Observation+Reflection

Observation Reflection
Throughout my first two semesters in the speech-language pathology program, I have had the opportunity to earn 25 hours of observation in the UWG Speech and Hearing Clinic. Observing graduate clinicians performing therapy has motivated me to work hard during my undergraduate classes. Being able to watch therapy reminds me what I am working toward and keeps me going, even when my classes are stressing me out.

During my 25 observation hours, I got to observe several different domains of therapy. I have seen language therapy, group Autism sessions, articulation and phonology sessions, and fluency sessions. The articulation sessions were probably my favorite to observe because the activities are so much fun. I love articulation therapy because you can adapt almost any game to work in a therapy session. I also really enjoyed observing fluency therapy. Fluency is a domain that really interests me and puzzles me at the same time. During my Introduction to Communication Disorders class I learned about fluency and how it affects clients, but I never knew what kinds of activities were used for fluency therapy until I observed a fluency session.

While I was observing, I got a chance to see some really creative and fun therapy activities. My favorite activity that I observed was used in an articulation session. Before the client arrived, the clinician taped note cards with words that used the client’s target sounds all around the walls of the therapy room. Once the session began, the clinician gave the client a flashlight and turned the lights off in the therapy room. The client had to use his flashlight to locate a card on the wall. Once he located a card, the client had to say the word ten times. This was such a creative activity and the client loved it!

There was very rarely a time when I thought that a therapy activity was unsuccessful. In one session I watched, the clinician played a board game with the client. When the client’s game piece landed on a certain color she had to say a word with her target sound. The reason that I feel that this activity was slightly unsuccessful was because this didn’t allow the client to get very much practice with the target sound because throughout the course of the game she probably only landed on that certain color four or five times. At the end of the session the client had not made very much progress toward the goal. I think that this activity could have been much more successful if the client had to say a word with the target sound every time it was her turn.

Obtaining my 25 observation hours has been a huge relief. The experience I have gained during this time has reaffirmed my decision to be a speech-language pathologist and made me very anxious for graduate school. I cannot wait to be the person in the therapy room doing therapy while other people observe me. As for the time being, I want to try to find a speech pathologist in a hospital or private setting that I can shadow to gain more hours and hopefully get to see some types of therapy I’ve never seen before.