In episode 63 of “Are they 18 yet?”®, 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…
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EP 62: Childhood anxiety and mental health(with Dr. Ambroes Pass-Turner)
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…
EP 61: Building word-retrieval and independent word learning in K-12 kids
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…
EP 60: Traveling with autistic kids (with Dawn Barclay)
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…
EP 59: ADHD coaching for young adults (with Lori Melnitsky)
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…
EP 58: How to build social problem-solving skills (without being ableist)
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”…
EP 57: Demystifying the “specific learning disability” (with Jil Stauter)
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…
EP 56: What to do when your child is stuttering (with Lauren Haines)
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…
EP 055: Life after high school: Are your kids ready? (with Kim Duckworth)
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…
EP 054: Collaboration, literacy, and surviving due process (with Joann Briggs)
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…