Speech-Language Pathologist Olivia Rogers, MA, CF-SLP, joined NESCA in June, working with clients in the Newton, Massachusetts office, and is scheduling new clients now. We sat down with Olivia to learn more about her, what her passions in speech and language are and why she joined NESCA.
By Jane Hauser
Director of Marketing & Outreach
How did you initially get interested in Speech-Language Pathology (SLP)?
I started my undergraduate education as a bioengineering major. A project I was assigned to required me to research devices that related to the medical side of bioengineering. After some research, I came upon cochlear implants, which led me to learn more about Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (SLP). Ultimately, I knew I desired to work with people and make an impact in the healthcare field, but I didn’t feel like bioengineering was where I belonged. After I switched my major to Communication Sciences and Disorders, I knew I had made the right decision.
Additionally, I am the oldest of five children, so was always around kids. Once I stumbled upon this major, I realized it was a great way to combine my desire to work with kids and a career that really fulfilled me.
In what settings have you worked previously?
I’ve done a few clinical rotations in different settings. I spent a semester in a K-8 public school, and a year in pediatric private practice. Those opportunities allowed me to work with children with various speech and language challenges. I also spent some time in a hospital working with adults in the inpatient acute care unit. All of these experiences strengthened my passion for working with the pediatric population and implementing therapy that is both functional and personal to each individual.
What brought you to NESCA?
Last summer, I was a student intern with NESCA’s Speech-Language Pathologist Abbey Gray, MS, CCC-SLP, as part of my third clinical placement. When the opportunity to work with Abbey and also some of the kids we worked with together again came to my attention, I jumped at the opportunity to work with all of them again.
It’s exciting to work at NESCA in the clinic setting where the Speech-Language team is expanding, and collaboration is so important. Here, I get to be a part of a great team of therapists, clinicians and neuropsychologists. I also appreciate that NESCA is so open to and supportive of its clinicians continuing to learn. For example, I am hoping to gain feeding therapy experience alongside the other feeding therapists here at NESCA.
What part of being a SLP do you enjoy the most?
Being able to communicate is one of the most important life skills, and giving others the tools they need to do so effectively is amazing in itself. However, no two clients are the same and it is up to me to be creative in catering to each individual to make sure that therapy is motivating and beneficial. As a SLP, creativity and play are not only allowed but encouraged. I really enjoy that part of my job.
I really love all of the work I do with children, especially working with kids on receptive and expressive language therapy. With the older children I work with, I enjoy working on the social pragmatic aspects of communication. With the younger kids, I love play-based therapy and working with parents and families to ensure that the language we are targeting is practical.
How do you partner with families when you are working with a child at NESCA?
Integrating real life and therapy is one of the most important aspects of what I do as a SLP. It’s essential for parents or other family members/caregivers to be involved in a child’s therapy to make sure that there is carryover into the home setting. Building functional language skills is a full-time venture involving therapy sessions and practice at home. I strive to have family involved either in the weekly therapy sessions and/or taking notes on what we are working on to further support that child in reaching their goals.
And regarding goals, it’s so important to have parent/caregiver input on the goals we work toward. With the older kids I work with, they are often able to communicate what they’d like to or need to work on. With the younger children, it’s critical for parents and families to help communicate a child’s challenges in order for us to establish the goals we work toward together.
What is one of the most inspiring milestones you have experienced as a Speech-Language Pathologist?
While I was working in the K-8 school, most of the children I worked with were deaf or hard of hearing. There was one 10-year-old boy who was profoundly deaf and utilized cochlear implants. He was essentially nonverbal, and our goal was to help him to auditorily recognize and verbally produce a couple of functional words that could support him in the classroom and at home. In particular, we were trying to get him to interact verbally with his dog; this was a personal goal of his. After months of work, his mom let us know that at home he said, “Sit,” and his dog followed his command! He was so motivated to learn more words since he saw how language could help him to function more easily and successfully. It was such an inspiration and really solidified my strong desire to work with kids to help them in speech and language, and in life.
About Speech-Language Pathologist Olivia Rogers
Olivia Rogers received her Master of Arts in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Maine, after graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Sciences and Disorders and concentrations in Childhood Development and Disability Studies.
Ms. Rogers has experience working both in the pediatric clinic setting as well as in public schools, evaluating and treating children 2-18 years of age presenting with a wide range of diagnoses (e.g., language delays and disorders, speech sound disorders, childhood apraxia of speech, autism spectrum disorder, social communication disorder, and Down syndrome). Ms. Rogers enjoys making sure therapy is fun and tailored to each client’s interests.
In her free time, she enjoys listening to podcasts and spending times with friends and families.
Neuropsychology & Education Services for Children & Adolescents (NESCA) is a pediatric neuropsychology practice and integrative treatment center with offices in Newton, Massachusetts, Plainville, Massachusetts, and Londonderry, New Hampshire, serving clients from preschool through young adulthood and their families. For more information, please email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.
To book an appointment with Olivia Rogers, please complete our Intake Form today. For more information about NESCA, please email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.
