We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Danielle Moore a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Danielle , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
My father’s belief that there is goodness in everyone and that volunteering and giving back to the community has truly been a North Star for me in my career. I went into a helping profession because my father was a Social Worker in New York State after living in a home for children most of his childhood and teen years. I knew I had to follow in his footsteps of working in a profession where I would connect with others. Although I initially started out majoring in Biology, I could feel that I was missing that “human aspect” and was feeling unfulfilled in a white coat staring into a microscope. I called my parents Sophomore Year in my Undergraduate Degree and they told me to follow my heart, and I did! Right to the Speech and Language Pathology Department at the college I was already enrolled in.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I am a Speech and Language Pathologist (SLP) which is somewhat of a confusing title! Although those in my profession do help individuals with their speech production and articulation, our profession encompasses so much more than just that! You can find an SLP in a hospital setting, working with patients post stroke or after a traumatic brain injury. You can find an SLP teaching a class as a Professor at a University on language development or stuttering. You can find an SLP in a classroom with a group of high school students who need help developing critical thinking skills and reading Shakespeare’s MacBeth. My team and I at The Language Group work in a private practice setting. We are an all female team and we care for individuals ages 15 months through adulthood. At The Language Group, we work with children, teens and adults on executive functioning skills, study skills, language development, and help people improve their reading and writing. We run small social skills groups for elementary aged students who need to practice socializing in a group. We run Adult Executive Functioning Groups for young men have difficulty with planning, organizing, prioritizing goals and emotional regulation and control. Our field is diverse and broad and at The Language Group we are committed to caring for the whole child.
Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?
I would absolutely choose the same profession if I had to do it all again. Working closely with families as they create goals for their children or themselves to help with challenges that diagnoses like ADHD, Dyslexia or other Learning Disabilities bring is so rewarding. Watching a student struggle with writing and then seeing the lightbulb go off, or bringing home that first A grade in English or Language Arts; there is no feeling like it in the world to see someone reach a goal that they have been struggling to obtain. Students with ADHD are often so incredibly bright and look at the world in such an amazing and unique way that it is always a reward to go to work with such hard working students who are just trying to be their very best selves.
Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?
Success in the field of Speech Language Pathology requires flexibility. Especially after COVID -19 and pivoting 100% to a virtual method of taking care of families, you have to be ready to acknowledge the person in front of you, their struggles, their pride that makes them not want to ask for help, and listen with an open heart. Sometimes you have an amazing lesson plan or idea for a language therapy session and a student comes to you with an entirely different need on that day and being flexible allows you to meet that individual where they are.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thelanguagegroup.org
- Instagram: @thelanguagegroupatl
- Facebook: The Language Group
