NSSLHA Walk for Children with Apraxia
College of Health Sciences
The Department of Communicative Disorders operates the Central Mississippi Speech, Language, and Hearing Clinic to facilitate the clinical education of students in speech-language pathology, facilitate faculty-student research, and to provide services to person with speech, language, cognitive, swallowing and/or hearing disorders in Jackson and the surrounding counties.
NSSLHA Walk for Children with Apraxia 2015
In November 2014, Justin LeWinter of the Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association (CASANA) reached out to National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA) JSU Undergraduate Chapter via Facebook to inquire about the possibility of NSSLHA organizing a Walk for Apraxia event in the area. Mr. LeWinter indicated that CASANA had a walk in Brookhaven, MS a few years ago but that they hadn’t had any other awareness activities in the state of Mississippi since that event. Dr. Celeste Parker, faculty advisor for NSSLHA, enthusiastically accepted the challenge and immediately turned to two undergradute NSSLHA members, Khylah Goree and Brandi Jones, to assist with the planning of the event. Nearly a year later, in October 2015 all of the planning for the first walk in Jackson came to fruition.
The 2015 Jackson, MS Walk for Children with Apraxia of Speech event was held on Saturday, October 3rd at the Education and Research Center of Mississippi. The group set a goal to raise $3000 and surpassed that goal. All proceeds raised benefit important apraxia programs and research. Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is a very challenging and complicated neurological speech disorder in children. This disorder makes it difficult or impossible for children to accurately produce sounds, syllables, and/or words despite having a good understanding of language. The Walk for Children with Apraxia of Speech® is held across the country as a means to heighten awareness and funding.
The Undergraduate and Graduate Chapters of NSSLHA wanted to coordinate this walk in Jackson because it has never been done before and we wanted to be trailblazers in bringing awareness to the metro area. The faculty advisor, along with the other Communicative Disorders Faculty inspired the Jackson State University Communicative Disorders students and community to come together to raise awareness of Childhood Apraxia of Speech. With the help of the current President and Vice-President of the NSSLHA Undergraduate Chapter who also served as the walk Co-Coordinator and Coordinator, the walk was a success. The goal of NSSLHA was to make a difference in the lives of those we serve. One of the shining stars highlighted during the walk was a child that is serviced in the Communicative Disorders clinic, the Central Mississippi Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic.
For more information on Childhood Apraxia of Speech, please visit: http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/ChildhoodApraxia/
For more information about CASANA, please visit: http://www.apraxia-kids.org/
For more information about the Jackson State University Department of Communicative Disorders Central Mississippi Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic, please visit:
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
Preparing Professionals
The mission of the Communicative Disorders program is to provide quality education to pre-professional and graduate students from diverse populations who are majoring in Communicative Disorders by offering educational experiences that require the application of knowledge of normal and abnormal communication, critical thinking, data analysis, the use of professional oral and written communication, and the infusion of technology, when possible, for the prevention, assessment and intervention of communication disorders
LEARN BY DOING
The program in graduate education will guide graduate students to: (a) acquire the knowledge and develop the skills, competencies and attitudes that are essential for the prevention, assessment and intervention of communicative disorders, and the safe, effective, and efficient practice of entry-level speech-language pathology, (b) develop the ability to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate data, and to conduct research, (c) provide professional and public service to local, state, national, and world communities, (d) continue their professional growth by exploring developments in the profession and learning new models of prevention, assessment and intervention, and (e) develop an understanding and appreciation of ethnic and cultural diversity on normal and disordered communication.
“Challenging Minds, Changing Lives.”
APPLY YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Gain real-world experience expanding outside of the classroom. Learn how to succeed by facing real challenges within the community.
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
Communicative Disorders majors have a plethora of career options:
| Speech Language Pathologist | Behavior Technician | Speech Pathologist Assistant | Speech Therapist |
| Clinical Intake Specialist | Medical Office Manager | Residential Counselor | Personal Care Assistant |
CLINIC
The Department of Communicative Disorders at Jackson State University (JSU) operates the Central Mississippi Speech-Language and Hearing Clinic (CMSLHC). The CMSLHC provides prevention, assessment, and treatment services for adults and children with speech, language, and hearing disorders.
Want to learn more? Click below to view our clinic.
PERSONNEL
READY TO JOIN?
For more information, please contact us at (601) 979-1143. We look forward to meeting with you and seeing how our program can help you achieve your goals.
