As an SLP I wish…

I always hate that I cannot answer them!  I always tell them, that the more they practice at home and come to therapy, the better the prognosis.  But I wish I could give them more!  I always tell them, “I'm sorry I do not have a crystal ball.  I cannot predict the future.”

Have you been stumped?  Have you had to ask for tricks/help from other SLPs or professionals?  Have you had to open up a graduate school textbook or Google for some answers because you just do not know it all?!  Well…this has happened to me…plenty of times.  I LOVE the online SLP community, it is a great way to ask those questions and get great answers from SLPs that have beent here before.

 

I wish I had more time in my day to keep up with paperwork, call parents/contact them more, collaborate with classroom teachers, prep all of my materials, and  stay organized/clean/put materials away.  I wish the pile of papers/materials on my desk would get smaller instead of bigger.  I wish I had time to do it all…but I do not.  I try to stay late and come in early to make time for it all…but I am human and I have a life outside of work which prevents me from bringing it all home or staying longer.I wish I had more time with my students.  I hate when I finally get that “ah ha!” moment with a student and the session is over.  I wish I could see some of my students more frequently during the week so I can get better results but restrictions/guidelines for mandates prevents me from doing so.

I wish I had more time to invest in learning more.  There are so many conferences and online webinars I would love to participate in but there just isn't enough time!  I have to pick and chose the ones that work with my schedule or are most relevant to my current caseload.

As SLPs, we are often thrown into closets, hallways, backs of classrooms, cafeterias, and other crazy locations.  I am fortunate to have a relatively large space for an SLP.  But it just isn't enough.  I don't have enough shelving or cabinets to contain all of my stuff!!!  As SLPs, we are often hoarders of materials (GUILTY!) and it just gets more difficult each year to find homes for all of my items.  I keep buying storage bins  but it just never seems to be enough.  I am sure many of you are thinking, “you are lucky to have a space-stop complaining”…I am not complaining, it is just my wish to have more…to be able to do my job better and to be better organized.

I hate to tell teachers/parents that their child can do these skills with me and no one seems to believe me because the child is not using these skills outside of my therapy room.  I wish I could be a little birdie on their shoulders all day long and prompt them “remember you strategies” or “where do you put your articulators?!”  I give teachers tips and even give students reminder index cards that they can keep in their desks but I wish I could do more!

Can you relate to any of these wishes?  What wishes do you have?  I would love to hear them!! #SLPwish