My 2015 SLP Resolutions

Last year, I made 14 speech-solutions. This year, I decided to pare it down to 5 because 15 is too many!

1. Pin more! How often do you see a pin and think “oh, I want to use that when XX holiday/month rolls around?” And then you promptly forget it when said holiday happens? Me too! I recently began creating monthly pinterest boards (click here to see all my boards) because I wanted to make planning a little easy. This way, I can pin things I want to use and reference it when that month is around the corner.

2. Take more CEU courses! I recently signed up for www.speechpathology.com and want to take full advantage of the $99/year membership. It’s a great way to brush up on topics that are less common and earn CEUs towards ASHA membership at the same time. Currently, I’m planning to take a course on VPD/cleft palate, apraxia, and SMARTER IEP goals (because everyone needs a refresher on that every now and then)! You can “register” for the courses that you want to take and then go back and take them at your convenience. My 3 year CEU timeline starts in 2015 for ASHA recertification, so I’m planning to try to take at least one course a week. Most of the courses are an hour long – so I feel like this is very doable.

3. Create more materials for my students! I’m already doing this, but my students really love interactive materials. As school-based SLPs know, your caseload can be ever-changing and there always seems to be one or two goals that you can’t find great materials for. Those are the kids that I find myself making materials for more and more because I love to tailor things to specific kids/goals. I have been asked to do a couple “custom TPT orders” which have proved to be quite rewarding for me. If you have that goal that you just don’t know how to target, email me ([email protected]) and I would love to brainstorm and possibly create a custom TPT product for you – fees are negotiable!

4. Blog more often! I love writing and this is a great outlet, as well as a platform for sharing ideas and tips and tricks. I don’t want to put a number on it, because I only want to provide information that’s useful, rather than just fluff. If there’s something you want me to blog about, definitely comment below.

5. Be ok with “just ok” therapy sometimes. There are days when I don’t feel like I’m a creative SLP. Yes, I still am hitting goals and taking data, but sometimes I am hard on myself when I feel like I wasn’t as “on” as I could’ve been. I need to remind myself that my students still had my attention and benefitted even just a little from the time we spent together.

What are your 2015 resolutions?