Download the show notes and full transcript of the conversation.
Today’s guest, Amy Basso, works in a school based SLP role, with a difference.
Listen to her talk about working in special education in a very small interdisciplinary school within the very much bigger population of NYC – a role which has an overlap with some aspects of medical SLP work. Amy also talks about how working in an NYC district with a strong union presence affects contracts and work scheduling.
Amy is a whiz on working smartly to manage SLP workloads and, in particular, using systems and technology to save time. You’ll learn some great tips on how you can do this too in this episode!
Discussion & Reflection Question
- If you’re early in your career as an SLP, or thinking of switching, are there different types of schools in your area where you can gain experience with different populations to find your niche?
- Have you thought about how you can save time using text and calculation features in spreadsheets or word docs to automate some of the process?
- Have you thought about how your union could influence your scheduling and your contract?
- Are there ways you could include the kids you work with in your prep work?
- How can you build trust and rapport with your colleagues in other disciplines when you are new to a position?
“One of the most important skills for probably any SLP, but definitely for a school SLP, is just being able to target pretty much all of your goals with one activity, and to think outside the box with that activity. Just because it’s one activity, it doesn’t mean you can’t use it in a different way!”
– Amy Basso
Amy Basso MA, CCC-SLP
Amy Basso graduated from Plattsburgh State University with a masters in Communication Disorders & Sciences in 2001. Early in her career, she enjoyed exploring a few different settings including working in a public school in Vermont, with one day a week in a one-room schoolhouse; working full-time in early intervention; and working in a large public middle school. In 2004, she got a job at a private school, working with Autistic children ages 18 months-6th grade. It is there that she fell in love with early language skills and AAC. Finally, in 2007, Amy began working in the Bronx in NYC Public Schools, working with students with Autism, intellectual disabilities, and/or physical disabilities.
For the last several years, she has had a part-time caseload, with the other days dedicated to coaching & mentoring other SLPs. Currently, Amy is on a sabbatical and is spending her time writing a literacy curriculum for non-speaking students, minimally verbal students, AAC users, and students with intellectual and/or physical disabilities.
Contact Amy Basso:
amybasso@speechlanguageleague.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
“Once you get in the mindset of having that adaptability and flexibility with your existing materials, almost everything becomes fodder for language intervention and communication skill intervention, and that is when it becomes really special too. You’re not creating this single task with an isolated focus anymore. See those opportunities everywhere.”
– 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.
Thank you for listening to The Missing Link for SLPs podcast! If you enjoyed the show, I’d love you to subscribe, rate it and leave a short review. Also, please share an episode with a friend. Together we can raise awareness and help more SLPs find and connect those missing links to help them feel confident in their patient care every step of the way.
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Not a substitute for a formal SLP education or medical advice for patients/caregivers.
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