A Profession That Was Always Part of My Story

I never know whether it is best to work from the present backwards or begin at the very start. After all, where do you begin when Speech and Language Therapy has been part of your life for as long as you can remember?

Do you start with your career? Your first interview? Your first promotion? Your university days?

Or do you start where it all began, 26 years ago?

Where it began

I did not stumble across Speech and Language Therapy at a careers fair or while searching through UCAS. For as long as I can remember, it has been part of my life in one form or another.

When I was four, I developed a stammer, just as my dad had, and his dad before him. Sometimes, words were difficult to get out, which became increasingly frustrating when I knew exactly what I wanted to say.

I began Speech and Language Therapy and continued attending on and off until I was 11. By then, my stammer had reduced, and when it did appear, I had developed tools to help me manage it.

Today, I barely notice it. That is partly because I still use techniques taught to me by my Speech and Language Therapist more than 20 years ago. It is also because I have learned to understand my own communication, recognise the situations in which my stammer is more likely to appear and decide what works for me.

Most importantly, I have learned that people may simply have to wait for me to finish my sentence. If I am being frank, that sounds like a them problem, not a me problem.

Choosing a direction

Fast forward to 2017.

After completing the International Baccalaureate in Denmark, it was time to decide what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. No pressure. Eek!

I knew my moral compass would not allow me to pursue something that was not, in some way, a force for good in the world. There went my future in finance. I also wanted to do something that had a tangible impact, which sadly seemed to rule out my idea of studying History.

That left me choosing between Psychology and Speech and Language Therapy.

Right, okay then. Time to decide.

Impossible.

Naturally, I wrote a university application that covered both. To my frustration, I can no longer remember which courses gave me conditional or unconditional offers. I do, however, remember being rejected by one of the Speech and Language Therapy courses I applied to.

Rude.

When it came to making the final decision, I tried to put everyone else’s opinions to one side and return to what I knew. I knew the impact Speech and Language Therapy had made on my life. I knew how much it had helped me.

And so, there it was. My decision.

University, doubt and an unprecedented world event

I will not spend too long talking about my university days because they consisted mostly of hard work, doubt, weekend jobs, deadlines and then a little more doubt.

Oh, and one small, completely unprecedented world event: COVID-19.

Yes, I was part of that cohort, or at least I was for the final year and a half of my degree.

I clearly remember sitting in the voice lab when the Head of Department, Janet Beck, came in and told us that they did not expect the situation to escalate, but that if it did, some of our teaching might need to move online.

That was the last day I set foot on campus for more than a year.

Placements, exams and lectures all moved online. Universities have understandably received a lot of criticism for how courses were handled during that time, but my experience was that the team did the best they could with the very limited information anyone had.

Strangely, this was also when my Speech and Language Therapy world began to expand.

Across social media, practising Speech and Language Therapists came together to support us, the students, by offering webinars and sharing resources. Through that online community, I was introduced to people and organisations that would later become important parts of my professional life, including my first employer and my future mentor.

So much for not dwelling on my university years.

Moving on!

Starting my career

I was fortunate enough to be offered the first job I interviewed for, before I had even graduated. Once my final examination was finished, I was bound south for London.

I initially began working as a Speech and Language Therapy Assistant while I waited for my HCPC registration to come through and, of course, for confirmation that I had actually passed my degree (I did!).

I joined a warm, hardworking team with a real sense that we were creating something together. I knew I would enjoy being part of it for as long as that feeling lasted.

That was where my career as a registered Speech and Language Therapist began.

Initially, I worked across a mixture of settings, which gave me an understanding of the many different ways Speech and Language Therapy can be delivered. I was then promoted to a Band 6 role, specialising in Autism and Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs, or SEMH.

I loved it. The children, the schools, the team and, somehow, even the admin. The work became a huge part of my life.

Looking back, I might tell my younger self to relax a little. But when inspiration and passion unite, what can you do?

Finding the work that excited me

One opportunity that particularly excited me was being asked to develop a service for children and young people who were not in education, employment or training, known as NEET, and those who were in care.

I was given the trust and freedom I needed to shape the work, and it remains something I am immensely proud of.

I also had opportunities to lead other projects, including rolling out LEGO-based therapy as a whole-school intervention in an SEMH school and supporting an Autism specialist school to move from a PECS-only approach towards a total communication environment.

Each of those projects deserves a separate blog post, and they will have one.

The work also created opportunities for me to write articles, including for the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, and to present at webinars and conferences. I later completed the RCSLT Inspire Leadership Programme, which encouraged me to think more deeply about leadership, supervision and the kind of impact I wanted to have within the profession.

As I progressed, I had the privilege of supervising junior therapists. Eventually, I became a manager and moved into a Band 7 role.

My work became less hands-on, although never completely, and my relationship with the profession began to shift. I had developed as a clinician and a leader, but alongside many other changes, I was beginning to feel what I can only describe as an itch.

It was time for something new.

I wanted a different kind of challenge, one that would allow me to use my creativity, critical thinking and autonomy while continuing to do work that felt meaningful.

Where I am now

That brings me to the present.

Today, I work as an autism assessor while developing SLCN, my own independent Speech and Language Therapy practice and professional space.

When I look back, there is no single moment when Speech and Language Therapy entered my life. It began with being the child waiting for her words to come out, continued through the therapists who gave me tools and confidence, and eventually became the career through which I now support others.

My relationship with the profession is still evolving. This moment feels like both a new chapter and a continuation of something that began when I was four.

Perhaps that is why Speech and Language Therapy has never felt like simply a job.

It has, in one form or another, always been part of my story.