by Kaitlin Milliken
When it comes to her job, Katherine Choi says she feels most fulfilled when she helps her students communicate their wants and needs. That could be asking for a snack, or their iPad, or sharing their feelings with a loved-one.
Katherine is a speech-language pathologist, who aids people with speech or swallowing disorders. After getting her undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Katherine continued to pursue the field in a Master’s program at Worcester State University. Today, Katherine is a practicing clinician at a school for special needs students.
In this episode of the BOSFilipinos Podcast, Katherine shares the different ways she works with her students. She also discusses remote teaching in 2020, the factors that led her down this career path, and her life outside the classroom.
Listen to the full conversation below, or subscribe to our show on Apple Podcast, Google Play, Stitcher, and Spotify.
Transcript
[MUSIC]
Kaitlin Milliken: Hello, and welcome to the BOSFilipinos Podcast. I'm your host, Kaitlin Milliken, and this show is obviously made by BOSFilipinos.
In each episode of our podcast, we highlight a different aspect of Filipino life in the Greater Boston area. So today we’ll be profiling a member of that community: Katherine Choi. Katherine is a speech-language pathologist who lives in Malden.
If you’re like me maybe you don’t know much about speech-language pathology. Or anything. At all. Well it’s time for a quick definition. Speech-language pathology deals with a wide range of speech and swallowing disorders that affect people. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association that includes speech disorders, like stuttering, language disorders, like trouble sharing thoughts or ideas, or swallowing disorders caused by an injury — just to name a few.
Thank you so much, Catherine, for being on our show.
Katherine Choi: Of course, thanks for having me.
Kaitlin Milliken: Yeah, so I don't actually know very much about speech-language pathology. And I'm sure that some of our listeners, this may be a totally new field to them as well. Can you explain what that is for people who may not have heard the term until now?
Katherine Choi: Yeah, of course. So you're not the only one. And it actually even people that think they know what speech-pathology is don't necessarily know all the time, because it's such a wide field, which is kind of what attracted me to it. So it's about preventing, assessing, diagnosing, and treating, and all that goes into speech disorders, language disorders, social communication disorders, cognitive communication disorders, and swallowing disorders for children and adults. So it's really kind of all over the place. But it makes it interesting. And you can kind of, typically you'll find one avenue and you'll perfect those skills, but you're not really closed off to anything else. If down the line, your degree will still allow you to go into different areas of the field.
Kaitlin Milliken: Yeah. And since it is such a large field, is there a particular part of that field that you specialized in or are most passionate about?
Katherine Choi: Yeah, so before I got into my master's program, I was actually a speech assistant, at a school for students with autism. So that really, I was there for over six years. And I think that's really my expertise as of now. And that's similar to the field, the school that I'm in right now is also similar. I'm working with a similar population. So a lot of working on helping these students with severe special needs, learn to communicate, and really build up their language and vocabulary. And even within that, I really want to specialize in AAC, which is Augmentative Alternative Communication. So really helping my students who don't have natural speech, use iPads or designated devices to help them communicate their wants and needs.
Kaitlin Milliken: So you mentioned that you're currently working in a school and you were working in a school before that. Just on an average day, what type of things are you doing with the students you work with?
Katherine Choi: So it really depends on the student and my ages right now are between like second grade and fifth grade. And even within that, there's a lot of variation. So with one student, maybe I'm working on requesting, so I'm giving them a couple choices, and I'm having them say, “I want iPad,” or “I want Cheese-It,” so there's that end, and then there's other students I'm working on pronouns. So maybe I'll show them a picture or a video and ask them, “Alright, like, Who is it? What are they doing?” And we'll kind of work on building up their vocabulary, their grammar and their utterances. So maybe right now they can say, “Run,” and we want them to say, “The boy is running or he is running.”
Kaitlin Milliken: So when it comes to the students that you're working with, I know that there was probably a period of time where you were doing this work and it was remote. Are you still remote? Or are you going in? And does that change the way that you do your work?
Katherine Choi: So right now, I am doing a hybrid model. My school is doing a hybrid model. So I spend Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday mornings in-person, and then all the afternoons and Wednesday all day, I will be remote. And that's funny that you asked that because it's kind of something that's a little bit stressful, especially as a beginning clinician, because I'm not just making materials for my in-person sessions, the same students I'm seeing remotely. And it's a whole other set of activities and materials that I'm kind of having to curate and put together. So it's, it's definitely a little bit different.
Kaitlin Milliken: And when you're doing that type of work, especially when you're at home, is it one to one on Zoom? Or is it like more of a one to many type of situation where everyone's in gallery mode? What's that like?
Katherine Choi: Because of the population that I'm working with, most of my sessions are one to one in person and remote. All of my remote sessions are one to one. But actually, because a lot of my students need that extra support, it's my student and their parent or guardian with them really helping facilitate this session.
Kaitlin Milliken: I also want to just ask about what made you choose this field. So when did you decide that becoming a clinician and doing this type of work was for you?
Katherine Choi: I kind of fell into it. It kind of began back when I was entering undergrad undecided and not really knowing where I wanted to be. Growing up, I kind of wanted to be a teacher. I'm the oldest of five. So I feel like I was always that caretaker kind of role. And so that brought me towards speech pathology. And then when I was looking for what I wanted to do, I kind of thought back. Actually, both of my brothers needed speech therapy for speech delays. My sister has a stutter, and she had speech therapy. And actually, my grandfather had a stroke, and he had speech therapy after that. So even within my family, you can really see the range of the different areas that a speech therapist can really help with.
Kaitlin Milliken: Going about your job, what do you find particularly fulfilling about speech-language pathology, and the things that you work on?
Katherine Choi: Throughout my years working at my previous school, I think the biggest thing is when the parents come back to you, and they are so excited about the progress that your students are making, or you're working on this one goal for so long, and then you see this breakthrough, and really just helping my students communicate and get across their wants and needs. Because it's so essential. And I feel like a lot of people take it for granted.
Kaitlin Milliken: I always like to ask about stories, since I think in a lot of ways that helps make the understanding very concrete for people who may not have exposure to this world. Are there any moments that stick out to you in your clinical work with any of your students that you remember and reflect on when you think about the importance of what you're doing?
Katherine Choi: So there actually is one that I remember running home and telling my then boyfriend now husband that. So I had a student, and we had been working on conversation. So just kind of like, back and forth. “Hi, how are you?” “I'm good,” because it's a really hard thing to teach. Especially when I'm trying to prompt. If I'm trying to tell you to tell me to say hi, It can get a little confusing.
And I was working with a student and we were trying to just play and be a little creative. He was kind of in a downtime situation. And I knocked on the door that he was hiding behind and I said, “Hi.” And he just independently said, “Hi.” And I was like “Oh my god.” And I said, “How are you?” He said, “Good, how are you?” And it was just that moment of happiness that all of this time that I had spent, and we had worked together on these goals and to see it come in such a natural situation, I think I still think about that to this day. And just, it works.
Kaitlin Milliken: I didn't ask but I feel like it definitely should have, is there a particular age range that you're working with?
Katherine Choi: So I actually work at a school that's specifically for children, with students with these kinds of special needs. So the whole school gets speech therapy. But so there's actually three of us. So one speech therapist has the younger ages, one has the older ages, and I have the middle. So it's really second grade to fifth grade. But at my previous school, I worked with students from four to 21. So a wide range.
Kaitlin Milliken: What are some of the differences when you're working with a student who might be in that younger elementary school timeframe versus teenagers, early adults?
Katherine Choi: So I think the younger ages, typically, you're just trying to help them develop their basic communication and their basic language skills, but also, because of the nature of the disability, the age doesn't necessarily coincide with their functioning level. So, a lot of it is individualizing it for the student, but to what you're saying is the older kids, you might want to focus more on functional skills as far as having a job.
So at my previous school, we did a lot with prepping our students to go out into the community and work at a local grocery store or the mini-put down the street. And so if I was the speech pathologist for that case, I would be helping them to work on the vocab that's gonna apply to that. So the put-put, or the shovel that you're going to use to dig the rocks next to the put-put, and stuff like that.
Kaitlin Milliken: I'm going to pivot a little bit. I always ask folks about their lives outside of work just as we try and do a more holistic profile. So when you're not doing clinical work, what can be found doing in those other parts of your life?
Katherine Choi: I love hiking and being outside, especially in the current times when maybe other activities are not as accessible. And just spending time with family and friends and going to the drive-in or just hanging out grilling, I when the Patriots were having people in their stands, my husband and I would go to a lot of Patriots games and do the tailgating or stuff like that.
Kaitlin Milliken: Very nice. And obviously, you're Filipino American living in Massachusetts, sort of like the requirements to be on the show, I guess. We always ask people about their cultural experiences and their cultural identity. Can you talk a little bit about how you connect to your culture?
Katherine Choi: So my mom came over from the Philippines in the 80s. And she came over it at the time, I think a lot of Filipino nurses were coming over together to work. And she worked at a hospital called Jewish Memorial Hospital in Boston, and they actually had dorms specifically for the nurses to stay in. And I feel like that really helped my mom to make a lot of friends and really have a great support system. She's friends with a lot of those nurses still today.
And so I feel like that kind of led to as I was growing up, we would go to a lot of the Filipino parties and get all that great Filipino food and line dancing and all of that. So I feel like I'm really blessed in that way that we were able to grow up that way. Since my mom's a nurse, she's involved with a lot of the PNAANE. So Philippine Nurses Association of New England. She's actually up for President Elect. But so I feel like that has also led to... They would have events and my family would attend those events. So I feel like it's been a great way to really keep all of that culture right at our fingertips.
My family helps put together the Santa Niño festival at my church every year. So we help. We bring in the Filipino choir, and there's lots of Filipino food and Filipino dancers. And on a more personal note, I really try my best to really support any Filipino businesses that I can. If you saw my Instagram, you see that I'm following all of these Filipino groups. And I think it's really important to support the culture that we want to be around for everyone.
And I try to go back to the Philippines as much as I can too. I was there actually, right before all this craziness happened. So I saw my grandparents.
Kaitlin Milliken: Where is your family in the Philippines from? Where do you go when you visit?
Katherine Choi: So my mom grew up in Manila. But my family right now is in Marikina. So, Metro Manila.
Kaitlin Milliken: I think it's really interesting. I know a lot of folks who are Filipino, my family included, grow up in this healthcare setting. My grandma's a nurse, all of her sisters are either nurses or work in the hospital doing something adjacent to nursing. Do you think that that health care, more health leaning element influenced your decision to go into clinical work at all?
Katherine Choi: I think it definitely did. I thought about being a nurse way back when but I couldn't do the blood or the needles. But I think the fact that speech pathology does have that avenue to go into being a swallowing specialist and working with rehab facilities and stuff like that. I think it really helped push me in that direction.
Kaitlin Milliken: What's something that you wish everyone knew about the work that you do in speech-language pathology, that they may not know, like, something you want to stick in their minds after this podcast is over?
Katherine Choi: So as far as someone that wants to be in this field, when you're applying to grad schools, it can be really discouraging. I actually, when I was in my undergrad program, someone told me, my advisor told me that this isn’t the field for me, and that I should quit. So really, if someone is looking to get into this field, and they really want to help people don't get discouraged, and take the time to be a speech assistant, or whatever you need to if this is really where you want to help people, I think that you should just keep going and keep trying.
In general, especially in the political climate, there's a lot of talk about Joe Biden and his stutter. And I think that that is really important for people to know that he does have a stutter, and that he is doing amazing things, and that he should really be supported and people with stutters should really be supported, because it's not an easy thing.
Kaitlin Milliken: So when you were mentioning your advisor and them discouraging you from going in and getting your master's in this field, what were their reasons behind that?
Katherine Choi: So a lot of the graduate programs have really high GPA requirements. So I think the average across the field is probably a 3.8. And in undergrad, I wasn't as studious as maybe I should have been, and instead of guiding me towards the speech assistant route, or just kind of kind of helped me in other ways, they were just very not nice and...
Kaitlin Milliken: And a 3.8 is like a super high GPA. That's like very difficult to achieve.
Katherine Choi: And so that's kind of why I wanted to say, to make sure that people don't get discouraged because I'm here and I didn't have that 3.8. And I feel like this is where I was meant to be.
Kaitlin Milliken: I really thought it was interesting that you mentioned stuttering as well. I think that something that isn't necessarily understood unless someone researched it. You know, you might think that it's like... I'm trying to think about how to explain what I thought it was before learning about what it actually was...
Katherine Choi: Like many disorders, it's not the same for every person. So there are people that stutter, and they repeat the same syllable multiple times. But then even that same person, if they are familiar with a word that they know, they typically stutter on, a sound they typically stutter on, then maybe they're stopping and trying to think about what other word can I use to replace that word and trying to figure out if they learn different strategies about how to kind of take a breath and try to relax because a lot of the strategies that we teach people during stuttering therapy is relaxing and making sure that you are using your strategies, taking your breath. And a lot of people yeah, they just think that it's repeating a syllable a couple of times, and there's a lot more to it. And I encourage people to do the research and to make sure that they're informed about that before they make judgments.
Kaitlin Milliken: Thank you so much Katherine for taking the time to join us today.
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Kaitlin Milliken: This has been the BOSFilipinos Podcast. I'm your host, Kaitlin Milliken. Music for our show was made by Matt Garamella. Special thanks to Katherine for joining us and sharing her work. If you liked this episode of our show, you can subscribe to the BOSFilipinos Podcast on your streaming platform of choice. You can also follow us on Instagram, @bosfilipinos, to stay connected. Holiday season is officially upon us! So stay safe and let us know how you’ll be celebrating this year. And if you have ideas of what we should cover, you can let us know at bosfilipinos.com. Thanks for listening and see you soon.