Name: Valeria Rios
Hometown: Mission, Texas
Graduation Date: May 2016
Company: Detroit Medical Center, Detroit, Mich.
Amount of time at internship: September-December 2015
How did you become interested in becoming a speech-language pathologist?
As a high school student, I volunteered a lot of my time supporting the special education teacher with her students. When I was there, I got the opportunity to see a speech language pathologist work with the students and was very intrigued about the profession. I asked her many questions. However, at that point I did not believe the profession was for me. I began my undergraduate career with a different career in mind but it took only one semester and speaking to my adviser to realize that becoming a speech-language pathologist was what I want to do.
Tell us about your graduate school journey?
Although, entering the Communicative Sciences and Disorders program at Michigan State University was not as easy as I thought it would be, it has been one of my greatest accomplishments. I began my graduate career in fall of 2014 and decided to pursue a thesis degree in Dr. Fan Cao’s lab, focusing on the impact of metalinguistic skills in the acquisition of a second language and the impact of first language on second language acquisition using fMRI. I also have had the opportunity to intern at Holt Public Schools and at Origami Brain Injury Rehabilitation Center where I acquired lots of knowledge in language disorders, articulation deficits, traumatic brain injuries, swallowing disorders, cognitive therapy and aphasia.
Describe the clinical setting and population you are working with at your current internship?
I am currently placed with Detroit Medical Centers at their downtown Detroit location. In this outpatient setting, I work with children from birth to 13 years of age. I also conduct evaluations and provide therapy services for children who present with language and articulation deficits, children with cerebral palsy, apraxia of speech, dysarthria, feeding deficits, and other rare syndromes. Many of the patients come from a low socioeconomic background and for many of the families their first language is not English. Thus this placement has given me the opportunity to use my Spanish skills to provide services. I also have had the opportunity to provide services alongside a physical therapist and occupational therapist.
How has your internship helped prepare you for your career?
One of the most important things this internship has provide me with is cultural sensitivity. As I previously said, many of my patients in this internship come from a low socioeconomic status and diverse cultures, thus sometimes their first priority is not therapy. We have many cancellations due to hospitalization, transportation issues or family problems. This experience has given me the opportunity to incorporate family dynamics and cultural differences in the therapy programs I develop. We provide lots of home programming for the parents and involve them as much as possible during treatment.
