Speech-language clinic helps kids find their voice

Linda Baker and Abby Marroon recently met for the first time, though Marroon has known Baker’s son, 4-year-old Monty Manley, for nearly a year. Marroon, a graduate student in the Master of Speech-Language Pathology program at Metropolitan State University of Denver, worked with Monty from June to December last year at the Auraria Early Learning Center as part of the Bookhardt Family Speech-Language Clinic. Marroon said she noticed a significant improvement in the boy’s speech during that time.

“When I started with him, some frustrations were still there, and he was talking, but his intelligibility was lower,” Marroon said. “Now, you can understand him.”

Baker agreed.

“When we first started with the clinic, he was barely speaking at all,” she said. “Now, he speaks in full sentences, his pronunciation is wonderful and communication — and the reduction of frustration at home — has improved so much.”

The Bookhardt Family Speech-Language Clinic is a key part of MSU Denver’s Speech, Language, Hearing Sciences graduate program. It allows students to provide free services to people of all ages under the supervision of licensed speech-language pathologists.

“We started right away with kids, and that’s one of the things this program here at MSU Denver does,” Marroon said. “I was literally in class trying to learn everything while thinking, ‘All right, let’s figure out what to do with Monty!’”

The clinic’s partnership with the Auraria Early Learning Center enables students to work with children in both small groups and individual settings. At the same time, it offers a much-needed affordable child-care option to students and faculty and staff members on the Auraria Campus and the wider Denver population who are parents of young children. The center offers full-time programs for children from 12 months to 5 years old and serves the Auraria Campus and Denver on a space-available basis.

The partnership began in January 2023, shortly after the launch of the master’s program. Students in the program complete at least two semesters of required clinic work at the center before moving on to external clinics or the Bookhardt Clinic. Marroon said she appreciates the convenience of having clinics on campus and being able to move between classes and sessions.

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This collaboration also benefits families such as Baker’s by offering early detection and therapy for speech and hearing problems during hours when parents are at work and the master’s students are on campus, allowing children to integrate therapy into their daily routines. “It is so easy. He is not disrupted in his day, and he looks forward to it,” said Baker, whose older son also attended the Early Learning Center when he was a preschooler.

Monty now teaches his parents new words and shares what he learns during his sessions. Baker said she is grateful for the partnership between the clinic and the center. As a psychologist, she understands the value of students gaining real-world experience, which is why she supports the program. Baker sees her own clients in a private practice in Denver.

“In my profession, I was also an intern for a long time, and I remember people being hesitant with interns,” Baker said. “From my perspective, you get a double eye on everything with people who are invested in doing things right because they are learning. It has been great on our end.”

For Marroon, the experience aligns with her goal of helping others. “That is all I ever wanted to do: helping kids find their voices,” she said.

She also appreciates the support system of her classmates and instructors. “The community in the program itself is really awesome,” she said.