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Speech Connect, SLP directory, private practice growth, ASHA ProFind alternative, and access to speech therapy, this episode covers it all.
Dr. Jeanette Benigas sits down with Jordyn Montique, MS/SLP (@jrc_theslp), founder of Speech Connect, a new free, community-driven directory for licensed speech-language pathologists. Speech Connect allows families to filter by identity, specialty, neurodiversity-affirming care, insurance type, private pay, teletherapy, and more, FOR FREE, without requiring the CCC.
In this conversation, they discuss why families struggle to find the right SLP, how long waitlists limit access to care, why representation in speech-language pathology matters, how private practice owners can build sustainable referral networks, and why decentralizing gatekeeping in the profession is critical to the field's future.
In this conversation, they discuss why families struggle to find the right SLP, how long waitlists limit access to care, why representation in speech-language pathology matters, how private practice owners can build sustainable referral networks, and why decentralizing gatekeeping in the profession is critical to the field's future.
If youโre an SLP, private practice owner, or family searching for speech therapy services, this episode explains why Speech Connect may change how clinicians and communities connect.
Register for the directory at speechconnect.org and support the fundraiser helping launch Speech Connect nationwide.
Want to binge some of our top episodes? Get caught up with Colleen Ashford (The ASHA Convention that Changed Everything) and AC Goldberg (I'm Not Dropping the CCC and Here's Why)
Want to binge some of our top episodes? Get caught up with Colleen Ashford (The ASHA Convention that Changed Everything) and AC Goldberg (I'm Not Dropping the CCC and Here's Why)
๐ ๏ธ Stop paying to track ASHA-approved CEUs. Save your money and set up for a FREE CEU/PDH tracker with Speech Therapy PD. While you are there, get $10 off a professional subscription with the code FixSLP10!
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Creators and Guests
Host
Jeanette Benigas, PhD/SLP
Host of Fix SLP
What is Fix SLP: Advocacy & Accountability in Speech-Language Pathology?
Fix SLP is an SLP Podcast by Dr. Jeanette Benigas about advocacy, autonomy, and reform in Speech-Language Pathology. This show exposes credentialing gatekeeping, dismantles CCC requirements, and helps SLPs advocate for change. Each episode equips SLPs with tools to reclaim their profession. Subscribe now and join the movement transforming speech-language pathology. Follow @fix.slp on Instagram and TikTok. Visit fixslp.com.
Welcome to Fix SLP, the podcast shaking up the field of speech language pathology. We're calling out the barriers that hold clinicians back, fixing broken systems that limit our care, and giving the power of our profession back to the people who live it every day. This is where fearless clinicians come together. It's time to change the field with our voices, leadership, and advocacy leading the way. So let's fix FLP!
Jeanette Benigas:Hey, everybody. Welcome back. It's Jeanette. And today, after years, years with an s trying to plan collaborations with Jordyn Montique, You might know her before as Jordyn Carroll, JRC the SLP. After trying to collaborate forever, we are finally one on one, not in the same room, but in the same podcast room to do a podcast together.
Jeanette Benigas:So I'm really excited. So hi, Jordyn.
Jordyn Montique:Hi, thank you for having me. It has definitely been years. So I'm glad we were able to collab, get this together. I'm happy to be here.
Jeanette Benigas:Jordyn and I got to sort of meet a bunch of years ago when we were on a research project together that was called SLP Data Initiative, which kind of fed into the creation of fixed SLP and probably some of the stuff you've done as well. We got to ask SLPs about strengths and weaknesses in the field. Since then, we've followed each other and we've liked each other's stuff. And I accidentally called you a bunch of times when I had a student named Jordyn, so there was that. But we haven't been able to get together.
Jeanette Benigas:So even though right now we are going through the September 2026, I saw something new that Jordyn was doing and I was like, You know what? I'm squeezing this in. We have to do it. It's that important. So I reached out to Jordyn, and I said, Here's what I'd like to do for you.
Jeanette Benigas:Can you Jordyn on the pod? And she's like, Absolutely. And like, Here we are. So Jordyn, why don't you tell us what I saw on social media that you're launching or that you have launched because I've already done it.
Jordyn Montique:So I started Speech Connect. It's a new community driven clinician directory, and it's the first of its kind. It's the only directory where you can like filter out all these different things from identity to specialty care approach, location, payment options, and a variety of options that I just want to be accessible. So the goal is for communities to be able to find an SLP that aligns with them, that meets their needs, and also to increase the visibility of clinicians. Because right now there is no modern or up to date like database of clinicians or of SLPs.
Jordyn Montique:So I created this so that we are more accessible, people can find us, people can find the work that we're doing, and communities can find somebody, someone that's aligned with what they need.
Jeanette Benigas:Yes, girl. And I feel like it aligns with the mission of FixSLP, which isn't just like telling people, which we don't actually do, to not keep the CCC. It's just we are fixing problems in the field that we identify. We're doing something about it. So it's not just the CCC.
Jeanette Benigas:It's Jordyn, sees that there is a problem for people finding clinicians that match their needs no matter what that need is. And she's like, Okay, I'm just gonna do this. Our logo is we don't wait for change, we make it. You didn't wait. You're just like, I already have seventy two five thousand jobs.
Jeanette Benigas:That's not even a number. But that's what I have. And I'm good. I'm not going to wait for somebody else to do this. I'm going to figure out how to get this done, because it's a need in the field that needs addressed.
Jeanette Benigas:And bam, there it was.
Jordyn Montique:Yeah. I mean, because for me, like weekly, at least somebody in my family, a cousin, a family friend, another colleague, somebody's reaching out to me like, hey, do you know an SLP in this area? Do you know a Black SLP here? Do you know an autistic SLP here? Do you know a Spanish speaking SLP in this area?
Jordyn Montique:All the time, weekly, I'm getting these people asking me for these things because they don't know where to look. They're not accessible. Families are in wait lists like for six months to a year at a time because they're just given this list of SLPs that might be available or might not like, it's clearly a problem. And then I know on the other side of so many SLPs who want to start a business have just started, you know, trying to take on independent clients, want to start their own private practice, but don't know where am I supposed to find clients? How do I look for them?
Jordyn Montique:How do I tell them where to find me? Do I have to have like this whole like grandiose website or business where people can search for me? Like, I just want to have a central location where we can access each other. And there's nothing like it. Right now the biggest thing or the closest thing to it would be ASHA Profind.
Jordyn Montique:Of course, to be on ASHA Profind, you have to be ASHA certified. You don't have to do that for speech connect. You can be licensed in your state and your license number is verified and you're good to go. You're on the directory. So that is one of the biggest things for me is if we're going to reduce gatekeeping, like let's let's find a solution to the problem and increase access as well.
Jeanette Benigas:And something we've committed to with FixSLP is that we aren't going to keep the information that people need to advocate behind a paywall. And I think there's a lot of ways that people can advocate. So one way that we've done that is we've asked for sustaining partnerships. For $5 a month, will you walk beside us and help us pay our bills behind the scenes? The biggest of which is a lawyer, right?
Jeanette Benigas:I meet with a lawyer at least once a month, if not more. And if he's doing work after those meetings, I have to pay for that. And that's not sustainable for me. So people can help advocate with their money, but also they can help advocate with liking and sharing and engaging and getting involved in other leading projects. And I really loved that about what you are doing as well, because you very explicitly said this is going to be free, right?
Jeanette Benigas:Always.
Jordyn Montique:Absolutely. It will always be free to list your own listing as a clinician. It's going to be free to join. It's free to be searchable. That will be free period.
Jordyn Montique:And it'll be free for the families, communities, schools, organizations who are looking for clinicians as well. That will remain free forever. That's part of the accessibility. That's what matters to me. Like care should be equitable.
Jordyn Montique:Care should be accessible to everybody. And that means we need to be able to find it.
Jeanette Benigas:Yeah. I recognize that. People don't have a hard time finding white women to treat their children. And that's what I was seeing too, is like, this is really needed for people of color. Amazing.
Jeanette Benigas:Like, I've just got goosebumps and we've already been talking for an hour and I wasn't getting goosebumps before. But like, that's just it's so needed. Jordyn, like, it's so needed. My life is crazy. And I was like, Jordyn, we have to talk about this.
Jordyn Montique:No, it's so true. And like, would I feel like I didn't really recognize how needed it was until I started my private practice. And so many families were like, my child has never had an SOP that looked like them. We've been looking for somebody for over a year, not regardless of race. We have not found anybody who is accepting clients who can come see them.
Jordyn Montique:We haven't found anybody who can come into the home because going to and from therapy is another barrier that people don't realize. Like it's hard for families to do that. So if you can find if you can filter out somebody who can come in my home to treat my child, this is the place to do that. This is a central location where you can offer that service where people can come find exactly what you provide.
Jeanette Benigas:So I forget because from the time that I saw this and immediately put my name in your registry to now, which was what, I don't know, three days ago, I don't know. It's my last week has been like one big blur. I forget, did you ask as part of what we had to put in what insurances we accept or if we're cash based? Did you ask that question?
Jordyn Montique:No, that's a huge factor. So I don't have, we don't have like specific insurance providers yet. We do have like government providers, so Medicaid, Medicare, and then we have like providing in network services. So then when you go deeper into the profile or you can reach out to that person to see what's in network, then we have out of network, we have private pay only, cash based. So there's lots of different tiers that you can look for.
Jordyn Montique:So it really is just based on what the value of the person looking like, what does that family need? Are you prioritizing? Okay, I need this government insurance. So I'm going to filter that out. Or I specifically need somebody to come to see me or come see my child.
Jordyn Montique:That's what I'm that's what I'm prioritizing in this filtering. There's so many different options of so many different varieties of things that people need when they're looking for care. And so I just want to be able to provide that for people.
Jeanette Benigas:That's what I thought too. I know my friend Brie lives in Columbus, Ohio and owns her own private practice and she is a Black woman. And her number one goal is to serve underserved families in her community, which largely are on Medicaid. I'll have to link up everybody. I'll link up her podcast in the show notes because she was on the podcast talking about how she worked for multiple years to raise the Medicaid rate in Ohio because we were around $32 or something.
Jeanette Benigas:That's not sustainable to keep her business open. So again, we don't wait for change, we make it. She didn't wait for somebody else to fix that. She got in there and not only did she get it raised for SLPs, but they raised it like across the board for six or seven professions, I think. There were a bunch that got raised.
Jeanette Benigas:And she called the other day and was upset because CareSource, which is our major Medicaid provider in Ohio, is making cuts as I think many Medicaid providers are. As less and less people take Medicaid, I think that's going to be even more important. Your thing is going to be even more important for people to access the help at the care partners that they need. Exactly. Because there's nowhere to look.
Jordyn Montique:Where are they supposed to find it?
Jeanette Benigas:We don't need to wait for ASHA to do this stuff, and nor should we have to pay them to be a member of their community to get our services out there. We just shouldn't and shame on them.
Jordyn Montique:Exactly.
Jeanette Benigas:I'm never afraid to say that.
Jordyn Montique:Never. I completely understand. And it's true. Like we I've this like a common phrase now, but you can just do things like, I realized there's a problem. I figured out how to start it.
Jordyn Montique:I learned a new software. I like sat in my on my couch and didn't move for probably seventy two hours just figuring out how to make this become a thing because I was tired of not having an answer when people asked me. I was tired of not having a referral network. When people call me, I have my own private practice. I'm cash based or private pay only.
Jordyn Montique:So when people ask me and I'm like, they ask, do I take this specific insurance? I want an answer for them. I want a place to be able to point them like I don't, but I know exactly where you can look. And so I created that because I think part of being in this field is you, you literally just want to help people like, and I can't help everybody based on how my business is, I but want to be able to find somewhere or find a way that I can. So this has become that vehicle for me as well.
Jeanette Benigas:Yeah, I mean, that's, that's the thing, like you're doing it. We talked about my friend Colleen Ashford, you know what, I'll link her up in the show notes too. She was helping out with fix SLP for a while and identified something we weren't doing and I was like, girl, go do it. You don't need to be with me, go do it. And she did and she's in California, Southern California, we all know what's going on there, right?
Jeanette Benigas:And so just we need more people like you, like Colleen, like me, all identifying a need that we feel passionate about and just doing it. I'm excited. You and I were talking about speaking at conventions and those requests for pricing and invitations have started coming in for me for state conventions. And so I have committed to two. And my topic is using your own strengths for the purpose of advocacy and talking about how you were created.
Jeanette Benigas:None of us are made the same. Your unique set of circumstances and strengths and weaknesses, you are already made for the thing that you are supposed to be doing. And I believe that the desires of our heart are there for a reason. And you just need to listen to them and jump in and go do it. And so I can't wait to start talking about to SLPs across the country about this.
Jeanette Benigas:Because people keep asking me, well, how do I become an advocate? I don't know how to do this. You just figure it out. You figure it out. I mean, my created nobody can see this, but it says created with a purpose on my sleeve.
Jeanette Benigas:Man, I always knew I had a loud mouth and a lot of opinions and I think I found the space. You were created for this, Jordyn. People were created for this kind of advocacy and I can't stress enough. If you're doing a thing like this, get with me, we'll get you on the podcast because I want to feature people who are winning. And one of the things that I asked you, because I know when we started FixSLP, that costs money.
Jeanette Benigas:You're a newlywed. You're not an old. You are still very young. I mean, you're, you know, you're you've you've still got a long time in this field, but you are experienced enough. By the way, you aren't old.
Jeanette Benigas:Are you still in your 20s? Your early 30s?
Jordyn Montique:Just turned 30 in September.
Jeanette Benigas:Okay. Okay. Am I allowed to air that?
Jordyn Montique:Yeah. I'm a proud 30.
Jeanette Benigas:Okay, you you just turned 30 Jordyn. You do SLP Social Seen You do Black SLP Magic. You did SLP Data Initiative. You mind exploding.
Jeanette Benigas:Like you saw you don't have to be old. Did you learn how to do these things at Howard?
Jordyn Montique:No. No, I did not.
Jeanette Benigas:Who taught you how to do these things? Nobody, right?
Jordyn Montique:Myself, yeah, exactly.
Jeanette Benigas:Right. Or you got mentors, right? We had a whole conversation before we started recording about funding speech connect. How are you gonna sustain this? Because the bigger it grows, I know this now, the more people on your newsletter, if you end up having one, the more money that costs.
Jeanette Benigas:The more data you're running through that directory, or the more people you have running through that directory, and then the more people accessing it, the more that's gonna cost you. Now you're gonna need tech support at some point, right? This is gonna cost money. And are you independently wealthy?
Jordyn Montique:Oh, no. Quite the opposite. Right?
Jeanette Benigas:No, you're, you're freaking out about 92,507 also, and you're a cash based provider, right? Yeah. None of us have money. How do we fund this stuff? And I know for fixed SLP, we went the sustaining partnership route, which has really helped, but maybe that's not the best fit.
Jeanette Benigas:And so I started asking you about your financials, which we'll get to, but then you get mentorship. When I started FixSLP, as I've grown, I have leaders in this field that have been so gracious with their time and who have given their time to me. And so when people like you ask a question, I'm not gonna be like, you can pay for my mentorship. Let's schedule a meeting. No, I was just like, hold on, let me screen share.
Jeanette Benigas:Let me show you all this stuff. Right? Because we're all women in this field. And I joked on my last podcast or alive or something like 12 dudes, like we're all women and 12 dudes doing stuff in this field that we need to lift each other up and work together. So, you know, you got mentorship where you needed it and as did I and, you know, figuring it out.
Jeanette Benigas:No one is trained in anything where none of us know. And then we make mistakes too. Talked about some of my mistakes.
Jordyn Montique:Oh, absolutely. And
Jeanette Benigas:so then you just pivot. You figure it out. You apologize if needed and you keep going. And when SLPs can be mean, and when they get mean, you just you keep going.
Jordyn Montique:Absolutely. One of my quotes that I live by is I build the plane in the sky. I just get up there and I figure it out as I'm going. I learn along the way. And then on top of that, like you're saying, like, I am so transparent with information.
Jordyn Montique:Anybody asks me a question I'm willing to share because I feel like, like you're talking about purpose. I feel like that's my purpose. I'm not afraid to try and do things. And if I learn along the way, that means I can make it easier for somebody coming behind me. So I feel like that's my job.
Jordyn Montique:Like I'm supposed to be making mistakes and learning from them and learning how to do it better the next time so that I can share that for the person who's trying to figure it out behind me. So I completely agree. I think more people should do that. It can be scary. Yes.
Jordyn Montique:And do it scared and you'll be so proud of yourself. You'll be amazed at what you can accomplish.
Jeanette Benigas:Yeah. And not even I know there's you had a podcast, so I don't know if you were this Doing it scared, but also pushing through insecurities because I'll tell you what, there's nothing worse than listening to your own voice Oh my gosh. Every week and being embarrassed. We are our own worst critics, I think. So just reminding yourself that what I'm doing is important and this isn't about me.
Jeanette Benigas:This is about the people and the communities I'm trying to serve. You just kind of have to get over yourself. Like this morning I did not one, but two lives from bed in pajamas, okay? I had stuff to say. I'm not gonna make my face pretty.
Jeanette Benigas:Get over yourself, Jeanette. They don't care about you. You just got to push through that to get your work done. And it all works out, I think.
Jordyn Montique:That's such a great point. That is such a great point. I think people that's one of the questions I get asked the most. How do you do it all? Do you not feel scared?
Jordyn Montique:Do you not feel intimidated or insecure? And I think the biggest answer for me is just like you said, I removed myself from the situation. It's never been about me. My JRC, the SLP platform was never about me. It was about when I was going into grad school, I had never seen a Black SLP in my life.
Jordyn Montique:It was a figment of my imagination. I didn't know we existed until I got to grad school at an HBCU. So for me starting my social media was I just want people to see my face so that they know that a Black SLP exists. It was never about me. The SLP Social Seen it was never about me.
Jordyn Montique:It was about we need a place where SLPs can come together and be unprofessional with people that they work professionally with. People that are, have aligned goals, have the same values, but you can also just let loose and be yourself. We needed that space. I really believe that. Black SLP Magic, same thing.
Jordyn Montique:We needed a place where our brilliance was celebrated because we are such a minority. I mean, are such a minority in the field. People don't realize that Black SLPs are doing amazing work.
Jeanette Benigas:Oh yeah.
Jordyn Montique:So we need a place to highlight that. And so now it's the same with speech connect. There is a larger problem with the SLP community, especially SLPs who want to work independently, who have private practices, who want to start building their own clientele and are not able to connect with the communities that they want to serve. That is a problem. It's not about me at all.
Jordyn Montique:It's about solving this problem so that on a larger scale, the field is better. And so I think just removing yourself from the situation, from what you're trying to do, from what you're trying to build and actually having a mission, it's so much easier to go past that fear, you know?
Jeanette Benigas:Yeah. This is going to be my favorite podcast for a little bit, I think. Yes. I mean, what else do I say to that? I, you know, I love that you said a place to be with professionals to be unprofessional.
Jeanette Benigas:This isn't the purpose of our talk, but I met my friend AC Goldberg at SLP Social Seen I went and I met him and he's been on the pod. Should I link that up too?
Jordyn Montique:Yep. Link it! Link It!
Jeanette Benigas:Link everybody. Yeah, so it's such a great space and I don't know. Let me ask this. As a white woman, is it okay because I was a little bit intimidated to go to SLP Social Seen as a white woman. And I'm also aware, like I told you earlier about something else, this space isn't for me. So that space wasn't necessarily created for me.
Jeanette Benigas:So is this space for everybody?
Jordyn Montique:Yes. SLP Social Seen is absolutely a space for everybody. And contrary to popular belief, so is Black SLP magic. And this what our stance is on both of those. We as Black women mostly in the field, wherever we go 99% of the time we are the minority.
Jordyn Montique:We're the ones that stand out. We're the ones that probably feel uncomfortable or have imposter syndrome or like you know have to figure out how we're going to maneuver in this space because it doesn't feel like it's created for us. So all we did was flip that around. We created a space that was made for us, but everybody is welcome. We want everybody there.
Jordyn Montique:We want everybody to see this brilliance that Black SLP has. We want everybody to learn from these. We have amazing speakers every single year. We want everybody to come learn and hear from them. So you know what you're missing out on if you haven't.
Jordyn Montique:And then same for Social Seen This is a space created for everybody. And it's not obviously it is race and ethnicity, but it's gender. It's how you present yourself. It's I want some, one of my favorite questions, when somebody was like trying to figure out what they're wearing to Social Seen they're like, are titties okay?
Jordyn Montique:And I was like, absolutely, bring them out. It's just like I
Jeanette Benigas:I mean that's that's kind of what it's like. I mean, I was wearing a sweater, and I was very, very overdressed. Yeah. No, is. Not.
Jeanette Benigas:It was not how I showed up that year. And I don't. I don't know that I'd get titties out if I came back. I mean, that is Jeanette circa 2001. No one wants to see these anymore.
Jordyn Montique:I But don't believe that. I don't believe it. But somebody wants to see it. But yes, I like it's just as my whole point in creating a Social Seen is I want people to come here and be themselves, period. Like I just want you to come have a good time and let loose because I had I rarely felt that way in spaces within the profession.
Jordyn Montique:So I wanted to create that space for people regardless of what you look like, you dress like, what you listen to, how you dance, like just bring it all, bring it all to the table. So yes, definitely both spaces are created for everybody. And then I also like to add one of the biggest ways to support these movements for Black people, people of color, anybody who is underrepresented is to show up, to put your money where your mouth is, buy a ticket, come buy a drink, come get some come get a plate of food because the food is also always really good. So yes, like that's one of the biggest ways to be supportive is to show up and be present and see what the space is like, see how it feels for you to be in it. So, yeah, highly recommend.
Jeanette Benigas:So it just occurred to me, we have new listeners tuning in every week. There's probably a lot of people who don't know who you are. And so would you wanna tell us real quick what SLP Social Seen and what Black SLP Magic are and when they happen? Because I think those are some important details.
Jordyn Montique:Yes, definitely. So Black SLP Magic and SLP Social Seen we just had our fifth annual event. So we started in 2020. Are Black SLP Magic Conference is a one day conference where it's a panel based thirty minute structure where there are real topics. We're talking about race and ethnicity for some things and also just like really amazing topics that are under discussed in the field.
Jordyn Montique:And so every year we have amazing speakers, some of the best I've ever seen. And they're really short and really digestible panels. So it's very different from other like CU events that you'll go to. And it's also really, I like to call it familial. It feels like church on Sunday.
Jordyn Montique:It feels like we're just, we're sitting in the pews and the people on stage are like preaching to us about things related to our passion, which is speech pathology in a variety of different specialties within the field. And then one of the things I think makes it really special is we have audience interaction. Like audience, the audience is asking questions immediately after the talk, we always have Q and A, Then afterwards, the speakers are still there. They're still present. They're perusing around.
Jordyn Montique:You can have deeper conversations with them. You can connect with them. People have met mentors. People have met business partners all at this conference because of just the way that people are engaging with each other. It's so friendly and just a more laxed than what you would feel at like a typical CEU event.
Jordyn Montique:So that's one day. We usually end around like four Starting in the morning, go till four. Always have breakfast and lunch provided. Again, always really good food. And then for the nighttime, we have the after party, which is the SLP Social Seen where you get to come and be engaged and party with these people who you were just at the CU even with.
Jordyn Montique:Or even if you weren't there, we have people that just come to the Social Seen to party which I'm okay with for sure. So again just another one of these events where you're just there to have a good time, you're there to be hanging out with people who share the same values, the same passions then you can actually be your full self around them. That's where you, I feel like you get to make the best connections with people. You said you've met friends there. I know I've met friends there.
Jordyn Montique:I know people who have met there and again, started whole businesses together, built friendships. So I think it's just a really special place to be because there's nothing like it. There's like every year, every time I leave, I'm like, oh, I can't wait to be there again. It's just a great feeling to be a part of.
Jeanette Benigas:Yeah, it was fun when I went. And, you know, I had my FixSLP After Dark meetup, and so I very strategically scheduled it on a separate night. So if there was anyone who wanted to go to both, could. Man, those are hard to plan. That's a lot of work.
Jordyn Montique:Yes, I've learned a lot along the way. We've learned a lot Chelsea Essex and I or Onya Harlem is her new last name. She we do it all independently. It's just her and I we figured out where again, another thing that's pretty much self funded. We do have some great sponsors who usually support every year.
Jordyn Montique:I think last year was the first year out of five that we didn't have to come out of pocket for something.
Jeanette Benigas:Really?
Jordyn Montique:Shout out to our sponsors. Yes.
Jeanette Benigas:Wow. Okay.
Jordyn Montique:Yeah. But that's another one of those things where it's like, we are really like, we are not making money out of this. We're creating, we created this space because it was necessary. And I think, know, as time goes on, we get more support. And you know, things kind of even out, which is hopefully where we're headed.
Jordyn Montique:But I, you know, we create things because they're necessary.
Jeanette Benigas:Well, good for you for making the pricing accessible then because I mean, I haven't looked at the pricing, but then you're keeping the cost low enough where it's accessible so people can come without you guys really going into debt over it. So good for you. So since we're talking about money and funding, I I wanna bring this up. When I reached out to Jordyn, I said to her, I've done fundraising in the SLP community before, and I asked you what your expenses were because I was already doing them in my head and it was about what I thought. And I actually slightly lower, so good for you.
Jeanette Benigas:And I said, would you be open to me doing a fundraiser for you to help get you off the ground and funded. If I could fund you for a year, that would be amazing. And you said yes. So thank you for saying yes to me and allowing me to do this for you. So to anyone who's listening, I am going to be opening up a fundraiser on GoFundMe.
Jeanette Benigas:By the time this airs, I will know so you can look in the show notes, you can look on our social media and I'll probably put something in the bar at the top of fixslp.com because that's always easy to remember for people And you can click there and everything that's donated is gonna go straight to Jordyn for speech connect to keep her funded so she can keep focusing on important work. And at some point you have to put money away for retirement, You can't put all of your funding into all these projects. So to just help her get this off the ground because it is so needed. And you didn't know that I was gonna do this. But we talked about finances a little bit before.
Jeanette Benigas:And I've been until recently I was doing fixed SLP completely for free. I'm going to lead by example and I'm going to start with a $100 donation from me on behalf of fixed SLP. So that'll be the first donation in
Jordyn Montique:there. Yay.
Jeanette Benigas:I'm not expecting everyone to do that. If you guys can give $5 $10 my goal is to get her to 5,000. If we go over, that's super cool. If we go under, it's still gonna be a huge blessing for her, but I would love to see her get there. I don't think I'm going to put an end date on this.
Jeanette Benigas:I want to keep it open as long as we think we need to. Maybe it's just an indefinite thing that if people want to donate to help keep you funded, as long as that thing can stay open or maybe at some point we switch it over. I don't know. We'll talk about that on the back end of this, but I really want to see you get to 5,000. So again, Jordyn has nothing to do with this.
Jeanette Benigas:She hasn't asked me to do it. I said I want to do it because this is so needed. And I recognize that especially for people of color, like, yes, kids need to see people like themselves always. I think that is so important. So that's what we're gonna do.
Jeanette Benigas:And I'm really excited about it and I hope I can push this out in the middle of everything else I'm doing. I'm gonna give it my best try. So if you see our social media content on this and you think it's important, please share it in the spaces. I think I know that SLPs can make things go viral because my ninety two thousand five hundred seven, the yellow post that I posted eight days ago in views alone is approaching 235,000 views on the original post. That doesn't count all of the stuff that people have shared.
Jeanette Benigas:Okay? We know how to make stuff go viral. If you can share the post about Jordyn,'s new speech connect just to get it out there. So number one, people know and can register. And number two, so they can support.
Jeanette Benigas:And the thing is, like I said earlier in the podcast, maybe you don't have the $5 to give. That's okay. You can interact with the post so it gets bumped up in the algorithm. We'd like a love over a thumbs up because when you spend more time getting to those other emojis, the algorithm sees that interaction for a little longer. Okay, we want to love, we want to share, we want to save.
Jeanette Benigas:In fact, we want a couple shares. We want you to message it to somebody, but also most importantly, we want you to have it available so you can give it to people when they need referrals. So get yourself in there and use it. And that brings me to another question. I have two questions I haven't asked yet.
Jeanette Benigas:The first one is, I have a lot of new people following that are business owners. Can business owners go in and register their business if they employ a bunch of SLPs or are they not allowed to do that? How does this work for the community? How do we get in there? Who gets in there now?
Jordyn Montique:Perfect. Yes. So it will be completely free at 100% of the time to list individual SLPs. There will be a separate tier for business owners clinic spaces to have like an umbrella landing page where you'll have your clinic, your clinic branding on the top of the page for your site. And then you'll also have each individual clinician listed with all of their information, like filterable information, whether it's race, ethnicity, other identifiers, their specialties, their care approach, other languages they might speak.
Jordyn Montique:All of that information will be for each individual listing and you'll have your umbrella for your business owner or your clinic.
Jeanette Benigas:Cool. The next question was, you said there's different things we can click about the services we provide. And I thought some of the questions were really good. Like, are you neuro affirming? Those kinds of questions.
Jeanette Benigas:And I didn't want to oversell myself. So there were a lot of boxes that I didn't check that in retrospect, I was like, you know what, Jeanette, you do do those things. So stop thinking that you don't. Am I able to go back and make adjustments? And if so, how?
Jordyn Montique:Yes, great question. This is another one of those expenses. There will be a reviewer and somebody who's going to go through and make sure, verify license numbers, make sure all the information is filled out, and they will reach out to you individually to make sure this is what I have for your know your listing at this point, these are the other options, is there anything you want me to add, is there any other like there's like a note section if there's not like an option and you can like type in the notes so it'll show up on your listing. So somebody will reach out to you prior to launch to make sure that your listing is exactly as you want it to be. And then that will be like that will be a continuous communication, like a line of communication at all times.
Jeanette Benigas:When I signed up, was that communicated to me? Did I miss that?
Jordyn Montique:No, you have not missed it. That is this is a new announcement. Okay, so
Jeanette Benigas:when you hear you heard it here, folks. Okay, fix SLP. So when someone signs up, do they now get a message that they'll be contacted?
Jordyn Montique:Yes. So when you are signed up, you get like your confirmation email. And then once I start reviewing, which will be this week, I'll reach out, you'll get a confirmation that you've been approved. And then you'll have a confirmation email that says, this is what we have for your listing. These are the other options you haven't selected.
Jordyn Montique:Is there anything missing?
Jeanette Benigas:Okay.
Jordyn Montique:Make sure everything is confirmed. And then you'll be green lighted to show up on the site.
Jeanette Benigas:Okay. So this site isn't live yet? People shouldn't be sharing it?
Jordyn Montique:Not for searching. Okay. For searching, it's not live. It's not launched to be searched. Right now, we're just building the list of the directory.
Jordyn Montique:So submissions are open, submissions are free. We're building building the database. So that's what I want people to share right now is send it to other SLPs, make sure that people are listed, make sure that they're prepared for when it is launched because we want to make sure that there's a database for people to search. So get everybody that you know to sign up to register so that we have the central location for SLPs to be found.
Jeanette Benigas:All right. I just had another question. Again, I don't remember. I feel like I just filled this thing out five minutes ago. It could have been five weeks ago.
Jeanette Benigas:I don't know. With my LLC for my scope business, I serve more than one state. Was there an opportunity for me to put both states in?
Jordyn Montique:Yes. So you can select multiple states, and you can put in your multiple license numbers. That's like a type in field as well. So all your states are listed, and all your license numbers, and then you can put that you're if you do teletherapy or virtual services too.
Jeanette Benigas:Okay, so that can be added later than when the reviewer reaches That's
Jordyn Montique:what I was gonna say. That's no problem because we're gonna reach out and make sure everything is on there that you need to be.
Jeanette Benigas:We're on the same page. Okay. All right. So where can people follow all of your things? So speech connect, but then also everything else because you have 900 handles, give them all and I'll you just need like a link tree, but give them all.
Jeanette Benigas:And I will I will link all of them in the show notes.
Jordyn Montique:Perfect. So for speech connect, the Instagram is speech connect directory, speech connect directory as it sounds. All the information is there. My social media is j r c underscore the slp. That's my social media for everything.
Jordyn Montique:And that is linked to Speech Connect. So if you find JRC, you'll find Speech Connect. And speechconnect.org is the website. You can go there to submit your directory listing, submit everything that you need to all your information. Make sure you submit that form as soon as possible so you're ready for the launch.
Jordyn Montique:And that's it. I mean, SLP Social Seen, that's on Instagram too.
Jeanette Benigas:Black SLP Magic. They're SLP. All on there. Black SLP SLP Magic.
Jordyn Montique:Do. I do. But everything is everything is on JRC, the SLP. So that is like where I house everything. That's my personal brand and everything extends from there.
Jordyn Montique:So check that out. Also, private practice, I started making a lot of different materials. So I have like a new speech sound assessment. I have the cultural responsive clinician handbook, other like therapy materials, screening materials, and that's on raintherapy.com.
Jeanette Benigas:I have two more questions. We're gonna pitch even more. This wasn't planned, but it's Black History Month. So Happy Black History Month.
Jordyn Montique:Thank you.
Jeanette Benigas:Don't you have a free CEU that people can watch coming from somewhere? Didn't I see that? Because I'm taking it. I saved it and then immediately forgot about it. But I am going to do it.
Jeanette Benigas:So tell us where to find it and when people can can watch it through because obviously there are people who still want to get DEI CEUs and I think it looked like a really good one to do. So where can we find that?
Jordyn Montique:Black SLP Magic is partnering with speech therapy PD to put on this four hour CEU conference virtually. And so this is February 22. Again, all virtual. Chelsea and I will be hosting. And we have four different presentations that are amazing speakers.
Jordyn Montique:You're going to get some great knowledge, great information. Yes, shout out to speech therapy PD, you can check them out speech therapy PD calm. Everything will be on there. Also, it's on Black SLP Magic page too.
Jeanette Benigas:And if you love what they're doing fix SLP has the only promo code right now, think, the only affiliate code for a discount that is always linked in our show notes and they were early supporters. They modified their CE tracker so all SLPs could use it for free. So 18,000 reasons right now to head over to speech therapy PD, I'm gonna have to link them up too in this show, there's gonna be some long Link show
Jordyn Montique:them up. Yeah, okay.
Jeanette Benigas:So that was thing number one. And then are you still doing something for AC for credit?
Jordyn Montique:No, we haven't done that for a while, but I was, so I was a proctor for the anti black racism in communication sciences and disorders. It was ran through Fitchburg State. You could get CEUs, you could get college credits. It was really amazing, great reviews. So stay on the lookout in case it does come back.
Jordyn Montique:It will probably be like towards the end of this year if it does. But yeah,
Jeanette Benigas:stay
Jordyn Montique:on the lookout for that.
Jeanette Benigas:I guess I didn't realize it wasn't like an ongoing thing that you could just register for and take at any time like other CEs. Okay. All right. Well, that's something else that you occasionally do. Yeah, keep a lookout.
Jeanette Benigas:All right, Jordyn, is there anything else you do that I don't follow or did we I get it
Jordyn Montique:don't think so. Okay. I think we hit it all.
Jeanette Benigas:All right, well now that that five minute segment is over, is there anything else you want to say before we sign off?
Jordyn Montique:Yes. Thank you. Want to thank you for bringing me on for wanting to support Speech Connect. I really, really believe this could change the field. I think we are on a path to change in this field.
Jordyn Montique:And I know that the fixers are a huge part of that path. I like you said, the beginning, I like to think that I was a part of the beginning of FixSLP. You were. SLP Data Initiative. One time.
Jordyn Montique:So I'm an OG fixer. I believe in the fixers. And I think that Speech Connect can really make a change for this field and decentralizing ASHA, making, you know, what should be autonomous, making it autonomous again and allowing people to find us as clinicians, based on who we know or based on where we're certified, just based on the work that you do as a clinician. So I think that this is going to change the field and I want you all to be a part of it. Please support in any way that you can.
Jordyn Montique:And thank you. Appreciate you all.
Jeanette Benigas:All right. So next week, everybody. I said last week we were gonna have West Virginia on state association. Instead, we had Jordyn. Sorry.
Jeanette Benigas:They got bumped, but actually, I haven't had a chance to record it yet. And Jordyn and I were just able to coordinate a little better. They're not going to be on next week either because I already know what's coming next week. And that is the infamous Rick Gawenda. And if you don't know who he is, he is a guru for many private practice owners.
Jeanette Benigas:He is a PT, he does a regional conference and he is someone who kind of waved the flag to say, hey SLPs, you need to be concerned about what's happening with ninety two thousand five hundred seven. He has also signed the confidentiality agreement, but like me is not afraid to talk about what he can. So he's coming on tune in next week. There's gonna be a lot to talk about. Thanks again, Jordyn, for coming on.
Jeanette Benigas:We'll see you guys next week. Thanks for fixing it. Thanks for listening to the FixSLP podcast, the podcast shaking up the field of speech language pathology. Don't forget to check out our social media or fixedslp.com for our latest promo codes for continuing education, therapy materials, merch, and more. Supporting our sponsors also supports our Fixed SLP team.
Jeanette Benigas:Don't just listen, be a part of the change. Share this episode and our social media content, and let's keep fixing the field one fight at a time.