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(Rockville, MD - June 29, 2009) West Richland, WA resident Kathleen Gregory, CCC-SLP is sometimes "buzzing" after a good day at work. A memorable good day included a new patient – a nonverbal boy in the first grade with cerebral palsy confined to a wheelchair. He was new to the school district and had to leave behind an augmentive communication device that allowed him to communicate. After six months of searching, Gregory and her colleagues were able to obtain another device for the child. When the boy saw it for the first time, he immediately started using it and "showing off" for his mom. He used it to tell her that he wanted ice cream, something he couldn't do before.
More good days have included a young patient effectively and appropriately asking to go to the bathroom for the very first time and an autistic girl making her first sounds.
Such experiences make being a speech-language pathologist (SLP) very rewarding according to Gregory, "We get to be a part of that. We get to live in other people's lives. It's a blessing and a gift."
Gregory recounts these good days in a videotaped spot featured on the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's (ASHA) home page. Her video is part of ASHA's Share Your Stories project.
Currently, Gregory is a pediatric SLP for Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland, WA, a non-profit medical facility in southeastern Washington State. She earned her Master of Science from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
"Giving back is a common theme among our 135,000 members," according to ASHA President Sue Hale. "Often, I hear from SLPs such as Kathleen, as well as audiologists about how rewarding their work is and how it is about much more than a salary and job security."
The Share Your Stories initiative highlights the difference audiologists and speech-language pathologists make in people's lives, making the professionals more approachable, familiar, and accessible to the public. ASHA plans to regularly feature segments on its home page. "We think it's a great way to introduce the public to our members—to the kind of people they are, as well as the great value they contribute to society through their work," Hale says.
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About the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
ASHA is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than 135,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists. Audiologists specialize in preventing and assessing hearing and balance disorders as well as providing audiologic treatment including hearing aids. Speech-language pathologists identify, assess, and treat speech and language problems including swallowing disorders.
View all ASHA press releases at http://www.asha.org/about/news.
Hear all ASHA podcasts at http://www.asha.org/podcast/.
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