Taking Therapy Outside

It is finally starting to look like Spring in NH! It was a fairly mild winter in terms of snow, but the rain!  There was some serious cabin fever happening in my speech room this winter!
With the weather improving it is a perfect time for a change of therapy venue and the Frenzied SLPs are taking it to the streets!  Well, the playground anyway!  I have a couple of ideas for you, some I have done, some I will be doing! As always, thanks to Nanette (Speech 2 Me), Kelly (Speech 2 U) and Jen (My Speech Universe) for the behind the scenes linky work!
  • Chalk rocks! I was thinking it would be fun to take our chalk and work on narrative development outside using the amazing Story Grammar Marker by Mindwing Concepts. On a beautiful sunny day, read a book outside and then have your students become screevers.  Oh, by the way, a screever is an artist who draws on sidewalks using colored chalks. Students can draw Braidy on the playground adding narrative elements as a means of story retell. 
  • Who remembers this game? “A my name is Annie and my husbands name is Andy. We come from Alabama and we sell apples.” This rhyme is said while bouncing a ball while progressing through the alphabet stating your name, your husband’s name, where you’re from and what you sell, using alliteration. Great vocabulary work and super simple!
  • I always loved hopscotch as a little girl.  I still sometimes play a game with students when I’m on playground duty.  A variation could be played where following directions is targeted. Offer students a series of numbers or square positions to jump in a pattern.  
  • Two years or so ago I bought cardboard cake rounds and painted them with chalkboard paint. We use these as bases when playing kickball. You can also draw EET beads on them and use them for describing.  We had a blast doing this!
  • Finally, who says an outdoor theme can’t be an inside activity?  At the end of each school year my students look forward to two activities, Camping and Wheel of Fortune.  During camping week we pull out Curious George Goes Camping, an inflatable fire, toy food, s’more dip, and camping gear. We tell stories and sing songs around the campfire.

I am always up for some new ideas, so link up and share.  How are you taking therapy outside?

Social Media and Truth

A Madness Most Discreet by Nora Doyle

I am going to let you all in on a little secret that you might not infer from reading my posts; I can be a jerk. Yes, it’s true! Sometimes I yell at my kids. They can frustrate me. Sometimes I bicker with my husband. No, he isn’t perfect either, despite my rosy picture of him. I am prone to envy when I see the beautiful pictures of homes and vacations and clothing on social media. There are occasions at work (more than I would like to admit) that I am annoyed with circumstances or colleagues or administration. There are even days…wait for it…that I don’t feel like doing speech therapy. Worse, I have even done some really crappy speech therapy, with full on mistakes. There are days I tick people off. It’s true, I can be defensive and I can behave like a victim. I can be triggered by something I read on social media, a look, a comment.

I’ve been thinking about how I represent myself in my blog and other social media platforms. Our perceptions of ourselves are deeply rooted in what we are viewing on social media and I want to be very clear, I am flawed. You know all those great photos you see on Instagram? Well, you should know that there may have been six before that were deleted. Photos that showed my belly and hips, the dirty dishes in the sink, the piles of stuff on my desk at work, or the dog and cat hair on the floor. After I post, I too, look to see how many people liked my post, commented on my post, shared my post, bought my product, or followed me. (Oh look, XYZ liked my post! It must be good, because he/she has 10 million followers or has been blogging for longer than me). Oh, and the comments. The comments that tell me I’m awesome, brilliant, creative, funny! I just love those and while they are all true :), they are not true all the time. I think it’s important to be real and so to be real I am saying out loud, I can be very unfunny, very uncreative, very “unbrilliant.” Here’s the thing, I can be poopy, stuck, and dull. There I said it!

I was “talking” with my friend Pam, author of the blog Chit Chat and Small Talk, and we were discussing Brené Brown’s TED Talk on vulnerability. I looked back on the notes I had taken and I came across this quote, “We perfect, but we are wired for struggle, we are imperfect, yet we are worthy of love and belonging.” She further states, “We must believe we are enough.” My being imperfect is okay! It makes me uniquely me. That I can wake up one day feeling blue and can wake up the next day restored is human. I want to FEEL everything I was designed to feel. I don’t want to be, in the words of Pink Floyd, “comfortably numb.” I am enough!

When did this happen? When did the number of likes, the number of followers become the standard by which we measure our value or our impact? When did whether we are invited to join this social media group or that social media group define our worth? Social media allows us to learn and share and connect in a very two-dimensional way, yet we are three-dimensional beings in a three-dimensional world.

My goal then, is to represent myself in a more three-dimensional, whole person sort of way. I am Annie Doyle. I am overweight, my hair is gray. I run really, really slowly. I went to an okay college 33 years ago. I don’t know all there is to know in this field. I make mistakes and I learn from those mistakes. I can be hurtful and I know that. I will always be accountable and ask for forgiveness. Sometimes, I am all Jersey and I swear and I’m loud. My house can be messy and sometimes we have cereal for dinner. I drive a clunker and have no auto debt, yet I can be envious of those with nicer “things.” I have anxiety and often have reactions that don’t match the size of the problem. For better or worse, I wear my heart on my sleeve.

I also love God. I love my family. I love my friends, even those I have never met. I cherish the conversations we have together online. I will always do my utmost to be supportive. I love my chosen profession and strive to be awesome even when I fall short. I love to learn and exhaust myself with trying to remain current. I love old kitchen glass and spend far too much money on it. I think, a lot, and will always try to seek wisdom, understanding, and counsel. I am resilient and face hardships with fortitude. I am three-dimensional!

I do know that not everyone is comfortable with the soft, white underbelly exposed. Perhaps that is not everyone’s goal with social media. I would simply leave you, dear readers, with this caveat, what you see on Instagram and Facebook and Twitter is only a small portion of the person posting. It is the piece they want you to see. Don’t fret, don’t compare. Call a three-dimensional friend and go for walk. Grab your kids and go for some three-dimensional ice cream. Grab your three-dimensional husband and snuggle on the couch with a crossword puzzle.

“Let yourself be seen, deeply seen, be vulnerably seen. To love with your whole heart, even though there is no guarantee; that is hard.”
Brené Brown

All About Water in Speech-Language Therapy: A Frenzied SLP Linky

The Frenzied SLPs are back with some fun ideas for using water themed activities in speech-language therapy. Thanks to Laura, Nanette, and Linda for hostessing this week. Just click on their names to be directed to their amazing sites.

I haven’t done a lot of actual water play lately. I used to do it all the time! I think I just forgot! You know how you tend to go on an activity jag for a period and then move on to something else! I am, however, using my water themed activities and books during April.

  • YouTube is a wonderful resource for books and videos that are well suited to speech-language therapy.  
    
Two books from my collection, that I love to use during April are Come On Rain, by Karen Hesse and It’s Raining, It’s Pouring by, Kin Eagle. 
Ideas by Jivey offers a free mentor sentence sample and activity coordinating with Come On, Rain.

Do you want to find more water themed ideas and activities? The linky begins with Laura at All Y’all Need. The Frenzied SLPs would love to hear how you incorporate water into your speech-language therapy. Follow the instructions below to link up.

Thinking Outside the Box in Speech-Language Therapy

One of the things I have really come to appreciate about our profession, is the ability of an SLP to be a nonconformist.  I consider myself a fairly traditional gal, but when it comes to my work I will do what ever it takes to help my students understand a concept or reach a goal.  I would venture, most of us feel the same way.

Today was no exception.  I have an absolutely darling little kindergarten student who has a phonological processes difficulty.  We have made incredible gains using the cycles approach along with some other articulation techniques.  She is very highly motivated and just relishes being better understood by her peers, teachers, and family, and as soon as she learns a target production, she scans ahead and self-corrects like nobody’s business.  Stopping is reduced, gliding is reduced, but fronting of /sh/ (sorry, don’t know how to insert phonetics into my blog!) was eluding her.

This is where thinking outside the box became critical.  We had previously talked about the parts of the tongue, we did auditory bombardment, we used pictures, apps, flashlights.  Zilch!  I was grasping when it came to me…a pipe cleaner and a bead.  We knew she could now produce /s/ consistently, but moving to /sh/ was vexing.  The pipe cleaner represented the roof of her mouth and the pink bead was her tongue.  As she moved the bead along the pipe cleaner, she was able to grasp how her tongue had to change for the /sh/ sound.  A couple of trials and she had it.  That little girl fell into my arms and then sprawled across my lap with relief.  She did it!  We laughed and said /sh/ over and over and over. Then she showed her teacher what she had learned and her teacher jumped for joy.

Thinking outside the box in action!

It was a bead and a pipe cleaner, and it resulted in improved communication.  It is days like today that I am happy to announce I am a nonconformist.  It is days like today that make me so happy I am an SLP.

Things SLPs Should ALWAYS Say: By the Frenzied SLPs

Two weeks ago the Frenzied SLPs brought you their top things an SLP should NEVER say. The posts ran from inspiring to comical, but certainly they all fit the bill for “what not to say.” This week we are doing a 180 degree turn to things SLPs should ALWAYS say. I cannot wait to read the wisdom of my fellow hostesses, Laura of All Y’all Need and Sparklle SLP as well as our other Frenzied SLP friends.

For this post I’m going to muse on the polar opposite of my post highlighting my very tongue in cheek and rather snarky “Things SLPs Should Never Say.”

10. Yes, Mrs. Smith, it is oppressively hot in my un-windowed speech closet. Fortunately, our school is located on a beautiful campus and I love the idea of taking therapy outdoors on days like today. So much wonderful language development can happen if we just come out of our closets!

9. You will be offered quite a lot of information today and it can be very overwhelming. I understand. Please, feel free to stop me if you have any questions. I am always available by phone, email or conference, if afterward you think of anything else you want to ask.

8. Every child has unique gifts, it’s true.

7. It does seem that every year, we are tasked with more and more. Sometimes it feels insurmountable. Understanding that, I will always do my best to act as a model of kindness and stewardship in our world and help your child to be the best possible version of himself.

6. You look awesome! That color is great on you!

5. I understand how worried you are. Sometimes it does feel like the deck is stacked against you.  Our goal is to help your child capitalize on his strengths while supporting him in his weaknesses. He is unique in his profile and we need to collectively flesh out what exactly is impeding his ability to achieve.

4. I was concerned Johnny was not himself in speech today, so I sent him to our school nurse.

3. I chose this field not for the mega-bucks I will never earn, but for the rewards I receive every day when a child learns something new!

2. While it’s true heredity can play a role in your child’s development and you may have had similar difficulties when you were young. That information is very helpful and will help us to paint a more accurate picture. Know that I think of Johnny as an individual, the one and only, Johnny. I will consider all contributing factors and will then tailor my work with him based his needs.

1. Yes, summer is important. It is important for students to spend uninterrupted time with their families. It is time for them to read for pleasure. It is time for teenagers to earn money or for kids to go to camp. It is time for kids to engage in the activities they love, like sports or theater. For me? I need that time, too. The rigors of schedules and paperwork are all consuming and sometimes it’s all I can do to keep my head above water. I return each September energized, eager to try new things, and excited to help your child grow.

I know I fall short now and again, of using just the right words. I try each and every day, though, to treat parents with compassion. Parents have a difficult job and being the parent of a child with speech-language needs is even more challenging.

I would love to hear your ideas of the “Things SLPs Should Always Say!”


My Top 6 Home Hacks: A Linky

This may sound surprising; I have some quirks! While some of my quirks may be just a bit annoying, I prefer to think that they are merely what makes me, me. I beep under tunnels for good luck, I find moths truly disturbing, and don’t like old kitchen sponges. My other quirks can be viewed as more productive. As I was washing dishes the other day, I thought a linky sharing home hacks I have found to be time and money savers would be fun and enlightening and maybe even a little endearing.

My top 6 home hacks for busy SLPs:
6. I find the size of “scrubbies” a little too big, so in order to be easier to handle and to save a few cents, I cut them in half. They are easier to use and last twice as long; win-win!

5. When our children were very young I taught them to ball their socks together before placing them in the hamper. Why you ask? Well, I was tired of washing single socks and having them in the drawers waiting for me to wash their mates. I always felt as if I was half done with the laundry. No more singletons in my drawers and even today as teens, our kids wad up their socks. An added benefit is that they always wore matching socks!
4. I tend to be a creature of habit and pack the same lunch every day; salad. One day as I was dining with friends, upon seeing my salad dressing leaking from its container, my friend mentioned she saves prescription containers for transporting dressing. I tried it and lo and behold it worked like a charm! I still place the bottle in a snack sized baggie to ensure it doesn’t leak.
3.  I am a “curly curl.” One of the cardinal rules of curly girl hair care is not to use a terrycloth towel. The shaft of curly hair is similar to the way a pine cone is layered, so terrycloth tends to catch and cause frizz. I like microfiber towels, but didn’t want to spend too much on hair towels. I bought two microfiber dishtowels and stitched them up to make a perfect hair towel. 
2. The thought of all the plastic society consumes laying in landfills for perpetuity troubles me. Just the baggies alone I know we use is exorbitant. Years ago I found this baggie and bottle dryer in the Lehman’s Catalog. It is well worth the $25.00 I paid for it and it gives me a little piece of mind that our footprint is just a tad smaller.
1. My final and most important home hack: if the urge to houseclean comes over you, grab a cup of coffee and a good book and wait for the urge to go away!
What time and money savers do you recommend? I would love to hear about your favorite home hacks! Link up and share your wisdom.


Things SLPs Should NEVER Say By: The Frenzied SLPs

This week your Frenzied SLPs are exploring the “things SLPs should NEVER say.” Many thanks to Laura of All Y’all Need and Sparklle SLP for their behind the scenes work to keep the Frenzied SLPs organized! I am taking a tongue in cheek look at this topic because goodness knows I can’t take myself too seriously! Without further ado I present the top 10 things an SLP should NEVER, EVER, EVER say at a parent conference.

10.  Yes, Mrs. Smith, it is oppressively hot in my un-windowed speech closet. If you would like I will call down to the lobby and ask the concierge to turn on the air conditioning and bring you an icy lemonade.

9.  Before we start our conference, I’d like to explain some terms you should be familiar with in order to truly understand the reevaluation process. Please know that as our educational zeitgeist morphs, new buzzwords will be added to the edu-speak lexicon that promise to confound you. Simply retrieve these terms from your mind palace and you will be all set. Please inform me at the outset if you have any difficulty sustaining attention, because I have a plethora of pharmacological suggestions to assist you. You can query your primary care physician about them. Don’t worry our school nurse will do an ACTeRS scale to monitor your response to the meds as well as to establish a baseline. BTW, I only use this jargon (that likely sounds like Klingon to you), to demonstrate that I am highly trained in the most current and evidence based methods and in no way want you to feel uncomfortable or ignorant.

8.  Gifted Schmifted

7.  I agree, I agree. Our schools are failing our students and CCSS are for the birds. These kids don’t know Diddley. Why, just the other day I was thinking I need to spend more time on the practical. You know things like nose blowing, drug prevention education, RAK. I will be sure to fit that in right after lessons on manners. It has become quite clear that we as educators are not doing enough to create a moral foundation in our students. In fact, I say, “The heck with math and reading!”

6.  You hag!

5.  I do understand, Mrs. Jones. It IS everybody else’s fault!

4.  Just a couple of thoughts. I would suggest both soap AND water for hand washing.
No, I don’t think the hands or shirt sleeves should be used. Yes, the tissue does go in the trash not on my desk. Lastly, and this is quite important, if Sally has a raging fever and a racking cough, please, she should STAY HOME!

3.  Absolutely, I technically work until 3:30 each day and only ten months out of the year. Shall we reevaluate my pay to correlate more closely with what I “work?” To be conservative here, we won’t include before or after school hours or that pesky 30 minute lunch, so let’s say you pay me by the hour for the students I see daily. How is $3.00 an hour for 5 hours per day? That is $15.00 times the 25 students that come in and out of my room on any given day which brings us to $375.00 per day. It’s true I only work 180 days per year, so that is $67,500.00 per year. Not bad! Shouldn’t I consider my Master’s degree and 33 years experience? In that case, I really deserve minimum wage which is $7.25. Okay, now we have $36.25 a day times 25 cherubs ($906.25) times 180 days ($163,125.00) My word, I totally should get minimum wage!!

2.  I have done considerable testing with little Johnny and have gathered a wealth of information. Rather than overwhelm you with the minutia I have decided to just cut to the chase. Apple…tree!

1.  A longer school year and day? What the …?

It’s probably a good thing I never went into stand up comedy and that I have an intact filter!

Interview with a School Nurse

Close to one year ago, I began a blog series that included interviews from those working closely with students and each other in the schools. The series was well received, but I lost momentum toward the end! My bad. Still, there were a few individuals who graciously offered to answer my questions. So here are the final few installments of the interview series.

I have great respect for school nurses. I honestly don’t know how they keep all those balls in the air; maintaining copious notes, dealing with tummies and headaches and loose teeth. They coordinate student absences and make sure kids have decent clothes. They manage lice (blech) and help keep staff fit and healthy with “biggest loser” challenges. They remind us to wear red and pink and always have ready answers to our personal questions. They are amazing! A good friend of mine is a school nurse in a local school and was kind enough to answer my questions.

1. How do you see a true multidisciplinary team functioning?

I think a true multidisciplinary team should collaborate, sharing their ideas as we all come from different perspectives. My greatest concerns are around the health of the child and how medications affect their day. It is important that we communicate this information to each other in the interest of the child. Fundamentally, we all need to respect each other’s jobs.

2. What message do you have for the powers that be (administration, DOE, elected officials, etc. Your choice)
I want those with influence to understand our staff does so much for the children. We provide a safe and nurturing environment, an environment that allows children to learn.

3. What do you see as the most pressing issue impacting our students today? Why?
I feel social media, such as Facebook,  chat rooms, Snapchat, Instagram and Yik Yak, is more that the kids can handle. I don’t believe kids fully understand how what they post scan effect them and others. As staff and parents we have a difficult time monitoring how kids are using social media. I also believe, children are using these site a much too young an age.
Another pressing issue today is that families do not sit down and eat dinner together. Mealtime is the perfect time to decompress and find out what is going on with your kids. It is a great venue for both problem solving and laughter! Not enough kids have this intimacy at home.
4. What energizes you to come to work everyday? What keeps it “fresh” for you?
I love the students and that alone keeps me energized. Some days it is just enough to see their smiling faces and they are happy to see me, too. Everyday there is something new to keep it fresh.

5. Describe your dream work environment? How does your dream compare with your reality? How can you make it a reality?

I feel blessed to be working in a fantastic environment. My dream? I wish all kids could have a clean, warm, nourishing home. The reality is, that by providing them some healthy food at school, some proper clothing and some consistency, we are, in small part fulfilling that dream.

Some fonts generously offered by medialoot.com and kevinandamanda.com

Decluttering My SLP Brain

My winter break officially started today. I spent the weekend lazing with my kids, binge watching BBC’s Doc Martin and relaxing. Today, through some strange metamorphosis, I started a rampage through the house in a pitiful attempt to declutter. I suspect I felt compelled to be productive to make up for relaxing over the weekend, as if relaxation was a bad thing! I was like a whirling dervish grabbing at extra dishes from the cabinet, clothes from the attic, loose books, extra tote bags (many collected from vendors at ASHA conferences), and throwing them into piles. I was suddenly overwhelmed by the urge to just cry! I began to think of the clutter as a metaphor for my life and became truly disconcerted. I sat for a moment and picked up my cell phone to check Instagram, for probably the 15th time this morning, and saw a post by Amy of 3D SLP referencing the book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo. Coincidence? I think not!

I asked Amy about this book and she said, “Call me!” In her book, (which I have just ordered and have not read), the author provides an approach to letting go of the stuff that clutters your home. Amy shared that the items that are kept are those that bring joy.

This gave me the opportunity to look at other parts of my life within the same context. I naturally landed smack dab in social media-ville. Social media has it all, the good the bad and the ugly (insert whistle here). Every day there is another new-fangled way to put my life in the spotlight. There’s Snapchat, Periscope, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and things I have never heard of. There are places to buy clothes, make-up, furniture, books, toys, home goods, and antiques. There are ways to gain support for every cause imaginable: donors choose, go fund me, and more. There are more and more avenues for selling our own goods: Etsy, E-Bay, and Teachers Pay Teachers to name a few.

How does how my participation in social media clutter my life? When I joined the teacher-author bandwagon it was to stretch my limits. I wanted to try something new and scary. I will also admit I wanted to be a part of a talented and diverse group. I somehow convinced myself that I would magically become a member of an elite group and my value would increase exponentially with each new product I created. I joined a plethora of groups for SLPs. Groups for TpT sellers, groups for school-based SLPs, groups for CAS, groups for peeps and RtI, and Language and Literacy. I get thirty notifications a day at least! I joined Periscope and now I can watch videos on how to use products in therapy. I follow more blogs than “Carter has little liver pills.” Every week I have to catch up on 99+ posts. I can get sucked into Pinterest and spend 30 minutes looking for an activity where a die and plastic chips would have worked fine.

The excess and time lost are anxiety producing. I am so susceptible to the frenzy. In my attempts to remain current, to have the most motivating and fun games, or the best no-prep packet I have over consumed to the point of not even knowing what I have. I have seen a product on Instagram and clicked over to TpT only to shudder when I realize I already own it. I have purchased materials I have never printed and even worse are still in my downloads file. I have ordered professional books, with the best of intentions, yet still haven’t found the time to read them. I have perused the blogs and Pinterest boards reinventing the wheel. I have spent eight hours on a product that I charge $1.50 for and have sold ONE. Yes, I have purchased materials that my students enjoyed and that have made my job easier. Most are well researched and fun. I have even created some pretty swift products myself, but it has come with a cost. I have fallen into a time sucking abyss trying to keep up. After creating my latest little gem with my face stuck in a laptop I asked myself,  “What could I have done in those eight hours?” I could have read. I could have played a game with my children. I could have had conversation and a cup of tea with my husband. I could have visited a friend. I could have done a crossword puzzle. I could have called my brother. I could have prayed.

Why? Who am I comparing myself to? Do I get more street cred if I make more stuff? Am I somehow a better speech-language pathologist if add to my already overflowing speech files or my already jam packed schedule? In a recent conversation with another SLP friend, we remarked that when we started in the field we hand colored our materials. We did a lot with a little. Those of us in the schools were the MacGyvers of speech therapy. We were low-tech and creative. We could make a game out of a band-aid tin and a pom-pom. Oh the time I have lost!

This is what I have concluded, I can’t keep up and more to the point, I don’t want to. I want my time back. I am going to remove myself from most of the groups AND I am finished pushing myself to create materials for TpT. I set a goal to create twelve new products this year. After asking myself what my motivation is I realize I don’t have a good answer. Does it bring me joy? No. No it doesn’t. I feel proud of my products, but not joyful. I want joy. I want the joy that comes with simplicity. I want to declutter my SLP world.

I have made remarkable friends through my endeavors and those friends are not going anywhere. They are smart, funny, creative and diverse and I simply love them. They are real and if I can find joy in this, it is that I have I established relationships with those practicing in one of the best professions there is. With that I have decided to leave creative materials production and periscoping and Snapchatting to the young, tech-savvy, energetic SLPs. For me I will happily satisfy myself with my blog that few read, my Instagram posts that are so fun, and a little Facebook time with my family and friends. Ahhhhh, I feel lighter and more joyful already 🙂

Love Hurts

Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching and thoughts turn to flowers, chocolates, jewelry and oh yes, sadness, disappointment, expectations. The Frenzied SLPs thought we would explore Valentine’s Day from a different perspective; that of the SLP and how there are times “love hurts” quite literally.



If you are anything like me you take your job to heart. In fact, you view it as so much more than a job. It is a passion, a choice, so when a student or client goes for the soft white underbelly, it hurts. I have been clawed, kicked, scratched, bitten, insulted, belittled, and mocked. Ahhhh, memories! It’s no wonder I go back to work!

Back in 1986 or 87 I was fresh out of graduate school and a newly ASHA certified SLP. The world was my oyster and I felt pretty good about the direction my life was heading. I was working in an inner city in a primary school, only K-2. There were 12 kindergartens in that school in addition to 7 each of first and second and four self-contained special education classes. I had over 80 students on my caseload, but I was young and idealistic.

I had one feisty little girl who was physically and verbally aggressive. One day she was in a particularly foul mood and was not having any speech therapy. I cajoled and encouraged and did my speechy thing when all of a sudden she hauled off and swung at me. I was 26 years old and fairly quick so I was able to move back. Unbeknownst to me she had wound up with another shot with the other hand and landed a closed fist punch on my jaw. That was followed up with some very colorful language. You can fill in the blanks, “_ucko a_hole!” Remember, however to substitute /th/ for /s/. This one screamed all the way to the principal’s office, “Miss Polizzi’s a b_____,” (again, insert lisp, it makes me laugh).

At the time I was devastated. My jaw hurt, because she packed a wallop, my heart was broken and my confidence shattered. It was the first time I had been so physically and emotionally abused by a child. Sadly it wouldn’t be the last time.

I learned from this experience though. I learned that for me it was over quickly. For a parent it is day in and day out and I have to remain compassionate about their lives with children who have behavior difficulties. I learned that when a child acts out it is never about me, but more likely something that happened at home or in another class or a thought or feeling that I have no control over. I learned that neurology is HUGE and sometimes these children are not making a conscious choice to be confrontational! I have learned that more often than not the trauma a child experiences happens from birth to age five, and it will impact them forever. These are the children with addiction and substance abuse issues, diabetes, heart conditions, anxiety and so much more. Their trauma makes them sick, literally. I learned I may be one of only handful of people who is kind to them on any given day.

While I can look back on this experience and chuckle and like the Rain Man, add it to my book of personal injuries, I often wonder what happened to this little girl. She would be 37 years old and may be a parent (or grandparent) herself. She may have continued the cycle or she may have healed. I pray for the latter, as I do for all my students with behavioral challenges, every night. Yes, love hurts. But it is only temporary.

How about you? When has #SLP Love Hurt? How did you deal with it? The Frenzied SLPs would love you to link up and share your experiences.