Dennis Matthew is a Speech Pathologist by trade, but he doesn’t only work alongside teachers in schools, he is also an author, songwriter, poet and musician with purpose! Dennis travels around to schools all over USA sharing his passion for the underdog to feel seen and heard.
We talk about a lot in the episode, including:
- What an in-school speech pathologist does and how do they support students and teachers
- Dennis’s mission is to help every child find their voice and how he does that through his work
- How it is our job as the adults in our students’ lives to advocate for them and care for their wellbeing
- The power of music and storytelling to support SEL in the classroom
- How schools are a village that we all contribute to
Dennis is a blast and has so much to share. Towards the end of the interview I try to get him to choose his favourite book that he has written and he shares how each of them is close to his heart because they all contain a piece of his story.
This month in Transform your First Years, we are diving into how Allied Health professionals, like Dennis, can help us support our students. Join us here.
Rainbows ahead,
Ashleigh and Alisha
Resources mentioned in this episode
This episode was brought to you by Transform your First Years, our membership that supports new teachers. Learn more here.
About today’s guest:
Dennis Matthew is an elementary school speech pathologist, in his 16th year in elementary ed. He is also a children’s author and singer/songwriter of social emotional learning (SEL) and growth mindset content. Dennis presents his books and music to thousands of students around the US (and hopefully one day globally). He began his authorship and songwriting travels in 2019. 85,000+ copies of Dennis’s books have been distributed to 350+ schools in the US, thus far!
