Why I Chose to Work Virtually as a Speech Therapist: Finding Balance and Skipping the Commute

Why I Chose to Work Virtually as a Speech Therapist: Finding Balance and Skipping the Commute

By Vanessa Fanourgiakis, M.S., CCC-SLP

When my family asked me what I'd like for my birthday, I quickly replied with four golden words: some peace and quiet. Immediately hit by guilt, I added that sushi takeout and a movie would also be nice. But the words were already out there, and if I'm being honest, they were sincere.

Always running, never arriving

Between work, kids, the gym (what's that?), and endless soccer games, I often felt overstimulated, rushing from event to event while trying to meet everyone's needs. In Greek, there's a saying that loosely translates to:

"I run, and I never get there."

It perfectly captures that feeling.

My emotional bandwidth is limited, but there's one even more precious resource: time. I struggled to find any for myself, even a quiet moment with a cup of coffee. I tried waking earlier, thinking I'd cracked the code, until the pitter-patter of tiny feet thumped down the hallway. I tried staying up late, then clawed my way out of bed for early wake-ups with raccoon eyes. So I started reassessing my day-to-day with a critical eye, looking for a better work-life balance.

The hidden cost of the commute for school-based SLPs

The average American spends over an hour in the car each day. For me, it used to be twice that, between school drop-off lines and my work commute.

As a public school speech therapist, I covered multiple school sites across a large city. That meant: 

• Extra time in traffic every day
• More parking tickets than I'd like to admit
• Impressive parallel parking skills
• Lunch hunched over my steering wheel, laptop balanced on the passenger seat

I knew something had to give.

The Glass Ball Theory: deciding what can bounce

One day, a friend told me about the Glass Ball Theory, which compares the parts of your life to balls you're juggling. Some are plastic and will bounce if dropped. Others are glass and will break.

My family and close friends were glass. My career was plastic. It could adapt.

I was fortunate to have options in the ever-expanding field of speech therapy, and I'm now in my fifth year as a virtual speech therapist. I made the shift for myself and for my family. Working from home means I'm nearby when my little one gets sick at school, and I can find a spare moment to throw dinner in the crock pot.

What life looks like now as a virtual speech therapist

Nearly five years in, mornings are still full of school drop-offs, but my time in the car is less than half of what it used to be. Lunch breaks now go to feeding my sourdough starter, walking in my local park, or reacquainting myself with my exercise bike (hello, old friend).

I set my own schedule. And I've finally found what I asked for that birthday: some peace and quiet.

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