Indiana University South Bend’s Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology (MS-SLP) program launched in 2021 with two cohorts having completed their degrees, and it is already making a major impact on the local community with its teaching clinic services.
Speech-language pathologists work with people of all ages in a variety of settings, including schools, hospitals, and residential care facilities. The MS-SLP prepares students for the profession through community engaged classroom and clinical experiences with a focus on compassion for patients.
“Students get the educational training and practice they need to become clinicians in the community,” explains Jennifer Essig, SLP program director and clinical associate professor. “It gives them investment in their local community, shows them what the needs are locally, and exposes them to different populations so they can learn to navigate challenges they may face.”
Graduate students, under the supervision of licensed and certified Speech-Language Pathologists, provide select speech and language services to the public free of charge.
Services are offered on the Elkhart campus at the IUSB Elkhart Speech-Language Clinic, and students also visit community sites to offer routine screenings. They primarily serve preschools and elementary schools, as well as local homeschooled students, and help identify children who may need additional evaluation. Approximately 1,200 speech, language, and hearing screenings were conducted in the fall semester by SLP graduate students.
“In the fall semester when we conduct hearing screenings or speech language screenings, each student gets the experience of going out to multiple different community sites,” says Jerin Burch, SLP graduate program clinical director and clinical assistant professor. “In addition to the valuable clinical practice of screening many different children, it gives our graduate students authentic interprofessional practice and networking opportunities because they’re interacting with community SLPs, principals, school nurses, teachers, and others at the sites.”
In addition to being such a valuable tool for experiential learning, the services offered also fill a critical need in the local community. There are currently shortages for speech-language pathologists, especially for young children, leaving many families to deal with waiting lists of at least six months for outpatient speech therapy. MS-SLP graduate clinicians are able to gain beneficial experience while also being a resource for these area parents and children.
The IUSB Elkhart Speech-Language Clinic also works with adult populations, including those with neurological conditions like dementia, stroke, and long COVID, and provides a subspecialty clinic for vocal congruence training.
For more information on services offered by the IUSB Elkhart Speech-Language Clinic, call (574) 520-4000 or email slpiusb@iu.edu.