Upon entering into a new school year, this SIG 16 Perspectives activity highlights some of the realities faced by school-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and their students. Across all articles, readers will learn of the challenges that are all too often experienced by SLPs and our students, as well as recommendations for how to increase satisfaction with school-based positions, reduce burnout, and increase the mental health, representation, and motivation of our students.

In the first article, the authors (Amir, Jones, Frankel, & Fritzch) report survey results that found that although school-based SLPs are satisfied with their relationships with students, they continue to experience challenges, especially related to caseload/workload and others’ misunderstanding of the roles and responsibilities of the SLP. This article is followed by a tutorial from Marante and Farquharson, in which they provide tips to address some of these challenges and reduce feelings of burnout and overwhelm, providing helpful checklists in the appendices. In the remaining three articles, authors outline ways for school-based SLPs to further support our students. The first of these articles, by Hoff and Unger, describes how to collaborate with mental health providers to address some of the unique social-emotional needs of students who stutter. Harris and Owen Van Horne, in the subsequent article, address how to include more diverse materials within therapy sessions so that the lived experiences of all students are more accurately portrayed and represented. Lastly, Abendroth and Whited discuss ways to support older students who are transitioning into adulthood, giving readers several ideas for how to increase students’ motivation, further develop rapport, and provide models of problem solving and resiliency.

Learning Outcomes
You will be able to:

• describe the most prominent work features relating to work dissatisfaction of school-based SLPs, including suggestions for what districts, administrators, and SLPs can adapt in the work environment to alleviate areas of dissatisfaction
• describe three ways to engage in advocacy efforts that aim to improve working conditions
• list two cognitive behavioral therapy strategies that may be incorporated into collaborative treatment between the SLP and school-based mental health provider to address the secondary characteristics of stuttering
• explain what is meant by the phrase “books serve as mirrors, windows, and sliding doors” and how this idea relates to the provision of culturally competent services
• describe at least two protective characteristics of resilient people

Assessment Type
Self-assessment—Think about what you learned and report on the Completion Form how you will use your new knowledge.

Articles in This Course

1. Job Satisfaction of School-Based Speech-Language Pathologists in New York State as a Function of Workplace Features by Rebecca Amir, Skott E. Jones, Danielle Frankel, and Jessica Fritzsch, published in SIG 16, Volume 6, Issue 2, April 28, 2021
2. Tackling Burnout in the School Setting: Practical Tips for School-Based Speech- Language Pathologists by Leesa Marante and Kelly Farquharson, published in SIG 16, Volume 6, Issue 3, June 25, 2021
3. Ecological Intervention for Stuttering in School-Age Children: A Collaborative Approach for School-Based Speech-Language Pathologists and Mental Health Providers by Steven E. Hoff and Julia P. Unger, published in SIG 16, Volume 6, Issue 3, June 25, 2021
4. Speech-Language Pathologist's Race, But Not Caseload Composition, Is Related to Self-Report of Selection of Diverse Books by Sierrah Harris and Amanda Owen Van Horne, published in SIG 16, Volume 6, Issue 5, October 20, 2021
5. Motivation, Rapport, and Resilience: Three Pillars of Adolescent Therapy to Shift the Focus to Adulthood by Kathleen J. Abendroth and Jennifer E. Whited, published in SIG 16, Volume 6, Issue 5, October 20, 2021