Empowered Speech Therapist Crystal Savage Q&A
What inspired you to become a speech language pathologist, and what do you love most about working with children?
My reason for becoming a speech language pathologist was because of how often I found SLPs inadvertently in my life. Without realizing it, the people around me had many different communication disorders, delays, and differences. I once attended a career day while in high school, where I met with an SLP and I immediately fell in love with the field and how much SLPs do for our society. I majored in communicative sciences and
disorders at my undergraduate university, and after that it only confirmed the love and passion that I have for the field. Additionally, I have a very close relationship with a younger family member who has Autism Spectrum Disorder, and they needed assistance from SLPs to improve their communication skills. Watching my loved one go from being labeled “non speaking” to communicating comfortably really inspired me to
work with children with similar paths. Also, children are hilarious, and working in the education field can be very hard and thankless, so being able to make the kids laugh, and I get a laugh or two out of working with kids is what keeps me coming back. Being
able to help children access communication really is what inspires me to keep going back.
What types of children or communication challenges do you enjoy working with?
I really enjoy working with children from all stages, whether it's a communicative disorder, or difference. Showing kids that they can succeed and helping them access the ability to tell everyone how they feel (good or bad) is the reward within itself.
How do you help children feel comfortable and confident during sessions?
Rapport building is what helps me. It comes naturally for me, like I mentioned previously, If I can get a child to laugh, and keep them comfortable during the session, It really helps them want to work with me. Especially if we’re doing an activity that I know they’re
interested in.
How do you involve parents or caregivers in helping their child make progress?
If the parents are present in the session, I have them assist in the session. I also let parents know that it is crucial that we keep an open line of communication during this process. I will provide the tools and strategies that parents can use at home for their child to communicate better. Basically, my process is like this, If you’re noticing carryover between sessions, that’s amazing. And if not, how can we get us there? Your child’s
progress is my priority.
What does a typical session with you look like? - Is it play based, structured, or a mixture of both?
A typical session with me is a mixture of both. This leads more onto having good rapport with the child. If I know what their favorite game is, or activity is, we use that as something we can work towards. I progress monitor first, then switch to play to continue targeting goals. Also, if I'm working with younger children, it is strictly play based, and I work our goals through those sessions.
What is one thing you want parents to know if they're feeling nervous about starting speech therapy?
One thing I'd like parents to know is that speech therapy is designed to assist in helping your child. As a pediatric speech language pathologist, this is a partnership between myself, and the child's parents and we have the same end goal. Which is to provide better access to communication for your child, and to bridge the gap between what they’re receiving in school and what is needed for them to succeed in school without an
individualized education plan (IEP). Speech therapy may seem daunting at first, but I promise, we want to help the best way we can. We take insight from parents and the child’s performance and use that to create goals, and provide treatment that best services their child.