Jessica Lenden-Holt SLP

Jessica is an SLP that is passionate about sports. In this episode, she talks about her experiences and insights on creating inclusive sports communities for children with disabilities, highlighting the impact of inclusive sports camps on children's self-esteem and confidence.

Transcript:

Bethany Darragh  

Today we have Jessica Linden Holt on the podcast. Jessica, will you just start by telling us a little about yourself? 

Jessica Lenden-Holt   

Thanks so much for having me on. So, I am Jessica. I'm a bilingual, English/Spanish speaking speech language pathologist. I've worked in schools, hospitals, home health, teletherapy, private practice, all settings and all age groups, really, but I do specialize in pediatrics. So, I received my bachelor's in Spanish and in audiology and speech language pathology from the University of Tennessee Knoxville, and then I received my Master's from the University of Texas Austin. So I went from one UT to the other UT, and they all fight over which is the true UT. I will leave that up for debate, but I actually started my career working on the Texas-Mexico border in Brownsville, Texas, before moving back to the east Tennessee area, which is where I live currently.  I serve as the Chief Clinical Officer for sidekick therapy partners. It's the largest private speech practice in Tennessee. We have around 120 SLPs serving around 3500 clients. We work with 26 different school districts, and we also have a clinic based out of Knoxville. I also serve a role in as the vice president of Legislative Affairs for our state association, so really big into state level advocacy, multiple nonprofit boards we've served as therapeutic foster parents. I have two children of my own, so I wear a lot of hats, but a lot of what I do is centered around sort of my why, or my purpose, which is truly about empowering and uplifting children from all walks of life, but especially those who face systematic barriers, whether that's due to poverty, language, race or disability. So truly, just believe that every child deserves a fair chance to thrive, learn and grow, and so hopefully we're creating opportunities and removing those obstacles so that every child can reach their full potential.

Brennan Barber   

So Jessica, you're also involved with an organization called Dream Team adaptive sports. Can you tell us about the inspiration and mission behind that organization?

Jessica Lenden-Holt    

Yeah, absolutely. So, football and athletics in general are super important to our family, so my husband and I met in high school. We were on the track and field team together. He played multiple sports and went on to play college football at Carson-Newman. He's coached pretty much every sport you can imagine, including powerlifting and football, won multiple state championships in Texas and Tennessee. He was actually just named the TSSAA athletic director for the state of Tennessee this school year, our daughter has set Middle School swim records and plays softball. She got a one year eligibility playing tackle football a few years ago, and was pretty impressive. And our son wrestles plays football involved also in track and field. So sports are just so special to our family, and we really wanted to be able to share that joy with others, and how the camp actually and the Dream Team adaptive sports in general came to fruition is kind of a little bit random. So husband was the athletic director for Elizabethton city schools and a former special education teacher, and he worked closely with Ryan Whitten. So Ryan also comes from a family where sports, especially football kind of reign. So his brother Shawn Whitten is the head high school football coach. They've won two state championships in the past few years. His brother Jason Witten was a tight end for the Dallas Cowboys. I mean, you know, 11 Time Pro Bowler, future Hall of Famer, obviously, sports just huge in their family. And Ryan actually ran Jason's NFL camps for kids, and it was one of the largest free camps in the nation, and really around the world. People were calling him to ask how to set up these massive camps where, like, over 1000 kids would come in. So anyway, I was attending a football scrimmage one day, I heard Ryan yell my name. He ran over, he was like, you just kind of have to know Ryan. He just, like, throws these ideas out, and then the like, runaway sometimes. When he comes up, he runs and pitches this idea for a camp for kids with disabilities or kids that can't play sports for a variety of reasons. So he knew he had the football camp experience, and he knew that Forrest and I could assist with adapting stations and helping organize the event. So I instantly replied, I'm in, let's do this. Let's go and so really, that was our goal, just to create a completely free camp for kids that wouldn't normally have an opportunity, it started with football. To play football, we just really wanted to be able to share that joy and passion with others. 

Bethany Darragh   

That’s great. So it seems a little bit like an unlikely, likely pairing to have a speech language pathologist doing a sports camp. So I would love to hear from your perspective, How does sports work on communication? 

Jessica Lenden-Holt  

I mean, when you think about it, first of all, it's just an incredible opportunity for kids to learn from one another. There's so much peer interaction that goes into it, so much team building, tons of social skills and social skill building and that kind of social language. But also just when you think about like, the amount of teamwork strategic planning, both verbal and nonverbal signals, constant feedback between players and coaches, and just really fostering that strong interpersonal and group communication skills. We know that not all of our students that attend the camp can verbally communicate, so we provide photo boards to each team, and that's a great opportunity for families and those that work with those kids to see wow, they actually can communicate in a variety of ways. We also have speech language pathologists assigned to each group, so if a parents mentioned that their child might have difficulty communicating, we kind of learn in what way that child might communicate best, whether it's thumbs up, thumbs down, the communication boards and then, of course, smiles are a universal communication of happiness and excitement, so there's plenty of those to go around the Day of the camp, but it's really incredible that we all get to learn from one another.

Brennan Barber   

So as far as adapting football for children with disabilities, like, how do you ensure that the activities are accessible to everyone and what kind of safeguards are in place?

Jessica Lenden-Holt   

Yeah, so I mean, this camp is truly open to absolutely anyone, whether it's due to a health condition, a physical disability or other impairment. So, when we were designing the camp, we really had to take in a lot of different types of abilities, right? We started with our football camp, and we've added our baseball camps, but for our football camps, they really have this experience where they're running through the helmet under the lights. Okay, so now we're taking into account. Okay, we're having a kids go through. How are we going to do this? Is it going to be one by one? Is for some kids? Are they going to need another individual there with them, thinking about how loud it is, thinking about for those that have some vision impairments like so we're really taking all of that into account when we set this up, but either running through the helmets, they're, you know, they're getting coached by athletes and coaches in different football stations, and we also do a simulated gameplay at the end. So there's a lot of different components we have to make sure the facilities are wheelchair accessible. We chose a turf field, which is a lot easier for individuals using adaptive equipment to move more easily. Stations are modified based on each child's ability, so we're making a lot of changes as we go as they move to each station. You know, we're having to adapt each time a new group comes through, and our camp staff do an amazing job seeing where a child's at and making adjustments as needed. So, you know, it's really neat. These kids are just not watching and cheering from the sidelines. They're out on the field, and they're getting to experience being coached and cheered on by a stadium full of fans and family. It's just an electric environment where they are the stars. So that's our goal. Like modify, do whatever we need to do to make sure they're highlighted. We meet them where they're at, and they can be the stars, stars of the game.

Brennan Barber    

That's awesome. So quick, fun fact, actually, I used to work in the NFL front office side, not playing side by any means. But, yeah, there's nothing truly as electric as a stadium filled with, you know, 1000s of people cheering you on, so that's great.

Jessica Lenden-Holt   

We have some cheerleaders out there too. So, you know, we have our camp coaches, but we also have some great cheer teams. And I will say some of our younger athletes might be more distracted from the gameplay watching some of the cheerleaders cheer them on, but they still have a great time.

Bethany Darragh    

How do you recruit and train your coaches and volunteers to work with athletes with so many different abilities?

Jessica Lenden-Holt  

Yeah, so our campers are broken out into teams, and each team has a team lead, and usually that team lead or team captain is either a speech language pathologist, an occupational therapist, maybe a physical therapist, a school administrator or a special education teacher. So all of those team captains, team leads, have had experience working with children with diverse needs, and then those team captains or team leads receive additional training and information prior to the start of the camp, and they're really helping make sure that the team feels equipped to handle each child's needs. We ask for a lot of information from parents on the front end when they complete registration, so that we can prep prior to the camp. They meet with our camp nurses if there are any medical needs that we need to be made aware of, and that information is passed on to our volunteers working with the child. So we've been really fortunate too, to have enough volunteers that we can pair one on ones with children that need additional assistance throughout the camp, our high school and college athletes are also out there running the stations, and Ryan does a great job prepping them about what to expect, and again, highlighting that the goal is that each child feels successful, so do whatever you've got to do to make sure that child feels successful, and they do, they do an absolutely incredible job.

Brennan Barber   

Speaking of success stories, Can you share maybe some memorable moments that would highlight the impact of your programs on the participants?

Jessica Lenden-Holt    

I think the biggest for me is to see the way the community embraces these athletes beyond the camp, right? So awareness is one thing, but acceptance is always this goal. And I was so it was just so incredible to see how the community embraces them beyond that day. So several of the athletes have gone on to become sports managers for the middle school and high school teams, so they're out there with the teams at every game and every practice. It's also encouraged several of them to join teams when maybe their families thought they could not actually participate before. So there's one girl that does not speak at school. She doesn't speak at school events, but she has joined the track and field team, and she throws shot. And my son's also on the team, and he talks about how fiercely everyone protects her and cheers her on. And honestly, she's doing really well. She far better than I could do. So she's found enjoyment in something that I don't think she or her family would even attempted had it not been for these camps. And realizing, like, wow, she like, really enjoys this. It's just not something you would have expected, considering how quiet and kind of reserved she is at school, and then also just hearing from teachers and families about how these students are so integrated in school now. So again, those high school and college athletes see these same kids out in the community. They see them at school, and they seek them out, and they're like, Hey, I remember you. And they're giving them high fives. They're saying, hi. One of the kids invited the football team to his birthday party, and they all showed up. Like, I mean, just how incredible is that, it goes so much beyond just this one day camp.

Brennan Barber   

So my son plays adaptive soccer, and he's primarily in a wheelchair, but for soccer, we actually get him into his gait trainer, which provides us the great opportunity for us to really get him out of his chair help reduce the occurrence of, like, pressure sores, that sort of thing, but also, like, increase blood flow and ultimately, just like weight bearing on his legs, you know, so that's one of the knock on benefits that we find with doing adaptive soccer for him. And what we found too, is that when we start to have, like, neighborhood parties or a birthday party, for instance, it's soccer themed, and invite some of his friends who are more typically developing. They're always so shocked at first to see him outside of his wheelchair and actually walking. And it's really impressive to see the way that they gravitate to him immediately, because it's, you know, they have this now shared bond of playing a sport, he may play it a little bit differently than they do, but, you know, he's got his jersey on, you know? He's decided he's a Real Madrid fan, you know? And now he has that bond with some of the other kids in his class. And we've, we've seen that carry over to the classroom as well. And it's, it's really exciting to see.

Jessica Lenden-Holt   

I love that. Also, I have a coach. I have several soccer coaches. They're also speech language pathologists that are dying to do adaptive soccer. So we should connect. I need to figure out, I need to learn a lot more. But yeah, that's absolutely incredible. 

Bethany Darragh    

Yeah. I think that that exposure is really important. Do you think, I don't know if you have any sort of ideas or kind of inspiration for people out there trying to create these communities where there's inclusivity? Do you think it was the coach that's just kind of modeling this to these athletes that they look up to, or is there a secret sauce, I guess, to making the typical athletes Want to volunteer, want to participate, want to engage, or is it just that you'd have a great leader that's modeling it?

Jessica Lenden-Holt    

I think it's really just giving these kids the opportunity. I mean, do, how often do we probably write off the typical athletes saying, Oh, they just wouldn't want to hang out with these kids, or with this group, or with that group because they're an athlete, we've never given them the opportunity, right? So when my husband was a special education teacher, one of the big things he did was make sure that those kids that were in a more self contained classroom were getting consistent opportunities to hang out with the athletes and to be a part of different programs. And that really wasn't something that existed before that. And so I think it does take a leader to create the opportunities, but once those opportunities are in place, I think we really kind of write off some of our younger kiddos and our student athletes and our high school students seeing like, oh, they wouldn't be interested in hanging out with that individual. They don't have anything in common. And what's been incredible is like, oh my gosh, they're like, some of their biggest cheerleaders and some of their biggest fans. I mean, is that it, to me, has been so incredible to see, and I do think several of them have now decided that they want to go on and, like, do different volunteer work, or they're even thinking about certain careers all because they've had an opportunity to interact with someone that's different from them. So really, really cool to see. Probably takes a strong leader to create the opportunity, but then I think our students will surprise you.

Bethany Darragh   

Yeah, I appreciate that. I feel inspired to try to start building these relationships in my schools. And we definitely have, you know, buddies that come and read and things like that. But it still feels like that connection is not quite there. I think something like sports definitely could help build that connection. I know one of my kids, you know, switch activates toys, and so we'll do like a show and tell and take him to a classroom and say, Okay, it's this buddy's turn to show and tell this toy. And the kids think that's great, because it's they can connect on toys, you know, but yeah, thinking in more ways that they can see that there's more alike than there is different. Jessica, what are some of the biggest challenges you face in running Dream Team adaptive sports, and how can the community support your efforts?

Jessica Lenden-Holt   

For me, when we first started, the biggest obstacle was simply figuring out how to create something special and unique while keeping kids safe. So when you think about football, it doesn't rank up there in safe sports right when you're talking about football and you're talking about kids that already have difficulties, maybe walking or running, or they have vision impairments or whatever it might be. You're probably not thinking football's the sport where we're going to have them go out and tackle these dummies, right? And it shocked me so much to see again, like we probably don't give them enough credit. They went so hard, and so we were actually adapting and making things more challenging, as we went originally, while still trying to keep them safe. I cannot say enough about how the community had to come together though. We really wanted these camps to be free so that every kid could attend, having a child with special needs, with all the doctor's appointments, with all the high cost of all the specialty equipment, all the time off from work like just the financial strain on families is so high, and participating in sports and camps is so expensive, and so that was really key to us, key to the success. And so having to rely on the community for sponsorships, donations to keep those camps free, because we do give out jerseys, give out tons of fun swag, and we feed them and all that good stuff. And we also really rely on the community to volunteer. So this is only successful if we have enough volunteers to support it, and we have a job for everyone that's willing to come help and support so whether it's registration, handing out food, assisting with camp stations, we got our water girls and boys running around, making phone calls or being that team captain or lead if, if people are willing to volunteer, we have a place for them, and we really rely on the community for that kind of support.

Brennan Barber   

One of the things that we've found with adaptive soccer is that there's kind of a unique Parent to Parent connection that happens on the sideline as well. I don't know if that's something that you've witnessed. Have insight to as part of your program too.

Jessica Lenden-Holt   

Usually, right after the camp, we get flooded with parents reaching out, just sharing how meaningful the camp was to not only the child, but to them as a parent and to them as a family unit. So, you know, speaking as a therapeutic foster parent, but also kind of through, through the eyes of some of them, there's just so much you want to be able to give your child. And when you're faced with extreme obstacles, like some of these families have been, it can be so tough to be able to provide certain opportunities for your child, and you kind of feel like you're failing, right, even though it's sometimes it's just out of your it's not necessarily in your realm of influence. And so many of these kids, they love sports. Their families love sports. They have siblings that play. They watch it on TV with their family like they want to be able to participate. They want to be able to be able to do these things. So when families tell us that their child is sleeping every night in the jersey, or they're, you know, talking about it for the entire year until the next camp rolls around, or they're sharing with another child or family member that they're on a football team, they're on a baseball team, or they're just able to talk sports with their family member, or maybe they want to go out in the yard and suddenly throw a football, you know, something they've not done in the past. And they've all shared how grateful they are to be able to share and experience this with their kids, and it does create a community for the parents. So it is very hard thinking that you're going through this alone, that you're doing it alone. You look around and maybe in the typical classroom, you know you're not, you're not seeing other kids with the exact same needs. And sometimes you can feel like you're on an island and struggling a little bit on your own. And it's so nice when they're out there cheering in the stands and that, you know they're watching, they can see, you know, there are other kids. There are other families. They're able to talk and connect. They have resources they can share with one another, and they start creating that strong network of support. So it's truly not just for the kids, but for the families as well.

Brennan Barber   

So you mentioned a couple times now that you're a therapeutic foster parent, I'm not familiar with that concept, and how does that differ from traditional foster parenting?

Jessica Lenden-Holt   

So I will speak from my personal experience only, and I am here in Tennessee, but for us it, it is a separate agency from just our typical state agency. So these kids are placed with a special agency with families that have specialized training. So a lot of additional training goes into it. I know there's at least a 30 hours continuing education required each year, plus you go through some specialty training on the front end. And so we primarily took kids that had autism, because that's kind of my specialty, where my heart lies. But it could also mean, you know, children that have trachs, that are on vents, that have any kind of more specialized need than your average child. So that's where we were pulled to serve for a while, and we loved it. It is hard. You know? It's one thing to be the speech therapist on one side, right, and then it's another thing to be a parent on the other and you're living this 24 hours. And it is hard, it is tough, it is exhausting. Most days you feel like you're not doing everything you could be doing, and that comes with a certain level of pressure and guilt at all times like you, it's just getting to see it, though, has taught me to be a much better parent and a much better therapist, and I really think I can speak to to that experience a lot more than I could have previously, and kind of meet families where they are, and also give them the hope that, like, things get better. There are resources, there are supports out there, and hopefully alleviate some of that guilt, because no one is perfect, right? And we just have to do the best we can with what we're given, and the fact that they love their kids as much as they love them like, that's good enough.

Brennan Barber   

That's amazing. I think. I mean, the fact that you would take, you know, what is your profession, and then also wrap that into your personal life. And I mean, the life changing experience that you're giving those children is incredible. It has to be challenging for you, though, at times too, to like, flip that switch of, I'm not a therapist right now. Now I'm parenting and like, how, how does that? How do you? How do you balance that? 

Jessica Lenden-Holt   

I wouldn't say I balanced it well, I don't know that balance is a great word for me. I'm kind of like all in when I do everything. But yes, there were visual schedules all around my house. Yes, there were communications, like social stories, communication boards. We did struggle with that sometimes, like, hey, we need to turn off the special education teacher or the SLP switch, and we just, we just need to enjoy our time and be a parent. It's just reminding yourself of that sometimes, you know, it's easy to get to get caught up and to continue to push and want more and like, oh, okay, but this could be a great learning moment. It could be or it could just be a time where we laugh together and enjoy our time and go to the next thing.

Brennan Barber  

Yeah. I mean, even you know, not me not being a therapist, but you know, the parent of a child with a disability and managing the idea that obviously we've got to continue with therapies at home outside of the clinical setting. You know, that's necessary. You know, finding the right times to do that, and then also finding the time to, you know, be that traditional parent and find the fun activities to do, and then, you know, even trying to be creative sometimes, like weaving in therapy into some of those fun activities, it certainly is a balance. And I can only imagine that when you've got, you know, a professional background in doing this, and you have your you know protocols, and you know the various, you know, activities that you would typically do in a clinical setting, and then trying to translate that, then into home life would would be tough to balance. 

Bethany Darragh

Jessica, I’m sure on top of volunteers you guys have a way people can give or donate money to keep Dream Team going that people outside of Tennessee could help support.

Jessica Lenden-Holt

Absolutely, and this camp is open to absolutely anyone from any state.  If you go to Dream Team Adaptive Sport on facebook and reach out to us there. So our football camp is going to be September 21 in Elizabethton, Tennessee. On facebook, we will post volunteer links and participant links.  

Bethany Darragh 

That’s awesome, Perfect