In honor of International Women’s Day I think it’s important to revisit a story I shared with y’all about 2 years ago just after I met my friend (and fellow SLP) Emily of Parade Pediatric Speech Therapy.
In getting to know each other, one idea that continued to surface was the idea of 'collaboration over competition.' As speech-language pathologists, we are fortunate to have the opportunity to specialize and find a niche for our work. In my case, I specialize in play and language development, supporting families with early communication skills, and helping children with speech sound disorders and phonological impairments. And while Emily specializes in some of that work, she also has specialty areas that are not in my wheelhouse. She is bilingual and supports autistic children and their families, kids who are Gestalt language processors, AAC users, as well as kids with receptive and expressive language disorders.
Knowing even these small details about each other's work allows Emily and I to better serve the kids and families in Austin, TX. I cannot support every child. She cannot support every family either. There is an abundance for us both and our fellow SLPs. When we work together instead of seeing private practice as a rivalry, then everyone wins.
What value does collaboration add to your work as a speech therapist?
Tag a fellow SLP or colleague who you collaborate with to better serve your community 🫶🏻
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Tandem Speech Therapy
Nearby clinics
706 A. West Ben White Blvd. Suite 150A
Bee Caves Road
Bee Caves Road
78746
Bee Caves Road
West William Cannon Drive
Spicewood Springs Road
San Antonio 78258
Anywhere
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Working in TANDEM to grow your child’s speech and language skills through individualized care and She is now the owner of Tandem Speech Therapy.
Emily Cohen, M.A CCC-SLP is the founder of the Tandem Speech Therapy, a pediatric speech therapy practice serving the south and central Austin areas. Emily moved from Michigan to Austin, Texas in late 2009 with her dog, Bentley. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Special Education from Indiana University–Bloomington. She then went on to receive her Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology f
Operating as usual
03/04/2023
I had absolutely no idea what I was doing when I started my private practice. I finished graduate school in 2008. No one I knew in SLP programs was taking business courses or talking about starting their own business. I completed my CFY in a large hospital-based, outpatient pediatrics department. It was not until I came to Austin a few years later, in early 2010, was I exposed to the world of private practice.
Flash forward about 7 years, some great jobs and one epically awful job (the kind where you cry in your car a lot), and in April 2017 Tandem Speech Therapy was born. Thankfully I found amazing resources from people like the and a community of other speech-language pathologists to help me along the way.
Here I am, coming up on the 6th anniversary of my little business, and I'm not going to minimize all I've done--I am proud of myself. Was it scary? YES! Do I still constantly worry whether or not people are going to want to work with me as a speech therapist? YES! Do I experience imposter syndrome ALL the time? Heck YES! But just as I tell the kids I work with, we can do hard things when we believe in ourselves. And when we believe in ourselves, other people believe in us too!
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03/01/2023
Emily • Tandem Speech Therapy on Instagram: "Today was an exciting day! Not only is it my 43rd birthday, but I also got the keys to my very own office space. For the past 18 months I’ve subleased in a suite with a group of providers [email protected]...
In case you missed this over on Instagram 💜 See you soon at 1823 Fort View Rd, 78704
Emily • Tandem Speech Therapy on Instagram: "Today was an exciting day! Not only is it my 43rd birthday, but I also got the keys to my very own office space. For the past 18 months I’ve subleased in a suite with a group of providers [email protected] 39 Likes, 21 Comments - Emily • Tandem Speech Therapy () on Instagram: "Today was an exciting day! Not only is it my 43rd birthday, but I also got the keys to my very ow..."
03/01/2023
This is (almost) 43 🥳 Tomorrow is my birthday and I want y'all to celebrate with me!
Through the end of the day on Thursday everything in my Teachers Pay Teachers store is 20% off. AND if you order directly from me any of my Playing With Purpose™️ products are also 20% off with the code BDAY20. This means if you head over to www.pwpbook.com, you can get a print copy of my book at the lowest price it's been in quite some time.
So what are you waiting for friends...get shopping 😉
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02/28/2023
Peek-a-boo...I spy the Potato Head Family making an appearance and if you know anything about me, then you know this is a favorite toy of mine.
I love Potato Head sets that come with more than 1 potato head. I'm linking to one of them in my bio, in case you want to add this great toy to your tool kit.
With more than 1 potato, there are many opportunities to facilitate cooperative play. Cooperative play is when children begin to share ideas and toys and follow established rules and guidelines. They are interested in both the people playing and the activity they are doing.
Cooperative play emerges in children at ages 4-5 years old. Cooperative play can go hand-in-hand with dramatic or pretend play. It is when we see two kids playing with dolls–one is pretending to be a parent, and the other is playing the role of the doll's sibling.
To guide children into cooperative play and support its development, try giving 1 child the potato and another child all the parts. You can start by modeling phrases the children can use, when interacting, to share and request help from each other.
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02/23/2023
Calling all 🤘🏻. The conference starts tomorrow here in Austin and I'm super excited to be able to attend on Friday. If we've never met before then please say hi and introduce yourself.
Drop a comment or an emoji below, so I know to look for you too!
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02/22/2023
Helping parents choose toys is one way that I support them during our work.
This your monthly reminder of the list of tips that I share:
1. ditch the batteries ❌ 🔋
2. go back to the basics 🪀
3. get outside and move 🌳 🚶🏽
4. less is more 📦
5. you are the best toy 👪
What's your favorite tip or resource you share with families when you're doing play-based therapy?
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02/18/2023
As a , I am a huge proponent of their work. It's the foundation for so much of the work that I do at and much of the reason I wrote my book.
"From birth, children communicate using sounds, actions, eye gaze, and facial expressions. They don’t realize that these sounds and actions have any meaning until their caregivers consistently respond to them. In this way, children gradually learn that the messages they send without words have an effect on other people, and they start to send these messages intentionally.
Any time an adult responds to a child’s message, either verbally or non-verbally, and the child responds back, an interaction has started. And it’s within these early back-and-forth interactions that the foundation for all of a child’s future conversations is built."
How do you set up a back-and-forth interaction with your kids or clients?
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02/16/2023
Pro tip: your baby does not need to learn their shapes, colors, numbers, or letters...yet!
You've probably noticed how much your little one loves to take things out of a container and put them back in. Plus isn't playing in the water so much fun?! These simple tasks, that kids are so fond of and engaged during, can become a moment for .
I like choosing 1-2 words to focus on, especially when I am helping a child develop . With a shape sorter and a tub of water, I would consider words such as 'in, out, and block.' They all begin with early developing sounds--the vowels and the sounds we make with our lips (B, P, M).
Making intentional vocabulary choices sets up your child for success. What are some first words you like to model during play?
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02/14/2023
Raise your hand if you're still doing telepractice 🙋🏻♀️ I am and while I love seeing kids at my office, I am still enjoying this virtual side of my business.
As my time with telehealth progressed, I grew to miss my tangible toys. I was bringing them out for parent coaching with my early intervention clients and Playing With Purpose Coaching families, but not using my toys with the other kids. A while back, , I shared my favorite tangible toys to use for and recently revisited the post to jog my memory and refresh my work.
(also linked in my bio) https://www.tandemspeechtherapy.com/2020/07/23/tangible-toys-telepractice-speech/
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02/10/2023
Do you know what all the toys peeking out in this image have in common?
They follow one of the "rules" in my 5 Tips for Choosing Toys--go back to the basics!
Try picking 'traditional' toys (aka toys without batteries). Think back to toys you had as a child: wooden blocks, cars, a play kitchen and food set, a dollhouse, play dough, dress-up clothes, a toolset, etc. These are all open-ended toys. They are toys that have no beginning, middle, or end. They can be used in a variety of ways and allow your child creative freedom in how to use and manipulate them.
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02/08/2023
Chugga-chugga-choo-choo 🚂 We've made it to the middle of the week, friends! Are you ready to treat yourself for the upcoming Valentine's holiday?
In case you missed the news, my friend Laura from just opened registration for her First 50 Words Course for SLPs. If you register before Friday you can take advantage of a great discount by using the code EARLY60. Hands down, her course was the best continuing education I did in 2022. Your registration includes over 100 pages of downloads to use immediately with your caseload along with 8 professional development hours. You'll find the link in my bio and below.
https://first50words.teachable.com/p/slpcourse?affcode=824591_zabmvu3m
There's also a Teachers Pay Teachers sale through the end of today so be sure to use the code FEBSALE23 at checkout to get up to 25% off tons of resources.
02/08/2023
Do you ever bring items from home into your office or classroom? I love combining puzzles with some common household items--tape and a muffin tin.
All of my and preschool-aged clients have loved this activity. And it was perfect to pair up with some of their .
We started by using the carrier phrases "take off" and "get out," along with words or a word approximation to name the part of the house (aka the puzzle piece). For example, I worked on "wih-oh" to represent 'window' for an early talker and "yellow window" for another child working on expanding their MLU.
An extension activity I did with some of the preschoolers involved naming objects that you find within the rooms of the house to build up vocabulary and categorization skills.
What's your favorite everyday item to bring into your therapy room or classroom?
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02/04/2023
OK Google: what are some other ways I can use the pieces from my kids' puzzles or the coins from the piggy bank?
Trying using a puzzle and its pieces as part of an obstacle course--outdoors if the weather permits. This is a treasure trove of multi-sensory learning and can also support your child's physical development by encouraging growth in their balance and coordination.
An obstacle course is a fun activity to build in practice with location terms, which we refer to as prepositions. You may say something such as, "Walk under the slide, pick up the pig, and place it on the patio table."
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® #78745
02/02/2023
Hello February! If you are an email subscriber, then you already know that I've deemed this month 💜Share the Love💜 month at Tandem Speech Therapy. My subscribers got some great tips in their inboxes yesterday morning. But don't worry, I am going to share them with you too!
My friend Laura over at is getting ready to open up registration for her First 50 Words Course for SLPs. I took it in 2022 and learned SO much. Laura has a new bundle of resources taken directly out of the course materials and you're not going to want to miss out on getting them for free. Swipe to check them out!
One of my favorite pages [Early Vocabulary Targets] from the course is in this free download. I love talking to the parents of my EI clients about supporting vocabulary development. We work together to choose words to model that will be of high value to their child as an individual. This is a great strategy to employ in your play-based therapy.
Don't miss out on getting your free resources TODAY https://first50words.teachable.com/a/aff_1dy4n60b/external?affcode=824591_zabmvu3m. This bundle is only available until tomorrow. You can also find the link in my bio!
01/31/2023
As a , I am a huge proponent of their work. It's the foundation for so much of the work that I do at and much of the reason behind developing my ® framework.
"From birth, children communicate using sounds, actions, eye gaze, and facial expressions. They don’t realize that these sounds and actions have any meaning until their caregivers consistently respond to them. In this way, children gradually learn that the messages they send without words have an effect on other people, and they start to send these messages intentionally.
Any time an adult responds to a child’s message, either verbally or non-verbally, and the child responds back, an interaction has started. And it’s within these early back-and-forth interactions that the foundation for all of a child’s future conversations is built."
How do you set up a back-and-forth interaction with your kids or clients?
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.
.
We work in TANDEM
Emily Cohen, M.A CCC-SLP is the founder of the Tandem Speech Therapy, a pediatric speech therapy practice serving the south and central Austin areas and Westlake. Emily moved from Michigan to Austin, Texas in late 2009 with her dog, Bentley. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Special Education from Indiana University–Bloomington and then went on to receive her Master’s degree in speech-language pathology from Eastern Michigan University. Emily spent 3 years working in special education classrooms and the last 8+ years working in a variety of pediatric therapy settings with children birth to 18 years. She is now the owner of Tandem Speech Therapy. Emily provides play- based and family centered speech therapy for toddlers and preschoolers, as well as services for school-aged children.
Emily Cohen, MA, CCC-SLP is Hanen certified in their ‘It Takes Two to Talk’ program. This program’s focus is on caregiver education and methods to encourage speech and language skills. It is a foundational skill for the services Emily provides.
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Contact the business
Telephone
Address
1823 Fort View Road , Suite 104
Austin, TX
78704
Opening Hours
| Monday | 9am - 6pm |
| Tuesday | 9am - 6pm |
| Wednesday | 9am - 6pm |
| Thursday | 9am - 6pm |
| Friday | 9am - 12pm |
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