I am a soon to be Speech-Language Pathologist. I graduated with my Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Social Welfare from UW-Madison in 2013. After graduation, I worked with individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder providing ABA therapy. I loved this meaningful work, but I always had the dream to specialize even further to assist individuals with special needs. The field of Speech-Language Pathology has afforded me the opportunity to work closely with children with special needs, as well as children that need just a little bit more help and support in gaining language skills. This past year, I had the wonderful opportunity to return to my Alma Mater at UW-Madison to study Communication Sciences and Disorders in a post-baccalaureate program. During this year, I became involved in a research lab that studies how normal hearing individuals as well as cochlear implant users hear in complex auditory environments. My involvement in this lab, as well as participation in my classes in the field of Audiology and Auditory Rehabilitation sparked my interest in working with individuals with hearing loss. This coming fall, I will be starting a Master’s program in Speech-Language Pathology at Marquette University. In my graduate study, a goal of mine is to learn how to provide Auditory Verbal Therapy so that I can work with individuals with hearing loss who have chosen a verbal mode of communication to communicate to the best of their ability.

Essay: Cochlear Implants

The cochlear implant has made a significant impact in the lives of individuals with hearing loss over the last decade, and will continue to have a major positive impact. When cochlear implants were first introduced, audiologists and engineers could not have predicted just how successful they would be for so many individuals with hearing loss. Over time, the technology of cochlear implants has continued to progress, and surgeons have become very skilled at implanting these devices into users, making them much more accessible. The cochlear implant is a device that is implanted within the cochlea in the inner ear of individuals with severe to profound hearing loss. Cochlear implants do not restore normal acoustic hearing, like what normal hearing individuals hear. Instead, the cochlear implant user hears an electric signal. Most often, these devices are programmed by audiologists to best hear the frequencies of speech so that the user can verbally communicate with others as effectively as possible. However, many cochlear implant users report that they can hear and enjoy background noises, as well as music. Cochlear implants are also extremely helpful in situations involving keeping the user safe, such as hearing traffic or trains approaching. Arguably, one of the most remarkable groups gaining benefit from cochlear implants are children that have been identified in early life with a hearing loss. Oftentimes, children that are implanted with a device at a very early age tend to have the best outcomes with gaining verbal language. With a cochlear implant, very young children are hearing auditory signals, which contributes to their development of spoken language. The technology of the cochlear implant has already advanced rapidly within the last 20 years, and will continue to develop to be even better. This new technology is amazing because it is giving people with hearing loss the opportunity to hear again, or hear for the first time.