Speech Therapy Observation

During the 2011-2012 school year I began working in a new school in South Los Angeles. The neighborhood was rough riddled with gang violence and turf wars. To compound the stress of being in a new environment the speech therapist, Judeen, assigned as my supervisor was also new to the school site and had never worked at a school before. We were both overwhelmed with the amount of “catch up” work assigned to us. Services had not been provided for the 4 months prior to our arrival.

The first time I realized I was different was in second grade, when I opened my mouth to answer a question and my peers giggled as I struggled to answer. I pronounced my R's like W's, which threw my whole pronunciation of the English language into a twist. My previously "adorable" lapses in speech were now affecting me negatively. I was different than the rest of my classmates; I had been born with a speech disorder.

The opportunity to observe the work overview of a Speech Pathologist, has tremendously solidified my interest in this field. At the Diana Rogovin Speech Center at Brooklyn College, I observed clients of various ages with different speech language disorders including articulation, language, voice, fluency and accent modification. Observing clinicians at the speech center gave me the opportunity to learn how important client-clinician interaction is for the session and how essential it is to build a good relationship with the client. Although I learned the

Keaunna Knox has been a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) since 2007, and has worked ever since 2000 with children with special needs who had speech and language disorders. She began as an “Instructional/Speech Aide” at Pasadena Unified School District working with children with moderate and severe intellectual disabilities. All the students she worked with had speech and language disorders, and, since the Districts therapy was overloaded Keaunna implemented the communication goals she wrote. Based on that experience and many others, Keaunna decided to enroll at Cal State Los Angeles to pursue her professional career in teaching. She received her Master’s in Mild-Moderate Disabilities in Special Education from Cal State Los Angeles and a second

My intensive Speech Language Pathology coursework at California State University- Fresno has provided me with the skills to implement treatment plans, assist during speech and language assessments, and keep formal documentation of client’s progress in speech therapy. These are the necessary skills required to be an effective Speech Language Pathology Assistant and will make me as asset to have in the school speech setting.

It wasn’t until I start going to speech classes that I felt comfortable going to school. I went to my speech classes three times a week, one on one up until I was in 4th grade and then I began going with a small group of children. Schmitt also states that “Descriptive studies of current SLP practices indicate that over 75% of children with LI in the public schools receive pull-out therapy, regardless of age or language need” (p.35). My mother said that the speech program at my elementary school was extremely awesome. She said that it took a team to help me overcome my speech problem because the speech classes didn’t stop at school. When I came home from school she would also work with me. My mother and speech teacher wanted the best for me and they both wanted to ensure that I had a bright future. Having a disability such as a speech impairment has shaped my life because it engages in every aspect of my life such as articulation, reading and

An issue frequently debated by the legislature concerns funding of various social/public programs which include speech-language pathology services. As a child who suffered from an auditory processing disorder, and a future licensed Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP), I know all too well how important SLP services are for children. Currently, funding for social/public programs to include Speech-Language Pathology services in the United States is not adequate for children with learning disabilities and the legislature must act to remedy this.

This occurs due to diminished mental capacity, structural abnormalities such as unrepaired cleft palates, or lack of commitment on the part of the patient. An additional challenge sometimes faced by a school based SLP is dealing with difficult parents and rigid and sometimes unrealistic district expectations. However, despite the challenges faced by speech pathologists, the field of study continues to grow with an expectation of a 21% increase by 2024 (“Speech-Language Pathologists”). While jobs as an SLP are readily available nationwide in a variety of different settings, the key areas of growth in the field are in the states of Illinois, North Carolina, Texas, New York, and Ohio (“Best”). The growth of the field is due largely in part to people’s increased awareness of the benefits of treatment by a speech pathologist. SLPs provide treatments which allow individuals to function better in daily life. For example, SLPs in the education field provide techniques and strategies to help students function better both in the classroom and socially. SLPs in the medical field provide support in regaining the ability to accomplish daily tasks, safely ingest solid foods, and interact socially with family and

Some of the duties of a speech pathologist are, but are not limited to, evaluate patients’ levels of speech, language, or swallowing difficulty, identify treatment options, teach patients how to make sounds and improve their voices, work with patients to develop and strengthen the muscles used to swallow, and counsel patients and families on how to cope with communication and swallowing disorders (Duties, www.bls.org, 2015). ‘If the speech-language pathologists work in medical facilities, they work with physicians and surgeons, social workers, psychologists, and other healthcare workers’ (Duties, www.bls.org, 2015).

The tone is serious and supportive at this time. The mother expressed her continued frustration from her last meeting that occurred at Anson middle school last year. Dr. Neiman had the opportunity to review the most recent Individualized Education Plan, from January 2017, with the team. We are focused on the educational model outlined by the department of public instruction guidelines. By law, these guidelines focus on benchmarks and short-term objectives; the challenge is making sure he is successful as a student. As it relates to speech, this student should be able to communicate. The main question/concern of Dr. Neiman’s is if the student’s current speech abilities and IEP goals are appropriate to allow him access to the classroom curriculum. If so, the student would not qualify for additional speech services.

The clients that received the DAT training, 11 of them met their goal. One client did drop out of the DAT training because she felt it was not helping her. All of the clients in the MSI, ATC, and psychoeducational trainings all met their goals. The final percentage was that 83% of the clients met their goals. It was shown that each case should be reviewed and individualized for the client. Collaboration with the school, administrators and teachers would be very helpful in deciding which treatment would benefit each of the client's. Clinicians did collaborate with school staff making recommendations for the student’s accommodations if needed. Overall, this study showed positive outcomes as a speech-language pathologist delivers individualized treatments to the

W.C., a 26 year 11 month old woman, was brought to the Florida Atlantic University-Communication Disorders Clinic (FAU-CDC) by her boyfriend for a Speech-Language Evaluation. She was referred to the FAU-CDC by her neurologist for word finding difficulties and a possible articulation disorder after a left hemisphere hemorrhagic stroke one month ago. According to her boyfriend, W.C.’s symptoms began immediately following her stroke and are characterized by word finding difficulties, slowed and choppy speech, and mispronunciation of certain consonants that is affecting intelligibility along with a strained voice.

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

I hope this finds you well:) Time is flying by and finals are looming in my final semester of classes at the Bristol Community College in their Occupational Therapy Assistant program. Next semester will be all fieldwork and my first choice placement is Greenlock Therapeutic Riding Center. http://www.greenlock.org/. So close--finally!!

Fu and colleagues (2016) proposed a study to examine the long-term effects of intensive voice therapy for vocal fold nodules in comparison to traditional voice therapy. Thirty-six women that were diagnosed with bilateral vocal fold nodules who were treated with traditional or intensive therapy completed voice, stroboscopic, and acoustic assessments, along with the Voice Handicap Index before,