Clinic for Communication Disorders

UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES COMMUNICATION SCIENCES AND DISORDERS ACADEMIC CLINIC Policies and Procedures

Welcome to the University of Kentucky Communication Sciences and Disorders Academic Clinic. This information sheet is being provided in an effort to answer any questions you may have and to make your experience as positive and beneficial as possible.

Schedule: Therapy is scheduled Monday through Thursday. The clinic operates for approximately 12 weeks during the spring term, 6 weeks during the summer term, and 12 weeks during the fall term.

Personnel: There are a number of qualified individuals who help make the clinic run smoothly. Perhaps the following will help make clear the roles and responsibilities of clinic personnel:

Director of the Communication Disorders Academic Clinic: Ms. Donna Southerland- Morris Ms. Morris coordinates clinic scheduling. She makes assignments by 1) coordinating the schedules of clients, graduate clinicians, and clinical instructors, 2) considering special requests of requirements of clients, graduate clinicians, and clinical instructors, and 3) taking into account space and time constraints.

Front Office Assistant: Ms. Kim West, Phone 859-218-0584 The front office assistant keeps all client records, checks out tests, materials and equipment, assists in scheduling client appointments, does billing and answers the clinic phone. She is also available during most clinic hours to answer any questions clients may have.

Diagnostic Coordinator: Ms. Aimee Sayre 859-218-0538 Ms. Sayre is responsible for scheduling and supervising all the diagnostic evaluations that occur in our clinic. At least 50% of each evaluation session is directly supervised by Ms. Sayre. These evaluations are usually conducted during the spring and fall terms (semesters).

Clinical Instructors: The clinical instructors are responsible for supervising assigned clients. Graduate clinicians meet regularly with clinical instructors to discuss their work and at least 25% of the therapy sessions are directly observed by the clinical instructors.

Graduate Clinicians: Graduate clinicians conduct the therapy in the clinic. These clinicians provide therapy in our clinic for 3 terms (semesters) before they complete rotations at various agencies. Undergraduate Observers: Students are required to complete 25 hours of supervised speech- language therapy observation. In our program, students complete their observation hours as seniors. You may see several students in the observation and treatment rooms at various times. These students are assigned to specific clients, but because our undergraduate program is so large, it is sometimes crowded in the observation room especially during the fall and spring terms. We ask for your patience in this matter.

Observations: Family members are welcome to observe any therapy session. The observation hall is equipped with one-way mirrors and audio systems. To ensure that clients are not disturbed, please make sure you leave observation hall lights off. Otherwise clients can see into the observation hall. Because noise readily carries in our facility, you are asked to talk quietly while in this area. On occasion, family members are asked to participate directly in therapy sessions in the clinic rooms. This is, of course, a decision to be made by the clinician, clinical instructor, and family members in the best interest of the client. No food or drinks are allowed in the observation rooms.

Materials Room: Materials/toys stored here are to be used by Communication Disorders students, faculty and staff only. Families are encouraged to bring games and activities from home for their children while in the waiting room.

Recording: Graduate students routinely video and audio record sessions with their clients. These recordings are then used to analyze sessions and make decisions about future therapy. All clients should have signed a consent form allowing clients to be observed and recorded. If you have any questions about this, please ask the clinician.

Absences: To obtain maximum benefit from therapy, clients need to attend regularly and make use of the entire session time. Regular attendance is also important to the graduate clinicians who have made preparations and set aside therapy time for clients. They have certain clinical requirements they must meet to fulfill course expectations and meet professional guidelines. Therefore, we strongly encourage you to attend all scheduled sessions and be on time. Cancelled sessions must be rescheduled.

A cancellation will be considered any time prior to the day of your speech therapy session (for example: Monday at 8pm for a Tuesday therapy session). An appointment is considered a “no- show” if you cancel the day of an appointment or do not show to an appointment. If a client has more than two “no-showed” appointments in a semester, they may be asked to sit out the remainder of the semester. Our clinic is set up as a graduate level course, and our students are required to complete a certain amount of sessions in order to receive a passing grade each semester. It is of upmost importance for you to complete each of your therapy sessions throughout the semester.

If the client must miss, please notify the Front Office (218-0584) at least 24 hours in advance, if possible. If you cannot reach this person directly, you can leave a message on voicemail. It is checked several times each day. It is helpful if you give the clients name, time of therapy, and the graduate clinician’s name. If a graduate clinician must miss, every attempt will be made to notify the client as soon as possible. The clinician will arrange a make-up session. Lateness: If you know you will be late, please call ahead. Graduate clinicians are instructed to wait 20 minutes for a late client. After that time, they put materials away and are not obligated to conduct the session.

Payment: Each time you attend therapy, you are to sign in and make a payment at the front desk. Only accept cash and checks are accepted at the front desk. We prefer that you pay before each therapy session. You will receive a receipt upon payment. Please note that clients who do not keep current with their bills, i.e., make at least monthly payments, may be dismissed from the program or not re-admitted the following semester. Contact Ms. Kim West immediately if you need to discuss payments– Phone 859-218-0584. Because of the nominal fee that is charged at this facility, we do not bill third party payors.

We can accept online payment as well. To access the online payment webpage directly, type in the following link:

http://www.uky.edu/chs/clinical-services/csd-academic-clinic/speech-clinic

Concerns and Questions: We know that you will have questions about various matters from time to time, so feel free to ask them. Please direct any questions you have about the course of therapy to the graduate clinician or clinical instructor. In general, brief conferences are held near the beginning and end of the term to discuss therapy.

The University of Kentucky is an equal opportunity university: Students, faculty, staff, and persons served in the program’s clinics are treated in a nondiscriminatory manner – that is, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national or ethnic origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, genetic information, citizenship, marital status, status as a parent, or status as a covered veteran. The institution and program comply with all applicable laws, regulations, and executive orders pertaining thereto. Questions concerning compliance with regulations may be directed to the Institutional Equity & Equal Opportunity Office,13 Main Building, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0032, (859) 257-8927) http://www.uky.edu/evpfa/eeo.