Speech Therapy Personal Statement

At the age of five years old, my parents enrolled me in an at-risk preschool program and I was taught how to speak and communicate with my peers in the classroom. I believed that was the only time I would experience speech therapy, but it was not. My second experience arose from truly unfortunate circumstances, and differed as I was 18 years of age, within a month of starting college at a prestigious university and intending to move out of my parent’s house.

In the summer of 2011, I was diagnosed with viral meningitis after I complained of arduous migraines for a week.The infection left me wheelchair-bound and unable to speak. I knew what I wanted to say, yet all I was capable of producing was gurgled frustration. I began all the modalities of therapy after my two weeks in the hospital, including speech, physical and occupational therapy daily. Initially, I was averse to the idea of participating in speech therapy: I was an actress and vocalist in high school and the absolute last task I wanted to spend my time working on was learning

However, my experiences with speech therapy were nagging in my head: I was in the wrong place, and studying journalism, a degree I could no longer feel passion for. As much as I had hoped to resume my former life and to pursue those passions, it was becoming increasingly complex to do so without addressing my newer, more impactful experiences that altered my perspective on life. I originally believed speech therapy would not contribute to much in my improvement. However, it ultimately led me out of my self-depreciating depression. As a student in communication sciences and disorders, I realize now what a difference speech therapy had made in all aspects of my livelihood, and how I still use the advice and exercises I was taught in my sessions in everything I will achieve in the