• The three steps to scaling your clinical expertise, without sacrificing quality.
• How to clarify your personal system so you can delegate, collaborate, and lead.
• How to move from being a great technician to a systems-level leader in your current role.

• How to identify high-impact activities that target foundational language skills.
• How to differentiate your expertise from other professionals and add more value through strategic language intervention.
• The “meta approach” for helping your students be independent learners both during and after their sessions with you.

• A simple and effective method for improving word recognition and retrieval skills.
• Get students excited about learning words and facilitate independent word-learning.
• How to help students problem-solve when they come across difficult words (instead of relying on your prompts).

• Teach your students focus on the most important parts of definitions, so they retain word meanings consistently.
• Help students provide rich descriptions of words by organizing semantic information.
• Train students to define words using "definition syntax", so they can demonstrate what they know.

• Common mistakes school teams make when it comes to spelling instruction, and what to do instead.
• How to increase automaticity with spelling and decoding by studying word parts.
• How to build grammar & spelling skills by integrating phonological, orthographic, and morphological awareness into your sessions.

• Common mistakes school teams make when it comes to spelling instruction, and what to do instead.
• How to increase automaticity with spelling and decoding by studying word parts.
• How to build grammar & spelling skills by integrating phonological, orthographic, and morphological awareness into your sessions.

• Why kids struggle with “wh” questions (and what clinicians often overlook).
• Build listening skills by integrating semantic and morphological skills.
• How to transition from word & sentence-level instruction to comprehension strategies to facilitate skill transfer.

Language Therapy Advance Foundations is an online course for SLPs who work with school-aged children that are affected by language processing difficulties.

The program will walk you through the complete system for remediating language processing challenges by addressing the root causes tied to phonology, morphology, orthography, semantics, and syntax.  

It's 100% online with self-led video trainings, a materials library with printable therapy tools, and an exclusive Facebook group where you can ask questions.  

When you join the program, you get a login to an online members area where you can log in and watch the trainings and download course materials.

When you join, you get access to all course content and resources.

That means if you get behind, you can always catch up later. You'll also be able to go back and re-watch trainings as many times as you want.

You also get access to the member's group, so you can ask questions at your own pace as you're going through program content.

Language Therapy Advance Foundations IS for SLPs who are treating K-12 students who have mild-moderate language disorders, or a history of "language processing" issues.

It IS for kids who are K-12 who are on an academic track (meaning that they will be expected to be learning academic vocabulary and reading/ writing). 

The strategies and framework you'll find inside the program can be applied with students identified as having language difficulties due to the following conditions (but not limited to):  

Developmental language delay or specific language impairment, central auditory processing disorder, emotional disorders, other health impairments, genetic syndromes or disorders, mild intellectual disorders, autism, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, dysgraphia, specific learning disabilities, sensory processing disorder. (Not an exhaustive list).

I'll go in to some of the common populations that people ask about and give some more detail:

Central Auditory Processing Disorder

Underlying language issues at the word and sentence level can cause issues with high-level processing, which often present as “auditory processing” issues. There’s also evidence that addressing those issues with vocabulary/sentence structure will improve processing, while there’s not a ton of evidence that you will create functional gains with drill-type activities aiming at increasing working memory-so I don’t recommend spending a ton of time on those types of things. The skills we’re working on while addressing essential 5, on the other hand, result in better transfer of skills to real-life tasks.

I focus on teaching what we know works; especially because there’s also been research to show that many children won’t respond to instruction focused on high-level comprehension if we don’t address those foundational deficits. What we’ve found is that when you address those underlying issues, the overall language processing abilities improve.

English Language Learners/Bilingual/English as a Second Language

I have mentioned a handful of SLPs who use this system to work with students who speak English as a second language. Our framework doesn’t cover a specific, separate protocol for this population, but rather focuses on teaching strategies designed for individuals with language processing issues.

SLPs who have come in before have found it easy to implement for that particular population, because it really focuses on building metalinguistic awareness skills and word study skills; which is really important for people learning a new language AND also students who struggle with language processing overall. However, it’s important to note, all our materials and strategies are in English and designed to improve functioning in that language.

Specific learning disabilities (dyslexia, dysgraphia, etc).

This framework will help students with dyslexia and dysgraphia. Since we know those disorders are language-based, addressing underlying language issues at the word and sentence level and focusing on metacognitive skills can make a huge difference for them. Also, we will show you how to focus on morphology, orthography, and phonology-which is critical for those populations.

What we’ve found is that a lot of programs out there will show you frameworks for working on those skills, but not in a way that’s feasible for SLPs with only one or two sessions per week (a lot of programs are more for teachers and reading specialists who have daily sessions). However the “essential 5” framework will help you address those skills in a way that’s manageable with a typical SLP schedule.

Autism/ADHD (pragmatics and executive functioning)

If you have a student who needs to work on vocabulary and comprehension and who also has ADHD or autism, this process will help to address those issues. While the framework does not address pragmatic language specifically, becoming more aware of how you use language can have some carryover effects and make people more aware of the perspectives of other people.

However, since we don’t address nonverbal communication and social skills directly, there might be some other strategies you might need to teach students with autism or ADHD.

The same thing applies for executive functioning; building language processing skills can reduce the cognitive load; which can often make it easier to attend to tasks. Attending issues can become worse if you layer language processing difficulties on top of it. Reading comprehension, writing, and many other functional day-to-day activities require executive functioning skills.

However, we need to have the underlying language skills to support those skills; which is why this framework can support those other skills. There are definitely some students who DO need direct work on those high-level skills once they’ve established a foundation; but they will respond more favorably when you address some of the processing issues.

Low IQ, moderate to severe language delays

The essential 5 framework is focused on building academic language skills needed for language processing and literacy skills like reading and writing.

It is a good fit for individuals in the mild to moderate range, who are anticipated to have a decent amount of access to the general education curriculum, and who will be expected to be on an academic track through school rather than a functional/life skills track. It’s not a fit for individuals who are minimally verbal and who are using AAC.

If you have students who are in a life skills curriculum or who have cognitive delays, and they are in early elementary school, it’s possible that they may still benefit from this process because at that age, cognitive skills are still developing. I tend to err on the side of exposing kids to the materials and having higher expectations rather than assuming that they won’t be able to learn the information.

So if you have students who have moderate language issues and you aren’t sure if they are high functioning enough to benefit, I would still recommend trying the framework with them

This is not a program that addresses core vocabulary. It isn't for treating kids who are nonspeaking, who use AAC devices, or kids who are younger than Kindergarten.

If you still have questions about whether this program makes sense for you to join, please don't hesitate to email me: talktome@drkarenspeech.com

Since the techniques I teach you are simply a different strategy to achieve the same end goal that you’re probably already working towards (e.g., better processing skills/better comprehension/better academic performance), there’s no need to re-write any language therapy goals before implementing the strategies in the program-you can simply start doing them and tweak your language goals over time as IEPs and evaluations come due.

In Language Therapy Advance Foundations, I provide you with a manual called the SPOT framework guide where I walk you through how to write goals, how to collect data and track progress, and how to use various data sources to make decisions (like classroom assessments, work samples, standardized language assessments).

I show you how to gather information from the information you have rather than requiring you to start from scratch and have to re-evaluate each student.

When you use the essential 5 framework, you’ll focus on the highest priority skills that have the biggest impact on overall language processing. Not all language skills need to be targeted directly or need to have a goal devoted to them. This is a good thing!

Work on these skills is embedded throughout the strategies I teach, so you'll be working on them within context. There might be places you could justify adding language addressing these skills within your goals, and you can always ask me for clarification or search the past Q & A sessions for specific examples. The SPOT Framework Guide will give you ideas as well.

Instead, we want to focus on high-priority skills, such as those that enable people to expand their use of different sentence types.

Doing this has an impact on overall comprehension, which increases the chance that they’ll be able to read complex texts or compose longer, written essays. Both of these things will give kids more experience using language, which increases language growth over time.

Other skills like antonyms/synonyms, parts of speech, categorization, and verb tenses are relevant to target when done in the right context. I show you how to do that in Language Therapy Advance Foundations.

I have SLPs who use this framework we teach for students ranging from Kindergarten all the way through high school.

I also have a fair amount of SLPs who work solely with students in junior high and high school and they’ve found it a great fit for their students. If you have students who are very young, preschool and younger, it won’t be a good fit for you.

This is a framework for building metalinguistic awareness and word study. I teach a set of strategies that you can use with students all the way from K through 12. You can simply modify the content you’re using (so typically, the vocabulary you’re studying) to make it more or less difficult using the same set of strategies.

This way, you can tailor it to your students’ unique needs and what’s specifically being covered in their curriculum, and still stick with the same core strategies and framework; which ensures that you and your students get very proficient with those core techniques.

Language Therapy Advance Foundations was designed to show speech-language pathologists for language therapy. It's also appropriate for speech-language pathology assistants working under the supervision of a licensed SLP.

If you're a related professional (teacher, therapist, administrator, etc.) you're certainly welcome to join us to learn how you can better understand and collaborate with SLPs.

If you're a parent of a child with a language disorder or other disability, be aware that this was designed as practitioner training; however you're welcome to join us if you'd like to learn more about how to help your child or collaborate with your child's SLP.

As soon as you enroll, you’ll receive access to all content in this package described on the page, including all Language Therapy Advance modules, materials, and bonuses. 

You’ll have lifetime access to the modules and you can start or revisit them at any time.

Most programs help you plan sessions. Language Therapy Advance Foundations helps you design systems.

It’s built for SLPs who already have strategies and materials, but are ready to organize them into something repeatable, teachable, and sustainable.

Instead of giving you more worksheets or flashcards, this course shows you how to connect the five core components (phonology, orthography, morphology, semantics, and syntax) into a strategic framework.

You’ll learn how to make decisions that align across grades and caseloads, so every activity serves a larger purpose.

The Essential 5 isn’t about collecting ideas; it’s about engineering clarity. Once you implement it, your therapy becomes easier to explain, easier to adapt, and easier to scale beyond your direct sessions.

This is how skilled clinicians become leaders. You move from managing sessions to shaping systems, so your expertise carries influence after students leave the therapy room.

Many SLPs find that as they work through the program and implement the strategies, they win back several hours a week and even cut their planning time in half.  

This is an investment that will keep paying for itself, week after week, with all of the time you’ll save in the long run. Plus, when you enroll, you have lifetime access to the modules, materials and our members-only community, which means that you can work through the entire program from the comfort of home, at your own pace.

A lot of our members choose to spend about 2-3 hours a week working through the program over the next 2-3 months.

If you don’t have that much time each week, it’s OK to go a little slower or take a break.

Once you’ve enrolled, the program will always be there for you whenever you’re ready. Each training module is pre-recorded, so you can jump back in if you need to catch up.

You will earn professional development hours (PDHs), which are similar to CEUs (formerly CMHs). This is what your professional development hours are called if you earn them from an organization not directly sponsored by ASHA.

ASHA will accept PDHs as professional development hours “non-ASHA” sponsored organizations such as mine, and there is information about the translation from PDHs to CEUs here, as well as what you’d need to do in order to track them. I will provide certificates you can use to document your hours in the case you are ever audited.  

State licensing boards vary as far as whether they accept PDHs or CEUs — if you’re not sure, check the requirements for your specific state.

You will earn a total of 14 PDHs for Language Therapy Advance Foundations coursework in the core modules. There will be opportunities to earn additional hours if you choose to watch the Q & A replays.

Some of our students have successfully sought reimbursement from their employer, while the majority have invested their own funds and are now experiencing the benefits.

I do accept purchase orders.

If you have questions about how to handle a purchase order, email me at talktome@drkarenspeech.com and I can walk you through that process.

Still have questions? 

Just send me a note by emailing talktome@drkarenspeech.com and I'll be happy to answer.