Zandra recently graduated from Master of Science in Educational Speech-Language Pathology and Learning Disabilities.
“Jobs such as news anchor, policy lobbyist, researcher, Montessori teacher and speech therapist sound totally unrelated. But, to me at least, they are jigsaws of a holistic picture.” Zandra said.
“A journalist or policy advocate feels the pulse of society, you have to really listen to people to understand their experiences and views. Similarly, as a speech therapist, you must listen well and communicate with patience.
When a stroke patient came to me I helped her overcome a swallowing problem. Aside from looking at her physical condition, speech therapists are trained to look at each case holistically: does the patient eat too fast? Can she manage to swallow medicine? Does she have family support? Is she getting all the nutrition she needs?
A policy lobbyist is visionary and decisive, they must think comprehensively. Similarly, as a speech therapist, we don’t only treat client’s symptoms alone, but their whole family.
When a child with speech and language delay came to me, for example, I set long and short term goals for him. I looked out for what kinds of games he liked. I also came up with training activities his parents could carry over at home.
Similarly, speech therapists should fine-tune our therapeutic plans taking into account latest research evidence as time goes by.
When an autistic youngster came to me to improve his job interview skills, I could see how he reacted to different job seeking scenarios. One step at a time, I showed him how to overcome the hurdles of communication through practice.” Zandra added.
