Become an Audiologist or SLP & Reward Yourself with a Career that Helps Others
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Audiologists and speech-language pathologists (SLP) discuss rewards of the professions and the joy they receive by helping people to communicate.
Julie Martinez Verhoff | Director of Audiology at the River School; Washington DC
Julie discusses being an audiologist at the River School. When having a conversation with a child who was born deaf, she's amazed and feels rewarded knowing that she's a part of that process.
As a mentor, she trains doctorial audiology students. One student—Jennifer—was diagnosed with a hearing loss when she was five years old. Students love when they come into the clinic and see her and her hearing aid. They say, "You wear a hearing aid, so do I."
Mackenzie Fama | Clinical SLP at MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital
Mackenzie discusses being on MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital's stroke team, as well as working with patient's on other teams, such as traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, or cardiac rehabilitation. She talks about her unpredictable schedule and the flexibility of being able to work with individuals on speech and language disorders, swallowing disorders, and cognitive impairments.
She recommends the SLP field to anyone considering it, since it pulls from a variety of backgrounds and is so diverse. Whether someone's interest is working with kids or adults; in a school or hospital setting, or private practice; there's something for everyone.
Charles Coward | SLP and Manager at Connections Therapy Center
Charles enjoys working with younger populations most because they're going through different developmental stages, and he's able to make an impact that will last throughout their lives. He believes SLP is important because everyone has a right or need to communicate. In the future, Charles sees himself working in theatre or film, teaching actors ways to improve their articulation.
Charles works with a young boy—Donovan—who has a bubbly personality, but is non-verbal. He works closely with Donovan to consistently use the sign for 'please' and teaches him the sign for 'apple.'
Chizuko Tamaki | Audiologist at Professional Hearing Services; Falls Church, Virginia
Being an audiologist is fun and rewarding for Chizuko. She works with one patient who came to her for a dizziness and balance evaluation. Doing a hearing test, then videonystagmography (VNG), she always tries to explain what's going to happen because it eases patients' tension and makes them feel more comfortable with what they're going through.
Chizuko talks about her future in five years; possibly wanting to move her career in a different direction or to a more advanced level. With so many opportunities in audiology, she doesn't feel limited.
Martine Ellie | Clinic Director at the Howard University Speech and Hearing Clinic
Martine teaches graduate and undergraduate SLP students clinical practicum courses to teach them how to apply theory into working with actual clients. She decided to become a SLP because she always wanting to do something that would make a difference in peoples' lives. She talks about her day; either teaching classes, supervising students working with clients, and doing community outreach activities. She also talks about how ASHA is a vital part of everything she does in her professional life—certification, professional development, policy statements, and advocacy.
James Brinton | SLP at the Katherine Thomas High School; Rockville, Maryland
James discusses the most rewarding thing about being a SLP—working with adolescents and helping them learn to be successful. He works with high-schoolers with moderate to severe learning disabilities because it's important for them to have the skills to transition out of high school into adulthood. ASHA supports him by providing scholarly articles to read, and keeping him connected to other professionals in his field. With the experience he's gained he hopes to get a strong clinical foundation and either someday open up his own speech practice or return to a university to teach and supervise clinically.
Davetrina Seles Gadson | Speech-Language Pathologist
Davetrina became a SLP because she knew there was diversity in the field. She knew she'd have the opportunity to help people communicate. One thing she enjoys about her day is that it's not routine. From working with patients with voice disorders to neurological disabilities to swallowing; sometimes going on community outings or working with other therapists to make sure they're treating the entire patient; there's always something new. She's also had the opportunity to work as a travel SLP; living in Chicago and Dallas.
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