A retired speech and language therapist looks back at her career and tells KERRY ANN EUSTICE about her time and role in the field.

QUALIFICATIONS:

I completed a degree in speech and language therapy.

Therapists have to update their knowledge regularly throughout their career, in the same way other health professionals, such as doctors, have to.

PLACE OF WORK:

I worked with NHS and private patients in Croydon, Lambeth and the Royal Hospital for Neuro Disability in London.

HOURS:

It's a full-time job and a 36-hour week but most therapists work overtime.

EARNING POTENTIAL:

Around £15,000 after graduation with the top salary reaching £50,000. The average is about £30,000.

WHAT IS YOUR TYPICAL DAY LIKE?

I helped people with progressive diseases such as Parkinson's and those who had suffered strokes and head injuries or stammers. Therapists can also help children who fail to learn to speak, who may have physical or mental learning disabilities.

I mostly cared for the elderly and visited them in their own homes.

Firstly I assessed a patient to see what the problem was and how severe. Physical problems included a layrnx which had been removed or brain damage.

It was a largely educational process. I made the most of the communication skills patients still had. If, for example, a patient was unlikely to get speech back I would help them find other ways, through writing and drawing perhaps. If patients had an articulation problem such as they couldn't produce certain sounds or if they had a stammer I taught them strategies to overcome this.

I asked patients with stammers to relax because when we are emotional our speech is the first thing to be affected.

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO BECOME A SPEECH THERAPIST?

I worked as a nurse then left to have a family. One of my children had speech problems so I started to get interested and knowledgeable about speech therapy. I then trained as a mature student.

WHERE DO YOU WANT TO GO FROM HERE?

I have retired now but I would like to transfer my teaching skills and teach English as a foreign language.