Speech Therapy Reflection Paper

Christensen had an English teacher her freshman year of high school that had caused her embarrassment when she a differing pronunciation of the word “lawyer”.From then on, Christensen would over analyze everything she would say. As minor as her experience may have been, it caused her to developed a complex regarding her verbal communication. This complex remained with her through the years and later impacted her teaching methods.

On Friday, March 31st I observed Northside Elementary School in the Brookville school district. I watched in a separate speech therapy classroom for students who also require special education. There was only one student who attended each session and the only professional in the classroom was the speech language pathologist, Miss. Haag.

Until the age of five, I had the inability to speak properly. When attempting to communicate with someone, I would know the message I was trying to convey, but the other person would have no idea of what I was saying. In preschool, this problem continued, so the school gave me a speech specialist. With the help of this specialist, I was able to learn how to make my thoughts clear (as much as a child could).

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.

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

I was born a twin and research studies show that with twins there is a high percentage that one twin may have a speech impairment. I was twin (a), the one who had the severe speech impairment. Growing up and not being able to speak properly had a major impact on my life. My speech was so severe that my mother and father use to tell me that they felt bad because they were my parents and they couldn’t understand what I was trying to say. Thanks to my twin sister she knew everything that I was trying to say and she would translate for me. I begin to take speech classes in kindergarten up until I was in the 5th grade. I never knew that my speech problem was so severe until I began school and all the other children begin to laugh and make fun of me because of the way I spoke, they would tell me “I spoke like a baby”.

Since I was very young, I have had a strong passion and fascination with words, an interest that was especially encouraged by family and developed through a variety of mediums. Like most babies, my first word was rather simple: “Da-dee” (“Daddy”). When learning my alphabet and numbers, my mom would play popular kid shows of the time, including “Sesame Street” and “Arthur,” on television and on audio tapes in the car. In addition, I enjoyed singing along with various Disney tapes and childhood favorites, such as Barney, Raffi, and Peter, Paul, and Mary. “I suppose you could say I was the ‘gatekeeper of my children,’” Mom recollects. “Without a doubt, I preferred for them to listen to musical tapes that were both educational and fun and believe it or not, if we listened to a tape plenty of times, I would actually start to sing along, too!” she laughs. When I was able to start formulating short phrases and sentences,

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.

The covenant not to compete that Ms. Rice signed as a part of her employment contract at Suffolk Speech and Hearing Center (“Suffolk Speech”) is most likely going to be found enforceable. As found in Technical Aid Corp v. Allen, there is a three prong test to determine whether or not a restrictive covenant is reasonable and therefore enforceable. 591 A.2d 262, 265-66 (N.H. 1991). The first being, is the restriction greater than is necessary to protect the legitimate interests of the employer. Id. Secondly, does the restriction impose an undue hardship on the employee. Id. at 266. And lastly, is the restriction injurious to the public. Id. For the purposes of this memo, only the first two elements will be analyzed as the third has already been found to be a non- issue. Because the covenant that Ms. Rice signed at the start of her employment at Suffolk Speech was reasonable in that it protects Suffolk speech from competition in an appropriate surrounding area that does not pose an undue hardship, it will be very difficult for the court to deem the covenant unenforceable.

The career, Speech Therapist, stood out to me because of the concept of helping someone overcome an issue that they may have had all of their life. By helping a person develop a common skill, you could be changing their life in a positive way. To actually hear the progress you have made through the person’s own mouth is something that would make you feel like you have a purpose and that is to help people make their lives better. The occupation of this career is to basically help people that either have a speech impediment or some type of disorder to communicate better and cope with social malfunctions they may have experienced in their life and will experience in the mere future. So

Speech Language Pathologists (SLP) are professionals who diagnose and treat patients who have difficulty with language and speech. Patients have a speech disorder if they have trouble generating proper or fluent speech sounds. A person who has problems with resonance also has a speech disorder. A SLP teaches patients with speech disorders how to coordinate the muscles in their mouth to pronounce certain sounds. Patients with language disorders have difficulty expressing their own ideas or understanding others. A SLP will help a patient with language disorders learn how to form words together in order to communicate. SLPs also treat patients with social communication disorders. People with social communication disorder are usually those who have autism or have suffered a

    When many people hear the word "therapy," they think of something that has caused a problem and has to be fixed. In most cases, that is true. Most people think the problem may be an injury that has to be rehabilitated or an extreme mental problem where the person needs serious help. However, therapy does not always deal with injured or mentally troubled people. Three types of therapy that help a wide range of people with their problems are physical, occupational, and speech therapies.

Communication is very crucial in life, especially in education. Whether it be delivering a message or receiving information, without the ability to communicate learning can be extremely difficult. Students with speech and language disorders may have “trouble producing speech sounds, using spoken language to communicate, or understanding what other people say” (Turkington, p10, 2003) Each of these problems can create major setbacks in the classroom. Articulation, expression and reception are all essential components for communication. If a student has an issue with articulation, they most likely then have difficulty speaking clearly and at a normal rate (Turkington, 2003). When they produce words, they

Specific Purpose Statement: To persuade my audience that IF they choose to support a children’s charity, to support St Jude Children’s Research Hospital.