We recently connected with Jacqueline Andrews and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jacqueline, thanks for joining us today. Can you share an anecdote or story from your schooling/training that you feel illustrates what the overall experience was like?
I attended the California State University, East Bay Speech, Language, Hearing Sciences program to receive my Masters in Science in Speech-Language Pathology. The program was rigorous! It combined classroom instruction, on site clinic work, as well as off campus internships to complete the well-rounded program. I have two vivid memories from working at the campus clinic. My first is the challenging professional report writing expectations one of the clinic directors had on all of her students. She required her clinicians to be so thorough, so precise in their reports that anything short of perfection would result in angry red marks all over your paper and an absolute fear of ever writing in the passive voice. My second fond memory was working with an adult patient at the clinic who had suffered a stroke resulting in a difficult diagnosis of Global Aphasia. His comprehension and verbal language were significantly impaired. Despite his struggles, he never wavered in his cheerful demeanor or his love of sports (basketball and football were often are topics of interest in therapy). Working with this client is the perfect summary of my training experience: challenging and fulfilling.

Jacqueline, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Jacqueline Andrews and I am the owner and therapist of Andrews Speech and Language. Andrews Speech and Language is a home-based, pediatric speech therapy company that provides speech and language therapy services to the children in the North County San Diego area.

I like to collaborate with parents and families throughout the therapy process to determine the goals that will be addressed during therapy as well as how to implement new skills into their daily routine. I pride myself on providing individualized services (and creative therapy activities) that are tailored to the child’s needs and interests.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
Collaboration is an absolute necessity in the field! Collaboration with the client as well as with their family is essential for success in therapy as well as for carry-over into the home environment. It is necessary to discuss what is important for the client to thrive in the family unit (for example, learning how to say their name or tell their parent “I love you”). It is also important to collaborate with the client’s other providers. It is not uncommon for a child to also receive behavioral services, occupational therapy, or physical therapy. In order to achieve a common goal, it is crucial for all the providers to work and problem solve together. Finally, it is important to engage in professional collaboration. Every client is so unique and sometimes as an SLP, we come across a behavior or profile that we haven’t seen before! In addition to research, it is a great resource to discuss assessment and treatment strategies for cases that are unfamiliar to us.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
Prior to starting my small business, Andrews Speech and Language, I worked at a few clinics and schools. Collectively, these were great experiences and taught me so much about the field. But, the burnout was real! The long days of back-to-back therapy sessions as well as the mountains of paperwork that had to be completed by the end of the day resulted in a very skewed work-life balance. I decided that a change was necessary. In order to provide the individual attention to each client and family that was needed as well as to have quality time with my own family, I decided to embark on my own.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://speechtherapyandrews.com/
• Other: Email: [email protected]