Speech-Language Pathological Summary

My early reading experiences reflect the history that Vogt and Shearer (2011) describe in the first chapter of Reading Specialists and Literacy Coaches in the Real World. The basal reading programs of the 1970s and 1980s included “leveled readers, phonics activities, and a great deal of comprehension skill practice, usually found on the pages of the accompanying workbooks. The programs also included highly structured, detailed teacher’s guides, with different lesson plans for each of the three instructional groups” (Vogt & Shearer, 2011, p.13).

The Wilson Reading System (WRS) is marketed for students from grades 2 to 12 who are not making sufficient progress with their current Tier 2 intervention and need a more intensive intervention at Tier 3. It is used most often with students in upper elementary to high school. The program can also be used with adults who need remedial reading services. Specifically, the program is based on the Orton-Gillingham approach to reading instruction. This approach relies on direct instruction, incorporates ideas of “how” and “why” individuals learn to read, and explores multi-sensory methods (auditory, visual, and kinesthetic). It is intended for individuals who have problems with phonological awareness or orthographic processing.

I chose this topic because I’m interested in studying speech language pathology or audiology in college and I don’t know much about it, so I wanted to take this opportunity to learn as much as I could about this subject. “Speech Pathologists require significant formal education”. “..Sometimes called speech therapists, assess, diagnose, treat and help to prevent disorders related to speech”. I also chose this topic because my cousin is hard of hearing, which caused her to have learning disabilities and fall behind in school but she took speech therapy to help improve her interactions with people and to help her get further in her educational career. She also uses American Sign Language and she now attends The School for the Deaf

There are more than 100,000 Speech-Language Pathologists in the Unites States, 70% of which find themselves employed in elementary or secondary schools. Since the 1950’s, speech teachers have worked with children to improve their speaking or hearing disabilities as well as struggled with the size of their caseload and workload. Groups and organizations have made efforts to solve this problem; none have been fruitful. This is caused by a lack of adequate backing or support. Speech-Language Pathologists employed in schools face many difficulties concerning caseload and workload, including general issues, caseload stress, student placement, and even job shortages.

Educational standards for American public school system children who struggle with various communication disorders cannot be maintained without an increase in the number of school-based Speech Language Pathologists. While the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires public school staffing of Speech Language Pathologists, access to such services continues to be compromised by the ongoing shortage of these school-based specialists. I have been inspired to apply to Speech Language Pathology graduate school partly because of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's efforts to lessen the shortage; without trained Speech Language Pathologists, children cannot receive the care ensured to them by IDEA.

At this time, I plan to become a speech-language pathologist. The specialized body of knowledge for speech pathology is communication, cognition, feeding, and swallowing problems.6 I plan to acquire this knowledge by attending the University of South Carolina to obtain a master’s degree in speech-language pathology. The American Speech-Language Association certification maintenance standards require that “all certificate holders must accumulate 30 certification maintenance hours of professional development during each 3-year certification maintenance interval in order to maintain their ASHA Certificates of Clinical Competence.”5 A compliance form must be submitted to validate the 30 hours of professional development. A SLP must follow specific

Although I begin graduate school in the fall, I am still unsure of my speech language pathology path. I understand when I begin my clinical rotations, I will be drawn to my calling. As I have explored information in my classes, I grow confused about my best-fit professional setting. When I began as a junior in college, I was leaning toward public school work, but by the beginning of my senior year, acute trauma or inpatient hospital care intrigued me. Now, after a year of working in my university’s clinic, I believe a private practice clinic would fit me. I have often found myself researching speech language pathologist jobs in the Oklahoma City area, and the private clinics serving ages two through 21 have caught my eye. I have always enjoyed

Speech-language pathology is a challenging yet rewarding career path. There are many things to consider before choosing this career, including salary, responsibilities, education, and qualities just to name a few. A speech-language pathologist works directly with the client or patient to provide support and care. Like any other job, there are some issues that cause concern for those considering this career field. In speech-language pathology, the main issue is the high caseload/workload, which can cause people to not want to enter into this career. Even though this problem is major, the benefits of the career outweigh this potential issue. Speech-language pathology is a tremendously rewarding career to enter into.

In addition, I will love to use all these reading strategies when I’m doing my student teaching or in my own classroom. Since I don’t have lots of experience in reading classroom, these strategies could help me to manage and deliver a good reading lesson especially if I’m working with 1st grade. They could help to have a very productive and well-managed

Speech and language disorders can be acquired from brain injury and external force. According to the mechanistic model of aging, the brain is seen as our hard drive (Rysberg 2016). Information is stored and signals are sent to the rest of the body. Any interference such as a stroke can alter the way a person functions. Speech Language Pathologists often come in when traumatic brain injury is seen in a patient. The brain is separated into two hemispheres; one processes language and reasoning while the other, the right side, houses the emotional aspect of communication. While someone possessing a traumatic brain injury to the right side of the brain may not exhibit problems with their articulators and Nero motor connectors, they may have problems

Over the course of this semester, I have had the opportunity to listen, observe, and learn about the responsibly of a Speech-Language Pathologist. Through this experience I have been able to visualize what a typical day would be like for a professional in the field I wish to continue studying.

As seen, speech-language pathologists can be employed around the nation, and for that reason the salary of a speech-language can be based on the their background, experience, work setting and geographical location (The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 1997-2016). According to the “Occupational Outlook Handbook” the average annual wage for speech-language pathologist in May 2015 was $73,410 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 2015). At the same time, facts from May 2015 exhibited that speech pathologist in nursing and residential care facilities made around $27,000 more than a speech pathologist in state, local or private education services (Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 2015). Furthermore,

Interactive shared book reading is a practice that adults can use when reading with children, which are intended to enhance young children’s language and literacy skills (Phillips, Norris, & Anderson, 2008). This practice can be used in an individual, small group, school or center-based setting. Most of the environments where this practice is taking place, according to the WWC Intervention Report, are day care centers or HeadStart classrooms with children aged 3 to 5 and often minority racial groups of low socioeconomic status (Bochna, 2010). This is implemented by an adult reader reading aloud, making sure the students can easily see, and using different structured interactive techniques to engage the children

As a Speech Language Pathologist it is important to be familiar with the functional and anatomic organization of the nervous system. This helps facilitate a useful intervention program and understanding the practical skills of the client (Bhatnagar, 2013). This is especially important with a client who has experienced a brain lesion either due to stroke or traumatic brain injury. The localization of the lesion, the stimulation mapping of specific neurons and pathways, laterality, and understanding the functionality of each region of the brain can explain the manifestations of a disorder.

The areas that interest me the most in Speech Language Pathology practice are Autism and Down Syndrome with feeding and swallowing disorder. I believe both areas are evolving and are most common now days, calling for a great necessity in therapeutic services. Autism is a broad field, where as a future Speech Language Pathologist, I have a large scope to learn from and achieve professional goals in one discipline. A larger group in the Autism community is found in children furthermore, Autism is characterized to follow a child all his or her life and as adults with Autism, specifically those who are nonverbal may also benefit from Speech and Language treatment. This allows employment opportunities in both children and adult settings for future SLP’s.