People have lots of preconceived ideas about what it's like to be an SLP contractor in the schools. You can get a pretty good idea about what those ideas are if you listen to what they say when you tell them that's what you do . . .
Don't you get tired of bouncing around?
Yeah, but you don't get to have real relationships with people.
Don't you want to put down roots somewhere?
I don't see how you can make progress with kids when you're only there temporarily.
There is an underlying theme of "less than" in all of these comments. A suggestion that somehow, the work that a contracted SLP does lacks in some way.
I'd like you to meet Rory and David. When first they met, Rory's school district had signed a 1-year contract to bring in an SLP. That was 8 years ago. There have been good days and hard days, tremendous growth and heartbreaking setbacks. All the while this team has kept a steady, determined focus on one simple thing: the next step ahead of them.
There is no "less than" here. There is only the simple, pure, shared joy that comes when perseverance, tenacity, and hard work pay off. So today, and every day, we salute and celebrate the little triumphs that add up to big changes. Here's to all victories, great and small!
