Speech-Language Pathology Paper

A phenomenon applicable to the vast field of Speech-Language Pathology, and the foundation of research now and in the future can all be attributed to, difference versus disorder. This concept considers the complexities of those served within the profession and highlights the range of possibilities displayed from an individual, that draws a fine line between a person being labeled as having a dialectal difference or a speech and/or language disorder. A difference can be defined as an alteration in an individual’s speech and/or language that can be attributed to internal and external factors such as race, culture, and the environment in which a person lives. In contrast, a disorder is an actual disability that interferes with a person’s speech

The ability to connect through speech is an enormous gift of life, and the ability to communicate effectively is an immense aspect of life. The job of a speech-language pathologist is one that comes with a great deal of responsibility and dedication. As you are taking on the position of providing the skills needed for an individual to have successful communication in a way that best suits them given their personal conditions. In order to be a successful speech-language pathologist, a required set of skills is needed. Good interpersonal skills, the ability to take another person’s perspective and the ability to problem solve are three essential abilities that constitute a successful speech-language pathologist.

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

SPEECH PATHOLOGY Many people would like to make a difference, not only in their own life, but in others’ lives as well. Deepak Chopra once said, “Everyone has a purpose in life…a unique gift or special talent to give to others. And when we blend this unique talent with service to others, we experience the ecstasy and exultation of our own spirit, which is the ultimate goal of all goals.” All of us, at one point in our lives, have to make the difficult decision of the goals we want to work towards. We all have certain goals, standards, and expectations of ourselves. Not everyone will figure out what they want to be right away, and some will know from the very beginning. My plan for my life is helping others through Speech Language

Introduction 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

I completed my undergraduate and graduate studies at Western Michigan University. During this time, I accumulated over 260 clinical hours assessing and providing treatment to preschool and elementary-aged children with speech and language disorders. This has prepared me to be a qualified candidate for this position. At Richland

The EDUX 9930 class allowed me the flexibility to choose a topic that was specific to speech pathology. I used the hours of class time to catch up on the most recent research completed through the American Speech and Hearing Association, watch in-services on multiple speech related courses, and listen to webinars that addressed disabilities that affected speech skills. It is important for speech pathologist to stay current with evidence-based practices that will help students make the most progress in the shortest amount of time. I work with students in kindergarten through fourth grade so several of the topics that I focused on were in depth articles on phonological awareness and reading during the primary grades. I will recap some of my

From the moment we are born, our environment prepares us for this journey we call life. We learn to communicate both verbally and non-verbally. In my opinion and based on three studies, socioeconomic status, the child’s gender, the amount of language they hear from their caregivers, word mapping, and

In 2006 it had been estimated that around 19% of Speech-Language Pathologist’s caseloads are comprised of geriatric clients with communication disorders (Zraick, Gregg, & Whitehouse, 2006). Due to the influx of the baby boomer generation reaching old age within recent years, this percentage is sure to have increased. It is imperative that Speech-Language Pathologists become highly familiar with the aging process as it relates to speech production for both healthy and disordered speakers. Strong knowledge of this area will enable a Speech-Language Pathologist to determine if the changes a client undergoes are the result of the normal course of aging, or if they are indicative of a disorder. Aging effects various aspects of speech and all

Nature and nurture both play a significant role in language development. Language development refers to how children understand, organise, speak and use words in order to communicate at an effective, age-appropriate level (Karen Kearns, 2013, P.105). For centuries, theorists have been debating the roles of nature versus nurture. Although, each child’s language will develop at their own pace and there will be many individual differences based on culture, ethnicity, health and ability. As well as physical, social, emotional and cognitive development in which will contribute to a child’s language development.

I am a Speech-Language Pathology/Audiology and Deaf Studies combined major. Throughout middle and high school I was fortunate enough to be able to volunteer in elementary school classrooms. Many times, I worked in the second grade special education classrooms. This experience engrained in my mind what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. My favorite part of volunteering was helping the children with special needs. Many of these children were isolated from their classmates as a result of what was described to me then as a disability. As I got to know a little bit about these children I saw more and more that the label "disabled" that society places upon these children was not applicable. Deafness is a difference, not a disability.

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,

I choose the article “New Guidelines Assist Clinical Doctorate Programs in Speech-Language Pathology”. This articles states how ASHA is starting to have new guidelines for schools that offer clinical doctorate programs or is planning to offer them in the future. The guidelines are also intended for SLP graduates who want to enter management positions in the clinical setting. I found this article to be very important, because I feel as if speech pathology is sometimes not taken as seriously as it should be by other clinicians. However, on the other hand I feel like our fellow coworkers such as physical therapist, audiologist, and physicians are all taken very seriously. I believe this have something to do with the fact that these professionals all need doctoral or professional degrees for entrance in their professions. However, we do not.

With an array of assessments available, language sampling has proven to be an effective tool that speech-language pathologists can utilize to assess children’s language development (Miller, 1996). Language sample analysis (LSA) allows clinicians to assess the linguistic behavior of children, examining morphology, phonology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics in order to make comparisons to typical language development (Tommerdahl & Kilpatrick, 2014; Miller, 1996; Mok & Kipka, 2009). Despite its efficiency, a survey completed by speech-language pathologists (SLPs), 79% reported LSA as too laborious (Kemp & Klee, 1997). These numbers may represent a large number of SLPs who lack the training and experience to use LSA as a supplemental diagnostic

“Phonological disorders in children can result from physical or organic causes or may be functional in nature ("Phonological disorders in," 2013)”. Children with a phonological disorder may experience a higher risk for reading and writing disabilities. “If left unresolved, phonological disorders have long-term consequences that may interfere with an individual's future social, academic, and vocational well-being, largely resulting from persistent, reduced intelligibility of speech ("Phonological disorders in," 2013).”