Student Clinicians Use Experience Books for Speech Therapy

U of A student Lilian Muro, left, helps Jovanna Lopez make a turkey out of an Oreo cookie.

Sentences spoken during the session are recorded in the experience book.

Lilian and Jovanna show off the finished work.

Jovanna’s mother, Susana Lopez, right, takes part in the session, too.

U of A student Yareli Cortes, left, also assists with the therapy session.

Photo by Drew Viguet

U of A graduate student clinician Lilian Muro works with Jovanna Lopez on her experience book at the Speech and Hearing Clinic.

Rachel Glade, clinical instructor at the University of Arkansas Speech and Hearing Clinic, requires her student clinicians to make "experience books" to help child patients in speech therapy develop necessary skills such as pronunciation, pronoun use and more.

The Speech and Hearing Clinic in the Epley Center for Health Professions on campus offers comprehensive speech, language and hearing services. It also serves as a clinical laboratory for undergraduate and graduate students who are a part of the communications disorder program at the university.

Student clinicians gain real-world experience working alongside Glade and other staff and faculty members, helping conduct speech therapy sessions with younger children.  

The experience book features age-appropriate sentences that were used to practice during the session, where the child participates in crafts and games that all have the purpose of developing the child's speaking ability.

One of the patients, 7-year-old Jovanna Lopez, is diagnosed with bilateral moderate sensory hearing loss, as well as a severe speech and language delay in Spanish and English. Jovanna participated in Thanksgiving-themed activities during her session before the holiday. She made a turkey out of Oreos and other sweets, all while practicing how to adequately use pronouns. Sentences said during the session are then recorded in the experience book later.

"The idea is that you make the experience book based on whatever language level the child is at," Glade said. "So for her (Jovanna), rather than it saying something simple like, 'found marshmallow,' it's going to say 'I found the marshmallows beside the microwave.' "

The book also features pictures of the child completing activities during the session.

"It makes it more meaningful for the child because there are pictures of the child," Glade said.

After the book is made, it is then sent home with the child and family. The family can relive the experience, using the book to practice language that was targeted by the student clinicians in the session, Glade said.

"It just provides for a significant amount of additional opportunities for carryover of those therapy objectives, all because the girls were going the extra mile to make the experience book," Glade said.

Glade has used experience books to work with her clients for a long time, and she requires her students to do the same. The process is a unique experience, and it is special to see a child's eyes light up after they have been given their book, Glade said. The children are always encouraged to share the book with their family and relive it with them, all the while practicing their speaking.

Graduate student clinician Lilian Muro and undergraduate student clinician Yareli Cortes have been working with Jovanna since September, and they recently gave the girl her experience book.

Jovanna and her family are bilingual, speaking both English and Spanish. Muro and Cortes are bilingual and speak those languages as well, which was a huge benefit throughout the process, they said.

Muro said that it has been a cool experience because she knows that she's not only helping Jovanna with her second language, but with her native language as well.

 "I know that it can be difficult, especially at that age, when they are in elementary school and everyone else around them speaks English," Muro said. "And then all of the sudden they have to learn Spanish all over again."

The clinicians teach their students during sessions and also provide parents with the skills necessary to work on speaking at home.

"It's really interesting to see and to be able to work with her and do the bilingual little bits," Cortes said. "I think it's really important to be able to target that, and it's amazing that we can help her with that because we've dealt with that as kids growing up."

Muro and Cortes said that they can use experiences they have had growing up bilingual to help students such as Jovanna.

"We get to help a little bit behind the scenes, which is really neat for me," Cortes said.

Susana Lopez, Jovanna's mother, said that Glade is the best speech therapist in the area and has been very helpful for the family and Jovanna. The Lopez family has have worked with Glade for a few years. Glade and the program at the Speech and Hearing Clinic have been responsible for Jovanna's speech improvement, Lopez said.

"The experience that we had with the clinic and Rachel has been incredible," Lopez said. "My daughter has had a huge improvement over the years thanks to the therapy received there."

Lopez said that the experience book will help improve both Jovana's speaking and reading skills.

Glade and the staff at the clinic have made a huge difference in Jovanna's life, Lopez said.

"Thanks to her, Jovanna has the best audiology care and therapy," Lopez said.