When I envisioned graduate school, I never imagined that my mother would be sitting at the desk next to me.
My mom had been a speech-language pathology assistant (SLPA) for 13 years. From the age of 12, I shadowed her at the preschool where she worked during the summers. The children lit up with excitement when it was their turn to see Ms. Rachelle. In my second summer, I was amazed at the speech-language gains the children had made over the previous school year, and their pride in that progress. I knew I wanted to be in speech-language pathology, too.
The right choice
As an undergraduate in Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of New Hampshire, I knew immediately I had made the right choice. I was passionate about my language acquisition and neurology classes and applying what I learned to my research in childhood apraxia of speech. I would eagerly call my mom to share what I had learned. We discussed everything from class projects to new treatment approaches, and I gained her valuable perspective about integrating theory into treatment sessions.
When I was a senior and began the grad school application process, I broached a question I had been thinking about for years. I asked my mom, “Why don’t you come back to school with me?” Her initial reaction was shock, then dismissal. She said things like, “It’s been too long since I’ve been in school” and “I’m too old.” I encouraged her and reminded her of the inspiring, competent clinician I had shadowed. I enticed her with visions of getting coffee together before class and studying together for exams. Eventually, with much persuasion, she agreed—and our journey together at UNH began.
Good memories
Our first year was difficult. Managing classes and clinical expectations was stressful. Mom would stay overnight at my apartment near campus after late nights of classes and studying rather than drive an hour home. However, those times also created some of my fondest memories—whether it was her taking off her shoe to show the class a good example of appropriate footwear for clinic (which still makes me laugh!) or sharing a whole bag of Doritos after a particularly hard exam. Our fellow students viewed her as the “class mom” who often provided support and snacks.
We graduated in May. I am now a clinical fellow at a multidisciplinary private practice, working with children ages 2–10, and my mom is a clinical fellow in a school. I’m excited for the next steps we’re each taking in our professional careers—Mom working in a school, and me perhaps returning to school to study childhood apraxia of speech—but I will miss the time we spent together. There is something about doing something difficult with someone you love. It drew us closer than I ever would have expected, and I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything.
Madison May, MS, CF-SLP, is a clinical fellow at Capital Kids Therapies in Concord, New Hampshire, a multidisciplinary outpatient practice. Her mother, Rachelle Smith, MS, CF-SLP, is a clinical fellow with Boothby Therapy Services (in Laconia, New Hampshire), which provides services to schools.
