Don’t tell Linda Terry the federal Affordable Care Act or aging baby boomers are going to suddenly overwhelm the existing health care infrastructure.
“I’ve been full for 21 years,” she says with a laugh.
As a speech-language pathologist at Cox Hospital North, Terry sees patients from nine months to 101 years old. She provides individual direct speech and language therapy sessions for conditions ranging from pediatric developmental delays and articulation disorders, to adult aphasia and swallowing impairments. Terry uses the term, “specializing generalis,” to describe her broad expertise, though she admits she prefers pediatric patients.
“I’m a kid person,” she says. “The light in a child’s eyes when they get it, or something just clicks, is a very special moment.”
Terry says though it may appear the number of pediatric delays are increasing, it’s not the case. Earlier symptom recognition by pediatricians, preschool workers and parents have decreased the average diagnosis age to below 2 years old, down from the 4 or 5 years old Terry says was typical when she began her career. The 25-year veteran says she appreciates her ability to actively participate in a very special time for families.
“You know, when you’re the parent of a 2-year-old who hasn’t said ‘mama’ or ‘dada’ yet, you’re a pretty stressed-out parent,” she says. “I get to help that family begin to communicate, and see them move from total frustration to totally functional. It makes everybody happy.”
Terry keeps up with the latest techniques and treatments through continuing education, completing at least 15 hours each year. Recently, she completed 40 hours on topics of sign language, autism spectrum disorder and auditory processing disorders. She is also certified in interactive metronome therapy, where the game-like auditory-visual platform engages the patient and provides constant feedback at the millisecond level to promote synchronized timing in the brain.
Terry’s work with new technologies has particularly helped in articulation therapy, which has benefited from the prominence of handheld digital devices. Terry says technology makes her job easier and more fun – especially for pediatric patients – by trading the traditional stacks of picture cards for virtually unlimited swipeable images on a screen. It helps extend the therapist’s impact by providing a consistent presentation of the therapy tools beyond the controlled one-on-one environment.
“There’s always homework for patients in between therapy sessions,” she says. “You can’t have enough therapy appointments to do everything one-on-one. Apps for the iPad or smartphones are making it much easier for patients to do the repetitive work necessary to see positive results.”
In addition to her clinical work, Terry is a longtime member of the Children’s Miracle Network’s Family Care Grant Committee. Additionally, she frequently writes and submits grants for specialized materials and equipment used to increase access to treatment for underserved patients.[[In-content Ad]]
