THE BRAIN'S WHERE IT'S AT

Chris Style-Campion is the Speech and Language Pathologist here. I always thought someone who worked in speech and language assisted a person who had difficulty speaking. After talking to Chris, I discovered there is much more involved in her job the just helping someone improve their speech.

Chris always had an interest in the medical field but was not interested in becoming a physician. After working in several offices that offered physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy, Chris decided to pursue a career in Speech and Language Pathology.

Chris received her masters from the University of Maryland. She worked in her first job for three years. Chris has worked at this facility for three years. Before coming here she worked at another campus of this facility for six years

Much of the work Chris does involves helping residents who have Dysphagia. This condition is more commonly referred to as difficulty swallowing. Chris works with the dietitian to make changes in a resident's diet to help alleviate the issue.

Chris helps residents who have cognitive or memory difficulties following a stroke. If a person is experiencing difficulty speaking there are exercises to help. There are also exercises for someone whose tongue and lips might not be working properly,

Chris works with people who have voice disorders. If someone speaks too softly, Chris has them do breathing exercises. This helps them learn to use the muscles in their diaphragm. This gives them the ability to speak louder.

I don't see Chris professionally. I see her walking around carrying her laptop That's how she charts her patients. We talk almost every day. She makes me laugh.

Chris makes sure all the residents she sees can eat comfortably without incident. She always. checks on them.

Chris helps the brain get the messages it needs to enable a person to swallow without choking. To think more clearly. To speak more distinctly.

When it comes to speech and language the brain's where it's at./.