If one experiences problems with hearing or speaking, there is a place close by to seek help. The on-campus Speech and Hearing Clinic offers a wide range of services to students and community members. Located in the Health and Human Services building, the clinic is open to all ages.
Donna Colcord, the director of the clinic, said the clinic sees anywhere from 50 to 60 speech language clients a week.
“Lots of individuals come in from the Bowling Green area and the surrounding area,” Colcord said, citing places like Findlay and Toledo.
The clinic offers diagnostic and therapeutic services for those who may struggle with speech, language and hearing. The clinic also acts as a training ground for speech-language pathologists who are at a master or a doctoral level.
“Graduate students are the individuals that provide speech therapy,” Colcord said.
Colcord said the students provide assessments and treatments while being supervised by the certified faculty and clinical staff.
There are a number of specializations to the clinic. The audiology clinic provides hearing tests as well as selling and repairing hearing aids. The clinic is frequented by an older population, having 25 to 35 patients a week. Led by Kimberly Traver and Susan Vining, the audiology clinic is open five days a week year-round.
The ROWing clinic helps individuals who struggle with reading, organizing, and writing, providing therapy sessions to help with those areas. Robin Monarch, who works in the ROWing clinic, explained that when students come in, it’s for a combination of reading, organizing and writing struggles instead of just one area.
The voice clinic offers assessment and treatment for voice disorders such as laryngitis, but also helps singers with performing voice issues. Therapy includes a customized voice treatment program.
The DaZy Aphasia Centre provides group and individual meetings for those struggling to communicate after a stroke or brain injury. On their site, the Centre says its mission is “to empower, enhance and enrich the lives of those with aphasia and to help them rediscover a new life.”
The clinic is a non-profit organization. Service fees go into maintaining clinic operations and purchasing materials. Fees can be adjusted based on income.
The Speech and Hearing clinic is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information or to schedule an appointment go to bgsu.edu/speechandhearing or call 419-372-2515. The Speech and Hearing Clinic can also be found on Facebook.
