I have really enjoyed sharing my insights with you!

I would like to conclude this series with a couple additional tidbits of valuable information. We are all striving to make the best decisions given any situation we are faced with. During graduate school, you were paired with strong SLPs who have guided you, critiqued you, and shared with you all the knowledge they have to help you grow professionally. You have gained great experience in preparation for your first job as a Speech-Language Pathologist. As you begin your career, there will still be many “first” experiences and you will walk into situations that vary significantly from text books and the high standards that you have been used to.  Keep a few things in mind as you begin… It is always best to seek guidance and defer to those in higher authority as to how to proceed in a given situation.

There are two important areas that you want to be mindful about as you get started. 

1)  Missing deadlines which may result in a school being out of compliance and 

2)  Not communicating with your chain of command for guidance on the need to cancel or reschedule therapy due to case conferences, testing, and or screenings

You may feel like there are not enough hours in a day to complete everything on your “to-do” list when you first get started! Additionally, conferences are coming due and you are scrambling to learn the IEP system, make your own therapy schedule, track down student records and start seeing your students. These tasks are coming at you fast!

Your Special Education Administrator or other designated individual is ultimately responsible for ensuring the district remains compliant with regulations and guidelines regarding timelines, deadlines and service provider minutes.  Keeping a spreadsheet of all of your case conference deadlines and working ahead on those students with a 30 day window will allow you the flexibility and planning necessary to complete tasks so that you are not feeling rushed as deadlines approach. 

You will want to find out who will be in charge of setting the conference – will it be the case manager? Will it be the Special Education Coordinator? Will it be YOU? Do NOT rely on someone else to tell or notify you about a student on your caseload– seek out the appropriate person for each conference.  No district wants to be out of compliance because evaluations or case conferences were not held in a timely manner.  

While I realize that some items may not be in your control, it will be important that you have written documentation/emails of your attempts to communicate your awareness of any situation that may arise.  

Some states are more litigious than others and school districts want to prevent any issues which may result in mediation or litigation.    

Inevitably, you will have to rearrange your schedule to attend a meeting or complete an evaluation, or even perhaps to do Medicaid billing.  Seek direction from someone at the district who has the authority to direct and approve those events needing rescheduling and know how any missed therapy session should be handled as a result of this situation.  This may be on a case-by-case basis or there may be an overall policy that the district adheres to.  Additionally, keep your chain of command informed each time this type of situation arises.  You want to be the first line of communication regarding a change or alteration of YOUR schedule.  You should also inform classroom teachers of the same information.  If someone other than you is the case manager or Teacher of Record for a student, you may want to also include them.

The first day of school will be here before you know it!  Have a GREAT Clinical Fellowship!