11/04/2025
I have some long, jumbled thoughts this morning, but I hope youāll have in there with meā¦ Iām always working to more closely emulate my clientsā natural environments in my outpatient setting. Now that most of my clients are used to the routines and expectations of my speech sessions, I decided to try an open shelf. To be honest, I was expecting for it to be totally razed multiple times a day. But! My clients rose to the challenge. Over the last few weeks, everyone has learned that the same speech rules apply: books are for reading not dumping, we clean up before we get something else out, and we can do something different if you ask. Not only has this change given me a chance to flex my creativity muscles to come up with fun ways to balance play and hitting high priority targets, it also looks a lot closer to the way their materials are presented at home and school. Itās easy to feel that we need to hold all the control as a therapist: communication temptations, barriers, and withholding are commonly used tactics, after all. I find that the more I let go of those control tactics, the less power struggles we get into, the more connection we build, the more trust I can give them, the more they meet expectations and follow rules on their own, the more we both are more regulated and happy, and the more progress they make! Itās not a free for all; itās trusting them enough to give them the chance to meet my expectations and the joy and peace that comes from brains and bodies ready to learn, connect, and participate š š¦ š½ļø
