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Venturing beyond the walls of the Miller Speech & Hearing Clinic,
students in the Communication Sciences & Disorders program are
playing and learning at KinderFrogs, the early-childhood program
that serves young children with disabilities in the Fort Worth
community. The children range in age from 18 months to 6 years, and
many have Down syndrome. KinderFrogs is one of two laboratory
schools for TCU’s College of Education.
Lynita Yarbrough, clinical instructor, supervises the clinical
practicum program for students in speech-language pathology. “My
approach has been to provide integrated services for the children
by collaborating with the teachers daily and using the established
curriculums as I target their individual communication goals,”
said Yarbrough.
“The collaboration between KinderFrogs and the Miller Speech
& Hearing Clinic has created opportunities for interprofessional
education for students majoring in speech-language pathology,” said
Christopher Watts, chair of the COSD department. “Undergraduate
and graduate students are learning to work with classroom
teachers to integrate curriculum needs with individual speech, oral
and motor goals of children with speech, language and feeding/
swallowing impairments.”
Speech-language pathology students who take a semester-long
clinical practicum provide therapy (with Yarbrough’s guidance) with
the same two children several days each week. The SLP students take
baselines, set goals, implement therapy and chart progress for their
assigned KinderFrogs. They also conduct group therapy sessions
(with Yarbrough) weekly.
The SLP students have specific expectations regarding independence
in the planning process and execution of services based on their
level in the program. Graduate students may be assigned to work
with children who present with more severe communication
impairments.
“This type of experience, where speech-language pathologists work
in the classroomwith teachers in a pre-school for children with Down
syndrome, is unique,” said Watts. “It may be the only on-campus
facility in the world where this specific form of interprofessional
education is taking place between speech-language pathology and
education.”
KinderFrogs offers a diverse clinical experience for TCU student
clinicians because it provides speech and language therapy to a
specialized population within the environment of a laboratory
school. Student clinicians are able to see how the integrated therapy
model taught in COSD classes works by participating in hands-on
clinical experience. They communicate with and provide therapy
conjointly through special education and adaptive PE teachers,
along with occupational and physical therapists, parents, students
and student volunteers from other disciplines.
A LESSON
FROM KINDERFROGS
By Andrea Hein
Senior Delisa Gross and Lynita Yarbrough
work with KinderFrog student Max
Photo by Amy Peterson
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