My career in speech-language pathology began in 2003 with a new position at a public school. I was confident in my academic knowledge and prior experience in a university clinic. However, I quickly realized that being a successful clinician would require much more than content knowledge. Without a solid foundation in behavior management, I struggled keeping certain students on task. This time off task resulted in lost productivity and impaired progress toward goals. My weakness in this area was inhibiting my students and frustrating me as a new clinician. This began my journey to learn how behavior management affects clinical services in speech-language pathology.

This text is an introduction to principles of behavior management for speech-language pathologists and speech-language pathology assistants. Most of you are students enrolled in a college or university course. You may already have strong skills in behavior management from prior work and volunteer experiences. You may feel as I did in my first position and doubt you have what it takes to effectively address problematic behavior. It is possible you have not even considered the concept of behavior management and the connection to your role as a clinician. Regardless of your present status, I guarantee you will encounter many opportunities to prevent problematic behavior, teach new behaviors, and reinforce desirable behaviors every day of your professional career.

Since my first position in 2003, I have worked in schools, outpatient clinics, inpatient hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, in teletherapy, and in higher education. Each of these settings has brought unique benefits and challenges. In every setting, there has been an opportunity to learn and apply by knowledge of behavior to help my clients achieve the best results possible. As we review these concepts together, I will write as if I am speaking to you directly. Textbooks are not typically written in the first person. However, I hope this will be more than a textbook to you. I hope you will read these words as if they are counsel from one clinician to another. It is my desire for you to benefit from my successes, failures, and years of professional development. This is the book I wish I had when I was a new clinician.

As you navigate this e-text, you will note that I use the term “client” to refer to students, patients, and clients. I have chosen this generic term because the principles and strategies we discuss are applicable to clients of all ages in all settings. Each chapter begins with a “pretest” to help you assess your existing knowledge of the chapter content. We likewise end each chapter with a quiz. The nature of an e-text makes it possible for this interactive experience. Your end of chapter quiz includes a brief case study and application of the content from the chapter. These hypothetical clients are representative of clients I have worked with over the years. Those of you who have already had clinical experience will likely relate to these scenarios.

I wish you the best as you explore behavior management for speech-language pathologists. I am confident you will conclude your review of this text with a greater understanding of the behavior-communication connection and more tools in your clinical toolbox.  Enjoy!