Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/89477
FTCC Offers Speech-Language Pathology Assistant Program by CHARISSE GAINEY "Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with deeper meaning." — Maya Angelou professionals in the field of Speech-Language Pathology to help "infuse them with deeper mean- ing." Fayetteville Technical Community College (FTCC) embraced this concept and established its Speech-Language Pathology Assistant program in 1997. FTCC is proud to be one of two schools in North Carolina that continues to offer this type of program. A Speech Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA) is a person who assists a licensed Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) in a variety of areas including: conducting screenings, implementing therapy in the areas of receptive and expressive language, articulation, fluency, augmentative/al- ternative communication and oral motor skills, as well as preparing materials for therapy, schedul- ing patients for therapy, and maintaining files and equipment, to say the least. To ensure students have an early opportunity for It is the aspiration of professionals and para- and early reading abilities in preschool and elementary school (Hammer et al, 2010). SLP-Assistants are paving the way to support licensed SLPs to serve individuals with communication disorders. When asked what sets this program apart from other health programs, two of the current students stated, "Our program is one that is designed to impact people's way of life — which is communication," and "We as hu- mans rely on communication as our driving tool for conveying detailed descriptions of our inner- most thoughts and emotions. The SLPA Program works to help give those that are hampered by speech and language difficulties the chance to improve if not overcome those obstacles. It al- lows them the chance to gain self-confidence and stand tall when they have something to say." Speech-Language Pathology Assistants are cur- the hands-on learning experience, the program has recently received an Early Intervention & Literacy grant that allows for students in the program to provide Speech Language screenings for N.C. Pre-K Program recipients in childcare centers across Cumberland County. According to Hammer et al (2010), preschoolers' oral language abilities have been found to predict their reading outcomes in kindergarten and first grade. In fact, their oral language has been identified as a key factor related to children's emergent Preschoolers' oral language abilities have been found to pre- dict their reading outcomes in kindergarten and first grade. information on Fayetteville Technical Community College's Speech-Language Pathology Assistant Program, contact Charisse Gainey, Department Chairperson, at (910) 678-8492. rently in high demand with career opportunities in school systems and private practices. The SLP- Assistant program at FTCC is strategically locat- ed directly above the Child Development Center. This allows for student learning with ongoing practical application of skills. Students who com- plete the program graduate with an associate's degree in applied science in Speech-Language Pathology Assisting. For more CHARISSE GAINEY, FTCC Depart- ment Chair, Speech Language Pathol- ogy Program. Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com Turning Defeat into Victory the William Friday Way by D.G. MARTIN President Emeritus, William Friday, once again turned a seeming defeat into a victory. It was, some were saying, just like Presidents Jefferson and Adams, dying on the same day, July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the na- tion's founding. Friday's death leaves the state with a vacancy in the role he played as the state's public elder who was wise and energetic, our trusted prophet and pastor. Friday did not become our state's prophet by divine ordination. He earned it through hard years of bruising struggles in the public arena. He did not always win, but he had an amazing ability to do two things: (1) turn apparent defeats into important and lasting victories, and (2) after even the bitterest battle, reach out and turn his oppo- nents into friends and allies in common endeavors. Here are some examples: • The 1961 crackdown on athletics. Some hard-core athletic fans may not have forgiven Friday for cancelling the Dixie Classic basket- ball tournament after several N.C. State players were implicated in a point-shaving scandal. Friday's controversial decision signaled that no matter how popular and profitable university athletics may be, they cannot be allowed to corrupt or supplant the university's mission of education and service. Friday's action also gave notice of his decisiveness and resolve. • The Speaker Ban Law of 1963. For all his friendships and political savvy, Friday was unable to stop the General Assembly from enacting the law that prohibited "known members" of the Communist Party from speaking on university campuses. Nor was he able to persuade the state's leadership to make a quick turnaround. But, in the end, his behind-the-scenes maneuvering helped bring down the law, leaving a widespread consensus on the value of free speech. • The 1971 merger of all the state's public colleges and universities into the University of North Carolina. People forget that bringing campuses into one state agency was not Friday's idea. In fact, he and his board fought against it. But when the decision was By dying on Oct 12, the 219th anniversary of the university's founding, UNC 16 UCW OCTOBER 24-30, 2012 made, Friday demanded excellence and provided the strong leadership that made our multi-campus state university the envy of every state in the union. His actions in tak- ing charge after the restructuring showed an effective administrative style. According to his biographer, William Link, "That style embodied the qualities of Friday's personality: gregariousness and sensitivity, idealism and cold-hearted efficiency, and unassuming accessibility and constant communication with the state and national power structure. Friday had an innate interest in people and an inherent ability to relate to them." • The establishment of a medical school at East Carolina University. William Friday new circumstances." • The long controversy with the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare over desegregation. Almost forgotten today, Link writes, "Managing the desegregation controversy became the greatest challenge of Bill Friday's leadership and certainly one of the gravest tests the University of North Carolina had encountered in its two centu- ries of existence." Once again, Friday's resiliency in responding to what could be characterized as a series of defeats, resulted in strengthening the university and solidifying his reputation for steady leadership. William Friday's victories are too numerous to mention. But it is his powerful example of turning defeats into lasting achievements that will al- ways inspire me. D.G. MARTIN Columnist. COM- MENTS? Editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com. WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Friday initially fought a new medical school there, but when he recog- nized its inevitability, according to Link, he determined to make it "as fine a school as you can make it." While pushing for adequate funding for ECU's medical school, he used the legislature's enhanced atten- tion to health education to fund expansion of the Chapel Hill medical school and the establishment of "the most ambitious AHEC (Area Health and Education Centers) program in the nation." Link writes that the ECU controversy demonstrated "Friday's ability to adapt to