Episode 14: Phương Liên Palafox On What Surprised Her About The Research On School SLPs and How She Imagines a Future of Inclusivity

In this episode, Colleen and Phương Liên Palafox discuss the study she co-authored on the invisible workload of school-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and what surprised her about the self-advocacy efforts of school based SLPs and what themes emerged within the qualitative data. Phương details what the systemic barriers SLPs face to real change within the school system and draws on her own experience as a leader within a school district to give Colleen some advice on how to advocate to administrators in a way that centers student needs.The two also discuss the importance of multicultural considerations and how critical it is to determine difference vs. disorder for multi-lingual learners during an evaluation for special education. Finally, Colleen read an excerpt from Phương's piece in the Centennial Edition of the ASHA Leader, and envisioning a future where inclusion and multilingualism are central to education in the US and the work of Speech Language Therapists is honored.

Topics:

Exploring the Invisible Workload

• Multicultural Considerations in Therapy

• Systemic Barriers and Advocacy

• Storytelling as a Tool for Change

• Envisioning a Better Future

• 
  https://leader.pubs.asha.org/do/10.1044/leader.FTR1k.30092025.slp-schools-inclusivity.40/full/

• The Invisible Workload of School-Based Speech-Language Pathologists Who Identify as Overwhelmed: A Grounded Theory Study

  Authors: , , and https://pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/2025_LSHSS-24-00098If you are not able to access the article through ASHA, please email connect@phuonglienpalafox.com

  Books by Phương Liên Palafox can be found at https://bookshop.org/

  Titles:

  • The Heartbeat of Speech Language Pathology: Changing the World One Session at a Time

  • Buoy

  Inquire about speaking events or professional development at www.phuonglienpalafox.com

  On Instagram @phuonglienpalafox

  https://www.facebook.com/phuonglienpalafoxSLP

  For more Unfiltered Content Follow Colleen @theadvocate.slp on Instagram

  & comment, follow and share the Pod with a friend!