Once a week a delightful, petite woman with short salt and pepper hair pulled me out of my classroom for speech therapy. Diagnosed with severe phonological disorders, few people could understand what I was attempting to say, leading to me being painfully shy, even hiding under the table when it was my turn to speak in class. That weekly session was my chance to shine; I was having fun, feeling confident in myself, and most importantly, learning how to speak more intelligibly. That delightful woman is someone I’ve thought about often throughout the course of my life. In my late 20s as I was searching for a new career, I again began thinking about her. It was then that I fondly recalled my experiences and how she advocated for me, helped
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In addition to my own experiences in speech therapy, my intention to pursue a career in Speech-Language Pathology is driven by compassion, wanting to work with children, and communication. I was taught the importance of compassion at an early age. I remember going to the hospital with my parents to pick up a newborn foster baby that would live with my family for a year-an experience that nurtured my compassionate nature. It is my hope to be there for someone, like my family was for that newborn, and like my speech therapist was for me. I want to be an advocate for an adult or child with speech/language disorders and their family during extremely difficult situations. As parents and families are fearful and concerned regarding their loved one’s speech and language abilities, I want to be someone who can listen, guide them through their specific challenges, empathize with them, and most importantly, help them find solutions to their …show more content…
To be able to fully help the clients I serve I need more education. My unique experiences and passions have paved the way for me to reach the next tier of my goal: graduate school. Attending graduate school will allow me to invest in my future and pursue my passions of helping others, working with children, and helping others become more effective communicators. I want to become an SLP to help those struggling to find a voice find theirs, whether it be making their speech more intelligible, using an AAC, or using a system or signs and representations. The knowledge I will receive at the graduate level will enable me to have more of an impact on the patients’
In addition to my own experiences in speech therapy, my intention to pursue a career in Speech-Language Pathology is driven by compassion, wanting to work with children, and communication. I was taught the importance of compassion at an early age. I remember going to the hospital with my parents to pick up a newborn foster baby that would live with my family for a year-an experience that nurtured my compassionate nature. It is my hope to be there for someone, like my family was for that newborn, and like my speech therapist was for me. I want to be an advocate for an adult or child with speech/language disorders and their family during extremely difficult situations. As parents and families are fearful and concerned regarding their loved one’s speech and language abilities, I want to be someone who can listen, guide them through their specific challenges, empathize with them, and most importantly, help them find solutions to their …show more content…
To be able to fully help the clients I serve I need more education. My unique experiences and passions have paved the way for me to reach the next tier of my goal: graduate school. Attending graduate school will allow me to invest in my future and pursue my passions of helping others, working with children, and helping others become more effective communicators. I want to become an SLP to help those struggling to find a voice find theirs, whether it be making their speech more intelligible, using an AAC, or using a system or signs and representations. The knowledge I will receive at the graduate level will enable me to have more of an impact on the patients’