Outside Funding for School Based Speech Language Pathologists.

There's no doubt that some of you have a pretty tight budget, especially if you work in the schools.  Let’s look at this problem differently.

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Number 1: 

Ask.  Plain and simple. 

 

You won’t get help if you don’t ask. Often, we think we will get turned down, so we don’t try.  TRY.  Be aware of what you are requesting and to whom you are requesting.

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• You want your students to be dismissed.  You want a smaller caseload.  You want less work.  Your administrator cares about you, but those things aren’t really the priority.
   

• Think like an administrator.  What are his/her/their needs?  They need students to move through the system. Yes, they care about the kids, but they have responsibilities too.  They also need to stay within a budget. Show your administrator how purchasing a $21.99 product or a larger kit will move children through special education, keep them off the special education rolls or will PROVIDE THE SCHOOL WITH MORE SERVICES WITHOUT AN INCREASE IN STAFF.  If you can turn over 10% between R students and other disorders, the school would have paid for about half the salary of another speech pathologist or slpa.
   

• Show the administrator how you can meet their needs and yours too. When you show the administrator the cost of educating one child.  Your hourly salary x the number of hours needed to correct the R using traditional therapy, you get a number.  Ex:  avg salary $46 x 54 hours= $2,484.  That means that if you take 3 school years to remediate an R, and many of us do.  It costs the school district $2,484 to educate one child.  Now multiply that amount by the number of students with the R sound disorder and you have a huge amount of money taken by children who want to improve, by children who need to improve.  You are frustrated, but don’t let that hinder your actions.

 

Number 2:

Ask.  Different People

 

Agencies such as the Parent-Teacher Association might be interested in taking this on as a Pilot Project, but they won’t be happy to keep paying the bills.  So get your plan in place for the Pilot and make sure that you have a way to follow up with the money you receive.  Don’t forget to send thank you cards.

 

Number 3: 

Ask.  Outside the School

 

There are many benevolent associations that want to help children.  Making a pitch is fairly straight forward and most of them have forms to complete.

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   Make sure that you have all the data needed. 

• How long it takes to do speech therapy in a traditional manner. 

• How many children are in need?

•  How does it affect those children if you cannot correct the R sound?

• Don’t these kids outgrow speech disorders?

• What causes the disorder?

  Be prepared for all of the questions you may face.  It will be worth the effort. 

 

Once you get the money and your kits.

 

Document through numbers and videos.  Make sure to get parent permission first.  One slpa had been reporting progress that was happening quickly 13% baseline read, sentences 8 sessions later.  Her supervisor watched the session and told the slpa that she had attended the session because the supervisor believed that the slpa did not know how to score!  You want evidence.

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Number 4:

Ask. Funding Pages

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There are a number of funding sources for teacher to help pay for classroom materials.   

You reached success.  What’s your plan now?

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If you are like a thousand other slps who have had success with the Bite-R, you may be in this situation. 

 

If you have data and video recordings.  You should be able to get a line item in the school budget.  If you have 10 students a year.  The Bite-R replacements will cost less than $200 a year. 

 

They spend more on toilet paper…a month.