Speech-Language Pathologist: A Case Study

On February 22nd, 2015, one of my dreams became true. I became an aunt, but not in the most typical way. After spending 135 days in a neonatal intensive care unit, I held my nephew, Avery, for the first time in his home. Despite this miracle, Avery’s twin brother, Easton, is the true hero of this story, and he is ultimately the reason I am passionate about becoming a speech-language pathologist. My nephews were born 17 weeks early and had many circumstances to overcome before they could come home. Having already begun my college career as an undergraduate speech-language pathology student, I was quickly able to see the importance of our work in Easton’s life. Easton suffered two brain hemorrhages that would have a detrimental impact
This clinical experience has widened my outlook of meeting a client’s needs and solidified the importance of patience. When I first reviewed my client’s file, I was overwhelmed. My client was five years old, diagnosed with Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS), displayed characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and had no preliminary testing implying his communication and behavioral skills were imperceptible. With any speech-language case, we had good sessions and bad sessions. It would be an understatement to say that I never became frustrated. There were many sessions where my client would not produce any utterances because their sensory needs were not met, due to over or under stimulation. It was very frustrating. I felt as though I was getting nowhere with my client. I knew that if I was not successful during a session that carryover at home and school would not appear. Through communication with my graduate clinician supervisor and faculty supervisor, I developed crafty activities that were designed to motivate the client while implementing materials that met my client’s sensory needs. I put my focus back on my client and was patient. I was beginning to understand that my client’s needs during the session were more important than meeting a long-term goal. When I focused on meeting my client’s needs, my client began to work hard and could focus on the task at hand. With prompts and reinforcement, my client has been able to increase communicative abilities with teachers, clinicians, and parents. This unique opportunity to work with a child with severe ASD characteristics has motivated me to specialize in working with children who are diagnosed with