Angela C., M.Ed., was born and raised in Iowa and attended college at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. She has worked as a school psychologist and counselor in public and private brick-and-mortar schools for over 18 years. She joined the PL Care Network in 2018. How has the PL online platform enabled you to help your students and the schools you serve in new ways? The students enjoy the interaction via teletherapy as they are so adept with technology. I am also able to easily work with multiple students in one day since there is no commute time in between school locations. The PL platform lets me maximize my time for the benefit of more students. Can you tell us a little about how you…

Jessica Keen, M.S., CCC-SLP, joined the PresenceLearning team in 2011 after she found out she was moving to St. Maarten in the Caribbean for her husband’s medical school training. Since living in St. Maarten, she’s moved 7 different times and lived in 5 different states. She has two children, ages 4 and 2, and lives in New Orleans today.  Can you tell us a little about where you’re from, and what you like to do when you’re not working?  I am originally from Cleveland, a small town in the North Western region of Mississippi called the Mississippi Delta. I lived there my whole life until I went to college. And then I met my husband at college in Oxford, Mississippi at the University of Mississippi.…

Jessica K., M.A., CCC-SLP, joined the PresenceLearning team in 2011. How has the PL online platform enabled you to help your students and the schools you serve in new ways? Students are much more motivated to come to therapy because they see it as a new, fun, and exciting way to learn. Most of the time, my students feel like they are just playing games, when in fact they have been focusing on their speech/language goals the whole time!  Can you tell us a little about how you collaborate with teachers and other school staff members? I am always available via phone, text, email, etc. I like to check-in with my PSP (primary support person) at the school daily and also email the teachers whenever…

Connie Upton, M.S., CCC-SLP, joined the PL Care Network in 2018. We interviewed her about the roots of her passion for speech-pathology and asked her to tell us a little about her experience transitioning to teletherapy.  Introduction I grew up in Kennebunk, Maine and went to the University of New Hampshire in Durham for my undergraduate degree. I worked for a year in New Hampshire, and then I went back to UNH to get my M.S. degree. Before moving to Germany, I lived in Southern Maine working for Pine Tree Society, a non-profit organization, doing a variety of speech therapy responsibilities—I was digging into AAC, doing evaluations, consultations, and providing therapy to people of all ages. I worked with Pine Tree Society for a number…

This month, we sat down with our Head of Clinical Standards and Outreach, Kristin Martinez, M.A. CCC-SLP, to learn more about how students with severe disabilities and impairments can benefit from teletherapy. During our interview, Kristin explains student candidacy and adaptive approaches to serving students with more severe impairments. What are some common misconceptions about student candidacy for teletherapy? One of the most common misconceptions about providing speech-language services via teletherapy is that this cannot be a successful service delivery model for students with more significant needs. At PresenceLearning, we have the benefit of a decade of experience providing online school-based services. Our students have progressed, met IEP goals, and graduated from services regardless of their primary disabilities or level of impairment. However, there are…

Jason M., M.A., CCC-SLP, has been a speech pathologist for 15 years. He attended Appalachian State University as an undergraduate and completed his Masters degree at South Carolina State University. Jason is currently working on his Doctorate in Education. Jason has been an SLP in the PL Care Network since 2016. How has the PL online platform enabled you to help your students and the schools you serve in new ways? The PresenceLearning Platform has provided me with the opportunity to help students in ways that I never before thought were possible. Using the online library allows me to access an almost infinite array of resources, activities, and materials to use with my students. Students love using technology and are enthusiastic to learn in a…

Karen M., CCC-SLP, is a lead clinician with PresenceLearning. Karen started working as an SLP in 1980. She was ripe for change and started researching teletherapy. After trying it out, she made the switch. Karen joined the PL Care Network in 2011 and in 2014, added the lead clinician role to her therapy work. How has the PL online platform enabled you to help your students and the schools you serve in new ways? The PL online platform has allowed me to group virtual school students working on social skills/pragmatics goals with students with similar goals who live in different parts of the state. I can group according to skill level instead of location. The same can be done for brick and mortar schools. Two…

Karen McBride, CCC-SLP, is a lead clinician with PresenceLearning. She currently lives in Pawling, New York. Karen started working as an SLP in 1980. She was ripe for change and started researching teletherapy. After trying it out, she made the shift. Karen joined the PL Care Network in 2011 and in 2014, added the lead clinician role to her therapy work. Could you walk us through your daily routine? A “day in the life of a PL therapist” if you will?  My workday is different every day. Generally, I will start with a birth-to-3 program in Maine. That population is my passion. I provide services to East Coast districts but as the day moves forward my other schools in Michigan, Missouri, Idaho and California start…

Barbara J., M.S., CCC-SLP Barbara J., M.S., CCC-SLP, grew up in the Washington, D.C. area, went to college in Texas where she lived for 9 years after graduate school, and then moved to Arkansas where she’s lived ever since. She joined the PresenceLearning Care Network of providers in 2016. How has the PL online platform enabled you to help your students and the schools you serve in new ways? Prior to being served by PresenceLearning, the schools in my PL district were visited by an SLP only once per quarter. The towns are only accessible by ferry and floatplane, making weekly services impossible. The SLP did all evaluations and training of staff in one day each quarter. For the past three years the children have…

If you’re a clinician working in a school setting, you know it’s important to prepare yourself for the back-to-school season. Our Head of Clinical Standards and Outreach, Kristin Martinez, CCC-SLP, provides tips on teletherapy organization and time management as we embark on the FY19–FY20 school year: How do you set yourself up for success with time management and organization in teletherapy? Whether you are located onsite or virtual, the school-based SLP’s primary role and responsibility is maintaining compliance for all students on his/her caseload. Maintaining compliance includes provision of direct therapy and consultation according to each IEP’s service delivery statement, reporting progress as outlined in the IEP, and, of course, ensuring that all annual and triennial review meetings and associated reevaluations are completed according to…