The University of Arkansas Speech and Hearing Clinic serves many families in the Northwest Arkansas area and beyond. With the announcement of courses going online and the need for social distancing, faculty and staff quickly brainstormed how continued essential services in speech-language pathology and audiology could be provided via tele-practice.

The UA Speech and Hearing Clinic meets state requirements to provide telehealth and has speech-language pathologists and an audiologist with unique skill sets and areas of expertise to continue to provide services. Many individuals are unable to continue to receive services or are receiving decreased services due to the pandemic. The UA Speech and Hearing Clinic, in the College of Education and Health Professions, is here to help.

Starting this summer, student clinicians will be assisting clinical faculty in the provision of speech-language pathology and audiology services in the clinic so they too can complete training in method of service provision that without a doubt is here to stay in some capacity in the future.

Kim Perry, M.S., CCC-SLP is the speech-language pathologist leading the charge to provide speech-language pathology services via tele-practice at the UA Speech and Hearing Clinic. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Communication Disorders from the University of Texas at Austin in 1983 and earned her Master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Arkansas in 2009. She has 11 years of clinical experience as a speech-language pathologist with expertise in the areas of child language, autism, and articulation. She has provided undergraduate and graduate supervision for students at the UA Speech and Hearing Clinic for the past 10 years. Kim's passion for working with people with special needs stems from her lifelong experiences with her own sister who has special needs.

Margie Gilbertson, Ph.C., CCC-SLP/A is dually certified as a speech-language pathologist and audiologist and is leading the charge of providing audiology services at the UA Speech and Hearing Clinic. Dr. Gilbertson graduated from Memphis State University in 1991 with her doctoral degree. She has been working in the field of Audiology for 37 years. Dr. Gilbertson has been serving the Northwest Arkansas area for the past 6 years. Dr. Gilbertson specializes in working with adults with hearing loss. She is experienced in working with individuals and their families to determine which hearing technology option best fits their needs.

To learn more about speech-language pathology or audiology services offered through the UA Speech and Hearing Clinic, email spclinic@uark.edu.