Speech Pathology : A Career Path With Speech Pathology

How often do passion and profession come together? For me, being a natural communicator, I have always dreamt of being part of a multi-disciplinary team, improving the lives of others in both a direct and true-to-life level. With my sincere interest in people and curiosity of the mechanisms’ of the human body, having a simple conversation with my cousin is what made me fall in love with this career.

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.

I believe in order to have a successful career, you must go to college. When you have a degree, you have many more jobs to choose from (U.S Dep. of Education, 8). Employers would choose a college graduate over a high-school graduate. In the modern world, most good jobs require a college degree (Middle Schoolers: Why College?, 1). Having a degree insures that I can get a job with the competitive world we live in. A college degree also shows that you have persistent. It shows that you will push through when times get tough. Future employers look for this sort of mind-set. College is a stepping stone into joining a work

Choosing a major can be difficult, especially when considering expanding your collegiate career from your undergraduate career. For myself, Speech-Language Pathology was a clear answer for me to pursue, especially since I have a desire to help change an individual’s life and make a substantial impact that can affect more then just one individual. From the start of my Speech-Language Pathology collegiate career, I have always been drawn to working with children and increasing their communication skills. Although, my passion for working with children does not stop with expanding their communication skills, but also to help them to become more confident and content with whom they are.

"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.

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

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

Ultimately I plan to attend college no matter the obstacles that I will face. The ability to get a well paying job that you actually like is very hard when you don't have a college degree. When having a college degree everything is easier for the most part. There are a good amount of college graduates that doesn't have a job after have acquired a college degree. But that fact will not deter me from achieving my goal. Because the grass is always greener on the other

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

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

Do you ever ask someone what they want to become when they are older or what their major is? It seems as if I always get the same answer, everyone wants to become or is in the process of becoming a speech-language pathologist. I believe the amount of graduating speech-language pathologists are outnumbering the jobs available. Speech-language pathologists diagnose and treat communication and swallowing disorders. They are able to help individuals who have had strokes, surgeries, injuries, dementia, as well as those who have autism. Speech therapists work with individuals of all ages and are able to work in several settings, such as hospitals, nursing homes, schools, and rehabilitation centers. Job opportunities for speech-language pathologist

As stated by Leonhardt (2014), having a degree doesn’t automatically promise a successful future. It is up to an individuals to identify what they want to achieve in life and how they want to get success. Preparation is very important when it comes to the structure of success. College, as previously explained, plays an key role in future success. Acquiring a bachelor's degree or higher, will give a person the edge over their peers, who do not have a degree. They have an edge over others because a college degree opens up many opportunities rather than being stuck with low-wage, unsatisfactory occupation. In short, it leads you on the path of success to achieve all that you want to achieve in life. Thus, giving that individuals a step above others when it comes to achieving their future

When I first began my schooling here at Northwest Missouri State University, I was a biology/psychology major with the intention of going to medical school. From there, I would become a certified speech therapist. Quickly, I realized that I was not happy with my classes, and did not get excited when I was talking about my