The education system is full of superheroes, but not all of them are standing in front of a classroom every day. Some of them work behind the scenes and do important jobs to keep that educational train rolling. Lindsay Arminio, the speech language pathologist at Ridgeway Elementary, is one of those kinds of heroes.
Lindsay was exposed to the world of speech language pathology early in life. When she was four, her grandfather was diagnosed with throat cancer and he had to have a laryngectomy. Lindsay grew up hearing her grandfather speak through an electrolarynx. Later on, when she was 12 years old, her other grandfather was diagnosed with leukoplakia and he also had to have a laryngectomy.
“It’s very rare to have one, but to have both of my grandfathers was unsual,” Lindsay said.
She remembered her family having to bring in a speech language pathologist to help her grandfather learn to speak through the electrolarynx. This caused her to consider a career in speech language pathology.
“I was very fascinated by that part of speech, but when I got into it, it scared me to death because not everybody speaks with an electrolarynx,” she said.
Lindsay went to Miami University, and counts herself very fortunate to have been given the experiences in speech pathology that she was while attending. She is one of the last three students to participate in an internship during the undergraduate program. Students are now only permitted an internship in their second year of graduate school.
As an undergrad, Lindsay did her internship at University Hospital, where she practiced several different aspects of speech language pathology. While she enjoyed her time there, it wasn’t long before she learned where her true passion lay.
“I loved it, but in my heart of hearts I knew I always wanted to be in the schools,” she said..
She is currently the speech language pathologist for students ranging from kindergarten to sixth grade. She tackles issues regarding articulation and language structures. Issues with articulation can be caused by ear-related problems such as chronic ear infections or fluid retention. Having a letter distortion or a lisp is an example of articulation issues that could require speech intervention.
While providing therapy to her students, she finds it important to focus on positively reinforcing good behavior and hard work. One way she does this is by incorporating ‘speech dollars’ that can be used to buy prizes from Lindsay’s speech shop. Each student has a speech folder with an envelope in it. Every time they attend therapy, they have the opportunity to earn a speech dollar, as long as they remember to bring their folder, participate in the activities and remain on task for the duration.
“If I see any pushback, I ask if they want to lose their speech dollar for the day and instantly there will be a change,” said Lindsay.
In addition to working with the student, Lindsay feels it is just as important to maintain communication with their parents. Through her ipad, she is able to track the data for each session, and at the end she can send it to the parents by email to keep them in the loop on what is being worked on.
Lindsay knows the importance of keeping the door open for communication, and she maintains an open door policy.
“It can be a hard and confusing process to go through,” Lindsay said. “Communicate with me whenever you want, whatever you need.”
While she enjoys her students, she knows that ultimately the goal is to get them off of the IEP (individualized education program) and back on track with learning in the classroom.
“I care tremendously about all of my students and their progress,” she said. “More than anything, I want all of my children to succeed and not need me anymore.”
Lindsay is finishing up her 5th year teaching in Hamilton, and her 13th year overall.