Are you wondering how you can help the parents of your students become better advocates for their children?
Sometimes it comes down to making sure they understand what to ask. In this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, I sat down with a fellow SLP and the March 2023 Speech Retreat speaker, Dr. Tinita Kearney! She’s here to talk about topics like empowering parents, educating colleagues, and her new book!
Dr. Tinita Ortega Kearney is a pediatric speech-language pathologist (SLP) specializing in autism spectrum disorder. Hailing from New York, she attended college in Washington, DC, receiving her Doctorate of Philosophy degree in speech-language pathology from Howard University. Dr. Kearney has 10 years of experience in the field, with the majority of this time spent in the non-public and public school settings. She has also owned and operated a successful speech/language therapy private practice for the past eight years.
Dr. Kearney is a public speaker, a member of many professional organizations and honor societies, and she currently serves on both local and state professional boards, including the Maryland Board of Audiologists, Hearing Aid Dispensers, Speech-Language Pathologists, and Music Therapists, for which she serves as Vice-Chair. As a mentor and researcher, Dr. Kearney has served as an adjunct professor, has published research articles, and has presented at numerous professional conferences. She is the recipient of multiple awards, including the Award for Continuing Education by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association for demonstrating a commitment to lifelong learning.
Striving to advance the interests of those in the autism community, Dr. Kearney serves as an Autism Speaks Volunteer Advocacy Ambassador for the state of Maryland. She has also recently entered the world of children’s books and has authored an award-winning lift-the-flap board book series targeting specific speech/language skills in young children. She seeks to empower families by providing a fun, interactive way for caregivers to teach fundamental speech/language skills using her lift-the-flap board books and companion products in her series, “Lola Koala's Travel Adventures.”
In This Episode You’ll Discover:
- How she realized her passion within the speech profession
- How Dr. Tinita helps empower parents
- How to help parents advocate for their children
- What inspired Dr. Tinita to create her books
- The skills her books focus on
- What Dr. Tinita hopes to see in the field in the future
- How we should be using standardized tests
I hope you enjoyed this conversation with Dr. Tinita! If you loved what she had to say, make sure to check out her website and her Lola Koala website to check out all of the speech resources. You can also stay up to date by following her on Instagram.
If you want a chance to win Dr. Tinita’s new book, make sure you are following both me and Dr. Tinita. Check out our image where we share this episode and leave a comment and like on both of our images and we will pick a winner by the end of the week.
Make sure to also sign up for our Speech Retreat to hear Dr. Tinita speak on March 4th. She will be sharing even more tips for SLPs that you’re not going to want to miss! Check it out here.
Joke of the Week:
Q: What do snowmen eat for lunch?
A: Ice burgers
Resources Mentioned:
Follow Dr. Tinita on Instagram
Check out Dr. Tinita’s TpT store
Sign up for the Speech Retreat
Where We Can Connect:
Listen on Your Favorite Podcast Platform
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