Staff Spotlight - Meet our newest Intern: Allison Lambert

 

Hello, everyone! My name is Allison Lambert. I recently graduated from Indiana State University with a B.S. in speech-language pathology and a minor in counseling. I am from a small town in southern Indiana called Washington. Yes, it is nothing but farmers and corn. I have exciting plans for the future. I am attending graduate school at ISU for my M.S. in communication disorders come August. I cannot wait to be a CCC-SLP! Why were you interested in interning with the Center? I originally became interested in interning here because of the lack of knowledge over Early Intervention from my studies. I felt there were large communities of individuals who are not receiving the proper care they deserve. Within my education, there were hardly any discussions over EI and the benefits created. Not to mention the fact that deaf and hard of hearing EI is rarely talked about. What are some things you have learned about early intervention for children who are deaf/hard of hearing from your time at the Center? While being here, I have learned a great deal about EI for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. I learned no two children are the same, no two families are the same, and no two IFSPs are the same. Every child is different and deserves the best care for their unique situations. One of the greatest lessons I learned was that family is at the center of it all. The family-centered approach allows for every single member of the family to feel included and a part of the journey. Everyone is in it together. What has been your favorite part of the internship? My favorite part of this internship is the exact thing people run from: discomfort. The discomfort comes from not knowing how to interact with the deaf and hard of hearing community because of the lack of understanding of their culture. Most people will turn from what they do not know and stick to what they do. Although I do not know ASL, I have grown a fire in me to help advocate for the deaf and hard of hearing communities to receive equal access to language. While being here, my education on such topic has grown tremendously. The staff I interact with daily have become some of the wisest educators. Their drive and passion for what they do has inspired me to reach out to my cohort to gravitate them to EI. This internship has solidified my dream of being an EI SLP in the future. Any advice you’d give to other speech-language pathology students? Get out of your comfort zone! Go for the uncomfortable! You may think you want to follow one path, but until you try different roles and responsibilities, you never know what you truly want. I always wanted to be a medical SLP in a hospital. Now, everything has changed. My supervisor, Cindy Lawrence, who has granted me all the opportunities to venture into many new roles and responsibilities once said, “Working in EI will allow you to wear many hats.” I want to be the person who wears many hats.