Know Your Why

At Texas Woman’s University (TWU) and the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), the university professors often direct students to ask themselves, “Why speech therapy?" and follow the question with “Know Your Why.” Instructors encourage students to create foundational ideas of why they want to become a speech-language pathologists, emphasizing that this information will be critical for the day that they experience “burnout” or an impossible amount of paperwork. Every SLP that you speak to will tell you a different reason, but for me, it changes by the day. Now, with the rise of COVID-19, I feel it is critical to share my “why” with you so that you can hear from the heart of an SLP, who would still do it all over again in a heartbeat. 

I became an SLP for…

·      The nonverbal preschooler to learn how to communicate with pictures

·      The picky eater to try new foods

·      The first word of a little one, who used to scream and cry to communicate

·      The child, who could not say “k”, “g”, “r”, “s”, or any other sound

·      For that first “r” (because every SLP out there knows this can be a challenge)

·      The kid who is just becoming aware that he does not “talk like the others” 

·      For the person who stutters

·      For the teenager who is bullied because of his speech

·      For adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities to find functional communication 

·      For the person who has had braces multiple times and continues to have dental and feeding issues due to an underlying oral myofunctional disorder 

·      For the person with a tongue thrust and/or lisp

·      For the retired doctor, who just had a stroke and is having difficulty with his memory, problem-solving, and expressing his wants/needs

·      For the retired lawyer, who has a swallowing disorder (dysphagia) to upgrade his diet and maximize the quality of life

·      For the families of people with communication, myofunctional, and feeding/swallowing disorders who say that we change lives.

Dear Speech-Language Pathologists, 

Covid-19 times have not been easy, but we are here to stay. To my university professors and mentors, I now understand why you said we must remember our why. Now more than ever, it is critical to share our reasons for what we do. Our change is not always immediate, but we are making a difference.

Dear Families of People with Communication Disorders,

It has not been an easy journey, but we are here for you. We may not tell you enough, but no matter how often a speech pathologist sees your dad/mom/sister/brother/child, we think about you every day. On good days and bad, your loved one means the world to us, and we are so glad to be a part of his/her journey. Thank you for trusting us to make a difference.