-: My name is Kristen Dunkle,
and I'm a speech-language pathologist
for the central intermediate unit number 10.
So we assess and treat speech and language disorders,
a variety of articulation, phonology,
language,
auditory processing, executive functioning types of
delays and disorders.
If their family or peers or teachers are having difficulty
understanding what they're saying in the classroom,
if they're having trouble answering questions
or expressing themselves,
or falling behind in academics,
it could be a potential delay or disorder
in speech or language,
so they'll put in a referral for a speech pathologist.
So in a typical therapy session I do have a lesson plan,
but oftentimes with children this young,
that kind of goes out the window,
and you just creatively have to work with them
very play-based type therapy,
and we'll play games and I'll over-enunciate sounds
or provide different visuals and pictures
to help them answer questions
and work on telling stories.
It's very play based and creative and fun.
So I always try to keep the parents involved
because research shows that the more they're involved
the better outcomes for the student.
So each time that I see a student
I always send home a progress report to keep them updated.
I also have a speech folder that gets sent home
with the student so that they could actively work on
homework and strategies at home
because they're with their child almost 24/7/365,
and I see them for just a brief amount of time each week,
so they are really the big factor
in how their child progresses and how much they practice.
It depends on severity of the disorder
and the progress that they're making.
So typically I see students one time a week for 30 minutes
and typically about a year
to a year and a half is the average,
although sometimes I'll see students
for a shorter period of time or for the entire
two to three years that they're eligible for our program.
It just depends on severity and progress.