In this episode, I sit down with Eric Smith from GrowNOW ADHD, to explore innovative approaches to social skills and executive functioning through the lens of a community-based program: Executive Functioning Summer Camp. Eric shares his insights on challenging existing service delivery models and discusses the importance of practical, real-world applications for clients. Eric is…
Author: kldudek1980
EP 214: A Speech Pathologist’s Journey Through Brain Surgery and Recovery (with Ana Hernandez)
In this powerful episode, I sit down with Ana Hernandez, a speech pathologist who found herself on the other side of the therapy room after undergoing brain surgery. Ana shares her deeply personal journey through the road of recovery. As someone who has spent her career helping others communicate, Ana opens up about what it…
EP 213: SEEing to Lead: Collaborating for Better Literacy (with Karen Dudek-Brannan)
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…
EP 212: Re-Release: ADHD and the Appeal to Nature Fallacy
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…
EP 211: The Art of Decluttering and Habit Stacking for Clinicians (with Marisha Mets)
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…
EP 210: Goals and Accommodations for Executive Functioning
In this episode, we dive into the often-overlooked art of writing clear, measurable goals for executive functioning. Unlike other academic or functional goals, executive functioning focuses on internal processes—making it harder to quantify and observe. Whether you’re a teacher, therapist, or part of a school team, this episode will give you actionable tools to create…
EP 209: FAQs: Task-based goals vs. strategy goals, scaffolding for semantics and syntax, and going from decontextualized to contextualized
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…
EP 208: Making professional development and programming goals meaningful (with John Mihalyo)
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…
EP 207: Failure to launch, screen addiction, and preparing kids for life after high school (with Michael McLeod)
Many young adults enter their post-high school years without the executive functioning skills needed to thrive. This is often because the people supporting them underestimate the amount of support they’re getting, and there’s no plan in place to fade that prompting. When young adults enter college, they have to manage sleep hygiene, long-term projects, and…
EP 206: FAQs: What if my district is still promoting three-cueing?
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…