Download the show notes and full transcript of the conversation.
In this episode, we hear from an SLP who loves her work in high schools! Karly Sisco talks with Katie Widestrom-Landgraf about misconceptions people may have about high school populations, and how she adapted her SLP practice after working in medical, elementary, and then to high schools.
Karly has a particular interest in neurodiversity and shares her passion for helping prepare teens at high school to become self-advocates, functional, and independent. She also shares some of the challenges you may not learn about in grad school, particularly speech schedules and caseloads that may impact on the capacity to have individual sessions with students.
Discussion & Reflection Question
- Have you thought about moving into another area of SLP expertise? How could you do so?
- How would you help high-school aged students be self-advocates and gain independence in goal setting?
- What approach do you take with parents to help them with their child’s short and long term goals?
- In what ways can you collaborate with and help your students, aside from your clinical work?
- How can you maximize your time with students?
“Sometimes we limit ourselves and think that “I could never do this or that”, but you chose this field for a reason. You love communication and helping others communicate. Whatever population you choose to work in, you are needed. You are here to give your clients, your students, a voice. We have one of the best jobs and the most versatile jobs because we can do any setting. I just don’t want people to limit themselves.”
– Karly Sisco
Karly Sisco, MS, CCC-SLP
Karly Sisco is a school-based SLP, currently working in a high school. She graduated from the University of Alabama for both her undergrad and grad school degrees. Karly has worked in the school setting for 12 years. She says she truly enjoys her job, and never imagined that she would ever work with high school students. As someone who loves a routine, Karly thinks it is also good to try new things in the SLP field because you never know what setting you may love the most.
Karly is married and has two boys, ages seven and four. She works full time and is a full time mom and wife who thinks it is important to have work/personal life boundaries.
Contact Karly Sisco:
slpforeveryiep@gmail.com
Katie Widestrom-Landgraf, MS, CCC-SLP
Katie is a speech-language pathologist who has worked in both medical and educational settings for over 20 years. She presently works with adolescents in a large suburban high school.
Katie is a past president of the Minnesota Speech-Language Hearing Association (MNSHA). She has collaborated with the MN Dept. of Education to expand the understanding of oral language as critical neurodevelopmental infrastructure for academic achievement processes.
Katie is most passionate about helping students develop their language skills as a tool for thought, wonderment, questioning and curiosity…and of course communication. When Katie is not working with the students on her caseload, she is still working with students to develop their communication and self-expression as a high school forensics coach.
Katie enjoys great conversations and connections where one loses a sense of time, fabulous dining experiences, transcendent cups of coffee and books that are so good she negotiates with her alarm clock so that she might finish just one more chapter.
Contact Katie Widestrom-Landgraf
the.curious.slp@gmail.com
“It’s a shared experience, and it’s that experience of urgency. I think when we work in a high school setting, we’re keenly aware of that clock ticking. There’s only so much time left within this system that has these supports. So, how are we going to maximize that time?”
– Katie Widestrom-Landgraf
Mattie Murrey Tegel, MA, CCC-SLP, L, CPC, CLSC
Medical Speech-Language Pathologist and Founder of Fresh SLP
Mattie Murrey-Tegels is the founder and SLP behind Fresh SLP and The Missing Link for SLPs Podcast. She’s been “in-the-trenches” as a medical SLP around the world for over 25 years and now an Assistant Professor for 3 years. She is thrilled to be adding this dream of a podcast because paying her experiences forward is something she is very passionate about. If you ask her patients and students, one thing they will remember is how much she loves her job! She may not look like it but she is a huge introvert and when she is not actively working as an SLP, she is almost always reading, writing (writing over 1,000,000 words a year), or listening to amazing Chicago Blues bands. She also loves being outdoors and definitely enjoys soaking up the sun at her home in Minnesota, where warm and sunny days can be limited. She’s ridden motorcycles for many years, raced sled dogs, hiked huge mountains yet she cherishes the quiet moments of climbing into a hammock to nap or timeless conversations with friends and family.
The Missing Link for SLPs podcast and Fresh SLP is her legacy, giving back to a career that has so richly rewarded her.
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Not a substitute for a formal SLP education or medical advice for patients/caregivers.
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