Upgraded therapy rooms, a language sensory center and new research labs are highlights of the Speech-Language and Hearing Clinic’s new site at Texas Woman’s University.

Under construction since August, the clinic will offer a variety of services to the community, including assessment and intervention for children and adults who have voice disorders, language impairment or hearing problems.

The clinic is scheduled to open Friday on the sixth floor of the Multipurpose Classroom Building, Room 601.

The new site and upgraded facility “means a lot because we can provide better services to the community,” said Dr. Laura Moorer-Cook, program director for the on-campus venue of the Speech Language Pathology Program.

DRC/David Minton

Sammy Schlossin, 9, gets help from Texas Woman's University graduate student Avie Nikolopoulos during a speech therapy session at the university’s Speech-Language and Hearing Clinic recently.

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The new clinic will continue to offer services to as many as 40-50 clients per semester. The staff is comprised of 10-12 graduate students who train under the supervision of American Speech-Language-Hearing Association certified and licensed speech-language pathologists and audiologists on the TWU faculty.

Melissa Stockholm, clinic director and assistant clinical professor at the university, said the new facility is state of the art and offers more interaction between parents and staff.

“Our parents will be able to come and observe,” she said. “This is a plus that they will enjoy: They will be able to watch the therapy session.”

Moorer-Cook explained that in the previous location there was an observation room available but it had small televisions and video cassette players.

 “We did a big upgrade,” Moorer-Cook said. “Now we have bigger screens for parents to watch on, and we are all on computers.”

Since the clinic, which has been in service since 1952, also is a teaching facility, graduate students will have more resources at the new site to continue their hands-on work. 

DRC/David Minton

Observation rooms allow parents to follow their children’s therapy sessions via video and audio feeds at Texas Woman’s University’s Speech-Language and Hearing Clinic.

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“The old clinic was old; it was not representative of the work we do here,” said Leah Cinalli, a graduate student at TWU. “It is nice that we now physically look the way we act here. Our clients will be able to appreciate it.”

In addition to separate observation rooms, the 4,500-square-foot clinic now has faculty offices, new research labs, computer labs, five therapy rooms, two classrooms, a language sensory center, a larger materials room for each therapy addressed at the clinic as well as a soundproof audiology booth to test and screen hearing.

TWU students pay a small fee and get a discounted rate for clinic services, and parents who have more than one child also get a discount, Stockholm said.

For many years, the clinic has provided services to local pediatricians.

In addition, clinic staff members have participated in community health fairs, where they offer referrals to adults and children who need further treatment.

“Sometimes we have to talk to parents about the difficulties their children have. Communication is part of our everyday life, and when they are not able to communicate effectively, [it] can be frustrating,” Moorer-Cook said. “We want to help them communicate adequately and appropriately.”

KARINA RAMÍREZ can be reached at 940-566-6878. Her e-mail address is kramirez@dentonrc.com.

IF YOU GO

What: celebration for the Texas Woman’s University Speech-Language and Hearing Clinic

Where: Multipurpose Classroom Building, Room 601

When: 2 to 5 p.m. Friday