1. What are some of the most common diagnoses that you treat?

• The most common diagnosis I treat is cerebral palsy. I also treat a lot of torticollis, developmental delay and Down’s Syndrome.

2. Which diagnoses are the most challenging to treat?

• I would say they are all challenging in their own way. It is not so much the diagnosis that matters. It is the way the patient presents and what their capabilities are. Lack of motivation, difficulty with eye sight, and behaviors are what make our treatments most challenging.

3. What do you do when a patient does not want to cooperate? Is there a specific way you keep patients motivated to complete tasks?

• Cooperation is difficult. We try to find something that the child wants to do and then attempt to work it into what we want them to do or to motivate them to complete what we ask so that they can play with what motivates them. Food is also a big motivator that we use. Who doesn’t like to eat:) But we also always make sure to clear it with the parent.

4. What do you believe is the most valuable skill or quality of a great PT?

• For me personally, I think respect and the ability to look past our own frustrations are the two most valuable skills or qualities we can offer. Also, a strong work ethic. Being a therapist is not easy. We face things every day that can take a physical, emotional and spiritual toll. But when we choose to respect what our patients are going through and get through whatever frustration is presented we are blessed with an unconditional love from the most pure source. It’s really incredible. And we become a part of the family and a trusted source of information. When we meet parents and patients where they are, we are one of the most valuable people in their life and they choose to make us a priority as well.

5. If you can, could you talk a little bit about your most successful case, an what made it so successful?

• I have actually had a lot of successful cases. There is not one that I can pinpoint at the moment because a lot of my patients have been discharged if they have met their goals or are still actively achieving them. What I will say is consistency with therapy and performing some kind of activity at home is what makes us so successful. It really is about teamwork between the therapist and parent.

6. How large of a role does the parents/home environment play in treatment?

• I guess I answered that one already:) But as I stated previously, it is what makes us the most successful as clinicians.

7. Why did you choose to work with children in particular?

• Children are just the best. They are so pure and honestly just want to play. Sometimes that causes some difficulty because I have to keep them from playing the way they want to and they don’t like that, but most the time it’s so fun. And they just love you unconditionally. They are motivated to do what they want to do and don’t know or understand limitations. It makes our jobs fun because no matter what anyone else says, the sky's the limit. It just might take us a while to get there.

8. How do you measure success when working with a patient?

• I measure success in milestones (head control, trunk control, rolling, sitting, crawling, standing and walking). Are they meeting them? Are they performing them well? Do they try to do what I ask them to do? Success is all about mindset and hard work. There is a saying I love and it kind of puts that into perspective as well.

9. Do you have any Williams syndrome, muscular dystrophy, or fetal alcohol syndrome cases? I know that every case is different, and every person is different, but in general could you describe a goal that you would have for them?

• I don’t have anyone with these diagnoses at the moment but the great thing about pediatrics is the diagnosis is just information. How they move is what we write goals for. So I would say a common goal for someone over 2 years old with delays would be… Patient will stand for 2min independently with no loss of balance to progress toward gait training or Patient will walk 10 steps independently with no falls and high guard to progress strength and balance

1. What is the most rewarding part about being a speech therapist?

• Being a part of patient progress/seeing my patients gain new skills and improving quality of life for patients and families

2. What is the most common diagnosis/disability that you treat?

• I treat motor speech disorders, receptive/expressive language disorders, and oral-motor/feeding delays - These are typically secondary to a primary diagnosis of autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, etc.

3. What is the most difficult part about your job?

• The most difficult part is probably always having to be “on”, high energy, and engaging. Also, dealing with the not so fun behaviors. :)

4. Generally speaking, how rigorous is the schooling and certification process for becoming a speech language pathologist?

• My graduate program was 5 semesters - It required a lot of time and energy - Many late nights and missed social events, but definitely worth it! The comprehensive graduate exam was probably the most intimidating/challenging test. The Praxis (taken for licensure/certification) wasn’t so bad.

5. Are there certain disorders that are more prevalent to certain age groups?

• Phonological disorders are common at age 3 or over; Articulation disorders typically affect school-aged/elementary children; Expressive language delays are common in toddlers.

6. How much volunteering opportunities are needed to be a SP, and where do you think, around here, Is the best place to get those?

• Shadowing is definitely required, but different programs have different requirements. We take shadow students at Activekidz, and I am assuming most other private practices do as well.

7. What is the hardest/ most challenging diagnoses to treat?

• Not sure there is a specific diagnosis that is more challenging than another. I think it all depends on severity of disorder, level of family involvement, and patient participation/behaviors.

8. Did you ever work in a hospital or a school? If so, how does that environment differ from a private practice?

• Yes, I worked in the school setting for 2 years. In schools, most speech therapists see children in groups vs. individually. Goals that are targeted are typically more in line with academics than functional/activities of daily living.

9. Each and every child is different, but for the most part, how do you handle a child that does not want to cooperate?

• Finding a motivating activity to pair with non-preferred tasks, positive reinforcement, and clear expectations.

10. How do you tend to kids with hearing loss specifically? What do their goals usually look like?

• I am nowhere near fluent in ASL/SEE, but I do use it some to supplement spoken language for kids both with hearing loss, and sometimes those without, as several of my kids have improved comprehension/expression with use of gestural cues.

11. What skills/qualities do you think are important for a speech therapist to have?

• Engaging, flexible, passionate, creative