ASHLEY
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Hi there! I am Ashley, Ashwee, Asswe, Ashy…. you get the idea. I am a Speech Language Pathologist and love making people talk! If you are anything like my dad you are probably wondering how you can be a pathologist of speech and language. My job is to dig deep into what is going on with my patients to figure out why they cannot communicate and process like everyone else. This can include saying sounds correctly, understanding what is being said to them, expressing their wants and needs in a functional way, appropriately communicating with peers, helping with stuttering, working on memory skills or communication trouble after a brain injury. I also work on swallowing when the muscles have been weakened after a medical issue. These are just a few of the things a Speech Language Pathologist does and SLP is easier to say than a speech, language, aphasia, cognition, apraxia, dysphagia, fluency, expression, comprehension, oral motor, ect., therapist.
My passion for helping people started at a young age and when it came time to decide what I wanted to be when I grow up I came across speech therapy. I was volunteering at a nursing home and there was a patient who only spoke Russian. I was given the task of creating a communication book for her. I happened to have some friends who spoke Russian and they helped me create a book for the nurses and patient to assist in requesting essential things like food, water and pain medicine. After that experience at the age of 16 I knew what I wanted to do. I have moved up and down I-75 between Indiana, Tennessee and Florida several times and after 14 years in Florida I have found my way back to Tennessee. I have both my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Speech Language Pathology from the University of South Florida and have worked in private practice, elementary and middle schools, skilled nursing and now Sprocket. I have worked with kids starting at age 2 and had the honor of working with a 101 year old veteran while working in skilled nursing. I have seen a lot of different diagnoses, disorders, deficits and syndromes and take every new patient as a learning opportunity for both of us to grow. My other passions include travel, yoga and cooking and crafting. I want to visit all 50 states by the time I am 50. I have 18 states down and am open to suggestions on new places to travel. Ashley Justice M.S., CCC-SLP Speech Language Pathologist |
