Join Robert Serianni, MS, CCC-SLP, FNAP, the chair and program director of the department of Speech-Language Pathology at Salus University, as he moderates a podcast that focuses on the services provided at the Speech-Language Institute. He is joined by a pediatric SLI client, a student working with that client and the supervisor overseeing the care of the client.
Bob Serianni:
I couldn't be more happy to welcome Annie, our supervisor, Jake, our student, and our big guest, Asher, our client.
Asher:
My name is Asher, I'm 13 and I got diagnosed with muscle tension dysphonia a few months ago. Unfortunately, at the time, I was unable to speak anything above a whisper. But luckily, I was able to undergo speech therapy and regain my voice.
Bob Serianni:
What is the dysphonia you're talking about?
Asher:
Muscle tension dysphonia is a condition where the vocal cords in your larynx, they don't shut, they can't communicate with each other to shut and produce the sounds that a person would normally make. So, my voice was very groggy and hoarse, and it was very hard to speak.
Bob Serianni:
How do you use your voice? Is it just around the house? Are you in school? Tell us a little bit about that.
Asher:
Normally I'm a pretty big talker. Yeah, I talk a lot around the house, a lot in school and I talk a lot with my family too.
Bob Serianni:
So, you came to the clinic to receive speech therapy services. What were some of the things that you did there?
Asher:
The session started out with just regular talking, addressing my voice. I talked about anything from things at school to stock market advice. After that, we usually did stretching, like the laryngeal massage, I remember that one, where you stretch your neck. Then after that, we usually did breathing exercises, where I remember the diaphragm, which I got taught, that was your fuel, and then you have the larynx, and then you have the mask in the face, which is the resonance. And we practiced breathing exercises. We also practiced pronouncing vowels and short words and sentences. So, the therapy was a success.
Bob Serianni:
I have to say, you sound great. I would have never guessed that you needed voice therapy just a few short weeks ago. Is there anything that think helped you when you were getting your speech therapy?
Asher:
Well, I do know that acid reflux was a big contributor to the condition that I had. So in addition with the speech therapy, I had to go on an anti-acid diet, which I have to avoid foods like anything from regular spices to grapes and apple sauce, because I suffer from acid reflux a lot, and I think that was a big contributor to my problem.
Bob Serianni:
Asher, you've been great with us today. I think we might invite you in to do some of the teaching in our program. You seem like a really natural teacher.
Bob Serianni:
So, Jake, you had the opportunity to work with Asher.
Jake Bilodeau:
Hi, I'm Jake. I'm a first-year grad student at Salus University and I had the pleasure of working with Asher in the spring this year.
Bob Serianni:
Before we talk about your clinical experiences, why did you choose Salus University as your graduate school?
Jake Bilodeau:
Initially, when I went to check it out, I was impressed just by the organization of Salus. It feels like the supervisors were pretty hands-on. But what really got me was the interprofessional collaboration, which, going through my classes now, I've seen a lot of it. I had a class about evidence-based practice, and we recently had an event with Arcadia University that had different professions, including physical therapy and occupational therapy. I worked in an office before I was in grad school and I was a physical therapy aide, which I worked with all the professions. So, I really was looking for a school that focused on that as well.
Bob Serianni:
Tell us a little bit about working with Asher in our clinic. How has that contributed to your education here
Jake Bilodeau:
I haven't had an opportunity to do voice classes, so working with Asher was my first introduction to voicing, which is an aspect of speech-language pathology. It gave me an opportunity to understand the different aspects more. And it also gave me some questions I look forward to asking in my voicing classes, questions that I probably wouldn't have had if I didn't have the opportunity to work with Asher.
Bob Serianni:
See, Asher, you've been a great teacher. I really appreciate that. I think I'm going to switch over to Annie now.
Annie Ruckdeschel:
My name is Annie, and I am a speech pathologist and clinical educator at the Speech-Language Institute. I've been there for about four years and I've been in the field for about 10. Most of my experience has been with adults, but every once in a while, I get the opportunity to work with a great student like Asher, which was super fun.
Bob Serianni:
What are some of the advantages of working in our clinic with our students at such an early stage? Like Jake said, he's worked with a voice client before he had his voice class. And I know that that presents some challenge to our students. But what are some of those advantages
Annie Ruckdeschel:
I think there's so many, but I think Jake kind of touched on one of two that I think are really beneficial. I think what he mentioned was that he had an experience in the clinic that he was then able to bring, or is going to bring, to his voice class. I think sometimes education can be pretty linear, but where we are, it's so great that the students get their foundational knowledge, their book learning, and then they're given the opportunity to almost immediately turn around, come into the clinic and say, "Hey, I just read about this." Or, "We just covered this in class. I'd really like to try it with my client." And even vice versa, like Jake said, you can have this personal, relatable experience with a client and then bring that to your classroom. And I think that's when things really start to click and learning becomes much more robust and lasting. So, that's really the first one.
And the second one, I think, for me, at the end of the day, we are humans working with humans. That can be a really dynamic and complex relationship. And beyond that, what happens is that, a lot of the times the clients or the patients that we see are coming to us from a pretty vulnerable place. So that needs to be approached with consideration and respect and really intentional and thoughtful decision-making and a lot of humanity. When you, as a new student or new to a profession, get that experience so early, it gives you the opportunity to find your footing and navigate that dynamic, and lighten yourself up so that when you do go out into the world or out into your externship, you can spend, and have the freedom to spend, less time focusing on yourself and more time focusing on your client and your patient and how you're going to help them. And I think that just makes you a better professional.
Bob Serianni:
I think one of the advantages that Salus has, by the early clinical exposures, is that we move students quickly out of their “uncomfort” zone and into a more comfort zone. That would be something similar with working with a client like Asher, that's not a typical diagnosis for a 14-year-old, let alone anyone, and being able to dive into the research and the books and make it happen for both student learning and client success, I think, is one of the things that we really do focus on at the Speech-Language Institute.
Annie Ruckdeschel:
It's really a blend of this delicate balance of confidence and humility that you need. And I think our clinic really fosters that, which is great.
