Becoming a Speech-Language Pathologist: My SLP Journey
BY Annice Coughlan, SLPD | 7 MIN READ
People decide to become speech-language pathologists (SLP) for a variety of meaningful reasons, often driven by a passion for helping others communicate effectively. You might be drawn to this field because you want to make a difference in people’s lives, whether by helping children develop speech and language skills, assisting individuals with varying needs or working with patients recovering from strokes or brain injuries. The SLP profession offers a blend of science and human connection, with opportunities for research and a wide range of career directions, such as a hospital or school setting.
Career Evolution in Speech-Language Pathology
These are all important factors to take into account when deciding if a career as a speech language pathologist is in your future. As an assistant professor and clinical educator in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at my alma mater, Elmhurst University, these were pivotal milestones throughout my SLP journey.
Since I was young, I knew I wanted to become an SLP, helping the underserved population with severe disabilities while incorporating my experiences growing up with a sibling who had a disability.
Real-Life Responsibilities of a Speech-Language Pathologist
It is one of the primary responsibilities of SLPs working for a school district to help children meet the educational objectives of the curriculum and facilitate a partnership with assisting caregivers and families accomplish their children’s language goals (ASHA, n.d.).
I witnessed firsthand the struggles that many students and their families faced with bridging the gap between home and the classroom while working in a public preschool. Whether it was due to a language barrier between home and school, difficulties with time constraints from the professionals to consistently discuss student performance or challenges with understanding what it was that parents needed and how to provide that support, these obstacles often stood in the way of students reaching their full potential.
But, just as often, I saw how small changes – like more frequent communication between parents and SLPs – could make a profound difference in a child’s communicative success. This insight sparked a deep interest in the power of parent coaching, an area of speech language pathology that includes equipping but also teaching parents how to use the tools they may need to support their child’s educational journey effectively.
Challenges and Triumphs in SLP Research
I chose to further my education by pursuing a clinical doctoral degree in speech-language pathology. I wanted to deepen my understanding of the field and enhance my ability to better serve the students and clients I worked with every day so I could become even more effective in my role as an SLP.
For my final capstone research project, I took my experiences as a treating speech language pathologist and what I witnessed in the schools and decided to address the need to improve functional communication practices between families and their children, including how to best assist and guide them. This offers them the right tools from therapy sessions so that they can use them at home as well. I aimed to bridge the gap in existing literature and research on the most effective approaches to take on this underexplored topic.
Ultimately, my research focused on how to effectively coach parents when communicating with their children by using various strategies common in the therapeutic world, but potentially unorthodox in parent-child interaction. For instance, using visuals and a visual communication system when a child does not have the verbal speech to do so. My findings supported the shared belief that coaching involves an individual approach to learning; recognizing the needs of a specific learner and addressing those areas in a non-linear fashion (Rush et al., 2003). Coaching adheres to adult learning styles, which is supported by the pattern-based principles of observation, direct teaching and then application of a concept (Friedman et al., 2012). Effective strategies would then incorporate immediate practice of a skillset provided active guidance and continuous feedback in order to master a skill.
The Importance of Hands-On Experience and Small Classes for SLP
While attending Elmhurst University as an undergraduate, I had the unique opportunity to have hands-on experiences, working alongside knowledgeable, clinical faculty who are practitioners engaged in their field in supportive environments. I learned techniques and strategies that surrounded evidence-based practices in a speech language pathology program that has an on-campus clinic, which provided an outlet for practicing skills for those often marginalized due to their differences or challenges with functional communication.
When considering SLP graduate school, I looked for well-rounded curriculum, centered on teaching, career preparation, fostering critical thinking and applying content from the classroom to a diverse, global community where the needs are many and the SLP professionals desiring to address them are so few. While juggling academic responsibilities, job searching and understanding the certification process, I was unaware of the pathway I was paving for myself as I sought opportunities for employment as a speech language pathologist in the school setting.
Choosing the Best Speech-Language Pathology Program for You
When attending as an undergraduate, I never fathomed that I would one day be teaching alongside some of the professors I once learned from while in the program. My current role as a graduate educator has reaffirmed the importance of a personalized, hands-on approach to learning, the ability to work with faculty who provide consistent feedback when applying clinical skills in the Elmhurst University Speech Language Hearing Clinic (EUSLHC) located on campus and a small class ratio to allow for that individualized support.
Every day, I use the knowledge of adult learning styles and best coaching practices for my work as a clinical supervisor at the EUSLHC. My academic and professional careers have come full circle as a “born-again” Bluejay.
To learn more about the master of communication sciences and disorders program at Elmhurst University and how it can help you excel in your career, complete the form below or visit elmhurst.edu/MCSD.
For the past 10 years, Annice has been a Spanish bilingual speech-language pathologist, with experience servicing public school students from early childhood through the elementary school-level. She has worked with children of various ages from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Annice has had the opportunity to guide future SLPs as a supervisor for graduate students in the Elmhurst University campus clinic in various roles since 2018, working with graduate students completing their internships and serving as a clinical fellow (CF) supervisor and mentor. She completed her bachelor’s degree at Elmhurst, her master’s degree at Marquette University and her clinical doctorate (SLPD) at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions. Her research focused on coaching Spanish-speaking families of bilingual preschool-aged children with CCN who require AAC.
