Decoding the Acronyms: What SLPs Really Mean

OK, so you have your cute vision board, fitness goals, and maybe even a budget planner. You tell yourself you have a plan for the year, but do you really know the details of your career goals? Or did you just throw a magazine clip on a board, check the box, and move on? This year, I want to do things differently. Instead of vague ideas, I am focused on creating a clear, intentional vision that specifically outlines my professional goals as a speech-language pathologist. Step 1: What is our big goal? Before anything else, we have to identify the main goal for the year. Not ten goals. Not what sounds impressive to others. One clear priority that will have the biggest impact on your work life and overall well-being. This might be improving work-life balance, increasing clinical confidence, or creating systems that make your day-to-day workflow more manageable. Step 2: How do I get there? Once the big goal is identified, the next step is defining the requirements to achieve it. This means writing out the specific actions, habits, or changes that need to happen. Think step by step. What needs to be adjusted in your schedule, your caseload management, or your boundaries at work? Step 3: Break it into quarters Big goals become less overwhelming when they are broken into quarterly goals. Taking those steps and assigning them to realistic timeframes helps keep progress attainable and measurable throughout the year. Step 4: Make it aesthetically pleasing Whether it is a vision board, planner, or Canva document, your plan should be visually motivating and easy to revisit. If it does not invite you back in, it will not be used. Let’s be honest. Growth does not always look like major accomplishments. Sometimes it looks like finishing documentation on time, managing your caseload with intention, and creating space for rest, hobbies, and joy. The key to calming chaos is planning. When we create clear plans, we leave less room for stress to make an uninvited appearance. As SLPs, we carry multiple roles and responsibilities, clarity is not a luxury. It is a necessity. Curating vision with intention allows us to move through the year with purpose instead of pressure. When we take the time to define our goals, map out the steps, and create plans that actually fit our lives, we give ourselves permission to grow without burning out. This year, I am choosing clarity, consistency, and peace. Not just in my career, but in how I show up for myself every day.  Courtney Stafford, M.S., CF-SLP

I Spy books are excellent tools for language therapy because they engage kids while targeting a range of speech and language skills. You can also make the objectives easier or more difficult depending on the child's skill level! Here are 5 ways to use I Spy books in therapy : 1. Vocabulary Building Goal: Expand expressive and receptive vocabulary. How: Have the child name objects they find or describe them before naming. Introduce new or uncommon words like “goblet” or “thimble” and talk about their use. 2. Descriptive Language & Attributes Goal: Use adjectives and phrases to describe objects (size, color, shape, category, function). How: Say “I spy something small and shiny” or “I spy something that you can wear.” Encourage the child to describe an object for you to guess. 3. Following Directions Goal: Improve listening comprehension and the ability to follow multi-step directions. How: Give the child tasks like “Find something red, then point to something round” or “Circle the object you can eat, then clap your hands.” 4. Question Formulation Goal: Practice asking questions and using correct sentence structure. How: Have the child ask yes/no or WH-questions (e.g., “What is that?” “Can you find the object that is used for writing?”). Take turns being the guesser and the clue-giver. 5. Articulation Practice Goal: Practice target sounds in a fun and functional way. How: Choose pages with lots of words containing the child’s target sound (e.g., /s/, /r/, /l/). Have them say the word correctly before circling it or using it in a sentence. Emily Miner, M.S., CCC-SLP