Author: suleikapryce

Telehealth to In-Person: Rocking the Boat

by suleikapryce, posted in Uncategorized

At the start of August, I made my second major decision in my career. Starting EI full time! While it should have been exciting… duh, I’d be playing with babies all day… it was actually more nerve wracking than anything else. We’d been living in unsure times as a result of the global pandemic that riddled my life with broken self-promises, economic instability, emotional and mental stressors, etc.

My introduction to EI was not a great one. I began back in March on a rocky path on which everything I had trained for (in-person services) was switched up and next thing I know, I’m seeing my first children over a phone screen. The logic is essentially, “easy, I can do this from the comfort of my home and I don’t even have to wear pants (TMI) if I don’t want to”. I hated it. It seemed like the most useless way to connect with babies – they couldn’t even sit in front of the camera properly!

Slowly but surely I got a grasp of working with the parents and being flexible about my approach to applying techniques and stimulation over telehealth. Interaction with the camera was less and less important to me, as I became better at guiding the parents to do what I couldn’t. However, an even more difficult task than carrying out the session itself, was getting families to show up for the session. I received cancellations out the wazoo, and it could be for any variety of reasons – the child is napping, the battery isn’t charged, the place is too loud, the dog ate their homework and then a whale swallowed all the pieces ro their alphabet puzzle. You name it. Being in the midst of a pandemic, I tried to be understanding of crazy work schedules, and would change, reschedule, or switch around activities in my own life to make it work. Still, I was left hanging so frequently that sometimes I would only see 1/10 of my sessions planned for the week. When I was transitioning into EI full time, I went in with a dollar and a dream hoping that my in person experience would be different than what I had with telehealth. Thankfully, It turned out it was a complete flip of the switch. Even my telehealth cases got better, but they weren’t numerous for clear reasons. Making my own schedule came with great perks, but it was a bit of a headache when subtle changes or obstacles would throw everything off! Traffic, bad parking, or a bit of untimely gas…

I was at my best when I chose cases that were extremely close together and gave me time to navigate one neighborhood before moving onto the next. The give or take 15 minutes rule had to come into place after I got tired of apologizing for being late. It turned out I wasn’t the only one with this kind of rule. The PT treating one of my babies commuted from Staten Island to Brooklyn, and bitterly apologized, explaining that he had a give or take ONE hour rule, for which he effectively ruined my morning schedule.

I was also at my best when I followed a rigid organization schedule. I tried to keep up with a log to track every single bit of my spending  (miles, gas prices, parking fees, materials prices) for hopeful reimbursement and write-offs around tax time. I made it a big deal – after reprimanding – to have session notes written, signed, and delivered on time, and to ensure each note was free of error (see: The Billing Crisis).

Honestly, even at my best, I still struggle with the in-person transition. I loveeee my kids but each day I struggle with the fact that I am not getting paid like someone who is now doing real work!  If anyone tells you they’re in EI for the babies, and not the money, they’re trifling and lying all at the same time. EI money is just as beautiful as those little smiles you create… or so I thought. Getting into EI under an agency meant a need for having cushion money – which I didn’t… incredible organizational skills – which I didn’t… and a desire to work twice and get paid once – which, I mean come on now!

Telehealth was a steal and I didn’t even know it until I was transitioning to in-person. Still it isn’t quite my teaching style. Although I’ve maintained a couple of my telehealth cases, I still find it rare to have a session that feels whole, or even truly progressive. For about half of the time, I am observing play with only intermittent commentary or question. During the other half, I am giving more structured activities for the parent to carry out and giving feedback and suggestions more frequently. I don’t have my babies doing anything interactive over the screen because they aren’t suitable candidates for this approach… actually, so far, only one child has proven to be. And that’s okay! With the way things are going in NYC, telehealth is still a very viable option. While not quite the best option for me for this population, it offers a way to better manage time, money, and materials. I’m sure we can also agree the best kinds of freedom include a bedside workstation with no traffic, nor pants or socks required.

Danger: Falling Too in Love

by suleikapryce, posted in Uncategorized

No this isn’t a relationship blog, but listen, there is no successful career where passion doesn’t exist.

Lately, my life has been nothing but Work, Book, and Sleep. Work, Book, and Sleep. Every once in a while, I take some self care measures to enjoy the pleasures of the outdoors, interpersonal relationships, and physical activity. But somehow in all of those things, I am not finding myself entirely engaged or free – I’m so determined to get myself on a path, that it’s living in my mind that those things are distractions rather than simply things I need to keep around me to keep myself sane. On tangent, yes, I’m an advocate for mental health care and mental self care. Get it how you live it, but make sure you don’t forget it or give up on it.

With ALL what’s pressing on my mind in these times, I am especially focused on finding myself and my place in this field. It causes me to chuckle how about 3 months ago, I was looking for a job – any job outside of speech pathology. It’s a long story, and as we get to know each other better, you’ll understand how much of a love/hate relationship I have had with this field in my first two years of officially practicing. 

Writing and publishing a book has been something I’ve wanted for literally as long as I can remember. I have written fictionally and journaled about my life since I was able to hold a pencil. I have never been brave enough to share, so all of this is new to me too.

With what I’ve been learning about the publishing process, I’m realizing I am not too far off from similar lessons learned as a therapy provider.

Things. Take. Time. Inevitably. Uncomfortably. You don’t always have full control, and when you do, you lose out on the opportunity to take what someone else has to offer to your process. 

It’s not all bad to take a step back and reconsider an original idea or design. It’s a growing and living being – a dynamic process. I don’t take for granted how getting used to “change” has changed my life. 

Speech path, rather any journey you take on will be littered with obstacles you didn’t imagine. But also, you may not like everything as much as you imagined you would. 

I have chopped, screwed, flipped, and bled out my original ideas of what I wanted from all of this. Me ten years ago, me today, and Me ten years from now, I can imagine will be three distinct personalities wearing the same face and petite body. At first, I would have been disgraced to know that I wouldn’t have stuck to everything I said I would, been mad at future me for getting distracted. Now, I seek out opportunities to get lost and wander in dark places, because no natter what I see nothing but golden sun at the end of the tunnel. I can’t help it, my faith is too big.

I say all this to say, Don’t be resentful of the process. It’s all necessary. Fall in love, not with the way things are “supposed to go” but with each and every step you take along the way.

Quitting My First SLP Job

by suleikapryce, posted in Blog

2020 has been big, long, uncomfortable, too hot or too cold kind of year. This year has taken us all through literal storms of grief and despair. I’m lying if I say that it’s been the worst thing that happened to me; quite honestly, it might have, for these reasons, been the most necessary era I had to go through. I paid my dues in the SNF for a year and a half before I knew for sure I needed to get out. Yes, like an episode out of Jordan Peele’s repertoire. OUT. The plan was just about set and ready, absent of me actually having a decent job replacement. I wanted to travel for 6 weeks in a part of the world that gives me the good kind of shivers. I was sure that things would figure themselves out. An act of God or a pursuit of the devil, I truly don’t know. But March came, then April, then May, and leaving a job when so many were struggling to keep theirs, seemed more selfish and stupid than anything else. In my Tattletales, I walk through far more detail of this period of strife. I lend it to ALL of that, that I got good and ready to completely flip the switch. The events leading up to my resignation were interesting, twisted, and confusing. I don’t think I’ve ever put in a two week notice before, less a full 30 days. These 30 days were the longest I’ve ever experienced. From the outside, it seems as though nothing is going on. On the inside, I have a plethora of doubts, a constant replay of everything leading up to this point, unanswered questions, feeling like I’m walking down a twisted stairwell with a blindfold. This is unlike me. When it comes to a job I hate, or even one I like that’s just not meeting my needs quite as well, I have no problems signing off and saying my final toodleoo. Why were things so different this time? I left the building with tears in my eyes and fear that I felt in my bones. Come my first Monday as an unemployed (well, partially employed) SLP, I was just happy to sleep in. Then the Monday after that, I came really close to using my “hey big head” line to get my foot back in the door. Toxic relationships die the hardest. Mondays have since been really smooth, and it helps a lot that I make my own schedule. Nothing at all beats that. I say all this to say, fear nothing but a comfort zone. “Timing” and faith are all we have but they are not equals. When I ran out of patience waiting for the right time, I just relied on what I had left. So far, so good.

So, What’s the Story Anyway?

Featured by suleikapryce, posted in Advice, Blog, News

Ages ago, no one could tell me I wasn’t going to be a doctor… not just any doctor, but an animal doctor. I’ve never had a pet aside from my goldfish Flipper. I don’t know what led me to this early decision to seek out veterinary medicine; maybe it just sounded cool, but years later I’m everything but what I thought life had set out for me. I’m happy for myself, but also extremely nerve wracked over it all. I don’t have a true recollection of my emotional settings at the beginning of my CFY. A lot was going on, so perhaps a rollercoaster of “Wee, grad school’s done”, loop-dee-loop of “Am I doing this right?” and a screaming roar from the top of “This isn’t what I saw coming!!!!” all hit in the same short duration of time.. and then over and over again until… well, let’s just say I’m still riding this ride without a seatbelt and well under the height requirement. I’m putting my big ol’ foot into this CFY pie called Tattletales of a Speech Language Pathologist – my new book and my new brand. My aim is to guide myself and a number of YOU beautiful people through a journey that no one in our position can take lightly. It’s our bread and butter. Okay, okay, analogies aren’t always my strongest point but it suffices for the speech therapy. It is the foundation we build on for years and years and more years as we fall more in love with our crafts. There are tons of places with tons of information and opportunities to help chisel and tone our skills and experience. You definitely want to get the book if you’ll be in a SNF, and if not, still subscribe for blogs, access to advice column, and my opinion column. This road does not have to be traveled alone. Journey with ME! You won’t regret it.