We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Amruta Lele Potdar a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Amruta, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear stories from your time in school/training/etc.

My entire professional education post high school was completed in India. The class sizes in both my Bachelors and Masters programs were small, and this allowed our teachers and trainers to give us ample 1:1 time and personalized training. But my teachers also had unique ways of teaching us.

I remember in my second year of college, we started learning about speech and language disorders, and various treatment methods. But how would they teach a bunch of 20-somethings to EMPATHIZE? They gave us a unique assignment. We had to each pretend to have a speech/language disorder, and then interact with 5 strangers we came across in the general public. This was an absolute game changer! Even pretending to be in our patients’ (or their caregivers) shoes, really drove the lesson home “Meet your patient/client where they are”. Although we may never fully understand how it feels to not be able to communicate, we certainly learned how to TRY!

In my Masters program, our professors took another unique approach. We were given topics from our curriculum at the beginning of the academic year, and we had to research, present, and teach those to our classmates. This taught us not only how to research, but also about different learning styles – since we had to keep the presentation interesting to hold our audience’s attention. This definitely helped me build my confidence as a new professional later; I was able to approach fellow professionals, share research and evidence, and also practice confidently alongside them. In fact, I still draw on those experiences when I coach the caregivers of my young clients/patients – understand what their background knowledge might be, and teach strategies accordingly.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I always wanted to build a career in the helping industry, and I found my calling in the field of Speech-Language Pathology. I have been a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) for 20 years and have worked in various settings – schools, home health, nursing homes, clinics. And the most important lesson I learned from all my years of working with families is that COLLABORATION is key!

I consider myself a lifelong learner, and have several thousands of hours on continuing education to upgrade my knowledge and skills throughout the years. I make sure I stay current with the new research and evidence, even if it may mean unlearning some old ways, and debunking some myths with real proof.

Becoming a parent myself made me realize how much misinformation is being given to parents, especially first-time parents. I believe that children are naturally wonderful learners, and they have infinite potential. When we raise our children, it’s important to remember that we are raising future adults, and we need to trust and respect them as we would other adults. It is our job to provide a loving and nurturing environment that will help them build deep cosmic connections within this environment and promote holistic growth and development.

I also have the lived experience of raising a young family as an immigrant, away from my support system, and cultural heritage. I understand the real struggle behind building a village of like-minded and resourceful people, and combating parental burnout. This became the motivation behind starting my own practice.

I provide personalized, culturally-responsive, and family-centered, speech, language, and feeding therapy for kids from birth to 12 years. I focus on every child’s strengths, and choose play-based, fun and functional activities during each session. When I work with a child, I work with the whole family! I strive to EMPOWER parents and caregivers to be in the driver’s seat of their child’s therapy journey. I bring the expertise in child development, and also trust parents’ instincts about their individual child. We set goals for their child together, and plan treatment together.

I combine elements of Mindfulness and Montessori in my approach. This allows me to enter into each child’s world and support them as they explore, play, and build connections with those around them. I embody these principles when I work with parents and caregivers, to help them see their child’s strengths, and how to build on these strengths to help them grow to their full potential.

During the course of building my business and growing my practice, I have been fortunate to make some amazing connections in my local community. I have been able to leverage these connections to bring unique workshops in my local community. We have weekly Speech and Sensory Enrichment classes for preschoolers, FOODventure classes for children with Autism, and some others in the making. I also partner with preschools, libraries, NGOs, and other service providers in the area, and provide educational talks, screenings, and Caregiver and Child classes, to promote awareness and early intervention efforts. I have been featured in a Speech Therapy Podcast called “Speechie Side Up” and have also written for “Prerana Sakhi Network’s” annual eMagazine.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

COLLABORATION – this is the key to success!

Whether it is teaming up with other professionals and service providers, or with caregivers, the most successful outcomes for a client with speech/language and/or feeding difficulties are achieved when there is collaboration.

This also means recognizing your own limitations, and seeking assistance, or additional training if necessary. There is no shame in admitting to your clients “I don’t know, but I will find out!” Our clients sense when we are not authentic and they may stop trusting and believing in us. It is also true that new research comes out every few years, and it is our responsibility to stay updated and also educate our clients about any new strategies we might want to implement.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I had established myself as a medical Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) working in Skilled Nursing Facilities, and specializing in adult speech/language/swallowing disorders. I was successfully improving outcomes for patients with Dementia, tracheostomies, post-stroke and traumatic brain injuries, and other chronic conditions. But this also meant working long or inconsistent hours at times, working on Holidays to make up for days I had to take off for my child. Since we have no extended family close by, and I had not yet built my parenting village, I was quickly getting burned out. I felt like I wasn’t able to give my little child as much time as I wanted, and I was unable to bring my best foot forward for caring for my clients at work either. I just did not have the tools to create work-life balance!

This is when I pivoted, and started working as a school SLP. Little did I know, that this move would forever change the trajectory of my career. I started working with elementary school-age children, then younger primary and preschoolers, and then even younger children with a Home Health agency. All this while I was sharpening my skills as a Feeding therapist – perfecting the Art and Science of Breastfeeding, Bottle Feeding and Transitioning to solids, with my own daughters, and being a solid resource for all my friends and family who also had babies.

I also found myself using my skills as an SLP while parenting, and using Parenting strategies when I was working with my clients. I also experienced the immense satisfaction of coaching other parents with strategies for their own kids, and either preventing the need for specialized professional help for their children, or seeing faster progress in therapy. And the seeds of my own business and practice were sown!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.amrutapotdarslp.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmontessorispeechfeeding/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmrutaPotdarSLP/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amrutapotdarslp
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/amruta-potdar-plano
• Other: https://g.co/kgs/BkREjFc