Better Hearing and Speech Month: Let Me Reintroduce Myself!
May is Better Hearing and Speech Month! During this month we bring awareness to communication disorders and the role of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and audiologists in providing treatment. Since I’ve been a speech therapist for 11 years, I think this is a good time to introduce myself again and talk more about my career as a pediatric speech-language pathologist!
What Did My Life Look Like Before Speech Therapy?
Being an SLP is my second career. My bachelor’s degree is in Spanish and my first job out of college was as a Spanish medical interpreter in North Carolina. I worked in hospitals and clinics and interpreted for Spanish-speaking patients during their medical appointments. I really enjoyed this job and I got to meet so many interesting people. I also worked in an Early Head Start program where I helped families and kids connect with the services they needed, including speech therapy. I remember a speech therapist that came into the daycare where I worked to evaluate a child and I thought it was so interesting! This is when I started thinking about becoming a speech therapist.
What Is My Training?
To become a licensed speech therapist, I went back to school for a master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders. I applied to the University of Texas at Austin and I was lucky enough to be accepted, so I moved from North Carolina to Austin. I graduated with my master’s degree in 2010 and I have been practicing pediatric speech-language pathology ever since!
SLPs must be licensed in the state where they live and where their client lives. Since I do telehealth, I’m licensed in both Texas and Illinois and I can provide services in both states. I also have my “C’s” which means I meet the criteria for holding the national Certificate of Clinical Competency from the American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA). My “C’s” appear as CCC-SLP after my name. I have to renew my state licenses every couple of years and my national CCC must be renewed every year. Continuing education courses are required every few years to renew state licenses and the ASHA license. I love learning new things about the field and keeping up with evidence-based practice and learning more about how to best serve clients and their families of diverse backgrounds in a way that makes them feel safe, supported and seen.
Who Do I Serve?
SLPs can work with clients from ages birth through the end of life. In graduate school I had the opportunity to work with both kids and adults, but I chose to dedicate my career to working with kids because that’s where my heart is! During summers in college I worked at a daycare in my hometown in Tennessee and I have always loved working with children. They teach me so much and it’s also so rewarding to watch them change and grow. As an SLP, I have worked with kids from birth through high school.
In What Settings Have I Worked?
SLPs work in so many places! We can work in public and private schools, clients’ homes, hospitals, outpatient centers, skilled nursing facilities, research centers and via telepractice. As a pediatric SLP, I have worked in a children’s hospital, outpatient clinics, clients’ homes, public schools, an autism research center and telepractice. I love that this profession has allowed me to work in so many different settings. I’ve learned a lot about how kids communicate in different places and with different people over the years.
How Do I Help Kids?
As an SLP, I help kids communicate. A lot of people think that communication consists only of speech sounds and the words that we say or communicate, but it’s so much more! I help young children learn about nonverbal communication such as gestures in addition to learning expressive vocabulary to make their wants and needs known. I also help kids learn to understand language, and I empower caregivers through coaching to help their young child participate actively in daily routines for increased language learning. I also love helping kids with their speech sounds so that other people can understand their speech and helping older kids understand language concepts such as adjectives, multi-step directions and wh-questions. It’s so fun to help kids increase their vocabulary and to put words together so that they can form meaningful sentences to express their ideas to others. One of the best things about my job is helping kids gain confidence in themselves to communicate their authentic voice to others and to advocate for what they need.
Why Telepractice?
I became interested in providing services via telepractice (also known as telehealth or teletherapy) before the pandemic. Telepractice has been approved as a service delivery model by ASHA for many years. After working in many different settings, I was ready to try something new. A few years ago, I had a few clients that had long commutes to come and see me in person and they were willing to try telepractice out with me, and it was so effective that we never looked back! I educated myself on best practice for delivering speech-language services via telepractice, and I’ve been continually learning new and creative ways to connect with kids and families via telehealth. Families love the convenience of telepractice, and the progress I’ve seen kids make through teletherapy has been amazing!
Fun Facts About Me:
I live in Austin, TX. I am a musician and I love to compose music, hence the piano in the background in the picture. I live with my awesome wife and cute dog. I have lived and worked in five US states!
I love being a pediatric speech-language pathologist! If your child is having difficulty with speech or language skills, contact me to schedule a free consultation to see if speech therapy could benefit your child.