Resources:
Sarah Rigg's Feature Article: EMU speech and hearing clinic has life-changing effects for variety of clients
EMU Communication Sciences and Disorders Program (CSD)
Transcription:
Lee Van Roth: You're listening to 89.1 WEMU. I'm Lee Van Roth, and this is On the Ground Ypsi. Today, we are talking about communication and what happens when finding your voice takes a little extra help. At Eastern Michigan University, the Speech and Hearing Clinic, housed in the College of Education, has been quietly transforming lives in Ypsi and beyond, helping everyone from young children learning their first words to adults recovering from strokes rediscover how to express themselves. The clinic is part of EMU's Communication and Sciences Disorders program, where students get hands-on experience working directly with clients under the guidance of experienced professionals. Joining me to talk more about how the clinic operates, what students are learning there, and how it serves the community is Karen Parish-Foster, clinical educator and co-coordinator of EMU's Speech and Hearing Clinic. Hi, Karen, thanks so much for being here today!
Karen Parish-Foster: Thank you, Lee! It's great to be here to talk to you!
Lee Van Roth: So, can you just give me a brief rundown of how this program, and the speech clinic in extension, kind of started and how that mission of both the program and the clinic has evolved over these past few years.
Karen Parish-Foster: Oh, wow! Yes! Well, the program actually began in 1958.
Lee Van Roth: Oh, wow!
Karen Parish-Foster: Yeah, it was one of the very first programs to have a master's. I think it was the first in the state of Michigan. And so, over the years, it just evolved into what we have today. It was housed at Rackham when Rackham had an on site school there for children with disabilities.
Lee Van Roth: And I know, for me personally, too, when I hear speech and hearing clinic, I think of speech therapy for children. And I think of those kinds of services for very young clients and families. But there is a much wider range of clients that you see at the speech clinic here. Can you tell me a little bit about the kinds of cases and things that you see most often within the clinic?
Karen Parish-Foster: Yeah, yeah. So, you're right. Most often, we see children and adults. The children will have either a speech/sound disorder, which is problems making certain sounds, or they will have a language disorder that is either being able to express language or understand it. We also have adults who have been post-stroke, maybe post-TBI. And then, they have other issues, cognitive issues, thinking skills and executive functions. They could have what we call aphasia, which is a loss of language that happens in the brain because of an insult or an injury, such as a stroke.
Lee Van Roth: So, covering a lot of different bases.
Karen Parish-Foster: A lot of different bases. Yeah, yeah. We touch on swallowing. We do voice therapy with people. For kids, we do literacy, especially because research has shown us that children with language disorders and/or speech disorders can also be at risk for reading disorders, too.
Lee Van Roth: Is there a particular aspect of the clinic, either being housed here on Eastern's campus or the wonderful quality of the students and staff that are working it that makes it so unique to the area and to this field really of, you know, addressing these issues either as early as we can or as soon as we can, I suppose?
Karen Parish-Foster: Yeah, yeah. Well, what makes this clinic unique I believe is for, number one, we are patient and family-centered. So, everything that we do is for the client, starting with the scheduling. We try and be as flexible as possible. All of the treatments that we provide are based on the clients' interests, so we teach the student clinicians to integrate the interests into the therapy that is given to the clients. We are also free, so we don't charge.
Lee Van Roth: I'm sure that makes a huge difference for a lot of families.
Karen Parish-Foster: It certainly does, yeah! And we do accept donations as well.
Lee Van Roth: And speaking of the students, I would love to talk a little bit more about the the program itself too, and what do those first hands on experiences kind of look like for the students within the communication sciences and disorders program.
Lee Van Roth: Yeah, yeah. So, that first experience for them, usually, is in the clinical practicum. We call it Clinic One. And they come in, we have some orientation with them, they have to do file review to kind of get to know their client. Usually, if the client's been there for a semester or so, we give them a video that they can watch of their client and past semesters. And, yeah, then they have to plan the assessment phase. And then, after the assessment's over, then they have to plan treatment, and that is lesson plans and therapy materials and stimuli and all of that.
Lee Van Roth: Really jumping into what this potential career could look like, it sounds like.
Karen Parish-Foster: Yes, yes. Even though we can't mimic or imitate all the different environments that our students will be looking at when they graduate or when they go into their internships, at least we can provide them with a foundation--those foundational skills.
Lee Van Roth: And I'm curious too. Speaking of that and speaking of the different environments that students can interact with, it's not just the clinic on campus too that students have access to or have the opportunity to have access to. It sounds like there's also a lot of work with the community and community partners in both the medical field and in education, too. What are you hoping, as the instructor and as the guiding hand for these students, to get out of having all of these opportunities available?
Karen Parish-Foster: Yeah, yeah. Well, what we want to instill in our student clinicians is that they have the confidence to go out and treat a range of disorders, that they have the professional posture that they need to have, that they just represent our program and they can say, "Hey, I graduated from Eastern, and I will provide excellent care."
Lee Van Roth: This is WEMU's On the Ground Ypsi. I'm talking with Karen Parish-Foster, co-director of EMU's Speech and Hearing Clinic. I can only imagine, Karen, the impact that these experiences with clients can have on these student clinicians or even yourself, I'm guessing. What's the draw to the program?
Karen Parish-Foster: What a great question! I believe that's where it starts, that our students, they're very person-centered, they're compassionate about helping others. When they get into the program or when they are admitted, they're just so motivated to do the work that it takes to continue on in the program. We do have a student here that you could ask her that question, too, and she's right here!
Lee Van Roth: Right, right! We have Mollie Spencer in here, your graduate student. Mollie, I would love to know if there is any particular aspect to this work and this learning, this program that really drew you in, or if there is a particular story with a client that you'd like to share.
Mollie Spencer: Yeah. I actually went to undergrad here for CSD. So, I mean, knowing how great the program is here, I knew I wanted to come back for grad school. But I think it really settled in that this was what I was supposed to do this semester because this is my first semester with an actual client. And the first semester is super hard because it's like five really hard classes. But once you get through that, like, it's very busy, it's a lot of hard work, but helping my client right now is just is such a passion. And I do so much outside work because it's just so fun to do.
Lee Van Roth: And for folks in the Ypsi area or even beyond just throughout Washtenaw County who might not know about this clinic or this resource, is there anything that either of you want folks to understand about what this program, what this clinic, does for the community, how it's contributing to a greater understanding of language and health, really, if you narrow it down that way.
Mollie Spencer: For me, personally, like, if anyone asks me if EMU is worth going to, especially in the CSD program, they really do put mental health first. They really do provide the students with so much support, because this is a very hard program, and it's going to continue to be hard, but they definitely give us that safety net. Like, "It'll be okay! You'll get through this!" So, that was really nice.
Lee Van Roth: And it helps with helping with your clients.
Mollie Spencer: Exactly! Yeah, yeah, yeah!
Lee Van Roth: Everybody wins!
Mollie Spencer: Yeah!
Lee Van Roth: Well, Karen and Mollie, thank you both so much for joining me here today. I really appreciate sharing about this resource and how the Speech and Hearing Clinic is helping people out in our community in all sorts of different ways, it sounds like. For more on today's conversation and a link to the full article, visit our website at WEMU.org. On the Ground Ypsi is brought to you in partnership with Concentrate Media. I'm Lee Van Roth, and this is your community NPR station, 89.1 WEMU-FM Ypsilanti. Celebrating 60 years of broadcasting at Eastern Michigan University!
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