Speech-Language Pathologists enhance lives throughout the pandemic
Speech-Language Pathologists enhance lives throughout the pandemic
Speech-Language Pathologists are continuing to help their patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
HOUSTON - Being able to communicate is one of the most important things in life, but it can be difficult for people of all ages and for many different reasons. A local mom says her son, Christopher, would probably be living in a facility, instead of his home, if a Speech-Language Pathologist hadn't taught him how to communicate.
Chris was diagnosed with autism when he was a few years old.
“He had speech growing up, but he lost his speech completely, completely. That was a major shocker to us. Until this day, my son is 13 years old and he's completely non-verbal," explains his mother, Lionela Castillo.
She shared video with us before and after Chris’ speech therapy, and the results are remarkable. Before, she says Chris would get so violent, he would leave holes in the wall of their home. They quickly figured out what was causing him to get so mad. Within five months of working with his Speech-Language Pathologist or SLP, Shannon Paige, he was able to communicate for the first time since he was a toddler. She taught him how to use a communication board. His family couldn't believe it! Before, they say his behavior wouldn't allow him to do something like this.
“He would just break it and break it, so it was amazing when we actually saw him for the first time! I will never forget. He was like, I want yogurt. We handed him that yogurt and his face was just like, oh my gosh,” smiles Lionela.
He was able to finally tell them what he wanted. Not through his own voice, but through the communication board. She says his anger was fueled by the fact he didn't know how to share his feelings with them. Finally, her son's frustrations could fade away, because he could let her know his wants and needs, just through a creative type of communicating with a device. Lionela says it was a life-changing experience to work with their SLP.
Some families have had a challenging time getting therapy during the COVID-19 pandemic, but help is out there. We talked to a panel of experts, who shared all types of valuable advice. The University of Houston Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic is still offering evaluations and treatment throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. They're helping patients through tele-practice and believe the service is incredibly beneficial.
“We have increased access to family members, so therefore we can increase the family coaching that we're doing, and family coaching is so critical to the success of therapy, because it's important for clients to practice the skills they learn in therapy in between sessions,” says Jane Tragesser, Director of the clinic.
She goes on to further explain how the process works.
"Right now we are currently offering this for a number of communication impairments or disorders to both adults and children. And we're doing this tele-therapy, because we're in a teaching clinic. These services are provided by graduate students who are working towards a master's degree in speech language pathology, and they in turn are supervised by licensed and certified Speech-Language Pathologists," explains Jane.
She says UH's clinic is also helping financially during the pandemic.
"Many clients' financial situation has changed, so to ensure that everybody in the community has access to our services, all of our services are offered on a sliding scale, so every client is eligible for a fee reduction," states Jane.
Speech-Language Pathologist Kate Stoneham has been getting creative to help kids in a local school district, throughout the pandemic. She uses things like puppets and hand-drawn pictures to help connect with them online. She reflects on her meaningful job.
“I've had three year olds that weren't speaking at all and you get to hear the first word and call mom and say, I heard a word today. It's the best feeling of helping kids, even manage their anxiety about speaking and letting them know that it was a communication disorder, and that we're going to coach through this together and you're going to learn and I'm going to learn, and we're going to build that bridge, and it's a small part of who you are. You're 1000 other amazing things, and we're going to fix this little thing and make it as amazing as you are,” encourages Kate.
SLP's often work with their clients for years.
"I've had some kids that I've had for nine years and some very complex issues, where there's lots of other things going on, not just speech, but maybe a learning disability or a syndrome. It takes that parent/school connection over those years with that clinician interaction or relationship with the family over a long time. Building that trust and working together to make great progress is what it takes," explains Kate.
Speech-Language Pathologists also help enhance the lives of adults. "Oh yes! Speech Pathologists can work with children from birth to three, from the pre-school years through school age, into the secondary years of school. Then, with young adults, all the way through the geriatric population," says Patti Reed, the Owner of Fluency Center of Cypress.
They can help with everything from stuttering to swallowing problems, even language challenges caused by degenerative disease or something like a stroke. There are even specialists to help someone who is trying to lose an accent or singers who try to sing in a different language.
“We can work in private clinics. In-home Services as are available as well. The public schools are an excellent place to get services, as well as private clinics, university clinics, and hospitals,” explains Patti.
There's not a quick fix for most of these problems, but through the partnership with an SLP, great progress can happen. Lionela doesn't even want to imagine her son's future, without the help of his SLP.
“I think it changed my perspective on everything, and I came to realize how important speech is, how important having that therapy is. Him having those speech therapists really helped so much,” states Lionela.
Lionela started her own support group “United Through Autism” to help other families and raise awareness. She also recently qualified for the Lonestar Lend Fellowship and wants to make sure others know about it.
Christopher’s SLP shared this info about the tools that helped him get started:
She says the low-tech communication board that he used in the video lead to the production of this download, which is free for parents and available in English and Spanish. She says it was a collaborative effort among Speech Pathologists to develop.
“The idea is that although high-tech devices are important, there always needs to be a low-tech backup for when the power can’t be accessed,” explains Shannon Paige.
The high-technology generative device Christopher used was a Saltillo Nova Chat. He used the TouchChatHD page display.
For further information: