Life as a new SLP: what do I actually do?

The year is 2017. I’m fresh out of grad school and ready to start my career as a speech-language pathologist, a title I’ve worked so hard for. All of the schooling, sleepless nights studying, putting in the field work and research, I should know what I’m doing right? 

Well…not really. So I knew pretty early on that I wanted to work in early intervention (birth-3 years). While grad school taught us what to look for, milestones, the evidence to back up why it’s important, I didn’t feel confident just walking into peoples’ homes and providing speech therapy. I mean, I’m just a baby (*reels audio trend, if ya know, ya know). 

I observed ONE early intervention (EI) session of my clinical supervisor before I was thrown to the wolves & expected to do an early intervention session on my own. I asked my supervisor “…um, so I’m just supposed to be trusted to provide therapy right after grad school? There’s no more training?”. And she said “Don’t worry, you got this! You went to grad school, you’ll know what to do.”

I did not. And honestly, those first few sessions were uncomfortable. I almost felt like I had to “trick” families into believing that I knew what I was doing. It was imposture syndrome x100. Some families definitely judged me for not knowing how to handle a toddler tantrum. Others got upset with me when I gave recommendations for specialists. I cried when one family opted to switch therapists. 

When I think about those early days, sometimes I cringe (most of the time actually), but other times I give myself grace and know that those were necessary to learn. Failures are necessary for success. And despite the tough times, I also developed great relationships with other families who I still keep in touch with today. 

So yes, do I understand how scary being a new SLP in early intervention is? 100%. Does it need to be that scary? No. That’s why I created the Talk Tea Speech: Early Intervention Course for SLPs!

In this course, I will walk you through everything you need to know about providing speech therapy for EI. From preparing before a session to the initial session to meetings to how to make a recommendation without offending families to how to write session notes to cultural sensitivity, etc. etc., I get specific on all the things I wish I knew as a new SLP in EI. 

Be on the lookout for it! The course will be released May 2022, just in time for my new grads going into EI! And even if you’re a seasoned SLP interested in EI, this is for you too. 

THANK YOU for being here and I’m looking forward to sharing with you what I have learned and am continuing to learn on this EI journey! 

With love & joy,

Tiffany @TalkTeaSpeech