February 29, 2024
Mike Ralston
Colorado resident serving school districts in Oregon
In college, Amanda Wallace worked as a behavioral aide, helping families take care of their children with disabilities. A SLP often visited the homes and trained the caregivers, including Amanda, in ways to improve the communication of those children. She knew immediately that speech therapy was the career for her.
A Michigan native, Wallace earned her Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and Communication Sciences and Disorders from Michigan State University. She continued her education, earning a Master’s degree in Communicative Disorders with a specialization in Speech and Language Pathology from Northern Illinois University. Amanda lived in Chicago for 10 years before moving to Colorado in 2021.
A Fulfilling Career Working Remotely
Wallace has worked in schools and clinics with children of all ages. She currently serves as a SLP at Salem-Keizer Public Schools and Haney ESD in Oregon. She supervises SLPAs, provides direct virtual therapy, case management, evaluates students, creates treatment plans, consults with teachers and families, and attends IEP meetings.
A typical day for Amanda includes answering emails and checking in with her SLPAs about the therapy schedule and any other tasks they need to accomplish for the day. She observes, co-treats and provides feedback for as many sessions as she can throughout the day.
In between sessions, she follows-up on emails, writes reports and lesson plans, attends meetings and works on scheduling any upcoming IEP or evaluation meetings.
“I truly appreciate the work-life balance working remotely fosters. I also enjoy having the flexibility in my schedule to focus on collaboration with other members of the student’s educational teams.”
Compassion drives the culture at Care Options for Kids, formerly The Hello Foundation. We foster a work environment that celebrates learning and growth, respects individual needs, and encourages community and collaboration. In doing so, we empower clinicians to provide the best services for students.
“The responsiveness and support provided by THF community is more than I have experienced with any other contract agency I have worked for in the past,” adds Wallace.
A SLP for the last 10 years, Amanda notes her proudest accomplishment as recently getting accepted into a speech-language pathology doctorate (SLPD) program.
"My intention is to learn how to conduct research that contributes to the evidence behind the effectiveness of remote services and narrative language interventions," adds Wallace.
In her spare time, Amanda enjoys reading, climbing, skiing, gaming, and attending concerts. She also enjoys traveling and exploring other countries when she has time off.
Amanda's Three Tips for New Clinicians
1. Figure out a simple, but efficient system for organizing your time and keeping track of all your due dates, therapy data, lesson planning, etc. I have found Google calendar and Excel spreadsheets particularly helpful.
2. Find ways to incorporate your interests and hobbies into your therapy. This will help you stay engaged when times get stressful. Students, especially older students, can also tell when you’re genuinely interested in what you’re working on together.
3. When writing treatment plans and goals, try integrating what the student CAN do, instead of just writing goals that focus on their deficits.
Join Our Team
The Hello Foundation is proud to be a part of the Care Options for Kids Community. We partner with school districts to provide seamless support for students, integrating into the school setting to deliver speech and occupational therapy and enhancing their social, emotional, and behavioral growth so they can better access the curriculum.
At Care Options for Kids, we are committed to making a difference for our people through empowerment and encouragement to be there for themselves and their own families. We provide the choices and opportunities our people need to enhance their lives and grow their careers so they can provide better care for others. We believe in making a difference in every way, every day.
We hire speech-language pathologists, speech-language pathology assistants, school psychologists, and occupational therapists. Our community of professionals fosters growth for one another and for the kids we serve. Join our team!
