implemented since starting my new position as an early intervention clinical director:

1. Mid-Month Check-Ins:

• Share community, professional, and clinical resources that pertain to early intervention for all disciplines 
• Any important updates from the early intervention program
• Reminders of holidays, makeup visit/cancellation policy
• Allows an open forum for questions & concerns; keeps the lines of communication open amongst all providers

2. Quarterly Team Meetings:

• Agenda of important items & common questions/concerns/"hot topics"
• Builds team morale
• Allows the opportunity to build a relationship among providers and keep referrals within the company 
• Opportunities to share ideas, strategies, and 
• Review of routine assessments and progress notes
• Open forum for me to share my long term vision with the team and work together to obtain goals that would indefinitely benefit the team 
• Keeps the team abreast of policies and upcoming changes within the company 

Please feel free to share your thoughts, ideas, feedback, etc. 

#eislp #creativejuices #clinicaldirectorslp #leadership #slplife #springforward #SLP 

10 Things I LOVE about being an EI Clinical Director & SLP

Happy Thursday & Happy Love Week :). I've been in my new position for almost a month now and I LOVE it! I love it so much that I decided to share ten of my favorite things about my new job. Feel free to share your favorite experiences or things that you love about EI as a provider or a family who is receiving or has received services for your infant or toddler. Have a lovely weekend!!

1. My provider and clinical director teams
2. The fact that all of my families & kiddos followed me to my new company
3. My new business cards
4. The bi-weekly conference calls with my EI coordinator & fellow clinical director
5. The fact that the team is growing tremendously; interviewed and hired two new people
6. The fact that I already developed an agenda for my very first meet n' greet which is planned for Spring
7. Observing my team and providing positive and helpful feedback
8. The fact that although my fellow providers haven't known me very long, I've had at least 30 minute conversations with each of them and they have all felt comfortable enough to reach out when they've needed assistance
9. I love that my long term vision for the DC is shared and loved by my superiors
10. The fact that I have the opportunity to share my passion and love for EI with a company that is new to this particular program in DC and that they really value my professional opinions and perspectives
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I Aspire to Be...

Motivational Monday:

Happy Monday!! Today, I want to honor the first African American speech-language pathologist, Hallie Quinn Brown. Thank you for establishing the foundation for minorities in this wonderful field. I am forever grateful, and aspire to provide outstanding and dynamic services to those in need and hope to inspire future SLPs through my work!! #SISTA #slplife #slpHERstory

New Year, New Position…A Time to Lead

Happy New Year/2016!! I'm thrilled to announce my new position as a clinical director in a couple of weeks for one of the contract companies affiliated with the DC Strong Start early intervention program. This year I will be posting about my experiences in my new position, in addition to any new treatment strategies, specialty courses I attend, etc. Please feel free to share professional advice or experiences & enjoy the remainder of your break :)