My Path to Speech-Language Pathology
A year ago today, I was a graduate student at Notre Dame of Maryland University studying Art Therapy and Counseling. By night I learned clinical psychology and art therapy theory in the classroom, and by day I put theory to practice at an internship at the Arc Baltimore (the Arc); an organization serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and traumatic brain injury. As my knowledge grew, I interacted more with clients at the Arc, but imagined my professional self in an even more engaged role. Throughout daily group Zoom sessions, I communicated with clients using both speech and remnants of American Sign Language retained from childhood. When Covid-19 restrictions eased and I met the individuals in person, we communicated verbally, nonverbally, with gestures, art, and signs. Engaging with clients daily fostered a commitment to working within the IDD community. As the semester progressed, I realized that the role of clinical art therapist was not the right fit for me to adequately support this client population. I left the academic program in January but continued as a volunteer during the winter and spring semesters, fulfilling the commitment that I made to the internship that previous fall.
While volunteering I researched academic programs that prepare graduates to engage, support, and improve the lives of individuals with IDD. This led me to Speech-Language Pathology (SLP), and the limited number of graduate programs nationwide that offer intensive coursework and hands-on experience leading to licensure. This research—coupled with my desire to work with IDD populations—opened a new professional pathway for me. In spring I enrolled in an undergraduate leveling program in New Mexico and have been working on prerequisite courses in SLP. The coursework excited me for the profession. Today the medical, clinical, and therapeutic aspects of the discipline challenge me in new ways.
Personal accountability is something that I value. This ideal is one reason why I continued at the Arc after leaving the Art Therapy program. In fall 2021 I made a commitment to the organization and chose to see it through the winter and spring semesters. Fulfilling that responsibility had a twofold outcome: it reinforced my commitment to personal accountability and directed me toward speech-language pathology.
Effective research has always been vital to my professional life. A decade in the instructional design field means that I regularly seek out sources of knowledge, evaluate them, and analyze them for relevance to my work. This ongoing analytical process is also a requirement for success in graduate coursework, and it’s a skill that I have cultivated throughout my professional career. Today, this commitment to research and academic exploration helps me to build a scaffold as I learn more about speech-language pathology across a variety of client populations.
So fingers, toes, and everything is crossed right now...in anticipation of my starting a new graduate program later this year.
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