Outside the Box Therapy

Image courtesy of PublicDomainPictures on Pixabay.com Call your member of Congress today and keep calling! The Capitol Switchboard number is (202) 224-3121. Put that number in your phone and use it! The very nice, very stressed out operator who answers the phone will put you in contact with your members of Congress when you call that number. Don’t know who your member of Congress is? Try the…

The Coaching in Home Visiting book is now available for pre-order from Brookes Publishing

Cover image from Brookes Publishing My colleague, Dr. Rihana Mason, and I wrote two chapters on culturally responsive home visiting which appear as Chapters 6 and 7 in this editing text. Copies are available for pre-order now here. Materials for the RAIN and reMODEL Approaches discussed in the chapters are available at our companion site: rainapproach.help If you are a patient, client or…

My wonderful, quirky, adorkable Tiger… It’s been a week today since we had to say goodbye. It was your time. Your kidneys were failing and you couldn’t tell me. It happened so fast. And, to the very end, you gave all of us everything you had to give. It’s so hard to believe the top picture is from November, 2023. Thank you for each and every day, Little Man. Thank you for your joie de vie.…

So far, 2024 has been a busy and exciting year! A post about a big success and some updates...

Image by geralt on Pixabay.com It’s been a busy start to 2024 and I finally have time to post some updates. Spoiler alert ~ it’s all really good news. Finally! A Replacement Device for a Very Deserving Client :)! Yesterday, I got the news that one of my clients will be getting his replacement speech generating device (SGD) early next week. Before I get to the updates with my client, I want to…

Created with Canva.com Celebrating Black History Month 2024! The contributions of many Black Americans to our collective history often is not taught in mainstream culture history classes. And, that’s unfortunate. Black Americans have contributed greatly to the rich tapestry of the collective American story. Madame C.J. Walker was the first American woman to become a millionaire in her own…

Image courtesy of gabrielle_c on Pixabay.com I’ve written before about some of the run-ins I’ve had with the local school district. Click Here and Here for some of the previous posts. I wish I could say this was a small, ignorant district. It’s not small. It’s one of the largest districts in the United States. I’m beginning to think these patterns of really bad behavior on the part of the…

Image by Sora Shimazaki on Pexels.com For me, 2023 has been a year of finally and fully reclaiming my own power. Part of that process has included reflecting on where I am in my personal and professional lives, where I want to be in the next 3-5 years, and then preparing beyond that. Since 2015 or so, I have toyed with the idea of law school, with the intention of specializing in special…

Image courtesy of Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com I’ve written before wondering what it must be like to be non-verbal. You can read that post here. It’s gotten quite a bit of traffic since I posted it in July, 2023. Yesterday was an interesting day clinically. It’s the tale of two kids, one who is becoming more and more verbal as she’s growing and changing and one who is just as bright,…

Image created with Canva.com Tonight is the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere. The solstice signals the start of winter. But, it also signals the return of the light. Beginning tomorrow, the days will become incrementally longer than the nights. To all those who celebrate, wishing you a warm winter solstice.

Image courtesy of Tillixia on Pixabay.com Mansplaining The Oxford Dictionary defines mansplaining as, “the explanation of something by a man, typically to a woman, in a manner regarded as condescending or patronizing. Those of us who identify as women know mansplaining when we hear it. Or see it. Or read it. Or any combination of those. Because when a man is mansplaining something, it can…

Image by Tilixia on Pixabay.com Last year, I was involved in a multidisciplinary team (MDT) meeting to determine eligibility for one of the clients on my caseload. I’ve written about this child’s background and history before, but I’ll summarize it here. The child in question is now 6 years old and in first grade. He was born at approximately 36 weeks gestation and tested positive for a variety…

Image courtesy of Mohamed_hassan on Pixabay.com If you’re a fan of the How Not to Be a “Karen” SLP series, you already know diversity, equity, and inclusion is a passion of mine. My interest in DEI stems from my research into the evaluation and assessment of the oral language skills of children who come from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. My colleague, Dr. Rihana Mason, and…

Image courtesy of Mohamed_hassan on Pixabay.com Current Events Like most entries I post here, this one is based on actual events. A family has been receiving reports from one of my clients’ teachers about behavioral challenges in the classroom. These behaviors range from not following directions, to throwing rocks during PE, to touching other students, to fighting with his “frienemy”, to…

Image courtesy of herbanu on Pixabay.com Thank you to those of you who attending our presentation at ASHA 2023! My colleague, Dr. Rihana Mason, and I presented our new models, reMODEL and the RAIN Approach. These research-based models focus on helping decision makers, providers, and clients and families have a voice in the support planning process. They are intended to be easy to use so that all…

Image by PublicDomainPictures on Pixabay.com Recently, I attended an IEP meeting called by my client’s mom. This client’s mom had good reason to call the IEP meeting rather than trying to simply talk with the teacher. There’s history here. The Backstory The client is a 7 year old, non-verbal, severely autistic boy. I’ve been working with him at home since he turned 4 and during the first year…

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Here in the Las Vegas area we are waiting for the full effects of Hurricane Hilary. We have been dealing with its effects since Friday evening (Aug 18, 2023). It’s now mid-morning on Sunday August 20. Thus far, Friday evening was the worst, with thunderstorms, swirling winds, and the heavy downpours that cause flash floods throughout the valley. It stopped raining yesterday morning and I was…