De Facto Leaders

Why Lowering School Expectations Makes Demand Avoidance Worse (And What To Do Instead)

Have you ever had a student spend 45 minutes avoiding an assignment that would have taken them five minutes to finish? They argue about why they shouldn’t have to do it,

Using Math Play to Build Language and Executive Functioning (with Clarence Ames)

We tend to think about math, literacy, language, and executive functioning as separate areas of development. But the research shows they’re much more connected than we m

Five Executive Functioning Skills That Define Your Intervention Framework

People often say to me, “I get why executive functioning is important, but when are you going to tell me how to work on it”? I wish I could jump right to the lesson plan

Executive Functioning Defined, Beyond Just "Being Organized"

Many people think they’re working on executive functioning, but aren’t ACTUALLY working on executive functioning. If you have students who have access to planners, visua

Five External Signs of Executive Dysfunction That Show Up At School

“Demand avoidance”, poor generalization, prompt-dependence, and social skills challenges seem like isolated issues.  But often they’re not. Many times they’re tied to ex

You don’t need “buy in” from teachers to get executive functioning support into classrooms.

Many school clinicians know executive functioning is important.  They also know that their entire team should be supporting it across general and special education setti

Working on "regulation", but seeing students get more dysregulated? Here's why that's happening.

Many school teams AREN’T actually working on executive functioning when they think they are. As a result, they’re being more flexible and accommodating than ever, giving

Still trying to do social skills intervention with a 20-minute social skills group? Do this instead.

You’ve been told that social skills interventions are ableist. But you’ve also been told that we need to prepare students for real-world expectations. You have teachers

The Impact of Overaccommodation in K–12 on Independence in College and Beyond (with Jill Fahy)

“Accommodation” is a loaded word. On one hand, we want to provide reasonable accommodations in K-12 so kids can access their education. But determining what is “reasonab

Helping Kids and the Adults Supporting Them Understand How the Brain Learns to Read (with Lori Josephson)

Are we really “overteaching” phonics, or should there be a hard stopping point where it’s not taught past a certain grade? Are current stories trending on popular news o

Thinking you need a scope and sequence for language therapy? Think again.

If you’re an SLP who’s wondering how you can effectively address complex skills relating to both language and executive functioning in the school systems…  The primary c

AAC, Gestalts, and Literacy: Case Studies for Using the “Essential 5” (with Kimberly Jenkins)

In this conversation, I sat down with Kim Jenkins from Empowering Speech Services (https://www.empoweringspeechservices.com/meet-kim)  to talk about how she’s used the fr

Three Practices That Turn Language Therapy Into a Scalable System

Clinicians who are confidently delivering language and literacy interventions haven't found the perfect "therapy curriculum".  They've learned how to build their own usi

BONUS: Using Recess to Build Social Skills and Help Students Discover their Leadership Potential (with Elizabeth Cushing)

Recess is often thought of as an “extra” activity in the school day. Sometimes it’s even taken away from students as a punishment.  But some schools think about recess a

How to Go From “Talking About Students” to Changing School Systems (with Kurtis Hewson)

Most schools say they “collaborate.” They hold team meetings. They talk about students. They review data. But without clear infrastructure, those meetings become updates

Student Wellness Is a Design Decision, Not a Siloed Activity (with Lauren Porosoff)

When schools talk about improving engagement, student wellness, or school climate, it often turns into assemblies, themed weeks, or standalone initiatives.  When schools

Five “clinical containers” to design your language therapy system

In episode 255 of De Facto Leaders, I elaborate on the concept of using vocabulary as a large “container”, so you can design sessions efficiently without sacrificing qual

Three Pieces of Unconventional Advice I Give SLPs

Many experienced SLPs think they just need to plan better. Tweak the activity.  Adjust the visuals. Try a new printable or protocol. But what if none of that is the r

Education is a business. Let’s stop pretending it isn’t.

“Education isn’t a business” is a thing people say when they’re upset about how the school systems are being run. But education actually IS a business. Saying otherwise

A Case for Well-Designed Virtual Field Trips (with Seth Fleischauer)

While virtual learning has become more prevalent since 2020, the founders of Banyan Global Learning have been offering digital learning experiences for over 20 years. So