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  • 1.  Better Speech and Hearing Month - Raising Awareness

    Posted 05-11-2019 08:54 AM
    Hi Everyone! I am honored to be among such a esteemed group of leaders! As you all know, May is Better Hearing and Speech Month. Although we celebrate one month a year, moving our incredible field forward in a positive way is something we do each and every day. As we pause for a moment and ponder the merit of raising awareness and what it does for our profession, what is one way as a leader that you have raised awareness that has been impactful in your career?

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    Raul F. Prezas, PhD, CCC-SLP
    Associate Professor
    Stephen F. Austin State University
    rprezas@gmail.com
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  • 2.  RE: Better Speech and Hearing Month - Raising Awareness

    Posted 05-11-2019 04:23 PM

    Happy BHSM to everyone.  I appreciate your question Raul and thought that I would add in my experience.  About 5 or so years ago, a friend of mine asked me if I would be willing to be a presenter for a STEM day that was targeted at young women in 8th-9th grade.  The event is known as Girl Power in Science and it seeks to expose young women to different careers in the STEM fields.  I agreed to help my friend out and I look forward to going back every year.  The event is set up so that small groups of students (along with some college students in STEM fields) rotate around to see 3-4 different career options (with a total of 25 or so careers being represented).  The presenters are asked to provide hands on activities for the participants.  I use a hearing loss simulation activity and then show them a little bit about how to use an audiometer etc.  After my first year, I recommended that they also invite a speech language pathology (which they did) for the next year.  Although there is no way to measure the impact that this activity has, the feedback that the organizers receive would indicate that the participants enjoy getting to know about the career of Audiology and they say that it is not something that they have been exposed to before.

     

    I look forward to hearing how others raise awareness about our fields as well as the issues that we address. 

     

    Donna

     

    Donna Fisher Smiley, Ph.D., CCC-A

    ASHA Fellow
    Audiology Supervisor/Audiologist
    Arkansas Children's Hospital

    1 Children's Way ● Slot 113  ● Little Rock, AR 72202

    (501) 680-2718  direct  ● (501) 364-6881 fax
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  • 3.  RE: Better Speech and Hearing Month - Raising Awareness

    Posted 05-13-2019 02:37 PM
    ​Raul,
    What a great question to present. So, my thoughts may be a bit different from others but, I continue to be amazed as to how SO many people outside of our field, do not know much about the areas of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology. I think most individuals are aware of articulation problems, stuttering, and hearing loss, however the number of people who know about all of the other areas we address like cognitive impairments, noise induced hearing loss, transgender voice patients, laryngectomies, swallowing disorders, dysarthria, apraxia etc,  etc, etc, would likely be shocking to most of us. The idea of Better Hearing and Speech Month reminds me of the responsibility to continue to spread the word about all that we do to enhance communication. Sharing BHSM with others is a pleasure. In my leadership role in my university setting, in my activities outside of my work, in my social communication, I love talking about my career, our field, the accomplishments of our students, and the continuing number of those needing services. I'm not sure I think of this as a leadership role but possibly as a model for the students with whom I work and the leaders of our disciplines in the future (and it's a chance to toot our own horn)!  


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    Wren Newman
    Fort Lauderdale, FL
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