How I Survived My CF in the Schools {Top 10 Tips}

Hi! For those of you who don't know me, I'm Marisha. I graduated with my Master's in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Washington last summer. On the last day of my internship, I literally packed up my car and drove over to Port Orchard, WA to start my CF at an elementary school that next day. The beginning of the year was definitely a crazy and stressful time, but I made it through (and you can too)!

As I'm getting ready to start my second year in the schools, I was thinking about what helped me survive my CF. (I'm not going to lie--it definitely felt like survival mode at times! Overall, though, it was an amazing experience.) Here are some of my top tips for new CF's...

1. Consider joining a few SLP groups on Facebook. They are a great place to ask questions. It was also helpful to see the kinds of questions that other people were asking. Here are three Facebook groups that I followed this year:

• SLPeeps 
• School-Based Speech and Language Therapy 
• Preschool Speech Language Pathologists 

2. Follow other SLP's on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. All three platforms are a little different, but they are great sources of therapy ideas, materials, and freebies. Jenna Rayburn has a LONG list of SLP Bloggers on her website (click here) and Meredith from Peachie Speechie also put together this wonderful resource (click here). A few of the more active bloggers/TPT sellers include...

• Speech Peeps
• Speech Room News
• Crazy World Speech
• The Speech Bubble
• Sublime Speech

This list is by no means comprehensive! There are many, many great bloggers out there. I just listed a few to start your search.

3. Stay organized. Figure out what works for you. If you need ideas, there are TONS of organizational materials on Teachers Pay Teachers. It's also helpful to ask other SLP's in your district what strategies work best for them. If you can stay organized, it will make busy IEP/progress report months much easier.

4. Make friends with your janitors and front office staff. These people can be incredibly helpful. Get them on your side. I definitely was not above bringing them treats a few times.

5. Get to know your teachers. It makes such a big difference if you can get teachers on your side. Consider starting the year off on the right foot by involving teachers in the scheduling process with a Speech Scheduling Party. Join them for lunch. Participate in some school activities. Check in on how they (and their students) are doing. I promise it'll make a difference!

6. Consider joining SpeechPathology.com (or find ways to get help). I got a free trial membership through my graduate program, but I think it would have been worth the $99. I used this resource A LOT. Whenever I got a new student on my caseload that I wasn't quite sure about, I would look up a webinar or two and play it while I was cutting materials or doing other easy work. It was good background noise, but it was also incredibly helpful. I got great therapy ideas and updated evidence to back up why I chose a certain approach. Since I'm more of an auditory learner, this was much more palatable than digging through research articles (although I tried to keep up with some articles too).

There are some free resources out there too.

• Autism Internet Modules - Fantastic autism resources. They have videos on hundreds of topics (e.g., social groups, the Incredible 5 Point Scale, video modeling).
• LEADERS Project - There are SO many model evaluations and video modules on this website. It's amazing. Check it out.

Another strategy is to talk to other SLP's. Do not be afraid to ask questions. Set up meetings with other SLP's in your grad school cohort (or in your district) to share ideas. No one says you can't meet over dinner and wine!

7. Don't feel like you have to buy all the stuff. I definitely bought WAY too many materials last year. I probably didn't even really use half of them. Consider buying some products on Teachers Pay Teachers; it can be cheaper to make your own materials. (Click here to read about my favorite TPT materials.)

To get the BEST deals, be sure to check out the monthly SLP Must Have sale. Each month, on the 7th, a group of SLP's offer an AMAZING deal by discounting their must-have products for the month by 50%. Pretty sweet, right?

8. Take advantage of freebies/giveaways! Here are a few resources to take advantage of...

• Speechie Freebies Blog
• SLP's on TPT Newsletter
• Smart Apps for Kids - They frequently post free iPad and Android apps. Friday's are the big freebie day. 
• If you follow your favorite bloggers on Facebook and Instagram, there are plenty of giveaways there too. 
• I also made a list of essential freebies here.

9. Make time to have fun. It's easy to let your new job take over your life, but sometimes you just have to stop (even if everything isn't perfectly done)! You'll be a much better SLP for it.

10. You can do this! You just spent so many years studying all this speech-y stuff. You had intense clinical rotations/internships. You got through it all (alive, at that!), and you got your degree! If you are working in a school, you will likely know more about speech and language than anyone else on staff. Even if you don't feel like it now, you are an expert. You know A LOT!

Now I have some questions for you!
For the CF's: What are your most nervous about? What are you most excited about?
For the CCC's: What advice would you give to an incoming CF?

* Image Credits: Font from KG Fonts, Background from Ashley Hughes, Clip Art from EduClips