This month we spoke with Kristin Martinez, M.A., CCC-SLP, Head of Clinical Standards and Outreach with PresenceLearning, to discuss how therapy happens online within the PresenceLearning platform. During this interview, Kristin focuses on the outlets for support that PresenceLearning offers providers in the PL Care Network. What type of support does PL offer to new clinicians in the PL Care Network?               Support for our new and returning providers is a top priority for PL, and we offer multiple options depending on what is needed. After first contracting with PL, all providers have access to Telehealth Institute, a self-paced tutorial on all things PL. Beyond Telehealth Institute, all providers have access to our Support Services department, our team of clinical…

Jason Maloney, 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 at Liberty University. He lives in western North Carolina with his wife and three-year-old daughter. Introduction: I was a speech teacher in the public schools for several years. That’s where I met my wife. She was the art teacher in the same little elementary school. We’ve been married for 16 years now. Our little daughter is turning three this summer. I’m a lifelong learner. I love learning. I just finished my North Carolina beekeeping certification class. I’ve become an official North Carolina beekeeper. I’m excited about…

Cindy Hollmann, M.S., CCC-SLP, currently lives in Bellefontaine Neighbors, Missouri. Cindy started her studies at the University of Missouri, Columbia (Mizzou), and later transferred to Southern Illinois University where she finished her B.S. and M.S. degrees in 1995 and 1997. Cindy worked as an SLP in “brick & mortar” schools for 15 years initially and has now been a provider with PresenceLearning for seven years. What inspired you to become an SLP? I began my college studies in journalism and ended up in 2 classes—a sign language class and a linguistics class—that overlapped with speech pathology majors and realized that was more my calling. What made you want to become a teletherapist with PL? When I first started reading about teletherapy in the ASHA journals,…

Robyn Raye, M.A., CCC-SLP, grew up in a small town in northern New Jersey. After graduating with a degree in liberal arts, she pursued a master’s degree in speech-language pathology and worked in private practice for several years. In 2009, she moved to Florida, where she has since worked for the public school system. In addition to her work as an SLP, Robyn is a certified aromatherapist—you’ll find a few of her recommendations for helpful essential oils in her response to the first question. Could you walk us through your daily routine? A “day in the life of a PL therapist” if you will? My daily routine starts the night before. I lay out workout clothes as a visual reminder to move my body in…

Kristina Bielkevicius always knew she wanted to work in psychology. After studying psychology as an undergrad, she started working with the adult population with people with Alzheimer’s disease in a clinical setting. Realizing she really loved children, she began exploring how she could work in an educational setting and entered grad school to become a school psychologist. She’s been practicing for 5+ years in a variety of settings. Kristina was born in Canada, raised in Maryland, and attended the University of British Columbia and Boston University. She has three sisters—when one sister moved to the West Coast, everyone else followed including their parents. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and daughter. What made you want to be a teletherapist with PL? At…

This month we spoke with Kristin Martinez, M.A., CCC-SLP, Head of Clinical Standards and Outreach with PresenceLearning, to discuss how therapy happens online within the PresenceLearning platform. She focuses on the key features available for providers in the PL Care Network. Can you tell us how providers utilize online therapy materials and share ideas among the PresenceLearning community? Providers in the PL Care Network can upload any scanned materials for personal use in their individual therapy rooms. They can organize their materials into queues within the therapy room in whatever manner makes the most sense for their planning. In addition to uploaded materials (e.g., worksheets, game boards, books), providers have access to all the supplemental and interactive tools developed by the PresenceLearning product team, including whiteboard tools, animated rewards, interactive and customizable memory and flash cards. Providers also have the ability to upload videos and to use PresenceLearning’s SiteShare tool to bring in some web-based activities. In addition to customizable therapy rooms, providers also have access to the greatest resource, their fellow PresenceLearning clinicians! PresenceLearning offers a provider community forum called the Lounge, where PL Care Network providers can interact, ask questions, and post ideas. For example, in the Bright…

Nicole Magee, CCC-SLP, is from Bryant, Arkansas. She graduated from the University of Central Arkansas with her BA and MS degrees. She has been practicing as an SLP for 9 years. What was your inspiration for becoming an SLP? My inspiration for wanting to be an SLP started in High School when I worked at a daycare. I remember working with a child to help him say “cookie” instead of “tootie” and thinking of how rewarding that was, but at the time, I had never heard of speech-language pathologists. I knew in elementary school some kids left class to go to “speech” but I had no idea what that meant. I originally went to Arkansas Tech University planning to major in communications and public relations.…

Leah Wilner grew up in western Massachusetts, in a small town outside Amherst. From her small town base, she traveled the world, living in France, Spain, and Ireland, college in DC, then on to San Francisco and Oregon for grad school, back to San Francisco to work as an SLP in the Berkeley schools, and today, she lives in Reno. Leah has been an SLP with PresenceLearning since 2018. Could you walk us through your daily routine? A “day in the life of a PL therapist” if you will? I’m in a unique position right now—my partner and I are about to move so I am currently doing sessions in my home in a quiet corner to reduce the distractions. In my new home, I’ll…

Jenna Malander lives in rural Nebraska with her husband and three children, ages 7, 6, and 4. She’s been working as an Occupational Therapist since 2009. The population of Jenna’s town is 117. You read that right. She told us that school-based jobs in her area are hard to come by and, if you have an OT position, it tends to involve a lot of driving because the area is so rural. The lack of job opportunities and the search for more flexibility as a working mom led her to teletherapy. Jenna is a Lead Clinician at PresenceLearning. Could you walk us through your daily routine? A “day in the life of a PL therapist” if you will? My workday typically starts after I get…

This month we spoke with Kristin Martinez, M.A., CCC-SLP, a clinical quality manager with PresenceLearning, to discuss how caseload management works online. Let’s begin with how you access your assignments as a PL teletherapist. PL providers are given assignments that are a good match based upon active licensure, relevant discipline, and availability that is in-line with a particular school’s schedule. Providers receive notification of this assignment with all necessary initial details as well as the name of the PL lead clinician supporting this district. Following this first notification, the lead clinician then contacts the provider to initiate the process of supplying all required assignment details. Once a provider has a confirmed assignment, she will have access to any information PL has gathered regarding the district,…