My Future Career As A Speech Language Pathologist

Today’s speech pathologists are faced with many challenges. However, the field of speech therapy is unique in that when the speech pathologist overcomes a challenges is more often that not a significant triumph in the patients life. It is of massive importance for speech therapist have the following traits good interpersonal skills, the ability to take another’s perspective and problem solving skills.

During my interview with Speech Pathologist, Deborah Kirsch, I learned countless details about the Speech Pathology career field. When we first began talking, I learned that Mrs. Kirsch works out of a company called “Professional Therapy Services”, where she is contracted out to work for “Eunice Smith Nursing Home” which is located in Alton, Illinois. She has been working at this facility for about a year. She is a newly found graduate from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and she graduated in May 2011. Another thing that I learned about Mrs. Kirsch is that she originally did not go to school to become a speech pathologist, this was a career that she found later in life. After she had graduated from SIUE, the first time with a bachelors in Psychiatry, she started working at a nursing home around this area. She came to know a Speech Pathologist that worked there and she quickly found the field very fascinating. She had always been driven to help others, and she witnessed some of the exercises being done with individuals at the nursing home and decided to go back to school to get her masters in Speech Pathology.

As a teacher, it is important to know and understand the racial and cultural identities of both yourself, and your students. Knowing about your students’ backgrounds is a great way to make the classroom a safe and welcoming environment. Not all educational settings emit a feeling of safety to its students, and that needs to be changed. In this paper, I will discuss how my racial and cultural identity may be the same and may differ from my students, as well as some ways in which the institution of education can be changed to be more racially and culturally inclusive.

"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." I can hear one of my grandmother's highly regarded quotes resonating inside my head. Apprehension consumed me when I entered college as an undecided major. Unexpectedly that all changed a few weeks into my first semester. My grandmother had a stroke which ultimately affected her speech and was in dire need of a Speech Pathologist. This is what initially sparked my interest in this field. I was determined on working with the geriatric population because of the experience and attachment I endured with my grandmother. However, the irrefutable fact that this is my passion became evident when I started working as an Assistant Teacher at Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech.

Harris (2010) investigated school-based speech-language pathologists’ perceptions regarding the supports and barriers experienced when assessing the language skills of k-12 students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Unlike teachers, speech-language pathologist lack information concerning the perceptions and correct practices of cultural competency. Therefore, speech-language pathologists could misdiagnose or provide inadequate services to cultural or linguistically diverse patients resulting from the lack of cultural competency. The author concluded recruiting more culturally and linguistically diverse speech-language pathologist offers the field a broader representation of the American population.

In this era, diversity and cultural competence are extremely important to understand, regarding the foundations of human development in the social environment. Diversity can alter or affect an individual’s behavior in many ways. Diversity is considered when an individual is different, or composed of differing elements. Therefore, diversity can include different nationality, gender, sexual orientation, age, class, disability, gender identity, immigration status, political ideology, and religion. At any time, an individual is determined as belonging to another group, different from the majority, the individual is considered to be subject to the effects of diversity. Many children coming from different countries have a problem with language. Not being able to speak the language of the community can cause huge barriers for the children to overcome. Many parents believe that the key to a successful life and fulfillment is to get an education. These parents encourage their kids, that with an education nothing can defeat you. It is also very important for the social worker, or human service provider to be comfortable with diversity, and is culturally competent. Cross-cultured means the individual appreciates and compares the differences and the similarities of different cultures as well as their own.

Upon first entering college, I struggled deciding at such a young age what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Through babysitting and volunteering with pre-school aged children at my church and through a school program called STARS, it became evident to me I had a love for helping children. It fascinated me to see how they viewed the world around them and how quickly they learned new truths everyday. Nevertheless, I knew I would not get the full enjoyment interacting with children as a schoolteacher because the teacher to student ratio is so large. Classroom demands would make it much more difficult to devot individualized attention to each student, and I did not like that concept. So

Language is beautiful and wondrous phenomenon. Not only is it a crucial component in everyday communication, but it also accentuates the culture of those that speak it. As a student pursuing a career in speech-language pathology, the aspects of communication, such as language, are the pillars of my future profession and will be deeply embedded into my daily life. There are many reasons I have chosen this path, but my childhood friend, Jasmine, can be accredited with my finishing decision to become a speech-language pathologist. When I was in elementary school, Jasmine was one of my closest friends, but I did not always get to play with her at recess because she frequently had to see an audiologist, or go to speech therapy. Jasmine had a congenital

From being diagnosed at a young age with dyslexia and apraxia of the speech, I am not sure where I would be without the help and encouragement of my speech pathologists. ‘Speech-language pathologists assess, diagnose, treat, and help to prevent communication and swallowing disorders in patients’ (Summary, www.bls.org, 2015). Along with helping their patients overcome or learn how to understand their disorders, speech pathologists must keep records.

I am Samantha Peterson, as a child I was taught to be independent in my beliefs and to always follow my heart wherever it led me. I have always been one to go after what I want and never give up until my dreams are fulfilled. I plan to finish my associate degree at AB Tech and transfer to Western Carolina. I plan to graduate from Western Carolina with a master’s degree in speech pathology. Once I complete this phase in my life I hope to pursue my career and start a family of my own. To begin my career, I hope to still be employed at Mission Hospital, but as a speech pathologist rather than a medical assistant. As a speech pathologist I hope to make life changing improvements in people’s everyday lives that I cross paths with. While beginning

Teaching in racially diverse classrooms often leaves educators feeling uncertain about how to proceed and how to respond to historically marginalized students. There is pressure to acknowledge and accept students of color with different perspectives, to diversify the syllabi, be more aware of classroom dynamics, and pay attention to how students of color experience the learning process.

I am writing with great interest regarding a potential speech-language pathologist opening at Gull Lake Community Schools. During the spring of 2014 I completed an internship at Richland Elementary, working under Shawn Herron and Stacy Robbins. I believe I had the pleasure of meeting you a few times as well. I have spoken with Mrs. Robbins regarding the possible opening this fall and she advised I send my resume to you.

I had a dream of a career that would allow me to utilize my skills, my motivation to help others, and would catalyze change. Speech-language pathology has allowed me to lead my life with purpose, the purpose of empowering others. This empowerment is gained by my assistance in overcoming speech related deficits and disorders as a speech-language pathologist

Ashley Marshall is a healthcare administrator and speech language pathologist at Zionsville Meadows. Although she was trained to provide speech therapy to patients, she is now a rehabilitation service director who is responsible for planning, directing, and coordinating health services in a nursing home setting. Her management makes the Zionsville Meadows rehabilitation department succeed in the treatment of adult patients.

Race, ethnicity, religion, class, sexual orientation, ability, and gender have all impacted my life in ways beyond my total comprehension. However, I can begin to identify some of the notable interactions and effects and discuss the ways in which they might present themselves in my teaching practices. I am a White, European American, Christian, and heterosexual female without a medically ascribed disability. I can say that ultimately (and unfortunately) my cultural and physical identity is considered normative within the United States and has placed me on a path of privilege and power. Throughout my life, though, I have been fortunate to encounter other cultural groups in very meaningful ways. My international, religious, and family experiences have shaped my worldview most notably.