Staying Positive as a School SLP

Are you struggling to stay positive each day? Are you passing the time by saying is it 2:30 or 3:30 yet? This year of all years, it has been hard to stay positive. As SLP’s we already have a lot on our plates with planning, goals, paperwork, keeping in contact with teachers and parents and maybe even having a little bit of a life outside of all that. When you throw in a pandemic on top of everything else we already juggle, it can be even more difficult. So today I wanted to share some of my go-to tips and tricks to remain positive!

1^st tip

Remember your why. Why are you doing this other than making a paycheck? For me, I love the field and I love working with students. I remember my time back as a new SLP and the drive and motivation I had to make a difference and connect with my students. That is one of the reasons I love taking on grad students because they are so fresh, eager, and motivated to learn. Having grad students around keeps me feeling fresh and ready to learn new things and helps me remember my why. I love getting to see my students find success and getting to be that one person in my students’ lives that they can find success with! Many times, my students see signs all around them that they are struggling or that they are failing. However, when my students come to speech, I don’t let them fail and I love getting to be the person who helps them reach success whether it be big or small.

2^nd tip

Smile even when you don’t want to! Even under a mask, our students can read right through us. It is so important to make sure you have a good attitude and smile because if a student senses you’re not on your game or you're stressed, they will feed on it and they will be distracted or they won’t try their best. One thing I have found is that students don’t know when things don’t go according to plan unless you let them know it. If you keep that smile on your face and if you have fun with it, your students will too. So, if you’re having one of those days, just fake it till you make it!

3^rd tip

Celebrate small wins! Look for simple things in your everyday life like you got to work on time, you showed up, you had the majority of the students attend your session or you didn’t have food in your teeth. This is not an easy time right now so when you find positivity around you and celebrate the small wins, it will help you through your day. Remind yourself that these are not normal circumstances and you are doing the best job that you can. Sometimes done is better than perfect and you just have to roll with it. There is always next time and if you want to make changes, you can do it the next time. At the end of the day when you step away from it all, be proud of yourself for what you are doing and what you accomplished and celebrate your little wins. You are a Rockstar and your students are so lucky to have you!

Want to learn more? Check out the video and my resources for engaging, no prep activities to use with your students this week! And don't forget to grab my virtual tools reference guide. speechtimefun.com/virtualtools