Savannah was a student clinician for the BYU Speech and Language Clinic during Spring Term 2023.
Briefly explain what you did and the result of your internship.
I helped provide therapy to both children and adults with communication disorders. The BYU Speech and Language Clinic accepts patients who have speech sound disorders, language disorders, feeding disorders, cognitive deficits (generally as a result of traumatic brain injuries, strokes, etc.), people learning to use assistive or alternative technology to communicate, and so many other clients, so I got to be exposed to a wide variety of cases.
What did you learn on your internship that you were not expecting to learn?
I learned that it is so important to help foster hope in my clients. There are enough people in the world who will tell them that they cannot succeed because of their disabilities, so they need to hear a voice of encouragement pushing them to set and work towards meaningful goals and follow their passions.
How have your future plans changed because of what you learned from your internship experience?
I learned that I love working with kids! I enjoy working with adults too though, so I know now that I would love to work in a setting where I get a wide variety of clients from all across the lifespan.
Please share how your experience led to personal inspiration or insightful revelation.
I learned that I can pray for inspiration about my clients and that Heavenly Father can help me see them through His eyes and know which therapy techniques will help them progress the most.
Would you recommend this internship to other students?
I absolutely would recommend this internship to other students! It is a lot of work, but you learn so much and create such meaningful relationships with all of your clients.
Is there anything else you would like to say regarding your internship?
I would say that other students starting this internship should turn to their clinical educators for guidance when they feel overwhelmed. They are so knowledgeable and so experienced in the field of speech pathology, so they can help you talk through difficult cases and find solutions!
