De Facto Leaders

When kids show negative behaviors, it’s often because they’re struggling to do what they’re being asked to do. This unfortunately happens a lot in school settings. You may have heard the saying “Kindergarten is the new 1st grade”. Kindergarten used to be focused on play, and its becoming increasingly more academic. When “behavior problems” come up, we have to consider the demands being placed on kids. Are they truly “behavior issues”, or are we simply asking kids to do too much too soon? In episode 50, I dive into this topic with my friend and colleague, neurodivergent pediatric speech-language pathologist, Brittany Bohach. Specifically, we discuss: ✅Popular pre-k classroom activities and accompanying behavior problems that go along with them. ✅What’s really causing kids to act out, and why punishment isn’t the best option to solve the issue. ✅Common environmental classroom triggers that can result in meltdowns in emergent communicators ✅Why kids resist common school activities (circle time, calendar time, snack), and why standard behavior management strategies can cause more harm than good. If you’re a therapist, parent, or teacher who is helping a child with “Kindergarten readiness” and school in general, you’re going to love this episode. To connect with Brittany Bohach, check out her private practice, Satellite Pediatric Therapy Services on Instagram at  @satellitepediatrictherapy. Additionally, we mentioned the work of Dr. Ross Greene on this episode, which you can learn more about here. Finally, I also mentioned the Time Tracking Journal, my resource for parents and therapists who want to help kids build executive functioning skills during common non-preferred or challenging daily tasks (e.g., chores, homework). The Time Tracking Journal gives you a set of strategies to help kids complete daily routines independently by giving them the problem-solving skills they need to plan their day strategically. You can learn more about the Time Tracking Journal here. The De Facto Leaders podcast was formerly the “Are they 18 yet?®” podcast. As of November 2022, the name of the show has changed, and we’ve shifted from a focus on parenting to a focus on supporting clinicians and educators to design effective services for kids (but parents are still welcome to listen). Episodes published before November 24, 2022 will still contain some of our old branding.  We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Are "natural" remedies really better when it comes to ADHD, autism, and related conditions? What does it mean to use a "natural" treatment or intervention? In this episode, I discuss why those questions aren't easy to answer. Specifically, I discuss: ✅The "appeal to nature" fallacy, what it is and why it's potentially harmful. ✅Common "natural" treatments for conditions like ADHD (such as diet, sleep hygiene, supplementation) ✅How to avoid distorted thinking when making decisions about medication and other treatment options. ✅The problem with "child-led" interventions, and how to reframe that term in a way that helps kids build resilience. In this episode, I mentioned  this episode about homeopathy from the Unbiased Science podcast. I also mentioned the book "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer. If you want to create healthy home environment that supports executive functioning and independence in school-age kids, check out my program for therapists, teachers, and parents, Executive Functioning for Success. Executive Functioning for Success provides a 12-week plan for optimizing your home for learning, and helping kids become more independent with daily tasks at the same time. Whether it be simple chores, basic self-care and hygiene, or academic tasks; this program will show you how to teach your kids the critical thinking skills to work through it. You can learn more about how to join here: https://drkarenspeech.com/executivefunctions (Disclaimer: This episode should not be considered medical or legal advice, and should not be used to diagnose or treat any specific medical condition). The De Facto Leaders podcast was formerly the “Are they 18 yet?®” podcast. As of November 2022, the name of the show has changed, and we’ve shifted from a focus on parenting to a focus on supporting clinicians and educators to design effective services for kids (but parents are still welcome to listen). Episodes published before November 24, 2022 will still contain some of our old branding.  We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Am I choosing the right language screening tool? How do I know when a child should be screened and evaluated? I get these questions a lot. That's why in this episode, I wanted to bust some common myths about language screenings and evaluations. I'm going to share:  ✅The difference between a screening and evaluation (plus common mistakes people make). ✅Why thinking of a screening as a "test" is problematic. ✅When you might not have to use a formal language screener (and what you can do instead). ✅A simple tool I use to simplify the screening process, so I make sure I'm evaluating the right students. In this episode I mentioned the Academic Language Skills Rating Scale, a tool I use to streamline language screenings, so students don't fall through the cracks. You can download your copy of this tool at: drkarenspeech.com/languagescreening. The De Facto Leaders podcast was formerly the “Are they 18 yet?®” podcast. As of November 2022, the name of the show has changed, and we’ve shifted from a focus on parenting to a focus on supporting clinicians and educators to design effective services for kids (but parents are still welcome to listen). Episodes published before November 24, 2022 will still contain some of our old branding.  We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Does class size matter? Is homework effective? What's the best way to help kids learn to read?  Why do some teachers (and schools) succeed while others fail? Dr. John Hattie attempted to answer these questions in his meta-analysis, published in his book, Visible Learning. This meta-analysis has been widely cited and used in teacher preparation programs all over the world, and has also been used to make decisions regarding educational policy and funding. But are the conclusions accurate? In this episode I dig in to that question as I share some critical reviews of Dr. Hattie's work. Specifically, I share the problems that come when using statistics like effect size (used in Hattie's meta-analysis) to make practical decisions in education. Additionally, I share one specific place where I disagree with Hattie's conclusions, plus some additional research that supports my point of view; specifically when it comes to sentence-combining, language processing, and comprehension. You can find Dr. John Hattie's site here. You can find some critical review of his work here and  here. I also mentioned that research supports the use of sentence-combining with certain students. You can find several studies that support this  here,  here, and  here. I also share some additional support for sentence-combining and explicit work on syntax in my Ultimate Guide to Sentence Structure, which you can download here. The De Facto Leaders podcast was formerly the “Are they 18 yet?®” podcast. As of November 2022, the name of the show has changed, and we’ve shifted from a focus on parenting to a focus on supporting clinicians and educators to design effective services for kids (but parents are still welcome to listen). Episodes published before November 24, 2022 will still contain some of our old branding.  We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

In this episode, I continue the discussion about language processing and how to support it. I continue the discussion of difficult sentence types, and dive in to one very challenging syntax skill that tends to cause processing problems. Working on this skill can not only improve language comprehension, but it can also help kids more effectively express themselves verbally or in writing. If you're working with kids who have difficulty with reading comprehension, have difficult following directions with multiple steps, or if you have a child who has a hard time keeping up with the pace of daily routines, you'll find it really helpful. Specifically, I'm going to share: ✅Why language processing issues can often be mistaken for "behavior issues", and why this can be damaging to a child's self-esteem. ✅One powerful skill kids need in order to be able to comprehend sophisticated language during conversations or book reading. ✅How to support kids' language skills during reading and other daily activities (by emphasizing one key syntax skill). In this episode, I also mention my Ultimate Guide to Sentence Structure, that takes this information a step further.This guide walks through some of the common skills that cause language processing problems and how to work on them with kids.Inside this 36-page guide, you’ll learn:Simple strategies proven to boost sentence structure, comprehension, and written language.The 4 sentence types your students need to know in order to comprehend language successfully.A deceptively simple way to write language goals; so you’re not spending hours on paperwork (for my SLP listeners).You can download your free copy on my website at: drkarenspeech.com/sentencestructure. The De Facto Leaders podcast was formerly the “Are they 18 yet?®” podcast. As of November 2022, the name of the show has changed, and we’ve shifted from a focus on parenting to a focus on supporting clinicians and educators to design effective services for kids (but parents are still welcome to listen). Episodes published before November 24, 2022 will still contain some of our old branding.  We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Language skills are essential to a child's ability to succeed in school and life. But when processing language is a struggle there can be a global impact across a child's entire day. Language comprehension issues can be such as challenge for therapists, parents and teachers because they're difficult to spot. Often they look like a "behavior problem" when a child doesn't follow instructions, or when they appear to be off-task. On top of that, when kids repeated fail at a certain task and no one can figure out why, it's only natural for them to stop trying or willfully avoid it. That's why in this episode, I'm getting the word out about language processing and why it's so important to develop in school-age kids. Here's what I'll be discussing in this episode: ✅The difference between "speech therapy" and "language therapy". ✅Red flags of language processing issues and how to spot them. ✅One of the most common culprits behind processing issues (that's often overlooked). ✅The 4 types of sentences that are difficult for kids with language processing issues. In this episode, I also mention my Ultimate Guide to Sentence Structure, that takes this information a step further. This guide walks through some of the common skills that cause language processing problems and how to work on them with kids. You can download your free copy on my website at: drkarenspeech.com/sentencestructure. The De Facto Leaders podcast was formerly the “Are they 18 yet?®” podcast. As of November 2022, the name of the show has changed, and we’ve shifted from a focus on parenting to a focus on supporting clinicians and educators to design effective services for kids (but parents are still welcome to listen). Episodes published before November 24, 2022 will still contain some of our old branding.  We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Vocabulary growth is one of the biggest predictors of language growth and academic success. That's why in this episode, I talk about what speech pathologists, parents, and teachers can do to help kids build strong vocabulary skills across elementary school through high school. Specifically, I share: ✅Why it's hard to pinpoint what language and vocabulary skills are "age-appropriate" between Kindergarten and 12th grade. ✅What types of words we should be emphasizing to help kids learn words more efficiently. ✅Some practical ways to improve kids' vocabulary in the home environment. To learn more information about how to build language skills across the school-age years, check out my blog here: https://drkarenspeech.com/blog/ If you want more specific information about the language therapy framework I teach SLPs that I mentor (that's specifically designed to build the vocabulary skills that support strong comprehension), then check out my free online presentation. You can sign up for spot here: https://drkarenspeech.com/language The De Facto Leaders podcast was formerly the “Are they 18 yet?®” podcast. As of November 2022, the name of the show has changed, and we’ve shifted from a focus on parenting to a focus on supporting clinicians and educators to design effective services for kids (but parents are still welcome to listen). Episodes published before November 24, 2022 will still contain some of our old branding.  We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Reading comprehension is one of the most important skills for academic success. It's a skill that can help us to continue to learn new information throughout our lives. On the other hand, kids who struggle to understand what they read are at a disadvantage when it comes to getting in school and beyond. When I worked in the school systems as a speech-language pathologist, a large portion of my caseload was referred to me because of language and literacy challenges. Poor reading comprehension was often the red flag that resulted in those referrals. The challenge was knowing what to do for those students. That's why in this episode, I aim to answer the question of "Whose job is it to support kids' reading comprehension skills?" Specifically, I share: ✅The typical scope and sequence of reading instruction across K-12, and why some kids struggle with it. ✅The common causes of reading comprehension difficulties, and what schools and professionals typically do to address them. ✅What SLPs, teachers, and parents can do to work as a team in supporting reading comprehension. In this episode, I share my brand new presentation that walks through my framework I teach SLPs I mentor. This process is designed to help professionals like SLPs give kids the foundational skills they need to support strong reading comprehension. I designed it with SLPs in mind, so if you're a speech pathologist supporting a K-12 caseload, it will give you a ton of clarity. If you're a teacher or a parent, you're welcome to check it out as well (or share with your child's speech pathologist). You can save your seat in this presentation here. The De Facto Leaders podcast was formerly the “Are they 18 yet?®” podcast. As of November 2022, the name of the show has changed, and we’ve shifted from a focus on parenting to a focus on supporting clinicians and educators to design effective services for kids (but parents are still welcome to listen). Episodes published before November 24, 2022 will still contain some of our old branding.  We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

When raising kids in elementary school, junior high, and high school, a lot of parents wonder if they're preparing their kids for what lies ahead in college and adulthood. We can't look in to a crystal ball and predict the future, but we can bring insights from our own failures and successes to the way we parent. That's why in this episode, Joe and I continue our conversation about his experience going through school, including:  ✅How he initially failed out of college, but then later went back and got a master's degree from the same university.  ✅What he wishes he would have learned after being evaluated for ADHD, and how we bring these insights into the way we parent.  ✅How he learned to be more disciplined and structure his environment so you he can perform his best and focus (without using medication). If you want to better prepare your K-12 kids for what lies ahead, you'll get a ton out of listening in to this episode. (Disclaimer: This episode should not be considered medical or legal advice, and should not be used to diagnose or treat any specific medical condition). If you’re a parent who wants to set your kids up for success as adults, then then you’re going to love my free parent guide, which I mentioned in this episode. In this guide, I share the executive functioning skills kids need in order to stay organized, focused, and motivated during their day-to-day tasks like chores and homework. You can sign up for the guide here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/parentguide The De Facto Leaders podcast was formerly the “Are they 18 yet?®” podcast. As of November 2022, the name of the show has changed, and we’ve shifted from a focus on parenting to a focus on supporting clinicians and educators to design effective services for kids (but parents are still welcome to listen). Episodes published before November 24, 2022 will still contain some of our old branding.  We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

We all have a point where the demands of life become too overwhelming and we lose our ability to self-manage and stay disciplined. For people who have a diagnosis of ADHD, that point can come sooner rather than later. In this episode, my husband (Joe) shares what happened when he hit his breaking point, including: ✅His experience growing up with an "almost ADHD" diagnosis ✅How he managed to fall through the cracks and squeak by in elementary and secondary school.  ✅What happened when he went away to college and didn't have his built-in accountability systems (a.k.a., his parents). If you have a kid in K-12 and you want to learn what challenges might lie ahead for your kids and what red flags to look out for in elementary and secondary school, you're going to love this episodeAnd spoiler alert: This story has a happy ending. This is just the first of a two-part interview. (Disclaimer: This episode should not be considered medical or legal advice, and should not be used to diagnose or treat any specific medical condition). If you’re a parent who wants to set your kids up for success as adults, then then you’re going to love my free parent guide, which I mentioned in this episode. In this guide, I share the different types of executive functioning skills kids need in order to stay organized, focused, and motivated during their day-to-day tasks like chores and homework. You can sign up for the guide here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/parentguide The De Facto Leaders podcast was formerly the “Are they 18 yet?®” podcast. As of November 2022, the name of the show has changed, and we’ve shifted from a focus on parenting to a focus on supporting clinicians and educators to design effective services for kids (but parents are still welcome to listen). Episodes published before November 24, 2022 will still contain some of our old branding.  We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.