I've always thought I would have worked solely with children - babies. My passion is, and always has been, children. When I was a toddler, no older than maybe 2 or 3, I would go to the shops with my mom, and disappear, wandering the isles of the shops alone. Then suddenly I would reappear by my mom's side, holding a stray baby, a baby not much smaller than I was, so I could hardly hold them. So yea, I've always been a child person.
When I decided I was going to become a Speech Therapist, my perception of speech therapy was teaching children to articulate sounds correctly. I went to observe a Speech Therapist in my home town when I was in standard 9 (Grade 11), and didn't see much more than articulation and language therapy (which at the time, I thought was just working on memory). I got all excited about it, but did no further research. My main motto was "children", I would be helping children who struggle with speech. Which, to a certain extent is true. Never did I imagine the broad spectrum that Speech Therapists really work with. So in my first year, I got quite a shock, learning that I will be working with adults and geriatrics too. I insisted that I will go through the motions of studying the work for geriatrics and adults, but I would still focus on children.
I persisted with my fixation on children until last year (2014), when we started coming into contact with the adult population. We are doing our thesis this year, and our topic is "Caregiver-child interaction before and after intervention using the Neonatal Communication Intervention Programme for parents (NCIP)". In a nutshell, we will select caregivers of premature babies who are currently in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), assess their interaction with their babies, give them information and training on how to interact with their babies, and what will have the most benefit, and then re-assess after intervention has been provided. So yes, my passion still lies in children... In this case, the tiny babies. Early Intervention. But recently I have had a surprizing interest in the adult population too.
In 2013, my granny was diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder and Anxiety. It was a huge story, because she couldn't be left alone, or else she would go into a tizz about what she should make for lunch, or what she will wear the next day, etc. And my granddad couldn't look after her, because he had Alzheimer's, and couldn't remember from one moment to the next. So way before we could get a helper for her, my parents had an overseas trip planned, so I spent my 2 week holiday babysitting my grandparents. I hated every second, but got so many comments on how well I work with the elderly. I suppose this had quite an impact on my interest in adult disorders, and how I work with them.
I had a therapy session with a 61 year old man, who was diagnosed with Broca's Aphasia in 2006 after a left-hemisphere stroke. He has been getting therapy now for 9 years this year, and still has some word-finding difficulties, and is still unable to write. The adult sessions are so quiet, and most of the time I feel like I am supposed to be doing more, making a noise, talking, teaching, stimulating, but actually, silence is a key to adult therapy. By keeping quiet, you give them a chance to think, process and make decisions. Take your time, be polite, and give them a chance. I walked out of the session feeling like we made some progress. Even if it wasn't a huge leap, baby steps are better than none at all.
So yes, I still love children and babies, but I would like to include adults into my field of expertise. I don't want to limit myself. I will help whoever I can, and wherever I can. Adults take a lot of time, and more precise planning for each session, but in the end it's really worth it. :)
My day was good, my session was a success. I feel content, and like I am learning more and more each day. I hope this experience and learning through everyday activities persists. :)
Xxx
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