Laurie Boni received her bachelor of science in speech-language pathology at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln and her master of science in speech-language pathology at the University at Nebraska, Omaha. Boni completes 30 hours of continuing education every three years, and she discovers the courses through the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA), mailings, and online searches. Laurie chooses continuing education units based on both her interests and requirements of her current job. Lastly, Laurie explained that Massachusetts has different state license continuing education hours than ASHA; Massachusetts requires 20 and ASHA requires 30, but some of the continuing education courses may count for both governing …show more content…
On a daily basis, Boni juggles a multitude of tasks and responsibilities that appeal to me. Some of her responsibilities include providing direct services to students in individual and group sessions, which requires the planning and preparation of therapy materials. Additionally, Boni collaborates with other professionals, including occupational therapists and physical therapists, especially when working with her students receiving special education services. She also conducts testing and evaluation of students and participates in Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings.
One interesting aspect of Laurie’s job was the diversity of disorders and delays; it was interesting to see the broad caseload that a school provided. In addition, the sessions were enjoyable for the kids and creative but also individualized to each child’s age and disorder. The most enjoyable part of observing Laurie was watching her interact and connect with the children who have autism. She was able to engage the children in fun ways and elicit speech and language. Laurie seemed to truly care about the children and made them feel important, productive, and smart, which appeared to increase their