Being able to help someone find their voice is truly a wonderful thing and I am lucky enough to be able to do that every single day. I am a speech-language pathologist (SLP) which means it is my job to help people significantly improve the quality of their lives. And more selfishly, I get a chance to see more miracles on a daily basis than most people do in a lifetime – the thrill of that never gets old – I absolutely love what I do!

I think I first fell in love with speech therapy in grad school when I was introduced to alternative forms of communication. I took a course on Augmentative Alternative  Communication (AAC), which lucky for me  was taught by an extremely passionate professor. She didn’t just teach about devices, but rather about how simple machines could transform lives. And they really can, I have been fortunate enough to see this transformation with my very eyes. It is something like watching a character in a black and white move see colour.

Every day is a new challenge since my speech and language therapy practice is geared toward helping both children and adults, who often have very different issues. A major part of my practice focus on neurological illnesses such as Parkinson’s Disease which can be devastating since patients have used speech and language their whole lives and have relearn something they likely thought they would never lose. On the other hand, working with children can be a completely different challenge such as children with Autism Spectrum Disorder who may have never spoken before and have to be encouraged to communicate with the outside world even though they might not understand why they would want to.

My job is a challenge but the rewards are big. I get to play a part in all sorts of wonderful stories and one of  my favourites took place not too long ago. I was introduced to a 40-year old woman who had suffered a stroke. When we first met I could see she was pretty down on herself and seemed quite unmotivated. I was told that she had been a positive, active woman with a full-time job and a full-time commitment to her church before the stroke. Her family became extremely concerned when after the stroke she stopped leaving her house.

I had been recommended to her by another doctor who thought speech therapy would help her get some of her old confidence back. It was in the fifth week that something miraculous happened -after months of virtual silence and isolation, she spoke her first FULL sentence – in front of me. Then we both had a good cry – I’m really trying to put into words the feeling that came over me as she spoke but I don’t think there are words that can do the feeling any justice. All I know is I saw her eyes glisten and then there was a twinkle.

Now take that story and multiply it many times over and you will completely understand why I love my job.