02/22/2026
In 2003-2005, long before I had visions of being an SLP, I had the opportunity to work as a consultant in Alaska. Two of my assignments were in native villages off of Nome. I had to take the tiniest 5-seater planes over the most beautiful land to arrive at remote landing strips which each little village had. These villages obviously didn’t have hotels, so l either stayed with a native family or in a school. I literally ate, worked, and slept with the families. They would have 3-4 generations living under one roof. The stories I heard. Oh the stories. I learned of their ancestors, their traditions, their food, their native language, their history, and most powerfully, their history of generational trauma from colonization and assimilation. An elder told me how they’d been beaten as children for speaking their native language in school. English only! They spoke of the void that infiltrated and permeated their people as their culture and language were torn away from them.
These intimate experiences are ones that shaped me forever.
They truly taught me, a young, sheltered, privileged white girl from the burbs, that when you disrespect someone’s communication and culture, you disrespect the core of who they are. This was a message I continued to receive throughout my 20’s as I spent years in various countries. This message has shaped my career as an slp. The value I hold paramount in my clinical practice is to value the core of each human with whom I’m trusted to serve. It’s easy to say those words- I value the core of each human. But it’s more difficult, even painful at times, to actually do it. To assess our own biases and privilege. To truly see someone else, take the time to learn about them, understand them, and meet them where they are. Not where we want them to be. To respect and honor their values and pain, their struggles and triumphs, their culture and their language.
The gift of being a therapist means we are entrusted to hold space for all of these aspects of another human. I’m not sure if there’s anything more sacred.
