Who gave us the name Speech Language Pathologist anyway? I have heard it many times: after introducing myself to a new patient, maybe someone with difficulty swallowing, "But I can talk just fine!" The Pathologist part makes it sound like we are working in a lab with germs and cells. And the 'speech language' part just does not say it all.
Many people, at least folks who don't have a "Speechie" as a friend or family member, think of us as the pull-out therapist working with kids in elementary school to fix their 's' sound or cure their stutter. While those things are certainly part of our scope of practice (though probably not in the school so much, because school Speechies are too busy with our little friends with language and learning or autism needs) we do so much more! We really should be called Speech-Language-Voice-Feeding-Swallowing-Social-Cognitive Therapists.
So it's fitting that I have had so much trouble coming up with a way to label my new business, blog, website, etc... As I learn more about holistic health, and move toward health myself, I discover more and more ways to apply the concepts to my personal life, friendships, yoga practice, and my speech pathology practice. How could I find one label for something that is so diffuse. This concept is born from the idea that all of the lessons I am gathering, all of the spheres of my life and inherently connected. For now, I will stick with the lengthy but practical "Holistic Speech Pathology and Health Coaching" with the expectation that it will continue to evolve. Just as I have.
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