Get Out There

by ArSHA.org | Posted on

I caught the title for a blog post on Nicole Allison’s Speech Peeps website a while back that really resonates with me every afternoon around 12:00 PM when I find myself scarfing down a salad with only a computer screen and an EET poster staring back at me. “Dear Lonely SLP.” It is true. Being the only Speech-Language Pathologist on a school campus can be a lonely job. It seems as though we don’t really belong anywhere. We aren’t teachers. We aren’t paraprofessionals. We aren’t administrators. We are just the lonely SLPs, and we are missing out.

When we shut our doors and eat our salads alone at our desks, no one learns who we are and what we do. I have found that the more people learn about our professions, the more they realize what we can offer our students. Suddenly, our referrals aren’t just for the /r/ sound. Instead, teachers are inquiring about executive functions, and parents are asking for social stories.

ArSHA has recognized the need for speech, language, and hearing professionals to open their doors and get out there. This year, ArSHA will be supporting a variety of activities that get us out of our offices and into the community. This fall, join us for a walk.

  • Walk to Defeat ALS is scheduled for October 20th, 2018 in Scottsdale.
  • Autism Speaks Walk will take place on October 27th, 2018 in Phoenix. You can register as an individual or join the AZ SLPeeps team.
  • Walk to End Alzheimer’s will take place on November 10th, 2018 in Tucson.

The need for speech, language, and hearing professionals to have a time and space to collaborate and socialize with each other isn’t lost on ArSHA either. Since we can’t all meet in the staff lounge, ArSHA will be organizing a variety of events for us to get together. These events aren’t just for school SLPs either. It is important that audiologist, SLPs, and SLPAs all have a time and place to join forces. A wonderful group of professionals gathered in Flagstaff last month to kick off the ArSHA happy hours across the state. In the month of October, ArSHA will host two more happy hours in Phoenix and Tucson.

  • Phoenix Happy Hour- Join us on October 10th at the Clarendon SkyDeck from 5-7:30 for a change to socialize with other professionals.
  • Tucson Happy Hour- On October 19th from 4-6 PM, speech, language, and hearing professionals in southern Arizona will be gathering at BJ’s Brewhouse on Broadway Blvd. in Tucson.

Let’s get out there!