Ribbon-cutting set for new Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic on STAR Campus

1:34 p.m., Oct. 13, 2015--A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the University of Delaware’s new Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic will take place from 5-7 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 22, at the Science, Technology and Advanced Research (STAR) Campus. 

The program includes a reception, tours and speeches from Delaware Attorney General Matt Dean, House Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst and the clinic’s founding director Aquiles Iglesias. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. 

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Operating out of the UD College of Health Sciences, Iglesias and his team will evaluate and treat articulation, voice, language, motor speech, swallowing, cognitive, oral and written communication disorders. The clinic will see people of all ages with speech, language or hearing complications related to traumatic brain injuries, Down syndrome, stuttering, autism, Parkinson’s or general developmental delays. 

The state-of-the-art clinic will be part of the University’s new speech pathology master’s program — the first in the state. 

Even before its official ribbon-cutting, the clinic is already taking patients as the demand for services from speech-language pathologists (SLPs) is so high for people throughout the lifespan. 

“With no master’s level program in Delaware, people are not only studying out-of-state, but many are staying out-of-state,” says Iglesias, director, speech-language pathology, in the Communication Sciences and Disorders program. “We will train top-level SLPs in Delaware to serve Delaware.”

In addition to patients and families, the clinical expertise will benefit professionals and existing programs across the region, serving as a resource and research hub. 

“We will increase availability of services as well as offer lectures, workshops and support groups,” says Jacquie Truluck, director of clinical education, in Communication Sciences and Disorders. “Our grad students will understand the multifaceted roles and responsibilities of being an evidence-based, collaborative SLP.” 

With no shortage of patients, advocates and groups pushing for a speech pathology master’s program in the First State, people connected to speech-language pathology are thrilled that UD is cutting the ribbon on Oct. 22. 

“A shortage of SLPs has existed for some time — not just in Delaware, but around the country,” says Illene Courtright, speech-language pathologist and chapter leader of the National Stuttering Association. “It will be wonderful for Delawareans to access this new Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic or receive care from a University of Delaware-trained SLP.”

Article by Dante LaPenta