This guest post is by Rhonda J. Banford, M.A.T., CCC-SLP of Tip of the Tongue Speech and Language, LLC
Still, there was nowhere to go. No corporate ladder to climb. No chance of being the boss. I had to ask for everything I needed for the class. I was told what I could and could not do by the higher-ups. In no uncertain terms, I was told I was not allowed to contact the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to ask questions regarding IEPs, eligibility, or protocol. There were many other don’ts—don’t diagnose, don’t mention suspected conditions, don’t make waves. The last straw was when I was yelled at by my supervisor, a hot-tempered woman who gesticulated wildly while raising her voice, for making an innocent comment at a staff meeting. This was right in front of my colleagues. I felt like a five year old. How humiliating! I gathered up my wounded pride, took consolation from those who came up to me afterwards and professed how unwarranted the rebuke was, and quit within the next week. Should I Start A Private Practice? For months, my husband had been suggesting that I open a private practice. I could work right out of my home, in the basement bedroom, which we could convert to an office. I could start slowly, and build up to however many clients I wanted. I could make my own decisions, order my own supplies, call the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education if I so chose, and I could mention suspected conditions if I felt the need! I was covered by my husband’s insurance plan from work, so that would not be a problem. It was a scary prospect, but I was hoping I could find a way to bring my preschool class to the public, on a private level. That, in itself, was motivating enough for me to say yes to the prospect of private practice. Still, something nagged at me. What if I failed to help my clients? What if I bit off more than I could chew? The onus was on me. No assistants, no colleagues to fall back upon for support or suggestions, taking peoples’ hard earned money with the expectation of providing results worthy of the amount I was charging. Would I be deemed a charlatan? What made me think I was knowledgeable and experienced enough to get out there with the big boys, so to speak? Where would I even get my clients in the first place? Did I believe in myself enough to make the leap? Apparently, I did. Armed with the resolve to learn that which I did not know, to help to the best of my ability, and to refer onward those I was not sufficiently confident I could help, I made it known to all the SLPs in my own and neighboring school districts that I was hanging up a shingle. My First Speech Therapy Private Clients My first client, or clients, I should say, came from a fellow SLP with whom I had shared a good working relationship at the school district, and who did some part-time private therapy. She had been approached to see a couple of sisters, and she did not feel she had the time to see them herself. She referred them to me. These girls, ages 12 and 14 had both had years of therapy, but were not progressing with production of /r/. The younger one also had trouble with /s/. While the younger sister was still in therapy at her elementary school, the older one had been dismissed from therapy by her middle school SLP. The SLP told the girl’s mother that she had done everything possible, and that the teen would never be able to produce /r/ any better than she was. Fortunately, the girl’s mother was not ready to give up and resign her daughter to sounding like Elmer Fudd. Uh oh, I thought, my experience was primarily with preschoolers with whom I only touched on /r/, and only to familiarize them with it, not to perfect it. Was I in over my head already? Finding The Right Treatment Approach When I first saw the sisters, the younger one, Anna (name changed), was lively and chatty, despite her poor articulation of the two phonemes. The older, Katie (name changed), was withdrawn and quiet. It was obvious from the start that she felt defeated and subconscious about speaking. Despite being a beautiful girl, she had few friends and socialized little. She appeared almost painfully shy. I felt great empathy toward her, and vowed to do what I could. Her mother was not expecting miracles, but she thought that maybe the /r/ could be improved a bit. I had recently taken a video course by Charlotte Boshart, one dealing with the motor aspects of speech. At that time, I was not yet aware of the major controversy brewing among SLPs regarding oral-motor activities for speech improvement. I asked Anna and Katie’s mother whether anyone had ever taken a more oral-motor approach to correcting their /r/ sounds, and she said she did not think that they had. She was willing and anxious to have me try it, so that is what I did. Mission Accomplished! The oral-motor approach I took was not based on doing repetitive exercises to strengthen musculature, but to familiarize the girls with muscles in the tongue that they were not currently using. Whether these muscles were lacking in tone, I cannot say for sure, but I can say for a fact that the girls were unaware that they existed until we did these activities. After a couple of weeks, I started seeing progress in the therapy sessions. After a month, the girls’ mom started noticing a difference when they practiced their speech homework. After a few months, she started noticing some carryover into conversation. By a full six months after starting therapy, both Anna and Katie were producing perfect /r/ phonemes in conversation, with nearly 100% accuracy. We had also corrected Anna’s /s/, and she was released from school therapy. What’s more, Katie was no longer the same introverted, defeated girl she had been six months before. She was an absolute social butterfly! In the last couple of sessions, I had to wait for her to get off the phone with her friends. Her mother said she was on the phone constantly, and she was now the belle of the ball. Once she hung up her phone, Katie was lively and chatty, and an absolute delight! Mission accomplished! Three and a Half Years Later… With such an auspicious start to private therapy, I could only think ahead to whom else I might be able to help similarly. Now three and a half years into it, I have had many successes, and each one buoys my spirits and makes me feel that this endeavor is entirely worthwhile. I am thankful that my first clients helped me to see that! Rhonda J. Banford, M.A.T., CCC-SLP 636 220-8200 (office and mobile) www.gotospeech.com Tip of the Tongue Speech and Language, LLC 958 Kehrs Mill Road Ballwin, MO 63011 Comments are closed.
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