Not My First Rodeo

Speech Therapy with My Daughter and Clear Goals that Stick

This week I sat in another speech therapy session with my daughter. It’s not my first rodeo. Second child, second round of services but this time it felt so different.

Why? Because since creating our app, I knew exactly what to ask for.

Her therapist and I set goals around Total Communication (using signs, gestures, or words), following Novel Directions, Identifying Objects, and Using Vocabulary. I walked in already clear on what mattered, what I wanted to see, and how I could actually make time for practice without overwhelming myself.

I’m not over-planning. I’m not drowning in sticky notes. I’m simply tracking, practicing in dedicated little windows of time, and walking into each session ready to show exactly what she’s done. And here’s the wild part - she’s already meeting some of these goals. Insane progress in such a short time because we have clarity on expectations.

Why This Matters for Educators

As a mom, I finally felt in control of my daughter’s supports. But as an educator, this hit me even harder.

So many of us know the frustration of sitting in meetings with goals that sound good on paper but don’t translate into action in the classroom. We want to track progress, but the reality is we’re juggling dozens of students and trying not to lose our own sanity.

That’s exactly why we built Symplifyed. To take the heavy lift out of goal-setting and progress monitoring. To give both teachers and parents the confidence to say, “I know exactly what we’re working on. Here’s the data. And yes, it’s working.”

The Big Takeaway

Whether it’s your own child or your students, clarity and consistency change everything.

When the plan is clear and the progress is visible, goals stop being paperwork and start being possible.

And if my daughter can start knocking out her communication goals this quickly, imagine what your students could do with the same kind of clarity and tracking