Creating Smiles, Improving Lives

Austin Smiles Blog

Interning with AS – Empowering Speech

By Jordan R.

Hello! My name is Jordan Rochlitz, and I am a junior at Texas State University Round Rock. I’m currently pursuing a degree in Communication Disorders, with the hopes of one day becoming a Speech Language Pathologist.

This past semester I’ve had the privilege of interning with Austin Smiles. It has been such an honor to be a part of the behind the scenes work of this life changing nonprofit, and to see the far reaching impact of their service. Along with surgical care and social and emotional programming, Austin Smiles also provides post surgical care, which includes partnering with Speech Language Pathologists to provide speech therapy to patients. Speech Language Pathologists, or SLPs, play a crucial role in a child’s speech development journey.

A cleft lip/palate occurs when the lip/roof of the mouth does not fully close during development. This results in a gap in the lip/roof of the mouth, which can have significant health and developmental impacts, including issues with feeding and speech. Children who have a cleft lip/palate can experience a range of speech difficulties, including hypernasality and articulation difficulties.

The role of the Speech Language Pathologist is to come alongside the child and help them improve their speech accuracy, clarity, and confidence. In therapy sessions, they may teach the child proper placements for articulation and help them direct their airflow during speech (ie. through the nasal cavity vs. through the oral cavity). SLPs work also closely with the child’s family and other medical professionals to ensure that the child receives care and treatment that is personalized for their individual needs.

Austin Smiles works to provide access to cost free speech care for children with cleft lip and/or palate in multiple ways, including partnering with local SLPs in the Austin area, and sending SLPs on their medical mission trips throughout Latin America. During my time here at Austin Smiles, I’ve had the privilege of observing a meeting with a Bilingual SLP, and I’ve been able to help find and gather free speech therapy resources to give to families. I’ve also had the opportunity to volunteer at the annual Camp Amigo, where I got to meet many of the kids who are a part of the Cleft Community in the Austin area. It was so cool to get to know them, hear their stories, and to see the great impact that cleft care has had on this community. I’m thankful for the time I’ve had at Austin Smiles to learn more about the profession of Speech Pathology in the context of Global Public Health, and to also learn more about the needs within my own local community.