About
I've spent more than 30 years helping others find their voice. Then I nearly lost my own.
As a speech-language pathologist and professor, I built a career on communication. Along the way, I hit burnout, imposter syndrome, and the quiet toll a caring profession takes on your health and sense of purpose. Finding my way back is what became the Micro-Script Method — and Sunburst.
K. Todd Houston, Ph.D.
Professor of Speech-Language Pathology
Strategic Life Coach for Helping Professionals
Three chapters, one thread: language changes what is possible.
The Clinician & Professor
More than 30 years as an SLP & academic — now Professor in the School of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology at the University of Akron, with two decades as a leader in telepractice, and books and articles on how children with hearing loss & families achieve listening & spoken language outcomes.
The Leader
I've also been the Executive Director & CEO of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing; a founding partner & CEO of the 3C Digital Media Network; and now the Owner & Strategic Life Coach at Sunburst Coaching & Consulting, LLC.
The burnout — and the way back
The resume looked great, but I was running on empty. Rebuilding meant advanced coaching training, new strategies, and new language for my own hardest moments — and in 2024, founding Sunburst to give SLPs, educators, and caring professionals the tools I wish I'd had.
What I believe
Burnout is a language problem before it's a willpower problem.
Most of us were never taught the words that protect our time, energy, and boundaries.
Small words, repeated, beat big overhauls.
A ten-second script you actually use outperforms a life plan you abandon after a few weeks.
The people who care for everyone else deserve tools built for them.
Practical, evidence-informed, & respectful of how demanding this work really is.
K. Todd Houston, Ph.D. Professor, School of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, University of Akron Former Executive Director & CEO, Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing (AG Bell) Former Founding Partner & CEO, 3C Digital Media Network, 30+ years in schools, clinics, hospitals, & universities, author, Tiny Scripts, Big Shifts: How Clinicians & Educators Talk Themselves Out of Burnout (New Script Press). Speaker, Consultant, & Strategic Life Coach, Sunburst Coaching & Consulting, LLC
If any of this sounds like your story, let's talk.
A free, no-obligation 30 minute discovery call — you'll leaving feeling heard, whether or not we work together.