Why I Became a Speech-Language Pathologist
by Loren Alexander MS CCC-SLP TSSLD
When I was in high school, I was a member of the National Honor’s Society and all members needed to complete volunteer hours. As an equestrian and lifelong lover of horses, I decided to volunteer at Pegasus Therapeutic Riding. Pegasus is a nonprofit organization that uses hippotherapy (equine assisted therapy) to improve the lives of people with disabilities in regards to their physical and psychological wellbeing. Every weekend, I would drive to Pegasus Farm on Peach Lake Road in Brewster, NY to volunteer.
I was trained as a sidewalker, which meant that I walked next to the rider and, depending on the rider’s needs, provided appropriate physical support to help them sit safely and balanced in the saddle. As a sidewalker, I also helped the rider better feel confident and helped them understand and recall the directions that the instructor in the middle of the arena was giving. Additionally, I was trained as a horse leader, which meant that if the rider was not yet independently steering the horse, I helped control the speed and direction that the horse was going by using a lead rope and positioning myself to the left of the horse. Every week, I worked with the same rider, horse, and team of volunteers to create and maintain a bond amongst the team and to provide consistency for the horse and rider.
Several weeks of hippotherapy sessions went by and one young rider I worked with had not said a word at the barn. At the time, I never thought anything of it and just figured he was shy around unfamiliar people. A few weeks later, he started to talk to the horse and a couple of weeks after, that he started to talk to me because I was associated with the horse. It was nice to hear the rider’s voice and I thought he just took a long time to warm up to people. His mother was watching the session and she pulled me aside at the end of the session and said…
“You are the first person my son has spoken to outside of our family!”
His mother was over the moon that her son was now verbally communicating with someone he was not related to. She shared that he went to school every day and did not speak to his teachers or classmates. This was a major breakthrough for her son and, by extension, his family. It was really wonderful to see his progress at Pegasus Farm and it was rewarding to know that I was a part of his breakthrough and progress. I will never forget that experience nor my time volunteering at Pegasus Farm. At Pegasus I saw a child go from using a walker to ambulate to being able to walk independently without a walker, crutches or a cane and a boy go from being completely silent at the farm to excitedly sharing his thoughts verbally!
I talk about my time at Pegasus Farm with fondness and share the story I shared with you often. My mother, a registered nurse, said my face always lit up when telling this story and she suggested that I pursue the field of speech-language pathology. I liked the idea of being a speech-language pathologist. I was excited by the prospect of helping more people with disabilities communicate more effectively, guiding them towards their breakthrough moments, and being part of their success. This did not have to be something I only did for a handful of hours every weekend. This is something I could do every day for the entirety of my career! I relished in the idea of making a positive difference in the lives of others throughout my working days and so I began making moves to make this career a reality.
When I was applying to colleges, I originally wanted to major in something completely different and had accepted the admission offer from Pace University but my discussion with my mom had changed my mind about my intended major. Luckily, Pace University offered my former intended major and my new intended major, communication sciences and disorders. I followed through on my decision to attend Pace University and declared my major as communication sciences and disorders.
Pace University turned out to have a strong program for me and I had three semesters of evaluating and treating speech therapy clients of my own. I had two semesters of clinical experience at Pace’s university clinic and one semester of interning at a NYC DOE District 75 schools in the Bronx under the supervision of a speech-language pathologist. Having my own clients at the undergraduate level is an opportunity that is practically unheard of. Pace University was also one of the few bachelor’s programs left that would give me the education and hands on experience necessary to obtain my Teacher of Students of Speech Language Disabilities initial certificate (TSSLD), a certificate that would allow me to work as a speech therapist in New York schools for up to five years before showing proof of beginning a master’s degree in the field. Fortunately, I did not need to execute this backup plan of working under my TSSLD and was accepted into a Master’s of Science program at New York University and started the program September of the year I graduated from Pace.
After 6.5 years of studying communication sciences and disorders spanning a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science program, I began my clinical fellowship through EBS Healthcare serving students in Harlem. After nearly a year of providing speech therapy services to students under the guidance of Dr. Karen Simon-Leff, I had earned the coveted letters behind my name and became Loren Alexander MS CCC-SLP TSSLD.
If you would like to learn more about Pegasus Therapeutic Riding to sign up as a rider, volunteer, donate a horse to use for hippotherapy or make a monetary donation, please visit their website. If Pegasus Farm and their satellite branches are not local to you, please check out this database of Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH) credentialed horseback riding centers or this directory of riding centers who are members of the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association, Inc. (NARHA).
