Hearing And Speech Clinic Eager To Help Those In Need

May is a month for celebrating at the University Hearing and Speech Clinic.

For one thing, May is Better Speech and Hearing Month. For another, students at the clinic recently took their last final exam of the school year.

Eastern Washington University’s Department of Communication Disorders and Washington State University’s Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences combined to create the clinic in 1989, located on the sixth floor of the Farm Credit Bank Building at 601 W. First.

Students in the cooperative health education program earn master’s degrees in speech and language pathology or audiology sciences that deal with speech, language and hearing disorders. There are about 100 students in the program.

The graduate training center provides services to people suffering from a number of different speech disorders including language, articulation and voice disorders, stuttering, autism and accent re-education for those learning English as a second language. The clinic also tests and dispenses hearing aids.

All services are provided by students, who are observed by faculty mentors. “Our staff has a wide variety of expertise,” said Doreen Evans, Clinic Director, who is also a speech and hearing pathologist.

Many clients are referred to the clinic from doctors and hospitals for second opinions because the clinic has a good reputation, Evans said. Eleven faculty members hold doctorates, and eight have master’s degrees.

Patients are also referred to the graduate students if they cannot afford full payment at a hospital or doctor’s office. Clinic services are available at lower cost or sliding scale fees.

“We provide speech, language and hearing services for the uninsured or underinsured,” said Evans.

Other advantages of the clinic include the fact that students can spend all the time they need with patients; they don’t have to worry about getting patients in and out quickly. They are also very involved with the community.

“I completed my undergraduate at the University of Washington and one of the first things I noticed (here) was how involved with the community we are,” said Brian Vanderstoep, a first-year student in the program. “We get real-world experience quickly.”

Vanderstoep plans to spend his summer doing home health care, accompanying therapists into private homes. Other students and faculty also serve the community by providing free hearing and speech screenings and education outside the clinic.

Clients with a variety of speech, hearing and language disorders use the clinic. However, students are eager to gain experience with new patients who suffer from voice and fluency problems, and stroke-related ailments.

The University Hearing and Speech Clinic is located in the Farm Credit Building at 601 W. First. It is open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-6 p.m., but follows the University calendar. It will be open for 10 weeks during the summer. For more information, please call 358-7580.

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