Anissa Meacham, M.S., CCC-SLP
 
 

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES

Summary
I graduated in 2002 with a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology. I worked for one year in rural WV public schools as an itinerant SLP for ages 3-21 years, and then I worked for over a year at a small, community hospital in southwestern Virginia with both adults and children. In August 2004, I began my doctoral studies as a full-time Ph.D. student in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. My doctoral specialization is pediatric language disorders, primarily birth to five years, and my secondary specialization is in pediatric feeding and swallowing disorders. Though the adult population is not my area of research, I have continued to maintain clinical skills in working with adults in stroke rehabilitation, mental retardation communicative issues, dementia management, voice therapy, and swallowing disorders.

Speech Geek
Speech Geek is my private practice, which will open in Abingdon, VA, in August 1, 2006 in the Virginia Highlands Small Business Incubator. The mission of Speech Geek is to honor God through helping children and adults in southwestern Virginia reach their communicative or nutritional potential,

  • by ensuring that each patient reaches his maximum functional potential in multiple environments,
  • by equipping each patient with the skills and knowledge needed to maintain that functional skill for years following treatment,
  • by establishing a productive therapist-patient partnership,
  • by providing the most efficient and effective services for Speech Geek customers, and
  • by being more than a presence but a partner with the community. 

Through Speech Geek, I plan to continue teaching and modeling best practices in speech-language pathology

  • for colleages, by creating continuing education opportunities for clinicians in rural practice, and
  • for graduate clinicians by offering them a variety of meaningful clinical experiences during clinical practica with my company.

Anissa's Resume in Adobe .pdf

Anissa the Clinician
As a therapist, I am inventive and energetic as well as purposeful and direct. Parents and professionals find me practical, approachable, and flexible. My overall approach to assessment and treatment planning is developmental and naturalistic. I believe that treatment should be family-centered and child-directed and that it will always involve some aspect of behavior management. Behavioral issues routinely need addressed before any real progress can be made toward treatment goals. Moreover, parents should feel just as invested in that behavioral intervention as they are in the overall plan of treatment. Communicative, and even nutritional, failure or success is too often inextricably linked with behavioral issues. Additionally, clinicians should not depend solely on their own understanding of overall child development, but they should habitually consult with other rehabilitation professionals. Indeed, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and even nutritionists will prove to be great problem solving partners with speech therapists who are navigating a multi-faceted early intervention program. A child's ultimate progression in any therapy program necessitates that parents and clinicians work both cooperatively and collaboratively in setting up optimal conditions, appropriate scaffolds, and multiple opportunities for learning success.

Anissa & Krista, an Occupational Therapist and Anissa's Favorite Collaborative Partner

Anissa the Teacher & Presenter
I have consistently received excellent marks from supervisors and students in previous teaching experiences. My classroom lessons are characteristically well organized and well-planned, as I am always driven to find more varied and interesting material with which to engage my students. One professor who supervised my English-teaching field experiences at the middle and high school levels stated that I have “an easygoing yet business-like demeanor that helps form early and strong bonds with students.” I hope to continue that practice at the university level. In setting the tone and pace for teaching units, I rely on establishing clear learning objectives as well as plainly outlining my expectations of students. Since building foundational clinical skills in students is a primary objective of our programs, I believe that real-world examples, development of clinical skills, research-to-practice illustrations, and regular discussion of evidence-based practices are essential in the application and synthesis of course material. While I utilize traditional assessment methods, I am continually seeking to provide multiple and varied opportunities for students to apply or to demonstrate their knowledge of course content in the form of cooperative learning projects, portfolios, observations, sampling, hands-on learning labs, creative presentations, varied writing assignments, among other methods. Course content delivery is also routinely supplemented with technological components—internet sources, computer software programs, digital video/voice recordings, interactive learning programs, and PowerPoint presentations. My greatest intent as a teacher is to inspire my students to be actively engaged as curious and persistent lifelong learners in their practice of clinical speech-language pathology. I hope that my progressive approach and varied methods will help accomplish that goal.

Anissa showing Claire how a Haberman Feeder works for children with a cleft lip or cleft palate.
Anissa the Researcher-in-Training


Research. An investigation of the effects of phonological awareness training on preschoolers with sound production impairments. Primary Investigator, Dr. Ilsa Schwarz, CCC-SLP.


Research. An investigation of the effects of phonological awareness training on the early literacy skills of a child with Down Syndrome: A Case Study.

Dissertation. An investigation of the home literacy environments of children with Down syndrome.

 

 

  
 
Copyright © 2005 Anissa Meacham, M.S., CCC-SLP