Suddenly Tele-SLP

I received my Master's degree in 2002. After one year as an adult outpatient therapist for a regional hospital, I began working at an elementary school in 2003. My school houses both a separate class of students with Autism and an inclusion program for students with Autism. My caseload ranges from 45-55 students, about half of whom are children with Autism.

My job is first and foremost about communication. This is the way I approach my teaching. Whether it's verbal, gestural, or augmentative/alternative, my goal is to engage the students. I don't teach to them, I teach with them. My students play an active role in their therapy. My lesson plans are driven by a combination of their needs and interests. With so many of my students being children with Autism, engagement is essential to success. I follow their lead and let them guide me in my planning. My methodologies are different for each of my students. I have to pay attention to what they are telling me, even when they aren't really telling me with words. I differentiate to each student. The better I understand each of their needs, the more effective I will be.

Teacher of the Year 2007 Mentor of the Year 2007

North Carolina State University - 1996-1998 University of North Carolina at Greensboro - 1998 - 2000: Bachelor's of Arts in Communication Sciences and Disorders (summa cum laude) University of North Carolina at Greensboro - 2000 - 2002: Master's Degree in Speech Pathology (summa cum laude)

In the last five years, a large part of my career has focused on supervision. In addition to supervising clinical fellows, speech/language pathology assistants, and novice teachers, I spent the last three years supervising first year graduate students in collaboration with the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Supervising first year graduate students is typically done only by the clinical staff at the university. The clinical supervisors at UNCG approached me in 2009 to propose the collaboration. I received specific training in supervision and together with the clinical staff, we presented this collaboration as a possible model of supervision at the NC Speech and Hearing Conference and at ASHA in 2012.