Grace Hiegel:
I love being an SLP because it is a combination of so many things that I enjoy. In school, I got to learn about anatomy, psychology, and language. The reality is, being an SLP is a whole lot more than just speech. We work also work with literacy, fluency, social behavior, play skills, feeding… the list goes on! This is one of the many reasons I enjoy what I do, because there is so much variety in my day, and so much variety in what I can choose for my career.
Most of my day is filled by working with children, when I get to do therapy through play and soak up all the energy kids have to offer. However, I also enjoy working with teenagers and adults, because it is so fun to have the opportunity to share the things I have learned with other people who will appreciate knowing that information.
Adolescents and adults can be more directly involved in their therapy, and it is exciting to see that moment when these clients “become their own therapist,” so to speak, and begin to apply what they have learned inside the clinic to their everyday lives.
Something else I enjoy about the work I do is that every client is unique. I get to play detective with each person I work with, as we work together to solve the puzzle of what will help them communicate to the best of their ability.
If there is one thing I could tell the families I work with, it is that they do not need to apologize for the “hard days.” Those days are the exact reason why I am here! Whenever their child comes here, they are asked to do things that are challenging for them, and we are working to make those things less challenging.
As for the older clients, I want them to know that if something we are doing is not working for them. I truly want to hear about it. Therapy is not like school: I don’t want you to earn a passing grade. I want to help you find what will work best for you, to help in the most important areas in your life.
For families and individuals, the best way to do that is if we work together and discuss what is going well, what is challenging, and what they have questions about. I always welcome your feedback and input, because this space is for you!
For more information about our speech therapy services, please call us at 253.237.3405.