Given a Voice

This piece looks at Western Washington Universitys Communication Sciences and Disorders program. The clinic gives students a hands-on learning experience, while providing a vital service to the surrounding community.

Kayden Taylor couldnt speak when he first came to WWUs Speech-Language-Hearing clinic, but the scar on his forehead said it all.

An unknown neurological problem had left Kayden, a preschooler, unable to communicate. He also had troubling behavioral issues: His tantrums were so powerful and frequent that he had a scar on his forehead from hitting his head so much.

Terry Sacks, director of WWUs Speech-Language clinic, where Kaydens family brought him for treatment in 2009, thought the 4-year-olds tantrums were rooted in the frustration of a pretty smart kid who was struggling to communicate.

Sacks matched Kayden with two graduate students in Speech-Language Pathology, Caroline Scott and Carly Reiser, who went to work teaching the boy how to use a communication device with buttons for common words.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• students
• faculty
• WWU

[OneWorld44]

You're doing wonderful work Terry. Keep it up.