Street-Tobin is a Clinical Educator in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders.
How long have you been at App State? I joined the App family in August 1991.
What is your role in this department? I am a Clinical Educator - Speech-Language Pathologist. I work at University Hall with my primary clinical work as Director of the Preschool Language Classroom. As Director, it is my responsibility to take referrals for the PLC and manage the enrollment. I attempted to enroll children with a variety of different communication disorders in order for the graduate clinicians to gain experience with a wide range of communication disorder types. I supervised the graduate student clinicians as they provided speech-language therapy in the natural context of daily classroom activities and play. I facilitated opportunities for interprofessional collaboration with service providers from Watauga County Schools, private occupational therapy or physical therapy providers, ASU music therapy program students, nutrition students and with peer graduate students in ASU’s speech-language pathology program.
Outside of the PLC, I worked with graduate clinicians providing speech-language therapy services to infants, toddlers, preschoolers and school age children. I also taught the It Takes Two to Talk- The Hanen Program for Parents from 1996 through 2014, and then again in 2020 via telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. I also served on the Autism Diagnostics Team, providing a limited number of evaluations to determine the presence or absence of autism.
I am retiring at the end of fall 2021, after a very rewarding 30 years of teaching and working as a Speech-Language Pathologist/Clinical Educator at Appalachian State University.
What do you find to be the most rewarding, and most challenging, aspects of your job? Working with the clients and the graduate student clinicians in the PLC is the most challenging and the most rewarding aspect of my job. Being a part of meaningful change in the lives of families who have children with communication disorders has been most rewarding. I have so many memories of my time working in the PLC that I will always cherish.
What prompted you to go into this field? I was introduced to the profession of Speech-Language Pathology when I took a Health-Related Professions course as an undergraduate at The University of Florida. I had previously explored a variety of business/marketing related majors that failed to capture my interest. When Speech-Language Pathology was introduced in the HRP course, I immediately knew I had found the career that was meant for me. The idea of helping children with communication resonated with me, and the rest is history!
What are your speciality areas within the field? Early intervention, preschool children, autism, apraxia.
What is one thing you’d like to tell your younger self, in high school or college? The days are long but the years are short. Now that I am at the end of my time at ASU, I can’t believe that it has really been 30 years here and 36 years in the profession. Where did the time go?
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working? Gardening, hiking, sipping wine, and most of all cherishing time with family and friends.
Sherry Street-Tobin
Sherry Street-Tobin