Episode Details

On episode 99 of the “De Facto Leaders” podcast, I had the opportunity to interview Allison Fors, who is a pediatric SLP-A, mom to a child with a cleft palate, and a Teachers Pay Teachers seller with tons of great resources for early language.

Allison is an SLP-A in California. She has primarily worked with diagnoses of autism, Down syndrome, and developmental delays in schools at the K-12 level, as well as private practice.

Her interests include early language, as well as understanding and incorporating sensory strategies into sessions. She also has a cleft-affected daughter, which began a special interest in this particular population! She loves creating resources and connecting with others in the field via her website AllisonFors.com (https://allisonfors.com/blog/).

In this interview, Allison shares her experience as a parent with a cleft-affected child; from navigating parent groups to working with a multidisciplinary team. She also shares some common compensatory errors that go along with clefts and some tips for navigating early intervention.

We wrap up the interview by discussing her process for selecting products to create for clinicians; as well as how she makes resources that are creative and engaging for her audience of pediatric clinicians. 

You can connect with Allison on Instagram @speech.allisonfors.com (https://www.instagram.com/speech.allisonfors/ ) as well as on her website here: https://allisonfors.com/blog/. You can also find her on Teachers Pay Teachers here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Allison-Fors

In this episode, I mentioned my Executive Functions Implementation guide that shares how school therapists can lead their IEP teams in providing mental health, behavioral, and social skills support for K-12 kids. You can download this free resource here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/efschools

Learn more about today's sponsors, Playworks, IXL and Renaissance:

Learn more about Renaissance:

As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.

We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.

If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. 

These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance

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