De Facto Leaders (Dr. Karen Dudek-Brannan)

Is it functional to work on parts of speech?

Is sentence diagramming useful?

How do we improve word-retrieval in kids with developmental disabilities, and is it similar to what we’d do for an adult with a brain injury?

How can we make therapy academically relevant and functional beyond just getting a good score on a standardized test?

I invited speech-language pathologist and Language Therapy Advance Foundations student Katy Wyatt to the show to share answers to these questions.

I’m always excited to connect with people who are using the frameworks I teach; because I’m always amazed at some of the creative ideas they come up with to expand on what I’ve given them.

If you’re a Language Therapy Advance Foundations student, and you want some practical ways to use the tools I’ve given you, you'll really enjoy this interview. And if you’ve been lurking and considering whether the program is for you, this will give you an idea of what you’ll learn if you do decide to join.

Katy Wyatt graduated from California State University, Los Angeles in 2017, with a Masters of Arts in Communication Disorders. After moving to North Carolina, Katy has worked in head starts, homes, schools, skilled nursing facilities, and assisted living facilities with clients ages 11 months to 99+ years. Katy is a board-certified cognitive specialist, and has also been certified in the SOS approach to feeding. Katy currently works in the schools full time with Kinetic Physical Therapy and Wellness; she works with students to improve their language, articulation, and fluency skills, develop alternative means of communication, and improve their social and academic functioning. Katy also serves as the compliance coordinator and SLP-Assistant supervisor with Speech Inspirations PLLC.

In this conversation, we discuss:

✅The parallels between therapy for aphasia and child language disorders.

✅Why therapy focused on vocabulary and background knowledge can ALSO address executive functioning skills like the ability to self-question, generate and evaluate ideas, and plan/executive them.

✅Parts of speech and sentence diagramming: How to embed this kind of work into structured but contextualized activities.

✅Syntax as a vocabulary skill: How to help kids understand what words MEAN and what words DO.

✅Why it’s impossible to define what vocabulary skills are “age-appropriate” at each grade level; and how to reframe the way you think about scaffolding across grade levels and varying student needs.

✅Generalization: How to focus on explicit instruction of content and strategy in direct therapy while ALSO giving students retrieval tools they can use outside sessions.

The Language Severity Rate Scale and Classroom Communication and Learning Checklist from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) can be found here: https://www.dpi.nc.gov/documents/ec/speech-guide/download

Katy's Semantic Feature Analysis Song Video can be found here: https://youtu.be/Qdw3M1ZiaSM

I mentioned this conversation in this interview: EP 148: Unlocking success through sensory processing and team collaboration (with Maude Le Roux) Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-148-unlocking-success-through-sensory-processing-and-team-collaboration-with-maude-le-roux/

Katy is 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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 kids need support with language, reading/writing, and executive functioning, they often have multiple diagnoses.

This makes both treatment planning, diagnosis, and determining eligibility for educational programming complicated; especially when it comes to legal guidelines as well as state and local policies. 

That’s why in episode 159 of De Facto Leaders, I’m sharing a Q & A session I did about comorbidities in my Language Therapy Advance Foundations member’s group. 

In this episode I talk about the simple view of reading and how it aligns with the essential 5 framework.

I also talk about common comorbidities, including: 

✅Developmental language disorder + dyslexia

✅ADHD + dyslexia

✅Dyslexia + ADHD

I wrap up by discussing clarification from the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services on the use of terms like “dyslexia” and “developmental language disorder” and the difference between schools being PERMITTED to use a term vs. being REQUIRED to provide services aligned with FAPE. 

In this episode, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about Language Therapy Advance Foundations here (https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/).

The following are evaluation tools that can help guide you in evaluating and treating individuals with ADHD, dyslexia, DLD, and other diagnoses that impact reading, writing, language, and executive functioning. 

I cover a complete framework for executive functioning intervention in the School of Clinical Leadership, my program for related service providers who want to emerge as the executive functioning lead on their school teams. You can learn more about that program here (https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership). 

Keep in mind when you view this list that formal evaluation tools should be used in conjunction with other non-standardized tools. It's best practice to utilize a portfolio process when doing an evaluation which can consist of a combination of observations, stakeholder interviews, work samples, data from non-standardized protocols, and formal assessments. 

You can read the full list of assessments in this article here (https://drkarenspeech.com/co-morbidities-and-differential-diagnosis-adhd-dld-dyslexia/).

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Many leadership initiatives in education need to come from the top…

But change can happen when direct service providers emerge as leaders on their teams without waiting for permission from someone else. 

School administrators and other people making decisions at the district and policy level are constantly pulled in different directions. The further up the chain you go and the more people you’re managing, the longer it takes to make things happen.

Good leaders WANT their teachers and therapists to come to them with ideas and show initiative. In fact, they often need their team members to show this leadership. 

But this can be scary to do if you don’t see yourself as a leader. 

When I first considered adding the school administration credential to my doctoral program, my initial gut response was “I’m not cut out for that” 

Seeing myself in that position seemed really difficult, and I don’t think this experience is unique to me. 

When people don’t pursue career transitions or leadership roles, it’s often NOT because they aren’t interested in the work. 

It’s often because they don't think they’ll be successful or they aren’t sure what their options are. 

It’s both a confidence issue and a clarity issue. 

That’s why I wanted to invite Meg Niman to the “De Facto Leaders” podcast to talk about working in education and the tech world, as well as the concept of an alter ego. 

Meg Niman (she/they) is the facilitator and founder of The Alter Ego Project. Her session, "Design Your Alter Ego: Who do you need to be?," was one of the most popular workshops at SXSW 2023. She works with companies as well as individuals to bring play, creativity, and curiosity to professional and personal development.

Meg was a user experience designer for 17 years in San Francisco, Seattle, and Philadelphia. She worked for Microsoft, Fitbit, LeapFrog and many startups. Prior to tech, Meg taught elementary school with Teach For America.

The Alter Ego Project blends Meg’s expertise in design thinking, personas, and creativity with her passion for helping people pursue a more authentic life.

In this conversation Meg shares:

✅What it was like working with Teach for America and why teaching is the hardest job she’s ever done.

✅How she transitioned from education to tech, and how to leverage transferable skills and experiences. 

✅Why many K-12 education problems are really just “human problems” that also exist in other agencies and fields.

✅How team members can separate work-related disagreements from their personal relationships outside of team meetings.

✅The Alter Ego Project: How to use alter egos to decrease burnout, level up in your career, and live a more intentional life.

You can connect with Meg on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/megniman/ and at www.alterego-project.com.

In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers design services that support executive functioning in K-12 settings. You can learn more about the program at 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

For episode 206 of De Facto Leaders, I share a Q & A session where I discuss Reading Recovery and cueing strategies for decoding, and I make some recommendations for additional information that will give you more information on this topic.

I also share what you can do if you're in a district that uses Fountas and Pinnell reading levels, which often don't give detailed or consistent information about a kid's language skills. 

You’ll also hear commentary on the Matthew Effect and vocabulary development. 

Finally, I discuss the role of executive dysfunction and mental health, a guide I created that dives into this topic further, and what clinicians can do to support executive functioning in schools.

This Q & A session was done in the member’s group for Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs build a system for language therapy. You can learn more about Language Therapy Advance Foundations here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy

Additional resources mentioned in this episode:

You can find Angie Neal’s Presentation on Speechpathology.com about using a collaborative approach to language and literacy here (you need a paid subscription to access): https://www.speechpathology.com/slp-ceus/course/language-and-literacy-collaborative-approach-9342

You can listen to Sold a Story here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sold-a-story/id1649580473

You can download the Executive Functioning Implementation Guide here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/efguide

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Many people treat social skills groups as if they’re the complete package, when in fact they’re just one part of a bigger service plan. 

When we “lesson plan” we can’t think of our intervention as something that starts and ends with a 20-minute therapy session. Instead, we should think of it as a “planning” or a “priming” session. 

That’s why one of the very first things I teach clinicians in the School of Clinical Leadership is how to utilize multiple service delivery models when supporting executive functioning because social skills should fall under this umbrella.  

In this episode, I wanted to share two sneak peaks from the program. I’ll share the audio from two video clips from the School of Clinical Leadership that will set the stage for effective social skills intervention.

You’ll learn:

✅How to use social skill-building sessions in a way that builds resilience, situational awareness, and considers a student’s neurodevelopmental differences. 

✅Why many premade social narratives don’t result in good generalization, and how to be a good consumer of commercially available products. 

✅The three components of effective social skills intervention and where the “social skills group” fits. 

✅The components of good social narratives, and how to create them “on the fly”.

*In the video modeling tutorial, I mention that a lot of people write goals for eye contact-and I wanted to clarify that I do not recommend writing eye contact goals. Instead, I recommend focusing on helping kids with the underlying communicative function, such as showing others you're paying attention or gaining attention of others, which can be achieved through other ways besides eye contact.

In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers develop a strategic plan for putting executive functioning support in place in collaboration with their school teams. You can learn more about that program here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership

If you’re already a member of either program and you refer a friend, tell them to email me at talktome@drkarenspeech.com if they join and let me know you referred them and I’ll send you a $100 referral bonus. 

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

This week, I’m sharing an interview from another host on the BE podcast network because I think it’s something you’ll really enjoy. The episode is going live in the De Facto Leaders podcast feed. 

I’m pleased to bring you a conversation from The Authority Podcast here on the Be Podcast Network. You’ll hear from Principal Baruti Kafele, author of seven best-selling books, including The Equity & Social Justice Education 50.

About Baruti Kafele

One of the most sought-after school leadership and classroom equity presenters in America, Principal Kafele is impacting America’s schools! He has delivered over 2500 conferences and program keynotes, professional development workshops, parenting seminars and student assemblies over his 35 years of public speaking. An expert in the area of “attitude transformation,” Principal Kafele is the leading authority on providing effective classroom and school leadership strategies toward closing what he coined, the "Attitude Gap.” He has authored twelve books, including seven ASCD best-sellers. 

The discussion includes:

✅ Equity vs. Equality — the strategy vs. the goal and why it matters

✅ Does my presence positively alter the trajectory of my students?

✅ How do I ensure that no student is invisible in my classroom?

✅Becoming credible to your students

✅ “I want my readers to be comfortable with being uncomfortable and uncomfortable with being comfortable.”

✅The Big 3: Individuality, Identity, and Voice. Why these are non-negotiables in every classroom.

✅The leader’s role in making equity work resilient

You can learn more about Barute Kafele’s work on his website here.

About The Authority Podcast

"Interviews with people who know what they're talking about."

On The Authority, leadership coach, storytelling strategist and edtech advisor Ross Romano interviews leading authors from the education world and beyond to draw out their invaluable insights on leadership, culture-building, transformation, and student & educator success. Join each week to hear ideas for addressing your current pain points, new perspectives from the authors you admire, and fresh takes from up-and-coming voices. Subscribe on your favorite platform: https://bit.ly/m/theauthoritypodcast

Be sure to check out the BE podcast network for educators and aspiring leaders. If you’re looking for shows to inspire you to level up in your career or more effectively serve students, we’ve got you covered. Learn more about the BE podcast network at http://bepodcastnetwork.com/

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Many people classify swallowing and feeding intervention as a “medical” service that shouldn’t be addressed in the schools.  

This is a very black and white (and inaccurate) way of thinking. 

Children with complex medical needs have a right to FAPE. 

Measuring whether or not students are accessing their curriculum can’t be solely based on grades; which is unfortunately what many teams default to when it comes to determining if services and accommodations are educationally relevant. 

That’s why I invited pediatric swallowing and feeding specialist Carolyn Dolby to the De Facto Leaders podcast to talk about what school teams can, and SHOULD be doing for swallowing and feeding in the schools. 

Carolyn Dolby, MS, CCC-SLP, specializes in pediatric feeding and swallowing evaluations and interventions as the Dysphagia Support Speech Language Pathologist for a large public school in the Pacific NorthWest. In her prior experience as a clinician, she has served populations across the lifespan in medical, in-home, and private practice settings. Her graduate-level courses for the University of Houston prepare the next generation of school-based dysphagia providers. In her ‘Bite-Sized Advice’ private practice, she provides consultation services and dysphagia support nationwide. She presents locally and nationally with a focus on delivering dynamic dysphagia services.

In this conversation, we discuss:

✅The phases of swallowing, including the “pre-oral phase” schools need to consider.

✅How the environment and events leading up to meal times impact a kid's ability to eat safely and efficiently in the lunchroom. 

✅Why the “curriculum” isn’t just about academic areas, and removing a child from an opportunity to socialize can be a violation of their rights. 

✅Children need to be able to access their LRE. They can’t do this if they can’t maintain adequate nutrition and hydration across the school day.

✅Court cases, legal mandates, and which “medical” services schools should be providing. 

You can connect with Carolyn at c1dobly@gmail.com.

Listen to the School of Speech Podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAqLI0-BOrrL4ftJWyDf1HewdiHAjKGuJ 

Listen to my interview on the School of Speech Podcast called “Positioning Yourself as a Literacy and Executive Functioning Expert on Your School Team” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmY0MR6H7QM&list=PLAqLI0-BOrrL4ftJWyDf1HewdiHAjKGuJ&index=4

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Emily Homer’s Students Eat Safely Website. Link here: https://www.emilymhomer.com

The International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative (IDDSI) website: https://iddsi.org

In this episode, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about Language Therapy Advance Foundations 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

“Scaffolding” has become a buzzword when it comes to helping kids become more independent with academic and functional tasks, but it's only useful if people know what it means. 

Watching students or your own children struggle to transition or complete daily tasks can be uncomfortable for both the adults and children. 

As a result, it can be easy to get pulled in to a situation where kids become prompt-dependent. 

That’s why I invited Rebecca Robbins to De Facto Leaders to talk about how to use declarative statements and strategic pausing to increase independence. 

Rebecca Robbins is a speech language pathologist who has spent the bulk of her career helping children, young adults, and families impacted by autism. She has worked in various settings over the course of her career including a private school for children with autism, Early Intervention & Preschool agency work, as well as a public school. She is now the proud owner of Mind ShaperSLP, LLC where she provides 1:1 speech therapy, executive functioning and life skills coaching for individuals and social skills groups. In addition, Rebecca provides parent online training programs and consultation services. Rebecca currently lives in Pennsylvania, and provides services in The Hudson Valley, NY and in Montgomery County, PA.

In this conversion, we discuss:

✅Parent coaching: It’s emphasized in early intervention, so why aren’t we doing it for school-age kids and adolescents?

✅What does it mean to “act as kids’ executive functioning”?

✅Directive statements, explicit teaching, reflective questions, and pauses: How to use these strategies to fade prompts.

✅Getting started with coaching and consulting: What strategies can we teach adjacent disciplines and caregivers to improve carryover?

You can connect with Rebecca and learn about her therapy services and online programs for Autistic clients here: https://mindshaperslp.com/

Connect with her on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/mindshaperslp/

Connect with her on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/MindShaperSLP/

In this episode, we mention Linda Murphy’s Declarative Handbook and website. You can learn more about Linday Murphy’s work on her website here: https://www.lindakmurphy.com/declarative-language

In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers develop a strategic plan for putting executive functioning support in place in collaboration with their school teams. You can learn more about that 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

If kids haven’t developed certain academic skills by a certain age, their ability to advance in their education diminishes. This means the opportunities they have in adulthood decreases. 

As I’ve been talking with different curriculum experts and school leaders, many of them have shared that closing academic skill gaps is an important part of addressing equity issues. Kids need to learn the skills that will enable them to advance in their education because it can substantially expand their career options in the future. 

I wanted to dive into this topic a bit further, so that’s why I invited Dr. Joseph Williams, III to episode 128 of the De Facto Leaders podcast. 

Dr. Joseph Williams III is a dedicated and accomplished school leader, currently serving as the principal of Franklin High School in Seattle, Washington. With over 25 years of experience in PreK-12 education, he has made a significant impact in various roles throughout his career. 

Dr. Williams began his journey in education as a special education and social studies teacher, gaining valuable insights and honing his teaching skills for a decade. His passion for helping students with diverse needs led him to pursue leadership positions. Over the course of 13 years, he served as an assistant principal and principal, bringing his expertise and dedication to elementary and secondary schools.

As an African American school leader, Dr. Williams is deeply passionate about equity and access in K-12 education. Dr. Williams understands firsthand the importance of turnaround school leadership and the transformative power of K-12 education to ensure that no student's race, identity, gender, economic status, or zip code limits their potential.  

Growing up as the second oldest among six siblings, Dr. Williams experienced the challenges of relying on public assistance in Kansas City, Missouri. This background has fueled his unwavering belief that all children, regardless of their socioeconomic background, deserve a quality education and the opportunity to build fulfilling lives.

His personal journey is a testament to the belief that every child can achieve academic success and lead extraordinary lives.

In this interview, he shares how having positive role models in the early years has shaped the trajectory of his life, and how he’s used it in his work in inner city schools.

We also discuss the importance of closing academic gaps in the early elementary years, and why this has such a huge impact on equity and access to education in the later years.

Dr. Williams has an amazing story and I’m so excited to share this conversation with you.

In this episode, I mentioned the Time Tracking Journal, a strategy for improving time-management, future planning, and executive functioning during daily tasks like academic assignments or daily routines.

You can learn more about the Time Tracking Journal here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/timejournal).

You can connect with Dr. Joseph Williams, III on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drjwilliamsiii/ ), and you can get more information about his book “Mama put us first” here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/everyone-has-book-within-them-joseph-williams-iii-ed-d-/ 

Listen to his podcast, the My K-12 Career Show here on the Elevating K-12 Education newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/elevating-k12-education-6940938756417863680/

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Most people involved in K-12 education aren’t in it for the money, but with high caseloads and low pay; a lot of people are considering a career transition.

For people in therapy roles, private practice is a common option on the table; but many come from a “helping people” mindset and struggle with the idea of focusing on business and revenue.

That’s why I invited Ebony Green to episode 130 of the De Facto Leaders podcast to talk about how scaling her private practice has helped her provide accessible services to underserved communities as well as fulfilling careers for therapists. 

Ebony Green, M.S., is the CEO and founder of SLP Business Suite, an innovative educational platform where she teaches speech-language pathologists how to grow their businesses to six and seven figures. Ebony has more than a decade of public and private sector experience as a certified speech therapist who specializes in autism and bilingual speech support. She grew her own practice, CASA Speech Development Services, to seven figures in just three years through multiple school contracts that support more than 700 students annually. Ebony has helped her clients secure contracts across the country totaling in the millions.

Esteemed industry organizations, including the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and the National Black Speech Hearing Association, have tapped Ebony to present both virtually and in-person for national conferences. She’s the host of the SLP Business Podcast and has also been sought after in various media outlets including The Speech Goods Podcast, Telepractice Today, Speechie Side Up, SLP Money, Bird Means Business, and VoyagePhoenix. A married mother of two, Ebony lives outside of Phoenix, Arizona and enjoys being a soccer mom and volunteering with her daughter’s Girl Scout Troop in her free time.

In this conversation, she shares:

✅How expanding her service offerings and revenue has allowed her to offer inclusive services to communities that previously had limited access to support. 

✅Why contracting with schools has allowed her to offer competitive pay for her team, while advocating for manageable caseloads.

✅How to determine what services to offer and what niches to serve (and how to determine when you should say “Yes” to opportunities).

✅The importance of finding coaches and mentors to help you advance in your career; including how to find the right advice at the right time.

You can learn more about Ebony’s private practice at: https://casaspeech.com/services and on Instagram at @casaspeech_ot_az/

Learn more about the SLP Business Suite at: https://theslpbusinesssuite.teachable.com/ and on Instagram at @theslpbusiness_suite/

Connect with Ebony on Instagram at:@slpcontractsqueen/

In this episode, I mentioned the Time Tracking Journal, a strategy for improving time-management, future planning, and executive functioning during daily tasks like academic assignments or daily routines. You can learn more about the Time Tracking Journal here.

Be sure to check out the BE podcast network for educators and aspiring leaders. If you’re looking for shows to inspire you to level up in your career or more effectively serve students, we’ve got you covered.
Learn more about the BE podcast network at http://bepodcastnetwork.com/

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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 approaches to teaching kids to read; but not all of them are effective. This is especially important for kids with disabilities who need explicit instruction.

That’s why in episode 102, I had special education consultant and host of the Science of Special Education podcast, Brett Stevens, on the show to talk about the Science of Reading.

Brett is a special education consultant focused on literacy and legal compliance. She has spent over 20 years within the field of special education serving in a variety of roles including special education teacher, school administrator, and special education attorney. She has a bachelor’s in special education, a master’s in instructional technology, and a juris doctorate of law with a specialization in special education. She is currently completing her doctoral dissertation with a focus on legal trends in the curriculum and instruction of students with Autism. Brett Stevens is the host of The Science of Special Education podcast, where she dives into research and evidenced based practices and their application in the special education classroom.

In this conversation, we discuss:

✅What exactly is the Science of Reading and why is it so important for school leaders to know about it?

✅The components of Scarborough’s reading rope and why they’re necessary for kids to read successfully.

✅The different approaches to teaching reading, and the problems with some of the existing curriculums (and which ones are most effective).

✅How to work together as a team to support literacy: both the IEP team as well as supporting parents.

You can connect with Brett on her website here, and listen to the Science of Special Education podcast here. 

You can connect with her on Instagram @scienceofspecialeducation and in her Science of Reading Facebook group here. 

You can also find her list of free resources for parents and educators here.

In this episode, I mentioned my Executive Functions Implementation guide that shares how school therapists can lead their IEP teams in providing mental health, behavioral, and social skills support for K-12 kids . You can download this free resource here. 

I also mentioned my Language Therapy Advance Foundations program, my course that teaches SLPs a system for supporting the language skills kids need to support reading and writing. You can learn how to sign up here. 

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

In this conversation, Ben Hockema and I discuss how to create a solid financial plan in your career so you can focus your time and energy on the impact you can make. 

We discuss all kinds of possibilities; whether you want to stay in your current position as a therapist and/or teacher, whether you want to add an additional income stream, or whether you know for certain you want to start a business full time. 

We even talk about ways to explore opportunities if you have lots of ideas in your head and aren’t sure which direction is best for you. 

Ben is a Certified Financial Planner and the founder and advisor of Illuminate Wealth Management. He works with individuals, families and small business owners on their full financial picture; everything from cash flow and paying for education to saving and investing for big goals such as retirement, to individual and small business tax planning so that his clients can gain clarity and develop a path that is unique to their own goals, hopes and dreams. 

In this conversation, we discuss:

✅How much should be in your emergency fund? 

✅How much should you save before quitting your job and focusing on your business full-time? 

✅Understanding the difference between debt, investments, and ongoing expenses in business and life. 

✅Resources for creatives who love helping people, but are uncomfortable navigating financial planning. 

✅Stability, freedom, and impact: How we can find the balance between all three. 

You can learn more about Ben’s resources for talking to kids about money here: https://www.dollarsandkids.com/, and his financial planning services here: https://www.illuminatewm.com/. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benhockemailluminate/, or learn more about the National Association of Financial Advisors College Affordability Project here: https://www.napfa.org/napfa-foundation-college-affordability-project. You can learn more about the Profit First framework here: https://mikemichalowicz.com/profit-first/. 

In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers design services that support executive functioning in K-12 settings. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership 

Be sure to check out the BE podcast network for educators and aspiring leaders. If you’re looking for shows to inspire you to level up in your career or more effectively serve students, we’ve got you covered. Learn more about the BE podcast network at http://bepodcastnetwork.com/

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

If the schools are devoting time and money to improving reading instruction, how should the rest of the day look for kids as it pertains to literacy? 

Should parents be working with kids at home? If so, how much? What about reading? Can we use apps to help build language skills? How about audiobooks? 

A common recommendation is that we should read 20 minutes a day, several times a week. 
I had a hard time nailing down a specific study that “proved” that this is an ideal amount, so where did this recommendation come from?

I discuss answers to questions like this in episode 149 of De Facto Leaders. 
 
In this episode, I share:

✅Is listening to an audiobook the same as reading it in print, and will it make you a better reader? 

✅If we can’t agree on whether or not homework is beneficial, how can we figure out what kids should be doing outside the school day?

✅Why do teachers often recommend reading 20 minutes a day, and why did this become the magic number? 

✅Will encouraging a struggling reader to sit down with a book make them hate reading even more?
 
In this episode, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that teaches language and literacy professionals a framework for language therapy that builds the skills kids need to benefit from core reading instruction. 

I also mentioned the following episodes of De Facto Leaders for discussions on project-based learning and improving the connection between home and school:

Do school leaders need coaching (with Dan Kelley): https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-114-do-school-leaders-need-coaching-with-dan-kelley/

Cell phones, 1:1 device initiatives, and homework policies in K-12 Education (with Dr. John Burkey): https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-139-cell-phones-11-device-initiatives-and-homework-policies-in-k-12-education-with-dr-john-burkey/

Becoming a school founder and empowering students through project-based learning (with Tanya Sheckley): https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-144-becoming-a-school-founder-and-empowering-students-through-project-based-learning-with-tanya-sheckley/

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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 a lot of "us vs. them" thinking happening relating to what’s going on in the school systems.

Parents feeling like teachers don't want to accommodate students with diverse learning needs.

Teachers feeling like administrators don't understand because they aren't in classrooms anymore. 

Therapists feeling like teachers don't want to reinforce strategies in their classrooms, or that administrators don't value their expertise. 

It’s easy to default to thinking the worst of the person on the other side of the table, but what if we approached interactions assuming the BEST? 

When we assume the worst, we may miss opportunities to form partnerships; or at the very least, have compassion for other people who are most likely trying to do their jobs to the best of their abilities. 

Giving someone the benefit of the doubt is a challenge when you’re burnt out, or if you feel the person you're interacting with has more authority and power than you.

That’s why I wanted to have a conversation about this topic with Dr. Barbara Flowers, an elementary principal and life coach for educators and administrators. 

Barb Flowers is an elementary school principal and an educator life coach with 14 years of experience in the field of education. Holding a Ph.D. in K-12 Leadership and currently pursuing certification as a Confidence Coach, her passion lies in supporting educators to reduce burnout and enhance their confidence in their roles. Drawing from her personal journey as a teacher and early administrator, during which she struggled with confidence issues and self-doubt, she is driven to help others in overcoming similar challenges. Now, her mission is to empower educators, ensuring they navigate their professional journeys with resilience and self-assurance. Barb also is the host of The Teacher Burnout Podcast and The Principal's Handbook Podcast.

In this conversation, we discuss common conflicts that happen in K-12 education and how to resolve them, including:

✅Finding time to pull kids out for therapy; considering both the therapist’s and teacher’s point of view.

✅Determining when kids should receive support in a special education setting versus when they should stay in general education with support. 

✅Navigating co-teaching: Does it make things easier for general education teachers, or does it add more work to their plates? 

✅When being good at your job becomes a hazard: How to avoid overloading staff who are good at supporting students with complex needs.

✅Why therapists are hesitant to co-teach, and how to have conversations with your building administrator about making inclusion intentional.

You can connect with Barb on her website here (https://barbflowerscoaching.com/) or on Instagram @barbflowerscoaching (https://www.instagram.com/barbflowerscoaching/).

Listen to The Teacher Burnout Podcast here (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-teacher-burnout-podcast/id1680061535).

You can listen to my conversation with Barb on The Principal’s Handbook Podcast here (https://cp.bepodcast.network/episodes/effective-strategies-for-collaborating-across-multidisciplinary-teams-with-karen-dudek-brannan)
. 
I also mentioned The School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers guide their teams to support students’ executive functioning across the day. This program will help you plan direct therapy, but will also help you lead change management on your team, no matter your job title. You can learn more about the School of Clinical Leadership 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Many clinicians are trained to focus on checklists and evaluations so we can walk in to work confident; knowing exactly what our protocols are. 

And while systems and processes are extremely important, we have to know how to use them flexibly. 

When we think about this in relation to cultural competency; we often think of eliminating biases in our evaluations and materials; but it goes so much deeper than that. We also need to think about how we interact with coworkers, how policies are impacting our students, or what’s going on in the community we’re working in. 

When we’re too rigid in the way we do things or the way we think about our work, we may unintentionally make students, clients, families, or even our coworkers feel unwelcome.

That’s why I invited Melanie Evans to the De Facto Leaders podcast to talk about the concept of “cultural competemility”, and how it can help teachers, leaders, and therapists think about cultural responsiveness.

Melanie Y. Evans, M.S. CCC-SLP is an ASHA-certified bilingual pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist licensed to practice in Texas and Oklahoma. She is also the founder of Pediatric Speech Sister, whose mission is to assist other speech-language pathologists on their cultural competency journeys and bring more inclusion in the field. Melanie dedicates her career to serving Black and Latinx populations and closing the academic achievement gap.

In this conversation, Melanie shares:

✅How professionals can better support black and brown children

✅What is the school to prison pipeline, and what are some reasons it’s persisting?

✅Why being culturally responsive is a journey and not a set of rules

✅How we can “read the room” and ask better questions when working with both clients and coworkers

✅What is cultural competemility and how can teachers and therapists apply it to practice?

In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers design services that support executive functioning in K-12 settings. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership

You can connect with Melanie on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanieyvonneevans/ follow her on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/@PediatricSpeechSisterNetwork and follow her on Instagram @pediatricspeechsister (https://www.instagram.com/pediatricspeechsister/)

You can read her post on “5 Ways to Support Black and Brown Children in Clinical Settings” here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CBWI-YNBOmZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Other experts mentioned in this episode relating to the School to Prison Pipeline:

Dr. Valencia Perry: https://www.speakwritethink.com/
Dr. Shameka Stanford: https://www.instagram.com/drjuvenile_forensicslp/

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

In K-12 education, there’s been a recent push to go digital, and many educators are wondering if people creating the products have the kids’ best interest in mind; especially in the for-profit space.

That’s why I invited Meg Hearn to episode 131 of the De Facto Leaders podcast to get a behind-the-scenes perspective of curriculum and tech products for kids. 

Meg is an educator with over 20 years of experience. She currently leads a highly collaborative and growing team of curriculum specialists that enhance the Imagine Learning Illustrative Mathematics core curriculums. 

In her previous role as Director of Mathematics Curriculum at Age of Learning, she worked with teams that created digital curriculum content for educational games, serving learners ages 2-10. Before that, she oversaw the development of a K–5 digital curriculum at LearnZillion. Her work in public schools preceded her foray into the Edtech world. As a mathematics coach in the Howard County Public School System in Maryland, she facilitated school-based professional development with elementary school teachers focusing on developing conceptual understanding through problem-based teaching. 

She’s been published in School Library Journal and by ISTE and has spent a decade as an adjunct professor at Notre Dame of Maryland University, where she teaches gaming in education and mathematics methods courses at the graduate level. She holds a Mathematics Instructional Leadership Graduate Certificate from Notre Dame of Maryland University, a post-master's certificate in administration and supervision from Johns Hopkins University, a master's degree in education from McDaniel College, and a bachelor's degree from University of Maryland. 

Her bachelor's degree was in design, not education. She is still applying what she learned from her design training to this day, which we talk about in the interview.

In this conversation, we discuss:

✅How EdTech product teams work; and how they test their products to make sure they’re helping kids learn.

✅The balancing acts K-12 EdTech companies face; including content, design, application features, usability, and other factors that impact accessibility and equity. 

✅Designing a learning experience: Prioritizing accountability, alignment, and evidence-based practices while still making learning a creative, engaging experience. 

✅Why math can be a prime opportunity to work on executive functioning, why it’s embedded in to many math curriculums; plus early math skills kids need to thrive.

You can connect with Meg on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meg-hearn-m-ed-nbct-47a67071/

In this episode, I mentioned the Time Tracking Journal, a strategy for improving time-management, future planning, and executive functioning during daily tasks like academic assignments or daily routines. You can learn more about the Time Tracking Journal here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/timejournal

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Those of us working in K-12 education interact with students and staff who have experienced trauma whether we’re aware of the specific events or not. 

A lot of people have heard the term “trauma-informed” care, but not everyone knows what it means or how to do it in practice.

That’s why I wanted to invite Rachel Archambault to episode 115 of the De Facto Leaders podcast to talk about what trauma-informed care is and share how educators and therapists can put it into practice. 

Rachel Archambault, MA CCC-SLP is an SLP Program Specialist for Broward County Public Schools. After a traumatic event happened at her workplace on 2/14/18, she looked for ways to work with students (and herself) after trauma. She found trauma-informed care and has been presenting nationally to SLPs and other providers on how TIC can be used in their setting. She runs the Instagram account, @PTSD.SLP which discusses TIC from a speech lens.

In this conversation, she shares:

✅What exactly is trauma-informed care and how can those working in the schools provide a supportive environment for students? 

✅What school leaders need to know about being trauma-informed (and why it’s not just about the students). 

✅How to avoid re-traumatization, including the way you use language or other common triggers to be aware of.

✅Mistakes people make (even though they’re well-intended) and how you can build trust with students and colleagues who have experienced trauma.

You can connect with Rachel on her Instagram account here, her Facebook page here, and on LinkedIn here.  Her website (coming soon) is at ptsdslp.com.

In this episode, I mentioned my free online training for K-12 therapists who want to offer social and academic support that’s evidence-based and neurodiversity-affirming. You can sign up for that free training here.

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Many skeptics of the science of reading are concerned that structured approaches will bore kids and make it less likely they’ll enjoy reading. 

These concerns are unfounded for a number of reasons. 

First, structured approaches help reach students who don’t learn through implicit learning (which is a lot of kids).

It’s hard to develop a love of something when you’ve failed repeatedly and no one has given you the tools to do it. Enjoyment comes with competence and confidence.

Second, many people assume that the science of reading is all about drilling phonics worksheets. But it’s not!

Good teachers know how to make structured approaches engaging and interesting. Even if they’re challenging. Good phonics instruction is not about drill and kill. 

And finally, the science of reading is WAY more than just phonics. It includes many other linguistic skills that help students decode, comprehend sentences, understand what they’re reading, spell words, or communicate through writing. 

Read-alouds and think-alouds are a powerful, accessible way to build these important language skills. 

That’s why I invited Dr. Molly Ness to episode 182 of De Facto Leaders as part of the National Literacy Month RIF series to talk about literacy advocacy work and the power of using read-alouds and think-alouds to build vocabulary. 

Dr. Molly Ness is a former classroom teacher, a reading researcher, and a teacher educator. She earned a doctorate in reading education at the University of Virginia, and spent 16 years as an associate professor at Fordham University in New York City. The author of five books, Molly served on the Board of Directors for the International Literacy Association and is a New York state chapter founder of the Reading League. Dr. Ness has extensive experience in reading clinics, consulting with school districts, leading professional development, and advising school systems on research-based reading instruction. 

She provided literacy leadership for nationally recognized literacy non-profits, as well as major educational publishers. In 2024, Molly was invited to serve on the New York State Dyslexia Task Force. A frequent speaker and presenter, her happy place is translating the science of reading to schools and teachers. As a tireless literacy advocate, Molly created the End Book Deserts podcast, which brings awareness to the 32 million American children who lack access to books. She is currently writing a forthcoming Scholastic book, helping teachers understand orthographic mapping. In 2024, she founded Dirigo Literacy, a literacy consulting firm supporting schools, districts, and states align with and implement the science of reading.

This episode is part of the National Literacy Month series of podcasts, presented in partnership between the Be Podcast Network and Reading Is Fundamental (RIF).

In this conversation, we discuss:

✅The impact of vocabulary on comprehension 

✅The science of reading as an evolving body of work instead of a trend or curriculum

✅Book deserts: Concerning statistics and how to help

✅Getting started with policy briefs and advocacy work

✅Think-alouds and read-alouds: Why they’re not just for younger kids

In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers develop a strategic plan for putting executive functioning support in place in collaboration with their school teams. You can learn more about that program here. 

In this episode I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about Language Therapy Advance Foundations here.

You can get 25% off either program when you join between September 15-October 15. Just enter coupon code RIF25 on the checkout page to get this special rate. 

*If you’re already a member of either program and you refer a friend, tell them to email me at talktome@drkarenspeech.com if they join and let me know you referred them and I’ll send you a $100 referral bonus. 

Here’s what you can do right now to support this campaign and ensure you don’t miss any of these amazing interviews/commentary. 

1. Go to Apple, Spotify, or any other directory you use for podcasts and subscribe to the De Facto Leaders podcast.
2. Once you listen to an episode or two, leave me a rating and review. This helps get my show into the hands of people who need the information.
3. Do you have a colleague or friend who needs to learn more about the research surrounding language and literacy? Do you want to spread the word about practices and ideas you’d like to see in your school, community, or state? If so, tell them about the De Facto Leaders podcast so they can listen to all the episodes in this special campaign. 

Reading Is Fundamental is a nonprofit that focuses on connecting educators and families with materials and training aligned with evidence-based literacy instruction. Not only is their model aligned with the science of reading; they also offer unique book ownership solutions for professionals and families to address book equity issues. You can learn more about Reading Is Fundamental here. 

You can also learn more about the other BE Podcast Network shows at https://bepodcast.network 

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Preparing young people for adulthood is all about providing them with the right blend of experiences; both in and outside of school. Building literacy, numeracy, and content knowledge will give students a foundation for success; but we need to pair that with real-world experiences where they can apply that knowledge in real time.

When we think about “real-world” experiences; we often think of internships, “on the job” skills, or daily tasks and other things we’d categorize as “adulting”. 

However, outdoor excursions offer kids and young adults the opportunities to explore and experience things beyond the day-to-day. 

It’s one thing to learn about water health and environmental studies in a classroom; but when you get the chance to do a multi-week excursion along the Hudson river and drink from a natural water source, you amplify your learning to a new level. 

That’s why I invited Greg Morrissey to the De Facto Leaders podcast for episode 163. 

If you enjoy hiking, skiing, and other outdoor activities you’ll want to listen. 

Trust me, you’ll thank me later :)

Greg Morrissey is an educator, explorer, and founder of Mountain Goat Movement -- an organization that provides transformative adventures for students while connecting them to leading explorers, educators, and storytellers. Think: education through adventure. Projects can be as short as one day or as extensive as a multi-week expedition, everywhere from the Adirondacks to Antarctica. Greg has raised over $140,000 for students from low-income backgrounds to experience the power of the great outdoors.

In this conversation, we discuss:

✅Bringing traditional curriculum and content areas to authentic outdoor experiences.

✅How to use excursions to help kids work as a team and form connections with peers.

✅The concept of “tiered” expeditions: Offering different activities to support different levels of experience with the outdoors

✅What habits and skills can you practice in daily life to prepare for a multi-day or multi-week adventure

✅A behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to prepare for quality outdoor education; including what Greg is doing to raise funds for scholarships to increase equity. 

Be sure to check out the BE podcast network for educators and aspiring leaders. If you’re looking for shows to inspire you to level up in your career or more effectively serve students, we’ve got you covered. Learn more about the BE podcast network at http://bepodcast.network.com/

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Almost every school leader that I know has said they didn’t realize what they were getting themselves into when they started their first administrative position. 

In this episode, I wanted to share clips from past “De Facto Leaders” guests to showcase some of the challenges faced by school administrators (or those hoping to move into an administrative role).
 
You’ll hear discussions on:

✅Qualities of a good principal: Protecting staff and removing barriers

✅Navigating ambiguity and impostor syndrome as a leader

✅Can teaching practices change if the system isn’t ready? 

✅Investing in curriculums: The end user is the TEACHER, not the student. 

✅Asking for help: How to make it an easy “yes” for the other person. 

This episode includes clips from the following interviews:

EP 109: Can my principal evaluate me if they’ve never done my job?(with Eric Makelky)?  
Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-109-can-my-principal-evaluate-me-if-theyve-never-done-my-job-with-eric-makelky/

EP 151: Does your SYSTEM support your policy and your curriculum? (with Jalita Johnson) 
Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-151-does-your-system-support-your-policy-and-your-curriculum-with-jalita-johnson/

EP 112: How to “lead up” to your school administrator (with Jethro Jones) 
Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-109-can-my-principal-evaluate-me-if-theyve-never-done-my-job-with-eric-makelky/

In this episode, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about Language Therapy Advance Foundations 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

In 2015, the Office of Special Education Programs published a letter stating that school teams were “not prohibited” from using the term “dyslexia”. 

Unfortunately, this letter left many questions unanswered and is often misinterpreted.

Parents seeking out services for their children are still unsure how to advocate for appropriate services in their schools and communities.

School teams are still unsure about what they’re “permitted” vs. “required” to do.

Professionals are unsure who is qualified or responsible for identifying students with dyslexia and other learning disabilities. 

That’s why I invited Tom Parton to episode 178 of De Facto Leaders to discuss legal mandates, ethical obligations, and factors school teams should consider when making decisions about curriculum and assistive technology. 

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.

This episode is part of the National Literacy Month series of podcasts, presented in partnership between the Be Podcast Network and Reading Is Fundamental (RIF).

In this conversation, we discuss:

✅What do federal guidelines require when it comes to identifying and serving students with reading/writing disabilities?

✅Picking the right battles to fight: Do we focus on the labels or the services and curriculum?

✅Who is qualified or responsible for diagnosing dyslexia?

✅The ethical problem with giving up on word-decoding in secondary school.

✅What skills do students need to effectively use assistive technology for reading, writing, and spelling?

Additional resources mentioned in this episode:

The Dyslexia Handbook from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) (https://www.isbe.net/Documents/Dyslexia-Handbook.pdf)

ISBE Comprehensive Literacy Plan (https://www.isbe.net/literacyplan)

The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) (https://dyslexiaida.org)

The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) Dyslexia Handbook (https://dyslexiaida.org/ida-dyslexia-handbook/)

The Reading League of Illinois (https://il.thereadingleague.org)

The Illinois SLD Support Project (https://sldsupports.org)

Dyslegia: State Dyslexia Laws (https://www.dyslegia.com/state-dyslexia-laws/)

Williams, V. (2023) Letter from the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services on the use of “Developmental Language Disorder” for special education eligibility. Office of Special Education Programs. Retrieved from: https://www.asha.org/siteassets/advocacy/comments/OSEP-Response-Letter-to-ASHA-on-DLD-5.30.23.pdf

Yudin, M. K. (2015). Letter from the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services on the use of “Dyslexia” for special education eligibility. Office of Special Education Programs. Retrieved from: https://sites.ed.gov/idea/files/policy_speced_guid_idea_memosdcltrs_guidance-on-dyslexia-10-2015.pdf

In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers develop a strategic plan for putting executive functioning support in place in collaboration with their school teams. You can learn more about that program here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership

In this episode, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about Language Therapy Advance Foundations here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/

You can get 25% off either program when you join between September 15-October 15. Just enter coupon code RIF25 on the checkout page to get this special rate. 

*If you’re already a member of either program and you refer a friend, tell them to email me at talktome@drkarenspeech.com if they join and let me know you referred them and I’ll send you a $100 referral bonus. 

Here’s what you can do right now to support this campaign and ensure you don’t miss any of these amazing interviews/commentary. 

1. Go to Apple, Spotify, or any other directory you use for podcasts and subscribe to the De Facto Leaders podcast.
2. Once you listen to an episode or two, leave me a rating and review. This helps get my show into the hands of people who need the information.
3. Do you have a colleague or friend who needs to learn more about the research surrounding language and literacy? Do you want to spread the word about practices and ideas you’d like to see in your school, community, or state? If so, tell them about the De Facto Leaders podcast so they can listen to all the episodes in this special campaign. 

Reading Is Fundamental is a nonprofit that focuses on connecting educators and families with materials and training aligned with evidence-based literacy instruction. Not only is their model aligned with the science of reading; they also offer unique book ownership solutions for professionals and families to address book equity issues. You can learn more about Reading Is Fundamental here: https://www.r...

How can school leaders make informed decisions about reading curriculum when they know the home environments among their student body vary widely?

I don’t envy people tasked with these kinds of decisions.

My opinion is that schools should ensure students get their instructional needs met during the school day, because it’s difficult to control what happens to students once they leave the school campus.

Direct instruction of reading has to fall on the plate of educators. If we assume certain practices will be done at home consistently, we create huge equity issues.

With all that being said, school staff can work to create a shared partnership with families and communities. Even though they might aim to include the essentials during the school day, they can provide opportunities and tools for students and families to support literacy outside formal classroom instruction.

I invited Susan Brady, a reading specialist from Illinois, to De Facto Leaders episode 179 to discuss how she’s helped her community get access to books and extracurricular activities that support literacy.

Susan Brady has been in the teaching profession for over 40 years. She worked in a private school where she taught first grade and kindergarten. Sixteen years ago she began work in the public schools as a kindergarten teacher. In 2008, she received her Master’s Degree in Reading from Governors State University and became a Reading Specialist. She moved to middle school 5 years ago and works with small groups, large groups, and push-ins. She also has started and run engaging book clubs for her students to help get them excited about reading.

This episode is part of the National Literacy Month series of podcasts, presented in partnership between the Be Podcast Network and Reading Is Fundamental (RIF).

In this conversation, Susan shares:

✅Are reading teachers getting the pre-service training they need to critically evaluate research and implement instructional practices?

✅Relying a curriculum versus leveraging a curriculum to guide your practice

✅How to start a book club and get students excited about reading

✅Where to find inexpensive or free books for schools and families

✅Navigating logistical and equity issues when hosting community events and running extracurriculars.

The following resources were mentioned in this episode:

Our partner for the National Literacy Month Campaign, Reading Is Fundamental (https://www.rif.org)

Better World Books (https://www.betterworldbooks.com/)

First Book (https://firstbook.org)

BookShare (https://www.bookshare.org)

United for Literacy (https://www.bookshare.org)

Little Free Library (https://littlefreelibrary.org)

In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers develop a strategic plan for putting executive functioning support in place in collaboration with their school teams. You can learn more about that program here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership

In this episode, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about Language Therapy Advance Foundations here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/

You can get 25% off either program when you join between September 15-October 15. Just enter coupon code RIF25 on the checkout page to get this special rate.

*If you’re already a member of either program and you refer a friend, tell them to email me at talktome@drkarenspeech.com if they join and let me know you referred them and I’ll send you a $100 referral bonus.

Here’s what you can do right now to support this campaign and ensure you don’t miss any of these amazing interviews/commentary.

Go to Apple, Spotify, or any other directory you use for podcasts and subscribe to the De Facto Leaders podcast.

Once you listen to an episode or two, leave me a rating and review. This helps get my show into the hands of people who need the information.

Do you have a colleague or friend who needs to learn more about the research surrounding language and literacy? Do you want to spread the word about practices and ideas you’d like to see in your school, community, or state? If so, tell them about the De Facto Leaders podcast so they can listen to all the episodes in this special campaign.

Reading Is Fundamental is a nonprofit that focuses on connecting educators and families with materials and training aligned with evidence-based literacy instruction. Not only is their model aligned with the science of reading; they also offer unique book ownership solutions for professionals and families to address book equity issues. You can learn more about Reading Is Fundamental here. 

You can also learn more about the other BE Podcast Network shows at https://bepodcast.network

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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 kids have a poor sense of time, the common response is to give them a planner or some kind of a timer.

While these tools may be a part of your strategy, they don't address time-blindness.

That's why in episode 136 of De Facto Leaders, I’m answering the question: 

"Why don't timers improve my students' time-management skills?

Time-blindness is a hallmark characteristic of executive functioning issues, and most timers don't facilitate these skills.

In this episode, I explain why that’s the case.

In this episode, I mention my free training called, “How to be Evidence-Based and Neurodiversity-Affirming (by Supporting Executive Functioning)”. 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Most of us still don’t know what we want to be when we grow up, but at least we know more than we did when we wanted to be pro athletes or “movie stars” (the old people version of influencers). 

As we have conversations with kids and think about how to prepare them for adulthood, helping kids explore their passions and interests becomes challenging. 

Not all communities have access to the resources to be able to provide “real-life” career experiences to students. 

Transporting kids and prioritizing funding and resources becomes a logistical issue; which makes it hard to educate kids about their career options. 

On top of that, it’s difficult to help kids grasp what it might be like in a particular career; which means they might be missing out on opportunities to cultivate their skills and interests. 

But what if we had a way to bring career exploration TO students so they could explore their interests in an accessible, non-threatening way? 

With some of the new technology coming down the pipeline, it may be more possible that people think. 

That’s why I had Matt Chausee from Be More Colorful on “De Facto Leaders” for a special bonus episode to talk about innovative companies that are impacting K-12 education in a positive way. 

Matt Chaussee is the CEO of Be More Colorful, a midwest-based immersive media production studio whose platform, CareerViewXR, is rapidly gaining national attention. Matt, along with his wife (and company owner) Katie, lead an innovative team of creatives who are laser focused on making career exploration affordable, accessible, and fun! CareerViewXR provides students and adult career seekers across the country with an unprecedented opportunity to experience real-world careers through virtual reality technology. Recently selected from a field of over 2,000 applicants to be one of 33 Semifinalists for the prestigious Yass Prize, Matt will discuss the significance of the award, and how he sees tools like CareerViewXR transforming how we guide students on their educational journey.

*If you have a vested interest in what’s happening in K-12 Education, take a look at some of the amazing work that’s being done by the Yass prize finalists. You can vote for 2 different organizations per day from now until November 25 to help select a winner of the parent choice awards. The winner of the prize will get $100,000, which they’ll devote to funding projects that support innovations in K-12 education. 

You can vote at: https://yassprize.org/vote

In this conversation we discuss some of the important work being done by Yass finalists, and how CareerViewXR is helping to educate kids on their career options, as well as align K-12 curriculum to foundational skills that impact future job skills. 

Learn more about the Yass Prize here: https://yassprize.org/

You can vote for Yass Prize Parent Choice Award Winners at: https://yassprize.org/vote

Listen to other episodes about Yass Prize organizations on the BE Podcast Network. The principles of the Yass Prize are: Sustainable, Transformative, Outstanding, Permissionless

This bonus episode was done to share how CareerViewXR aligns with the “Outstanding” principle. 

Learn how they’re aligning with other principles through accessibility and project-based learning on:
Sustainable-The Principle PLN with Ross Romano. Link here: http://www.principalpln.com/

Transformational-The Transformative Principal with Jethro Jones. Link here: https://transformativeprincipal.org/

Permissionless-Rebel Educator with Tanya Sheckley. Link here: https://www.rebeleducator.com/

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

People working in school or medical settings are in a position to be caring for others in their professional lives; which makes it difficult to leave work at work.

When you combine that with relationships outside of work, family responsibilities or having a child with a disability, there’s a high risk of burnout. 

I invited Crissy Mombela to episode 152 of “De Facto Leaders” to discuss this topic because she’s had lived experience as a teacher, a school administrator, and as a parent. 

Crissy Mombela is the Program Director for the REACH initiative through the Partnership for Resilience. She leads the REACH Communities of Practice (CoP). Her work allows her to be a thought partner and leader in the implementation and evaluation of the REACH Initiative, a strategic partnership with the Center for Childhood Resilience at Lurie Children’s Hospital, and the support of the Illinois State Board of Education. With over twenty-five years of public education experience as a special education teacher and administrator, Crissy’s focus is on developing systems that support connection, innovation, and belonging within school communities. Crissy earned her B.S.Ed. with a concentration in special education from Northern Illinois University and her M.Ed. in Educational Administration from Loyola University. 

Crissy currently holds an Illinois Professional Educator License for teaching and administration with endorsements for directing special education programs and teaching English Language Learners. In her free time, Crissy enjoys traveling with her family, baking, and scrapbooking.

This episode is the first part of our conversation about social-emotional learning for adults in education and healthcare.

In this first half of the conversation, we discuss:

✅What compassion fatigue is and why self-care alone won’t solve it. 

✅Having a child with ADHD: What it’s like to be on the other side of the table as a parent in an IEP meeting.

✅How to set expectations with your child’s school team so you’re an active participant.

✅Reframing “discipline” in schools; and why it doesn’t have to be punitive.

✅How to embed social-emotional learning across the day and why it has to be practiced “in context”: For both kids and adults

✅The impact of giving kids the opportunity to contribute to their community

The following resources were mentioned in this episode:

The REACH Initiative at the Center for Childhood Resilience (Link here: https://childhoodresilience.org/reach)

The Partnership for Resilience (Link here: https://partnership4resilience.org/)

Dr. Nadine Burke Harrris’s work with Adverse Childhood Experiences (Link here: https://burkefoundation.org/what-drives-us/adverse-childhood-experiences-aces/)

Dr. Mack Brackett’s book “Permission to Feel” (Link here: https://www.marcbrackett.com/)

The CHAMPS Model for Classroom Management (Link here: https://www.amazon.com/Champs-Proactive-Positive-Classroom-Management/dp/1599090309)

In this episode, I mentioned The School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers guide their teams to support students’ executive functioning across the day. This program will help you plan direct therapy, but will also help you lead change management on your team, no matter your job title. You can learn more about the School of Clinical Leadership 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

I have a love/hate relationship with meditation and mindfulness. I know I should do it. I even talk about why it’s beneficial. But I never want to do it…even though I feel better if I do. 

If that sounds familiar, you won’t want to miss episode 124 of the “De Facto Leaders” podcast.

That’s why I invited Danny Bauer to talk about the impact mindfulness has had on him as a teacher, leader, and thought leader in the field of education. 

You’ll also appreciate this conversation if you tend to go full throttle at the beginning with big projects, but quit them because the initial pace was unsustainable (I know I’m personally guilty of this). 

Danny Bauer is a Principal Development and Retention Expert, a best-selling author, and Founder of Better Leaders, Better Schools, also known as the Chief Ruckus Maker. He’s the host of the Better Leaders Better Schools podcast, ranked in the TOP 0.5% of 3 million global podcasts. His latest book is “Mastermind: Unlocking Talent Within Every School Leader”, co-published by Corwin and the National School Superintendents Association (AASA). His mission is “to connect, grow, and mentor every school leader who wants to level up.”

In this interview, we discuss:

✅The “mastermind” concept, why it’s so powerful, and how it can bring a much-needed sense of belonging to professional development in education. 

✅How he used meditation to decrease disciplinary write-ups, and other benefits to creative problem-solving. 

✅Why planning in 90-day chunks is such a powerful way to reach long-term goals.

✅How to use the 85% rule to show up as your best self for your students. 

To learn more about Danny’s work, connect with him at https://betterleadersbetterschools.com

Get his latest book, “Build Leadership Momentum: How to Create the Perfect Principal Entry Plan” here: buildleadershipmomentum.com 

You can also connect with him on his social media accounts here:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danevanbauer?ref=bookmarks

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/Dannyevanbauer/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamdannybauer/

Medium: https://alienearbud.medium.com/

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. 

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

In 2022, a study was published in JAMA Network Open with a compelling title: “Video gaming may be associated with better cognitive performance in children.” You may read the article here: https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/video-gaming-may-be-associated-better-cognitive-performance-children

This resulted in a number of social media influencers spreading the word about the “benefits” of playing video games. For up to 3 hours a day nonetheless.

**After I published this podcast episode, this study was retracted and replaced due to concerns with the original analysis. I have not edited the original episode, but am posting the information about the retraction here: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2803642

Please keep this retraction in mind as you listen to my analysis, as many of my concerns about the interpretation of this study are addressed in the retraction.

What got lost in translation was the subheadline and nuances of the findings, which were explained quite transparently by the researchers, and were readily available to anyone who clicked through and read the full news release.

That’s why in episode 105 of the “De Facto Leaders” podcast, I explained the details outlined in the news release; including the details that were left out of the headlines. 

I also share my thoughts on what these results mean for educators, therapists, and parents when it comes to the harm and potential benefits of gaming. 

The full news release to the ABCD study can be found here. Link here: https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/video-gaming-may-be-associated-better-cognitive-performance-children

In this episode, I mentioned my Executive Functions Implementation guide that shares how school therapists can lead their IEP teams in providing mental health, behavioral, and social skills support for K-12 kids. You can download this free resource here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/efschools

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

For episode 196 of De Facto Leaders, I share a Q & A session where I talk through how to write language therapy goals that are both trackable and functional.

This is just one of many Q & A sessions I’m planning on sharing where I talk through how to find the balance between focusing on external behaviors that allow us to document progress and internal cognitive processes.

I also talk about when to focus on “observable” language skills vs. strategy-based goals; especially when addressing both language and executive functioning skills. 

Throughout the session, you’ll hear examples related to working on skills like syntax, semantic feature study, vocabulary, and cognitive processes that support language comprehension.

This Q & A session was done in the member’s group for Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs build a system for language therapy. You can learn more about Language Therapy Advance Foundations 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Helping families feel involved in their child’s school experience is a challenge; and underrepresented populations may often feel like their voices aren’t being heard.

While it can help if school staff buy in to the idea of family engagement, it’s difficult for schools to make it happen without the right systems in place. 

That’s why I invited Ari Gerzon-Kessler to episode 200 of De Facto Leaders to talk about the “Families and Educators Together”, or FET team framework he’s developed. 

Ari Gerzon-Kessler is a sought after speaker and professional learning provider. He is the author of “On The Same Team: Bringing Educators & Underrepresented Families Together,” which won the Gold Medal from the Independent Publishers Book Awards for outstanding education book of 2024. Ari is a speaker, trainer, and coach working with schools and districts committed to forging stronger school-family partnerships. He also leads the Family Partnerships department for the Boulder Valley School District (CO).

Ari has been an educator since 2000, having served as a principal and bilingual teacher. In 2006, Ari was a recipient of the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund. As principal, his school received the Governor’s Distinguished Improvement Award in 2013. His leadership efforts to strengthen partnerships with underrepresented families and dismantle unjust practices was featured in Education Week in 2015.

In this conversation, we discuss:

✅How to get and keep families engaged in the “Families and Educators Together” (FET) Team

✅What’s the difference between the PTO and the FET team, and how can these two teams work together.

✅“Event-based” planning versus “Engagement-based” planning?

✅Using a combination of technology and in-person events to increase equity and help families feel more included in their children’s school experience.

✅How to set up systems that enable educators to have regular positive communication with families. 

In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers develop a strategic plan for putting executive functioning support in place in collaboration with their school teams. You can learn more about that program here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership

Learn more about Ari’s workshops, articles, and resources here: https://tinyurl.com/4yaszykn

You can connect with Ari on LinkedIn here: www.linkedin.com/in/arigerzon-kessler

Connect with him on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/ari.gerzonkessler/

Get his book  “On The Same Team: Bringing Educators & Underrepresented Families Together,” here: https://www.solutiontree.com/on-the-same-team.html

Email him at arigerzon@gmail.com.

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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 a difference between influence and control.
 
Whether we’re making suggestions to a coworker, asking a supervisor for support, setting expectations with kids, or interacting with someone in an online forum…we’re all attempting to create behavioral change. 

In “helping people” professions, it’s easy to get emotionally involved with our work. 
This makes it difficult to identify if there are actionable steps we can take to impact bigger, systemic issues vs. when we should put our heads down and focus on the work (or people) in front of us. 

Just how far should we go in trying to convince other people to act or think a certain way? 

When is it our job to speak up, and when do we hit the point of diminishing returns? 

It’s easy to let our thoughts spiral about these questions; especially when we have lingering feelings of guilt that we could be doing more.

That’s why I invited Candice Noss to episode 150 of De Facto Leaders to talk about how educators and therapists can tame their thoughts surrounding leadership and advocacy. 

Candice Noss is a dynamic and passionate speaker and coach, renowned for transforming and elevating lives through her business, The Mind Body Spirit Trifecta. As an expert in cognitive behavioral therapy, along with her 20+ years working as a Physical Therapist, Candice brings a wealth of knowledge and real-world experience to every stage, course and coaching engagement.  

By addressing the entire human trifecta, the mind, body and spirit, Candice provides a powerful holistic approach to confident, healthy living.  Candice liberates and empowers others to genuinely thrive which ripples into every facet of life. An elevated life elevates business.  Candice clarifies how to elevate performance with a mind firmly aligned, a body purposefully loved and a spirit powerfully accessed.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✅Setting boundaries vs. trying to control: Why making this distinction can reduce burnout and create space for your “dream projects” 

✅Allowing consequences vs. forcing compliance: Can and should you “make” kids do their schoolwork (or any other task they don’t want to do)?

✅How to determine, “What is my job in this scenario?” when advocating for yourself or others, educating the public and/or coworkers, or handling disagreements. 

You can learn how to connect with Candice on her website here: https://candicenoss.com/ 

Also, you can check out her video “Self-talk: Go from CRAPPY to HAPPY with 1 Simple Brain Hack” here: https://candicenoss.com/crappy-to-happy/

Listen to her podcast, Designed for Greatness with Candice Noss here: https://candicenoss.com/category/podcast/
 
In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, a program that helps related service providers take a stand for themselves as leaders on their team as well as for their students. In the program, I’ll help you create a comprehensive plan for putting executive functioning support in place on your school team by giving you the tools you need to influence your team. You can learn how to become a member here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership

Candice and I are both on the BE Podcast network, a podcast network for educators and leaders who are making innovative changes to education. You can learn more about the shows on the BE Podcast network here: https://bepodcast.network/ 

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Teachers and school leaders often feel like they have to be “everything to everyone”.
 
Not only are educators expected to deliver high-quality instruction in traditional academic areas, they’re also expected to provide social-emotional support, vocational training, and everything in between.

When it comes to supporting mental health, this can be a tricky ethical line to walk when you’re trained as a teacher and not as a clinician. 

Additionally, school staff are constantly trying to manage their own mental health needs, which is a challenge when the public tends to be unforgiving. 

That’s why I invited Dr. Hayley Watson to episode 198 of De Facto Leaders to talk about how to help teachers support mental health in a way that falls within their scope. 

Dr. Hayley Watson is the founder and CEO of Open Parachute, a Tier 1 K-12 curriculum program that supports the mental health of students, teachers, and parents. She is also an author and Clinical Psychologist and holds a PhD in school bullying interventions. She has been creating and delivering programs for youth and practitioners across the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia for the past 20 years.

In this conversation, we discuss:

✅Special education accommodations feel like “extra” work for teachers: Embedding mental health into Tier 1 curriculum solves this problem.

✅Why talking about mental health in general education helps educate peers on diverse learning needs.

✅Destigmatizing mental health and giving youth the language to talk about self-regulation and self-care. 

✅Service delivery models: Why we need BOTH structured, explicit intervention and real-life practice in social-emotional curriculums.

You can learn more about Open Parachute and Dr. Watson’s mental health curriculum for schools on her website here: https://openparachuteschools.com/

Listen to her TEDx talk “Youth Mental Health is not as complicated as we make it out to be” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVZdMXK4kvk&t=2shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVZdMXK4kvk&t=2s

Connect with Dr. Watson on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-hayley-watson-2b249a16/

In this conversation, I mentioned this previous episode: EP 151: Does your system support your policy and your curriculum (with Jalita Johnson) here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-151-does-your-system-support-your-policy-and-your-curriculum-with-jalita-johnson/

In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers develop a strategic plan for putting executive functioning support in place in collaboration with their school teams. You can learn more about that 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Many people working in K-12 education have ambitions to start their own company where they have the ability to redesign the way student learning happens.

The motivation often comes from wanting to create a scenario where they feel less constrained, more innovative, and more impactful.

When I ventured into self-employment, I found that many of the “how to start your business” programs focused on simple business models that allowed people without a business background to become profitable quickly, without loans or funding. 

This often included things like coaching and consulting, or things that could be built up “on the side”, like selling online training or products. 

These can be great options, but the process is often like peeling back the layers of an onion. 

You start one project thinking, “Once this is built, I’ll have solved all the problems I set out to solve.”

But in the process, you realize you’ve uncovered a list of additional puzzles, challenges, and questions in the process. 

Anyone who cares about education reform understands this feeling of wanting to do more, something I grapple with on a daily basis. 

Solving problems in education requires a unique skill set, and I’ve found it difficult to find people who understand both business AND education, who can support educators creating their own program from scratch.

Private practice is an option many consider, but not as many people think about founding their own school. 

That’s why I invited Tanya Sheckley to the De Facto Leaders podcast. 

Tanya is the Founder and Head of School at UP Academy. UP Academy is reinventing education by customizing learning for each student, integrating project-based learning throughout its curriculum, and supporting students with disabilities to attend alongside able-bodied students in mixed-age classrooms. 

Inspired by the will, drive, and desire of her daughter, Eliza, who was born in 2009 with cerebral palsy, UP Academy is proving that it’s possible to celebrate differences, change what’s broken in the American school system, and provide all children with a rigorous, well-rounded education.

Tanya also hosts the Rebel Educator podcast, speaks across the country on the future of education, and leads professional development programs for school administrators and educators.

She is a certified yoga teacher, and enjoys rock climbing, snowboarding, camping, and going to the local farmers market. She lives in the Bay Area with her husband Chris, two kids, black labrador Bean, and canine ambassador Harold.

In this conversation, we discuss:

✅Become a school founder: Blending the right mindset with the right strategies

✅How much vulnerability can you show to your team? Where can you go for support when your team needs you to show up confident as a leader? 

✅What is project-based learning, and how does it fit in with traditional curriculum?

✅How to use experiential learning to build deep conceptual knowledge that’s engaging for students and teaches real-life application

✅The homework debate: How do we distinguish between unproductive busywork vs. when it’s helpful to do work outside of school? 

To connect with Tanya, you can reach out to her on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheckley/

You can learn more about her podcast, Rebel Educator at: https://www.rebeleducator.com/

Learn more about UP Academy at: https://www.upacademysf.com/

To learn more about Tanya’s availability for professional development program offerings, check out her website at: https://tanyasheckley.com/

In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers design services that support executive functioning in K-12 settings. You can learn more about the program at 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Language evaluations are challenging enough; but when we’re evaluating multilingual and bilingual students, they become even more complex. 

When clinicians ask me about language evaluations, the questions are typically:

What tools/protocols can I use? 

Who can I go to for help? 

How can I advocate for change if current policies don’t support best practices?

That’s why I invited Prabhu Eswaran and Puja Goel to episode 186 of De Facto Leaders to help answer some of these questions as they relate to multilingual learners.  

Prabhu Eswaran is an ASHA certified school-based speech-language pathologist in Los Angeles, California. His areas of interests include child language disorders, communication disorders in culturally and linguistically diverse populations and technology in special education. He is now serving in the advisory board of MCCG SAC-ASHA’s Executive Board. 

Puja Goel, MA, CCC-SLP, PNAP, (she/her/hers) is a multilingual school-based speech language pathologist (SLP) who has worked for the Chicago Public Schools and currently works in New Mexico as a supervising SLP. Puja recently completed her administrative licensure in the state of NM which allows her to work as an administrator in schools. Puja is a member of ASHA, CASE and appointed to NAP. She completed the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Leadership Development Program and Minority Student Leadership Program and served on the Multicultural Issues Board. 

Puja is a first-generation South Asian born in the United States. Puja can be contacted via email: pujagoel2020@gmail.com.

In this episode, we discuss:

✅What to do when standardized assessments aren’t normed in a student’s language. 

✅Making a case for non-standardized data when standard scores don’t provide quality information.

✅Service planning for multilingual students and recommended resources

✅Getting started with advocacy at the state and national level.

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

In this episode, I’m revisiting an older episode in honor of a special event that I'm doing in the month of September, 2024.

I'm so excited to participate in the National Literacy Month series of podcasts, which we're presented in partnership between the Be Podcast Network and Reading Is Fundamental (RIF).
 
De Facto Leaders is part of the BE Podcast Network (Link here: https://bepodcast.network/), so I’ll be participating in this effort.
 
About Reading Is Fundamental (RIF):
 
Reading Is Fundamental is a nonprofit that focuses on connecting educators and families with materials and training aligned with evidence-based literacy instruction. Not only is their model aligned with the science of reading; they also offer unique book ownership solutions for professionals and families to address book equity issues. You can learn more about Reading is Fundamental here: https://www.rif.org/
 
What’s happening on De Facto Leaders as part of the Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) campaign:
 
In September, I’ll be featuring a series of guests to talk about how we can improve the nationwide literacy crisis. As part of this effort, I’ll be publishing two episodes a week during the month of September. 
 
In October, I’ll resume the standard once a week schedule and will publish some shorter episodes that outline my key take-aways based on the September interviews. These shorter episodes will give you a chance to catch up on listening to the extra episodes; and will also give you the chance to hear my take on each interview. 
 
To celebrate this special partnership, I’m giving my listeners 25% off their tuition when they join either Language Therapy Advance Foundations (Link here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy) and the School of Clinical Leadership (Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership) between September 15 and October 15. 
 
To get access to this special rate, all you need to do is enter coupon code RIF25 on the checkout page. 
 
In this re-release episode, I share:

✅What the current literacy trends show as far as the impact of texting.

✅The 3 tenets of effective literacy intervention.

✅Common mistakes people make when teaching kids to use reading strategies.

✅Three essential skills kids need in order to become fluent readers and spellers.

In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers develop a strategic plan for putting executive functioning support in place in collaboration with their school teams. You can learn more about that program here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership

In this episode, I mention the Word Study Toolkit, which comes with Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about Language Therapy Advance Foundations here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/

You can get 25% off either program when you join between September 15-October 15. Just enter coupon code RIF25 on the checkout page to get this special rate. 

Here’s what you can do right now to support this campaign and ensure you don’t miss any of these amazing interviews/commentary. 

1. Go to Apple, Spotify, or any other directory you use for podcasts and subscribe to the De Facto Leaders podcast.

2. Once you listen to an episode or two, leave me a rating and review. This helps get my show into the hands of people who need the information.

3. Do you have a colleague or friend who needs to learn more about the research surrounding language and literacy? Do you want to spread the word about practices and ideas you’d like to see in your school, community, or state? If so, tell them about the De Facto Leaders podcast so they can listen to all the episodes in this special campaign. 

Reading Is Fundamental is a nonprofit that focuses on connecting educators and families with materials and training aligned with evidence-based literacy instruction. Not only is their model aligned with the science of reading; they also offer unique book ownership solutions for professionals and families to address book equity issues. You can learn more about Reading Is Fundamental here: https://www.rif.org/

You can also learn more about the other BE Podcast Network shows at https://bepodcast.network

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

People working in the schools are often expected to make everything a priority all the time, without consideration of how they might be able to manage the backlog of projects. 

They have to say “No” to people who need help in the interest of saying “Yes” to others. They have to see the faces of the people their decisions are impacting. 

While there is an understanding that prioritization is part of the methodology in other industries and agencies, it's viewed with much more skepticism when it’s done in education. 

When teachers, school therapists, and school administrators have to say “No” they’re accused of focusing too much on test scores, being obsessed with funding, making it all about the grades and the standards, or not being inclusive and individualized enough for students. 

These concerns come with good intentions because they’re focused on STUDENTS. 

But how often do we ask, “What is the best scope and sequence for supporting the adults?”

There are endless debates about what is and isn’t evidence-based, what is developmentally appropriate and reasonable to expect from students, and how we should design programs and services.

Yet sometimes the research and developmental models don’t give us clear answers. 

Sometimes the “best” intervention plan on paper isn’t feasible (which means it really wasn’t the best after all). 
Making good decisions for students and clients isn’t JUST about what the research says. 
It’s about what’s going to help the adults get from point A to point B without burning out. 

That’s why I’m proposing an unconventional way to answer the question of, “What should I prioritize in instruction/therapy”? in episode 142 of the De Facto Leaders podcast

I discuss answers to questions like:

✅What are “child-focused” questions, and when should we settle for “good enough” answers?

✅Core/content area knowledge versus problem-solving and application: Which is higher priority for teachers?

✅Language therapy vs. executive functioning therapy: Can school clinicians address both? 

✅Can schools borrow methods from business and tech companies to better serve students? 

✅Scaffolded adult learning: What information and support do adults working in the schools need to do their jobs well?

In this episode, I mentioned my Language Therapy Advance Foundations program that teaches SLPs how to create a language therapy system. Learn how to become a member here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/ 

I also mentioned the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers put executive functioning support in place on their school team. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership

I also mentioned the following De Facto Leaders episodes:

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/

EP 122: Executive functioning for college students: Beyond checklists and planners (with Jill Fahy) Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-122-executive-functioning-for-college-students-beyond-checklists-and-planners-with-jill-fahy/

EP 123: Creating equitable systems for K-12 math (with Jonathan Regino) Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-123-creating-equitable-systems-for-k-12-math-jonathan-regino/

EP 129: Professional learning communities and curriculum reform in public and private education (with Tom Conroy) Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-129-professional-learning-communities-and-curriculum-reform-in-public-and-private-education-with-tom-conroy/

EP 131: What are tech and curriculum companies doing for K-12 education? (with Meg Hearn) Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-131-what-are-tech-and-curriculum-companies-doing-for-k-12-education-with-meg-hearn/

EP 138: Increasing access to instructional programs in rural districts (with Chris Dodge) Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-138-increasing-access-to-instructional-programs-in-rural-districts-with-chris-dodge/

EP 148: Unclicking success through sensory processing and team collaboration with Maude Le Roux): https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-148-unlocking-success-through-sensory-processing-and-team-collaboration-with-maude-le-roux/

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Learners in K-12 settings have changed over the past 25 years, and what were considered best practices in the 1990s may no longer work for learners in the 2020s.

Much of this is due to technology, the invention of the Iphone, and the skills young adults need when entering the workforce.

There’s a large amount of debate on how to address these evolving needs effectively, and that’s why I wanted to invite Dr. John Burkey to the “De Facto Leaders” podcast to talk about his experiences on the forefront of technology initiatives in the schools.

Dr. John Burkey is the executive director of the Large Unit District Association of Illinois. The organization represents and supports 55 of the largest unit school districts in Illinois. He also serves as an adjunct professor at Northern Illinois University where he teaches aspiring superintendents and school business managers. Burkey was previously the superintendent in Huntley Community School District in Illinois for 12 years. He also served as a middle school teacher and principal earlier in his career. He has three degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

In this episode, he discusses:

✅How the invention of the Iphone has impacted students’ mental health and ability to be engaged in the learning process.

✅How do we address concerns about attention span while allowing opportunities to build self-discipline and allowing access to phones for unexpected emergencies.

✅Considering learner needs, age, and brain development when establishing classroom cell phone rules.

✅What questions should we be asking to determine the impact and effectiveness of 1:1 device initiatives in schools? 

✅Homework policies: Why asking “Is homework effective?” is the wrong question, and what we should be asking instead. 

You can learn more about how to connect with Dr. Burkey at the Large Unit District Association website here: https://www.ludaillinois.org/

 You can listen to his podcast for school leaders, Forward to the Future here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/forward-to-the-future/id1563555302 

In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers design services that support executive functioning in K-12 settings. 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

No one working in special ed has ever said, “I chose this career so I could do paperwork all evening and weekend.”

Yet many realize after getting into the field that administrative demands can take away from time spent with students or collaborating with colleagues. 

That’s why I was so excited to connect with Sean Klamm, special educator and founder of Playground IEP (Link here: https://www.playgroundiep.com/) in episode 156 of “De Facto Leaders”. 

After starting his career as a teacher and then special education administrator, Sean was inspired to find a solution that would streamline, and potentially remove some of the “behind the scenes” work special educators need to do to manage service plans.

Sean Klamm is the Founder of Playground IEP. Sean is a Special Educator and former Director of Special Education at Butler College Prep in Chicago. After serving as Director for 5 years, Sean transitioned to build Playground IEP; the special education tools he wished he had while working in the school. Playground IEP is a new class of caseload management software that increases collaboration and automates many of the manual caseload management tasks. Sean and his team also built IEPcopilot.ai (Link here: https://www.playgroundiep.com/iep-copilot) which uses AI to assist in writing IEP goals, BIPs, and other sections of the IEP. Sean and his team are committed to building tools that allow teachers to spend more time with students and less time with spreadsheets.

In this conversation, we discuss:

✅ What’s the real motivation behind using AI and technology?

✅ How to keep the entire team in the loop about goals and accommodations (instead of letting IEPs collect dust in a binder on the shelf).

✅ When teachers aren’t supported, IEPs don’t get fully implemented. How do we solve that problem? 

✅ Using AI and technology to make space for better instructional practices and team collaboration.

✅ Systems vs. tools vs. culture: How leadership can avoid the “technology for the sake of technology” trap. 

You can connect with Sean on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanklamm/

Learn more about PlayGround IEP here: https://www.playgroundiep.com/

Create a free IEP Copilot account here: https://www.playgroundiep.com/iep-copilot

In this episode, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about Language Therapy Advance Foundations here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/
 
I also mentioned The School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers guide their teams to support students’ executive functioning across the day. This program will help you plan direct therapy, but will also help you lead change management on your team, no matter your job title. You can learn more about the School of Clinical Leadership 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Today I’m sharing an interview I did with Amy Baugh, a member of Language Therapy Advance Foundations. 

Amy Baugh is an experienced SLP, a life-long learner and truly enjoys listening to podcasts, joining SLP groups on social media and collaborating with her besties about all things’ speech, language and being a business owner. She is the proud mother of two college aged daughters and enjoys learning and practicing functional health, working out, reading, and cooking. She is the owner of Elation Speech and Language Services. Link here: https://www.elationspeech.com/

When Amy took a position at a high school with a large caseload, she knew she needed a solid strategy for keeping intervention intensive, but also ensuring teachers and paraprofessionals had the information they needed to support students in class, which is what inspired her to join Language Therapy Advance Foundations. 

When many clinicians come to me for support, they’re often focused on the “micro”, such as planning sessions. That’s why one of the first things I give clinicians I support is a framework clinicians can use for language therapy in direct intervention. 

However, once clinicians have their heads above water and they have the mental bandwidth to focus on the “macro”, they realize what else is possible when it comes to the impact they can make, as well as career opportunities.

In Amy’s case, it meant being able to focus on training teachers and paraprofessionals to implement language intervention in the classroom, as well as having an intervention framework to use when she started a private practice. 

In this conversation, we discuss:

✅The power of consultation and coaching when you have a large caseload.

✅The “house” strategy for initiating collaborations with teachers and adjacent disciplines.

✅Why focusing on your “systems”, like your schedule, habits, and frameworks can help you get buy-in from teachers and administration. 

✅The importance of syntax, vocabulary, and word study at the secondary level. 

You can connect with Amy at the Elation Speech and Language website here: https://www.elationspeech.com/

You can also connect with her on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-baugh-m-a-ccc-slp-20bb974b/

Amy is 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 mentioned the follow previous De Facto Leaders episode in this conversation:

EP 147: High school language therapy: Do we still have time to make an impact? (with Tiffany Shahoumian-Ruiz) Here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-147-high-school-language-therapy-do-we-still-have-time-to-make-an-impact-with-tiffany-shahoumian-ruiz/

EP 180: The relationship of literacy and language skills and involvement with the justice system (with Dr. Shameka Stewart) Here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-180-the-relationship-of-literacy-and-language-skills-and-involvement-with-the-justice-system-with-dr-shameka-stewart/

EP 181: Developmental language disorder: Impact of literacy and life beyond school (with Dr. Karla McGregor) Here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-181-developmental-language-disorder-impacts-on-literacy-and-life-beyond-school-with-dr-karla-mcgregor/

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

In this interview, I revisit conversations surrounding the use of the term “dyslexia” in the schools, the use of technology, and equitable access to books. 

I share my commentary on the following:

✅Saying “dyslexia” in the schools: Both the positive and negative consequences

✅Educational technology definitions: What “counts” as technology? What’s the difference between instructional and assistive technology? 

✅The tech tools are not the strategy: What’s happening when kids don’t use technology effectively?

✅Asking the right questions: School leaders should ask a different question than parents when they’re contemplating the value of “homework”. 

✅Equity issues that come with homework requirements.

✅Educators can’t control everything that happens when students leave campus; but they can help increase access to books. 

I revisit my conversations with Tom Parton (Episode 178) and Susan Brady (Episode 179) in this episode and share my thoughts on these questions.

This episode is a follow-up commentary on the National Literacy Month series the BE podcast network (https://bepodcast.network/) did as a partnership with Reading Is Fundamental (https://www.rif.org/) 

You can listen to the two interviews I discussed in this episode 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/

EP 179: Increasing book equity and fostering a love of reading (with Susan Brady)
Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-179-increasing-book-equity-and-fostering-a-love-of-reading-with-susan-brady/

Additional Resources mentioned in this episode:

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/

School leaders and reading instruction: Time to demand LESS rather than more autonomy
Link here: http://pamelasnow.blogspot.com/2023/10/school-leaders-and-science-of-reading.html

In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers develop a strategic plan for putting executive functioning support in place in collaboration with their school teams. You can learn more about that program here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership

In this episode I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about Language Therapy Advance Foundations here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/

You can get 25% off either program when you join between September 15-October 15. Just enter coupon code RIF25 on the checkout page to get this special rate. 

*If you’re already a member of either program and you refer a friend, tell them to email me at talktome@drkarenspeech.com if they join and let me know you referred them and I’ll send you a $100 referral bonus. 

Here’s what you can do right now to support this campaign and ensure you don’t miss any of these amazing interviews/commentary. 

Go to Apple, Spotify, or any other directory you use for podcasts and subscribe to the De Facto Leaders podcast.

Once you listen to an episode or two, leave me a rating and review. This helps get my show into the hands of people who need the information.

Do you have a colleague or friend who needs to learn more about the research surrounding language and literacy? Do you want to spread the word about practices and ideas you’d like to see in your school, community, or state? If so, tell them about the De Facto Leaders podcast so they can listen to all the episodes in this special campaign. 

Reading Is Fundamental is a nonprofit that focuses on connecting educators and families with materials and training aligned with evidence-based literacy instruction. Not only is their model aligned with the science of reading; they also offer unique book ownership solutions for professionals and families to address book equity issues. You can learn more about Reading Is Fundamental here: https://www.rif.org/

You can also learn more about the other BE Podcast Network shows at https://bepodcast.network

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

In light of the mass amount of misinformation about ADHD, particularly regarding medication, I thought it was time to do a re-release of this past episode.

*Disclaimer, although I have “Dr.” in front of my name, I’m not an MD and do not have the credentials to prescribe medication. This episode is meant for general information only and is not intended to be medical advice. 

As a licensed speech pathologist, I bring the perspective of someone who has supported clients through behavioral change and building skills; which has included making referrals/recommendations for families to seek medical advice from people who can prescribe medication. Additionally, I’ve also been in a position to report back to licensed physicians when they want to know a status update after prescribing medication.

In this episode, I discuss:

✅The “appeal to nature” fallacy, what it is and why it’s potentially harmful.

✅Common “natural” treatments for conditions like ADHD (such as diet, sleep hygiene, supplementation)

✅How to avoid distorted thinking when making decisions about medication and other treatment options.

In this episode, I mentioned this episode about homeopathy from the Unbiased Science podcast here: https://www.unbiasedscipod.com/episodes/homeopathy-much-ado-about-nothing-literally-nothing

I also mentioned the book “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer here: https://www.jonkrakauer.com/books/into-the-wild-tr

Finally, I also mentioned my free Executive Functioning Implementation Guide for School Teams. You can sign up for the guide here: http://drkarendudekbrannan.com/efguide

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

The writing process comes with internal resistance, even for strong writers.

Most people who say they enjoy writing don’t enjoy the entire process; particularly the “getting started” part. 

This is why writing is a common challenge when executive functioning is impacted. 

Layer on issues with background knowledge, language, and decoding, and it becomes even more complex. 

Kids need support with the “puzzle pieces” that fit together to support writing. Things like vocabulary, syntax, the ability to decode words, and the ability to spell. 

But while we’re working on these foundational skills, we also need to make sure kids get support with the “glue” that holds them together. 

This is where self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) can be really powerful. SRSD is a metacognitive strategy designed to help students with the planning and execution of challenging academic tasks like writing. 

That’s why I invited Dr. Nelly Kaakaty to episode 192 of the De Facto Leaders podcast to talk about her research and work in the field with SRSD and supporting students with learning differences.
Dr. Nelly Kaakaty is an educational therapist and psychology professor dedicated to creating a more accessible world, one classroom at a time. She has spent the last 12 years as a teacher, learning specialist, and researcher, designing academic programs to support all types of learners. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Child Learning and Development from the University of Texas at Dallas, a Master’s degree in Psychology from Texas A&M University-Commerce, and a doctorate in Educational Psychology with an emphasis in Special Education from A&M-Commerce. Her current work is twofold: she is learning specialist at an independent school, where she provides academic support to high school students, and she is a professor at a community college, where she teaches courses in psychology.

In this conversation, we discuss:

✅Why so many writing challenges are tied to executive functioning.

✅The power of micro-commitments and working through the struggle.

✅Scaffolding, fading prompts, and giving “just enough” support.

✅“We start writing before we start writing” and why starting with 5 minutes is okay.

✅Self-talk is for strategy and self-image: We need to model and explicitly teach both.

You can connect with Dr. K on Instagram @learningwithdrk, or on her website here: https://learningwithdrk.com/?ref=collabs.io

Learn about the resources she offers on her Amazon page here: https://www.amazon.com/shop/learningwithdr.k?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_aipsfshop_aipsflearningwithdr.k_BMWF4ZEERV80HH7SES3B

Connect with her on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nellykaakaty/?ref=collabs.io

In this episode, I mentioned the following resources:

Think SRSD : https://thinksrsd.com/

IRIS Center: SRSD Resources : https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/srs/

EP 130: Using private practice to offer accessible services and advocate for your profession (with Ebony Green) : https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-162-the-summer-slide-real-phenomenon-or-invented-by-tutoring-companies-with-david-schipper/

EP 176: Building the language skills for reading, writing, and spelling (with Dr. Jan Wasowicz): https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-176-building-the-language-skills-for-reading-writing-and-spelling-with-dr-jan-wasowicz/

“Explicit Instruction: Effective and Efficient Teaching” by Anita L. Archer and Charles A. Hughes : https://explicitinstruction.org/

 “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield : https://stevenpressfield.com/books/the-war-of-art/

“Bird by Bird” by Anne Lamott : https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12543.Bird_by_Bird

Tim Ferriss Show Episode Episode 263: Master Filmmaker Darren Aronofsky-Exploring Creativity, Ignoring Critics, and Marking Art: https://tim.blog/2017/09/09/darren-aronofsky/

Tim Ferriss Show Episode 154: The Habits of a Master-Paulo Coehlo, Author of the Alchemist: https://tim.blog/2016/04/23/paulo-coelho-the-alchemist/

In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers develop a strategic plan for putting executive functioning support in place in collaboration with their school teams. You can learn more about that 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Executive functioning and financial literacy go hand-in-hand; which is why money management should be a part of any K-12 curriculum. 

Much of this has to do with self-evaluation, the ability to think into the future, and the understanding of quantitative and temporal concepts.

There are endless digital tools designed to help people manage their finances, but these tools won’t be useful for people who don’t have a solid sense of the quantity or the value of money. 

That’s why I invited Ben Hockema to episode 145 of the De Facto Leaders podcast to discuss how we can talk to kids about money and help them develop financial literacy.

Ben is a Certified Financial Planner and the founder and advisor of Illuminate Wealth Management. He works with individuals, families, and small business owners on their full financial picture; everything from cash flow and paying for education to saving and investing for big goals such as retirement, to individual and small business tax planning so that his clients can gain clarity and develop a path that is unique to their own goals, hopes and dreams. 

In this conversation, we discuss:

✅How to overcome shame so you can teach kids about money, even if you’re not a financial expert (or don’t think you’re good at money management)

✅How to have intentional conversations that help kids understand the value of money.

✅Making money tangible: How to help kids learn the value behind the numbers

✅What skills and abilities should someone have before they get a credit card? 

✅How can families set up boundaries and expectations in their homes when it comes to responsibilities, chores, and earning money. 

✅Helping kids navigate earning opportunities such as getting money for chores, getting a job, or starting a side hustle.

You can learn more about Ben’s resources for talking to kids about money here: https://www.dollarsandkids.com/, and his financial planning services here: https://www.illuminatewm.com/. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benhockemailluminate/, or learn more about the National Association of Financial Advisors College Affordability Project here: https://www.napfa.org/napfa-foundation-college-affordability-project 

In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers design services that support executive functioning in K-12 settings. 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Syntactic use is considered an “academic” skill that’s useful for reading comprehension and writing, but the impact of sentence comprehension goes way beyond school.

Our ability to comprehend messages at the word and sentence level in oral and written language has a huge impact on our ability to function.

So when clinicians ask me, “Should I focus on syntax, or should I focus on life skills?”, my response is that syntax IS a life skill.

The same is true about semantic knowledge because of the significant impact background knowledge has in our ability to navigate in functional situations.

Yet scaffolding for students who are not yet able to read and write can be challenging; which is why I wanted to share two questions on this topic from a session done with my Language Therapy Advance Foundation’s members’ group. 

In this session, I share:

✅Examples of complex syntax that may occur during functional tasks, like signing up for medical appointments, applying for a job, or grocery shopping.

✅Why effective vocabulary instruction in content areas, such as science and social studies, is essential for positive life outcomes.

✅Scaffolding syntactic study for nonreaders or emergent readers.

✅Does it make sense to do semantic feature analysis with a student who has an intellectual disability?

✅Following directions, topic maintenance, and self-advocacy: What language skills do we need to meet these type of goals, and should even we be writing IEP goals for these skills?

In this episode, I mentioned the following episodes of De Facto Leaders:

EP 102: The science of reading: A team approach (with Brett Stevens) Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-102-the-science-of-reading-a-team-approach-with-brett-stevens/

EP 180: The relationship of language and literacy 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/

EP 181: Developmental language disorder: Impacts on literacy and life outcomes beyond school (with Dr. Karla McGregor) Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-181-developmental-language-disorder-impacts-on-literacy-and-life-beyond-school-with-dr-karla-mcgregor/

In this episode I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about Language Therapy Advance Foundations here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/

If you’re already a member of either program and you refer a friend, tell them to email me at talktome@drkarenspeech.com if they join and let me know you referred them and 

I’ll send you a $100 referral bonus. 

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

I’m a huge supporter of professionals taking ownership of their careers; regardless of the systemic issues at play.

But having said that, I ALSO like to help educators get to a place where they can work towards addressing systems issues head on.

That’s why I was so excited to talk with Kurtis Hewson about the Collaborative Response Framework in episode 174 of De Facto Leaders.

Kurtis Hewson is an award-winning former administrator and teacher, as well as teaching faculty at the post-secondary level. He is the co-founder of Jigsaw Learning, a co-author of the text, “Collaborative Response: Three Foundational Components That Transform How We Respond to the Needs of Learners” (Corwin, 2022), and currently works with districts and schools nationally and internationally establishing Collaborative Response frameworks and interacting with thousands of educators annually.

Good teachers, therapists, and administrators often develop toolkits they can use to offer a continuum of support to students. But as Kurtis points out, they’re often operating in “silos of excellence”. 

What would happen if team members worked together to pool their resources? 

We discuss this topic in this episode, including:

✅People in education talk a lot about the problems with “the system”. But what is the “system” and how do we improve it?

✅Is talking about individual student needs always the best use of time at team meetings?

✅Meetings sometimes feel like an obligation or a waste of time. How do we change that?

✅What types of meetings should district level teams have and what’s the purpose of each?

✅Why school teams need 4 tiers of support rather than the traditional 3 tiers of RtI.

In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers develop a strategic plan for putting executive functioning support in place in collaboration with their school teams. 

You can learn more about that program here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership

You can learn more about how to connect with Kurtis and his work at: https://www.jigsawlearning.ca/

Read about the Overview of Collaborative Response here: https://bit.ly/CR-overview 

Read the Introductory Chapter of the text Collaborative Response - https://bit.ly/CR-intro

Learn about the Layers of Collaborative Teams Here: https://www.jigsawlearning.ca/publications/blog-posts/scaffolding-our-collaborative-response-purposeful-layering-t

Learn the Five Considerations to Transform Your Team Meetings here:  https://www.jigsawlearningonline.com/five-planning-considerations-to-transform-your-team-meetings

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

This week, I’m sharing an interview I did with another host on the BE podcast network because I think it’s something you’ll really enjoy. The episode is going live in the De Facto Leaders podcast feed. 

Dr. Chris Jones has been an educator in Massachusetts for 22 years. His experience in the classroom ranged from 8th - 11th grade working in an urban setting. A portion of this was spent opening a high school division for an expanding charter school. He has just finished his 14th year as a building administrator. Chris is also the Vice President of the Massachusetts State Administrators Association (MSAA). True to his "why" of improving the educational experience for as many people as possible, he is currently the Principal of Whitman-Hanson Regional High School in Whitman, Massachusetts.

He is the author of SEEing to Lead, a book that provides strategies for how modern leaders can and must support, engage, and empower their teachers to elevate student success. Chris vlogs weekly about continuous improvement and is also the host of the podcast SEEing to Lead as a way to amplify teachers’ voices in an effort to improve education as a whole.

In this interview, Dr. Chris Jones and I discuss how school leaders and subject matter experts can work together to support each other. 

There's a big emphasis on the idea that we need to embrace uncertainty to improve personally and professionally. While I agree with this, I think it's possible to take it too far.

In the K-12 world, I've seen many talented therapists or teachers continue old habits and patterns they know aren't effective.

Usually there's layers of shame and guilt because they know they could be doing something more, or at the very least doing something different.

Procrastination and not changing habits is often blamed on things like "mindset" or even character flaws, but many times it's simply a lack of clarity.

If you're wanting to solve a problem in a classroom, a therapy room, or a school, the steps can feel overwhelming and all-consuming. Sometimes the end goal and how to get there can feel fuzzy.

When you have a challenging task in front of you, some element of anxiety and uncertainty is normal and part of the process.

But if you have absolutely no clue where to start or where you're going, being able to "motivate" yourself to move forward or do the work to change your habits is going to be extremely difficult.

Imagine how you'd feel if you were stressed, frustrated, and nervous about something and you were told:

"This is going to be hard and uncomfortable. I have no idea how long it will take. I'm not sure where we're going and how we're going to get there."

Few people would be excited to jump in and get started in that scenario, especially if they knew they'd be left to figure it out alone.

This is where school leaders can step in and help teachers, therapists, and other staff to see the path forward or put the support in place to make sure they get help along the way.

Whether it be access to resources, trainings, establishing operating procedures for collaboration, or time to meet and connect. 

We might not need to see the whole staircase clearly, but we can at least get an idea of what lies ahead and make the first steps feel less intimidating.

You can connect with Dr. Jones on LinkedIn here, and on Twitter here, and on Instagram here.  You can learn more about his book and podcast at: https://drcsjones.blog/seeing-to-lead-podcast/

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.

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

High-impact tutoring has a wide body of evidence to support its efficacy, but how do you know what is and isn’t “high-impact”?

Is it better to brand yourself as an academic coach or an executive functioning coach?
Should “executive functioning” be a class in school, or should it be embedded into all the classes?
I invited my colleague David Schipper to episode 191 of De Facto Leaders to ponder some of these questions. 

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 uses his clinic's fairly unique approach to help get to the root of students' learning challenges and propose the most suitable remediation to resolve these weaknesses. As a father of two children, David knows how to relate to the concerns of parents and as an experienced educator, thoroughly understands the struggles of students. His passion and dedication to teaching and learning is second to none. 

In this conversation, we discuss:

✅The features of high-impact tutoring vs. traditional tutoring.

✅How are “COVID high schoolers” doing now that they’re in college?

✅Strategies are important, but can you use a strategy without content knowledge?

✅Executive functioning in the schools: How should it look across Tiers 1, 2, and 3?

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/)

You can find the National Education Association article on High-Impact Tutoring here: https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/high-impact-tutoring, and can find additional research on the impact of High-Impact Tutoring and COVID learning loss here: https://educationlab.uchicago.edu/2024/03/national-study-finds-in-school-tutoring-programs-are-successfully-accelerating-student-learning-reversing-pandemic-era-learning-loss/
 
We also mentioned Natalie Wexler’s work in this episode. You can learn more about her work on her website here: https://nataliewexler.com/

Listen to David’s previous interview on De Facto Leaders here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-162-the-summer-slide-real-phenomenon-or-invented-by-tutoring-companies-with-david-schipper/

In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers develop a strategic plan for putting executive functioning support in place in collaboration with their school teams. You can learn more about that 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

I’m excited to share episode 127 of De Facto Leaders about a common debate for therapists and teachers:

“Is it worth it to get a doctorate?”

In this wide-ranging conversation with my colleague Dr. Christy Borders, we discuss ways to build language skills in students with hearing loss, as well as how to decide if it's time to take the leap and get your doctorate. 

The backstory of this conversation is that I recorded it back when I didn’t have a podcast thinking, “Maybe one day I’ll launch a podcast and be able to use this as an episode”. 

That’s exactly what I did! 

Since I’ve been getting so many comments and questions lately from people wondering if a doctorate is the right choice for them, I wanted to share it on the show!

The first part of the conversation, Dr. Borders shares the first stage of her career as a teacher for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing population; and why she decided it was time to take the leap to higher ed, even though she loved her job. 

We get into the discussion about making the decision to get a doctorate in the second half of the conversation. Here’s the run-down of what we cover in this conversation:

When you listen to this interview, you'll learn: 

✅How the Deaf and Hard of Hearing population learns to read, write, and speak. 

✅The impact of waiting until 6-12 months to get a hearing aid/cochlear implant. 

✅How to know if you should get a doctorate,  plus survival tips if you do take the leap.

✅How to get funding for a doctoral degree. 

✅The difference between an EdD and a PhD. 

✅What many people don’t know about research and scientists in the field of special education (and why this is actually good news). 

✅The best way to start an IEP meeting (especially if you have a strained relationship with the parents).

In this episode, I mentioned the School of Clinical Leadership, my course that helps school clinicians take the executive functioning lead in their building. To learn more about the program, go to drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership (http://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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Do autistic people experience empathy? 

Does masking cause trauma? 

How do we help neurodivergent kids form relationships in a way that’s accepting of their differences?

These are questions that I get from clinicians on a regular basis that I’ve also wondered about myself.

That’s why when I created The School of Clinical Leadership, I made sure to include research and strategies to help guide clinicians through answering these questions. 

In episode 110 of the De Facto Leaders podcast, I’m sharing a recording that comes directly from the School of Clinical Leadership course library. 

In the video, I’ll cover why teaching situational awareness is so important for social relationships and self-advocacy, and why it’s a skill that can help clinicians navigate the nuances of effective and affirming intervention.

This episode is taken directly from the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps K-12 clinicians provide executive functioning support for their caseloads. You can learn more about the program here: https://www.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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

On episode 100 of the “De Facto Leaders” podcast, I had the opportunity to interview Dr. Gastrid Harrigan has been an educator for over 19 years as a classroom teacher, Assistant Principal, and currently as Principal in Broward County, Florida. In addition, Dr. Harrigan is a Professor of Education at Broward College and Colorado State University Global. He’s also the host of The School Leaders Podcast, a show focused on helping current and aspiring principals and school leaders navigate their leadership journey. One of the biggest challenges that school clinicians face is effectively collaborating with members of their IEP teams; including those in leadership positions. That’s why I invited Dr. Harrigan on to the show to share the biggest challenges school principals face, how they make decisions, and how you can work alongside them in a way that’s supportive and helpful to you, them, and of course…the students. In this conversation, we talk about ways school clinicians and administrators can support each other so they can get what they both want: Better student outcomes. Specifically, we discuss: ✅The best way to approach your principal with questions, concerns, or suggestions (including what NOT to do). ✅Why you should develop operating procedures for collaborating with others as well as managing your classroom or therapy room. ✅What principals wish their staff knew about their jobs, and ways you can make their lives easier. ✅Tips for getting a response from busy school leaders (and what to do if they don’t answer your email). You can connect with Dr. Gastrid Harrigan on Instagram @drgharrigan and find the School Leaders Podcast on most podcast directories, including Apple and Spotify.  You can also find him on LinkedIN here. In this episode, I mentioned my Executive Functions Implementation guide that shares how school therapists can lead their IEP teams in providing mental health, behavioral, and social skills support for K-12 kids . You can download this free resource here. 

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Language and executive functioning have a bidirectional relationship (Baron & Arbel, 2022; Larson, et al., 2019). This means that building language skills can impact executive functioning, and vice versa. 

A significant amount of executive functioning skills are required to comprehend language-based academic tasks like reading and writing. 

Yet strategic thinking (which is part of executive functioning) requires a significant amount of internal dialogue; which is very difficult to engage in without adequate vocabulary or ability to use and understand complex syntax (Fahy, 2014). 

Complex sentences are loaded with language that indicates cause and effect or temporal information; all which are essential for strategic planning. 

On top of that, many students continue to struggle with reading comprehension without direct work on foundational language skills; even if they’re taught comprehension strategies (Eberhardt, 2013; Scott, 2009; Scott & Koonce, 2014; Nippold, 2017).

One might make the argument then (which I often do), that these underlying language skills are necessary to developing strong executive functioning skills. 

This makes both treatment planning, diagnosis, and determining eligibility for educational programming complicated; especially when it comes to legal guidelines as well as state and local policies. 

That’s why in episode 166 of De Facto Leaders, I’m sharing a Q & A session I did in my Language Therapy Advance Foundations member’s group to talk about the relationship between syntax, processing and higher level cognitive processes like executive functioning. 

In this episode, I share: 

✅How to create a strategic plan if you need to build a system for language therapy and a system for executive functioning intervention?

✅Should you focus on the students' needs or your own needs when planning your professional development goals?

✅Common comorbidities and diagnoses to consider when focusing on language, executive functioning, and reading/writing.

✅The impact of syntax on other language and cognitive processes.

✅Common sentence types that are difficult for individuals with DLD and other diagnoses that impact language.

✅Ineffective strategies used to comprehend difficult sentence types.

✅Why do these difficult sentence types impact comprehension, processing, and our ability to engage in internal dialogue and strategic planning?

In this episode, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about Language Therapy Advance Foundations here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/

I also mentioned the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers develop a strategic plan for putting executive functioning support in place in collaboration with their school teams. You can learn more about that program here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership 

You can view the YouTube version of this episode with slides here: https://youtu.be/7-F0fjjJ0F8

I also mentioned the following resources:

Ultimate Guide to Sentence Structure : https://drkarenspeech.com/sentencestructure

​The 5 Component Language Therapy Framework: https://drkarenspeech.com/language​

​Syntactic Development in the School-Age Years​​: https://drkarenspeech.com/syntactic-development-school-age-years/​

K-12 Professional Learning: It’s about what the adults need, not just the kids: https://drkarenspeech.com/k-12-professional-learning-its-about-what-adults-need-not-just-the-kids/​

De Facto Leaders EP 159: Comorbidities and Differential Diagnosis: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-159-comborbidities-and-differential-diagnosis-adhd-dld-dyslexia/​

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

For episode 195 of De Facto Leaders, I share a Q & A session where I talk through ways to navigate evaluations; including considering a test's psychometric properties, how detailed it gets, and how to supplement with non-standardized protocols. 

In the second half, I talked about SLP career transitions and things to think about if you want to explore other ways to use your clinical credentials or are considering getting a doctorate or additional certifications. 

*This discussion on career pathways is also relevant for other clinical disciplines outside of speech-language pathology. 

I also talk about how to do "micro-experiments" that help you build skills and explore other ways to use your skills and build up a portfolio of experience you can use to transition to the next stage of your career.

his Q & A session was done in the member’s group for Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs build a system for language therapy. You can learn more about Language Therapy Advance Foundations here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy

Additional episodes mentioned in this discussion:
EP 80: Career test runs and calming your inner critic with Stephanie Hayes 
(Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-80-career-test-runs-and-calming-your-inner-critic-with-stephanie-hayes/)

EP 108: How to do multilingual evaluations as a monolingual therapist (with Meg Morgan) 
(Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-108-how-to-do-multilingual-evaluations-as-a-monolingual-therapist-with-meg-morgan/)

EP 186: Supporting multilingual students and taking part in state and national advocacy work (with Puja Goel and Prabhu Eswaran) 
(Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-186-supporting-multilingual-students-and-taking-part-in-state-and-national-advocacy-work-with-puja-goel-and-prabhu-eswaran/)

EP 187: Dynamic assessment: Evaluations are a process, not a test (with Destiny Johnson)
(Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-187-dynamic-assessment-evaluations-are-a-process-not-a-test-with-destiny-johnson/)

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Finding the right amount of therapy materials is a struggle for many clinicians. It’s hard to find the balance between having enough options, without having so many choices it feels overwhelming.

Now that we have access to digital resources, we also have to think about how to use technology responsibly and effectively. 

That’s why I invited Dr. Karen Rose to episode 204 of the De Facto Leaders podcast to discuss how digital platforms can minimize cognitive fatigue and improve communication on multidisciplinary teams. 

Dr. Karen Rose has over two decades of experience as a pediatric speech and language pathologist, fueling her passion for improving healthcare. As the former Vice President of Research and Clinical Development at Cognishine, she provided clinical and academic guidance and contributed to numerous research projects. She is now engaged in postdoctoral research and continues to work with Cognishine as an external advisor. Her work has been published in numerous internationally renowned journals.

In this conversation, we discuss:

✅How different clinical disciplines can collaborate with each other, as well as IT professionals to create engaging therapy resources.

✅Using technology to enhance (but not replace) interactive in-person experiences.

✅Thinking of digital platforms and therapy materials as a communication tool for team collaboration and parent coaching. 

✅Leveraging online materials to provide scaffolding for therapists so they don’t have to start from scratch; while still allowing room for engagement and creativity. 

Learn more about Cognishine here: https://www.cognishine.com/

Follow Cognishine on LinkedIn here. https://www.linkedin.com/company/cognishine-therapy-and-education-ltd/

Explore some of Congishine’s Educational Resources and Free Activities here: https://app.cognishine.com/en-us/free-activities

Connect with Dr. Karen on LinkedIn directly here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-rose-ph-d-228757327/
 
In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers develop a strategic plan for putting executive functioning support in place in collaboration with their school teams. You can learn more about that 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Helping families feel involved in their children’s education goes beyond checking the boxes to make sure you’re following legal guidelines.

That’s why I invited Dr. Kristin Vogel-Campbell to De Facto Leaders to talk about how school teams can make the IEP process more welcoming to families, especially those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. 

Dr. Kristin Vogel-Campbell (she/her/hers) is a veteran Special Educator with over 20 years in the field. She has served in various roles from paraeducator to Director of Student Services and Special Education. She was a classroom teacher for a decade in the San Francisco Bay Area, working with students from Kindergarten through 8th grade. She is a systems-focused educator, working at the district level with school teams to ensure that students with disabilities are provided high-quality, research-based instruction and that all students are treated with dignity and respect in the Least Restrictive Environment. In addition, she has supported new site leaders in deepening their understanding of Special Education, including laws and protections for students and families. 

Kristin is a practitioner-researcher, working with families to share their experiences and perspectives. Informed with this familial knowledge, teams can make practical shifts needed to move to a collaborative partnership with culturally affirming, sustainable, and equitable families. She has presented at AERA (American Educational Research Association), NAME (National Association of Multicultural Education), and ACSA (Association of California School Administrators, among others. Articles have appeared in Leadership (ACSA magazine), The Journal of Leadership, Equity, and Research, and the KQED Education blog. Her book “Partnering with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Families in Special Education” was published in December 2023 by Rowman & Littlefield.

In this conversation, we discuss:

✅You’ve provided the “procedural safeguards”, but do families really understand their rights? 

✅What’s going on when parents don’t show up for parent-teacher conferences and IEP meetings?

✅Why environmental set-up matters during IEP meetings; including seating arrangements and how/when the team enters the room. 

✅Navigating language barriers, transportation issues, and logistical constraints. 

✅Finding the balance between family schedules and staff contractual time when setting up IEP meetings.

✅Tips for managing nerves during IEP meetings so you can make your report feel conversational (and less technical).

You can connect with Dr. Vogel-Campbell on LinkedIn here (https://www.linkedin.com/in/drvogelcampbell/), and on Instagram here (https://www.instagram.com/drvogelcampbell/).
 
Be sure to check out her book “Partnering with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Families in Special Education” here (https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538180365/Partnering-with-Culturally-and-Linguistically-Diverse-Families-in-Special-Education).

Be sure to check out these other episodes of De Facto Leaders where I talked about how to improve community and family engagement:

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/

EP 118: Coaching aspiring leaders in school turn-around and community outreach (with Edward Gordon II) Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-118-coaching-aspiring-leaders-in-school-turn-around-and-community-outreach-with-edward-gordon-ii/

EP 96: Supporting bilingualism in K-12 kids (with Briana Wagner) 
Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-96-supporting-bilingualism-in-k-12-kids-with-briana-wagner/

EP 143: Developing a cultural competemility mindset (with Melanie Evans) 
Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-143-developing-a-cultural-competemility-mindset-for-educators-and-clinicians-with-melanie-evans/

I also mentioned The School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers guide their teams to support students’ executive functioning across the day. 
This program will help you plan direct therapy, but will also help you lead change management on your team, no matter your job title. You can learn more about the School of Clinical Leadership 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Students who meet the criteria for developmental language disorder (DLD) are often categorized as “speech only” in the school systems. 

In many cases, these students qualify for special education services under the eligibility category of “speech and language impaired”, which puts speech-language pathologists who serve as case managers in a difficult position ethically. 

Sometimes students may qualify for services under other eligibility categories, but there’s still a lack of awareness about the diagnosis; especially relating to how we serve students in schools. 

The impact on literacy and overall academic performance can be substantial; not to mention life outcomes outside of school. 

Unlike other diagnoses that have other pathways to diagnosis in the early years, signs of DLD are often not identified until students start school. 

Therefore, DLD is an essential part of conversations surrounding literacy (even though it can impact way more than just reading). 

That’s why I invited Dr. Karla McGregor to episode 181 of De Facto Leaders to talk about DLD as part of the National Literacy Month RIF series. 

Dr. Karla K. McGregor, Ph.D., CCC-SLP is a Senior Scientist at Boys Town National Research Hospital in Omaha, NE, USA, where she also serves as the Senior Director of the Center for Childhood Deafness, Language and Learning. She is a Professor Emerita at the University of Iowa and a founding member and Chair of DLDandMe.org. Dr. McGregor’s scholarly work on developmental language disorder is funded by the National Institutes of Health and she has also benefited from the support of the National Science Foundation and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. She is the former Editor for the Journal of Speech-Language-Hearing Research. Her awards include Honors of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and the Kawana Award for Lifetime Achievement in Publishing. She has been fortunate to mentor 12 doctoral students, six post-doctoral scholars, and numerous early-career scientists.

This episode is part of the National Literacy Month series of podcasts, presented in partnership between the Be Podcast Network and Reading Is Fundamental (RIF).

In this episode, we discuss:

✅Developmental language disorder: Characteristics and overlaps with conditions like ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and auditory processing disorder.

✅School teams are “permitted” to use the term “DLD” in the schools. What does that mean in practice?

✅How language disorders impact important life skills such as the driver’s test or understanding your Miranda rights. 

✅Universal screeners: Reading screeners are an opportunity to identify DLD, but will they catch every child who needs services?

You can learn more about Dr. McGregor’s work in DLD advocacy along with her colleagues here: https://dldandme.org/

Learn more about her scholarly work on her Wix site here: https://karlamcgregor.wixsite.com/my-work

Connect with her via email at Karla.McGregor@boystown.org

Dr. McGregor mentioned this article she wrote with Dr. Tiffany Hogan for Reading Rockets: https://www.readingrockets.org/helping-all-readers/neurodiversity-and-children-learning-differences/developmental-language

I mentioned the following conversation about high school language therapy and helping students with language disorders pass the driving exam: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-147-high-school-language-therapy-do-we-still-have-time-to-make-an-impact-with-tiffany-shahoumian-ruiz/

In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers develop a strategic plan for putting executive functioning support in place in collaboration with their school teams. You can learn more about that program here.

In this episode, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about Language Therapy Advance Foundations here.

You can get 25% off either program when you join between September 15-October 15. Just enter coupon code RIF25 on the checkout page to get this special rate. 

*If you’re already a member of either program and you refer a friend, tell them to email me at talktome@drkarenspeech.com if they join and let me know you referred them and I’ll send you a $100 referral bonus. 

Here’s what you can do right now to support this campaign and ensure you don’t miss any of these amazing interviews/commentary. 

1. Go to Apple, Spotify, or any other directory you use for podcasts and subscribe to the De Facto Leaders podcast.
2. Once you listen to an episode or two, leave me a rating and review. This helps get my show into the hands of people who need the information.
3. Do you have a colleague or friend who needs to learn more about the research surrounding language and literacy? Do you want to spread the word about practices and ideas you’d like to see in your school, community, or state? If so, tell them about the De Facto Leaders podcast so they can listen to all the episodes in this special campaign. 

Reading Is Fundamental is a nonprofit that focuses on connecting educators and families with materials and training aligned with evidence-based literacy instruction. Not only is their model aligned with the science of reading; they also offer unique book ownership solutions for professionals and families to address book equity issues. You can learn more about Reading Is Fundamental here. 

You can also learn more about the other BE Podcast Network shows at https://bepodcast.network

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 H...

This session is a Q & A I did in the Language Therapy Advance Foundations member’s group relating to how to support students through semantic study and working on complex syntax. 

I addressed the following FAQs:

“How do I help students who struggle to define and describe words without making them prompt-dependent?”

“How do I make semantic study more contextualized?”

“What’s the difference between a “task-based” goal and a “strategy-based” goal, and which type of goal should I be using for language and executive functioning?”

I also provide examples of goals for observable behaviors vs. goals that focus on the process of getting to that behavior or end output. 

Highlights of this session include:

✅Using the explicit instruction framework: “I do, we do, you do.”

✅Using pauses, reflective questions, sentence starters, direct repetition, and declarative statements (hint: we should be using a blend of all these things.)

✅Where we SHOULD use explicit, repetitive, “decontextualized” tasks in therapy for purposes of cognitive priming. 

✅Why students need a blend of structured and unstructured tasks (from decontextualized to contextualized). 

This session came from a Q & A I did in Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about Language Therapy Advance Foundations here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/ 

The following resources were mentioned in this session:

The Explicit Instruction Framework by Anita Archer and Charles Hughes: https://explicitinstruction.org/

This video on scaffolding sentence combining for younger students: https://youtu.be/LDLYlZgqpQU

The strategy-based goals for executive functioning came from information from the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers put executive functioning intervention in place. You can learn more about the School of Clinical Leadership 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

What’s evidence-based and neurodiversity-affirming shouldn’t be in opposition. Effective interventions that build resilience and help kids build healthy relationships should be “affirming” by definition.

Yet many clinicians remain confused about how to apply this to practice; especially when it comes to things like “social skills” or “pragmatic language”.

One of the most common complaints I hear across disciplines when it comes to social skills support is that students don’t generalize skills. I’ve heard this from psychologists, SLPs, social workers, counselors, among others. 

The solution to the generalization problem is ALSO the answer to making intervention    ND-affirming and EBP. 

In order to do this, we need to teach the right skills with the right service delivery model. 

In episode 107 of the De Facto Leaders podcast, I share how to do this. 

I cover:

✅Why adult-led social skills groups that teach social rules lead to poor carryover

✅The two skills that should be a part of every social skills intervention plan

✅The three components to and effective service delivery model (and why pull-out therapy alone doesn’t work).

In this episode, I also mentioned my free online training where I share how to help students thrive socially, emotionally, and academically with executive functioning support. In the training, I share why some students still struggle with social skills, even though they’re going to social skills groups. You can sign up for the free training here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/efleadership

To get the information in written form, check out my Executive Functioning Implementation Guide here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/efschools

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

In this episode, I share a special Q & A session I did with the members of Language Therapy Advance Foundations; my program that provides service providers with a research-based framework for language therapy.

I get a lot of questions about how to make the transition between preschool to school-age, what language therapy activities are appropriate for younger children, and when to start direct intervention on linguistic skills like syntax.

While there is not a scripted protocol or curriculum that gives us all the answers, there’s a wide body of research that shows how an effective intervention framework can work. 

Should we focus on the “big picture” structure of language, like narrative structure, or should we focus on the pieces? 

Will kids get the “big picture” if they can’t put the other components together (at the word and sentence level)? Or will developing the structure give them a process that will help them develop those other components. 

In reality, it’s a little of both. 

Should we think from a developmental perspective; making sure that kids are developmentally ready to learn certain skills before introducing them? Or should we think from more of a behavioral, or cognitive/linguistic perspective, and operate from the assumption that teaching will facilitate skills?

Again, it’s a little of both.

In this episode, I clarified some of that nuance, as well as how I’ve considered these things in the framework I teach. 

✅How to structure your therapy session; including how to set expectations, how to think about modeling and scaffolding, and where "drill" activities come in to play

✅Where does narrative language intervention apply to language therapy? 

✅Are some students too young for direct work on vocabulary and syntax? 

✅How do we make the transition from preschool to school-age language therapy?

✅Describing a pattern vs. diagnosing: How does gestalt language processing fit in to a language therapy framework?

The following resources were mentioned in this episode:

De Facto Leaders EP 64: Are kids ready to work on complex sentences in elementary school? (Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-64-are-kids-ready-to-work-on-complex-sentences-in-early-elementary-school/)

Spencer & Douglas (2020). Narrative Intervention: Principles to Practice (Link here: https://pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/2020_LSHSS-20-00015)

The Informed SLP: Let’s give them something to gestalt about (Link here: https://www.theinformedslp.com/review/let-s-give-them-something-to-gestalt-about)

In this episode, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about Language Therapy Advance Foundations 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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 the pandemic hit, many clinicians had to unexpectedly transition to online therapy, which raised a lot of concerns about treatment quality.

Can you really provide high-quality services in an online format? 

Does it require the same skill sets as in-person therapy? 

Are there times when teletherapy provides functionality that doesn’t exist in-person? 

As the world has embraced telehealth as a viable option to increase access to services, these are all questions that come up for those of us delivery services. 

That’s why I invited Lynne Inabnitt to the show to talk about the ins and outs of teletherapy; and what clinicians need to consider when using this format. 

Lynne Inabnitt, M.A. CCC-SLP, is Senior Vice President of Clinical Success at Presence, a leading provider of remote evaluations and teletherapy for children with diverse needs. In this role, she oversees a team that supports relationships between Presence clinicians and school district partners by embedding clinically sound practices into service operations. Lynne served as a pediatric and school-based SLP for over 15 years, transitioning into the teletherapy space in 2015. 

Since then, she’s held leadership positions overseeing clinical operations and multidisciplinary teams as the Clinical Director of Quality, Outreach, & Learning for Presence and Co-Clinical Director for Global Teletherapy. Lynne was a previous recipient of the Leadership in Literacy Grant from the U.S. Department of Education awarded by the University of Cincinnati, is an ASHA certified and licensed SLP, and received a Bachelor's degree and Master of Arts in Speech Language Pathology from Miami University of Ohio.

In this conversation, we discuss:

✅What skills are needed to be a good teletherapist, and how should clinicians set themselves up for success from the start? 

✅How teletherapy can provide opportunities for creativity, innovation, and customization that aren’t as easy to make using print materials.

✅How therapists can leverage the power of networking and community to build skills and grow in their careers.

You can learn more about professional development and career opportunities at Presence at https://presencelearning.com/.
To learn more about the Kanga telehealth platform, visit: https://presencelearning.com/kanga-online-therapy-platform/

You can connect with Lynne on LinkedIn here. 

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.

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

What do you do if your school administrator doesn’t fully understand your role and your expertise?

What if you have the information and knowledge they need to drive important decisions for your school? How can you get them to listen to your input? 

If you’re a therapist, educator, or aspiring school leader, these questions may have popped into your head from time to time. 

If that’s the case, it might feel like your boss (or maybe even your boss’s boss) has all the power. 

But what if that wasn’t the case? 

What if you could step into a leadership role NOW and be an advisor to those who are “technically” your superiors?

This is called “leading up”. 

In episode 112 of the De Facto Leaders podcast, I invited Jethro Jones on to talk about how to be a leader, no matter your job title.

Jethro Jones, is a national award-winning former school leader, podcaster, and author of the books "How to be a Transformative Principal" (click here to read more: https://www.amazon.com/How-Transformative-Principal-Jethro-Jones/dp/1915261090) and "SchoolX: How principals can design a transformative school experience for the people right in front of them! (click here to read more: https://www.amazon.com/SchoolX-principals-transformative-experience-themselves/dp/1913622118). He is also the founder of the BE Podcast Network (click here to learn more: https://bepodcast.network/ ), the best educational podcast network out there. Jethro currently consults school leaders on strategies to help them save time, lead more effectively, and overcome their own weaknesses. Jethro has worked as a principal at all K-12 levels, including a prison school, a district coach, distance learning team lead, and English teacher.

In this conversation, he shares:

✅How to “lead up” to your school administrator when they need your input on programming decisions (even if they don’t realize it yet). 

✅How to “lead out” to other people on your team, even if they’re resistant to changing their practices.

✅How to make a case to your school leader for more resources and support, even if it’s not in the budget.

You can connect with Jethro Jones on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jethrojones/, and listen to the Transformative Principal Podcast or learn more about how to work with Jethro on his website here: https://www.jethrojones.com/ You can also learn more about the BE podcast network for aspiring school leaders here: https://bepodcast.network/

You can take the quiz on how to level up in your career as an educator/leader here: https://moveup.transformativeprincipal.com/?utm_source=dfl

You can listen to the School AI podcast where we discuss AI, interdisciplinary units, and executive functioning featuring Dr. Karen here: https://youtu.be/KqUzRRKQvO8

In this episode, I mentioned my free online training for K-12 therapists who want to offer social and academic support that’s evidence-based and neurodiversity-affirming. You can sign up for that free 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

I remember the first time I “Marie Kondoed” my therapy room and got rid of materials that were published before I was born. 

There were shelves of things I never used, and having so many options created unnecessary decision fatigue every time I sat down to plan my week ahead. 

Over time, I started investing in knowledge instead of flashcards and games. I found my students did better when I kept it simple. I thought my students would be bored, but they actually became more engaged and independent. 

That’s why I was so excited to talk with Marisha Mets from SLP Now, who shares my passion for systems and frameworks that don’t require complicated materials. 

Marisha Mets earned her Master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Washington. She has worked as a school-based SLP and shares therapy ideas and resources on her blog (SLP Now). Marisha also developed a membership for SLPs that includes digital tools and resources to streamline evidence-based therapy, including a one-stop caseload management solution that currently supports thousands of SLPs. 

In this conversation, we discuss:

✅How to manage both physical clutter and mental clutter.

✅Identifying the point of diminishing returns when it comes to organizing.

✅Deciding when to use a batching process vs. habit stacking. 

✅Defining the “containers” you use to manage your workflow and your workspace.

✅How to identify your “staples”.

✅Investing in materials vs. knowledge/skills. 

You can connect with Marisha on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisha-mets-9aa396133/

Follow her on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/slpnow

Follow her on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/slpnow/ 

Listen to my episode on the SLP Now Podcast here: https://slpnow.com/blog/how-to-write-iep-goals-an-expert-guide-for-slps/

Learn more about SLP Now and read Marisha’s free blog posts here: https://slpnow.com/

The following resources were mentioned in this episode:

“Outer Order, Inner Calm” by Gretchen Rubin: https://gretchenrubin.com/books/outer-order-inner-calm/

“Atomic Habits” by James Clear: https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits

In this episode, I mentioned Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about Language Therapy Advance Foundations 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Many of my colleagues working in the public sector are skeptical of companies selling products to school districts. 

I’ve felt some of this skepticism myself as I’ve seen certain approaches gain traction because they’re well-marketed (yet not evidence-based). 

So it’s understandable to me that people would question the motives of companies selling products; especially in the for-profit space.

The elephant in the room, of course, is that Dr. Karen, LLC is a for-profit EdTech company. 

I’ve also spent a fair amount of time interacting with people who either work for larger EdTech or curriculum companies, or who have started one themselves.

Most of them are therapists, administrators, or teachers who felt inspired to create something who are trying to make a living doing something that matters. 

This would describe many of the hosts on the Be Podcast Network, which is why I wanted to invite one of the network co-founders, Ross Romano, to De Facto Leaders to talk about his experiences coaching EdTech and education-related start-up founders. 

Ross Romano has worked with over 100 companies and nonprofit organizations in the education space and collaborated with countless schools, districts, and educators. Ross is founder and CEO of September Strategies, an award-winning consulting firm helping leaders and organizations connect vision to decision through coaching, strategic advisement, and marketing consulting. Ross is also co-founder of the BE Podcast Network, a media company producing 40+ series reaching more than 50,000 educators and parents every month. He is also Strategic Advisor for the American Consortium for Equity in Education and the Founding Program Chair of the Consortium’s Excellence in Equity Awards.

Prior to starting September Strategies, Ross was Managing Director of MindRocket Media Group, a K-12 marketing firm. Previously, he was head of communications for ASCD, working closely with the organization’s authors, product developers, administrator members, constituent leaders, and advocacy teams on a diverse array of initiatives. Ross has created and/or hosted dozens of podcast series, written a number of white papers and ebooks, is a contributing editor to Educate AI Magazine, and has been a contributor to Entrepreneur, The Learning Counsel, edCircuit, Access & Equity PreK-12, and more.

Ross serves on the advisory boards for Shenandoah University’s Transformative Leadership program and Morning Brew Learning. In 2023, he was listed as a Top 10 leadership coach of the year and was profiled by CIO Views as one of the visionary leaders transforming education.

In this conversation, we discuss:

✅Business advice that creates ethical dilemmas for companies selling products to school districts.

✅Can companies stand for equity without sacrificing product quality and customer service? 

✅Who is the true end-user when products are sold to schools?

✅When a product isn’t resulting in increased student outcomes, is it really just about the quality of the product? 

✅Who is making purchasing decisions for schools, and what matters to them? 

Learn more about the BE Podcast Network here: https://bepodcast.network/

Listen to Ross on The Sideline Sessions Podcast here: https://ss.bepodcast.network/people/ross-romano

Listen to Ross on The Authority Podcast here: https://authoritypodcast.net/

Learn more about Ross’s coaching and media services for education-related companies here: https://www.septemberstrat.com/

In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers develop a strategic plan for putting executive functioning support in place in collaboration with their school teams. You can learn more about that 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Doing a quality evaluation when you’re assessing things like language can be a challenge because there isn’t one “magic bullet” test that gives us what we need. 

What is even more challenging is when you get a referral to evaluate a client that speaks two or more languages; especially when they’re languages you don’t speak. 

Unfortunately, monolingual clinicians get referrals for multilingual evaluations all the time. 

That’s why I invited Meg Morgan, Speech-Language Pathologist and Clinical Assistant Professor from the University of New Hampshire to episode 108 of the “De Facto Leaders” podcast to talk about multilingual evaluations.

This episode will be extremely valuable to you for ALL language evaluations; even monolingual clients. 

In this interview we discuss:

✅The biggest myths about bilingualism and language proficiency, and why it’s not as simple as we think

✅How to prepare yourself to evaluate a client who speaks a language you don’t speak

✅How to gather evidence to share with your team, even if you don’t have formal test scores

✅Why doing a thorough evaluation saves you time in the long run; and how to streamline the process

You can connect with Meg on LinkedIN here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meg-morgan-039778144/

You can also watch her presentation Multilingual Evaluations by Monolingual SLPs on speechpathology.com here: https://www.speechpathology.com/slp-ceus/course/multilingual-evaluations-by-monolingual-slps-9364                                                                                       (paid membership is required to view this training)

Meg mentioned the following resources in this episode:

Bilinguistics - Click here to read more: https://bilinguistics.com/

The Leaders Project - Click here to read more: https://www.leadersproject.org/

SALT - Click here to read more: https://www.saltsoftware.com/

In this episode, I mentioned the Ultimate Guide to Sentence Structure, my free guide for clinicians that outlines common sentence types that support comprehension in students who are learning English or who have disabilities that impact language learning. You can sign up for a free copy here: https://drkarenspeech.com/sentencestructure

In this episode, I mentioned my Executive Functions Implementation Guide that shares how school therapists can lead their IEP teams in providing mental health, behavioral, and social skills support for K-12 kids. You can download this free resource here:  https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/efschools

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

I regularly hear from therapists who ask me questions about how to evaluate language in a way that gives detailed, meaningful, and accurate information.

Most people know standardized tests only show a small fraction of what we need to know when it comes to language and cognition, yet many clinicians still don’t consistently utilize a complete portfolio evaluation. 

A lot barriers get in the way, including:

👉Lack of clarity on what “dynamic assessment” means.

👉Misconceptions about how a robust protocol looks (hint: “robust” doesn’t always mean “standardized”).

👉Pressure from leadership who want to see standard scores. 

👉Confusing or outdated guidelines that don’t enable clinicians to effectively evaluate diverse populations. 

That’s why I invited Destiny Johnson to episode 187 of De Facto Leaders to talk about dynamic assessment for monolingual and multilingual learners. 

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.

In this conversation, Destiny shares key concepts relating to dynamic assessments, including:

✅Modifiability and assessing learner potential.

✅Using graduated prompting and test/retest to make treatment recommendations. 

✅The Mediated Learning Observation Sheet and other tools that make dynamic assessment robust, without relying solely on standard scores. 

✅What is examiner effort, and how do we use this concept to put explicit supports in place?

✅Do school leaders really want standard scores, or is it something else they need?

You can connect with Destiny on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/destinybrookjohnson/
On Instagram @destinyjohnsonslp
On her private practice website here: https://www.multimodalcommunication.org/

The following resources were mentioned in this episode:

Dr. Elizabeth Pena’s resources and research on Dynamic Assessment: 
https://learningcenter.asha.org/diweb/catalog/item/eid/PD102345
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saHMtIz7IgA
https://products.brookespublishing.com/cw_contributorinfo.aspx?ContribID=1557&Name=Elizabeth+D.+Pe%C3%B1a%2C+Ph.D.%2C+CCC-SLP

Dr. Janet Patterson’s research:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32750281/

Information on the Mediated Learning Observation Scale;
https://pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/0161-1461(2001/019)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38758673/

This previous episode on De Facto Leaders: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-108-how-to-do-multilingual-evaluations-as-a-monolingual-therapist-with-meg-morgan/

In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers develop a strategic plan for putting executive functioning support in place in collaboration with their school teams. You can learn more about that program here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership

In this episode, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about Language Therapy Advance Foundations here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/

You can get 25% off either program when you join between September 15-October 31. Just enter coupon code RIF25 on the checkout page to get this special rate. 

*If you’re already a member of either program and you refer a friend, tell them to email me at talktome@drkarenspeech.com if they join and let me know you referred them and I’ll send you a $100 referral bonus.

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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 I was younger I was fixated on clocks and the passage of time. It’s accurate to say it was an obsession of mine, to the point that it caused me large amounts of anxiety.

It got difficult for me to tell when I was future-planning or when I was catastrophizing. 

On top of that, I had a constant need for sensory input. There are multiple childhood videos of me sitting on the floor, rocking back and forth. Then it was the rocking horse. Then the swing set. Then the end of my bed or a rocking chair. Always with music playing in the background. 

When I went away to college, I knew that the constant swinging and rocking would seem unusual, so I channeled that into activities I thought would seem more “normal”. For me, that was a lot of cardio. 

People used to ask me, “How do you motivate yourself to exercise so much?”. Really it was the only way I could function. 

Sitting still wasn’t an option.

I’d been a swimmer up until then, and had dabbled in running. Since running is so accessible, it was a natural transition for me; which is why I got even more involved in endurance sports in my early twenties.  

This led me to have an even deeper understanding of my obsession with time. When you’re on the road by yourself and you know you have 10 miles to go, you have to find a way to pass the time. When you’re pacing yourself, you have to think about how long something will take, how it feels in your body, what time means, and how it relates to distance and other activities that take the same length of time.

When you’re all alone doing some repetitive and physically strenuous activity, it naturally creates the opportunity to engage in mental play, chunking the task in to smaller chunks, reframing it to make it seem less overwhelming, reminding yourself that you already did this before and survived, you’ll be able to do it again, and eventually this moment will have passed and you’ll be looking back on it (hopefully appreciating that you persisted).

My time obsession partially stemmed from my realization that every moment is fleeting, which can evoke both feelings of relief (if it’s something you don’t like to do) or sadness (if it’s something you enjoy). I realized this from a young age. 

In episode 125 of the De Facto Leaders podcast, I share how I’ve used my fixation with time to reframe and persist through difficult tasks, how I’ve used it to manage anxiety, and how it’s informed the activities I choose as a sensory outlet.

In this episode, I mentioned my Time Tracking Journal, which outlines a strategy that helps kids independently complete daily tasks like academic assignments, functional tasks, or classroom routines WITHOUT arguments and constant prompting. You can sign up for the Time Tracking Journal here. 

I also mentioned 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. 

Be sure to check out the BE podcast network for educators and aspiring leaders. If you’re looking for shows to inspire you to level up in your career or more effectively serve students, we’ve got you covered. Learn more about the BE podcast network at http://bepodcastnetwork.com/

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Today, I wanted to share some FAQs that people ask about how to teach executive functioning. 
Some of those common questions are:

How do you teach self-talk, time-perception, and strategic-planning?

How do you offer help without making kids prompt-dependent?
​
I understand that executive functioning intervention is more than just checklists and behavior charts, but what’s the right way to structure interventions?

​How can I provide environmental scaffolding after students leave my therapy sessions? 
What exactly is “environmental scaffolding”? 

I understand I need to coach and train others, but how should that look in practice? 

One of the ways I answer these questions is through the concept of “scalable protocols”. This is an alternative to the way we traditionally think about lesson plans. 

It allows you to define the specifics of the “how”, which is why people are asking questions such as the ones I’ve listed above, and also enables clinicians to train others. 

In this episode, I share the audio of two video clips that help give an overview of how that could look, as well as the overview of a framework I use to support executive functioning in context. 

If you’re a clinician who wants to know how to do this in therapy AND coach others, it will help you through the first step in that process. If you’re a parent or teacher and you want to learn a strategy you can use to support kids, you can also use this strategy. 

In this episode, I mentioned this blog post https://drkarenspeech.com/whats-better-than-an-executive-functioning-lesson-plan/), where I include the full video clips that contain screen shares of some of the protocols I mentioned. 

I also mention this article about scalable protocols and how they fit in to your intervention model. 
Link here: https://drkarenspeech.com/executive-functioning-support-three-paradigm-shifts-for-school-teams/

In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers develop a strategic plan for putting executive functioning support in place in collaboration with their school teams. 

You can learn more about that 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

The literacy space has become increasingly polarizing since the reading wars began.

There are a number of debates and questions that continue, including:
Will kids learn to read “naturally”? 

What did the whole language approach get right, if anything?

Is explicit phonics instruction just a pendulum swing (and is focusing on phonics enough)?
Are we teaching kids to read too early? 

When we talk about “early literacy” instruction, what are we actually recommending and how does that look? 

I invited Jane Gebers, veteran speech-language pathologist and author to episode 157 De Facto Leaders to discuss these questions. 

I entered the field right around the time the National Reading Panel study was published, so there was a fair amount of research on evidence-based literacy intervention when I started practicing. 

But when Jane started practicing, much of this research hadn’t been done, and she had the experience of watching the fields of education and reading instruction evolve. She was also one of the early adopters of many approaches that are common practice today, and it was an honor to hear about her work. 

Jane L. Gebers is the author of the popular resource, Books Are for Talking, Too! (Link here: https://www.slpstorytellers.com/2023/09/11/slp-author-book-books-are-for-talking-too-by-jane-gebers/), 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.

In this conversation, Jane and I discuss:

✅Everyone’s talking about “scaffolding”, but what does this word actually mean?

✅Reading practices that have stood the test of time, despite attempts to disprove their effectiveness.

✅The battle between play-based learning and “sight words”; and how to emphasize the right skills at the right time.

✅When building language skills, do we focus on a developmental hierarchy or environmental demands? 

✅Mapping language to print symbols and what to address in the early years to set the stage for reading and writing. 

You can connect with Jane on her website here: https://soundingyourbest.com, and find her book, Books Are for Talking, Too! here: https://www.slpstorytellers.com/2023/09/11/slp-author-book-books-are-for-talking-too-by-jane-gebers/  

The following resources were mentioned in this episode:

Some of the work done by Dr. Carol Westby, Ph.D. (Link here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/152574019902100107)

The Neuroscience of Reading with Dr. G. Reid. Lyon (Link here: https://irrc.education.uiowa.edu/blog/2023/05/neuroscience-reading-dr-g-reid-lyon)

Teachers’ Use of Scaffolds within Conversations During Shared Book Reading (Dekshmukh, R.S., Pentimonti, J.M., Zucker, T.A., & Curry, B.) (Link here: https://pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/2021_LSHSS-21-00020)

In this episode, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about Language Therapy Advance Foundations here:  https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/

I also mentioned The School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers guide their teams to support students’ executive functioning across the day. This program will help you plan direct therapy, but will also help you lead change management on your team, no matter your job title. You can learn more about the School of Clinical Leadership 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

How can districts reverse chronic absenteeism and gain a deeper understanding of why students don’t come to school? 

Can we measure how “connected” students are to their schools? How do we impact the level of connection they feel with potential mentors in their lives? 

I invited Jen Perry to episode 172 of the De Facto Leaders podcast to discuss this topic and explore ways schools can assess student engagement and put meaningful programs in place to increase it. 

Jen Perry is Senior Manager of Learning Design and Whole Learner at Edmentum. Jen has worked over 30+ years with youth in educational and community settings. As a teacher, administrator, and trainer, her passion has been to help educators develop an understanding of the importance of social emotional learning and build trauma-informed responses and systems. This work has included supporting youth, administrators, and schools in understanding behavior and implementing transformational change through strength-based approaches.

In this conversation, we discussed:

✅Using positive youth development models to support youth involved with the legal system.

✅Changing our assumptions about kids who have “risk factors” and resources. 

✅Helping youth build developmental assets through community navigation and academic support.

✅Research on the effectiveness of high-impact tutoring in increasing attendance and student engagement.

✅How do we help kids connect academic work to meaningful life goals? 

✅Giving students the language they need for self-advocacy and self-awareness.

In this episode, we mentioned the following resources:

“The Poverty Problem: How Education Can Promote Resilience and Counter Poverty’s Impact on Brain Development and Functioning” by Horacio Sanchez  
Link here: https://www.amazon.com/Poverty-Problem-Resilience-Development-Functioning/dp/1071842927

Maguillie, L, Perry, J., Aiello, J. (2019). The impact of an Alternative to Detention Program on Developmental Assets for adolescents involved in the juvenile justice or legal system. Journal of Applied Juvenile Justice Services.
Link here: https://irp.cdn-website.com/45a58767/files/uploaded/2019-Alternative%20to%20Detention%20%28Maggiulli%29.pdf

Whole Learner Foundations: Understanding Behavior and our Default Setting
Link here: https://www.edmentum.com/intl/resources/webinars/whole-learner-foundations-understanding-behavior-and-our-default-setting/

Jen Perry on Students and Connection
Link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38EMkeKK96c

Jen Perry on Teacher Well-being
Link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMuiiq56bsY

Targeted Skills Instruction-Accelerate High-Impact Virtual Tutoring Services
Link here: https://www.edmentum.com/products/virtual-tutoring/

Learn more about where to connect with Jen on Linked here (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jen-perry-8aaa99204/) or at edmentum.com. 

In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers develop a strategic plan for putting executive functioning support in place in collaboration with their school teams. 

You can learn more about that 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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 good school leader knows how to protect their staff from initiatives and fires they may need to put out on a regular basis. In many cases if you’re unaware of everything your school administrator is dealing with, it means they’re doing their job well. 

This lack of awareness of what happens behind-the-scenes may mean little appreciation for everything administrators are dealing with. While negative perceptions exist towards teachers and other school staff members as well, the public tends to be even more unforgiving towards those in leadership positions. 

Yet despite all the negativity, I’m optimistic. Part of that is because of the many conversations I’ve had with public sector leaders. When you remove the parts from the whole, and speak with the individuals who are part of the bigger system, it's easier to see past the politics and have an appreciation for the work being done. 

That’s why I’m highlighting impactful clips from three past interviews focused on the struggles of school leaders, as well as what’s possible when we put the right supports in place for students, teachers, and the people leading them. 

These interviews feature discussions on:

✅The impact of social media on the perception of education, and shedding light on the “behind-the-scenes” challenges of principals. 

✅The importance of positive adult role models in shaping kids’ beliefs about what’s 

✅The power of K-12 education in creating life opportunities.  

✅Using meditation to decrease disciplinary write-ups and increase your own creative problem-solving.

✅How to use the 85% rule to support your mental health and show up for your students. 

You can listen to the full interviews here along with guest bios:

EP 114: Do school leaders need coaching? (with Dan Kelley) Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-114-do-school-leaders-need-coaching-with-dan-kelley/

EP 128: Using K-12 education to create opportunities and find your calling (with Dr. Joseph Williams) Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-128-using-k-12-education-to-create-opportunities-and-find-your-calling-with-dr-joseph-williams-iii/

EP 124: Meditation for educators and the art of giving 85% (with Danny Bauer) Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-124-meditation-for-educators-and-the-art-of-giving-85-with-danny-bauer/

In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers develop a strategic plan for putting executive functioning support in place in collaboration with their school teams. You can learn more about that 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

As a professional field, we’re getting stuck in old ways of thinking when it comes to designing services for students experiencing executive dysfunction. 

When we think of “therapy” the first thing that comes to mind is a clinician sitting in a chair saying things like, “And how does that make you feel?” or a clinician doing exercises in a 1:1 or group setting.
 
When we think of “planning for therapy”, we think of what materials or activities we’re going to do in our direct therapy sessions.
 
With “social skills intervention”, we think of an adult teaching a group of kids how to follow the rules in social situations, while students answer questions and discuss to demonstrate their understanding.
 
Lack of generalization continues to be one of the biggest pain points for therapists using these models.
 
And while most clinicians agree that collaboration with other professionals and caregivers is important, the “planning” for those activities is often less intentional than the way we plan for direct intervention. 

That’s why in the School of Clinical Leadership, the first thing I teach clinicians is how to create a long-term strategic plan for putting executive functioning support in place for their caseloads (and sometimes the entire school) using multiple service delivery models.
 
When the entire intervention starts and ends within a traditional therapy session, students don’t generalize executive functioning skills across settings.
 
We as a field need to evolve in the way we think about what’s included in “therapy” services for executive functioning.
 
There are three paradigm shifts clinicians, educators, and school leaders can make when thinking about supporting kids executive functioning in schools.
 
I describe what they are in this episode.

I mentioned the following resources in this episode:

Push-in, pull-out, co-teaching: What’s most functional for language therapy? (Link here: https://drkarenspeech.com/push-in-pull-out-co-teaching-whats-most-functional-for-language-therapy/)

How to make better accommodations by being less accommodating  (Link here: https://drkarenspeech.com/push-in-pull-out-co-teaching-whats-most-functional-for-language-therapy/)

EP 83: How to provide high-quality support for your caseload with the “asset stack” method (Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-83-how-to-provide-high-quality-support-for-your-caseload-with-the-asset-stack-method/)

In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers develop a strategic plan for putting executive functioning support in place in collaboration with their school teams. You can learn more about that 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Teen’s brains are wired to seek pleasure, avoid pain, and conserve energy. On top of that their prefrontal cortex isn’t fully developed yet, which means they don’t always make decisions that are in their best interest. 

They’re learning so much about how to navigate relationships and manage their day-to-day lives. 

Things like:

👉Handling setbacks, like not making the sports team or getting the job
👉Learning to be comfortable with how they look/sound/act
👉Figuring out how to make and keep friends
👉Discovering how to delay gratification and work towards long-term goals
👉Understanding dating and romantic relationships

So many of these things are impacted by neurological development, and I love a good metaphor for explaining complex processes like this. 

Joey Mascio, my guest for episode 134 of the De Facto Leaders podcast is full of great metaphors to help kids understand how their brains work. 

Joey is a Teen Life Coach, former teacher, and creator of the SideKick To Hero mindset coaching app for teens. He’s also the host of the Secrets to An Awesome Life podcast. 

In this episode we talk about helping teens embrace discomfort, navigate the nuances of dating and friendships, and create a personal narrative that helps them reach their goals.

In this episode, we discuss: 

✅Does self-help focused on relaxation and taking a break help teens find happiness? 

✅How he uses Victor Frankl’s 3 ways to find meaning to coach teens, including: meaningful work, connection with others, and having a productive attitude toward unavoidable suffering. 

✅Tips for helping teens and tweens handle rejection. 

✅How to help teens navigate the nuances of friendships and dating

✅Ways to help teens delay gratification and get comfortable being uncomfortable. 

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. I also give you strategies that support self-directed talk and working memory. 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

“Behavior problems” are an external sign of what’s going on internally. 

In order to support kids who are being referred for behavioral concerns, we need to address these internal skills proactively. 

That’s why I invited consultant and educator Lisa Navarra to episode 111 of the De Facto Leaders podcast to talk about self-regulation.

Lisa M. Navarra, M.S. in Special Education, SDA, award-winning educator and published author of children’s books, music, and teacher resources provides professional development and individual services teaching the “how to learn” skills for children who struggle learning and self-regulating. 

Lisa has been invited to speak at schools, libraries, and organizations where she has transformed resistant learners into students who learn the skills in how to focus and believe in themselves! Lisa’s dedication to supporting schools and families extends beyond her books and resources and includes her podcast, “Student Success Beyond Expectations” Podcast. Click here to learn more: https://childbehaviorconsulting.com/podcasts/

In this interview, we discuss:

✅Common misconceptions surrounding behavior problems and the role of internal regulation. 

✅How to make sure kids get support across their day; including on the bus and in the hallways.
 

✅What to do when stimming is seen as a behavior problem, and how to help kids get sensory needs met and self-advocate. 

You can connect with Lisa on her website here: https://childbehaviorconsulting.com/

Follow her on Instagram: http://@lisanavarraedu or on

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChildBehaviorConsulting

You can find her podcast here: https://childbehaviorconsulting.com/podcasts/ or listen to episodes on her Youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@childbehaviorconsulting1650  

In this episode, I mentioned my Executive Functions Implementation Guide that shares how school therapists can lead their IEP teams in providing mental health, behavioral, and social skills support for K-12 kids. 
You can download this free resource here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/efschools

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Most discussions around social-emotional learning are about helping kids stay regulated, healthy, and adjusted, but we can’t forget about the adults. 

Being in any type of role that involves caring for others can be incredibly dysregulating; whether you’re a K-12 professional or a parent. 

That’s why in this episode, I’m highlighting past interview clips with guests that address emotional regulation and self-care in adults. 

In this episode, you’ll hear discussions on:

✅How to teach behavioral expectations in class (and why this can help maintain safety and security among staff and students).

✅How to use co-regulation strategies to manage challenging behaviors such as eloping or property destruction. 

✅Supporting bus drivers, security guards, and other non-teaching school personnel who interact with students. 

✅Administrators think that self-care is important for students and teachers; but are they taking care of themselves?

✅Going beyond fluffy self-care tips (like wine and bubble baths) and creating sustainable habits.

This episode includes clips from the following interviews:

EP 152: The cost of caring: Compassion fatigue in education and healthcare (with Crissy Mombela) Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-152-the-cost-of-caring-compassion-fatigue-in-education-and-healthcare-with-crissy-mombela/

EP 111: Supporting self-regulation in K-12 kids (with Lisa Navarra)
Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-111-supporting-self-regulation-in-k-12-kids-with-lisa-navarra/

EP 103: Self-care cabaret for teachers, therapists, and school leaders (with Dr. Theresa-Melito Conners)
Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-103-self-care-cabaret-for-teachers-therapists-and-school-leaders-with-dr-theresa-melito-conners/

In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers develop a strategic plan for putting executive functioning support in place in collaboration with their school teams. 

You can learn more about that 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

My heart sinks when I see how polarizing topics in education have become, as well as the tendency for people to have “all or nothing” thinking.

I’ve seen an increasing amount of activities pitted against each other as if doing one means we can’t ALSO do the other:

👉Standardized testing vs. real-world observations/stakeholder interviews.

👉Year-round school vs. traditional summer break.

👉Critical thinking skills vs. foundational skills.

👉Play vs. academics during non-school time (after school or over the summer).

👉Soft skills vs. technical skills.

What if we stopped thinking about all of these things as opposing viewpoints, and instead tried to integrate them together? 

What if we stopped saying, “Should I do this or that?”, and instead started asking “How can I find a way to do this AND that”? 

I invited my colleague David Schipper to episode 162 of the De Facto Leaders podcast to ponder some of these questions.
 
Specifically, I wanted to tackle the “summer slide” debate. 

This topic is near and dear to me because I was a “summer slider”. I was almost held back in first grade because I was behind in reading, and my parents took it upon themselves to spend time with me after school during the school and over the summer to get me remedial instruction in reading through a combination of things they did at home, as well as tutoring programs they invested in. 

I was also shy and anxious, and needed a nudge from my very extroverted mom to participate in activities that allowed me to work with others, build friendships, handle frustration and learning curves, and develop mental flexibility. These experiences were essential in helping me to fully leverage the skills I was working on concurrently, like reading. But going to the pool for swim meets in the summer did not teach me to read; my academic instruction did. 

Had my parents decided to just “let me catch up naturally” and eliminated the reading tutoring from my early years, I wonder what kind of impact that would have had. 

Would I have turned into a lifelong learner? 

Would I have felt even more anxious due to the combination of struggling academically AND being really shy? 

Would the issue have been identified if standardized testing wasn’t done? 

In this interview David and I talked about how we can better answer these questions, starting with a discussion of the summer slide. 

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.

*We briefly discussed a presentation that covered a sensitive topic in this interview. 

In this conversation, we discuss:

✅Is the summer slide real? Who is it impacting the most?

✅This isn’t just about summer: It’s about what we’re prioritizing in school.

✅The case of too many accommodations: What happens in the college years when we don’t build foundational academic skills before students graduate high school.

✅The layering of academic skills with executive functioning: Real life examples of how it looks when teenagers are planful with their time and when they aren’t. 

✅Tutoring: Yes, it’s needed; but what does good tutoring look like? 

In this conversation, I mention a number of other interviews relating to the topic of early literacy, so be sure to check the show notes for links to all of those other interviews in the show notes here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-162-the-summer-slide-real-phenomenon-or-invented-by-tutoring-companies-with-david-schipper/

In this episode, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about Language Therapy Advance Foundations here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/

I also mentioned the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers develop a strategic plan for putting executive functioning support in place in collaboration with their school teams. You can learn more about that 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

If we try to make schools in the US more like schools in other countries, will that result in more effective practices?

Why do policies work in some districts, but not others?

Many ideas sound good on paper; but the people working with students or leading schools are telling a different story.

That’s why I invited reading specialist Jalita Johnson to episode 151 to share her expertise on these topics.

Jalita Johnson is a reading specialist in the Northern Virginia area and is also a veteran, wife and mom of 4. She completed her undergrad studies at Fayetteville State University, an HBCU near Ft. Liberty (formerly Ft. Bragg) North Carolina. She holds a Master's Degree in Elementary Reading.

​​She is currently enrolled in a Doctoral bridge program at George Mason for Educational Leadership. Over the years, she has come to realize that she committed to being a lead learner.

In this conversation, she shares:

✅Being an agent for change: Why her military background gave her the skills and experience to lead reform initiatives in education 

✅Syntactic complexity, and the disconnect between decoding/encoding and language comprehension

✅Professional development and learning communities: Does one size fit all?

✅What challenges come up when federal, state or district-level reform initiatives are modeled off of policies from other countries or states? 

The following resources were mentioned in this episode:

“Hacking School Leadership: What makes Teachers Happy and Why it Matters to Students” by Erika Garcia-Niles (Link here: https://www.amazon.com/Hacking-School-Leadership-principals-happiness/dp/1956512446/ref=sr_1_1?crid=OW0WCCPY7Q3F&keywords=hacking+school+leadership&qid=1699901781&s=books&sprefix=hacking+school+leadership%2Cstripbooks%2C87&sr=1-1)

Stacy Roberts, M.Ed, CCC-SLP, from Explore to Express (Link here: https://www.exploretoexpress.com/)

In this episode, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about Language Therapy Advance Foundations here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/

I also mentioned The School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers guide their teams to support students’ executive functioning across the day. This program will help you plan direct therapy, but will also help you lead change management on your team, no matter your job title. You can learn more about the School of Clinical Leadership 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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 while back, I heard someone refer to school administrators and other public sector leaders as “middle managers”, and it really hit home for me.
 

As I’ve transitioned through different roles in my career, I’ve gotten into the trap of thinking that when I achieve the “next step”, I’ll finally have the influence I want. 

In my experience, telling myself that I’ll be satisfied with the level of impact I can make when I reach the “next step” is a recipe for disappointment.

In reality, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to fix all the things I want to fix, and I’m slowly coming to terms with that; learning to pick which battles are worth fighting.

As I’ve talked with others who have transitioned to different administrative roles, this seems to be a common challenge faced by people in middle management positions. 

That’s why I invited Dr. Chris Jones and Chris Dodge to episode 173 of De Facto Leaders to talk about what it's like to be a middle manager in public sector systems like the schools. 

Chris Dodge has been a lead learner in elementary school settings for ten years and currently the principal at the Thorndyke Road School is Worcester, MA, Chris works to create collaborative structures and systems that bring stakeholder voice into school level decision making, as well as strategies that promote student success and achievement. His schools utilize these systems to promote a vision of serving the whole child, ensuring that students’ social-emotional and academic needs are being met. Most notably, in 2014, Christopher led the Dexter Park School in Orange, MA to become a MA Department of Education appointed Innovation School, awarded for its inclusionary practice work. Aside from the role as principal, Christopher has served on DESE’s Principal/Teacher Advisory Cabinet, Commissioner Riley’s Return to School Teaching and Learning Working Group during COVID19, as well as on the MSAA (Massachusetts School Administrators Association) Executive Board. He has been published in numerous blogs and publications such as “Rogue Leader” and “STOP Series: 100 No Nonsense Things Teachers and Leaders Should Stop Doing”, and is featured in podcasts such as “Seeing to Lead” and “Becoming Principal”. Passionate about supporting and mentoring leaders and educators, Christopher is also a consultant with Seaside Educational Consultants and an adjunct instructor at Assumption University in Worcester, MA.

Dr. Chris Jones has been an educator in Massachusetts for 22 years. His experience in the classroom ranged from 8th – 11th grade working in an urban setting. A portion of this was spent opening a high school division for an expanding charter school. He has just finished his 15th year as a building administrator. Chris is also the Vice President of the Massachusetts State Administrators Association (MSAA). True to his “why” of improving the educational experience for as many people as possible, he is currently the Principal of Whitman-Hanson Regional High School in Whitman, Massachusetts. 

He is the author of SEEing to Lead (https://drcsjones.blog/seeing-to-lead-podcast/), a book that provides strategies for how modern leaders can and must support, engage, and empower their teachers to elevate student success. Chris vlogs weekly about continuous improvement and is also the host of the podcast SEEing to Lead as a way to amplify teachers’ voices in an effort to improve education as a whole. His overarching goal is to positively model continuous improvement in all facets of life by being purposeful, acting with integrity, and building character.

Chris is passionate about continuous improvement and the idea that success is not a destination, but a process. Chris is a teacher centered principal and his beliefs around the importance of a positive work environment, continuous growth, and a healthy family work-life integration can be seen in the presentations and workshops he has given for the Massachusetts School Administrators Association (MSAA), Massachusetts Computer Using Educators (MassCUE), Massachusetts Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (MASCD), the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP); and his participation in the Better Leaders Better Schools Mastermind group.

A finalist for the Massachusetts School Administrators Association’s Principal of the Year award and named the 2022 Massachusetts School Counselors Associaltion’s (MASCA) Administrator of the Year, Chris is described by his past Superintendent as being “…wholly invested in the success of the school…a creative problem-solver who is able to deliberate yet be decisive, be creative yet accountable…calm and clear-headed even under the most trying of times…has built a strong collaborative and collegial school culture…he is a positive influence on teachers, teaching, and learning.”

Chris’ education includes a BA from Bridgewater State University, an MA from Salem State University, and a Doctorate from Northeastern University. He currently resides in Southeastern Massachusetts with his wife, Mary (Bella) and two boys, Tommy and Scotty.

In this conversation, we talked about questions like:

✅What is it like to be a decision-maker who reports to other decision-makers? Are there times when it’s been difficult to give staff direction because you were waiting on a decision that was over your head?

✅What is the best way for people on the front-line (e.g., teachers, therapists) to provide you with information you can bring to your leadership to help move initiatives along?

✅How do you know when to escalate something vs. try to handle it on your own?

✅When bringing questions/concerns to leadership, how do you provide enough information that you give adequate context without getting in the weeds and overwhelming them?

In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers develop a strategic plan for putting executive functioning support in place in collaboration with their school teams. 

You can learn more about that program here:  https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership

You can connect with Chris Dodge on Instagram @principaldodge1 : (https://www.instagram.com/principaldodge1/), on Twitter @PrincipalDodge1 : (https://twitter.com/PrincipalDodge1), and on LinkedIn here:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-dodge-a33343204/

You can listen to my previous episode with Chris Dodge here: EP138: Increasing access to instructional programs in rural districts (with Chris Dodge): https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-119-teacher-centered-leadership-with-dr-chris-jones/

You can connect with Dr. Chris Jones on LinkedIn here : https://www.li...

Our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors don’t have to define us. 

This is an important thing to remember for adults dealing with professional burnout and compassion fatigue; and it’s also important to model for kids.

When school discipline focuses on punitive measures alone, we miss out on opportunities to teach kids how to manage emotions or repair mistakes. 

That’s why I’m so excited to share this second half of my conversation with Crissy Mombela in “De Facto Leaders” episode 153, where we talk about the importance of debriefing, maintaining safe school communities, and teaching kids how to restore relationships. 

Crissy Mombela is the Program Director for the REACH initiative through the Partnership for Resilience. She leads the REACH Communities of Practice (CoP). Her work allows her to be a thought partner and leader in the implementation and evaluation of the REACH Initiative, a strategic partnership with the Center for Childhood Resilience at Lurie Children’s Hospital, and the support of the Illinois State Board of Education. With over twenty-five years of public education experience as a special education teacher and administrator, Crissy’s focus is on developing systems that support connection, innovation, and belonging within school communities. Crissy earned her B.S.Ed. with a concentration in special education from Northern Illinois University and her M.Ed. in Educational Administration from Loyola University. 

Crissy currently holds an Illinois Professional Educator License for teaching and administration with endorsements for directing special education programs and teaching English Language Learners. In her free time, Crissy enjoys traveling with her family, baking, and scrapbooking.

*In this conversation we discuss some sensitive topics relating to traumatic events in schools. 

In this second half of our conversation, we discuss:

✅Why does skipping the debrief after a crisis situation increase the likeliness of compassion fatigue?

✅Crisis prevention: How do we take a proactive approach to de-escalation?

✅The impact of social-emotional learning for adults: Why it’s not just about the kids.

✅Restoring a safe community after physical altercations between students.

✅Minimizing retraumatization during the debriefing process.

✅Teaching relationship repair and the impact it has on the well-being of all parties.

✅Why debriefing should be a part of crisis drills.

The following resources were mentioned in this episode:

The REACH Initiative at the Center for Childhood Resilience (Link here: https://childhoodresilience.org/reach)

The Partnership for Resilience (Link here: https://partnership4resilience.org/)

Elena Aguilar Coaching Resistance Podcast Series (Link here: https://www.brightmorningteam.com/podcast/coaching-resistance-part-1-what-is-resistance)

Neurodiversity Strengths Checklist (Link here: https://literallyausome.com.au/neurodiverity-strengths/)

Ladder of Inference TED Ed by Trevor Maber (Link here: https://www.ted.com/talks/trevor_maber_rethinking_thinking/transcript)

Reclaiming Youth At Risk (Link here: https://www.amazon.com/Reclaiming-Youth-Risk-Hope-Future/dp/1879639866)

The Whole-Brain Child (Link here: https://amzn.to/43d2dNT)

National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments (Link here: https://safesupportivelearning.ed.gov/trauma-sensitive-schools-training-package)

Conscious Discipline - Bailey (Link here: https://consciousdiscipline.com/free-resources/book-portal/)

Relationship, Responsibility, and Regulation (Link here: https://amzn.to/3PjP5Ra)

CHAMPS (Link here: https://ancorapublishing.com/product/champs-third-edition/)

Hacking School Discipline (Link here: https://amzn.to/4a6ppPY)

We Want to Do More Than Survive  (Link here: https://amzn.to/4c6cShg)

Other People's Children - Cultural Conflict in the Classroom (Link here: https://www.amazon.com/Other-Peoples-Children-Cultural-Classroom/dp/1595580743)

In this episode, I mentioned The School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers guide their teams to support students’ executive functioning across the day. This program will help you plan direct therapy, but will also help you lead change management on your team, no matter your job title. You can learn more about the School of Clinical Leadership 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Having someone observe your therapy room or classroom can feel awkward; whether it’s your boss doing your evaluation, or whether it’s a special service provider who’s supporting students in your class.

When I’ve talked with administrators and service providers about classroom observations, they say it can be a learning curve for the person coming into the classroom as well. 

Yet having another set of eyes on your students can often be a valuable learning experience for both the person observing and the person being observed. 

That’s why I invited John Mihalyo to the De Facto Leaders Podcast to talk about how school leaders can turn observations into meaningful learning experiences instead of an obligation. 

We also talk about what it takes to start new programs and initiatives, and how to take a proactive approach when it comes to marketing and communication. 

John Mihalyo is a highly accomplished education professional and the visionary founder of Elementary Advancement Solutions, a leading educational consulting company dedicated to empowering Catholic and faith-based school leaders. With a robust background encompassing over two decades of experience as an administrator and 15 years as a Catholic school principal, John Mihalyo has honed his expertise in addressing the multifaceted challenges encountered by educational leaders. John is also the host of the Catholic School Leaders podcast on the BE podcast network. 

In this conversation, we discuss:

✅Why good school leaders visit classrooms before the official employee evaluation.

✅Why starting a new program in a school can be a 3-year process (or more).

✅The importance of marketing and communication (for both staff and community). 

✅The difference between running public, private, and faith-based schools. 

You can listen to my interview on the Catholic School Leaders Podcast here: Navigating Executive Functioning to Support Student Growth with Dr. Karen Dudek-Brannan (Link here: https://cslp.bepodcast.network/episodes/navigating-executive-functioning-to-support-student-growth-with-dr-karen-dudek-brannan)

Connect with John on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmihalyo/

Listen to the Catholic School Leaders Podcast here: https://cslp.bepodcast.network/

Learn more about Elementary Advancement Solutions here: https://elementaryadvancement.com/

In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers develop a strategic plan for putting executive functioning support in place in collaboration with their school teams. You can learn more about that 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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 is a disproportionate number of individuals with communication disorders and reading disabilities involved with the justice system for both children and adults.

Past research suggests that more than 40% of incarcerated people have some type of nonpsychiatric disability (Berzofsky et al., 2015; Bixby et al., 2022; Thompson, 2022)

Additionally, once youth are involved in the justice system, it becomes more difficult for them to access the education and therapeutic services they need. 

Both literacy and language skills will impact someone’s ability to comprehend employee or disciplinary handbooks, to read language in legal documents, fill out job applications, and or explain past events during job interviews, when interacting with school staff or with law enforcement. 

Many times things are written off as “behavior problems” when the real underlying issue could be tied to language, reading, or writing. 

That’s why I invited Dr. Shameka Stewart to episode 180 of the De Facto Leaders podcast). 

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.

This episode is part of the National Literacy Month series of podcasts, presented in partnership between the Be Podcast Network and Reading Is Fundamental (RIF).

In this conversation, we discuss:

✅The relationship between reading challenges and the school-to-confinement pipeline.

✅Why “behavior problems” could be related to language processing, reading, or writing challenges.

✅When youth become involved with the justice system, how do they get access to special education services (including language therapy)? 

✅“They should know better”: Why we can’t assume kids comprehend language in the school discipline handbook. 

✅A case for continuing direct language therapy in high school (and why therapists need support from school leaders in making this happen).

You can connect with Dr. Stewart on her website here: www.juvforensicslp.com

Connect with her on Instagram @drjuvenile_forensicslp

Join her Facebook group SLPs 4 Juvenile Justice here.

References for this episode’s show notes:

Berzofsky, M., Bronson, J., & Maruschak, L. L. (2015). Disabilities among prison and jail inmates, 2011–12. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Bixby, L., Bevan, S., & Boen, C. (2022). The link between disability, incarceration, and social exclusion. Heath Affairs, 41,10. doi: https://.doi.org/10.1377.hlthaff.2022.00495

Thompson, E. (2022). Reading through the lines; The correlation between literacy and incarceration. Retrieved from: https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2022/03/21/reading-through-the-lines-the-correlation-between-literacy-and-incarceration/

In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers develop a strategic plan for putting executive functioning support in place in collaboration with their school teams. You can learn more about that program here.

In this episode, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about Language Therapy Advance Foundations here.

You can get 25% off either program when you join between September 15-October 15. Just enter coupon code RIF25 on the checkout page to get this special rate. 

*If you’re already a member of either program and you refer a friend, tell them to email me at talktome@drkarenspeech.com if they join and let me know you referred them and I’ll send you a $100 referral bonus. 

Here’s what you can do right now to support this campaign and ensure you don’t miss any of these amazing interviews/commentary. 

1. Go to Apple, Spotify, or any other directory you use for podcasts and subscribe to the De Facto Leaders podcast.
2. Once you listen to an episode or two, leave me a rating and review. This helps get my show into the hands of people who need the information.
3. Do you have a colleague or friend who needs to learn more about the research surrounding language and literacy? Do you want to spread the word about practices and ideas you’d like to see in your school, community, or state? If so, tell them about the De Facto Leaders podcast so they can listen to all the episodes in this special campaign. 

Reading Is Fundamental is a nonprofit that focuses on connecting educators and families with materials and training aligned with evidence-based literacy instruction. Not only is their model aligned with the science of reading; they also offer unique book ownership solutions for professionals and families to address book equity issues. You can learn more about Reading Is Fundamental here.&n...

Skeptics of the Science of Reading claim that the current push for evidence-based reading instruction is just another pendulum swing. 

Yet if you look at the research, we haven’t so much been “swinging” as much as we’ve been building, evolving, and expanding on what we know about how we learn to read.

Even though the Science of Reading is “trending” as I write this, there are still many kids without access to quality instruction. 

Part of that has to do with teacher preparation programs and professional development available to teachers. 

Those responsible for teaching reading need to know how effective instruction looks.

They ALSO need to be able to spot ineffective practices that actually encourage students to read poorly. 

That’s why I invited Melanie Brethour to episode 141 of the De Facto Leaders podcast to talk about her personal and professional transformation as a special education teacher and literacy advocate. 

Melanie Brethour, is a full-time resource teacher from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, is an advocate for dyslexia awareness and the Science of Reading. Her deep commitment to this cause was sparked by her son Benjamin's dyslexia diagnosis at the age of 9, which ignited a personal mission to understand dyslexia and support her and her students.

Motivated by her son's journey, Melanie embarked on extensive research and training, achieving Orton Gillingham associate-level certification, CERI structured literacy classroom teacher, and won Nessy Dyslexia Aware teacher of the year in 2023. She gives presentations to colleagues, teachers and parents on dyslexia and the Science of Reading.

Driven to help others facing similar challenges, Melanie established Decoding Dyslexia Quebec, a grassroots movement dedicated to raising awareness and providing support. In addition, she launched Soar With Dyslexia on social media, offering resources and information to teachers and parents navigating the complexities of dyslexia and the science of reading. Melanie also volunteers for Dyslexia Canada, lending her support to parents on this difficult journey and is a board member of Teacher’s For Reading Canada, which offers free Orton-Gillinghan training to Canadian teachers.

In this conversation, we discuss:

✅Ineffective reading strategies that are taught in teacher education programs, and why they encourage kids to be poor readers.

✅Can you assume someone has expertise in reading curriculum just because they have an advanced degree? Why do educated people promote methods that don’t work? 

✅The answer to common objections like, “But why do SOME of my students seem to learn reading “naturally”?

✅How teachers and clinicians can make change from the “bottom-up” when “top-down” changes aren’t happening fast enough. 

You can connect with Melanie on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanie-brethour-a8155b200/ and follow her on Instagram @soarwithdyslexia (https://www.instagram.com/soarwithdyslexia/).
 
You can learn more about Decoding Dyslexia here:https://www.decodingdyslexia.net/  and find out about Decoding Dyslexia-Quebec here: https://www.facebook.com/decodingdyslexiaquebec 

In this episode, I talked about Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program for SLPs and literacy interventionists who want to support the language strand of the reading rope. 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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 many “science of reading” terms being used right now (including the “science of reading” itself).

Yet debates about how to help kids become literate continues; and part of that is because of common logical fallacies applied to education.

That’s why I invited Anna Geiger to episode 177 of De Facto Leaders to define important literacy terms and discuss myths associated with teaching reading.

Anna Geiger is a former teacher, mom of six, the founder and owner of The Measured Mom, host of the TripleR Teaching podcast, and author of books such as “Reach all Readers”. She was a balanced literacy advocate for twenty years. As both a classroom teacher and teacher educator, she promoted three-cueing using leveled texts. She taught phonics, but didn’t use a scope and sequence. She provided very little direct instruction because she was sure it would bore students.

Fast-forward to 2019, when she began to realize that many of her teaching practices weren’t backed by research. Anna became Orton-Gillingham certified and earned a Science of Reading graduate certificate. She currently runs The Measured Mom website, which includes easy-prep resources that your students will love so much they’ll forget they’re learning.

This episode is part of the National Literacy Month series of podcasts, presented in partnership between the Be Podcast Network and Reading Is Fundamental (RIF).

In this conversation, we discuss:

✅The difference between balanced literacy and structured literacy

✅Decodable texts vs. predictable texts.

✅What is three-cueing and why does it encourage poor reading habits?

✅Using syntactic and context clues: Necessary, but not sufficient for decoding.

✅Early literacy instruction: Play-based learning vs. playful learning

✅Finding the joy in reading and teaching: Can you find joy in something if you haven’t been given the skills to do it? 

You can learn more about Anna Geiger’s resources on her website here: https://www.themeasuredmom.com/

Order Anna’s book, “Reach all Readers” here.

Listen to my interview with Anna on her podcast, TripleR Teaching here: https://www.themeasuredmom.com/how-to-help-students-improve-language-comprehension-a-conversation-with-dr-karen-dudek-brannan/

Listen to Anna’s conversation about scaffolding early writing skills with Dr. Sonia Cabell here: https://www.themeasuredmom.com/how-to-scaffold-preschoolers-early-writing-skills-with-dr-sonia-cabell/

Listen to Anna's conversation with Dr. Susan Neuman about evidence-based instruction for preschoolers here: https://www.themeasuredmom.com/what-does-research-say-about-teaching-preschoolers/

Listen to Anna’s commentary on decodable texts here: https://www.themeasuredmom.com/dos-donts-decodable-texts/

Listen to my conversation with Mary Saghafi and Shannon Betts about reading advocacy here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-165-turning-litigious-situations-into-reading-reform-initiatives-with-mary-saghafi-and-shannon-betts/

Other books mentioned in this episode:

“Learning to Read: The Great Debate” by Jeanne Chall

“Learning to Read and Write: Developmentally Appropriate Practices for Young Children 1st Ed.” by Susan Neuman, Carol Copple, & Sue Bredekamp

In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers develop a strategic plan for putting executive functioning support in place in collaboration with their school teams. You can learn more about that program here. 

In this episode, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about Language Therapy Advance Foundations here.

You can get 25% off either program when you join between September 15-October 15. Just enter coupon code RIF25 on the checkout page to get this special rate. 

*If you’re already a member of either program and you refer a friend, tell them to email me at talktome@drkarenspeech.com if they join and let me know you referred them and I’ll send you a $100 referral bonus. 

Here’s what you can do right now to support this campaign and ensure you don’t miss any of these amazing interviews/commentary. 

1. Go to Apple, Spotify, or any other directory you use for podcasts and subscribe to the De Facto Leaders podcast.
2. Once you listen to an episode or two, leave me a rating and review. This helps get my show into the hands of people who need the information.
3. Do you have a colleague or friend who needs to learn more about the research surrounding language and literacy? Do you want to spread the word about practices and ideas you’d like to see in your school, community, or state? If so, tell them about the De Facto Leaders podcast so they can listen to all the episodes in this special campaign. 

Reading Is Fundamental is a nonprofit that focuses on connecting educators and families with materials and training aligned with evidence-based literacy instruction. Not only is their model aligned with the science of reading; they also offer unique book ownership solutions for professionals and families to address book equity issues. You can learn more ...

Many of my listeners don’t know this, but I went to a private Catholic school until 8th grade before transitioning to a public high school. 

I had what I like to call “Catholic school RtI”, where I got extra reading help with Sister Marie (and it paid off!).

I’ve focused a lot of my content on issues impacting the public schools, so when I connected with Tom Conroy, a Catholic school principal, I thought he’d bring an interesting perspective to the show; especially because I know that many of my listeners may be working with students who attend private schools. 

Tom Conroy is currently the principal of Our Lady of the Lake Catholic School in Verona, NJ. He retired from public school after 30 years and dove into the world of Catholic Education. Tom has held both teaching and administrative positions on the elementary, middle, high school, and district levels. Tom served for eight years on the New Jersey Principal and Supervisor Association/Foundation for Education Administration (NJPSA/FEA) Leadership Academy Development and Presentation Teams. Tom completed both his undergraduate and graduate work at Montclair State University.

We start out by discussing some differences in private vs. public education; but transition to talking about topics that will be useful regardless of what K-12 setting you’re in. 

In this episode, we discuss:

✅Do private schools have more resources and support than public schools? 

✅Why a school curriculum should be a living document and tool for communication (and not a scripted program).

✅How to reform curriculum in a way that builds a culture of autonomy and how to create alignment across grade levels, buildings, and disciplines (including related service providers).

✅The inner workings of successful professional learning communities (and why they help eliminate unproductive staff meetings).

✅How to maintain a high level of rigor in standards and assessment protocols, without “teaching to the test” and overemphasizing standardized tools.

In this episode, I mentioned the Time Tracking Journal, a strategy for improving time-management, future planning, and executive functioning during daily tasks like academic assignments or daily routines. You can learn more about the Time Tracking Journal here (https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/timejournal). 

You can connect with Tom on LinkedIn here(https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-conroy-0ab187b0/), or connect with him on the My Lady of the Lake website here (https://myoll.org/faculty-and-staff). 

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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 professional development is still delivered in the lecture or workshop format, even though there’s evidence that this model doesn’t have a significant impact on student outcomes. 

So what do people working in K-12 education need to support students and have fulfilling careers? 

I started asking myself that question when I was working in the schools, and I stumbled upon the coaching industry. 

This led me to discover design-thinking, a process for solving problems and innovating; something I’d never heard of in my preservice training. 

Nowadays, people are more skeptical than ever about the scientific community. Many feel that the heavy focus on evidence-based practice ignores the human component that school professionals bring to the table. 

I see design-thinking as a way we can be evidence-based, innovative, and empathetic at the same time. 

That’s why I invited Dan Kelley from DPK Solutions to episode 114 to share how he uses design-thinking to coach school leaders.

Daniel P. Kelley is the veteran principal of Smithfield High School in Smithfield, RI. He is an educator, instructional leader, and innovator. Dan served as president of the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) during the 2017-2018 school year and was a member of the NASSP Board of Directors for five years. He has served as a high school assistant principal; a high school and middle school special education teacher; and a middle school math and science teacher. He was named the Rhode Island Secondary Principal of the Year in 2012.

As a leader in education, Dan believes in challenging current instructional practices to provide creative and effective opportunities for students to learn, grow, and succeed. He is passionate about educational leadership that builds strong relationships with faculty and the community, utilizing social media to foster connections between educators, and establishing Personal Learning Networks for collaboration and professional development.

In this episode Dan shares:

✅Why your boss isn’t always the best person to coach you, and where you can go to get the support you need.  

✅How to use design-thinking to keep students engaged and provide real-life, project-based experiences that prepare them for adulthood.

✅What school staff need in a coach (and why it’s different depending on your role and your career goals).

You can connect with Dan on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dpk933/ on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/danielpkelley and on his website here: https://twitter.com/danielpkelley

In this episode, I mentioned my free online training for K-12 therapists who want to offer social and academic support that’s evidence-based and neurodiversity-affirming. You can sign up for that free 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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Are "natural" remedies really better when it comes to ADHD, autism, and related conditions? What does it mean to use a "natural" treatment or intervention?
 
In this episode, I discuss why those questions aren't easy to answer.

Specifically, I discuss:
✅The "appeal to nature" fallacy, what it is and why it's potentially harmful.
✅Common "natural" treatments for conditions like ADHD (such as diet, sleep hygiene, supplementation)
✅How to avoid distorted thinking when making decisions about medication and other treatment options.
✅The problem with "child-led" interventions, and how to reframe that term in a way that helps kids build resilience.

In this episode, I mentioned  this episode about homeopathy from the Unbiased Science podcast. I also mentioned the book "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer. If you want to create healthy home environment that supports executive functioning and independence in school-age kids, check out my program for therapists, teachers, and parents, Executive Functioning for Success. Executive Functioning for Success provides a 12-week plan for optimizing your home for learning, and helping kids become more independent with daily tasks at the same time. Whether it be simple chores, basic self-care and hygiene, or academic tasks; this program will show you how to teach your kids the critical thinking skills to work through it.

You can learn more about how to join here: https://drkarenspeech.com/executivefunctions (Disclaimer: This episode should not be considered medical or legal advice, and should not be used to diagnose or treat any specific medical condition). 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. 

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

In this episode of Are they 18 yet?™, I talk with my friend and former colleague, Joann Briggs.

Joann was a special education teacher in the public school systems for over 30 years, and I had the opportunity to work with her for a good portion of my time as a school speech pathologist.

While I always harp on the fact that SLPs can make a huge impact on literacy and language, it really is a team effort. That’s why I wanted to sit down with Joann and share how we were able to work together to serve our elementary caseload in the school systems.

If you’re an SLP or a teacher who wants to know how to collaborate to build vocabulary skills, this is a must listen.

It’ll also be helpful if you’re a parent and you want to get a better understanding of what happens as your child’s school.

In this conversation, Joann shares:

✅How to co-teach effectively with general education teachers to serve a special education caseload.

✅Her experience going through a lengthy due process hearing with a student on her caseload.

✅How SLPs can add value in the teaming process when it comes to language and literacy.

✅How to get parents involved in the IEP process to so they feel like valued team members. In this episode, I mention my Ultimate Guide to Sentence Structure.

In order to build strong language comprehension needed for reading, writing, and other important life skills, kids need to have a solid understanding of sentence structure.

In this guide, I outline common challenging sentence types, how to write goals to target them, and some evidence-based strategies for working on them.

You can get a free copy of the Ultimate Guide to Sentence Structure at drkarenspeech.com/sentencestructure. 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. 

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

In this episode, I sit down with college admissions coach Kim Duckworth from Bridge Education Center to talk about helping kids expand their options after high school. Many of my listeners are parents and professionals of K-12 kids, and many of them often wonder if they're doing the right things to prepare kids for young adulthood.

That's why I thought Kim would be the perfect guest to discuss this topic, because she's helped hundreds of kids successfully get in to their "dream schools".

In this interview, Kim and I discuss:
✅The importance of having a plan A, plan B, and plan C when thinking about the post-high school years.
✅Common options to consider post-graduation (not just college) and how to help your child decide which one is for them.
✅The right and wrong way to do a "gap year" if your child is considering it.
✅The ONE habit your child can do to expand their options when it comes to life after high school-especially if they're considering college (spoiler alert: it has to do with vocabulary and books)
✅Why the post-high school on-ramp starts in middle school, and what you can do at each age to help children have well-rounded high school experiences.

If you have a child who is considering college as a post-high school option, you don't want to miss this interview. Kim Duckworth is the author of “Parents, Are You Ready? The Practical Guide to Launching a Successful High School Student”. She is a graduate of Stanford University, where she received her B.A. in Communications-Journalism. She was the first woman in her family to attend college. She worked in Sales and Marketing for IBM in Silicon Valley and White Plains, NY for over 10 years. She has called Arizona her home for the last 25 years. Currently, Kim is an independent college admissions coach and member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling. She personally consulted with over 7,500 high school families as the co-owner of Scottsdale Education Center (a college preparatory center) for over 12 years. She’s been married 35 years, has three daughters and three grandchildren. She enjoys hiking, Labrador retrievers, travel, and Telluride, Colorado You can learn more about Kim's services, including her college admission coaching services on her website here: https://parentsareyouready.com/about/

Also, I highly recommend checking out her book here: https://parentsareyouready.com/books/book/

Finally, don't forget to check out the Ultimate Guide to Sentence Structure, which helps kids build the vocabulary and syntax skills they need for strong reading comprehension and written expression. You can grab a free copy of that guide here: https://drkarenspeech.com/sentencestructure 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. 

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Recently, the Center for Disease control updated the early developmental milestones, and there's been a lot of debate about what this means. In a lot of my SLP professional groups, there have been questions about whether this will allow kids to fall through the cracks. I've also heard the concern that developmental milestones in general focus on neurotypical development and don't take neurodivergents in to account. That's why recently, I did a training for the member's of  SLP Learning Academy (my mentoring program for SLPs) to help them continue to provide quality services for kids who need them. In this episode, I share the audio from this training.

In the training, I cover:
✅What updates were made to the developmental milestones and concerns that have popped up in professional discussions.
✅Why developmental milestones are often misinterpreted and what to do about it.
✅What happens if a kid isn't following a "typical developmental progression"? What does that mean we should do?
✅What to do if a child IS meeting developmental milestones, but they're still having a difficult time functioning in school or social environments.
✅Why meeting developmental milestones shouldn't be the goal of therapy (and what to focus on instead).

In this episode, I mentioned  this slide deck with a flow chart for making decisions during screenings/evals (taking milestones in to account). This episode was taken from a training in SLP Learning Academy, my mentoring program that helps SLPs develop leadership skills and deliver high-quality services without burnout.  You can 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. 

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

In this episode, I talk with Lauren Haines from Busy Bee Speech about childhood stuttering.

Many people don’t realize this, but there are a TON of misconceptions in the general public about stuttering. It’s also a highly specialized area of speech-language pathology, so many clinicians are left feeling unprepared to support stutterers who come to therapy. That’s why I wanted to dispel some myths about stuttering and offer some practical tips for therapists, educators, and parents of school-age kids.

In this conversation, we discuss:
✅What are the signs that stuttering will persist past childhood, and is it possible for kids to “outgrow” speech disfluencies?

✅What does stuttering look like in kids? How do we know when a child needs to go to therapy?

✅What are the key pieces of intervention for stuttering, and what can therapists, educators, and parents do to help?

✅Why “stuttering” should not be an off-limits word when talking to kids about their speech.

✅What’s the cause of stuttering and how can we have realistic therapy goals for kids?

To get more information from Lauren about childhood stuttering, check out these resources:

Busy Bee Speech Fluency blog posts.

 Preschool Interactive Fluency Binder.

 Interactive Fluency Binder for Speech Therapy.

I’m excited to announce that I’m partnering with MedBridge to help clinicians keep their clinicals sharp and increase patient outcomes and engagement.

That’s why I have a special offer that allows you to get $175 off your MedBridge subscription.

With your MedBridge subscription, you get access to their continuing education library and their client engagement portal where you can share home exercises with your clients. There are membership options for SLPs, OTs, PTs, ATs, and RNs. To get this special offer, use promo code KAREN80 when you sign up for MedBridge 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. 

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Navigating the special education eligibility process is confusing for all parties involved (parents, professionals, etc.).   That’s why I wanted to get some insight from someone who understands the process inside and out.   

In episode 57 of Are they 18 yet?® I interviewed my colleague Jil Stauter, a school psychologist who has worked with students from preschool all the way through high school. I was fortunate enough to work on a team with her for a number of these years. In this in-depth interview, Jil and I deconstruct the process of determining if students are eligible for special education services under the label of “specific learning disability”.

She also shares some essential advice for anyone who aspires to work in the school systems and be a part of the special education process.

Here’s a breakdown of what we cover in the interview:
✅What types of data a school psychologist needs in order to determine if a student is eligible for services under the category of “specific learning disability” using the RtI process.
✅What confuses people most about special education services in the schools (as it relates to learning disabilities and other diagnoses). ✅What happens if a school IEP team disagrees with the recommendations of an outside evaluation.
✅Plus more about the ins and outs of eligibility for services in the schools, and how special ed teams can work together. You can listen to the entire interview here.

In this episode, I mention my Ultimate Guide to Sentence Structure. In order to build strong language comprehension needed for reading, writing, and other important life skills, kids need to have a solid understanding of sentence structure. In this guide, I outline common challenging sentence types, how to write goals to target them, and some evidence-based strategies for working on them. >>>You can get a free copy of the Ultimate Guide to Sentence Structure 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. 

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

How do you know if an intervention is neurodiversity affirming and evidence-based? Are child-led interventions actually in a child’s best interest? What’s the right way to build social skills, “pragmatic language” and social communication skills? I’ve done a lot of soul-searching surrounding this topic. The typical pragmatic language interventions that focused on preaching the “right” way to act in social situations never felt right to me. Yet I didn’t want to throw the baby out with the bathwater. So in this episode, I wanted to share the framework I currently recommend for teaching social problem-solving. The truth is, there are a lot of truly ableist practices going on; but there’s also a lot of misinformation (I know…such a buzzword these days!). That’s why I’m going to break down a couple key points to help therapists, teachers, and parents navigate through it all so they know how to raise well-adjusted kids. I share what I know from 4 different angles: Research/evidence-based practice, clinical experience, being a parent, and being neurodivergent myself.

Specifically, I’ll talk about:
✅The difference between academic language interventions and social-problem solving interventions (and why what works for one doesn’t work for the other).
✅Why many social skills groups and therapy sessions are ineffective in teaching kids social-problem solving skills.
✅How to help kids be more resilient, flexible, and effective at developing social relationships (without gaslighting them or being ableist). ✅What it really means to be “neurodiversity affirming” and “child-led”, and how to do it in a way that helps kids feel safe and secure.

In this episode, I explain why I approach academic language that build comprehension and processing in a much different way than I do social problem-solving. In light of that, I mention two different programs I offer for speech pathologists. First, I mentioned the Social Language Roadmap, which teaches a set of strategies designed to teach kids the social problem-solving skills they need to thrive in school, community, and vocational settings. It’s designed for SLPs, but may also be helpful to other people working with school-age kids. You can learn more about how to join the Social Language Roadmap here. Second, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that teaches speech-pathologists a framework for supporting the language process skills needed for strong reading comprehension, writing, and other academic tasks. You can learn more about how to join Language Therapy Advance Foundations 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. 

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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 it comes to working on executive functioning and “social skills”, one of the biggest complaints I hear from therapists is that their clients don’t generalize.   

That’s often because when it comes to working on these types of skills, direct therapy alone isn’t enough to help kids apply skills. I often encourage SLPs to think beyond just direct therapy when it comes to designing services.   That’s why I invited Lori Melnitsky to come on for episode 59.   Lori is a private practice speech-language pathologist who has been in the field for over 30 years. She specializes in stuttering therapy, and also does coaching for young adults with ADHD who need support with executive functioning.   

In this interview, Lori and I discuss:
✅How to know if kids need support with executive functioning in elementary school, middle school, and high school.
✅How to know when you should coach the student vs coach the parents to support executive functioning (and when you need to focus on both).
✅The relationship between executive functioning and anxiety, and how they both impact each other
✅The importance of consistent positive praise and feedback for people with ADHD; no matter the age.

Lori Melnitsky, MA CCC-SLP has specialized in stuttering for over 25 years for children and adults. She founded All Island Speech and Stuttering Therapy and is now online in NY, NJ, CT, and PA. Lori is a person who stutters and entered the field to help others communicate. She has run National Stuttering Association Chapter meetings and taught graduate courses on stuttering. She is a sought after speaker at local school districts and speech associations on the topics of stuttering and ADHD. Lori is Lidcombe trained, Prompt Certified, MPI 2 certified for stuttering, and an ADHD coach. Additionally, Lori founded the FB group and podcast Stuttering DeMystified. Lori was also a mentor on an episode of the Children’s show Arthur and is a published author in the Journal of Fluency Disorders. Her website is Home | All Island Speech and Stuttering Therapy | Plainview, NY To learn more about how you can connect with Lori and learn more about her courses and services for stuttering and ADHD/executive functioning, you can visit her website here or follow her on Facebook here.  You can also check out her podcast “Stuttering Demystified” here.

In this episode, I also mentioned Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that teaches SLPs a systematic process for building the language skills kids need to support comprehension and academic skills. You can learn more about how to become a member here. I also shared that I’m currently reworking my program offerings relating to executive functioning and social-problem solving. However, you can get more information about executive functioning and how it impacts kids in my free parent guide. You can get a free copy of the parent guide 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

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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 it comes to supporting autistic kids, I’ve come across a lot of resources that help with the home and school environments. 

But many families aren’t sure how to navigate unexpected and novel situations with their kids; which means travel is often out of the question.

That’s why I wanted to interview special needs travel columnist and author, Dawn Barclay. Dawn’s book on traveling with autistic children will be available August 2022, she interviewed hundreds of families and experts in the process of writing it.

In our conversation, we discuss some highlights from the book, including:
✅The biggest fears of families with autistic children when it comes to travel.

✅How to find autism-friendly travel locations (including certified locations where staff have been trained). 

✅Common challenging situations and how to advocate for your kids 

✅Popular travel destinations for autistic kids.

Dawn M. Barclay is an award-winning author who has spent a career working in different aspects of the travel industry. She started as an agent with her parents’ firms, Barclay Travel Ltd and Barclay International Group Short-Term Apartment Rentals, and then branched out into travel trade reporting with senior or contributing editor positions at Travel Agent Magazine, Travel Life, Travel Market Report, and most recently, Insider Travel Report. She is a mother of two and resides in New York’s scenic Hudson Valley. She also writes fiction as D.M. Barr and holds leadership roles in several writer organizations. You can learn more about her book on her blog here: http://www.dawnbarclayink.com/

In this episode, I also mentioned Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that teaches SLPs a systematic process for building the language skills kids need to support comprehension and academic skills. You can learn more about how to become a member here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagefoundations
I also shared that I’m currently reworking my program offerings relating to executive functioning and social-problem solving. However, you can get more information about executive functioning and how it impacts kids in my free parent guide. You can get a free copy of the parent guide here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/parentguide

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. 

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

I get a ton of questions about how to support kids who have weak word-retrieval, so I wanted to share a powerful technique you can use to address this. 

When kids have poor word-finding skills, it’s often because they’re not engaging in the internal dialogue needed to pay attention to important features of words and store that information efficiently. The key to boosting these skills is to help kids develop this internal self-talk needed to learn words independently. As an SLP or other professional supporting kids, you can’t teach kids every word they need to know. 

What you really need to do instead is to give them the metacognitive skills they need to learn words independently. That’s why in this episode, I wanted to share a special Q & A session that I did for the members of Language Therapy Advance Foundations.

In this Q & A I discuss:
✅My go-to strategy for boosting word-finding (hint: this DOES NOT involve drill activities that encourage rote memorization). 

✅How to help kids develop the internal dialogue they need to keep learning words, even after they leave your therapy room

✅Is there a place for drill-based activities (like rapid naming of categories, associations, and synonyms)? If so, how does it fit into an effective language therapy protocol?

✅How to use semantic feature analysis to boost student engagement and get kids excited about words, so they actually look forward to sessions.

In this episode, I mention a blog post where I outline an example of how to do semantic feature analysis for adjectives, which is an activity I use to improve word-finding. The videos in this post are taken directly from the Language Therapy Advance Foundations member’s area, so it’ll give you a sneak peak of what’s inside the program. You can check out that post here. If you want to learn more about how to boost students’ word-finding and vocabulary, as well as improve their ability to learn independently, check out the Language Therapy Advance Foundations enrollment page 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. 

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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 been an increase in depression and anxiety in kids in recent years, which is why I wanted to have an expert on the show who’s had years of experience working with childhood trauma and anxiety.

In this episode, I talk with Dr. Ambroes Pass-Turner, who has worked in mental health for over 20 years and has experience working with children and adults. Dr. Pass-Turner is an expert in working with behavioral and emotionally disturbed children, adults, families, and offenders within the criminal justice system. She is a Doctor of Counseling Psychology and the owner of APT Counseling Services, LLC. She is a professor at Grand Canyon University in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and Georgia Military College.

In this conversation, we talk about:
✅ Red flags of anxiety and depression in kids; as well as signs and symptoms of abuse and trauma.

✅ The school-to-prison pipeline: What it is and how to take steps to prevent it

✅Navigating special education eligibility for kids with mental health diagnoses; as well as effective educational accommodations for kids with anxiety. 

✅How to use self-talk to build self-esteem in kids.  

✅How to encourage kids to take care of their mental health, even when they don’t want to.

Dr. Ambroes Pass-Turner is an author and published the books, Rex’s Journey: Helping Children Understand and Cope with Emotions and Childhood Sexual Abuse: Pathway to Mental Health Issues and Delinquent Behavior.

You can learn more about Dr. Ambroes Pass-Turner at 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. 

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

In episode 63, I share a Q & A from the Language Therapy Advance Foundations members’ group about dyslexia diagnosis and treatment, as well as working memory goals. 

I get a lot of questions about who is qualified to diagnose and treat dyslexia; especially when it comes to the SLP’s role in the process. Understanding the process of dyslexia diagnosis in the schools vs. medical settings can be especially confusing.  

That’s why I wanted to share this Q & A session with my LTA members where I talked about the SLP’s role in the process; including the differences between school vs. medical settings. Another topic that comes up with diagnoses like dyslexia is working memory; and I get asked all the time if addressing “working memory goals” in therapy is a good use of time (this is also relevant when considering things like ADHD or auditory processing disorder).  

In the second part of this Q & A, I share how to make the best use of therapy time considering the available research; including how to keep therapy functional and focused on tasks that are likely to improve “real-world” skills (as opposed to rote drill exercises with weak carryover).  

Some of the questions I address in this Q & A include:

✅Where can you go to get an “official” dyslexia diagnosis?

✅Are school therapists “qualified” to treat dyslexia, even though they might not be able to officially diagnose it?

✅Is it a good use of therapy time to focus on auditory memory and working memory exercises?

✅If you suspect that a child has language processing issues AND weak working memory, what should we be working on with them? 

In this episode, I mention this position statement from the  American Speech-Language and Hearing Association about the speech-language pathologist’s role in reading and writing.

This episode was taken from a Q & A session with Language Therapy Advance Foundations members. Language Therapy Advance Foundations is my course that teaches pediatric SLPs a framework for language therapy designed to give them the vocabulary and language processing skills needed to thrive in school and life.

If you’re an SLP, and you want a better system for language therapy so you can show up to sessions confident you’re setting your students up for success, check out the Language Therapy Advance Foundations enrollment page 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. 

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

In episode 64, I share a Q & A from the Language Therapy Advance Foundations members’ group about working on complex sentences with students in early elementary school. Part of the framework I teach focuses on building skills like morphology (e.g., knowledge of word parts like prefixes & suffixes) as well as syntax (the rules of how sentences are put together). These skills can not only boost a student's ability to decode what they’re reading, they can also have a positive impact on their ability to process the big picture of what they’re reading/and or writing. I get a lot of questions about when students are “ready” for this kind of work. There’s a misconception that these skills should be reserved for “older” students in late elementary and secondary school.

That’s why in this episode, I wanted to share why waiting until students are “ready” to work on syntax is a fallacy, and what we should do instead. I also share how to teach kids in early elementary school to use difficult sentence-types, even before they’re able to read and write difficult words or long sentences. This episode was taken from a Q & A session with Language Therapy Advance Foundations members. Language Therapy Advance Foundations is my course that teaches pediatric SLPs a framework for language therapy designed to give them the vocabulary and language processing skills needed to thrive in school and life. If you’re an SLP, and you want a better system for language therapy so you can show up to sessions confident you’re setting your students up for success, check out the Language Therapy Advance Foundations enrollment page 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. 

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

In episode 65, I take a break from the regular content to talk about burnout and boundaries; and specifically how I use systems to help me set healthy boundaries and reduce burnout. Back when I started working as an SLP in 2004, I found there was one area of my life (work-related) that caused an exponentially larger amount of stress than other things in my life. ​So much, in fact, that this ONE thing was impacting me in other areas of life outside of work. Like health and relationships.

That’s why in this episode, I share:
➡️ What I didn’t feel prepared to deal with when I first started my career (that I was NOT expecting).

​➡️ How having one super stressful responsibility at work had a snowball effect on other areas of life.

​➡️ Why not having a system for a challenging area at work took a toll on my relationships at home.

​➡️ The questions you can ask yourself to identify the ONE area of your life causing the most stress (that if addressed, could lead to improvements in all other areas).

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. 

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

Back when I first started practicing, I found language therapy to be super overwhelming. 

There were so many peer-reviewed articles, books, and seminars, and it was hard to sift through it all and determine how to apply it to therapy.  These days, we not only have to sort through lots of quality information…we have to ALSO sort through lots of inaccurate information.  This can make it really hard to make it hard for professionals and parents to figure out how to support kids' language and literacy skills with the little time you have with your students. I do what I do in order to be a solution for that problem. 

I get hundreds of emails each month from SLPs sharing their most common language therapy challenges, and although times have changed, the basic questions stay the same. 

I hear things like:

"Where do I even start?"

"How do I know what skills are most important/how to sequence/what to focus on?"

"How do I write good goals?"

When I dig a little deeper, I usually find that people are making ONE of three common mistakes. Now it goes without saying...these are SUPER common. I know because I used to do every single one of them due to lack of clarity and info overload. So if any of this sounds familiar, you're certainly not alone. These three patterns are what informed the framework I teach SLPs designed to build the language skills kids need to support language processing, literacy, and high-level strategic thinking. 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. 

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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 ask me where they should start in language therapy, I usually say they should start by building vocabulary. That usually results in a couple raised eyebrows and questions...mostly because they aren’t really sure how I’m defining “vocabulary”. That’s why in episode 67, I wanted to talk about what I actually mean when I say we should “work on vocabulary”, and why it’s so important to giving kids the skills they need to thrive.
 
Specifically, I share:
 ✅Why vocabulary is much more than naming and identifying words.

✅The 5 linguistic skills that impact word knowledge and why they support vocabulary growth.

✅How to “work on vocabulary” in a way that supports literacy, executive functioning, and independent word-learning.

In this episode, I mentioned the Effective Language Therapy for SLPs Facebook group, where I share regular tips and strategies for building language and literacy skills in K-12 kids. You can join the group here. 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. 

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.

I get a lot of questions about how to write language therapy goals… I ALSO get a lot of questions about whether I offer goal banks in any of my courses. I do offer a version of a “goal bank” in Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my course that teaches SLPs a framework for building metalinguistic awareness and independent word learning...but it’s not a goal bank in the traditional sense.

In my opinion, goal banks do both students and clinicians a huge disservice. While I understand that clinicians need tools to help them be efficient with their paperwork, I think there’s a better solution.

That’s why in this episode I share what that is.

Specifically, I talk about:
 
✅Why my course curriculum for clinicians focuses on vocabulary FIRST before I address high-level comprehension and executive functioning. 

✅ Do we need to work on the “observable/measurable” behavior? Or the strategy? 

✅My alternative to the “goal-bank” and why it helps drive more effective intervention.

In this episode, I mentioned the Effective Language Therapy for SLPs Facebook group, where I share regular tips and strategies for building language and literacy skills in K-12 kids. You can join the group here.

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. 

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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. 

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:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve 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.