Communication Disorders Writing Plan

Audience Profile 

The typical aspiring ComD (Communication Disorders) student is female (generally speaking, though they definitely do not have to be). They take pre-requisite classes (human anatomy, statistics 121, and an entry level course), classes about anatomy (specifically focused on speech production and hearing ability), language classes (that dissect the components of language and how it is produced and received), and classes on different disorders and how they can be treated. They also take classes that provide an opportunity for experience in the field. Since field experience is part of the major requirements, doing it on your own before acceptance into the major is not really necessary nor does it give you an added advantage in the application process (not included on the application form at all). However, participating in internships, collaborative projects, or other extracurricular activities may benefit the student by giving them exposure and giving them an idea of what the field is like so that they don't do all the work to get into the major just to find out they don't like it at all. Personally, I major hopped a lot before I found Communication Disorders and it was because I was pursuing avenues that I really didn't understand what the work entailed. I waited a while to see those fields in action and by the time I did, I found out that I didn't like it and that I had wasted so much time and money on classes that weren't going to help me graduate at all. So from my personal experience, I think volunteering and getting out there to see this field is a good thing just even if it doesn't necessarily help you apply or get through your education. Finally, students learn about and practice communication that is applicable to the field from the very first entry level ComD class on. The whole major is communication based so don't expect any delay in learning about how to effectively communicate in this field and applying such knowledge.

Context

The most meaningful context I can provide for this student is to truly convince them through the use of examples that effective communication is not something that one turns on and off. Effective communication isn't reserved for school and work, but is to be embedded in our very nature. That is what speech pathologists do. We are social beings and when an individual is unable in any way to effectively communicate, they are negatively affected. I will be most successful in this if I list the secondary effects that often accompany those with communication disorders. 

Rhetoric

Because speech pathology is the study of effective communication, there are many ideas about communication that I need to be careful to emphasize. Communication is:

• Part of our daily lives; thus, if it is in any way inhibited, there will be negative consequences for the individual's well-being.
• influenced by many outside factors. Learning to account for every possible variable is an important skill.
• different for everyone. The purpose of the major is progress and not necessarily perfection. Any sort of progress in helping a client overcome a disorder will greatly increase their quality of life and well-being.

In regards to specific persuasive strategies used within the field, most persuasion will take place with the family and insurance companies. This will be done in the form of precise documentation and researched evidence. Most clients will have problems with very basic communication (and persuasion, in my opinion, is a more advanced form of communication). Since we mainly help individuals increase their levels of basic communication, I am not too worried about overwhelming my audience with technical rhetorical jargon. 

History

With any field, passion always helps establish perspective. Especially within this field, where we are still learning so much about why there are certain disorders and how best to treat them, optimism and creativity is key. I think by using some of my sources to recent and distant history, I can portray the quest of humanity since the beginning with solving these disorders. Using history in this way, I think it will establish the importance of the work speech pathologists do and how extensive the implications of a communication disorder are.

Development Plan

Looking at what I have so far, I am mildly concerned about the length of my final paper. However, several ideas have come to me as to how I can add more detail and length while continually increasing the strength of my piece. Reading through my old blog posts, I found that in one I set up two scenarios that will affect almost everyone. The one regarded a parents role in identifying a communication disorder in a small child, and another where a child or grandchild is responsible for monitoring the decline of a parent/ grandparent and must decide if they require more assistance to learn how to safely talk and swallow as their body deteriorates. Because I feel that this is something that encompasses everyone (whether it be a situation they have witnessed, experienced, or can imagine), I feel like I can do more to develop those scenarios and do more to explain the process.

Because I really want to establish communication disorders as something that has always been around and something that affects all people, I want to start my paper by giving more examples of people throughout history who had speech disorders. This requires some more research on my part because I only retrieved four or five examples when researching for my last post; but, I think that will make a clearer point and further establish a clearer context for the reader.

The section I anticipating needing the most work is my rhetoric section. I know I was very general in my outline and need to further search for applications of course concepts (beyond the three I identified in a previous blog post. If I can find more than that, I want to).