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Episode Summary
Today’s episode features Kacy Wickerson, speech-language pathologist and owner of Teach Speech Services which is a platform that teaches caregivers strategies on how to build communication skills at home. Kacy shares how she began, what therapy looks like during a pandemic, and weighs in on the relationship with parents and pediatricians. She also shares about building a social media presence as a speech therapist.
Episode Notes
Kacy shares what drew her to be a Speech-Language Pathologist.
- Kacy breathes life into speech therapy without holding back and shares behind the scenes of speech therapy by owning your own business.
- (3:21) “The Speech Pathologist connects people with their world of communication, so it drew me in from there. I’ve wanted to give everybody a voice whether or not they had one.”
- Communicating basic needs and wants is a right.
- People that have sight and sound experience the world very differently than the people that don’t.
- We as humans are wired for connection, and we need to be able to communicate with others.
Kacy shares what her profession is looking like during the pandemic.
- (6:58) “At first, it looked like teletherapy to keep students and parents as engaged as possible.”
- Teaching social skills when you’re virtual is a different level- social skills in person can be different than online.
- (7:55) “Teaching things like social skills and things like that to high schoolers when you’re virtual is a different level.”
- (8:07) “Social skills in person is one thing. Social skills on the Internet is another thing.”
- Knowing when to start and stop a conversation, when moved to virtual, makes things very interesting.
- It is making us better therapists.
Kacy gives tips on how to get kids to participate during a teletherapy session.
- (11:25) Parents must be involved to help manage behaviors.
- Therapists have to give grace.
- (12:09) “You don’t have to overcorrect all the time. Sometimes we let them get it wrong and we move on.”
- (12:18) “I think [involving the parents] is important because they get to see what their child is actually doing and how their child acts when they’re engaged in a session.”
- An hour of the week is 2% of the week, the parents must implement therapy with the child for the remainder of the time for therapy to work.
Kacy shares common mistakes that parents make to stunt communication for kids.
- (15:24) Sometimes parents can be so attentive that it doesn’t give children the opportunity to communicate.
- A child’s inability to develop communication will show up as an adult and turn into a lack of self advocacy.
- When kids are frustrated, parents say “use your words” which is a vague direction. If kids don’t have words yet, you can’t tell them to use them and frustrate themselves further..
- When a child is frustrated, model the words you want them to say. Give them some words they can use. Praise them and move on.
- “Be the change you want to see.”
Kacy speaks to parents wondering if their child needs therapy.
- (25:34) “Do not wait and see.”
- Development is ongoing so if we get stuck at a moment and gamble whether it will come/go away or not, that milestone may never come.
- (26:03) “You can be proactive in finding a speech therapist [for a consultation].”
- You can be proactive, book a consultation with a speech therapist, ask questions, and get an evaluation.
Kacy talks about the pediatrician relationship.
- (28:14) “There may be a lack of communication between pediatricians and speech therapists regarding communication milestones.”
- If a parent has a concern, why wouldn’t a pediatrician refer them to a therapist?
- (29:13) “A lot of times we have these great opportunities to be able to educate people on what it is we know.”
- At the hands of those not listening to parents’ concerns, it is putting children at a compromising position because they are falling behind.
- Between ages 0-3, that is a critical time of development.
Kacy talks about social media platforms on Speech Therapy.
- (32:58) Kacy realized there was nothing about the grad school experience on the internet so she started documenting her journey.
- “It was another outlet for me during grad school.”
- It was a great way to connect with people in grad school or interested in the speech therapy field.
- Documenting her journey turned into giving advice.
- Use your voice and talk about your experiences because there is plenty of room and it causes awareness.
- Social media is a great tool but there’s no point in being on there when you don’t have fresh content.
Links:
Business Website: www.teachspeechservices.com
YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/klassickacy3
Business Email: [email protected] and [email protected]
More On Kacy:
Through her practice Teach Speech, she’s helped hundreds of parents understand communication development, why it is important, and how they can take an active role in improving communication under their own roof.
She does this through Teach Speech courses, and her signature intimate coaching programs that offer guided support for parents to strengthen the child’s speech and language skills right in the comfort of their own home.
When she’s not educating parents and inspiring SLPs, you can find her watching YouTube videos, playing with her Goldendoodle Kash, or catching up on audiobooks.
