8 Tips for High School Speech Therapists
Getting a school-based assignment at a new school can be overwhelming, especially if you're working with a new population. I think that a majority of SLPs fear working with high school students. And let's be honest, high school students can be intimidating. They seem big, opinionated, and mean. While they are pretty big, and they certainly have opinions, very few, if any are actually mean. In my humble opinion, high school students are great! I feel privileged to work with students during one of the most pivotal times of their lives. My students are getting their first jobs. getting their driver's licenses, falling in love for the first time, and planning their futures. Between sports, academics, and social pressures, high school students have A LOT of stress and expectations. They're often insecure, and the never-ending immersion into social media doesn't help their self-esteem. I think that the absolute worst part of working with high school students is that they are cool. They're better at technology than me, they know all the best songs and artists, and they know tons of slang words that I don't know. So despite being a semi-hip thirty-something professional, I am a dinosaur in their eyes. I've come to terms with my uncoolness, but I continue to be amazed by how much I love working in a high school. The bottom line is, high school students may seem intimidating, but once you get to know them, they are vulnerable and sweet kids who you'll fall in love with.
Here are my top eight tips for working with high school students, but before we begin, a disclaimer. I work with students who have mild/moderate disabilities and have very little experience with students with profound disabilities. So while these tips absolutely apply for my caseload, they may not apply in every circumstance.
8. Be flexible when you can.
Many of my students struggle with flexibility, but I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Most adults are incredibly inflexible too. I try to practice what I preach in the speech therapy room by being as flexible as possible. Some of my students prefer to complete a worksheet independently and some abhor writing. I might have a preference for how the task is completed, but at the end of the day, if I'm adequately targeting the goal, who cares if the task is completed written or verbally? I never hesitate to alter my plans if I feel it will benefit the student. For example, if I have a student who is anxious about homework he needs to complete or a test he needs to study for, I put my plans aside and find a way to make their schoolwork fit into a therapy goal. As long as students don't take advantage of me, I try to be as accommodating as possible.
7. Set clear expectations...for everyone.
Yes, I'm flexible. Yes, I'll allow deviations from my plan based on student preferences, but there are some things that I won't accommodate. Most teenagers have an excellent "pushover radar", and they will test their limits. At the beginning of the year, my students sign a speech therapy contract. The contract lays out expectations for both the students and the speech therapist. The basic premise of the contract is that I will treat them like young adults as long as they act like young adults. Consequences (that I rarely have to employ) are also clearly stated. I have found the beginning of the year contract to be really effective to start the year on the right foot with the students. I also make sure my students understand why they have speech therapy on their IEP. If I feel it is attainable and appropriate, I also share with them the skills they need to demonstrate in order to "graduate" from speech therapy. I am upfront and honest about the thing we are working on and why the IEP team that those skills are vital to the student's academic and/or social development.
Want your own speech contract? Check out my post to snag an editable speech therapy contract!
6. Be in the know.
You're not going to be able to know every new musical artist of every genre or be hip to the ins and outs of the most popular video games, but it is helpful to know what's going on in teenage pop culture. If you don't know what one of your students is talking about, ask about it! I love pulling up an impromptu YouTube video during a therapy session so I can see my student's favorite viral video or a clip from their favorite TV show. I ask students to show me clips of their favorite video games, and I download apps that they are using. When students and teachers have connections with one another, mutual trust and respect are built which leads to improved educational outcomes. That's what I call a win-win!
5. Be interesting AND functional.
A student's school day is filled with algebraic equations, history facts, science theories, and discussion of literary themes. Teachers try to make their content as interesting as possible, but they still have to adhere to the curriculum. In speech. we can learn about ANYTHING. I try to find topics that are interesting, unusual, or are of particular interest to high school students. Many of my Every Goal Units and my Pop Culture Activities have been inspired by conversations with my students. Utilize things that are going on in their lives as therapy activities (studying for a driver's license test, filling out an application, solving a problem they're having at work, etc.). Providing support using real-world tasks has much better carryover than arbitrary and hypothetical tasks. I try to write goals and plan tasks that will serve the student academically AND in the real-world, because let's be honest, nobody cares if a student is able to meet a target in speech if they can't eventually carry it over to the real world.
4. Be there.
High school students are juggling a lot of really tough issues - adolescence, relationships, social cliques, parental pressure, schoolwork, jobs, and post-secondary planning just to name a few. Sometimes they need to have someone they trust to talk to. Some of your students might need a safe and inclusive space to get away from the pressures of their school day. Try to be a friendly haven for your students. A place where they can eat lunch if they need to. A room where they can use your phone to call their mom. A person who listens and will give advice (when it is asked for!). You don't need to be their best friend, but you do need to be an adult that they can trust.
3. Be involved in the school.
It is very tempting to close your office door and type IEPs during a pep rally or to wear your business-as-usual clothes during spirit weeks, but being engaged in the culture of the school is important for student success. When you engage in the social culture of the school, you are modeling camaraderie and teamwork for your students. We are constantly asking our students to step out of their comfort zones and join in with others, and we need to model the same behavior for them! If you advise a club or coach a sport you will also get to know kids outside of the special-ed world. It is helpful to see how students without disabilities navigate the pressures and daily drama of high school so you are more in-tune to the social norms at your school.
2. Don't be an island.
Collaborate, collaborate, collaborate. Does your student have a vocabulary goal? Does your student have 50 vocabulary words they need to learn for their To Kill a Mockingbird test? What benefits your student most - learning 10 random words from you and attempting to independently learn 50 words for class OR using their To Kill A Mockingbird word list to learn vocabulary strategies during speech therapy sessions? Obviously the latter, right? It is important to have strong bonds with the general education teachers so you can incorporate their curriculum into your speech therapy tasks.
I also really like delivering lessons in the classroom. It took me a couple of years to build rapport with teachers and to find classes that were appropriate for weekly speech therapy lessons, but now that I feel confident in my building and in my classroom instruction skills, I enjoy my time out of the speech room.
1. Have fun!
Listen to music. Watch funny YouTube videos. Play games. Have a sense of humor. Throw parties. High school students hate things that make them different from the crowd, and they know that if they're still in speech in high school, they're different. Don't let speech therapy sessions be an awful experience for them. You can absolutely target speech therapy goals in a way that is fun and engaging for teens. When you relate to your students and build positive connections with them, they will work harder for you!
I've hopefully made you feel better about your high school assignment by reassuring you that high school students are just insecure kids inside of adult bodies, but you're probably still wondering what in the world you will actually do with them to most effectively meet their speech and language targets. Hop on over to my next blog post where I'll be sharing some of my favorite materials and activities for high school students.
