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March 12, 2021

You’re Not Mary Poppins, And That’s OK

The case for improved quality therapy, better relationships with clients, and a personal sense of pride and integrity in our work.

My good friend, Melanie, had a new year’s resolution a few years back to do something each month she was “bad at.” It reminded me of a recent beach volleyball game I’d reluctantly participated in. In the game I’d missed every pass and then got slammed in the head by the ball right when the game was over. I thought, “Why put herself through that?”

This past year has been one of vulnerability for me, moving to a new state and taking up the responsibilities as Director of speech IRL West. This, of course, was all during COVID, while still experimenting with the newness of motherhood. I have surely made mistakes (“sorry, I meant 2:00 pm PST, not CST”), been wrong (insurance codes are tricky), and struggled through the process (you cannot guarantee toddler naps!). And I have found a more authentic way of connecting with my clients on the journey.

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Published by Rachel Muldoon in speech IRL, Therapy
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February 23, 2021

How to Avoid Writing Ableist Goals in Speech Therapy

SLPs are masters of goal writing. We spend literal years learning how to write specific-measurable-actionable-relevant-time-bound goals. We craft robust, descriptive targets in the restrictive ecosystem of IEP, insurance, and Medicare requirements. 

Most SLPs I meet are never satisfied with their goal writing. This is a good thing! It’s a sign of how seriously we take goals and therapy plans, that we are always seeking ways to improve. 

In the spirit of improvement, there’s something I want to call attention to in our standard practice goal writing: ableism.

We’re taught to write goals a certain way (SMART, IEP-compliant, etc.). Unfortunately, that “certain way” (that we’re shamed for not following, when in graduate school) is rooted in ableism. As our field grapples with how social justice issues apply in a speech therapy context, we need to examine why we write goals and how we write goals.

So, let’s start.

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Published by Katie Gore in Articulation, Child Stuttering, Language, News, People Skills, Stuttering, Therapy
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February 23, 2021

How To Moderate A Panel

Conference season is here! One year into COVID, our gatherings are still confined to the digital world—but most of us are now familiar and comfortable navigating online conferences.

This includes one of my favorite conference events: panels. Panels offer an engaging way to tap into the experience and insight of subject matter experts. Great panels are informative and dynamic. Each panelist has the opportunity to shine while contributing to a larger group conversation that captures the diverse nature of differing perspectives.

Well, that’s what a great panel can be. There are also...not so great panels.

As a professional, I have attended not-so-great panels. As a communication therapist, I have worked with many clients who have been panelists on not-so-great panels and told me of their woes after the event. 

One panelist hogged all the speaking time. There was no moderation. The moderator talked over the panelists or even argued with the panelists. The panelists didn’t have responses to the questions or seemed uncertain about what they were supposed to say. 

Who’s responsible for this? The moderator.

Moderating is an art and a skill, but it is also very much a science. Inexperienced moderators can create successful, rewarding panel experiences for both speakers and audience members by completing a series of very basic tasks. Surprisingly, many moderators (even experienced moderators) don’t do this, leaving even the most illustrious of panel speakers to flounder.

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Published by Katie Gore in Business Services, News, People Skills, Professional Communication
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January 27, 2021

I Speak In Sentences

Most adults who have language disorders don’t even know it—but they can tell there’s something a bit different about the way they communicate:

I think in paragraphs, but I speak in sentences.

When I try to communicate, it feels like I’m speaking in a second language. But I’m speaking in my first language, it’s the only one I know.

I know so much more than I'm able to express sometimes, and it really holds me back.

As soon as someone starts talking I stop listening and my mind imagines what I expect them to say. Then I realize I've missed it.

I can see that the person doesn’t understand what I’m saying when I talk, but I can’t figure out how to make them understand.

When I lose track of what I'm saying I'm worried it makes people think less of me.

These are things we hear over and over again from adults who struggle with language processing. It’s normal to sometimes go blank when you’re trying to communicate something. It’s normal to occasionally struggle to recall the perfect word that you know exists to succinctly express yourself. It’s normal to lose track of the conversation sometimes, whether you’re the listener or the speaker.

But if you frequently, constantly, day-in, day-out, struggle to match your thoughts to words and to keep up with the pace of conversations...you may have a language disorder.

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Published by Katie Gore in News
Tags: language
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January 27, 2021

You Deserve Help

We receive a lot of emails from people who know they have a specific communication issue that can be addressed with speech therapy. “I’ve had a lisp my entire life.” “My stutter has gotten worse recently and is holding me back in my career.” “I’m a transgender woman and want to work on feminizing my voice.” “I have ADHD and am having trouble staying focused and getting work done.”

We receive just as many emails from people who struggle with communication, but aren’t sure why. “People often don’t understand me.” “I have trouble connecting with others.” “I have always had trouble expressing myself.” “I struggle to communicate and it causes a lot of anxiety and impacts my self-esteem and confidence.”

Do these everyday communication challenges mean that someone has a communication disorder? Does it mean that you “qualify” for speech therapy? Do you need to have a diagnosed disability to justify getting help?

In my opinion, the answer is and should be an obvious no. Unfortunately, there are a lot of barriers along the way.

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Published by Katie Gore in News

January 8, 2021

The 3Es of Stuttering, presented at the 2021 Oxford Dysfluency Conference

The following poster was presented by Courtney Luckman, MSc, CCC-SLP and Katie Gore, MA, CCC-SLP at the 2021 Oxford Dysfluency Conference on January 7-8, 2021. Additional reading and therapy resources are included in this blog post.

What Am I Missing? A Framework For Figuring Out What To Do In Stuttering Therapy, presented by Katie Gore, MA, CCC-SLP and Courtney Luckman, MSc, CCC-SLP.Download
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Published by Katie Gore in News

December 15, 2020

What We Learned In 2020: A speech IRL Retrospective

Here we are at the end of 2020, friends. As the kids say, That happened.

This has been a year of downs and ups and downs and downs and (ups?) and downs. We have changed so much from where we were, and who we are, at the beginning of the year. We also haven’t changed, thanks to the way that 2020 has reminded us of what really matters, and how we’ve intentionally recommitted to the most important things in our lives during a year of turmoil.

We’re the same, and not the same. We’ve stretched, yet are finding stability. We’ve learned, but every new learning is a reminder of how little we really understand.

What have we taken away from 2020? Here’s our slice, from speech IRL.

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Published by Katie Gore in News

December 15, 2020

Training and Culture: A COVID-Era Case Study

2020 taught us what is possible in a virtual work world. When it comes to training, how does virtual compare to IRL? A case study from 2020.

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Published by Katie Gore in Business Services, Professional Communication
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November 19, 2020

Joe Biden and the Future of Stuttering

One of the most common refrains we hear in our sessions is, “I can’t be an X because I stutter” (or am autistic, or have language difficulties, or any other kind of communication challenge). X is whatever the person most wants to be. Often, it’s a career that involves speaking. Lawyer. Doctor. Teacher. Psychologist. Politician.

Well. It turns out you can stutter and people will still choose you to be the President of the United States.

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Published by Katie Gore in Child Stuttering, Stuttering
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November 19, 2020

The Art of Political Small Talk

The general rule for small talk is you can’t talk about politics. However, COVID-19 and the 2020 election have flipped this upside down.

Small talk often begins by talking about the shared environment—commenting on the weather, discussing upcoming holidays, etc. When we are talking through masks or over Zoom and experiencing an election of historic proportions, it’s a little hard to avoid the elephant in the room. 

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Published by Courtney Luckman in Business Services, Language, People Skills, Professional Communication
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