Caseload vs Workload for School Based SLPs, Why the Number Is Not the Whole Story

[00:00:00] Many administrators are making decisions based on [00:00:05] caseload numbers, and a caseload number does look very tidy on paper, [00:00:10] but school-based SLPs know the real story is behind [00:00:15] a few questions. What does the caseload look like? What are the dynamics of the school?
[00:00:20] And a caseload of fifty students can look [00:00:25] incredibly different in terms of the actual workload. And in this [00:00:30] episode, we are going to dive into exactly what that invisible work [00:00:35] is and how to use data and clear [00:00:40] language to advocate for support and changes without [00:00:45] making it personal. We're going to share effective strategies that can help [00:00:50] bridge those gaps.
So first and for-foremost, I think we [00:00:55] all are aware of this, but caseload does not equal [00:01:00] workload. Caseload is simply the number of students that you're serving, and workload [00:01:05] is everything that it takes to support those students. ASHA [00:01:10] redid a survey in twenty twenty-four, and we'll dive into some of that data, [00:01:15] but some examples of the invisible work are [00:01:20] evaluations and IEPs, and this can vary depending on the [00:01:25] needs of the students and the types of evaluations and IEPs that we're doing.[00:01:30]
If it is a very litigious school, for [00:01:35] example, we might have to spend a little bit of extra time on our [00:01:40] paperwork and providing evidence and explaining things in meetings and [00:01:45] having more time for that, or just the complexity of cases. We might have to do more [00:01:50] testing. It also involves parent communication, teacher communication. [00:01:55] There are different levels of communication required depending on the [00:02:00] dynamics of the school, the needs of the students, et cetera, et cetera. If we have students [00:02:05] using AAC, we're programming devices. If we're [00:02:10] at multiple schools, we may be traveling in between schools and depending on [00:02:15] the flexibility of the schedules, we might be driving back and forth multiple times throughout the [00:02:20] week versus having set days at set schools. That can make things a lot [00:02:25] more complex. How many consults, how many referrals we're getting.
[00:02:30] And the math isn't mathing because the wrong thing is being measured. We [00:02:35] really need to look at all of these examples that go into [00:02:40] an SLP's workload instead of simply looking at the number.[00:02:45]
And I already mentioned the twenty twenty-four ASHA survey. [00:02:50] They found that the median school-based SLP caseload was fifty [00:02:55] students, and the median manageable caseload reported by [00:03:00] clinicians was closer to forty. So we're experiencing [00:03:05] a lot more work on our plates than [00:03:10] we think is manageable, but even beyond that, [00:03:15] the median of actual caseloads was 50, so that means that a lot of [00:03:20] SLPs are having much larger caseloads.
And invisible [00:03:25] tasks are real work, even if they don't show up on [00:03:30] our student roster. And it makes sense that a lot of [00:03:35] us are feeling overwhelmed because the workload is getting [00:03:40] more and more complex for a number of reasons, increasing student [00:03:45] need and just increasing caseloads overall, and [00:03:50] multiple other factors that we don't have time to dive into [00:03:55] today.
Let's just call out the emotional cost of this invisible [00:04:00] workload. A lot of school-based SLPs are thinking, "Why can't I keep [00:04:05] up? Why am I always behind? Why does everyone else seem more organized?" [00:04:10] And if you are asking yourself those questions, it does not [00:04:15] mean that you are not a competent SLP. It likely means [00:04:20] that the workload is unmanageable.
And of course, [00:04:25] there are things that we can do, but we will talk through a process [00:04:30] of sharing that invisible workload with your administrators and [00:04:35] using that as a tool to facilitate those discussions and [00:04:40] advocate for changes. A lot of school-based [00:04:45] SLPs are burning out, and they're leaving the field. [00:04:50] And if you're burned out, it doesn't mean that you don't care enough about your students. [00:04:55] It usually means that you've just been carrying too much. School-based SLPs [00:05:00] play such a significant role in the school [00:05:05] ecosystem, and it breaks my heart anytime I see a [00:05:10] school-based SLP leaving the field.
And our mission at SLP Now [00:05:15] is really to empower you in your role [00:05:20] and empower you to find joy and serve your students [00:05:25] well and love your career. So let's dive into a practical [00:05:30] framework that we can use to navigate these types of discussions. I'm going to [00:05:35] share a couple strategies that we can use, and then a framework to [00:05:40] help us document what we're doing and advocate for that [00:05:45] change.
I know that a lot of us love to vent to each other. [00:05:50] When I was spiraling towards burnout and managing [00:05:55] my caseload in the triple digits, I spent a lot of time on the phone and [00:06:00] in meetings with my colleagues, venting about the [00:06:05] circumstances and how things were, and we just were looking for things [00:06:10] that weren't right.
And that can be helpful and [00:06:15] therapeutic to a degree, but at a point it does become counterproductive. [00:06:20] Personally, I was having a pity party, and it didn't make anything more manageable. [00:06:25] It just made it worse. So we want to be able to take some [00:06:30] steps, and move out of the venting mode and see if we can [00:06:35] actually do something to make our situations better.
So some things that we can [00:06:40] consider are protecting our contract hours. So [00:06:45] when we're at work, we are at work and we're focused and we're making the most of our [00:06:50] time. But at the end of the day, if we are able to [00:06:55] shut down our laptops, and head home and decompress from the day, have [00:07:00] family time, do our hobbies, whatever it might be, we will be able to show up [00:07:05] as more effective SLPs.
And now I know that this is easier [00:07:10] said than done. I definitely struggled with this when I was managing my [00:07:15] triple digits caseload, and there are factors that we want to consider, [00:07:20] but that can be something to work towards or strive towards [00:07:25] in protecting our contract hours. And many of you listening are probably much better at [00:07:30] this than I was back in the day. I've definitely made some improvements [00:07:35] myself. So that's the first thing of protecting our contract hours as much as [00:07:40] possible.
We can also prioritize what's most [00:07:45] important, and this can be a discussion with our administrator, and we'll talk [00:07:50] about how to have some data behind it.
But I assume that they want to [00:07:55] prioritize legal compliance deadlines. If you ask them, "Okay, [00:08:00] I have this many hours. This is how much time I'm spending on my paperwork. This is how many [00:08:05] hours of therapy I'm providing. This is how much time I spend in meetings, and [00:08:10] I have X amount of hours left. Is there something [00:08:15] that you think I should deprioritize on the list that I have? What can [00:08:20] be put to the wayside?" So maybe they have some additional documentation requirements and they [00:08:25] say, "Okay, that actually doesn't matter as much," or, "Okay, maybe we [00:08:30] don't need to bill Medicaid." I've seen this happen.
And so there is potential for [00:08:35] working with your administrator to prioritize, what actually takes [00:08:40] precedence? That conversation is a lot easier if we are [00:08:45] documenting how we are spending our time. And granted, we don't want to be documenting [00:08:50] every single minute for every single day for the entire school year.
I don't think [00:08:55] that's necessarily productive. Maybe in different seasons of the year because our workload does [00:09:00] fluctuate, during progress note season and in the springtime we may have a lot more [00:09:05] referrals and evaluations. And so our work looks different in the fall versus the spring. [00:09:10] We're just focusing on different things.
I use SLP Now to do this. In SLP Now, [00:09:15] you can set up different blocks of time. You can add in categories for all of the [00:09:20] invisible work. You can add in consults, meetings, paperwork, [00:09:25] Medicaid billing, whatever it might be.
You can add those time blocks to your calendar as you're [00:09:30] going through the day. And in SLP Now, you can print [00:09:35] your calendar, and it'll automatically add up the time that you have spent [00:09:40] in those different categories. So if you did that for a week, you could share that [00:09:45] weekly printout with your administrator and say, "Okay, I spent this much time [00:09:50] in these buckets."
And you can also have your list of, "I still need [00:09:55] to do this, this, this, and this, and I expect it to take about this amount of [00:10:00] time." And I think it's also helpful to share, "Hey, I've been doing [00:10:05] professional development. I am trying to implement strategies to [00:10:10] make it easier for me to write IEPs and to speed up my efficiency. I've created [00:10:15] templates. I've done X. I've done Z." Sharing the strategies that you've tried [00:10:20] so you're not just like, "My workload is too much," and you're not giving them anything. If you [00:10:25] go into a meeting with an administrator or even sending an email [00:10:30] of, "Okay, this is how I spent my time this week," and very [00:10:35] neutrally stating, "This is what I have left. This is what I've [00:10:40] done to be more efficient with my time. What are you [00:10:45] seeing? What do you think I can work on? What should I de- prioritize? What can I do to improve?" [00:10:50] And genuinely asking for that feedback and that input, because it might [00:10:55] be that they're like, "Okay, you actually don't have to do Y and [00:11:00] Z."
If you didn't communicate that, maybe you would be working at home, late at night or over the [00:11:05] weekend on those things when they don't really matter or when they could be [00:11:10] deprioritized. Or sending this information over might let [00:11:15] them make it really clear of, "Okay, I do need to offer additional support for this [00:11:20] SLP."
I know that it doesn't always work out beautifully, and we don't always get what we [00:11:25] need. but those are some options and strategies that I [00:11:30] have seen work for SLPs. By doing that, we're [00:11:35] making the invisible work visible. We're showing administrators exactly how we're spending [00:11:40] our time, and we're demonstrating that we are making an effort.
[00:11:45] We are trying to meet them halfway. We are looking at ourselves as [00:11:50] professionals and identifying opportunities for improvement, and then genuinely [00:11:55] asking for support. "These are the things that I'm struggling with. What do you [00:12:00] as an administrator have to support me with that?" And [00:12:05] that support can look like a number of different things.
When we share this with our [00:12:10] administrators, we can say, "I'm tracking my workload to make sure that I meet [00:12:15] compliance deadlines and provide quality services. This is the time that I've [00:12:20] documented. This is what I did in my contract hours. This is what I did [00:12:25] outside of work," or, "This is what I was not able to complete in my hours." [00:12:30] And just being able to say, "The required tasks at this time [00:12:35] are exceeding my contract hours."
This isn't about complaining. It's [00:12:40] about using objective data and leaning on our administrators [00:12:45] for support and wanting to collaborate and work together to problem-solve.
[00:12:50] We all want to serve our students as [00:12:55] well as we possibly can, and I know administrators are very motivated to [00:13:00] increase compliance and reduce those types of complications. And bringing [00:13:05] this together in a neutral [00:13:10] problem-solving focus can make a really big difference.
In SLP Now, [00:13:15] we have an Academy, and we have mini courses that are [00:13:20] focused on helping SLPs reduce their workload in all [00:13:25] of these different domains, whether it's paperwork, data collection, progress [00:13:30] notes, therapy planning. We have supports in place to help you [00:13:35] reduce your workload.
And workload [00:13:40] advocacy is important. And the systems that keep [00:13:45] our paperwork and planning from eating the very little margin that we do [00:13:50] have as school-based SLPs, we are able to make the most of our contract [00:13:55] hours, serve our students as well as we can, and get things [00:14:00] done, meeting those compliance deadlines and all of that, while still enjoying our jobs [00:14:05] and being able to go home at the end of the day and have a fulfilling life [00:14:10] as well.
There are some things that we can do to [00:14:15] increase our efficiency and decrease our workload with some [00:14:20] strategies. And for some of us, if we have a caseload of forty students, then [00:14:25] implementing some of those strategies might do the trick.
And for some of us, a caseload [00:14:30] of fifty or sixty students might be manageable, especially if we're implementing [00:14:35] strategies and doing those things. Maybe even a higher caseload if we have a little bit of support in [00:14:40] place. It doesn't mean that our caseload has to be forty or a caseload has to be [00:14:45] fifty.
There are obviously those workload factors that we discussed and [00:14:50] individual factors.
If we are feeling, "Okay, I implemented the [00:14:55] strategies, I've optimized my workload, I've tried to get organized, I've done these things, and the [00:15:00] workload still feels impossible." That's a great time to start [00:15:05] documenting to see where our time is going, and then [00:15:10] use that as a springboard for conversations and support. You can even [00:15:15] compare notes with other SLPs. If all the SLPs do a time [00:15:20] study for a week and then at a meeting you can see, "Okay, I'm spending about this [00:15:25] amount of time. Oh, you're only spending half the amount of time? What are you doing to make that happen?" [00:15:30] And so you can work together to implement strategies, but then also will want to [00:15:35] ask the administrator for support if the workload is just [00:15:40] too much. It's multifactorial there.
I implemented some of these [00:15:45] strategies myself and made my extreme caseload [00:15:50] a lot more manageable, and I know that there's at least some [00:15:55] relief available to you.
Hopefully being able to implement some of these [00:16:00] advocacy strategies helps get you even more relief.
I [00:16:05] wanted to share one other SLP story. So I chatted with an SLP, [00:16:10] and she overhauled her paperwork and planning workflow using [00:16:15] SLP Now, and last year she was able to stop bringing work [00:16:20] home, and she is saving about 40 hours a month.
She was able to [00:16:25] reduce her workload by a full work week a month, and she's able to [00:16:30] get her work done In her contract [00:16:35] time.
Even though we are having bigger issues in the [00:16:40] system overall in terms of workload and caseload numbers, [00:16:45] better systems can still give us a little bit of breathing room.
So if we are implementing [00:16:50] strategies and able to get even little supports in place, it can make our [00:16:55] job just that much more manageable.
So I challenge you [00:17:00] to think about, okay, is there something where I'm [00:17:05] really struggling, where I feel like I really need help? If paperwork takes you tons and [00:17:10] tons of time. We shouldn't have to spend hours and hours on an IEP.
[00:17:15] And if you're in that boat of, " I absolutely know what I need to work on. Let me work on that and try and [00:17:20] make that more manageable." I invite you to sign up for a free trial of SLP [00:17:25] Now and check out the Academy courses and find the course that matches the area that [00:17:30] you need help with.
That would give you a lot of relief really [00:17:35] quickly. And then if you're looking at your workload and "I [00:17:40] feel like I've been listening to the podcast, I've been optimizing things. I feel like I'm actually doing [00:17:45] okay. There's not a really obvious area," I encourage you to [00:17:50] track your work hours and do that quote unquote time study.
Track your [00:17:55] workload for five to 10 days. And you can do that in SLP Now or you can just [00:18:00] do it on a piece of paper, whatever is most efficient for you. Use that as [00:18:05] a self-reflection tool, but then also to springboard some of those [00:18:10] conversations with your administrators.
Let's not justify our [00:18:15] exha-exhaustion with guilt. Let's start with data and then let's go from there and see what we [00:18:20] need to do. I hope that this was a helpful conversation. [00:18:25] I'm really glad that you stuck around with me and engaged in this. I [00:18:30] would love to see you in SLP Now and support you in helping your workload [00:18:35] get to a more manageable level.
At the very least, I hope that this is a helpful springboard [00:18:40] for those conversations to advocate for some of that change. I hope you [00:18:45] have a fabulous rest of your week and I'll see you again real soon.