By: Jennifer Cook, MS, CCC-SLP, TSHA SEAL

Recently, TSHA hosted a Wednesday Webinar entitled, Empowered at Every Level: School-Based SLPs Influencing Change in Their School Districts, the Texas Legislature, and Beyond.

The primary goal of this webinar was to help speech-language pathologists (SLPs) feel empowered to advocate across all levels for their students, their schools, and themselves.

The working definition for advocacy is to influence the decision-making of others. Some of the characteristics needed for advocacy include communication, connection, and collaboration. As communication professionals, these skills are hardwired into our DNA; however, many of us struggle when we hear the word “advocacy.” We think it means standing up and speaking in a large crowd or visiting legislators. These things might be true, but real advocacy occurs at every level, and you can start small while thinking big.

1. Come with data. When advocating for things like caseloads and salaries, data can make all the difference. Resources like the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) workload calculator can help administrators see where your time is spent and how different children require different supports. It also allows them to see how the “extras” like report writing, supervision, and prevention impact overall clinician time. ASHA also collects salary data every two years. This can be helpful to show where salaries are currently in comparison to others. Many salary ranges are listed on the internet, and it is often possible to look at where your salary compares to neighboring and same-sized districts.
2. Build relationships first before making the big asks. Advocacy starts in the relationships. If the only time your administration hears from you is when you are asking for something, it can be harder for them to take your needs seriously. Start relationship-building by letting them know your team focus or highlighting National Speech Language and Hearing Month priorities. Advocacy can start in your IEP meetings as you inform others about what we do and how we do it. Detailing how our therapy services can impact literacy and social emotional skills can show our value for academics.
3. Take little wins on the way to something bigger. Maybe you can’t get another full-time position, but can you get some hourly evaluation help? Even little wins can have a big boost on team morale and keep momentum going until you can get what you need.
4. Use a student-centered approach. Many of our asks aren’t really about us at all but are about doing our jobs efficiently and effectively. Consider “I am concerned about my ability to meet the demands of my students’ IEPs with my current caseload” versus “My caseload is too high.” Or “We want to demonstrate our commitment to retaining our highly trained professionals to maintain continuity of staff for our students and teachers” versus “We need higher pay.”
5. Think bigger. Once you’ve started advocating in your corner of the world, start thinking about local, state, and federal issues that may impact our professions. Local races like school board elections can lay the foundation for your district’s priorities. Never pass up an opportunity to vote for the things that matter to you. Follow TSHA’s Capitol Watch for upcoming legislative agendas in Texas and TSHA’s stance. You also can find your state legislators on the TSHA advocacy page. Reach out and let them know your opinion. Many legislators look for professional opinions on communication issues. Yours might be the one that sticks with them. You also can follow the ASHA Advocate for timely information on federal and country-wide legislative issues.

Remember that when you advocate for our professions you have an impact not only on yourself but on our students and society as well.

"All advocacy is, at its core, an exercise in empathy.” —Samantha Power, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (2013-2017)