speech-language pathologist
My Life as a Speech Language Pathologist
by Gina Costello, Director, Speech Dept., Child Success Center
The joy, intrigue and satisfaction of working with children as a speech-language pathologist.
Working as a Speech Language Pathologist, it’s hard to believe that I saw my first client 18 years ago. I remember the feeling I had leading up to that first session. It was a mixture of excitement, anticipation and a bit of anxiety knowing that I could help an individual communicate in their world and could have a positive impact on their life. It felt extraordinary!
After all of these years working as a speech language pathologist, I continue to feel the same level of joy and intrigue that I did when I was a new therapist. The difference is, now I have the experience,
patience and understanding to help my clients overcome their communication challenges. In essence, I have more “tools” in my toolbox!
There are many reasons why I love what I do! I’m always excited to try the latest therapy techniques and share new educational tools and tips with parents. I find great satisfaction giving parents
strategies and tips to try at home. As a result, families feel more empowered and so does the child.
Recently, a parent expressed how her relationship with her daughter has significantly improved since they started coming to therapy. She thanked me for being a partner in this process. It felt very gratifying to know that we worked as a team to improve her child’s life.
As a speech language pathologist, I’m constantly being challenged to come up with new and creative therapy activities. I love the freedom that I have in creating a session that suits the specific needs of a child. There’s no better experience than greeting a child in the waiting room and watching them race down the hall to my
therapy room with eager anticipation for the session.
One of my favorite parts of my job is the collaboration with other therapists and professionals in the community. The saying, “It takes a village to raise a child,” couldn’t be more appropriate when it comes to supporting a child who has a communication deficit.
Over the years the expertise, knowledge, advice and encouragement that I’ve received from other professionals has been invaluable. The best part of my job is watching a child grow into a confident and effective communicator. I have watched children go from being nonverbal to talking in sentences. I have seen children who were once very shy and timid become more confident and enthusiastic when communicating with their peers. Every day I work with families is a gift and a reminder of the positive impact I can have on their lives. I am continuously reminded of how fortunate and honored I am to have this opportunity!
More with Gina Costello and recognition of May – Better Hearing and Speech Month
Additional Resources for Parents:
Learning to Read – Is Your Child at Risk?
Identifying risk factors in your child that could impair literacy skills.
Children with language impairments often experience great difficulty learning to read and write. Other risk factors include: having a developmental disability, having a parent with a history of a reading disability, speaking a language that is different from the local academic curriculum, and/or living in a household where experiences with oral and written language are infrequent. Signs that your toddler may struggle with reading in the future include lack of interest in nursery rhymes or shared book reading, difficulty following simple directions, difficulty learning the names of letters, and failure to recognize or identify letters in the child’s own name (ASHA, 2008,www.asha.org).
- Nearly 50% of children enter kindergarten with at least one serious risk factor that may negatively affect academics (Rimm-Kaufman, Pianta, & Cox, 2000)
- The best predictor of end-of-kindergarten literacy skill is beginning-of-kindergarten literacy skill (Walpole, Chow, & Justice, 2004)
- The likelihood that a poor reader in first grade will stay a poor reader through fourth grade corresponds to a probability of .88 (Juel, 1988)
Speech-Language Pathologists Can Help
Research emphasizes the need to prevent reading problems through emergent literacy intervention. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) can identify children at risk for reading and writing difficulties and provide intervention to remediate literacy-related difficulties. The intervention will be a collaboration between the parents, teachers, caregivers, and the SLP.
Learning to Read – What Can Parents Do to Help Their Child?
You can help your child develop literacy skills during regular activities without adding extra time to your day. There are also things you can do during planned play and reading times. Show your children that reading and writing are a part of everyday life and can be fun and enjoyable. Activities for preschool children include the following*:
- Talk to your child and name objects, people, and events in the everyday environment.
- Repeat your child’s strings of sounds (e.g., “dadadada, bababa”) and add to them.
- Talk to your child during daily routine activities such as bath or mealtime and respond to his or her questions.
- Draw your child’s attention to print in everyday settings such as traffic signs, store logos, and food containers.
- Introduce new vocabulary words during holidays and special activities such as outings to the zoo or the park.
- Engage your child in singing, rhyming games, and nursery rhymes.
- Read picture and story books that focus on sounds, rhymes, and alliteration (words that start with the same sound, as found in Dr. Seuss books).
- Reread your child’s favorite book(s).
- Focus your child’s attention on books by pointing to words and pictures as you read.
- Provide a variety of materials to encourage drawing and scribbling (e.g., crayons, paper, markers, finger paints).
- Encourage your child to describe or tell a story about his/her drawing and write down the words (ASHA, 2006, www.asha.org)
