Most of us know that it’s important to work on vocabulary in language and literacy intervention?

But how do we know what words to pick? Should we be working on specific words, or should we be focusing on strategies?

If we DO work on words, how can we possibly keep up with the pace of the curriculum (and should we even try)?

I get these questions ALL the time from SLPs and other professionals supporting language and literacy, which is why this is something I help you navigate in both my Vocabulary Foundation and Language Therapy Advance Foundations program.

In episode 240 of De Facto Leaders, I share how I answer these questions about prioritization, vocabulary selection, and word-learning strategies.

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

You can check out the Vocabulary Foundation and other programs in my language therapy suite on my products and services page here: https://drkarenspeech.com/products-and-services/

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.

Every time I look into research on the summer slide, I get more confused. It’s no wonder professionals and families are scrambling every May as they think about how kids should be spending their time in the summer.

I’ve intended to do a deep dive into the research and gain a better understanding of how significant the “slide” is, for who, and what, exactly, is sliding. At the time I’m writing this, I still don’t feel I’ve done that.

What I can do is speak to what I DO understand, which is why I wanted to share my commentary and a clip from my interview with my colleague, David Schipper, as we discuss our conclusions on the “summer slide”.

At the end of the interview, I ended up with more questions than answers, but we both came to the conclusion that kids who are already behind will benefit from consistent, explicit intervention, and that we’d both want to take advantage of time available to close gaps in students who are already behind at the end of the school year.

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.

Here are some questions and discussion points from this episode:

✅ Why we need to think about the summer in the preceding fall, not in May.

✅ Looking at cumulative gains over the entire year rather than focusing on ONE time period.

✅ Some students are already behind when summer starts. So how much time should we spend debating if a “slide” exists”?

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: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/efleadership

I also mentioned Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that gives SLPs and other service providers a system for language therapy. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/

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/).

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 schools respond to “behavior problems” in students, the focus is often on the symptom, not the cause.

Failing to look beyond the surface behavior does a disservice to students, which is why in this episode I share commentary and a clip from my conversation with Dr. Shameka Stewart on the school-to-confinement pipeline.

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.

Discussion points from this episode include:

✅The relationship between reading challenges and the school-to-confinement pipeline.

✅Why “behavior problems” could be related to language processing, reading, or writing challenges.

✅“They should know better”: Why we can’t assume kids comprehend language in the school discipline handbook.

If you’re working with students in K-12 of any age, this episode is a must-listen.

You can listen to the original interview with Dr. Stewart on the De Facto Leaders podcast here: EP 180: The relationship of literacy and language skills 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/

You can connect with Dr. Stewart on her website here: www.juvforensicslp.com

Connect with her on Instagram @drjuvenile_forensicslp (link here: http://drjuvenile_forensicslp/)

Join her Facebook group SLPs 4 Juvenile Justice here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1226771284165745/members

In this episode, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps 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.

“We don’t need to work on decoding because students have access to assistive technology and accommodations.”

“We don’t work on word-decoding in high school.”

“Working on reading in high school is too little too late.”

If you’ve ever heard any of these arguments, you’re not alone. Unfortunately, beliefs like these do students a huge disservice.

That’s why in this conversation, I share a clip from my interview with Tom Parton, an SLP with a long-career of experience in secondary education, as well as literacy advocacy work.

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.

In my commentary and the clip from the interview, you’ll hear discussion on:

✅ Why providing access to technology alone won’t solve access issues if kids lack adequate reading and spelling skills.

✅ Why accommodations and modifications aren’t a substitute for reading instruction, even in secondary school.

✅ The impact of word-decoding on activities of daily living.

If you’re serving students in secondary school, you won’t want to miss this episode.

You can listen to the original interview with Tom on De Facto Leaders 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/

In this episode, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps 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.

Ever feel overwhelmed being the only SLP in your district without a network of fellow clinicians for support? You're not alone; many in similar situations face these challenges.

In this episode, I’m sharing a case study of an SLP who, despite being the sole clinician in her district, felt the pressure of not having a trusted system she could rely on for language therapy. Searching for a structured, effective approach, she turned to the Language Therapy Advance Foundations program. There, she developed a reliable system she could bring to her team, transforming her therapy sessions and instilling confidence in her practice.

I also reflect on ways you can gain a sense of belonging, even if you’re the only one in your discipline.
In this episode, I’ll share:

✅ Managing the challenges and isolation of being the only SLP in a district while building a trustworthy framework for therapy.

✅ Developing a system that empowers you to handle your caseload with confidence, even without peer support.

✅ Creating a dependable, efficient approach to language therapy that benefits both the clinician's peace of mind and the students' progress.

Join us as we explore how this solo SLP navigated her unique situation and emerged with a structured system she could trust and share with her team.

In this episode, I mentioned this previous podcast interview: EP 109: Can my principal evaluate me if they’ve never done my job? (with Eric Makelky) here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-109-can-my-principal-evaluate-me-if-theyve-never-done-my-job-with-eric-makelky/

This case study came from 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.

Ever feel like you should have language therapy figured out by now, but you're still struggling? Even experienced clinicians can feel that way.

In this episode, I’m sharing a case study of a seasoned SLP who, despite years of experience, felt like she was missing a key piece of the puzzle when it came to language therapy. Battling decision fatigue and a lack of a reliable system, she joined my Language Therapy Advance Foundations program and created a reliable system that made her feel confident showing up to sessions.

In this episode, we’ll discuss:

✅ Overcoming the feeling of inadequacy as a veteran clinician and acknowledging the need for a more structured approach to language therapy.

✅ How streamlining decision-making allowed for more focused therapy sessions.

✅ Strategies for working on language skills that support executive functioning.

✅ Creating a predictable, efficient system for building language skills that support reading and writing.

This case study came from 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.