This week on Stress-Free IEP, host Frances Shefter sits down with speech–language pathologist (SLP) and Unlimited Expressions founder, Jennifer Brooks, to dig into culturally responsive care, practical ways to collaborate across school, home, and community, and how families can meaningfully advocate for services that truly help their child.
Meet the Guest: Care that Reaches Beyond “Just Speech”
Jennifer Brooks launched Unlimited Expressions PLLC as a speech practice—and then widened the lens. Today, her team offers speech therapy, occupational therapy, tutoring, educational support, and even advocacy. They work in schools, at home, and in community settings, building continuity around each child rather than asking families to stitch the system together themselves.
Frances cheers this “wraparound” model because families often experience services as piecemeal: school SLP over here, outside OT over there, and a parent left to coordinate on their own. Jennifer’s answer is a collaborative team that co-treats when helpful, regularly compares notes, and leads with cultural responsiveness.
Trust First: Listening Like You Mean It
For many families—especially those from marginalized communities—trust has been eroded by past experiences: feeling unheard, over-promised, or over-charged. Jennifer’s first principle is simple but powerful: listen to understand, not to reply.
What that looks like in practice:
- Relationship before recommendations. A quick celebration call for a small win, a home visit, or a friendly chat at dismissal signals, “We see you.”
- Consistency with humility. Ask about a family’s values and routines; accept that every family within a culture is uniquely itself. Growth often requires a little professional discomfort.
Frances echoes this as an advocate and parent: when the adults at the table collaborate with families—not at them—the child wins.
Bringing Culture Into the Room (Without Making Kids “Fit the Box”)
A major theme in this episode is cultural responsiveness—not as a “nice to have,” but as Jennifer says, essential. Two practical points stand out:
- Dialect and Accent ≠ Disorder.
SLPs should treat dialects and accents as communicative differences, not deficits. The goal is not to erase how a child or their community speaks. Standardized tests aren’t the whole story; parent input, teacher input, and functional observations matter. Mislabeling dialect features as “errors” risks over-identification.
- Linguistic Flexibility (“Code-Switching”).
Jennifer teaches students that there’s nothing wrong with how they speak at home or with friends. The skill is switching registers when needed—home voice, classroom voice, professional voice—without shame or loss of identity. Frances likens it to knowing when informal habits are fine and when a more formal approach is expected.
What School-Based SLPs Actually Work On
Beyond articulation, a school SLP’s mission is to help students access the curriculum. That often includes:
- Vocabulary, sentence structure, and grammar
- Understanding and answering questions (concrete to abstract)
- Listening and following multi-step directions
- Social–pragmatic communication (now better recognized as central to school success)
As demands rise—from late elementary into middle school—pragmatic differences can become more visible. Both Jennifer and Frances have seen that social communication is not “extra”—it’s essential for group work, classroom participation, and daily life at school.
The IEP Team: Everyone’s an Expert—Including Parents
Frances breaks down the IEP table: general education teacher (curriculum), special education teacher (access/modification), evaluation interpreter, related service providers, and parent (the expert on the child). Problems arise when school teams act like the family is a guest instead of a member.
Jennifer urges teams to embed family culture and values into present levels, goals, services, and progress monitoring—and to remind parents that the IEP is a fluid, living document.
Balancing Services with Reality: When “What’s Best” Shifts
A candid moment: Frances shares her middle-schooler’s story—strong self-advocacy, stress about falling behind, and a choice to pause school-based speech so she could use that time to get work done in a resource class. The key question Jennifer asks teams to consider:
- What’s the educational impact?
- Will the student improve with the service?
- If removed, is regression likely?
Sometimes the right answer is outside services plus a school plan that preserves the child’s bandwidth and dignity. The through-line: listen to the student, honor the family’s priorities, and document that services were genuinely offered in a student-friendly way (e.g., not during recess).
Educational vs. Medical Models: Translating the Report
Frances has seen outside evaluations dismissed as “medical only.” Jennifer confirms: IEP teams can accept or reject outside reports in whole or part—so families need the bridge from medical language to educational impact. The winning move is to connect the dots: how a tested difference limits classroom participation, learning, or functional school skills.
And if a child doesn’t meet a district’s eligibility cutoffs (e.g., the dreaded “not 25% delayed”), all is not lost. Jennifer points families to university clinics and private practices that can offer therapy, groups, and targeted programs beyond the school day.
Practical Steps for Parents Who Suspect Speech/Language Needs
Jennifer’s starter script and sequence:
- Share specific home observations with the teacher.
(“We often can’t understand Maya; she repeats and gets frustrated. Do you see this at school?”)
- Request a school screening to determine whether full evaluation is warranted.
- During evaluation and IEP development, describe what success looks like for your child—in your family’s words and values.
- If school services aren’t approved or aren’t the right fit, consider outside options (university clinics, private practices, weekend programs) while continuing to collaborate with the school team.
Community Programs that Make Therapy Feel Like Play
Unlimited Expressions is leaning into community-based supports:
- Saturday Sensory Pop-Up (ages 3–5):
A four-week (or drop-in) series blending sensory integration, communication, and social-pragmatic work through therapeutic play. The current pop-up is hosted at the Penfield Play Lab in Upper Marlboro, MD, with plans to “pop up” across the DMV.
- Parent Collective (Facebook):
A growing community for resources, peer support, and guest speakers.
- Parent Cohort (coming soon):
A guided series to demystify the IEP and build confident advocacy.
Families can start with a free 15-minute consultation via the Unlimited Expressions website (link in the show notes).
Quick Wins for Schools and Providers
Jennifer offers small, everyday signals that tell a child “you belong here”:
- Greet a student in their home language in the hallway.
- Notice and compliment a hairstyle or cultural detail they’re proud of.
- Treat cultural responsiveness as core practice, not an add-on.
Tiny gestures, repeated consistently, lower defenses and create a classroom where learning sticks.
Final Takeaways
- Trust is built before therapy begins. Listen deeply, celebrate small wins, and meet families where they are.
- Culture counts. Dialect and accent are differences, not disorders—and tests never stand alone.
- The IEP team is truly a team. Parents are experts. Embed family values into the plan.
- Services should serve the child. Consider educational impact, stress, scheduling, and student voice when deciding what to add, change, or pause.
- There are always options. If school eligibility is a “no,” university clinics, community programs, and private practices can fill gaps.
- Play is powerful. Sensory-rich, play-based groups can supercharge communication and social growth.
Want to connect with Jennifer Brooks and Unlimited Expressions?
Schedule a free consult and check out their programs via the link in our show notes. And if this episode helped, share it with someone in your village—because you don’t have to do this alone.
Reach out to Jennifer here:
Website: https://www.unlimitedexpressionsllc.com/
