The Clinic

In order to graduate in the Communicative Disorders major at Cal State Fullerton, every student is required to complete a certain number of 'observation hours'. Some of those hours are spent watching videos, but many are spent in the Speech and Hearing Clinic on campus. You know those fancy mirrors that are really windows (like at police stations), we sit behind one of those in a tiny observation room next to a therapy room and watch various speech and language therapy sessions for children and adults.

This observation can be boring if you're just dealing with a child with articulation or language delay problems, and after some of these sessions I've left wondering if I've chosen the right field because I don't think I have the patience for some of these kids. But it can get really interesting when you have stroke patients who have lost the ability to talk, or children with Autism or Down Syndrome. These are the sessions that have helped me learn where I'd like to focus in the field of Speech and Language Pathology.

I was really sad the first time I observed a stroke patient. All I could think about was how young the guy was (probably in his early 60s) and how one day everything was going fine and the next day everything changed. He could no longer move with the speed and ease that he once could and his speech was severely limited. You could see the frustration on his face when the therapist would ask him to say a simple word, phrase, or even just make a certain sound and he couldn't.

Before then, I thought I ONLY wanted to work with children, but that one observation session opened me up to the idea of working with adults.

Last week, we watched a video of another (even younger) stroke patient who's speech was severely limited (apraxic) and who suffered from what seemed to be hemipareses (partial paralysis, or weakness). He was wheelchair bound and could say very few words. The clinician showed him a small touch screen computer that she loaded with many phrases about him and his family, along with some every day requests. With the push of a button he could have the computer talk for him and say "my name is...my phone number is...my kid's names are...I'm from...etc." He could also make requests, for example, every day after his session, he goes to the deli and orders a sandwich. His wife writes down what he'll have so he can give it to the deli clerk. Now he could load his order onto the computer and push a button to say "I'd like a small roast beef sandwich".

Every time this man pushed a button and heard the computer say specific things about him or his family, he would light up. When he figured out the roast beef sandwich button, he cheered and gave the clinician a 'thumbs up'. I got a little emotional about it. Here is a younger guy who was a successful business man, has two very young children and a wife and in a second had his life severely altered and his communication abilities drastically reduced. He couldn't say much more than 1 word sentences, making conversation nearly impossible. And now, with this new computer (and a lot of training on it), he could 'talk'. He finally had a way to communicate and tell all those around him who he was and what he wanted. You could almost see the joy radiating from him as he played with the machine.

After this, I realized, not only was I open to the idea of working with adults, but maybe it's really something I WANT to do eventually! It was a really touching experience and I would love to be a part of something like that.

Then, today I sat in on a session with a little boy with Down Syndrome and realized that if there is any room for an SLPA in the area of Down Syndrome, THAT'S where I want to be. This little boy was so happy and giggly. He celebrated each little victory in the therapy session and it was so exciting to watch him learn new things. His mom was in the observation room with me and I felt silly because I got all teary eyed when he figured out how to make the ticking sound with his tongue after studying the clinician for a few minutes. It really seemed like he wouldn't figure it out, when he did, we all cheered!

I guess whether I work with children with Down Syndrome or adults with aphasia from stroke, or anyone else, it doesn't really matter. I realized today that for me, it's seeing the improvement and seeing the little victories in therapy that make me happy. I can't wait to finish school and be able to start working directly with clients (eventually) and creating their own personal victories...and celebrating every one with them.

I love my major!