Intern Kalista Mosher- Speech Swallowing and Voice Center (Speech Pathologist)

Hi my name is Kalista. The first time I knew that I wanted to be a speech pathologist was when I was volunteering at Prairie Meadows Therapeutic Riding Center.  The therapist had just gotten out of college and I had an idea of what I wanted to do, so I started asking questions.  She had graduated as an occupational therapist assistant (OTA), and I had been exploring this field of work and thought it was very interesting.  I then saw the therapist sit one of the kids down and start therapy involving speech, and language.  I saw this and knew that’s what I wanted to do; I wanted to help people gain or regain this skill that comes naturally to me.  Volunteering here was the best decision I have made because helping the kids and watching them grow in strength and in themselves is the best feeling I could experience.

I get to intern at Speech Swallowing and Voice during this school year, and I am very excited to start. Interning here will give me that much more for college, and it gives me an idea of what the job entails.  I researched the Speech, Swallowing, and Voice center, the place of my internship and their services include therapy for dysarthria (slurred speech), facial weakness (Bells Palsy), stuttering, swallowing and many more.  Many people may go to a speech pathologist because they had a stroke.  Some kids go to therapy because they may have autism or cerebral palsy; these different diseases may complicate the skills of speech, language and swallowing.  Some adults go because they have parkinson's disease and may need help swallowing.  Some of the other reasons to go to therapy is because the person is not understanding what someone is telling them.  There are many other reasons to go to speech, voice, and swallowing therapy.  

In order to be a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) the person has to get a Masters Degree.  I have decided to go to Kansas State University, or Wichita State University in the Communication Sciences and Disorders program.  I really want to learn about all the different aspects of SLP.  I get to intern at the Speech Swallowing and Voice center during this school year from september to december, I am very excited to start.  I’ll be working with Susan Kennedy and Delane Huett, the owners of Speech, Swallowing and Voice. I will be helping with therapy, working with both adults and pediatrics.  I will be in school for about 6 years before I can receive my Masters. Doing this internship means I won’t be going into my carreer blind.  In order to be a speech pathologist I have to take anatomy and physiology of speech and hearing, language acquisition, audiology, communication disorders, speech and language assessment techniques, phonetics and american sign language, aural rehabilitation, dysphagia, speech and language research, motor speech disorders, fluency, speech disorders in children, and language assessment and intervention.

The job outlook for an SLP is 21% from 2014-24.  In 2014 there were 135,400 speech pathologists in the US.  According to MGH Institute Speech Pathologist can be hired in schools, hospitals, nursing homes, or they can be a traveling SLP who goes to houses to work with patients. Washington DC is 14% higher than average with a salary of $101,000 SLP’s according to salary by state.  The average salary for a speech language pathologist is $ 82,000 for a speech language pathologist.   An SLP inpatient acute cares salary is about $62,000.  An SLP in a school's salary is $82,000 as well.

I am kind of nervous to start interning just because it is a new place and a new environment.  I am, however, excited to learn new skills and meet new people.  Everyone that I have talked to said that Speech Language Pathology is so much, and it is very rewarding. I am super interested in all the different aspects of Speech Language Pathology and learn more about the differences between doing therapy with pediatrics and adults.

I really enjoy working with kids and I would enjoy the reward of seeing the adult get better.  This is why  I was volunteering Prairie Meadows Therapeutic Riding Center. Working with the adults may be more thankful because they had these skills at one time and kids are just kind of all over the place at times. I would enjoy working with both adult and pediatrics.  I love helping people get better, or accomplish something that they need.