Let Me Introduce Myself

Hi. My name is Melissa Winter. I am a freshman studying Communication Sciences and Disorders (Speech Language Pathology) at the University of Central Florida. For several years now, it has been my desire to become a speech pathologist. I believe this field would give me so many opportunities, such as helping those in need, making a difference in a child's life, and being able to work with others. 

My true desire is to work with deaf children, as I have such an immense passion to learn the language of the deaf. I still remember the first time I fell in love with Sign Language, as I was enraptured in the story of Helen Keller and how she learned to communicate with others. I was intrigued by her ability to overcome her battle to learn how to communicate.  Ever since I was a child, it has been my own personal goal to learn Sign Language, as I know it will be truly rewarding to be able to help a deaf child communicate with others. I strongly believe in the Hippocratic Oath of this profession stated as the following: "Life without speech is empty; and life devoid of communication is scarcely better than death. Therefore, the duty we owe is sacred; and our calling is gravely important" (Chabon and Cornett). Shelly S. Chabon is currently professor and chair of the Department of speech and hearing services at Portland State University. Becky Sutherland Cornett is Associate Compliance Director, Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus OH. 

One of the goals of my blog is to educate my audience about what I have learned about the profession of speech language pathology. My intent is to inform the audience about the education required to be a speech pathologist, what a speech pathologist does, and what types of problems they treat. In addition, I plan to educate my audience about the need to identify children with hearing loss as soon as possible. Therefore, I will discuss current trends in the speech language pathology field, specifically newborn hearing screening. Lastly, I will introduce my audience to what auditory processing disorder is and how it affects speech, language, and learning, as studied by Dr. Teri James Bellis, a leader in the field of audiology.