Making Communication Fun As A Speech-Language Pathologist
Kaillie Wark
Speech Language Pathologist
Making Communication Fun as a Speech-Language Pathologist
Kaillie Wark always loved working with sound, language, and music. Her journey to becoming a therapist grew out of her time as a musician and still touches her work today.
“I started out primarily interested in the field of pediatrics, using music to help kids build their social connections and communication skills within our sessions. After working with music therapy professionals in the field for a while, I realized that what was really interesting to me was working with kids who had communication needs.”
From there, Kaillie became more involved with speech therapy and speech-language pathology. Her driving desire was to help kids use their voice to express themselves and communicate.
“It’s our goal as therapists is to really get to know the families we work with…”
Kaillie’s Story
“After realizing that my path was really focused on speech therapy and communication, I started to subcontract at a speech therapy clinic. I co-taught and coached with speech therapists at a hospital. I realized that speech-language pathology was something that I had to do.”
Kaillie earned a graduate degree in Speech Pathology from Marquette University. She found ways to integrate her love of musical expression into her therapy approach, even using music at times to help the kids she worked with transition between activities, solidify new concepts, and focus on their tasks at hand.
“Music and language are so intertwined that one really leads into the other. It’s been such a privilege for me to take something I was passionate about and develop it into a career. Speech-language pathology was a natural progression for my journey and even better yet, I still get to work with children and use my passion to help them.”
Even when music isn’t involved in a session, Kaillie still loves to find new ways to connect and communicate with each child.
During her clinical fellowship at Lurie Children’s Hospital, she gained specialized training working with families and their children with speech, language and resonance disorders. She work collaborating with other health care professionals within multidisciplinary clinics including Cleft / Craniofacial Clinic, 22q.11.2 Deletion Clinic, and Velopharyngeal Insufficiency Clinic.
“A typical speech-language therapy session with me is play-based and collaborative. The child and I select toys and books that are motivating and engaging for them. We talk about what they’re doing and model language. Sometimes we sing familiar songs and I help them manipulate the songs to target their speech and language goals.”
Therapy may involve reading, talking, imitating sounds, singing, or throwing a ball back and forth while playing speech routine games. An act as simple as saying, “go!” or vocalizing when rolling a ball helps kids to develop and solidify their communication skills. Best of all? Therapy becomes fun!
In her free time, Kaillie loves practicing yoga, which incorporates some of the playfulness she brings to her therapy practice. Yoga also helps Kaillie stay flexible when she’s working with small kids at floor level. She has a cat and a dog who she’s training on agility—bringing more play and fun into all their lives.
“A typical speech-language therapy session with me is play-based and collaborative.”
Working with Kaillie and M Street
While Kaillie doesn’t integrate music therapy into all her speech sessions, she’s found that her love of music is one of the ways she builds a rapport with the families she works with at M Street.
“As an M Street therapist, I really get to connect with families and find the different things they’re excited about. Some families like to sing with their kids, some play instruments together. Other families I’ve worked with are just trying to find new ways to communicate together. It’s our goal as therapists to really get to know the families we work with and meet them at their level, wherever that is.”
At M Street, therapists work with kids in their homes, rather than a clinic setting. This presents the unique opportunity to see how each child interacts with their family and siblings. This information is then used to form a child’s therapy plan.
There are many advantages to working with a child in their home setting. Therapists like Kaillie can observe what the child is drawn to, how they interact with their siblings, and how to better tailor their therapy to their specific needs.
“It’s wonderful to see what the child’s play actually looks like; what their language actually looks like with their own materials. That gives us a strong base and we can bring in supplemental materials to compliment what they’re already doing. In this way, we sometimes see progress a little faster,” says Kaillie.
“A typical speech-language session begins by talking to parents about their priorities and concerns. This helps determine our focus during therapy sessions. We also go over any changes since our last session and updates they’d like to share. I go over my plan for the session and our priorities and goals for the day.”
Goals may include helping a child communicate his or her wants or needs. Kaillie demonstrates some strategies during the play session as she works with the child. Being in the home, she’s able to use the child’s toys and familiar items to enhance therapy. This makes at-home practice easier for parents as well. Parents work with their children in the session and Kaillie discusses what she’s noticing. Then parents try the same strategies over the week.
“I always want the parents to feel that they fully understand what we’re doing and why. That way, they can easily try it themselves when I’m not there.” After the session, Kaillie reviews the work with the parents, sets goals for the next week, and reviews the child’s progression.
“My favorite part about being a pediatric speech-language pathologist is helping children to participate in everyday activities with their loved ones …”
Helping Kids Communicate
“My favorite part about being a pediatric speech-language pathologist is helping children to participate in everyday activities with their loved ones by improving their communication skills. I’m passionate about providing parents with the tools and strategies within therapy sessions so they feel empowered to help their child develop their skills,” says Kaillie.
Kaillie loves working with children. “I find that when I’m working with kids, I’m just so excited to wake up every day. I get to play with them, see what they’ve been working on. It’s so rewarding, and it really drives me forward.”
Kaillie enjoys working with all the children in her practice. She’s found that children with language delays often make progress quickly in therapy, which is very exciting. Often, it’s simply a matter of learning to communicate with the child differently or help them make requests in a different way.
Working with very young children in their family’s homes provides the benefit of really getting a clear picture of the child’s day-to-day life. She also works with children in daycare settings, which gives another layer and perspective to the therapy. This includes engaging them with play at daycare, enjoying meals with them, and working with kids during their learning and activities.
“When I’m working with children on following two-step directions, for example, it’s so helpful to be in their classroom setting at daycare. Rather than offering contrived directions in an office or pull-out situation, I’m able to see exactly what situations they’re regularly encountering, talk to their teachers, and help them learn how to navigate.” This 360-degree view helps Kaillie really connect with her speech-language pathology kids.
Kaillie’s biggest strength as a therapist comes from using play and making her sessions fun. She works with parents to help them incorporate their strengths in the therapy. She makes a strong effort to really listen to parents’ concerns and find a way to help them easily incorporate therapy into their day-to-day activities so they can find success.
“I love the opportunity to connect with new kiddos and their families every day. This is truly what I am meant to do, and I love my job,” Kaillie says of her work at M Street.
“As an M Street therapist, I really get to connect with families...”