Graduation Speeches
Earn Your Graduate Degree In Speech Therapy And Pathology And Make A Difference by Natasha Bright
Speech therapy and pathology seems like a little known and uncommon career field. Many people never have experience working with speech therapy, so they may not actually know anything about it. Anyone who has had an interaction with this type of therapy knows, however, that it can make all the difference in the world.
Speech therapists are sometimes known as speech-language pathologists, and they have a number of objectives to complete through their jobs. Primarily, they assess, treat and prevent disorders related to vocal communication. These disorders may affect speech, language or cognitive communication – but they may also affect voice, swallowing and fluency. Any disorder related to vocal communication falls under the jurisdiction of a speech therapist.
These therapists will often find themselves working in medical settings or out of their own office. Sometimes they’ll even work in schools or at a client’s home. About 48 percent of these professionals work in educational services, with the majority of the remainder working in healthcare and with social assistance facilities. Most therapists work full-time, 40 hours a week. The job requires extreme concentration and a strong attention to detail.
Depending on the state, a graduate degree in speech pathology is a requirement for licensure. Nationwide, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association requires a graduate degree in order to grant credentials. Most speech therapy jobs require a graduate degree to even consider you as a new hire. Fortunately, about 240 schools across the nation have graduate masters and doctoral degree programs in speech therapy that are accredited by The Council on Academic Accreditation, an entity of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
Depending on the school, graduate programs in speech therapy may differ from college to college. However, there’s a definite set ground of foundational knowledge that every program studies. Anatomy and physiology are integral to a speech therapy program, with particular emphasis on the development of the areas of the body involved in speech, language and swallowing. You’ll also learn about the very nature of speech disorders, as well as all about acoustics and the psychological ramifications of communication. As a graduate student, you’ll absolutely participate in a supervised clinical practicum where you’ll diagnose and treat disorders related to speech.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, faster than average job growth is projected for speech therapists, with favorable job opportunities. As medical advancement continues, the survival rate for premature infants and trauma and stroke victims increases, who often need assessment and treatment for speech disorders. Employment for speech therapists should grow by nineteen percent within the next eight years, which is faster than average for all occupations.
Speech problems are caused by a number of reasons: sometimes they’re congenital, but they can also be developmental or acquired. Stroke, brain injury, and developmental delays are just some of the reasons behind why someone develops a speech disorder. Speech therapists use a number of tools at their disposal – as well as analysis skills – to diagnose and treat speech, language and swallowing impairments.
You may not realize how much a speech, language or swallowing disorder can change someone’s life for the worse until you’re confronted with it in person. Verbal communication is part of what makes us human, and being unable to participate in that to the fullest can change someone negatively. As a speech therapist, you’ll be trained to help people so that a speech disorder will be something they can eventually recover from. Earning a master’s degree in graduate studies of speech therapy will help teach you how to be a life changer.
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2011 Commencement Address by Denzel Washington
